Locked Rooms (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
guillotineroom) wrote2022-06-11 11:39 pm
guillotineroom) wrote2022-06-11 11:39 pm
Entry tags:
Tarot memory share [Bugbear]
The room you enter this time is an ostentatious fortune tellers tent. Colourful silks drape the walls with intricate golden constellations embroidered on the ceiling. Various crystals, candles, magic 8 balls, and other superstitious sundries are scattered throughout the tent.
In the centre of the room is a table with ten chairs around it, and three cards laid out for you:
MAGICIAN, HANGED MAN, TOWER
[ RULES | TURN-IN ]
In the centre of the room is a table with ten chairs around it, and three cards laid out for you:
MAGICIAN, HANGED MAN, TOWER
[ RULES | TURN-IN ]
TURN IN
HANGED MAN
Person B: *Pant*.. *Pant*... This is... your town...?
Person A: Dad! Mom! Where are you?!
A villager is there in the plaza.
Villager: What, that's... [Person A]?!
Person A: Where are my parents?! Speak!
Villager: Eep!
Person A: Why won't you answer?!
Another person approaches.
Village Chief: Stay away from my villagers!
Person A: You're the village chief, right?
Village Chief: Get out of here, transgressor. Your presence here is going to get us all condemned as collaborators!
Person C: THAT's what you're worried about?
Person B: Rgh. Okay, everyone, please calm down for a minute! We just came here to rescue [Person A]'s parents!
Person A: Please, at least tell me where they are! I'm begging you!
Villager 1: Yeah, bad news for you, pal. There's no way they haven't been eliminated yet.
Person A: What?!
Villager 1: They were running all around town, begging folks to help hide them. So selfish! Shield a transgressor and you'll end up as a transgressor too. So we sent them packing--no way we were going to let that happen to us! You can beg and plead all you want, but it won't get you anything. We don't want any part of this!
Person F: Silence. One more word out of your mouth, and I'm going to become upset.
Villager 1: Wh-Who the hell...?
Person A: It can't be true... My parents, are they... Are they really... Answer me, chief!
Village Chief: Your parents were further disgracing themselves by attempting to flee from the enforcers. So we tied them up.
Person A: Wh-why would you...
Village Chief: You know exactly why! We needed to make it clear to the world that we are not in league with transgressor scum like yourself and your parents. The only reward that awaits those who help a transgressor is a stain of guilt of their own! That's the last thing any of us want!
Person A: ......
Person B: So [Person A]'s parents... They're really gone...?
Village Chief: They were bound and fettered and expelled from the village. I'm sure it did not take long for the enforcers to enact justice.
Person A: ....
Village Chief: You have your answer, [Person A]. Now leave. And take your cronies with you. And remember that this village does not tolerate the presence of filthy transgressors!
Person A: ...Why?
Village Chief: Did you not hear me, [Person A]? Or do we need to tie you up, too, just like we did to those unseemly wretches who raised you?!
Villager 1: This is what happens when the poors think their kid'll lift them out of the gutter. They shouldn't have gotten so cocky about their little knight.
Villager 2: Get out of here, [Person A]. Do not bring your treachery to our peaceful town.
Village Chief: We should burn their house down, to make it clear that we are no friends to that cursed family. Hahaha. Yes, that's a great idea. Let's do it.
Person A: Why...? Why? Why would you act like this?!
Person A draws a weapon from nowhere. He looks incandescently furious.
Person A: Unseemly? Wretches? Those are my parents you're talking about!
Village Chief: Urk!
Person A: You think I'm just going to let you say that about them?! You think I'm not going to make you pay for this? I am going to kill every last one of you!
Person B steps between Person A and the chief, and the chief retreats.
Person B: [Person A], calm down!
Person A: Do not interfere, [Person B]! These are not human beings we're dealing with here!
Person B: [Person A]...
Person E: This doesn't seem like the sorta thing we're gonna be able to reason him out of.
Person B: [Person A], I know how you feel right now, but...
Person A: Move, [Person B]!
Person B: No! I won't move! This isn't you, [Person A]!
Person A: I don't care! Stay out of my way, [Person B]! Move!
Person B: No! You need to snap out of this! I don't want to have to fight you!
Person A: Then. Get. Out. Of. My. Way.
Person B: No! I won't! Because if I step aside, you're as good as dead!
Person A: I'M as good as dead? ME?
Person B: Yes! If you cut down these people, the righteousness within you will die! You'll regret it forever! And I don't want to have to see you suffering even worse than you already are!
Person A: What the hell do you know about anything?!
Person B: I know that your parents wouldn't want to see you like this!
Person A: Spare me your trite platitudes, [Person B]!
Person B: They may be trite, but they're still--
The POV character of the memory finally steps up to intervene. With guns.
POV: Move.
Person B: [POV]?
Person B moves.
POV: If he ain't gonna listen, we'll have to beat it into him. Hyah!
Person A: [POV]... Why would you of all people stop me?! You're always telling us to do what we want! And what I want to do is cut these vermin to shreds! What right do you have to stop me?!
POV: I don't like it.
POV shoots Person A in the arm.
Person A: Urgh!
POV: I tell ya, I don't like it!
He shoots twice more.
Person A: Nggh!
POV: Is this what you want? Is this who you are, [Person A]? What happened to the snooty knight preachin' about justice from atop his high horse? He's gonna start murderin' folk now? You're tellin' me that's really what you wanna do?
Person A: .....
POV: Then I was wrong about you, [Person A]. You ain't worthy to wield a ███ after all.
POV does something, and Person A's weapon vanishes.
Person A: M-My ███... It's gone?!
POV: Seeya.
POV knocks Person A out.
Person A: Hyarrggghh!
POV: Don't make me laugh. How bout you sleep it off over there for a while.
Village Chief: Ha! Even your friends have forsaken you now? This is what you get, [Person A]. That dirt is exactly where criminals deserve to be.
Person C: That man just won't stop.
POV: All right.
POV approaches the village chief.
POV: Aaaaaall right.
Village Chief: Wh-What are YOU coming this way for?!
POV: [Person A] pisses me off sometimes, but when it comes to being an ass, he's got nothin' on you lot. Die, you little worm.
POV shoots him.
Village Chief: Gah! Arggggghhhh!!! Y-You shot my foot! Aaahhh! Th-there's so much blood!
Person B: [POV], what are you doing?!
POV: Not another step!
Person B: ...!
POV: Unlike him, I wasn't never no knight of justice. Killing a town full of jerks, that ain't nothin' to me at this point. I'm the ██████. Every inch of me is already fouled with sin.
POV moves to the next villager.
Villager 1: St-Stop this!
POV: Shut up!
He shoots him.
Villager 1: AAARRGGGGHHHH! It hurts! It huuuuuuurts!
POV: What, that didn't even kill ya? I swear, it's always trash like you that don't know when to die.
Villager 2: R-Run for your lives!
POV: Ain't no one runnin' nowhere!
The group seems distressed by this and calls for him to stop, but after that doesn't work, they just take cover.
Village Chief: D-Don't do this! We didn't do anything wrong!
POV: Nah, you didn't, didja? You just did what you were supposed to do, right? Just let the consensus free ya from the burden of havin' to think for yerself. Everyone teamin' up to beat on that mean ol' couple together. Bet that felt good, didn't it? Got so drunk on the joy of it all that you didn't even realize you'd just murdered two people.
Village Chief: N-No! We're not the ones who killed them!
POV: That doesn't mean ya ain't guilty.
Village Chief: .....
POV: Ain't no murder uglier than the one you tell yourself you're not committin'. You wanna kill someone, the least you owe 'em is to be honest yourself that you're doin' it. Feel yourself in the bullet that punches through their flesh. See yourself in the reflection of that blood-soaked blade. Now THAT's killing. And that's somethin' a big softie like [Person A] could never do. That's why I'm gonna kill the whole lot of you for him.
Village Chief: St-Stop, please! Please!
POV: Sorry. The die is cast. So die.
Person A, conscious again, jumps in between them, and the chief flees again.
Person A: Stop!
POV: What was that?
Person A: [POV], stop this. You have to stop!
POV: These are scumbags who need to die. You said that yourself, [Person A].
Person A: Yes... I did. They're thugs who killed my parents and then spat on their memories. What they did is unforgivable. But even still... Even in spite of that... Do not kill them!
POV: Why not?
Person A: Because revenge is not justice!
POV: ......
Person A: I understand that now, [POV], thanks to you. Seeing them writhing in pain, soaked in their own blood... It's wrong. It's so clearly wrong! My mother and father believed in me until the end. They said I was their pride and joy. That belief is something I don't want to betray.
POV: .....Huh.
POV smiles slightly and relaxes.
Person B: [Person C], go heal the people he shot.
Person C: Okay.
Person E: Sooo... We can come out now I guess?
Person D: *Sigh*... You certainly know 'ow to keep us in suspense, [POV].
MAGICIAN
The sun beats down from a bright blue sky, and though the farmers in the rice fields you pass don’t seem to notice, you’re already sweating. Most of them pay you only brief attention, just another wanderer down the road, though a few give you long, suspicious glances. You don’t bother to acknowledge those; you have somewhere to be, your instincts pressing you forward. You’re not sure what you’re following, exactly, but the old man told you to trust your instincts when you parted, and he had never steered you wrong.
You reach the gates of the town – [REDACTED], the name comes to you as you bother to think of it, the way so much knowledge comes now – as the sun passes its peak. The gate guards inspect you with a cursory air before letting you through, but you notice their eyes already straying to the road. You’re not what they’re looking for, but they’re definitely looking for something. Bandits, most likely; you’ve picked up a few rumors from travelers and taprooms that there’s a gang in the area growing fat and bold on the storehouses of farmers. Not bold enough yet to demand their own “taxes”, but clearly more than the local magistrate can handle.
Something you can help with, maybe, though you doubt it’s the source of the instinct drawing you forward. You could handle a bandit gang, now, especially with time to raise your own forces, but so could the local guards. No, there’s something else going on, and as you turn a corner, you think you may have found it.
A group of young men and women, half a dozen and all, stand miserably in white robes and black caps before a rotund figure who can only be the local magistrate. Behind them must be their relatives, looking equally miserable, if not more so. The magistrate is giving a long speech in a language you initially don't know, but the unfamiliar tones and syllables rearrange themselves into something intelligible as you listen.
“--great honor, that these young men and women have been chosen as students of the most esteemed scholar, [EMINENT SCHOLAR]! Rejoice with them, for their spiritual merit will surely increase beyond their humble origins! Their courage and dedication shall reflect most positively upon their families, and in gratitude for their most righteous service, I, Magistrate [CORRUPT MAGISTRATE], shall forgive certain matters of overdue taxes–”
The “new students” don’t look particularly honored, and their families show absolutely no inclination to rejoice, but the outcry that interrupts the magistrate doesn’t come from them. It comes from above.
Wailing like a lost soul, a young woman descends from the sky, trailing great plumes of black mist as she falls. The magistrate’s guards immediately hustle him out of the plaza, towards a large building that must be the local yamen, and the rest of the crowd scatters away from the impact, leaving you alone in the plaza. You can feel the woman’s life guttering low, see the runaway sorcerous transmutation that’s killing her, transforming her into that greasy black mist. Whatever desperate message she brings, whatever knowledge she holds, are on the verge of scattering on the wind.
But seconds are all you need.
Your authority sinks into her body, rough and unpracticed but effective, and Death obeys your command. The woman lands roughly, but alive, the flame of her life stoked by your will, and you kneel at her side as you focus your mind into the patterns of the Academy of Thought that you’d learned over your journey, feeling the first flickers of feedback static murmur at the edges of your mind.
The woman’s name is [REDACTED], and her mind is a whirlpool of terror, despair and urgent determination. She can barely form words, but she recognizes the touch of your thoughts and almost hurls images at you, one after another. An old man’s face, eyes burning with obsessive hunger. A woman, watching, her face twisted in a contemptuous sneer. Flashes of theurgic rites that even brief glimpses can tell you mean nothing good. Deliberately accelerating her own spiritual decay, until the shackles that hold her break, and she leaps into the sky…
Slow down, you think desperately at her. For now, you’re safe. I’ll not let anything harm you.
Violent denial. I am not safe, stranger, she thinks fiercely. Not while [THE MOST ESTEEMED SCHOLAR] searches for me. I’ll scatter myself to the winds before I let him or his filthy apprentice use me or any other student! You realize, with a dull shock, that she’s only a year or two older than you – and the other “students” gathered in the courtyard.
You don’t even hesitate. You can’t. [YOUR MENTOR] would have been halfway down the road to this Real Man Xiao’s stronghold already, and [YOUR FELLOW STUDENT] – you flinch away from the thought, still raw and aching – [YOUR FELLOW STUDENT] would have beaten him there. And you would have been right behind them, because this is what your brotherhood is for.
I’ll stop him, you promise, solid as stone.
Through the veil of smoke, you see her raise her head to meet your eyes, and nod once, firmly. Then let me go, elder brother. If he finds out I survive, he’ll have warning of your coming. Take him unawares, and send his soul to Hell.
You almost protest, but you can feel your grasp on her life waning. Another quarter hour would be the most you could manage, and even if you dispel the transformation, it’s already ravaged her body. Besides which, she’s right; rumors of her miraculous survival will spread, and this [EMINENT BUT EVIL SCHOLAR] will know his secrets are endangered.
“Rest well, then, little sister,” you murmur aloud, and withdraw your will.
The transformation is quick, after that. More and more of her body dissolves into foul black smoke, and as the last of her flesh dissolves, she reaches out one last time. Ware his apprentice. She puts on a fair face but she’s just…as wicked…as he…
A gust of wind rises, setting your traveling robes flapping, and then there’s nothing left of the student [REDACTED] but a few scraps of stained cloth.
You grit your teeth, rising, and murmur a brief blessing. The full rites will wait; you need the strength you would spend on them to carry out her wishes. The magistrate first, then; he’s clearly providing victims, so he must know something, and his guards won’t stop you any more than bandits would.
Before you’ve taken a step, a hand catches your wrist in a grip of iron. You follow it back to a [LOCAL] girl your age, her clothing as travel-worn as yours, the sword at her waist showing the signs of frequent use. She smiles brightly at your confused look.
“Before you charge in, we should talk for a bit,” she says. “Not that I’m against charging in! But we should at least exchange names before we go into battle together.”
You blink at her.
“My name is [REDACTED],” she says, apparently interpreting your confusion as an invitation to continue, “and you must be the one who can help me. I knew you’d come today!”
In your gut, the instinct drawing you onward finally stops.
TOWER
Monster Man: C'mon, is that all you've got?
The goddess seems injured, but the man continues to provoke her to fight, and the humans collected look suddenly fatigued, and exclaim about the sudden pain—like someone gripping their heart, making it hard to move. Black flames erupt from nowhere, covering the road and buildings, though they don't seem to actually be burning any of it.
The monster man seems undeterred.
Monster Man: Come on now, entertain me! You can take more'n that! SO TAKE IT!
Girl #1: *Gasp*... Urk... Is this pain... from the flames...?
Monster Man: CONSUME! RAVAGE!
Boy #1: The flames...growing...spreading...everywhere... My strength... being sucked... out of me... These flames... They're...
Monster Man: MOLDER AND CRUMBLE. FUEL ME AND BURN TO ASH.
Twin #1: What we'd heard about the [REDACTED]... That he "consumes all life to feed himself." Is this what that meant...? What he's truly capable of...?
A mysterious woman stands nearby and comments that the man is an idiot for releasing power that he's spent so much time suppressing.
The fight resumes again, while the flames spread and everyone else shudders in pain.
Boy #1: *Pant* *Pant* *Pant*... [Monster Man]! That's... That's enough! Don't use...any more power! You have to stop!
Monster Man: What did you just say? You're not gettin' in my way, are ya, [Boy #1]?
Boy #1: What?
Monster Man: Because anything that gets in my way...is dead. BEGONE! BEGONE! BEGONE! LET NOTHING REMAIN!
Boy #2: He's attacking!
Boy #1: [Monster Man], stop!
Girl #2: Non, [Boy #1]! Your words will not reach 'im now. We 'ave to fight!
Girl #1: [Monster Man], do you understand what you're doing?
Monster Man: It's your turn to entertain me, [Boy #1]!
Boy #1: [Monster Man]... Damn it... Do we really have to fight?
Monster Man: You better!
They have to fight. They're no match for the monster man.
Monster Man: Ah ha ha! Not bad. You never fail to amuse me, [Boy #1]. And that's gonna make this so much more fun!
Boy #1: *Pant* *Pant*... Urk... I... I can't even... move...
Girl #1: But... if we don't stop [Monster Man]...
Mysterious Woman: It is beyond your power to stop him.
Boy #2: Who are you?!
Mysterious Woman: At this rate, he'll consume every last bit of life in the area. That is what the [REDACTED] does. That is [Monster Man]'s true power.
Boy #1: This is the [REDACTED]? This is who [Monster Man] really is?
Mysterious Woman: He's spent all this time suppressing it out of fear of what he'd become, and yet here it is. His back must have really been against the wall this time. Hmm. So be it.
Boy #1: L-Look out! If he comes this way--
The memory ends there.