Well done on catching up with comments so far :) I'm glad you liked my spam response, for all I should behave myself better on your blog ^_^
Overindulgent Samual fit the zbornat into the obvious depression in the door of the Temple of the King and there was a loud click. The door swung inwards at a touch, revealing only a stone floor and then darkness beyond. He looked at Lord Derby, who in turn looked at Tomasz. "I've only been inside once," said Tomasz. "It was a... I suppose it was a kind of initiation. It was about three months before Dignity arrived. I had to walk the Witnesses by myself and just after them I was blindfolded and led on. When the blindfold was removed I was in a long hall with a low ceiling lit by oil lamps. I think. They smelled bad." "But you've walked the Witnesses more than once," said Samual. There was a note of impatience in his voice. "I've led other people on their initiations," said Tomasz. "But I've never taken them inside. Lady Grace took that over herself." "How did that work?" "We take them to the Witnesses and we wait while they walk through by themselves. Then we catch them up, blindfold them, and take them to here. Lady Grace would be waiting here and we'd be dismissed." "How did she get here then?" Samual's hostility had vanished, replaced by curiosity now. "Byakhee." Lord Derby stepped inside the Temple. "It doesn't really surprise me that she doesn't walk past the Witnesses," he said. "I think they might say some unpleasant things to her." "Not more unpleasant than they said to me," muttered Samual. Lord Derby pretended not to hear him. "There are lamps here," he said. "And... yes, matches too. They smell of lanolin, curiously." "Lanolin?" Tomasz frowned, and entered the Temple behind Lord Derby. "Sheep fat," said Samual. "Only you don't have sheep here." "Fat would come from the Byakhee," said Tomasz. "Or." He fell suddenly silent. Samual finally forced himself to walk inside the Temple as well, and the doors swung smoothly shut behind him.
"Can you open the door still?" asked Lord Derby. The darkness was entire; their eyes kept producing tiny points of colour as their brains tried vainly to see anything at all. The door seemed a little heavier to open from this side, but it pushed open easily enough. "Let me light a lamp first," said Tomasz. "That was... intense. I felt like I was breathing night." "And bring the zbornat," said Lord Derby. "Keys to entry usually work for exit as well."
There were five lamps, odd quadrilateral shapes that didn't seem to join up properly when you turned them around to look at all sides of them. They were each about 30cm tall and had a handle on the side like a cup, and when they were lit they cast shadows that seemed to indicate a very different geometry inside the lamp than outside. The smell, as Tomasz had warned them, was terrible. "Or?" said Lord Derby. "You said 'or' and then stopped." Samual raised his lantern to show the room better, and they saw that the far end had three doorways, one straight one, one each to the left and right. There was writing above the doors; clockwise from the leftmost it read Nadgorliwosc, Bigoteria and Godnosc. Tomasz shivered. "The first means overindulgence," he said. "Then sanctimony. But the last... the last means. The last. It means. It's Dignity."
Greg - behave yourself... I wouldn't know what to do with that! :P
And, well, comment catch up continues at its usual glacial pace.
Pleased to see this tale be picked up once again. You've brought such depth and detail to it that it never takes long for me to get wrapped up in it, no matter how long it's been since I've read the previous entry.
Excited to see what the temple has in store for Derby and co.
Morganna - nice to have another acrostic from you. Impressive, as always!
3 comments:
Well done on catching up with comments so far :) I'm glad you liked my spam response, for all I should behave myself better on your blog ^_^
Overindulgent
Samual fit the zbornat into the obvious depression in the door of the Temple of the King and there was a loud click. The door swung inwards at a touch, revealing only a stone floor and then darkness beyond. He looked at Lord Derby, who in turn looked at Tomasz.
"I've only been inside once," said Tomasz. "It was a... I suppose it was a kind of initiation. It was about three months before Dignity arrived. I had to walk the Witnesses by myself and just after them I was blindfolded and led on. When the blindfold was removed I was in a long hall with a low ceiling lit by oil lamps. I think. They smelled bad."
"But you've walked the Witnesses more than once," said Samual. There was a note of impatience in his voice.
"I've led other people on their initiations," said Tomasz. "But I've never taken them inside. Lady Grace took that over herself."
"How did that work?"
"We take them to the Witnesses and we wait while they walk through by themselves. Then we catch them up, blindfold them, and take them to here. Lady Grace would be waiting here and we'd be dismissed."
"How did she get here then?" Samual's hostility had vanished, replaced by curiosity now.
"Byakhee."
Lord Derby stepped inside the Temple. "It doesn't really surprise me that she doesn't walk past the Witnesses," he said. "I think they might say some unpleasant things to her."
"Not more unpleasant than they said to me," muttered Samual. Lord Derby pretended not to hear him.
"There are lamps here," he said. "And... yes, matches too. They smell of lanolin, curiously."
"Lanolin?" Tomasz frowned, and entered the Temple behind Lord Derby.
"Sheep fat," said Samual. "Only you don't have sheep here."
"Fat would come from the Byakhee," said Tomasz. "Or." He fell suddenly silent.
Samual finally forced himself to walk inside the Temple as well, and the doors swung smoothly shut behind him.
"Can you open the door still?" asked Lord Derby. The darkness was entire; their eyes kept producing tiny points of colour as their brains tried vainly to see anything at all.
The door seemed a little heavier to open from this side, but it pushed open easily enough.
"Let me light a lamp first," said Tomasz. "That was... intense. I felt like I was breathing night."
"And bring the zbornat," said Lord Derby. "Keys to entry usually work for exit as well."
There were five lamps, odd quadrilateral shapes that didn't seem to join up properly when you turned them around to look at all sides of them. They were each about 30cm tall and had a handle on the side like a cup, and when they were lit they cast shadows that seemed to indicate a very different geometry inside the lamp than outside. The smell, as Tomasz had warned them, was terrible.
"Or?" said Lord Derby. "You said 'or' and then stopped."
Samual raised his lantern to show the room better, and they saw that the far end had three doorways, one straight one, one each to the left and right. There was writing above the doors; clockwise from the leftmost it read Nadgorliwosc, Bigoteria and Godnosc.
Tomasz shivered. "The first means overindulgence," he said. "Then sanctimony. But the last... the last means. The last. It means. It's Dignity."
Gluttony is the cause of many
Rare ills,
Even the
Effects of jealousy
Defend yourself well from this sin.
Greg - behave yourself... I wouldn't know what to do with that! :P
And, well, comment catch up continues at its usual glacial pace.
Pleased to see this tale be picked up once again. You've brought such depth and detail to it that it never takes long for me to get wrapped up in it, no matter how long it's been since I've read the previous entry.
Excited to see what the temple has in store for Derby and co.
Morganna - nice to have another acrostic from you. Impressive, as always!
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