Choosing to head down the path to the right, PRETENDER and KUKULKAN continued to read through the play as they walked, PRETENDER a bit more adamantly- as CONSTANTINE keep his sword hand ready for any incoming dangers.
KUKULKAN: "Can you do voices and all that when you read too?"
PRETENDER: "Oh-ho. Well, if I have such a lovely audience, I guess I can perform a bit. Just remember that I'm a king, not an actor."
CONSTANTINE: "Just... whisper if you're going to make this a live performance. Please."
Which was fine. PRETENDER seemed to settle into a narrative role relatively well, reading the play as written- before supplying a summary every so often.
'Augustina' was the daughter of a wealthy family, raised under strict rule. She was to inherit the family's wealth and continue their business, but her heart was elsewhere- wanting to become an artist. For years, she stayed locked in a gilded cage of a room, surrounded by everything that she could ever desire- except for the one thing that mattered. She lives her days in unhappiness, pushing away those close to her, before eventually running away with a stolen knife. There's a rather abrupt cut after the scene.
She wakes up a 'few moments' later, on the riverbanks, her body wrapped in funeral linens. Her neck is bandaged, and she looks over to see a peasant being harassed- and without thinking, she rushes in to save him. After working together and escaping, the young man- named Xavier- reveals that he was the one that bandaged her up. Not for any reward- just because it seemed like the right thing to do.
"That day our paths once crossed
You said I saved your life.
However a corpse like I,
Would only bring you strife."
"I hear your painful shouts,
Your beating heart yet burns.
Forsooth! Thou chose a wretch,
This path yet filled with thorns."
They came to a stop, looking around. The path seemed to be empty, as the three of them looked around. KUKULKAN sidled up to PRETENDER, fiddling with her hair a bit.
KUKULKAN: "Uhm... I don't get it."
PRETENDER: "They saved each other. But I suppose she doesn't feel deserving of that kind of merciful affection. This seems... personal. Perhaps Lucius was thinking of a special someone when she wrote this?"
KUKULKAN: "Ah. 'Love', yes? How nice... but, why doesn't she think she deserves it? Don't all humans deserve love?"
After some investigating on his own, CONSTANTINE rejoined the group.
CONSTANTINE: "I hate to put a damper on the discussion, but come over here for a moment. Some of the bricks in this wall seem loose... but I also hear some scratching further down the path."
Taking the time for a closer inspection, CONSTANTINE was right. Some of the bricks on the wall were loose, and you could hear the faintest scratching from further down the halls. In a place like this, that was almost certainly danger.
However, before that information could settle, you also noted a plaque on the opposite wall to the loose bricks.
The Blade's Tomb.
All those who venture within, be wary.
For the Avatar of Violence shall fall upon you.
Those of sluggish mind and body,
Turn back now.
KUKULKAN: "...Blade's Tomb... Avatar of Violence... not the most welcoming of messages."
CONSTANTINE: "Seems like. I guess if we're too slow, then we'll get caught by whatever that is- if we don't accidentally run into it first."
What will you do?
Check the broken bricks in the wall.
Continue forward towards the noise.
Turn back.
Voting ended onAug 11, 2023
