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Abbey House | ??? | Third Day
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A one way link, I thought. In other words, what''s about to happen isn''t a conversation. It''s a message. An announcement.
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Thank you for waiting," the golem suddenly said in its polite and mechanical monotone, causing almost everyone in the room to collectively jump. Ptolema even let out an urgent squeal. It reached down and took hold of the hem of its skirt, and curtsied. "All within the sanctuary are now observing, so we may begin."
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It is known that, at the advent of the world, man defied the will of the gods by seeking knowledge beyond his ken, and for this reason was curtailed in his years upon the earth, so as to place limit upon his hubris. Since that age, my master has been charged with upholding this divine edict, shepherding the souls of the dead to their rightful destination, and striking down those with the conceit to defy the natural order."
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Midnight has now passed, and the extension of mercy which was afforded has gone ignored," it continued. "For this reason, judgement has been passed. It is hereby decreed that all the lives within the walls of this sanctum are forfeit, and shall be taken in sacrifice to glorify Eshk."
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Taken in sacrifice.
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However, the master is not cruel, and a scenario in which death is an outcome with a probability of 100% is, itself, a subversion of the natural," it continued. "Thus, as has been tradition for generations countless, he is willing to embark on a game of chance and skill with you to confer an opportunity to avert your fate. I will now explain the rules of this game you are to play."
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As of right now, my master has used the infinite power of the gods to seize control of the base mortal mechanisms used to operate this sanctum, preventing your escape. But he has refrained from making this control absolute. Though this place may be doomed, it remains possible to reverse many of these interventions and depart via the mundane means built into its design. If this is done, you shall not be pursued, and your crimes will go unpunished." It paused for a moment, presumably for emphasis. "However, in addition to this, he has also unleashed two heavenly beasts, nursed from the breast of Hetu, queen of the gods. So long as you remain here, they shall hunt you without reprieve, claiming your souls one by one until the debt is settled."
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Furthermore," it continued, "though the patience of the master is infinite, he will not tolerate cowardice, sloth, or crude attempts at cheating him of his rightful yield. Thus, the game will last only until the stroke of midnight. At the tolling of the hour, he will ascend from his seat in the underworld himself in glory, and strike down any who yet live within these walls." It bowed its head. "The master bids you good fortune, and wishes you to know he looks forward to seeing how you will play. Please try to enjoy yourselves."
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calm?! Someone just told us they''re going to try to kill us!" he said, suddenly audibly frightened and upset in a way I''d never heard him be before. " How the hell can I stay calm?!"
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know?" Her whole face bulged with the last word. "You and the rest of the council assured us, assured everyone, that it was an empty threat! Are you going back on that now? Are you saying it wasn''t?"
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She probably can''t make contact with the outside world, I thought. We''ve been cut off.
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magic, or whatever they were trying to say, or killing us with some supernatural power, that''s obviously nonsense-- But the rest, I don''t know! Not yet!"
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impossible to begin with - we should be able to schedule the gateways to open from the security center!"
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was panicking, my heart racing in fear. But to some extent, I''d been so emotionally overwhelmed by what I''d seen already that I had only limited energy left to properly freak out.
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might''ve been calm - her eyes were still shut, and at this point she was virtually motionless - but in this instance, even I couldn''t tell.
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gods, are you serious?" Ezekiel said, rubbing his brow. "How the hell did you people even get into this class? You''re supposed to be some of the most capable people our age in the Remaining World, and you''re responding to this by going into hysterics."
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need to do is get out scepters out," Ezekiel said, taking his own advice and withdrawing his from his waist. "Based on what that thing told us, we could be attacked at any moment. We need to start securing the perimeter."
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your damn business, but if you expect me to follow along like a lemming, you''re mistaken."
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prove I have the power to do that, so I''m gonna make a bunch of threats to try and freak you out.'' Since, y''know, if they did have a god on their side, they''d reverse gravity for a sec, or turn the world black and white, just they show they could do it." They glanced around. "You guys think I have that right?"
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possibly claim that, given the circumstances?"
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can''t, strictly speaking. But hey, we''re all pretty smart, and collectively, we''ve got a whole bunch of eris. That''s a pretty good start, in my book, y''know?"
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Hm.
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couldn''t be the case here."
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drop some shit like that," Seth said urgently. "What the hell kinda ''defensive enchantments'' are you talking about?"
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specifically can it do!?"
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hell," Seth whispered to himself.
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world''s worth of water, in an instant?" Mehit exclaimed. "What manner of-- Of paranoid lunatics would you have to be to create the means to do something like that?!"
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could do that, they''d have done some of it already, right? If they could blow this place up, or crush us into pulp with a golem army, or fill our lungs with poison, they totally would''ve." They smiled confidently. "In fact, if you try and think positively, doesn''t this prove our position is stronger?"
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Exactly, Su! That''s the kinda overly-detailed explanation I''d expect from you!"
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know there''s someone dangerous at work." He straightened himself up. "Listen: On the second floor of this building, in the game room, there''s a drawer with some items for use in the event of an emergency. It has a few tools, some of the more mundane keys, and most importantly, a map of the whole sanctuary." He looked towards me. "Utsushikome, I believe you have the best barrier here other than myself, so would you mind going to get it?"
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