PC: Ohnajy/Div

NPCs run by: Set Qaan Ra (2xp)

Summary:  The returned dagger of heaven, Ohnjay takes a new name while hearing word of the genocide in Jorosco two days prior.  He promptly sets off to right this terrible wrong, but does he know the whole story?  His justice sense is certainly tingling and telling him there's Villainy Afoot.

Ohnjay Ithsmay is enjoying a relaxing evening in a tavern. The music is good and he has the sense of accomplishment after freeing this town from the ravages of a local bandit lord. The local girls are competing with each other incessantly for the mans attention, less based on his looks, or natural charm, but more on the fact that he's just saved the town from being bled dry by greed stricken thugs

          "Ladies, please, I was just doing what needed done!" Ohnjay, right now, is sitting down on a chair at a table, and...drinking. Drinking quite a bit, actually. But hey, why not? He is, once again, a hero! And a hero can always enjoy his accomplishments, right? He's not the kind to just give a stoic nod and be on his way, he's the kind to enjoy a little bit of celebration when it's in order!

          It helps that he's pretty good at keeping a clear head despite the drink, too, and the fact that he's still paying for the booze probably helps his reputation here as well. o O (Man, this is the life! Upholding justice, defending the innocent, and getting to celebrate with the good people afterwards! This is how I love it!)

          What could possibly break his joyful feeling of accomplishment? 

The barkeep brings another round and tries to politely refuse Ohnjays money, insisting that the round is on the house. He eventually accedes to Ohnjays superior oratory and takes the money. He is not begrudging as after months of pillaging he can desperately use the hard cash.

         The mood takes a turn for the worse as the door opens behind Ohnjay and he hears a serving girl scream and drop her tray. The wooden mugs clatter on the floor, their drinks spilling out into the dust

          Ohnjay is all smiles and laughs. For a moment, with just enough alcohol affecting him to start giving him ideas, he wonders if he should change his name; something like 'Divine Justice of the Heavens' or 'Swift Freedom from Afar'! He hears cool names like those are pretty popular around these parts with some people, and he can't help but think he'd sound more...well, heroic!

          Then he hears the door open, thinking yet another pretty girl wants to say hello and that he's going to have a /lot/ of trouble getting out of this place without ending up in someone's bed; not that he's entirely unwilling, but even he thinks that might be a little much. And then the scream.

          Ohnjay is out of his chair in an instant, alert again, swinging the chair up as if to use it as a weapon if a thug he missed has just stormed in. Another evil villain here to try a last gamble at terrorizing this fair town?!

The man at the door is obviously not a threat an in desperate need of help. A quick glance instantly reveals why the girl screamed. The man's clothes are ragged, torn and scratched in dozens of places. Mud is everywhere, along with leaves and bits of branches. His feet are barefoot and horrific looking. A mixture of caked blood and mud, and his legs, visible through his shredded pants are covered in many lacerations. Dark rings are under his eyes, which seem barely focused on the room. His visage is one of a haunted man, a man who has seen horrific terrible things and had his mind at least partially broken by them.

         He mumbles out something that you can't quite make out this distance. His words are slurred with pain and you get the sense that despite his grievous wounds its not all physical

          Ohnjay stares for a second...and then rushes forward, dropping the chair hastily and grabbing the man by the shoulders, looking at him in horror for a moment before he calls out harshly to the people in the tavern, "Someone get a healer! Now! Get every healer!" And then back to the man. His voice is full of horror and worry. "Who...who did this to you? What happened to you?" He tries to lead the man gently towards the table, righting his chair with his foot surprisingly deftly.

          It's an Exalted thing.

-= OOC =- Ohnjay Ithsmay has 5 Dexterity. Can probably do a good job of playing a harp with his toes.

The bartender barks some orders and a couple of the serving girls run out into the night to fetch help. He uses his bulk to help hold back the crowd as a Ohnjay sits the injured man down. The barkeep asks worriedly, "Can I do anything? What should I do? Let me get him a drink," before moving off to fetch something. He glares at the crowd, "Give the man some space for gods sake!"

         Now closer you can hear the man mumbling to himself "They're all dead...all of them...Hellen...Lazus...Hector..." A stream of names escapes his lips as he stares blankly ahead. He looks up at you and you're not sure but you think he might be starting to register your presence. His mumbling begins to trail off anyways which you're hoping is a good sign

          Ohnjay looks towards the barkeep as he goes to get booze, just nodding to him. Ohnjay is no healer, but...this man doesn't look in good health even a little. He's at a loss himself, really; all he can do is hope healers get here soon. As he sits the man down, he squats a little to look at him eye-to-eye.

          "Hey, hey...what happened? Was it the bandit lord's men again? Tell me...tell me your name, and what happened to you?" As he looks the man over, though, he can't help but feel that...well, this doesn't seem right. /Bandits/ did this to a man? After all, he looks...broken. Ohnjay can't think of a better word.

"My...my name?" he gasps out with a voice that reminds you of a desert wasteland. He looks at Ohnjay, confused for a moment. His eyes begin to lose some of their glaze, but with this his face contorts in agony. He turns to the side and wretches violently. The sound is unnatural though and most of the onlookers wince reflexively at the mans dehydrated sputtering.

         The barkeep returns and helps the injured stranger to drink. The man coughs and starts on the next cup and the next. "I...my name is Hyrtacus...I'm the only one he let live...oh god he killed everyone and he let me live...why?!" He's obviously suffering from survivors guilt. "Jorosco...it's...gone...everyone's dead."

-= OOC =- Set Qaan Ra says, "you've heard of jorosco, its not a big city, but its decent and only a few days away"

-= OOC =- Set Qaan Ra says, "or not, if you don't want"

-= OOC =- Set Qaan Ra says, "I can have an NPC give an exposition speech too, "What?! No, not Jorosco...""

-= OOC =- Ohnjay Ithsmay says, "'no! not all of dallas!'"

          Ohnjay just nods at the gasping voice, wincing along with the crowd as the man retches. He can feel his heart aching a little at this. Something...terrible has happened, he's sure of it. And then the man speaks again. And the words...

          Ohnjay just stares dumbly, hearing the words and taking a few moments to filter them through. He's heard of Jorosco, but...but it's a town! Thousands of people! Is there some army of evil marching through these parts?! His voice turns firm, but not harsh. "Hyrtacus, who did this? How did it happen? /When/ did this happen? You'll be able to rest soon, healers have been sent for, but you need to tell us what's happened."

         "Oh gods, I can still see it. Those horrible wind dogs hearding everyone into the center of town, where he just kept on butchering them. For hours on end. He..." the man takes another big gulp and after another fit of coughing he continues, but it seems like he's changed subjects out of sheer terror, "I ran. I ran for two days without sleeping. I ran till my sandles broke. And I ran until my feet bled. I ran through the brush. Just to get as far away from that place..."

         He stares off past the walls of the tavern. "Its...I mean what else was I supposed to do? I couldn't do anything to him. I couldn't even raise my arm to attack him, he was surrounded by those golden jackals. I...I didn't have the courage to look at him with a blade drawn so I let it fall, and he impaled a child right in front of me with that giant sword of his." His eyes focus once more on his surroundings, "He said to go an tell everyone what I had seen. He murdered everyone in that city. His wind dogs herded us to the center. If people tried to run the dogs would grab them in their mouths. They didn't bite them though just held them and ran to drop them off in the killing field. I...I've never seen so much blood. He kept screaming about the red river that feeds the world, that Gaia's thirst, and Sol's pride and Luna's lust would be quenched with such a glorious sacrifice."

         The man continues he's ramblings, "And then he spared me. He told me to tell everyone what happened to those who do not kneel before Set Qaan Ra." The man spasms violently and grabs Ohnjay by his shirt pulling him close and hissing out the last bit into the pregnant silence of the tavern, "He said...he said he was going to burn every filthy city in the East. He said to tell them, tell *everyone* that he's coming." He lets Ohnjay and stands up fully, shouting in a frenzied fervor, "Don't you get it you fools?! He's going to come here next! He's going to kill everyone! We're all gonna fucking die on that horrible green sword and he's going to sacrifice us to the Incarnae and we're all gonna fucking die! We've gotta get out of here or he's gonna kill us all!" He begins panicking and looking around frantically for the exit as murmur begins to spread amongst the patrons, who begin eying each other worriedly.

-= OOC =- Set Qaan Ra says, "whew! wordy bastard! But I figured I'd just get it all out of the way instead of making you keep saying "and...? what happened next...?"

-= OOC =- Ohnjay Ithsmay takes at least 2 levels of bashing damage after being crushed by a wall of words.

          "No!"

          Ohnjay is standing now, staring at the man firmly. "No running, no terror. I want you to tell me, right now, what that man was. This sounds like no normal, mortal man. Tell me, now! Tell me, Hyrtacus, what is Set Qaan Ra!" Ohnjay strides towards Hyrtacus, his expression thunderous, attempting to reach out and grab his shoulder firmly. It seems Ohnjay, in a situation like this, is more of a...direct kind of guy than the type to try and gently calm things down.

Hyrtacus remains agitated and frantic, "Are you insane?! He just killed every yozi damned person in a city! What are *you* gonna do?! Theres nothing anyone can do!"

          "Again, no! I listened...golden jackals? A jade sword? Sol's pride, Luna's lust? That man, Hyrtacus...it sounds like an Exalted! And I will not allow this to continue!" Ohnjay's voice grows in volume...and in passion. He lets go of Hyrtacus, taking a few steps back, that expression just as thunderous and full of raw emotion, of his passion at this injustice.

          "If you want to stop such a being, there's only one thing you send against him! Another Exalted!" Ohnjay clenches both of his fists as he lets his power flow, his emotions surging in him...and his caste mark, that of the Night, a hollow golden circle shines brilliantly on his forehead. "I am Oh-" Ohnjay stops suddenly, memory flooding in along with the righteous duty. "...I am Divine Justice of Heaven! And I will rid this world of evil, starting with Set Qaan Ra!"

Hyrtacus stares at the caste mark in abject terror. "Oh sweet merciful heaven! Not another one! Oh gods not a another one! Its like before!" He points an accusing finger as he stumbles, limping backwards. "You're one of them! I never believed the tales of the Immaculates, I thought the Anathema couldn't be that bad! No one could be that bad, but I saw that monster. I saw what he did with my own two eyes! You may have a different Yozi's thumbprint of evil on your forehead but you're still a monster!"

          Ohnjay -- or Divine Justice of Heaven -- just looks at the man, his expression softening a little, shaking his head. "No. Believe what you will, for that is your choice, but...I am not like the monster you've told me. Ask the people of this town. Ask any person whose life I have touched. I only bring justice and protect the innocent." His voice is still infused with that passion, the drive that keeps him going through life.

          "Nonetheless, I feel that I have outstayed my welcome now. I will ask only one more thing of you...this man will have had a symbol on his head, much like mine. Describe it, and i'll leave here and leave you to the care of these good people."

"Oy! You take that back! You take it back right now! This man saved my sons! Saved this whole damn village!" More angry murmurs come from the crowd and Hyrtacus looks about. "What...I don't understand." His mind seems to be crumbling from stress and contradicting information, "I...he...he had golden mark on his forehead. Like yours. Only the circle was smaller. It...it had...little lines radiating out from it." His eyes glaze over once again as if he's reliving his nightmare to tell you this. His body once again having the fluids to produce them, tears begin streaming down his face. "They...they're all dead. All of them... oh gods how could you let this happen. We prayed to you and you abandoned us when we needed you most..."

         The town healers eventually arrive and give Hyrtacus a sedative draught that puts him into a deep and thankfully dreamless sleep. They will begin the long slow rehabilitative process that is the limit of mortal thaumaturgy, but it is likely in this debased age that he will never recover from his trauma.

          Ohnjay nods at the man, his pride and gratitude swelling at the words from the crowd. He holds back his own tears as mixed emotions flow through him; pride, joy, horror, sadness, anger...he'll work it all out with himself later. For now, he has work to do. He gather's his equipment -- his bow and his arrows, his sword, his armour -- and affixes it all to himself even as the healers arrive for Hyrtacus. He wishes he could do more for him, but...that is not where his own skills lie.

          He doesn't say another word now. He walks out of the tavern and out of the town as Hyrtacus is taken by his sleep. There's work to be done. There is evil to be defeated, there is a foul blight to be banished...there are people to be avenged. This is what he lives for. This is why he fights. This is what keeps him going, day after day.

          Again, it's just an Exalted thing.

-= OOC =- Div says, "Aaaand...want to end there? :D"

-= OOC =- Set Qaan Ra says, "sounds good!"