OMNIA: Chapter 8: Three Unwise Men

[Askia]

"Whats the best way to kill a human skull thingy?"

[Travosh]

Knife to the ankle my dear elemental.

[thetoastking]

- "My name is Rick Flynn. This blond namean fella is Lucian, the elemental lady is Sitrah and the cool puppet thing is Cassius. We are the chosen. Apparently."

... Oh. OHHHHHH. Ok! Yeah! I gotcha. Chosen! Sure!

Well, let me tell YOU something. I... Am a prisoner. Yep! Totally held here against my will, within this skull. Did I mention I'm a magic Djinni? Maybe, if you were to like... release me, I would totally grant you all one wish! Yep yep! That's just the kind of nice guy I am for you, the CHOSEN ONES. So, pally! Rick! Whadda ya say? Ya gonna lemme out? Can I be released from my incarceration? Eeeeeeeeeeeehhhh?

[flyingBrick]

- "Nah, maybe later."

[Adept]

Not sure if I'd trust that.

[Xander]

"Yeah, and I'm king of the world..."

[Travosh]

Release the skull! You do want your wishes dontcha?

[thetoastking]

- "Nah, maybe later."

The skull deems dejected, if that was even possible. It looks around, then sights itself upon our elemental.

Hibbidahabitawha. You guys didn't tell you you had a babe in the group! This changes everything! Look, you're totally curious as to what I am, so I'll cut you some slack. She got any nudes? I know there's this namean down in the west who does those and dear god they are hot. But-ok, I'm getting distracted here. Sitrah, you sexy fox, ever consider modelling? I know this really good company that should still exist, given the time. It was founded about 100 years ago, if I recall... Anywho, just answer me this and maybe your cup size, and I'll let you all know who I am. I know you're all so VERY itching to know. Especially you, you beardo.

[Askia]

"..go on"
> eat those raisin

[thetoastking]

"..go on"
> eat those raisin in a comedicly scribbly manner

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Not the brightest tool in the shed, are you babe? *Sigh* Just my luck. She's a lesbian. Alright alright. Whatever. Look. I'm Job, and I'm a Djinni. Now, unfortunately, I've been cursed to sit in this asinine skull and dish out information to whoever owns me, so... Ask away, I've got over 10,000 years of knowledge. But no, I don't know where the damn crystals are, except that they're in the capitals. All information about their locations was forcibly purged from me a while ago. I-

Suddenly, in the distance, a group of what seems to be 3 individuals is seen heading up the hill towards our group. They're silhouettes at the moment, but one of them does wave at our 4 and yell something.
"Hey! Are you refugees? What are you doing away from the camp?"

[Adept]

Quick! Act like you haven't been out of the normal time loop for 3 months!

[Xander]

Lucian quickly grabs Bob Job and sticks him back into the inventory.

[Askia]

> inventory the raisin bran

" obviously poor camp wherein everybody is halfdead from malnutrition?.. i dont really wanna go"

[flyingBrick]

- "No sir, we aren't refugees! We're just some adventurers investigating the ruins. We just got here."

[thetoastking]

- "No sir, we aren't refugees! We're just some adventurers investigating the ruins. We just got here."

Uh... Huh. You fellows do know this area is restricted, right?

That ain't right. It ain't right at all.
What? Sir Ozrick, what is it?
You four... Your auras scream corruption, yet... You're not. And, even weirder... Your auras also indicate you've been touched by the divine ones. What the hell.
Maybe they're a new breed of corrupted? Or maybe they're carriers.
Well... Only a couple of ways to find out.
No, Ozrick. We got in trouble the last time you carved up an unwitting group of adventurers. Let's just find out why they're poking around the origin point.
Sir ozrick visibly grumbles something about heresy and purging the land before stepping back a bit.
I'm terribly sorry about Ozrick, he's just a rather... Devout follower of the fire god and he gets real antsy around sources of possible evil. Could you perhaps tell us why you're inside a condemned area? My name's Sable.

[Saint Game]

Y'know, with the Pantheon of gods out there, It's kind of funny that he's the first actual follower we've seen.

[Adept]

Yeah, maybe there was some sort of religious resurgence after Dius's return. Who knows? These guys also seem pretty well equipped, wonder who declared this place restricted?

[Xander]

"I'd be happy to tell you, but honestly? You'd probably not believe me. Anyways, I think it might be best to find someplace safe first."

[The Idea Master]

"Quick tell him "Fire! Fire! Ferocious fire! You restless wall of flame." and if he replies with anything other then "Fire! Fire! Roaring higher! Your fury to never tame." kill him. If he answers correctly you can trust him for it means he is a true follower of my flame." @thats the secret greeting of my followers btw.@

[Travosh]

Resurgence of religious followings? Baha! Don't think I ever had very many followers that weren't... Whats that word? Insane? Ah but they're nice chaps. Its the sane ones you gotta watch out for!

[thetoastking]

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I'd be happy to tell you, but honestly? You'd probably not believe me. Anyways, I think it might be best to find someplace safe first.
Agreed, it's not too safe here, but we can't exactly turn around... I-
Sir Ozrick makes a shushing motion and looks to the heavens in a silent and stern way. After a moment, he nods, and turns to our resident human, Rick.
Fire, Fire. Ferocious fire, You restless wall of flame.
His hand seems to be edging slowly towards his blade, twitching at the motion of drawing it and carving things up like a spring ham.
Ozrick, don't do it. Do. Not. Do it.
Oh jeez here we go again... Ozrick, don't make me compartmentalize your sword. I'll-
He shoots a glance and Sable seems to meep shush. Suddenly, breaking the silence...
Fire, Fire, Roaring higher! Your fury to never tame!
Ozrick shoots a surprised expression, then smiles warmly.
Sorry about that. Formality by my lord. Always a pleasure to meet a fellow follower of the pure flame.
Pleased to meet you, Sir Ozrick, devout of the flame.

Oh thank the gods. That was close.
Ozrick, why does your god always make you almost kill people?
I do not kindle the flame, only become transfixed by it's power.
Ugh.

Y'know, with the Pantheon of gods out there, It's kind of funny that he's the first actual follower we've seen.

Yeah, maybe there was some sort of religious resurgence after Dius's return. Who knows? These guys also seem pretty well equipped, wonder who declared this place restricted?

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You'd be right, most righteous host of spaces. Erm, how long have you been away? I know your errant eyes wander, but how can you not notice the entire world turning back towards the gods?
Maybe cause they were gone for like 3 months out of time and-GFFFKG.
The skull known as Job falls back into a space with a miniature squish.
3 Months? Oh jeez.
How do you stay out of the loop for 3 months? There is a fucking ton of shit going on. Unless...
Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi.
So you somehow got to corpus christi? You lucky dogs! That might explain why your auras are tingling with the energies of the gods.
Let me fill them in. I am Ark, and me and my fellow allies here are the chosen wardens of the city formerly known as kathmandu. We now refer to it as "The Zone". It's the core of where the corrupted came from, so as such, there's still quite a lot of their ranks within. We take regular missions to stomp out their numbers where we can. It's the job of a warden.
As for the religious revival? Well... People thought the return of the corrupted king signaled that the gods were furious with us, so in an effort to appease them, people began to repopulate the old temples people had of them. Priests of their orders surfaced, and now, well... It's not really that weird to say that everyone follows a god of sorts, or The Allfather. You see, the priests can channel the power of their chosen deity into a person when they convert, but following a single god only allows them to hear that being. The Allfather on the other hand, is the one who originally united all the gods. Following him isn't really a ritual, but like a conscious decision. It lets people hear all of you beings up there, but disallows any benefits, other then talking.
Paladins of the Order began to surface, one month after the war. We are devout followers of a god who have dedicated our lives to stomping out heresy and evil, and as such, have been blessed with the tools to do it. I need not hear any other deity. The Flame shall guide me.
I know this must be a lot for a group of people like yourselves, especially being out of the timeline for so long. And honestly, we still kind of don't trust you, (No offense, just covering our bases) but you are welcome to come with us on our daily march through the ruins to slay a few more corrupted. If you'd like, the camp is just down the road. Head to the white tent to find our operations leader, Sol. She's a brilliant tactician, and one of the generals in the current worldwide effort against the corrupted.

[Sinjin]

"I vote for the camp I guess."

[Askia]

> take out the skull form the inventory
"Does it matter? we would probably end up in the camp one way or another"

[Adept]

Wow, that's quite a change! Do any of you guys know where Dius went? I'd be surprised if he just went peacefully back to not really doing much after returning. It may be better to go back to the camp and get some more information as to what we've missed these 3 months, but firsthand experience with the kind of corrupted stuff we'll be facing is always good.

[flyingBrick]

- "Refusing such an invitation would be rude of me, so I'm going. However, we have places to go and things to do, so we won't be staying for long."

>Rick: Go kill some corrupted and stuff.