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The Beginning of the End

Darkness drapes the central room of the temple, an ever-present curtain. You smile; the disciples have been following your bidding correctly. The darker the room, the more potent the magicks—that teaching isn't bullshit whatsoever. As you near the pulpit, you trip over a loose stone in the floor, and nearly collapse onto a jagged obsidian-backed pew. Unfortunately, you have not yet gotten any of those wonderful night vision concoctions: you still need a number of corpses to trade to the alchemist, seeing as you lack money (or at least that's what you told him).



"I really should've added the obsidian spikes after we figured out how to see," you think out loud. No one else is at the temple this early. Your faithful minions are probably busy self-flagellating or gobbling up those scriptures you keep feeding them.



Somewhere, glass shatters. Looks like you might have company. You hear it clear as day, but can't determine where it came from. The wonderful acoustics are both a blessing and a curse. The shattering is quickly followed by a slow and determined cacophany of clanking, thundering footfalls. It could be a mercenary troupe, which gives you an opening to simply escape. Mercenary units are generally low in numbers, which means they probably can't have the temple surrounded, but they would still completely destroy you in a fight. Could also be paladins, and that's about as bad as it can get for you. They're certainly righteous and good, which is the exact antithesis of what you are. They're also very enthusiastic about their work, which also doesn't bode well for those on the wrong side of their glistening steel. And if this is the Inquisition brand of paladins, then you're trapped in here; the temple would certainly be surrounded by this point. The stairs to the basement demon summoning chambers are oddly beckoning right now, but some simple mechanical traps have no chance of failing, or of raping, killing, and eating you (not necessarily in that order). The temple is also a winding array of dark hallways, darker corners, and somehow even darker closets. You could probably find a sufficiently hidden spot quite quickly, but you would be totally defenseless if they were to find you, and it's all dependent on how thoroughly they search for you.