Encroaching Darkness, First Verse
O' sweet beloved, dearly missed
What befell of your radiant smile?
An ageless sleep within the mist
Cold lips do not secrets tell
The two floating landmasses that made up Cimon's Island have never been particularly bustling. After all, one of them was abandoned and the other hosted a backwater town. There weren't many good reasons for airships to pass by this stretch of airspace, save the occasional merchant vessel that docked at the town's humble pier.
The town itself comprised mostly of children and the elderly; many of the healthy adults had gone to seek better opportunities elsewhere. The island had nothing interesting to its name, so of course nobody paid much attention to it.
Well, almost nobody.
For a certain occupation, the conditions were practically perfect.
* * *
The thing about caverns - they're pretty dark, even with a source of light.
Oil lanterns adorned the ceiling and candles littered the floor, but the glow of the flames was dimmer than it ought to be. There was something substantial about the air here, something alive, malicious.
"O' Lord, Keeper of Secrets, grant us an audience..."
A few hooded people knelt in prayer, mumbling unintelligibly. At the front stooped one in robes richer than the rest; their words much more articulate as well.
"With the spilling of innocent blood, we beseech of you to descend, and partake. Accept our humble offering…"
A smooth slab of marble, upon which a figure laid, bound and squirming. Muffled cries occasionally escaped the linen gag.
With a stroke of the arm, the figure ceased struggling. Red splattered the clean altar, and for a period the chanting stopped. Silence reigned for a time until the person at the front turned, pocketing the bloody dagger.
"...Our Lord appreciates the offering. But,"
Uneasy shuffling came from the people kneeling.
"The accumulation of life energy has not reached a sufficient amount. For the Lord to descend in the flesh, we are to provide more offerings."
Still, no one dared to speak. Motionless they knelt, awaiting further instructions. It didn't take long.
"Well? There's nothing else, so proceed as per usual. And don't let any fish slip the net, like last time. Don't worry about drawing attention; those fools are occupied with a problem of their own making, as usual."
NPC: ???
Location: Cimon's Hollow
