The Black Bile Part 2
The disease spread...consuming the minds of the clergy and the nobility. The disease dissolved their minds and made them one with itself. The Black Bile moved from person to person until the entire ruling caste were consumed by it. Deep in his cell, Former Bishop Gelasius laid down a feverish account of a vision he had had when he gave the Black Bile to the now deceased Emperor:
"It moves...moves ceaslessly. I should have known that this infernal substance would be the death of me. I hadnt realized the significance of what I'd found until the visions came to me. They came so quick but they were clear and concise and they showed me everything i needed to know. I was a fool to bring that Bile back home. I shouldnt have ever gone to the village of Kobalt. I cant explain how these visions came to me, perhaps I've gone insane, but I dont think so. Something in my gut tells me I'm in the right. The Bile is an insidious creature, It corrupts the minds of those around it and makes them act on their dark thoughts. It can take complete control of a person by beign consumed. That was how Kobalt met its end, that was how. I dont yet know how the Bile managed to wipe out all traces of the village's inhabitants. Kobalt's elite were corrupted by the Bile and built a massive labyrinth beneath the village where they could study and worship it. To hide this from the villagers, they constructed a well above the labyrinth in order to make it seem like a mundane sight. They would sneak out in the night and go down there to consume and to bathe in the Black Bile until their souls were irrevocably corrupted and their minds were under the influence of the substance. They then began to sacrifice the villagers to Bile and it must have consumed them. This would explain the fact that there were no cadaver's in the village. Eventually those who worshipped the Bile were consumed as well, and the last survivor of the village, before himself being consumed, managed to cover key areas of the village with pagan idols which apparently kept the Black Bile at bay. Now the tragedy at Kobalt is being played out again. Now the Bile has corrupted the rulers and will turn them against the ruled. With the Emperor dead, there will be no one to check the excesses of the Bile. God have mercy on us. God forgive me! I never should have gone down there....Why God Why......
Gelasius was not far off. The ruling class made a most unusual tour of the kingdom, going from house to house and asking to "investigate a distrubance of the peace". People would know what the corrupted aristocrats had left in their homes. Soon reports were coming in of people disappearing. At first the disappearances were minor, a few homeless people. But soon, men women and children from all sections of society were vanishing without a trace. One man reported that he had been walking down an alley when he heard a scream. He investigated only to find to his horror that the individual in question was covered in an ichorous black substance of "acidic properties". The substance wore him down, burning away flesh and bone, eating him. The man's body was consumed in a matter of minutes leaving not the slightest bit of residue. The black substance slithered like a snake down the street and literally melted away under the cracks. The man's story was discounted as lunacy. But when more and more people began to report similar sights, the authorities became increasingly nervous. The rulers were consulted. Their answer: Mass Hysteria. The cases were dropped but they couldnt be ignored. More and more people began to come forward and became frustrated with the inaction that was taking place. There were riots in the streets. The ruling class tried to appease the population with empty promises and this lead to further upheaval. Eventually, in their single minded insanity, the ruling class ordered the mass execution of anyone who opposed them or complained of conditions. This did not deter the citizens and hundreds were executed for "malcontent behaviour". Their bodies were removed to the palace basement and fed to the Black Bile. The foul substance grew. No longer did it need to move out into the city as people were being killed and fed to it. Soon, people were abducted off the streets and arbitrarily murdered. The army was sent in to take people from their homes. The streets at night were a desolate sight. But despite all of this vile corruption and excessive brutality, there was a flicker of light. The mass executions and abductions took its toll on the men who conducted them. More and more they began to question the logic behind their work and they received less and less satisfactory explanations. Seeing the clear distortion which had taken place in the rulers and the helplessness of the citizenry caused a rebellion to rise up within the ranks of the army. The dissidents marched on the palace and a great battle ensued. Aided by the citizens, they stormed the palace walls and broke in. But something was wrong, they found the palace surrounded not by soldiers waiting to put them down but by a foul black substance which clung to the walls like an overgrown vine. The thing spread across the courtyard and consumed all within its path until everyone who had taken up arms was dead. The aristocrats, pleased that the Bile was so strong, continued to order the few loyal to them to bring in fresh victims. It was then that the Bile turned on them. You can imagine their utter surprise when they saw the Black Bile surrounding their feet and moving up their bodies, consuming them quickly and with demonic efficiency. With the whole ruling class destroyed, the Black Bile proceeded to fan out into the city itself. Despite this however, the Black Bile would not be allowed to survive. Nature had seen the vile entity that Gelasius had brought onto her soil, and now, when the people couldnt fight back, she did. The Bile would not be allowed to leave this city, it must not be allowed to leave. It is fortuitous that the Frankish Empire had constituted large tracts of Italy at the time and that this city lay at the foot of the great volcano: Vesuvius. It was at the height of the terror that the great volcano erupted and sent out a wave of fire and ash which spread quickly down to the city, consuming it. The Black Bile and everyone else was buried under rubble. And so the defilement of the Black Bile had been stopped...or had it. In 1934 an archeological expedition discovered the city and unearthed large tracts of it. They were in awe at the site, as they found priceless artifacts and thousands of bodies preserved in their last moments. They also found a mysterious residue which was taken back to their camp and studied. History it seemed, was not finished repeating itself.
"It moves...moves ceaslessly. I should have known that this infernal substance would be the death of me. I hadnt realized the significance of what I'd found until the visions came to me. They came so quick but they were clear and concise and they showed me everything i needed to know. I was a fool to bring that Bile back home. I shouldnt have ever gone to the village of Kobalt. I cant explain how these visions came to me, perhaps I've gone insane, but I dont think so. Something in my gut tells me I'm in the right. The Bile is an insidious creature, It corrupts the minds of those around it and makes them act on their dark thoughts. It can take complete control of a person by beign consumed. That was how Kobalt met its end, that was how. I dont yet know how the Bile managed to wipe out all traces of the village's inhabitants. Kobalt's elite were corrupted by the Bile and built a massive labyrinth beneath the village where they could study and worship it. To hide this from the villagers, they constructed a well above the labyrinth in order to make it seem like a mundane sight. They would sneak out in the night and go down there to consume and to bathe in the Black Bile until their souls were irrevocably corrupted and their minds were under the influence of the substance. They then began to sacrifice the villagers to Bile and it must have consumed them. This would explain the fact that there were no cadaver's in the village. Eventually those who worshipped the Bile were consumed as well, and the last survivor of the village, before himself being consumed, managed to cover key areas of the village with pagan idols which apparently kept the Black Bile at bay. Now the tragedy at Kobalt is being played out again. Now the Bile has corrupted the rulers and will turn them against the ruled. With the Emperor dead, there will be no one to check the excesses of the Bile. God have mercy on us. God forgive me! I never should have gone down there....Why God Why......
Gelasius was not far off. The ruling class made a most unusual tour of the kingdom, going from house to house and asking to "investigate a distrubance of the peace". People would know what the corrupted aristocrats had left in their homes. Soon reports were coming in of people disappearing. At first the disappearances were minor, a few homeless people. But soon, men women and children from all sections of society were vanishing without a trace. One man reported that he had been walking down an alley when he heard a scream. He investigated only to find to his horror that the individual in question was covered in an ichorous black substance of "acidic properties". The substance wore him down, burning away flesh and bone, eating him. The man's body was consumed in a matter of minutes leaving not the slightest bit of residue. The black substance slithered like a snake down the street and literally melted away under the cracks. The man's story was discounted as lunacy. But when more and more people began to report similar sights, the authorities became increasingly nervous. The rulers were consulted. Their answer: Mass Hysteria. The cases were dropped but they couldnt be ignored. More and more people began to come forward and became frustrated with the inaction that was taking place. There were riots in the streets. The ruling class tried to appease the population with empty promises and this lead to further upheaval. Eventually, in their single minded insanity, the ruling class ordered the mass execution of anyone who opposed them or complained of conditions. This did not deter the citizens and hundreds were executed for "malcontent behaviour". Their bodies were removed to the palace basement and fed to the Black Bile. The foul substance grew. No longer did it need to move out into the city as people were being killed and fed to it. Soon, people were abducted off the streets and arbitrarily murdered. The army was sent in to take people from their homes. The streets at night were a desolate sight. But despite all of this vile corruption and excessive brutality, there was a flicker of light. The mass executions and abductions took its toll on the men who conducted them. More and more they began to question the logic behind their work and they received less and less satisfactory explanations. Seeing the clear distortion which had taken place in the rulers and the helplessness of the citizenry caused a rebellion to rise up within the ranks of the army. The dissidents marched on the palace and a great battle ensued. Aided by the citizens, they stormed the palace walls and broke in. But something was wrong, they found the palace surrounded not by soldiers waiting to put them down but by a foul black substance which clung to the walls like an overgrown vine. The thing spread across the courtyard and consumed all within its path until everyone who had taken up arms was dead. The aristocrats, pleased that the Bile was so strong, continued to order the few loyal to them to bring in fresh victims. It was then that the Bile turned on them. You can imagine their utter surprise when they saw the Black Bile surrounding their feet and moving up their bodies, consuming them quickly and with demonic efficiency. With the whole ruling class destroyed, the Black Bile proceeded to fan out into the city itself. Despite this however, the Black Bile would not be allowed to survive. Nature had seen the vile entity that Gelasius had brought onto her soil, and now, when the people couldnt fight back, she did. The Bile would not be allowed to leave this city, it must not be allowed to leave. It is fortuitous that the Frankish Empire had constituted large tracts of Italy at the time and that this city lay at the foot of the great volcano: Vesuvius. It was at the height of the terror that the great volcano erupted and sent out a wave of fire and ash which spread quickly down to the city, consuming it. The Black Bile and everyone else was buried under rubble. And so the defilement of the Black Bile had been stopped...or had it. In 1934 an archeological expedition discovered the city and unearthed large tracts of it. They were in awe at the site, as they found priceless artifacts and thousands of bodies preserved in their last moments. They also found a mysterious residue which was taken back to their camp and studied. History it seemed, was not finished repeating itself.
posted by david at 6:58 PM
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