"Fear not, child for His Mercy will not see you Death’s martyr. The child will never feel the pain you have endured. His soul -will- be free of all evil if you can stay the course."
Ilmater, as told in Murder Rended... Mercy Mended... , Saint Merielle Silene, The Living Saint
In the Shrine of the Suffering, a rumor tells of a harmonious endeavor binding several Faiths in mercy and respect for the dead. Low, way below in the dark cavity of the Undercity, the tale of countless miseries, deaths, torments and sufferings sealed the fate of many. Too many. Around the ruined Temple, the dead have been slowly taken back to the world above, to a decent sepulchre, to dignified rest. Piece by piece, bone by bone, stitch after stitch, the dead are patched together, washed and dressed, to restore fragments of stolen dignity. The blessings are given by the Ilmatari, but also by Kelemvorites who work together in ensuring that the souls are safe, that they have passed, and that undeath is no longer a threat.
The Flaming Fist Company and the authorities have been made aware, according to the rumor. Identified criminals, people reported missing, unsolved abductions: all these dead have a story, that at times grows upon the tears of loved ones. Families and relatives are welcomed, and helped, when the dead are identified, sometimes after a long time. The recounting of their deaths and last wishes are shared between the two Faiths. It is said that paladins, and other people who volunteer and help, have also offered a merciful and helping hand to the endeavor.
In the lower Ossuary, those who died at a young age or during pregnancy receive a specific blessing. The names of Zaphkiel, of the Triad and of the Judge of the Damned are invoked when they cannot return among the living. These tragedies had filled an open cemetery around the Temple below, a field of bones and flesh that bloomed around the dark place of worship, paving a constant path to necromantic experiments and dark fates.
No stone left unturned, no dead left behind. The rumor continues to depict the constant dedication of several individuals, of various Faiths, of many who simply care to not let this place become a cradle of dark magic and terrible deeds. It is said that the Kelemvorite and the Ilmatari share a common doctring regarding the sanctity and repose the dead. Beyond the broken fates, thousands of threads of singular stories, filled with suffering, grief, and sadness. Beyond each dead, a corpse that can be animated if left untended. Beyond each murder, a need to restore, to mend, and give closure. Beyond each soul, a rightful judgment, a fate, a destiny.
The rumor speaks further of several reports sent to the Council of Four, with the official acknowledgment of the harms done, and the authorization of the interfaith endeavor. The Ilmatari relay that the Council of Four assured its concern and care for the place, and for all that happened, and wish to privilege a permanent solution without falling into the urgency of a fragile response. After all these years, the Undercity has been the fertile soil of dark threats, and some of them repeatedly obscured the fate of Baldur's Gate, and its denizens.
