Three months ago. "Hey, come on, we are supposed to seal that hatch and go for lunch." Hanging above the cistern of a seemingly endless mineshaft, two workers clung to the ropes which meant their safety. Below them hung the planks which they were supposed to make the shelves with, for the rubble that they would use. "Isn't it kind of weird though?" One of them slid deeper using his legs to support him against the moist and damp walls of the ages old shaft. "What is? Stop fooling around, this thing is a mile deep!" "I don't think so. Come, let's see." - and with that the man disappeared in the darkness. "Stop fooling around damn it!" - the other one slid after him cautiously, only to hit the ground a good thirty seconds later. The shaft wasn't as deep as they were told, but the pitch black chamber at the end of it was dark enough to give the sensation of endless depth from above. Landing on his feet, he held his lantern a bit higher, to observe his surroundings. "Hey!" - He let out a shout, looking around for his companion, the echo of the large chamber leaving him with no response. He ran his fingers along the patterns of the wall, identifying the runes as dwarven. "Hey! Where did you go!" - he proceeded to explore the chamber with caution, startled by a dozen bats which flew over his head, rioting from the yelling. "O-over here!" - he hurried down the hallway, bending his knees to fit into the dwarven-sized tunnel. To the left in an opening he saw the light of the lantern of the other man. "THERE you are! What on earth are you.." - The altar was something they have never seen before. Woven from bones and still bleeding, shifting flesh and sewn from skin of humanoid creatures the monument stood at a height six feet tall and ten feet wide, above it planted a gigantic spine with a rotting skull at the top. From the holes of the skull scarlet bile kept soaking the altar on which a black book was stood in five pairs of skeletal hands. The one arriving could not contain his lunch, while the other one slowly approached the horror they beheld. "Wait!" - he gasped, reaching a hand for his companion. "What the hell is.. This is disgusting..." "We should get out of here! Now!" - he despaired, but his feet would not move. "So the sacrificial lambs have arrived." - said a voice from within the chamber on an almost soothing tone. They turned around in fright, and their screams only echoed for a moment longer in the unknown depths of this forgotten kingdom.
And once again, like so many times before, Babylon's tower erupted with a beacon of light, casting its golden gaze upon the land beneath. The telepathic call of the God-King can be heard all-across the land, in the hearts of those who are prepared for what is to come.
"We have little time to waste on speeches, and even less to ponder my words, so listen well. Time has come for all of you to consider your allegiance: the threat which is upon us is far worse than anything you have encountered so far. So muster what faith and what wits you have, and let us hope we shall survive the darker tides which are about to wash the coasts of our destiny. Go now "
These are the words of king Jared of Babylon.
------------------------------------------------------------------ Whoever's on gets the cookie. Major events are scheduled for saturdays, participants will be briefed.
_________________ "There is no Sparta. THIS. IS. SPOON!!"
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