Statement 5: The Road to Hell

[Philulhu]

On her knees and her mind still reeling, Des’ wasn’t in a position to do anything to stare at the church as the doors flew open…

[BoyBlunder78]

Eli's head snapped towards the open church doors." This should be interesting, trying to keep a fire and brimstone preacher quiet...quite literally in hell...in a sense."

[Snapper]

"Come on, no point hanging about, let's have a butchers. We're already in the Underworld. Although I guess those poor sods hanging off the lamp posts no doubt would say it can get worse." Skipper waved his cigar in the direction of a gibbetted corpse by way of reference.

Camera in one hand, cigar back between his teeth, Skipper stalked quietly towards the chapel.

Just going to look through the doors from a few metres back at this stage.

[jp1885]

Councillor Short whimpers as you move towards the chapel.

"Y-you'll protect me, won't you?" he pleads to Jordan, gripping him tightly.

So tightly in fact, that any physical rolls Jordan makes will have a penalty die.

Skipper, easing around the chapel door, carefully peers into the dark recesses within...

"SINNERS! BLASPHEMERS!"

Booms the voice.

"YOU SHALL SUFFER IN ETERNITY FOR YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS!"

Two pinpricks of sickly white light waver in the dark, floating toward you.

"YEA, YOU SHALL BURN IN HELL!"

The glowing eyes reveal a gaunt, snarling face as, shuffling out of the blackness, the figure of Preacher Jones emerges from the shadows.

"SINNERS!"

He declares, the sleeve of his scorched frock-coat drooping as he points a bony finger at you.

"GUILTY!"

The stifling air rattles once again with thunder.

[Mr. Handy]

Jordan stands between Short and the preacher. While he doesn't like being restrained, he isn't planning on doing anything physical, but relying on his silver tongue. "I am guilty," he says calmly. "I am a sinner. All of us are, or we wouldn't be here. That includes you. You are guilty. You are a sinner. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. All of us deserve to burn in hell for all eternity. But there is hope for us. That hope is Jesus Christ, as you should certainly know. He took all of our sins upon Him when He went to the cross in our place, to take the punishment we so justly deserved. He descended into hell, but then He rose again on the third day. So we know that He will not leave us in this place, but will raise us up."

Social roll (70% skill) to calm the preacher:
d%

[Snapper]

Skipper gave Jordan a brief side-eye, slightly impressed by this act of bravery.

Possibly evangelical, possibly suicidal, but still...

He quickly raised and adjusted his venerable F3, taking a photo of Preacher Jones. Then he readied himself to knock Jordan out of the way of any lightning bolts, if there was time.

[Philulhu]

It was Des’ worst nightmare, an elderly, white holy-roller come to shrive her soul…

[BoyBlunder78]

Looking towards the priest Eli shouts "So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground John 8:7-11, tell me Reverand, are you such a pious man that you have lived without sin? Yet here you are!".

[Trivun]

The preacher getting out-preached... Izzy still isn't convinced this is hell, not the real thing, being the staunch atheist that she is - river goddesses aside, of course. There's a clear difference between genius loci and your all powerful Jehovahs, your Shivas and Vishnus, and that sort of thing. A difference that Izzy has so far happily debated multiple times over many glasses of wine and spicy Sierra Leonean food with Bev, Fleet and an exasperated Tyburn.

But there's no denying that they really are in some strange hell-like place, her eyes and ears not deceiving her. Whether it could be a realm of the Fae, twisted and distorted as a place of punishment, or a pocket dimension created by the power of whatever Mrs. Evans is, or was - Izzy cannot tell. She simply watches and listens, as Eli and Jordan spout their own rhetoric to combat that of Preacher Jones. The man looking more like Pazuzu than Fathers Merrin or Karras...

[jp1885]

Jordan's reasoning, backed up by Eli's knowledge of the scriptures, causes Preacher Jones to falter.

"I-I am also guilty," her stammers, the fire dimming in his eyes slightly. "The fighting, the rioting, the bloodshed... all because of me."

A peel of thunder rattles around the hellscape.

"I am wicked and it is my punishment to punish those as wicked as I."

If he notices Skipper taking photographs, he does not show it

"I sense you have entered my realm willingly. You are not sinners - I will return you to whence you came..."

He pauses pointing in turn to Councillor Short, Lewis and Des.

"Except for you. You must stay and face punishment for your sins..."

[Philulhu]

Des heard her name and looked up.

”Why me?!” she shouted, finding her voice. ”I’m no more guilty than anyone else!”

[Trivun]

It worked. By Offler's great crocodile jaws, somehow it worked. Izzy blinks a couple of times in amazement as she realises Preacher Jones is backing down, cowed by the efforts of Jordan and Eli, and she's truly impressed by the pair and their knowledge on just what to say.

Except...

"No," Izzy says firmly. "We all leave here together as we came in, or none of us do. The councillor comes with us. Lewis here comes with us, and he faces the inside of a cell. And Des most definitely comes with us."

Sure, the wannabe roadgirl might get on Izzy's nerves plenty enough, but they're a team. And they don't leave teammates behind. Izzy steps forward, as if to block Des from the preacher, in a sort of big sisterly way.

"Unless you want to face the full combined force of His Majesty's Metropolitan Police, and the Folly..."

Damn it, she really wishes she had a demi-monde granted nickname, like how the boss is 'The Nightingale', and Peter is 'The Starling'...

[Mr. Handy]

"Who told you your punishment was to punish the wicked?" asks Jordan. "Or did you take it upon yourself? We are all leaving this place. You can leave with us, if you like. We know the way."

[Snapper]

Skipper looked up at the peels of thunder with concern. Discreetly, he dropped his cigar to the gutter and crushed it out under foot.

He tried a more conciliatory approach, looking serious. "Ah, Preacher Jones, could we have a look inside your chapel? I'm sure it would be a benefit to us. And perhaps being inside the chapel would provide us some much needed guidance?"

[Philulhu]

”Fanks,” Des muttered from behind Izzy, then looking past her to the preacher, she said, ”Anyway, who’s t’ blame?! No work, no benefits! Get sanctioned f’r turnin’ up two minutes late! Pick on dem heartless bastids, not me!”

[SaintMeerkat]

DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 185 times

Leo is profoundly upset when he sees who his fireball hit. It takes him a moment to recover. He considers giving up, turning around, going back, but he somehow finds the strength to continue. He catches up and enters the church behind the others.

[BoyBlunder78]

Eli's eyes locked on the priest, feeling anger b7bbl8ng up in him. "Again, I ask, who are you to judge other people? To condemn them to your version of hell? You who in your own words have soo much blood on your hands, yet you sit here not facing the punishment yourself , hiding behind your collar like a coward! Des is an amazing young lady, who despite the hand she's been dealt, does a hell of alot of good with her life. She does not belong here!"

[jp1885]

OOC, Des is being picked on as she failed her POW test. Lots of good roleplaying and debating going on here - please make a Social roll to see how well you can persuade the preacher.

[BoyBlunder78]

Eli stands staring at Preacher Jones.

HELL yeah 18!

[jp1885]

Awesome! I’ll take that. Update coming soon.