Glendale-by-the-Lake (DM-led Medieval/Fantasy RPG, OPEN)

OrcishBarbarian

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Glendale-by-the-Lake. Its history...at least, that which was known to its human inhabitants...spanned six centuries, back to the Founding. The story of the Founding had been passed down through generations of Glendalites. The Saga's fine details had been lost to the passage of time, fading into the mists of history much like the other side of the Lake itself faded into the mists of early morning.

622 years ago, fourty-four families, the Founders, had been on the losing side of a war of succession. They were given a simple choice: to live or die. Die executed as traitors, or live in permanent exile, banished from the Empire, their names stricken from the Citizen Rolls, abandoned by men and Gods alike.

Made of stern stuff, they chose exile. And so began the two-year journey across mountains and trackless wastes, through blizzards and scorching summers, to more fertile land where they could establish themselves. Some died along the way, or split from the group. By the time the Families reached the Lake, 37 were left. And they knew they had reached their Promised Land.

The Lake was full of fish. There was flat land abutting the Lake, fertile for crops, orchards, and livestock. The hills above the site had veins of copper and iron. A small river provided water, and forests were ready to provide timber.

The first five centuries after Glendale's founding, the city built itself to prosperity. The land was friendly. Other villages around the Lake traded. From the loins of the hundreds who had founded Glendale, came thousands of descendants. Some of spoke of forming expeditions to do further Foundings...or they did at first.

But as the Fifth Century wound to a close...those who were sensitive to such things came to the realization that this land had a cycle all its own, vastly more ancient than the Founders themselves, driven by forces beyond human comprehension. Cycles between light and darkness, good and evil. Explorers of nearby areas found ruins of other villages and cities...and other ruins, with dark inscriptions and black-metal weapons. The spiritualists came to realize that at the time of the Founding, the Lake and its environs had been in the "summer," in a cycle of Good and Light. Late in the summer. And now "summer" was changing to "autumn," as the shadows or renascent evil grew longer. The ruins around, the spiritualists and sages warned, were ample evidence these forces had played out their dramas in ages past with other inhabitants...and would again.

However, the Glendalites wanted no part of these ill tidings, preferring to relax in their vineyards, read in their libraries, till their fields, work their mines. But there was not as much labor as there had once been...for the Glendalites were settling into ennui. They were becoming indolent around the edges...just as the evil in the land around them was gathering, rising anew. The races of Darkness...the orcs, the gnolls, the goblins, and other fell beings...were growing in number, lurking beyond the borders of the city.

Only some chose to lurk no more. But there was no war, no sacking, no invasion of orcish legions. The tactic of the dark races ware far more subtle...and all the more terrifying. 22 years ago had been the first Dark Birth, when a human female had given birth to an orc. She and the baby were thrown into the fire, and the high priests warned that this was the price of consorting with the forces of darkness.

The idea that an orc could have taken her against her will had apparently never occurred to these holy men...

Two years later, another Dark Birth occurred. Six months afterwards, another. Two months after that, a woman gave birth to a litter of three gnolls. Each was destroyed...until the husband of the woman who had given birth to gnolls came upon the High Priest one night and slit his throat in retribution. As he sat in gaol, three more such births occurred, and the High Temple was burned to the ground.

Ask many of the town's womenfolk--something the High Priests had not bothered to do--and one would find the "Dark Births" came about in a perfectly natural way. The first woman had been caught in her vineyards by orc warriors, the second browsing for herbs in the forest, the third had given herself willingly after her daughter had been captured. Only they had been too ashamed, too frightened of what people would say, to speak.

As we begin our story, Glendale has seen about thirty such births. Two orcs and three gnolls have reached maturity...to slip away into the night, and join the growing ranks of humanoids lurking in the woods. And, even as most of Glendale cowers in fear, the creatures have become bolder. Now at times they enter the city, going into the taverns, demanding to be served. And almost every night, in some part of the town, screams can be heard. And some farming families have made their own "peace" with the inhuman tribes...giving food and the chance to breed with wives and daughter in exchange for not being burned out of their homes in the dark of night...

And this is Glendale at the current time. Role-playing opportunities abound! You can play a young person who realizes he or she is on a sinking ship, and seeks to fight the hordes...or get away from Glendale and go adventuring for fame, glory, and loot! You can play a local maiden and live out her deflowering at the hands of the humanoids. Or, take the role of one of the monsters and go raiding! Or play anyone else you like. Adventuring characters and raiders will be run as D&D 2.0 characters (don't worry, you don't have to know the system--I've tweaked it anyway) starting out at zero level. You'll choose a class (or find yourself in one) and level up in the usual ways. If you're in this at least mostly for the sex, you can forgo systems and I'll run your character freeform; I offer the D&D option for those who would like classic D&D, with that thrill of levelling up, finding your first +1 weapon, rolling that crit, etc. Characters can begin in any occupation.

All characters are mortals...no superpowers, no vampires, no dragons, etc. Acceptable species are human, orc or gnoll--PM me if you want to play anything else. You can post your character (and any questions) right here in this thread.
 
I'd be game to play.

I don't know the DnD system to well though. Drop me a line and we'll hash out a character.
 
Firstly I suspect I know more about atomic fusion than I do about dungeons and dragons, I assume that d & d is that. However I do fantasy fairly well and would be happy to participate, do we get multiple characters or are we restricted to one only?

My reason for asking is my character would be a farmer living somewhat apart from the town and therefore a bit isolated and if I don't have him talking to his family than he will be talking to himself.

At any rate here is what I envision, Grayald, a farmer with some particularily fertile land, growing near a heavily wooded area. His wife and two daughters have already been violated by Orcs. He has kept that as quiet as he could, considering the reactions of the priests, none of whom did him any good anyway, save to collect their tithes twice a year for the temple.

When the temple burned he rejoiced, except the Orcs and such were made even more bold by that action.

Grayald stands uneasily between two factions then, the invading Orcs who pay for what they take after their fashion, ie they let him live, or the grasping priests in town who take what they want as their due and pay nothing in return, though they have hinted, not to subtly, that they would lessen the tithes should one or both of his daughters become courtesans in the temple they plan to rebuild.

What is a +1 weapon and is it better than a -5 type?
 
OnHarry said:
Firstly I suspect I know more about atomic fusion than I do about dungeons and dragons, I assume that d & d is that. However I do fantasy fairly well and would be happy to participate, do we get multiple characters or are we restricted to one only?

You can have as many characters as you can keep up with...if you wanted to play all the people in the family you mention, that would be peachy-keen with me. You don't have to be familiar with Dungeons and Dragons to play. I'm using Second Edition rules because they work, and are not loaded with extra statistics (like feats and whatnot).

My reason for asking is my character would be a farmer living somewhat apart from the town and therefore a bit isolated and if I don't have him talking to his family than he will be talking to himself.

No problem...you might even find a player willing to take the roles of some of your family members; we'll see.

At any rate here is what I envision, Grayald, a farmer with some particularily fertile land, growing near a heavily wooded area. His wife and two daughters have already been violated by Orcs. He has kept that as quiet as he could, considering the reactions of the priests, none of whom did him any good anyway, save to collect their tithes twice a year for the temple.

When the temple burned he rejoiced, except the Orcs and such were made even more bold by that action.

Grayald stands uneasily between two factions then, the invading Orcs who pay for what they take after their fashion, ie they let him live, or the grasping priests in town who take what they want as their due and pay nothing in return, though they have hinted, not to subtly, that they would lessen the tithes should one or both of his daughters become courtesans in the temple they plan to rebuild.

Sounds great...a very plausible scenario indeed.

What is a +1 weapon and is it better than a -5 type?

In D&D rules, a "+" weapon is one that is better than the average weapon of its type. +1 is the lowest level of bonus, and may denote an ensorcelled (magical) weapon, or simply a weapon of high quality and excellent craftsmanship. +2 weapons are usually magical, though a true master weaponsmith, using the best possible materials in an advanced forge, may be able to create such a rare masterpiece. +3 through +5 are magical, and usually are "tuned" to a specific enemy (a spear might be +2 overall but be +3 toward undead and +4 toward vampires). These weapons are very rare.

There are also "-" weapons of inferior quality (a longsword with rust on it might be -1, a peasant's wooden sword -2). Each "+" and "-" increases and decreases, respectively, the weapon's chance of making a successful hit by 5% (to oversimplify), and also increases/decreases the damage done to an enemy by such a hit.
 
Amabeth Still

I'd like to submit a character of the Innkeeper's daughter.
I'll get to work on filling her out, I just wanted to let you
know I was interested and give you a chance to say,

"No, Innkeeper's daughters!"

If you were so inclined.
 
No innkeeper's daughters, that's like so cliché...

Just kidding. By now all of D&D-dom is a cliché. It's what we do with it that counts. Feel free to bring in an innkeeper's daughter. She can be at the inn...perhaps one night orcs who barge in take advantage of her, and this prompts her to go adventuring, determined to return to town one day as a powerful wizard, priest, or warrior and slay these monsters.

Or, maybe she likes it and decides to join the orcs willingly as a consort to an orc warrior.

Up to you. But the concept's good, so roll with it.
 
Hrm, so if we wanted would an Elven Druid be an acceptable character? I don't have the 2.0 version book, just the 3.5 ^_^
 
TearsoftheWorld said:
Hrm, so if we wanted would an Elven Druid be an acceptable character? I don't have the 2.0 version book, just the 3.5 ^_^

The druid part is fine...I like druids. Such a character would be in a unique position to know about the darkness spreading over the land, and would be able to provide valuable information to the forces of Good. Or, if you're playing an old-school Druid, your character might take a more neutral perspective, feeling the land's cycle between Good and Evil is a part of the land, to be neither supported nor opposed...

As far as being an elf...I already have one elf and I'm really trying to keep this from turning into a party of elves (as many RPGs are wont to do). Could we make him/her a human druid?
 
Amabeth Still

I hope this is acceptable, if it isn't or needs changes, just let me know. I will be happy to conform.

Innkeeper Still and his buxom wife were a short, round plumpish couple and was it not for their obvious devotion to each other, everyone who ever met their daughter, Amabeth, would wonder where she came from. Tall and willowy, with a languid grace, Amabeth seemed nothing like her bustling and lively parents. Her hair dark and curly, while her parents’ hair was straight and blonde, and compared to her parents ceaseless action, Amabeth seemed lazy. However, a closer look showed Amabeth’s deep blue eyes matched her father’s and she clearly inherited her mother’s stubborn chin. Innkeeper Still and the Goodwife, ran a successful business with no help from their only child, the couple worked virtually around the clock while Amabeth sat by the hearth embroidering or reading.

“No one ever lets me do anything!” she frequently complained.

Her parents were proud of their child’s regal beauty, so different from their own pleasant, peasant charm, that they treated her like their own little princess. Therefore, unlike every other innkeeper’s daughter, Amabeth did not work in her parents’ inn. They were proud to pay a village girl to work while Amabeth sat in the common room of the inn, did fancy pointless needlepoint, read edifying books, conversed politely with the customers, and occasionally was a nuisance.

“It’s an inn not a mine!” Amabeth whined, she wasn’t lazy and she wanted to help her parents.

As foolish as they seemed to her, she loved them dearly. Unfortunately, Princesses don’t work in mines or inns, according her parents they tame wild stallions and ride daringly across the countryside. So, at 14 Amabeth was given a stallion, or so her parents thought. In fact, Amabeth was given a good-sized colt that would grow to be a great sized stallion. Amabeth had no desire to ride a horse, which was good because the colt had no desire to be ridden. However, after a year or two, with only each other for company and conversation naturally limited, the two of them, Amabeth and B’orse, eventually came to an agreement of sorts. She sits his back, and, pretty as a picture and to her parents delight, the two of them high-tail across the cross the countryside. Amabeth has no idea how B’orse always seems to know exactly where she wants him to go and B’orse… well he is a horse and doesn’t ponder why he wants to keep the girl on his back happy.

Name: Amabeth Still
Age: 18
Race: Human
Appearance: 5’9” 115 lbs. Long, black curly hair, deep blue eyes, fair skin. Amabeth is tall and slender. The muscles of her long limbs are toned from riding a strong-willed horse she doesn’t know she is controlling. Her dark hair and deep blue eyes contrast the fairness of her skin and accent her red lips and usually pink cheeks.
 
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For Amabeth

Today was a fine late-summer day for anything outside. Horse riding especially. ...perhaps that pastime above all, on this day when the westering sun, no longer rising as high in the sky as it has a month or two ago, nonetheless brought the earth and air to a pleasant warmth. A few trees were showing just the slightest hint of the approaching autumn, their leaves tipped in gold.

B'orth, almost reading Amabeth's mind, brought her onto her favorite trail. It rose a good hundred feet above the rippling waters of the Lake, giving the maiden a view across the water. Most of the Lake's far side was lost to the summer haze--the first storms of winter would clean the air and bring that far shore into sharp view, making it look near when it was really a full day's journey by sail, if not two.

Down behind and below her was Glendale. From here it almost looked like a child's toy, the houses and buildings looking small. Smoke wisped from a few chimneys...there, far away was the Inn, where her mother and her cooks were preparing for the coming dinner crowd! The city and its concerns were distant indeed. Out beyond was the Lake, beyond it the world...

The light began to die...Amabeth looked and saw a cumulus cloud drifting across the sun. There were several of them now, where an hour ago the sky had been clear. Perhaps there would be showers later in the day. And as she looked around, she spied a thornflower. Ugh. In the past couple years, she had noticed more of the obnoxious plants. They grew about two feet high, and were ugly red and purple flowers.

But thornflowers were no ordinary plant...they had the ability to shoot out their thorns, which were tipped with a soporific venom. Their range was about ten feet. She didn't know how they aimed at a target, or even how they sensed when one came near. But they were quite accurate, as she had found out the hard way. She had been hit in the arm, and that arm had gone to sleep for almost an hour...
 
Amabeth

Amabeth looks at the ghastly purple and red blossoms of the thornflower and shudders. It’s feigned of course, like most of Amabeth’s delicate sensibilities, just a performance she puts on to keep her parents happy. Unfortunately, she’s been playing the role of princess for so long, she sometimes forgets it’s just an act and continues the performance without an audience. B’orse, too accustomed to bending to her will is never fooled by her show frailty.

The two, maiden and horse, backed away from the venomous plant. Although B’orse has never been touched by the plants sting, he senses the girl’s concern and doubly cautious as he takes his backward steps.

“If they keep spreading, soon they’ll be growing in everyone’s garden.” Amabeth comments. “I think its time we told someone, this path will need to be cleared.” Even Amabeth knew that was unlikely to happen, with so much going on in Glendale, no one would care about a little used path, despite the beauty of view. Still, someone should be told.

“We’ll need to get home soon, B’orse…” His ears flicker in agreement, but she is still disappointed but the encroachment of the thornflowers and ruination of her favorite path. “… but a race around the big rocks is what we need first.” Her voice lifts with excitement as she urges the big horse into a gallop and she anticipates the exhilaration of a wild gallop and sharp turns.
 
Ailis is a tall, fair skinned woman with thick red hair and dark amber eyes. Her race is obviously human.

Her lines of her limbs are painted in a scheme of tattoos, like dancing flames, the spread up the out portions of her long legs and rounded arms, then flare to blazon up her torso and up to the base of her neck.

She wears a simple dun robe around the town, often with the hood up. Underneath it she wears dark red silk that enhances rather than conceals her soft curves.

Ailis often works as a herbalist, brewing concoctions for those who pay her well. She is also reputed to be a dancer, entertaining in some of the taverns that most wise women avoid. Rumor claims that she may be a witch, practicing in secret arts and worshipping strange Gods, participating in moonlight rituals that the wise do not speak of.

Ailis herself is silent on the subject.
 
Elayne said:
Ailis is a tall, fair skinned woman with thick red hair and dark amber eyes. Her race is obviously human.

Her lines of her limbs are painted in a scheme of tattoos, like dancing flames, the spread up the out portions of her long legs and rounded arms, then flare to blazon up her torso and up to the base of her neck.

She wears a simple dun robe around the town, often with the hood up. Underneath it she wears dark red silk that enhances rather than conceals her soft curves.

Ailis often works as a herbalist, brewing concoctions for those who pay her well. She is also reputed to be a dancer, entertaining in some of the taverns that most wise women avoid. Rumor claims that she may be a witch, practicing in secret arts and worshipping strange Gods, participating in moonlight rituals that the wise do not speak of.

Ailis herself is silent on the subject.

All right, you're in like Flynn. Badda-boom badda-bing. The $64,000 question is whether she is with the orcs or against them...or simply regards them as a feature of the landscape, to be dealt with where and when profitable...
 
Amabeth's Race

DaisyBuchanan said:
“We’ll need to get home soon, B’orse…” His ears flicker in agreement, but she is still disappointed but the encroachment of the thornflowers and ruination of her favorite path. “… but a race around the big rocks is what we need first.” Her voice lifts with excitement as she urges the big horse into a gallop and she anticipates the exhilaration of a wild gallop and sharp turns.

B'orse has played this game before...with a whinny and a gallop, horse and rider are soon up to speed, turning into the forest. The horse seems to be playful, moving at great speed, causing Amabeth to duck slightly more than once to avoid onrushing tree branches. Then the rock outcropping came into view...the thunder of hooves echoed off the stone, reverberating back in the maiden's ears.

The trail the galloping horse took briefly swung into view of the lake again, its shimmering waters dotted with a smattering of fishing-boats which seemed almost lost in its vastness. Then B'orse turned inland, through a copse of tall, stately pines, up a hill, then down into a small clearing that Amabeth had never seen before.

Then the steed slowed to a canter. There was a rock in the middle of the clearing, gray and smooth. The horse brought her closer. The rock was barely in the light of the westering sun, almost shadowed now as the sun was almost behind the trees.

No, not a rock. Hewn from rock. The surface was too flat, too level. Then the horse stopped, and she got a close look at it...

Into the rock was carved a pentagram...all around were runes in a harsh language Amabeth had never seen before. But that was not all...metal manacles, four of them, sunk into the rock itself, each near the points of the pentagram, save for one point. And in the middle...in the middle looked like a bloodstain...or some sort of stain.

Around, the woods were quiet, the only sound the heavy breathing of B'orse as he sucked in wind to recover from the run.
 
Amabeth

Village maidens are creatures of a great curiosity that is frequently their undoing; it forced Amabeth to consider dismounting and taking a closer look. However, B’orse made the decision for her, or rather his behavior did. Standing skittishly, his weight shifting nervously, while his ear were in constant motion, he was obvious unsettled. Dismounting would be easy; remounting could be a difficult and lengthy endeavor unless she could calm him first.

She looked around, making sure they were alone. She had no desire to lie to her only friend but the complete silence it increases her apprehension.

“See, B’orse. It is just the two of us, as always. There is no one here to harm us.” She eased the dark stallion closer to the stone, for a closer look. Not to recognize the runes but memorize them so she could describe them later to the authorities. Her attempts to calm the horse fail, as her voice carries her fears to him, the effect being the opposite of her intent and she feels his muscles twitch anxiously under his skin.

Feeling there is little she can that learn on her own, she waits for B’orse’s harsh breathing to slow before turning him to head back to Glendale. She keeps her eyes open for any sign of trouble as they move from the clearing back into the trees, ready to bolt for home should anything startle the nervous pair.

To her untrained eye it appeared to be a sacrificial altar, this was not news she was eager to impart, there were enough troubles in the town. She could only hope that this new information would lead to a solution, so peace could return to Glendale for good.
 
For Amabeth and Ailis

With some effort, Amabeth was able to calm her steed...mostly. Clearly there was something here that agitated him. Looking around, the maiden could see nothing except the forest, the small clearing, and that flat rock with the runes and manacles. And a rustling in the brush. The horse whinnied...

...and out ran a badger. It looked balefully at Amabeth and B'orse for a moment, then scurried back into the brush. The forest was already in shadow. There was maybe an hour of sunlight left.

On her way back to town, Amabeth thought of someone she might be able to ask about the rock. Ailis. She was a practitioner of magic, many knew, and no friend of the High Priests...
 
Amabeth

Everyone knew where Ailis lived, just like everyone had a different theory about what she really was and what she really did. Every theory under the sun, Amabeth had been hearing them for years. In the winter and in bad weather, there was never much for her to but sit near the fire in the common room and pretend to read a book or diligently work on her lady-like embroidery. People would talk, all around her, as if she wasn’t even there. So, she listened, she never got to ask a question but she did hear some interesting things. Ailis’s involvement with strange worship of old gods was a common theme, magic and/or witchcraft, a skill with herbal medicines or foul potions… However, no one could yet make a solid dire accusation against her; no one could convincingly blame her for a single injury (but not for lack of trying by some people) and she was no friend of the High Priests.

Amabeth slid off B’orse outside of Ailis’s garden.

“Wait here.” she told him as she tossed his reins over a low-hanging tree branch. She patted his muscled neck then made her way up the walkway to the front door of the little stone cottage. As she passed through the garden, Amabeth noticed with interest the way everything that grew there came together in a way that looked to be both neatly tamed and incredibly wild.

She took a deep breath and quick look back to B’orse, as she knocked on the door.

(OOC: If you'd like me to change anything about Ailis, just let me know.)
 
Ailis looked up from her table at the small, nervous sounding knock on the door. A woman, she thought idly, staring at the door and wondering whether to answer it or not. She hoped it wasn't some silly chit wanting to pester her for a love potion. Or, even more annoying, a silly chit who was with child...

After a moment, Ailis sighed, rising from what she was doing. "Don't worry," she muttered to her project. "I'll finish dissecting you soon enough."

Pulling her simple dun coloured robe from the back of a wooden chair nearby, Ailis swung it around her, loosely tying off the brown cord around her waist and pulling the hood up to cover her flame coloured hair. She stalked over to the door and yanked it open.

It was indeed a woman. Ailis vaguely recognized her as being one of the town girls, perhaps somehow associated with the inn. "What do you want?" she stated in a flat voice that wasn't precisely rude, but certainly not polite. Indifferent at best.
 
Amabeth

Amabeth wasn’t expecting a warm welcome but something a little more friendly would have made it easier if not more pleasant so bring up such a frightening subject. However, if this was how Aislis greeted people, there was nothing Amabeth could do about it. Especially, now with the limited time before nightfall. Manners are important but there may be something to this direct and to the point approach. She decided to give it a try.

Amabeth grew a deep breath and simply answered the question, “I want to know what you know about ritual blood sacrifices, runic symbols and the stone hewn altar with the attached manacles.”

Amabeth pauses for a second, “It shouldn’t be mistaken for something ancient, the blood on it was fresh. On the altar I mean.”

Now, to be polite, Amabeth smiles.
 
Ailis stared flatly at Ambeth for several beats, her amber eyes practically glowing in the growing twilight. After that pause, she opened her door slightly.

"Come in," she said briskly.

She turned from her door and stalked back to her study, throwing a white sheet over the frog she was dissecting and then marching over to one of her bookcases, drawing down a black bound book.

"Ritual sacrifices, manacles and runes? Hardly topics of interest for a young debutante," Ailis commented dryly. "Dare I ask what provoked this interest?"

Ailis knew full well with the coming cycle of darkness, forces were moving outside the town that could be deadly dangerous. She was rather surprised this young, posh woman would have encountered such things and emerged with her life and sanity intact.
 
Amabet

Amabeth entered the cottage at Ailis’ invitation, she stifled her natural curiosity by not looking around with her mouth agape, limiting herself to a quick glance around. She was more concerned with the matter that brought her here, than she was with home decorating, and she quickly returned at attention to Ailis.

"Ritual sacrifices, manacles and runes? Hardly topics of interest for a young debutante," Ailis commented dryly. "Dare I ask what provoked this interest?"

“I was out for a ride with B’orse and we discovered my favorite path is rapidly being over run by thornflowers. Disheartened that we could not continue on our desired course, I gave B’orse his head and we headed for the old rock out cropping. We found a rock-hewn altar in the clearing past the standing pines. It was eerily silent as we approached it, no insects, no birdsong, not even the rustling of leaves. Once we reached it, I saw the manacles and the carved runes. And blood, what looked like fresh blood. I cannot ready runic writings, and I didn’t want to get off B’orse for a closer look. He was very nervous and I didn’t think dismounting for a closer look.”

“So, this that is the discovery that provoked my interest in ritual sacrifices, manacles and runes.” She swallows nervously, “I am not suggesting you are involved with sacrifices at the altar, I am simply looking for information. Even the most general information, would be appreciated. ”
 
Ailis waved dismissively. She was aware of the spread of thornflowers outside of town, of course, but she was well aware that at this point of the cycle, thornflowers were only a minor danger. She also forbore asking who B'orse was.

"Where was this altar? Do you remember what the runes on it looking like, or from what they were formed?" Ailis inquired, slightly more interested in the other woman now.

For the most part, 'ritual altars' were simply alarmism by the unlettered peasants, or worse, an excuse for inquisitions by the often corrupt priesthood. However, the time was approaching when such altars could be used for much more dire purposes...
 
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