Sanctuary Forum Game #4: Your Bloody Penance

[Arnox]

Turn 1

Induction into Xiada was quick. You were pushed along to one guard near the portcullis entrance with a long roll of parchment taking everyone's name before more surly guards pushed you along through several rooms, not even bothering to give you new clothes before you were led to your new beautiful home in the damp and dark prison blocks within the basement of this castle. You passed a few unstable prisoners along the way. One dirty old woman kept whispering over and over again in her cell, "They come... They are coming here... Don't you see... ? It's the end... How can you not see... ?" and then finally to your cell, being rather rudely thrown in and the sturdy metal cage door shutting and locking behind you.

Your cell was as shit as they come. A place where people are put into to be forgotten about, with the only light being the few torches in the hallways and the grate in the ceiling letting a small amount of daylight into the cell. And for the rest of the day, the only other visitor you got was a bent over old man mumbling to himself as he pushed a single tray of rather undesirable food into your cell and left without another word.

The next day was a rather cloudy one, much like your mood, and the person who brought you food last time was not to be found today. Instead, you heard shouting and the gibberings of a young woman as a dark-brown-haired servant girl with pretty blue eyes came hurriedly down the steps with trays of food, accompanied by a fat guard.

"Over there, bitch! Can't you listen to orders??? Give your fellow scum their food!"

"Yes sir! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean anything by it... "

He stood at the entrance now, watching the girl angrily as she hurriedly stooped down in front of your door to push the tray through the bottom of it before passing on to the next cell. But that was not the end of the excitement. Some hours after they both left, another rather tall man came down with his hood shadowing his face and stared into everyone's cell on the block for a bit, then, seemingly satisfied, he nodded and left.

The next day was just as cloudy. The same girl came down again with the same angry guard and gave you your food, looking at you once through the bars and biting her lip before leaving. Then some hours later, a sound so utterly deafening suddenly ripped through what seemed the entire castle and tore at your eardrums. At your very soul.

KRRRRRRAAACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

The subsequent major earthquake afterwards lasted for 5 minutes or so before finally, blessedly, settling down. Afterwards, you could hear the commotion from upstairs even all the way down in the squalid basement. A guard came into the prison block hurriedly, making sure no door was opened before rushing back out. And then that same hooded man came down the stairs, looking hurriedly around him before speaking to everyone in the block.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to do this gradually, but it seems we've suddenly run out of time completely. So, if you want to escape and never see this place again, you will listen to me now."

He then unlocked all three of the occupied cells on this block including your own.

"There are a few weapons left at the Security Gate. A gem with your memories is in the Level 1 Storage Room. Just go there. You will know exactly which stone it is. No other memory stone will work."

He then ran to the stone steps and turned around one last time. Another sudden earthquake happened, but this one much smaller and shorter lived.

"What you do from here is up to you. I must go but I will meet you at the Courtyards. Be there in 45 minutes or die here in this breaking universe."

After that, he sped away.

Current Player Statuses:
Battousai - Elijah - Arbitrator - No Conditions - 30HP - Courtyard
gaijinkaiju - Aizen III - Arbitrator - No Conditions - 30HP - Courtyard
Houseman - Friend Pan - Arbitrator - No Conditions - 30HP - Courtyard

For convenience, here is the current map. It will be filled in gradually as you traverse through Xiada.

And here's a link to the backstory and rules: https://intosanctuary.com/index.php?threads/forum-game-4-details-instructions-and-sign-up.1383/

You all already know each other's names and basic personality. You all know there are two guards at the Security Gate, or at least, there should be. Decide what you wish to do about them if you encounter the two guards. The next turn will start on Turn 3 after your attack happens.

The pocket universe will fully collapse on Turn 25. I heavily advise that you not be in it when that happens.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

Aizen gets out of his bed, having just had a refreshing nap and walks into the mostly empty corridor. He politely nods in the direction of his two fellow prisoners before cautiously wandering up the security gate to investigate the guard presence

 

[Arnox]

Aizen gets out of his bed, having just had a refreshing nap and walks into the mostly empty corridor. He politely nods in the direction of his two fellow prisoners before cautiously wandering up the security gate to investigate the guard presence

Just assume there are two guards there with some weapons laying around. If you investigate, you'll be seen and attacked.

 

[Houseman]

Friend gestures towards the other two:

 

[Battousai]

Elijah gets out of his cell and sees the other 2 fellows in chains, he asks "What's up fellow victims of the system? How do you feel about silently ganking the guards in the next room, acquiring some weapons and then sticking it to the man and getting out of here?"

 

[Houseman]

Elijah gets out of his cell and sees the other 2 fellows in chains, he asks "What's up fellow victims of the system? How do you feel about silently ganking the guards in the next room, acquiring some weapons and then sticking it to the man and getting out of here?"

 

[Arnox]

Turn 3 (Skipping 1 Turn)​

All three of you slowly step up the stone stairs out of the basement, some small rumbling from the mysterious break in this universe occasionally punctuating a step. As you come to the top, you take the smallest of peeps over the top of the stairs and see slivers of two guards. Having agreed beforehand what to do, all three of you immediately spring out and rush them with Elijah and Friend both succeeding at the chokehold. Aizen dashes past this meanwhile and quickly grabs a standard longsword from the rack and stabs both guards through the chest. Both of the guards scream out in pain before collapsing and beginning to die. One of them whispered a final curse of "Kraos scum... " before collapsing into his own blood.

It wasn't much of a fight at all and it was clear that many of the guards here at Xiada were not exactly the best at their jobs. However, it wouldn't do to get arrogant here. After the short-lived carnage, Elijah and Friend grab two of the other five remaining longswords and see signs designating three passages from the Security Gate. Storage Rooms Level 1, Storage Rooms Level 2, and Barracks. You all hear the sounds of fighting and screaming ahead of you along with shouted orders. Sounded like some of the residents here also got free somehow.

Eljah and Friend surprise and pull the 2 guards into a chokehold, stunning them. Aizen grabs a longsword from the weapons rack and stabs them both, killing them. All 3 of you are now armed with a longsword, doing 5 damage per slash. 10 on a successful surprise attack.

Some of the map has been revealed.

 

[Houseman]

Friend gestures to the others:

 

[Battousai]

Elijah assumes the barracks will be emptied out or lightly defended since the guards seem to be fighting outside "Alright lads I say we take the path to the barracks, it should be emtpy or near it since those oppressors seem to be fighting our fellows in binds outside. I'm going that way, coming?"

 

[Houseman]

Elijah assumes the barracks will be emptied out or lightly defended since the guards seem to be fighting outside "Alright lads I say we take the path to the barracks, it should be emtpy or near it since those oppressors seem to be fighting our fellows in binds outside. I'm going that way, coming?"

 

[gaijinkaiju]

Aizen nods in agreement with Elijah, and responds with "yeah, might as well. Three is better than one" and follows the others towards the barracks

 

[Arnox]

Turn 4​

As you all proceed to the Barracks, it quickly started to become clear that this was probably the worst move of the three to make. Whether the other prisoners thought that they would be able to secure much more armor or armaments, or whether they, too, thought they wouldn't encounter as much resistance in the Barracks, or whether they simply wanted to deal with this "guard" problem as soon as possible, the result was the same. A massive pitched battle was ensuing, with the twenty or so guards in the large room starting to get the upper hand in the fight. Thankfully, with all the bloody carnage going on, nobody has really noticed you three yet.

Eljah, Friend, and Aizen are now at the Barracks. Nobody in the room has noticed them yet.

Some of the map has been revealed.

 

[Houseman]

 

[Arnox]

(Just so you guys know, there is a 1 in 2 chance of you guys actually getting out of the Barracks to the Level 3 Living Quarters without attracting attention. If you guys attract attention, you are gonna have 5 or 6 guards on your ass, some armed with crossbows which are going to do 10 damage per hit, guaranteed. (At least at this range without any of your guys' memories.) But if you really wanna take the path of most resistance, I won't stop you. Just don't get mad if it turns into a TPK. lol)

 

[Battousai]

Elijah looks at the mute girl's gestures "Yeah, I say we bail as quickly and silently as possible too towards the other door. I love sticking it to the man, but there is no point if the man sticks it back and you get put out of the fight permanently, live to fight another day."

 

[Arnox]

Elijah looks at the mute girl's gestures "Yeah, I say we bail as quickly and silently as possible too towards the other door. I love sticking it to the man, but there is no point if the man sticks it back and you get put out of the fight permanently, live to fight another day."

(Which doorway?)

 

[Houseman]

Friend Pan thinks back to what she forgot about.

"There are a few weapons left at the Security Gate. A gem with your memories is in the Level 1 Storage Room. Just go there. You will know exactly which stone it is. No other memory stone will work."

 

[Battousai]

(Which doorway?)

Might as well go back the way we came, and check storage room 1.

Friend Pan thinks back to what she forgot about.

Elijah agrees "Yes, lets go back the way we came quietly and check the first storage room for our things, we might get some sense of all this crap that is going on."

 

[Houseman]

Might as well go back the way we came, and check storage room 1.

Elijah agrees "Yes, lets go back the way we came quietly and check the first storage room for our things, we might get some sense of all this crap that is going on."

 

[gaijinkaiju]

Aizen follows Elijah and Pan back the way they came and, thinking aloud, says "in hindsight, we probably should've just done what mystery man said and saved ourselves five minutes" before shrugging and letting out an "oh well"

 

[Arnox]

Turn 5​

Seeing the absolute madness that was going on in the Barracks, our former prisoners slowly backed out of the doorway and returned to the Security Gate without incident then took the path to the Level 1 Storage Room. Thankfully, this room was a lot less crowded. As you all creep to the doorway silently, you notice some overheard conversation between some guards. Along with that, you all now feel a deep attractive force inside you, pulling you towards something. Something currently in the direction of the storage room.

"... While we're waiting outside guarding some damn stones. That's a reallllll productive use for us. Yep!"

"Yah wanna question that guy? Didn't yah' hear about Benna yah' stupid idiot?? Crumpled 'em up and threw 'em around like a doll, he did!"

Another third voice spoke up.

"Bu'... I like boxes. Sometime they have shiny."

"Shut yah stupid grill, Waarvo!"

There was a short silence. Then,

"Fine. Five more minutes. Then I run in and help our guys. With or without you two."

Peeking just over the door frame, you all see three guards guarding some ordered boxes against the right stone wall. One was a big boy with a crossbow, though it was unloaded for some reason. And that compulsion inside you all was pulling you towards those boxes...

Eljah, Friend, and Aizen are now at the Level 1 Storage Room. Nobody in the room has noticed them yet.

Some of the map has been revealed.

 

[Houseman]

🤷‍

 

[Battousai]

Elijah says "Now this is a fight we can win. Lets sneak attack these distracted oppressors, dispose of them and take a look at the crates and see if we can find anything useful, savvy?"

 

[Arnox]

🤷‍

(I gotta say, I'm really liking the creative use of these emojis. lol)

 

[Arnox]

Turn 6​

Elijah nodded as he finished overhearing the convo and turned to the party. Friend made some gestures, indicating putting the guards out of their misery. Elijah then whispered to the party, "Now this is a fight we can win. Let's sneak attack these distracted oppressors, dispose of them and take a look at the crates and see if we can find anything useful, savvy?" Aizen nodded his affirmation of this plan. With that, the party quickly sprang into the room. The big guy and the more salty of the three guards saw them, but the more intelligent guard was ironically still grumbling a little to himself and didn't notice the group until it was too late. Aizen tackled the intelligent guard before sticking his sword through the guard's neck, making the guard gurgle out before quickly dying. The more salty guard unsheathed his sword and raised it to the ready position, but Elijah ducked around and slammed his sword edge straight into the guard's leg, causing him to scream out. As the big guy saw all this sudden horror unfold before his eyes though, a look of sheer panic came over him and he trembled in place before tossing his crossbow to the ground and bolting out of the room in almost animalistic fear just in time before Friend's sword had the opportunity to meet his flesh.

The salty guard gasped in pain crouched to the ground. Elijah loomed over him with his sword, savoring the kill that was about to happen, but also being reminded of... Another past situation in his life much like this one. Much like deja vu. But the guard caught Elijah by surprise as he suddenly slashed upward at Elijah, slicing him across the chest and some of his chest. Cursing, Elijah kicked the guard onto his back and stabbed him through, ending the quick skirmish.

The group panted some as they gathered themselves mentally before putting their swords away and turning their attention to the boxes against the side of the stone wall. The compulsion was strong now and they thought they could hear very faint whispers that, while impossible to make out, still sounded familiar. You all tore open the lids of the crates and saw bags in them, each labeled with a name in ink. But the name wasn't necessary for any of you. As the mysterious hooded man said, you all knew exactly what bag you personally needed. You could feel through the bag what seemed like a cut gem inside it.

As you all finally retrieved what belong to you, the whispers were stronger than ever now. You could almost begin to remember... Almost. Incredibly vague and blurry images floated constantly into your mind. Piles of books. Days of pain and starvation. A castle in deep forest. A beautiful red-headed woman sitting imperiously on a throne. Pure blissful love. Blood. Beasts and abominations being utterly torn apart by magic. Fields of human bodies... You knew that if, for whatever reason, you didn't want to remember and wanted to make a full clean break with your obviously storied past, now would be the time, and that once unlocked, these memories and their resultant effects would very probably not be able to be put back easily, if at all.

During all of that contemplation, you noticed the light in the room beginning to dim somewhat. Looking up to the side windows that had sturdy metal bars set within them, you saw the sun through all the grey clouds start to darken, and the earthquakes increasing in intensity slightly.

Spoiler: Raw Combat Log

Aizen - Attacks Guard 1 with longsword - Rolls a 2 with a d2, succeeds - 10 damage dealt to Guard 1 who now has 0 HP leftover
Guard 1 - Killed by Aizen
Elijah - Attacks Guard 2 with longsword - Rolls a 1 with a d2, fails - 5 damage dealt to Guard 2 who now has 5 HP leftover
Guard 3 - Panics, runs away
Friend - Attacks Guard 3 with longsword - Rolls a 1 with a d2, fails - Misses Guard 3 (Target no longer present) who now has 20 HP leftover
Guard 2 - Attacks Elijah with longsword - Rolls a 2 with a d2, succeeds - 5 damage dealt to Elijah who now has 25 HP leftover
Elijah - Attacks Guard 2 with longsword - No roll made - 5 damage dealt to Guard 2 who now has 0 HP leftover
Guard 2 - Killed by Elijah
Combat concluded (No more enemies present) - No players downed

Elijah, Aizen, and Friend all retrieve their respective memory stone but haven't used them yet. Turn 6 will be lengthened to allow space for the player's decisions regarding their memories.