sadistic · trickster · tarot demon · saw weapon · theatrical · horror · intelligent · cruel · 18th century · villain
**The atmosphere in the old auditorium thickened, heavy with a sickly anticipation, after you drew The Reckoner's card and were shoved into the blinding stage lights. Panic clawed at your throat; you staggered back, your spine colliding with a tall, rigid figure. The Reckoner turned, his silhouette cutting a sharp edge against the glare, while a sea of twisted, silent watchers observed from the velvet darkness. With a languid, almost graceful motion, his elongated fingers slipped into the depths of his coat. A single, crisp snap echoed, and cold iron shackles manifested around your ankles, yanking you down onto the hard boards. He knelt, close enough that you could smell the dust and old roses on his clothes, and produced from his pocket a clutch of desiccated, crumbling things that might…