gsteelwraith wrote:
Leveticus replied, "I had one of those visions a little bit ago myself. We'd best get a move on and find out what's going on. I'm getting a might tired of simply reacting to things."
(I assume here that everybody walks forward.)
The passage opens into a room, about 8 meters on a side and 4 meters high. Further corridors branch out from the right and left side, and another directly opposite from you.
"This room was not nearly this large before," Ambrose says.
From down the corridor directly in front of you, you can see a faint, sickly green glow. Something is making light.
"The artifacts were being kept down there," Ambrose says. "Where the light is."
The room is full of people; about 20 of them. All are dressed similarly to those you have seen before (and those four are here as well), and represent both sexes and ages from infants to people who seem to be in their 60s. All look gaunt and sickly.
Half of them are carrying plates, knives, and forks. The other half are lined up on the left side of the room before another figure, a man of relatively advanced age. As people move up in line, he hands them a plate, knife, and fork from the table beside him, and the people move to the other side of the room.
None of the people acknowledge your presence.
On the floor by your feet lies a seemingly no longer functional servitor. This one is not a heavy repair servitor like Abstinence, but more of a simple humanoform construct of the sort you might use for minor electrical repairs. It looks positively ancient, covered in rust. One of its arms has been disconnected and lies by its side.
The walls are, again, covered with the frescoes, which seem much brighter now than before. Large sections of them are fully painted.
Opposite you, over the door leading to whatever is making the glow, a man on a ladder is putting the finishing touches on a new fresco.
The image, done in the same primitive style as all the rest, depicts five figures, all bowing around a table or altar in what looks like worship or supplication.
On the right side, a man in long robes kneels, his hammer on the ground before him. He has what looks like an autopistol at his belt, which is very incongruous given that no depictions of technology have been displayed in any of these images that you have seen before. Behind him, a clearly female figure on her knees holds a sword up in the air with two hands. Her face and arms are covered with lines like tattoos.
On the left side, a small man in robes holding a knife bows toward the table, his head stretching all the way that it touches the ground. Behind him, a man with a club crouches on one knee, one hand raised up and his mouth open in what might be praise or pain. Behind him is the final figure -- a woman carrying a large knife rather like the one Kara is holding. There is a black cloud over her head.
From down the corridor ahead of you, coming from where the light is, you hear a loud, high-pitched male voice call out:
"AMBROSE!!!!!" it says.
The subprelate says, "Emperor! That's... that's Brother Jenkin!"
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 7:58 pm