One of the men grunts at you when you come back, and you notice he's carrying a mace.
The other man, the one that talked to you before, is carrying a sword.
He nods and they gesture toward the front door. Mace leads the way and Sword follows behind you. There seems to be some kind of tension in the air. Maybe nervousness? They lead you through the crowded district you've become so familiar with, the things you see no longer make you cringe. Undead litter the streets, carrying all manner of things around for living craetures. All of the bu
ildings look dilapidated and in
some state of decay. There are vendor stalls at every corner, salesmen barking about their wares. You've known for a time now that the Filth district is where one should come if they want something most others would consider evil or taboo. As you make your way through the streets, you come upon the guildhall.
The building is a gigantic mass of wood and metal, all rotting and rusted. The smell of death lingers upon this place. The physics of the building don't seem to make sense. The base is much more narrow than the top and it looks like it could topple over at any second. There are towers shooting off in every direction, topped with ramparts of metal spikes decorated with severed body parts. The entrance is a gigantic pair of doubledoors, and as you approach, the human guards on either side of them nod at Mace and sword. The guards each take a handle and pull the door open, and the smell of death slams into you like a cow in a tornado. The inside of this building is incredibly dank and musky, and you find it difficult to breathe, but your escorts seem to have no trouble. The walls inside are all stone, which seems strange, because outside you didn't once glimpse any masonry. Mace and Sword lead you down a dizzying series of stairs and hallways. You can't remember how many because you're battling to stay concious. Finally they come up to a large iron door with a sliding eye hatch. Mace slams his giant fist on the door three times, and you wait a few seconds. The hatch slides open, revealing a beady red eye and quickly shuts.
When the door opens, what you see almost makes you vomit. A man, or zombie, or whatever he is is standing before you. His skin is a sickly pale green, and a lorge portion of his flesh is missing from his right leg and arm, revealing muscle, and his arm ends in a sinister hook. He also has what appears to be a fetal creature attatched to his side. He looks as though he shouldn't be alive.
The man grins at you when you enter, and nothing about it looks kind. It looks evil and sinister.
Hello Varnel, my friend. I'm glad you're here. We must talk buisness. Come, come, sit down.
He gestures behind him where there is a large wooden desk and a chair at either side. He takes a seat on the opposite side and again gestures for you to sit. Looking around the room, you nitice books and files bunched into several large bookshelves. Mace and Sword stand on either side of the door inside the room, waiting, and you see now that being here makes them nervous.
My name is Mortiss Blacksoul.
another eery grin, and you swear you see something crawling under his skin.
We've been watching you varnel, and we like your work. We have need of your services.
He stares at you with his cold empty eyes and keeps on grinning.
Varnel attempts to hide his disgust at this place but is only successful in plastering an immovable scowl across his face to mask the revulsion.
ReplyDeleteThis place always puts me on edge. I wonder who needs me this time? Oh, somebody new...is that a fetus?
With a nod Varnel takes a seat at the table. His lip curls slightly at the sight of something crawling under Mortiss' skin, but he says nothing about it. With as much composure as he can muster Varnel speaks
"I am at your disposal."
Perhaps THAT was a poor choice of words"
"And what services can a humble apothecary such as myself offer the The Hand of Filth."
Mortiss' smile stretches wider, which seems like it shouldn't be possible. Occaisonally while he sits and talks, the fetal creature attatched to his side starts to squirm.
ReplyDeleteHah, yes, a humble apothecary. we've been watching you much longer than you realize Varnel. We have a problem with the Order of Elune. One of the higher-ups in the guild has a problem with what we do with the cities dead. We've tried to get him to see things our way through bribes and intimidation, but he'll have none of it. we need him dead. Then we may be able to reanimate him as our puppet. Killing him will not be easy though. He is a powerful monk. In order to prepare for what we need to do, I'll need you to aquire some items. How you acquire them will be completely up to you, but you must understand that under no circumstances can you allow this to be traced back to us. It is a bold move, but it must be done.
Mortiss stands up and starts to pace the room.
As I'm sure you know, the Iron Fist is known for crafting their tools of war. First we need you to acquire some explosives from them. A lot of explosives. We're planning on forcing our way into the Order's guildhome. They may not sell them to you outright, so you may have to steal some, but for the correct price, who knows... The Agents of Artifice have been working on a new magic weapon of mass destruction. My sources say its a disk of some kind. We need to get our hands on it to deal with the Elune monk. After you complete these tasks and remove the monk from his position of power, we shall reward you greatly. Maybe even give you a position of power in the guild, eh... what say you? He stops pacing and folds his arms across his chest. He cocks his head to the side, grins, and looks into your eyes, right into your soul, and you can't help but shudder.
Varnel raises an eyebrow.
ReplyDelete”As you have stated, I may have some skill in the area of…diplomatic security. But as you have studied my methods you must realize that this is somewhat out of my comfort zone. From the sound of it you want me to frontally assault the guildhome of the Order with a mixture of explosives and doomsday weapons. Now, while I would be the first to jump at the chance for a little explosive diplomacy. It seems to me that one man, even armed with such weapons, assaulting a guildhall is a bit suicidal.”
He pauses a minute to ponder the actual damage that many explosives could cause.
”My question is: Why the need for all these large scale operations? Will my usual methods not suffice? Infiltrate and eliminate. Quick, silent, effective. I dare say your method will attract a considerable amount of attention. Not that I am questioning your methods. They are just a bit…unorthodox for me.”
He lets that sink in.
”Perhaps if I knew a bit more of how exactly these objects were to be used in the execution of your plan it might shed a little light on my somewhat clouded view of things. And if reanimation is what you are looking to accomplish; I find that an intact, poisoned body makes a much easier necromantic palette than blown up remains.”