A Simple Transaction I

War and Wind

The moment he stepped across the threshold, the doors boomed shut behind him. Uncanny speed, given how reluctantly they'd opened. He examined the gates for any latch or release mechanism, but there were none. Instead there was a sigil of a moon unfilled which hung over where the handles would be. Perhaps the gates could only open once a night, or worse, once per lunar month. He hoped it was not the latter. The gates were magnificent pieces of art and it would be a shame to destroy them.

Before him was a vast marble entrance hall, part forum and part antechamber, flanked by carven pillars that rose skyward to the opalescent ceiling some ten stories above. The chamber was well-lit by enormous braziers of dark gray, each the width of three men around. The braziers housed crackling bonfire-flames that exuded the warm merriment of a cherished hearth, upright and proud as if boasting to the visitor of their mighty hospitality. There was no one else, no signs of life, not even stray vermin.

He began to walk. Onwards and forwards the entrance hall crept, half a mile or more in length, until slowly the marble bricks of the wall and ceiling began to fade before him. Bricks increasingly hung unsupported in the open air, a patchwork caricature of wall through which the blue of an unfamiliar sky shined through. As he walked further the entire hall bowed open, thinly populated "walls" and "ceiling" curving up and away, yielding to grass and sky.

This was a wholly different landscape from that outside the Temple, a vast grassy plain whose sun was gentle and bright, a paradisiacal sweetness in the taste of the breeze. His ring hummed and he dropped into a crouch, sword held before him, but no enemies emerged. Instead the hum only intensified, a low mournful keening that steadily worsened over time.

Something was calling to him, a will that was not quite an entity in its own right, but which nonetheless was suffering greatly. It begged for an end to its torment, to the great depth of exhaustion to which it was interminably forced, each scraping-away of essence like a screw driven endlessly deeper. It promised vast and bounteous power to whosoever tore it free, or merely put an end to its wretched existence.

He stepped forwards, in the direction of the call, and the hum lessened. He stepped backwards into the antechamber and it worsened. Suspicious.

Now that he was aware of it, he doubted the not-quite-scream of the Calling would desist even if he left the Temple. Perhaps Gisena would be able to dispel it, though his instincts told him that the Call itself could not be faked, could in fact be nothing less than the truth. There really was something deep in this Temple whose essence was being drawn upon endlessly, and which suffered terribly for it.

The power of his ring was modulating the Call, clarifying its message while reducing its intensity, rendering it more comprehensible and bearable as well. Strange. The ring had never exhibited such powers.

But the Call was a distraction nonetheless. Best to resolve this matter before he faced the blue swordsman again. With the gate closed behind him, he would proceed forward. He'd return after nightfall to see if the doors would open, and cut them down only if they remained closed.

Having slain thousands of monsters on their path to the Temple, he was stronger and faster than he'd ever been in this world, and many times tougher as well. And if forced to the absolute brink, there was one final card he could now play, power that transcended flesh and spirit alike.

He grimaced. The thought of it reminded him too much of his final blow against the Tyrant, an uttermost exertion of the self. The consequences of its use should not be quite as severe, but... he would use it only as a last resort. Only if all else failed.

He'd walked only a few minutes before coming upon a creature, a shadowy giant in gothic armor with an enormous blade sheathed against its back. As it sighted him it rose from the hill on which it was situated. It moved with a ragged exhalation, creaking of disused metal and the slithering of chainmail against plate. Without warning or preamble it attacked.

Despite its towering bulk it was fast, gray thunderbolt of smoke and force whose opening blow split the air as he ducked. Plunging his own blade into the monster's chest, he sprinted around the side to avoid the follow-through of its tremendous strike. Then calling his blade to him he stabbed its leg, where in a normal man its hamstring would be. The shadow-knight was unimpeded, nimbly leaping away, preventing him from hugging the inside of its reach.

He pressed the attack, an onslaught without hesitation or mercy, blade winds in a ghastly flurry tearing into its armor and through whatever passed for flesh beneath. Still it showed no signs of concern, barreling forward with terrible, redoubtable speed, its arm lashing out to grab him as he dodged. Caught in its armored claw he struck out wildly, seeking to sever the limb, focusing his energies to perform a spirit-rending stroke, but before he could finish he was dashed against the ground, pulverizing strength that tore muscle and cracked bone. Power enough to reduce an ordinary man to a blood-handed smear upon the grass. The protection afforded by his cloak had kept him alive, but only just. Every inch of his opponent's armor was imbued with ferocious might, magic that tore at the star-stuff of his shroud and thinned its impervious weave.

Unrelenting, it whipped him around to smash him into the earth again, but he ignored the damage, single-mindedly focusing on its arm even as its crushing grip splintered his ribs and broke open his torso. At last he carved through that Herculean wrist, extricating himself from its hand as it fell free. The knight withdrew, its enormous sword held in a warding position, slowly backing off as he charged forward, broken body shrieking at the imposition when they clashed. Diverting the force of the blow, he whirled and sprang up the monster's arm, sprinting across its armor as his blade lashed to and fro, launching blade-winds that spun and buzzed in circles around them, searching for any point of weakness.

The knight struck him with the tree-trunk stump of its wounded arm, hurling him from its shoulders and into the hard-packed earth of the hill, even as his blade-winds descended, striking joints and gaps in the armor, preventing it from finishing the job. His body now ruined beyond repair, he quickly slew himself with a blade-projection and emerged as a being of spirit, dashing around to flank the knight with renewed vigor. A series of blade winds struck it in quick succession, each widening the wound that the previous opened, until one at last struck true and erupted out its other side, dark grey blood in an arterial spray as it found the creature's heart.

At last the monster seemed to quail, falling to one knee, palm upraised as if to plead for mercy. He approached it warily, but as he neared its stance tightened, lunging forward to crush him within its embrace. But his body of spirit was a lighter thing than flesh, and he darted easily out of the way, twin projected thrusts striking its heart as it passed.

Rather craven for a creature with the appearance of a knight. He leapt back, unleashing several further blade-winds to cover his retreat. Bleeding out, its tremendous vigor at last exhausted, it was unable to close the distance again, and slowly he whittled it down until at last it fell defeated to its knees. Taking no chances, he carved away with projected strikes at its chest until he could see its exposed heart, and finished it. Its essence destroyed, the armor fell inert, toppling slowly to pieces as the smoke within dissipated. There was a low, sepulchral boom as it perished, shock of force and sound like a tower-bell's final knelling.

Discontentedly he surveyed its remains. Fresh power surged within him from the ring, but he could not bring himself to be pleased with what had just occurred. The monster-knight had been his superior in strength and speed, though only by a modest margin. What rankled was that it had forced him into his wraith form so easily, and it was only that form's superior agility that had carried the day. Had he been a being of flesh alone, this would likely have been the end.

Movement on the horizon. Perhaps called by the death of their comrade, more ghostly knights had appeared, a dozen or more bristling with weaponry: curved blades and heavy pavises, pick-axes and enormous hammers, ballistas wielded as siege-crossbows, their cruelly barbed bolts glinting in the noonday sun.

One angled its crossbow upwards and fired, the bolt landing soft inches from his foot. He withdrew.

Fleet of foot and light of body, his ghost-form easily outpaced the clanking mass of his pursuers. Soon they disappeared over the far horizon as he returned to the antechamber-hall. He set himself down on the marble tile and looked out upon the idyllic fields. Hours more before nightfall, when he would test the gates once more. What now to do?

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[X] Bright Vanquisher with [X] Conservative and [X] +.1 Rank was the winner. What is your next course of action?

The Call of the False Moon imposes a -.25 Rank penalty on you when you travel outside the Temple, and a -.1 Rank penalty inside the Temple when you do not intend to rescue the False Moon. The power of your ring has attenuated it significantly; you can scarcely imagine how aggravating it would be to defy the Call without its unnatural aid.

[ ] Pick Off Stragglers - If successful, will add +1 pick to your next Experience spend. Now that you're aware of their fighting style, further engagements should proceed more smoothly, especially as you've grown in power after slaying the first. Locate and destroy other isolated knights. Do not engage monsters of other kinds, if found. Much time will be consumed in travel to find knights and evade their reinforcements, but this task should not be overly risky.

[ ] Vanquish The Pursuers - Momentum is key and you cannot afford to waste time. Though the first knight's reinforcements have lost your ghostly trail, you're fairly certain you could find them if you so desired. Engage and attempt to destroy them with the power you've gained from the first. Even should you fall, you would arise as a being of thunder and light, power enough to scour these giants from the earth and erase the fell shadow of their passage. If successful, will re-establish [I Am the Danger] and add +2 (!) picks to your next Experience spend.

[ ] Wait and Hope - Meditate in the antechamber and hope the doors open tonight. Maybe Gisena can dispel the Calling, which would prevent you from being bound to this Temple. [+1 Arete as you review past battles and tactics[

[ ] Look for Others - Perhaps some sort of... adventuring party, with specialists covering separate relevant areas of expertise, would be helpful in venturing further. Wield your Pressure to call such a group to you. Anyone so affected would likely be substantially weaker than you, but there's no helping that. Any form of aid or support would be helpful in these circumstances, though the Doom of the Tyrant looms large.

Slaying the craven giant has yielded 2 picks. Rather than selecting picks individually, choose one of the following. You currently have 4.25 Arete.

[ ] Brute Force - Fuck yeah. Double Echo of the Forebear. There's simply no substitute for the power of muscles, be they physical or spiritual in nature. Raw speed was the answer to these things, speed and the striking power to reach their armored hearts.

[ ] Peerless Shroud [2 Arete] - Opalescence + Iridescence. With every plate and greave of their armor infused with destructive runes, greater coverage against magical attacks is a priority. With the power of the Evening Sky heavily augmented and attuned to the tenor of their magic, you should be able to weather the majority of their attacks with impunity. It'll also make you more terrifying to oppose, should you run into any other adventurers here.

[ ] Slayer Knell - Conjunctional [Evening Sky + Forebear's Blade]. Upon slaying an enemy of a particular type, gain increased damage and overall effectiveness against other enemies of that type. A substantial immediate boost, plus a small permanent boost that stacks indefinitely. After slaying roughly one hundred peer-level opponents of a type, you would murder them in a single blow and dance untouched around their attacks. More powerful enemies yield more effectiveness per kill.

[ ] Swift as Death [2 Arete] - Gain +++++Agility, +Willpower in Second Stage only. Substantially improves your powers of phasing in Second Stage, allowing you to evade most corporeal attacks. Second Stage now restores its own health completely within one hour, though returning to corporeal form still takes a day and night.

[ ] Buy Undying Vanguard [5 Arete] - You may purchase Undying Vanguard for 5 Arete, as you have already bought its pre-requisite for 2 Arete. This does not take a pick and can be included with other options. However, you're not even sure if you can open the gates at this point. You're pretty sure you can cut through them, though who knows what the consequences of that would be...