Pluto's Veil

The sun sets on Magiadmirari. The copper doors creak open as Ian lets the party inside. The dark cathedral is dimly lit by blue lanterns, and reeks of Jasmine and what can best be described as crematorium ash. Along the main carpet which leads to a bed beneath a thin canopy, are holes in the tiled floor. The holes and stains give clear indication that the cathedral once held dozens of rows of pews. Now, it holds a handful of worshippers in similar robes as Ian, all worshipping Liviana. The party can hear a symphony of faint mutterings, prayers directed towards the Goddess beneath the canopy, as her believers kneel on the tile with their heads pressed to the ground in reverence.

There’s a disturbing artificiality in Ian’s smile, and his voice carries a confident tone. “Right this way.” He walks past the party and guides them to the bedside of Liviana. Ian prostrates himself into the same submissive stance as all her followers.

From within the thin canopy a familiar blue light emerges, finally illuminating the inside. The silhouette of a lone woman appears. “Speak, mortal.”

“Your Highest, it is I, Ian. I have come with five converts today who have personally sought you out. I wish for them to know your mercy, and for you to decide if they are worthy to hold your faith.” Ian never raises his head. His voice is steady and calm.

A thunderous sound of gears turning drowns out the muttered prayers. It is hard to pinpoint the origin, but eventually the party determines the noise is coming from above them. The canopy slowly raises as the blue lights along the walls of the cathedral get brighter. Slowly, the thin fabric rises to reveal Liviana.

Her skin is blueish-gray, her lips are a sickly color, her eyes are covered by a black veil which matches her black lace dress, and her hair is a shiny teal. She turns to the party, and suddenly smiles with her chapped lips.

“I always welcome those who seek my mercy. Have you all come to witness it yourself?” Her voice sounds younger than she looks, but her cadence commands the authority that her pitch lacks.

The players manage to steel themselves, but Mira shivers at her question. Luckily, Liviana isn’t paying too much attention to them. She’s busy admiring her own teal finger nails.

Narco gives Gambit a small nod. With his speed and sleight of hand skills, he should be able to steal Liviana’s veil without hurting her and reveal to her followers that she has no true power. He lunges at her, but the instant she turns her head, two bright blue lights shine through the veil. Gambit is frozen in mid air, as if his clock had stopped. “A thief? In the house of God? How quaint.” Her perverted smile never falters. “It’s been a long time since we had criminals, and by extension of course… executions. I wonder what form your souls will take.”

Liviana stands up from her bed and touches Gambit’s face gently. Gambit wriggles in the air, as if trying to resist whatever force is holding him still. “Run guys, she has invisible snakes or something.” Gambit is flung across the room.

The team immediately dashes away, readying their weapons from what they believe is a safe distance.

Ian raises his head. “Please forgive me, Goddess Liviana. I didn’t know. I didn't know!”

Liviana cocks her head. “You’re right. This is your fault isn’t it.” Ian begins to float off of the ground. “I am grateful. I am. I enjoy divine punishment. But allowing them to get so close…” His arms begin to bend and break, bite marks materialize along his skin, and as he screams, his head is slowly crushed. “Just another sinner whose soul needed to be purged.” The many robed men scoot to the sides of the room, never raising their heads from the floor.

The party looks on in horror as the glow from the veil never ceases. Narco looks at Free Stuff. “I thought it could only conjure ghosts. What was that?”

“I told you! We don’t know to what extent the veil is able to connect the living and the dead!” Free Stuff shouts back.

“So you know about the veil. It doesn’t matter.” Liviana lifts both her hands and starts to hover. “Come, let’s play.” Liviana slides around the room as if she were skating. The party keeps their distance, which makes her laugh. “What a game of cat and mouse!”

Narco unsheathes Vision’s Echo. “Wait! We need a plan! We don’t know the extent of the veil’s power.” Free Stuff tries to grab Narco to stop him, but he slips through.

GG sees Narco charging in and throws a ball of fire at Liviana. The fire is intercepted by some kind of invisible wall.

Narco swings his sword wildly, hoping to cut down any invisible entities. He feels something tighten around his throat as he continues to swing. Vision’s Echo cuts nothing. The tightening doesn’t stop.

Liviana hums as she hovers over to him. “So you’re the first. How interesting.” Narco's eyes meet the lights in the veil. He can feel a pressure wrapping around his body. It becomes increasingly difficult to move and breathe. Free Stuff and Gambit charge in at Liviana, hoping to knock her away. Unfortunately, they are met with an invisible barrier. Their weapons move right through but their bodies cannot.

Gambit summons his Blood Cursed Bow. He fires an arrow, but the magic shatters in the air.

“Your friends seem to care a lot for you.” She says while Narco struggles. He grabs at his throat, hands moving through whatever is strangling him. “Don’t worry. I won’t kill you just yet. Your soul…” GG starts preparing a large spell. Liviana sighs. “They’re so persistent.”

With a wave of her hand, the invisible force grips each of them by the throat and drags them to the ground. They strain against the weight with collective grunts.

“Sit there. I’ll get to each of you in a moment. Mercy comes one at a time, so wait your turn.” Liviana points at them, then slowly turns her attention back to the struggling Narco. Her hand slides gently to his face, as if orbiting her body and falling onto his cheek like a gentle feather falls to the earth. “Now show me the depths of your soul. I want to know why you all share his color.”

She presses her cold thumb to his forehead, and the lights from her veil beam directly into his eyes. He screams, but not from pain; it’s from the extremely uncomfortable feeling of having all his senses overly stimulated at once.

Once the sensation stops, he rubs his eyes. He immediately notices his hand is free, and goes to grab his sword. He feels that it’s missing. His whole body is free, and there is an eerie silence around him. His eyes adjust, and he finds the room darker than before. The pattern on the stone floor comes into focus and he can tell that it is ever so slightly different.

With clarity, he is certain that he isn’t in the same room that he was in before. The walls are no longer visible as there are no lights to define the edges of the room. There is no sign of life, or familiar structures like a bed, the carpet, or his sword. Most notably, there is a foul musk about, a thick humidity that reeks of something unholy. It’s enough to make Narco waiver in his footing, and gag.

He walks around the dimly lit room. He proceeds cautiously, fearing whatever illusion Liviana put him in. He walks in one direction for a while. The glow that barely illuminates the floor follows him. It’s as if he were the center of this hallucination. He eventually stops, grabbing a tuft of his hair. “I’m such an idiot.” His voice is unnecessarily low. “Why did I do that?”

His voice chokes on his words. Narco sniffles, fighting back the frustrating feeling of his own powerlessness.

The sound of rattling chains brings him back to the present. He puts his arms up as if he knew how to do karate. He spins around a few times, unable to pinpoint the origin of the clattering. Then from the darkness comes a ghoulish figure with a hauntingly green glow.

His boots are black and muddy. His clothes are torn and wet. Around his body are chains that wrap themselves just tight enough not to fall, but in locations that don’t restrict his movements. His face is sunken and his skin is beginning to green.

Narco stares at the figure that slowly approaches, and his tears return. “Dad?”