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Disara's Pyre

In the city warren of Ishré, there is an old mining shaft that leads up to an even older quarry. Before the Brightening, Ishré was a lucrative marble mine, giving it plenty of room to accommodate a major city. It is here that quite a few Underdwellers travel to in order to conduct trade, seek out learned individuals, and occasionally pass judgement for crimes too immense for a smaller warren to deal with.   Originally one of the many entrances to the city warren, Disara's Pyre is the tallest shaft in the original quarry. It is attached to a scaffold that reaches sixty or so feet above the ground, rising up the cliff face to the hillside above. At the top, it is completely open to the sky.   Disara Réshal, third leader of Ishré, was called upon early in her tenure to pass judgement on an Underdweller who had murdered the leader of his own warren. She determined that such an evil should be sent back up among the evil. She commanded that the man be strapped to the lift and hoisted to the top to await sunrise. The insult, "may the day take you," was coined in her judgement, and he was sent up the shaft to wait for the sunbeasts to burn and devour him at sunrise. The following evening they brought the lift back down to find empty chains. This was the first recorded instance since the Brightening of an Underdweller being put to death.   The shaft has since only been used for that purpose. Capital punishment is an infrequent occurrence in the warrens, yet when a crime is considered so heinous that the leader of a smaller warrens deems it necessary, they take the criminal to Ishré to be tried. Those who are brought there are rarely found innocent. Since no Underdweller has ever stayed above to witness anyone being eaten by the beasts, some Darklings believe a few of those condemned have actually escaped justice, even though their bonds are always found still clasped.

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Comments

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Jul 22, 2021 13:47 by Bob O'Brien

I like the mystery... "some may have escaped..."

Check out my latest efforts:
Laurels & Loot is a new, lightweight TTRPG rules system that hearkens back to the early days.
Jul 22, 2021 15:41

Thank you!