[20:02] 14The man with white hair stirs last of all, having sat quietly considering his new...compatriots, one after the other. Blossom he already knew, and he had seen all the others at one point or another, but it was nice to put names to faces. "My name is Stranger-Visits-Heaven," 14he says, "for that is what I did during the eclipse that bore me." [20:02] 14There is a squeak as a little rodent darts out onto his shoulder, and he smiles. "And this is Ra." 15[20:05] <@VoxPVoxD> There are six of them here, one for each station of the sun and another besides. The Black Judge and providence have gathered them here, to a hovel beneath Nexus, in the umbra of a great pile of refuse and junk. Tales have had nobler beginnings than this. 15[20:07] <@VoxPVoxD> The city of rivers is at a confluence. The Emissary, dead, by circumstances mysterious and ominous. A simple cabbage merchant, implicated and cursed by those same circumstances. And a city beset by a wave of nightmares, which must continue living and working even as its masters hold their breath, girding against known and unknown calamity. [20:08] 3Mud squats on a rain-slicked pile of firewood in his corner- and he truly does occupy seemingly the entire corner- of the hovel. "I am pleased to meet you, Stranger and mouse." [20:08] "A lot of things happened today that I do not understand." 15[20:09] <@VoxPVoxD> The question then is this: which way? What now? There is the Emissary's body, in repose at the Crematory Temple. Legal access will be near impossible to secure with a known fugitive in your ranks. There is the cabbage merchant, in hospice somewhere in the city. And there is the tickling, staticky sensation in Xu Sim's sinuses, imparting a hazy ethereal character to his perceptions. A quirk? A consequence? Or the presaging of something strange to come? [20:10] <@Ferrinus> "This," 12says Keldar, staring around at everyone else, "Is fucking nuts!" 12He's still got a stylized, eight-armed sun glowing merrily on his brow; the glyph itself is a cheerful yellow, but it casts the rims of Keldar's face, armor, and immediate surroundings into a warm orange-shading-to-red. "What are the odds that, that six of the most powerful kind of demon would all just... [20:10] <@Ferrinus> show up? Same place?" [20:10] "I'm not a demon! Come on, man." [20:10] "I am fairly certain we are not actually demons. Demons reside in Hell, as everyone knows, and must be summoned. I was not summoned! I was here all along." [20:11] "Well, since I was born anyway. But this mark appeared about six months ago one day, as I finished my hospice treatment of King Novak." [20:12] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Same kinda story. Some Dynast fuck turns on me, tries to finish me off, and bam! Sent him running. So that's the event, right? The... summoning, or drawing down, or whatever." [20:13] "I fixed a hole!" [20:14] "It was a big hole." [20:14] "You're a prodigious worker." [20:14] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Naw, come off it." [20:14] "There were skeletons," 3he pouts. [20:14] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, yeah? That probably helps." [20:17] "We've got a lot of leads to follow. The fallen Emissary. The merchant who 'killed' him. This strange flower. Perhaps they will all lead to the same place." [20:17] "I've got one, too." [20:18] "I met with the Gray, and he said there's something poisoning the river up, way up-the-stream." [20:18] "I wonder if that's related." [20:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar looks impressed. "How'd you get the appointment?" [20:19] "We are not demons!" 7She insists. "We are Chosen of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun. Anyway, I arrested a corrupt tax collector." [20:19] "It's my job," 3Mud grins proudly, thumping his fist on his chest for effect. "I'm the Foreman of the Grey River Levee!" [20:19] 14The big man is friendly. Too friendly, perhaps, to be trusted to handle Ra while excited. It could lead to squishing. [20:20] 05 At the sight of the mouse, Xu Sim's dog licks her lips heartily. [20:20] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Well, yeah, I mean, that's what I'd tell people, too." [20:21] "Do you really think you're a demon?" [20:22] 14Yes, Ra will be staying away from that one. [20:22] "There are others like us, I met one - Piotr, the son of Novak - his head bore a green circle, much like mine. He was a powerful sorcerer, and had summoned a demon to eat my brain! I suspect my warning to his mother regarding his treachery was not sufficient." [20:23] 14Stranger: "It sounds so." [20:24] 14Stranger: "I've put out subtle feelers about the situation in the city to my...contacts. I am interested to hear what they have to say." [20:24] "And I concur with Blossom. We are not demons. We are Solars." [20:25] 14He pauses. "That information comes care of a woman that can turn into a swan. So. Perspective." [20:25] "Whatever we are, we are called to a purpose. Coming together at the scene of these dramatic events was certainly no accident." [20:25] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I looked all this up, man. The Sun turned his face, only monsters remained, something like that. I can take you to the right library in this very city and you'll see these little suns we've got drawn and labeled." [20:26] "If we are demons then, we're in it together. Any ideas?" [20:26] "Interesting theory. But we need more proof. And also, we need to find out what the deal is with these bizarre bees and their psychoactive pollen and strange mystickal flowers. And finally, I think the cabbage-monger may have also transformed into something not unlike us shortly after the death of the Emissary." [20:28] 14Stranger: "I wish to undertake no adventure upriver myself, with all respect to Mud. I await correspondence addressed to me here, hopefully actionable correspondence. I am at the disposal of the group for any task in-city, however." [20:28] 7She rolls her eyes. "Of course they are. Our Creation-spanning kingdom was betrayed and brought down by the Dragon-blooded and their Immaculate accomplices. Obviously they'd need a propaganda campaign to keep the watch for our return. They can't falsify the signs or the Wyld Hunt would lose its effectiveness." [20:29] 14Besides, he still has to piece together why Nexus...and why now. [20:29] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, in response to Tarn: "Oh, for sure. I gotta get to the bottom of this," 12he nods to the Judge and Mud, "And I know at least a few of us are interested in this place not completely falling apart. What about the rest of you?" [20:30] 14Not while Stranger is in it, certainly. Though parts of it could use some 'falling apart.' "Of course," he says aloud. [20:30] 14Not while Stranger is in it, certainly. Though parts of it could use some 'falling apart.' "Of course," 14he says aloud. [20:30] "Have you examined that pollen any? Know anything about it?" [20:32] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, to Blossom: "Yeah, but that's awful convenient the other way, too. And I'll admit, I've never seen one of the golden Anathema before, but I did once catch a silver on, fortunately, the other side of the battlefield I was on, and holy shit." [20:32] "I gave it a careful smell, and it has been effecting me very strangely ever since. It's quite dangerous. And I speak as someone whose job involves working with quicksilver." [20:32] 7Blossom: "As for our current course, I agree with you all. Certainly we can't allow this city to fall into chaos. Thousands of innocents would die." [20:32] 14Stranger smiles knowingly. "I'll concur with that assessment." [20:33] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar nods and taps the side of his nose. [20:33] 14That was directed at Keldar. [20:34] 3Mud has been slowly chewing on a dumpling from his satchel as the others have been speaking. [20:34] "Sho whur wh goin' fhurst?" [20:34] "Mud has the right of it. We need to figure out a direction." [20:35] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Dunno about the rest of you, but I have got to find out what was under that mask." [20:35] 14Stranger: "Eventually the powers that be in this city will realize we're working together. But I question whether that's something we want to let them know right away by pursuing only one lead, as a group." [20:36] 14Stranger: "I would counsel a division of labor, for the moment. Two groups, two objectives." [20:37] "Might be wise... unless we run into trouble." [20:37] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "What's gonna trouble any three of us?" [20:37] 14Stranger: "If we are properly circumspect, that won't be an issue." [20:37] "Nessun Dorma, and thousands like him?" [20:37] "I am not very much of whatever that is." [20:38] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Three of us could take Dorma down, I bet." [20:38] 14Stranger: "I would be...concerned to hear there were thousands of Nessun Dormas in this city." [20:39] 14Stranger: "I find it likely we'll only have to worry about the one. And we already showed we can handle him -- or at least deflect his attentions." [20:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "What you wanna look out for is people trying to collect on Xu Sim's bounty. Guy I was talking to, Raptor Quan, he's looking for a way to do it." [20:39] "He is my friend and I will be happy to see him again!" [20:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "...so am I, far as he knows." [20:40] 14Stranger: "Speaking of which -- yes, the question Xu Sim's bounty looms. Perhaps if he should assist in an issue outside the public eye. Research of some kind. Perhaps, additionally, we should provision a...hideout of some sort." [20:40] "For the duration of our time in the city." 15[20:40] <@VoxPVoxD> What, is the trash hovel not good enough? [20:40] "I was going to say, as much as I enjoy the company of you friends, this building is..." [20:40] "It's horrible! Goodness, it's terrible." [20:40] "There's probably other buildings we could gather in... as long as we don't do anything overtly supernatural." [20:41] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I've got a pretty nice place, but everyone knows where it is and I'm not too keen on making it a laboratory or something." [20:43] 14Stranger: "I believe some of us will need the freedom of overt supernaturalism, from time to time. Some of us should pursue quarters where Xu Sim can further research this flower. I am willing to serve as a...research assistant, of sorts, in this matter. Because I suspect the hand of the Wyld in this." [20:43] 7Blossom: "We should also be on the lookout for people hunting Wu Zheng, though I doubt we'll find any." [20:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Gotta be. Those fairies back at Sentinel Hill weren't an accident." [20:44] "I'm not much of a magician. But I can find people in Nexus, if need be." [20:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "So... anyone got an idea for getting, like, a pass, or something, or are we sneaking into two different holding cells?" [20:50] "We.. we could ask?" [20:50] 14With all this in mind, it might be useful to split up as such: Mud, Stranger, and Xu Sim pursuing temporary, secret lodgings and then researching the flower, while Blossom, Keldar, and the Judge attempt to sneak or politick. [20:50] 3He shrugs. "It couldn't hurt. We were there when it happened." [20:51] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hasn't worked too well for me. Friggin' Pellicia." [20:51] 7Blossom nods. "It might work. If those of us who most visibly intervened tried." [20:51] <@Ferrinus> 12The only problem is, it might be Xu Sim's expertise that's the most useful in examining either the Emissary's corpse or the merchant. [20:52] "Perhaps I should try hunting down the cabbage merchant, and Xu Sim should look into this flower? Then the rest of you can find a way in to see the Emissary." [20:55] 4Stranger: "I think we can accomplish hunting for proper accomodations and hunting for this merchant along generally the same lines, freeing up the rest of you to investigate the corpse." [20:55] 14Stranger: "I think we can accomplish hunting for proper accomodations and hunting for this merchant along generally the same lines, freeing up the rest of you to investigate the corpse." [20:55] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Could work." 12He looks at Blossom. "Can you keep a straight face about threats to the city, duty to all, 'cetera, in front of the captain of the guard? I couldn't and I actually meant it for once." [20:56] <@Ferrinus> 12He turns to Judge. "And, hey... could you just do up Xu Sim to look like someone else?" [20:56] 7Blossom: "Our duties are no laughing matter." [20:56] "I can, I suppose. It won't be nearly as effective as my own disguises, but... it's better than nothing." [20:56] 14Stranger suppresses a smile. Excessively Righteous, indeed. [20:57] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "See, you'd think so, but there I was..." [20:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Then it's simple. I tell 'em not-Xu Sim is an occultist I'm hiring from out of the city to aid with my investigation, Blossom gets us in, bam." [21:02] "There's no way this could possibly go wrong." [21:03] 14Stranger stirs. Whatever the plan, they should get started on it. [21:03] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Literally no way. I'm a damn genius." [21:04] 7Blossom: "That's the spirit!" [21:04] 4The Judge has some clothes, some cosmetics, and in about five minutes, Xu Sim is practically unrecognizable. He's about the same height and weight, but otherwise, entirely different. 15[21:05] <@VoxPVoxD> What does he look like now? [21:06] 3Mud has worked his way through his extra dumplings and is now drinking some sort of coconut mixture out of a bamboo jug. [21:08] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "All right, so pick a name. Let's say you're from Eavesbark out southeast a little way, once either studied or worked with the famed doctor Thodo, who as a point of fact actually did do up a splint for me once, and you're passing through the city and doing me a favor to pay back one I did the old man." 12The mercenary's totally guileless - even as he speaks, it's just too [21:08] <@Ferrinus> 12obvious that he's proud of himself for coming up with this on the spur of the moment. [21:09] "Doctor Thodo? His work is not too bad, but really..." 05 Xu wrinkles his nose in distate. [21:09] 14It's a good thing the Judge is going with them. [21:09] 14Wait, is he? ...Oh my. [21:09] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Eh? He was highly recommended. Pick your own, though, I guess, you probably know more of 'em than I do." [21:11] "No, wait, actually, it's really quite funny this way. He has the strangest theory regarding aspergris, actually..." [21:12] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Great. Long as you can sell it." 15[21:15] <@VoxPVoxD> The circle, newly formed, splits in half. Keldar, Xu Sim, and Blossom are bound for the Coronary and Crematorial Temple, that spare white manse in the hollow between two little hills, where neither the bad smells of the river districts or the cloying perfumes of the wealthy areas can reach. It's the only place in the entire city that feels well and truly clean. 15[21:18] <@VoxPVoxD> There's a double-compliment of tattooed guards with flame pieces at the doors, and more patrolling the grounds. What's more, there's a giant descending the steps. Nessun Dorma's unarmored build is more modest, but only slightly. Without his great white helmet, his hair - a shock of orange cut into something like a flat-topped mesa - throws a strange cast over his complexion. He looks red-faced now, even though his expression is cheery. Behind him is a bald little man with dark glasses consulting an enormous ledger of notes. 15[21:19] <@VoxPVoxD> The crowd that followed Keldar this last leg of the trip, modest though it is, lets up a cheer at the sight of the Dragon-Blooded hero. [21:20] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, too, isn't armored, dressed instead in a nicely-cut dark green tunic and some modest leather armor. He's got his trusty straight sword sheathed at his side, though, because in Nexus bearing arms is an analogous-to-sacred right, damn it. 15[21:20] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun Dorma himself seems gladdened, either by the cheer or by the presence of some friendly faces. "FRIENDS!" he booms, his voice carrying like bells in the quiet mansegrounds. 15[21:23] <@VoxPVoxD> Elsewhere, Stranger, Mud, and Judge explore the city looking for a place to set up. There are many prospective places, as for all of Nexus's crush of life the city can accomodate far more people than it does now. Abandoned buildings and quiet little slums abound. [21:24] 14Ah, to be walking about. In some place other than a trash hovel. [21:24] <@Ferrinus> "Guess we wouldn't have been the first," 12Keldar says to his compatriots, before raising his voice as he waves to the approaching earth aspect. "Heyyy, Dragonlord! How's it going." [21:24] 14To Judge: "Do you have any advice on neighborhood? Preferably one that can accomodate, say, odd, muffled explosions very late at night." 14To give a possible example. 15[21:25] <@VoxPVoxD> They're coming into one of the latter now, a wood-and-rope bridge crossing a busy canal several feet up - creaking perilously under Mud and Straw's weight - beneath which are a series of wood-and-river-clay homes. The air is full of the smell of river waste and cookfires, though from time to time the breeze catches a fresh rush of the many laundry lines that connect the low buildings. 15[21:25] <@VoxPVoxD> What are the house-hunters searching for, and what face does the Judge wear this afternoon? [21:28] 05 Xu Sim gives a cautious, courtly bow to the Prince of the Earth as they pass, and otherwise stays close to Keldar. [21:28] 3Mud steps heedlessly onto the bridge, cool as a cucumber in the certainty that the straining ropes and creaking planks can support his girth in motion. 15[21:28] <@VoxPVoxD> "KELDAR! The Tiger of Nexus! And you have brought friends. Have you come to see the Emissary as well?" [21:28] 14Stranger is thinking something with a big basement, or room to expand an already existing basement. Even better if said basement can be expanded to add sewer access of some sort -- he's not familiar with the various sanitation aspects of the Undercity, but he assumes they have things like that. 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> The little man behind Nessun gives them each a look before returning to his notes. [21:29] "We'll want something with nice, thick walls- look for older buildings, the ones before the big population booms, those are soundly-built." [21:29] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "That's right! We just, we couldn't let things lie, you know?" [21:29] 4The stranger and the giant walk alongside a thin, bespectacled older man in neat clothing. "Anything will do, for my purposes. If you can tell me what you need, I can try to find something specific." [21:29] 05 His skin is now the deep woody color of, perhaps, someone from a family very near the Dreaming Sea. His hair too, is a vibrant green. His lean muscle is obscured by a few layers of the Judge's carefully arranged scarves, to give him a more middle-aged look. [21:30] 14Stranger nods. "Large basement, thick walls. Preferably in a quiet part of town where no questions are asked. Also, preferably something with multiple approach points -- to make it harder to divine where we are going by just, seeing what roads we're walking down." [21:31] 7Blossom: "In times like these, uncertainty is dangerous." [21:31] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "How is he? Or it, at this point." [21:34] 14To Mud: "Once inside, we'll need to reinforce the doors, the windows -- any place foes could quietly enter or sound could escape. We will likely also have to build a lab for Xu Sim to his specifications. It would be...preferable if we all had enough room for temporary lodgings, but it's only crucial to have bedding for Xu Sim and one or two others. Enough of us have beds in the city [21:34] already, and too many of us at the hideout at once might attract attention." [21:34] "I don't need space. A small cabinet to keep supplies in is enough." 15[21:35] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun's smile quavers, and he claps Keldar on the back, putting himself shoulder-to-shoulder with Xu Sim. He leans in, bending at the waist to bring his face level with Keldar's ear. "In the few days that body has been here, every temple-savant that examined the Emissary has ended up on the slabs alongside him." 15[21:35] <@VoxPVoxD> "It's beyond my power to speculate." [21:36] 3He's nodding along, double-chin wobbling as they go. "I can do that! If I know Xu Sim, and I truthfully I do not, we'll need ventilation for his lab, so that we do not all suffocate in our sleep." [21:36] <@Ferrinus> Keldar: "Hhhhahhhhh... okay. But not you?" 12He glances around, keeps to a whisper. "How close'd'you get?" 15[21:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun: "I thought I got his mask off, but that was just a potent fit of imagination, so I gather. Some fel curse that clings to the corpse, isn't that right, Bubo." 15[21:37] <@VoxPVoxD> The little man, apparently called "Bubo", doesn't look up. "Well surmised, your excellency." 15[21:38] <@VoxPVoxD> "We really must be going, however. The rest of the delegation is waiting for you at the Tower even now." [21:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Well, I've ducked a couple different death curses in my time, and I've got a sorceress and a master examiner, here. ...you don't happen to know offhand what it was most of the casualties tried when they bought it, though, do ya?" 15[21:40] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun: "Nonsense, Bubo! We had to wait the best part of a week for them to get out here. I can keep them waiting another half-hour, if need be." To Keldar: "I see you brought scholars! No doubt finer by far than the slop you can draw from the troughs of Nexus." [21:40] "Pardon me, my Lord - have you noticed any unusual insects around? Honeybees, perhaps?" [21:40] 14Stranger: "As far as it goes, the only two things that differentiate a laboratory from any other room with a table are...yes, ventilation, and soundproofing. The latter can be provided by a basement. I trust the former to your discretion and innovation." [21:41] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hey, we got more than a few good ones here! ...though these are from out of town, point of fact." [21:42] "I've worked on forges before, and I suspect that they're of similar hazard and design. Nice stone floors, smooth and non-flammable, high ceilings and ample space for noxious fumes to escape." 15[21:43] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun bows to Blossom and Xu Sim, a courtly gesture confounded to absurdity by his size. "I remember you, my lady, though I don't recall your name. And this woodborn gentleman is unknown to me entirely." [21:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar leaves them to introduce themselves. 15[21:45] <@VoxPVoxD> To Keldar, the little man apologizes. "The Dragonlord of course refers only to the government of Nexus, such as it is, rather than its citizens. He means no offense." [21:45] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, well, whichever. Who're you again?" [21:46] 14Knowing precisely what they're looking for, the three of them get to work. 15[21:47] <@VoxPVoxD> Judge knows these streets, even the ones nobody else remarks upon. And Stranger has an eye for the obscure that borders on uncanny intuition. Within two hours they've found a fine location, inset on a little pond that drains swift and clean into one of the Yellow's many tiny tributaries. It's a modest above-ground house made of river-clay and wood. Its floor is partially collapses. But its basement is a real prize, a spacious cavern that was hollowed out by the rivers in some bygone Age, which whoever dug this basement accidentally found their way into - hence the collapsed floor. [21:47] "I am Sarastro, primarily a theogonist by trade, though I come here as a favor to my dear friend Thodo of Eavesbark." [21:47] 3Is it just... abandoned? [21:47] "I wouldn't have thought to come here. This definitely seems to have all the qualities you asked for." [21:48] 3Mud breaks off a chip of rotted floor and grinds it between his plump fingers. "Yes... This will do." [21:48] "And I am Gentle Breeze of Autumn, out of Xianyu." 7She bows slightly in return. "How do you do." 15[21:48] <@VoxPVoxD> It's uninhabitable, but not uninhabited. There are a prodigous number of rats down here, and the little brooks that carver the cave floor are full of emerald-colored sea-unicorns and the odd rattlewhale. [21:49] 14Stranger smiles and looks around. How's the neighborhood? 15[21:49] <@VoxPVoxD> Quiet. This is a residential area, and its residents are impoverished but not painfully so. Like everyone else in this city, they get by. [21:51] 14Good. Good. Hopefully the shell of the house is intact enough to allow Mud license to transform what's inside away from their prying eyes. [21:51] 3Mud stoops low to the brook and scoops up a sea-unicorn on his palm, patting it gently before setting it aside. "Marvelous little creatures." [21:52] "They're certainly resourceful. We should try to imitate them." [21:52] 3He watches the little creature flop back into the stream and, traumatized, swim away as fast as it possibly can. 15[21:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun: "Honeybees? I can't say I have. It's a bit early in the season for them, isn't it? Certainly the natural ones, at least." 15[21:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Bubo Malcavet, sir. Personal attache to the Dragonlord." [21:54] 14To Mud: "What do you need from us to begin your work?" [21:54] 3Mud stands and wipes his hands on his robe. Now: Where can a worker acquire some building materials? [21:54] <@Ferrinus> 12I'm assuming the name means nothing to Keldar, so he'll just nod automatically. "Right. Been with 'im a while?" 15[21:54] <@VoxPVoxD> "Oh, a fair while." [21:55] "Some wooden planks, charcoal, and nails." [21:55] "The clay in these walls will do fine for the rest." [21:56] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "What's the baddest thing you ever saw him take down?" 15[21:56] <@VoxPVoxD> "In person?" [21:56] "Are there unnatural bees, in this part of the world?" [21:57] 14Stranger thinks he saw a construction yard with a wholesaler attached during one of his jaunts through the Undercity... [21:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Yeah. Like, are you standing behind him with his paperwork even as he's crushing demons or whatever flat?" 15[22:00] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun: "There are beekeepers, who grow hives for their honey all year round." [22:01] "What a city, Nexus! Would you do me the favor of telling me where they can be found?" 15[22:01] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Oh, heavens no. I try to avoid violence as much as I can, yes yes yes. I wasn't anywhere near Sentinel Hill when you all acquitted yourselves with such heroism, for instance. I would say the greatest foe I've seen the Dragonlord dispose of is a squad of assassins, sent to steal the breath from his throat as he slept." [22:02] 7Blossom: "Shocking!" 15[22:02] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun Dorma shrugs his massive shoulders. "I couldn't guess, doctor." [22:03] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Ah, well. Who'd sent 'em?" 12He looks to 'Sarastro'. "Ah, you should've asked earlier. It's a ways from the forge district, like thattaway-" 12The mercenary points. "I'll show you, later." [22:04] "Well, thank you in any case. We shan't delay you any longer." 15[22:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun gives Xu Sim a searching look, but his keen eyes quickly find other things to look at, like Blossom. Bubo's attention is more persistent, peering at the woodblooded man from behind those small dark glasses, but he betrays no suspicion or ill satisfaction. "Cultists," says Nessun Dorma. "Anathema-worshippers." [22:05] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Damn. When was the last time one of those balls started rolling?" 15[22:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun Dorma: "Some weeks ago. It was a trifle. They were canny and vicious, but in the end... they are only human. No offense." [22:07] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hey, none taken. You get whoever sent 'em?" 15[22:07] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo looks up sharply. [22:09] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar peers at Bubo. 15[22:09] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun: "...I think so. I'm a little hazy on the details. The Lunar Anathema have a way of bewitching you, you understand. Pheromones or something. I can't remember what... what was the name? It's not important. The Anathema was crushed, I'm confident of that." [22:09] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Damn, one of the metal ones, then? Good on ya." 15[22:10] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "In any event, sir, we really must be going. You can trade war stories with Keldar some other time." To Blossom: "Madam, if I could trouble you for whatever findings you manage to uncover in your expedition? I'd be happy to give you an address to send them to. In case the city government decides to be obstructionist." [22:11] 7Blossom: "I see no reason why not." 15[22:14] <@VoxPVoxD> The little man beams. "Good day, then." 15[22:14] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun: "Come, Bubo!" 15[22:14] <@VoxPVoxD> "Right away, sir..." [22:15] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar watches them go, idly brushes at his tunic, and promptly forgets Bubo exists. He'd like to hear the full story of that dead anathema sometime, though. "Alright - onward!" 15[22:15] <@VoxPVoxD> Before departing, Bubo scribbles an address on the back of a bit of fine paper, and presses it into Blossom's hand. [22:16] 14Stranger leaves Mud and the Judge to handle their various duties for the afternoon and wanders back to the teahouse. Hopefully the Ambassador has sent a bird. [22:16] 4A gray-haired man, possibly a scholar or merchant himself, walks calmly about the market as Mud makes his purchases, complimenting various merchants on their wares, asking pertinent questions about them... and the recent happenings with the Emissary and his 'attacker'." [22:17] 7She examines the paper before putting it in her pocket. Commendably dedicated to his master, that man... whatever his name was. 15[22:18] <@VoxPVoxD> On the way to the teahouse, Stranger is obstructed. A chunk of bread almost falls on his head from a low eave. [22:18] 14Ah. He looks up. 15[22:18] <@VoxPVoxD> A black bird is looking down at him. [22:19] "Greetings." 15[22:21] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom sees that the bit of paper is exceedingly fine, and inked with beauty and care. The end that doesn't have the address on it resembles a prayer strip, albeit the very end of one. It bears a bit of script, which after a moment's focus she identifies as the calligraphy of the Old Realm. Whatever prayer it held is truncated. Only the last few words remain. 15[22:21] <@VoxPVoxD> "Why should you help me?" she asked. 15[22:22] <@VoxPVoxD> "To know the world is to serve it," they said. 15[22:23] <@VoxPVoxD> The bird bobs its head at Stranger, indicating an empty alley up ahead. [22:23] 7What is... [22:23] 14Stranger bows and proceeds down the alley, 'cane' in hand. [22:24] 7She'll figure that out later. [22:24] 3Mud and Straw's return to the hovel is heralded by the thundering of rickety wheels on the uneven cobblestones of Nexus, the fat man bounding down the street, supplies piled atop an improvised rickshaw that at each turn threatens to spill its contents of bricks, lumber, and gleaming nails in all directions. Workmen press up against the walls of buildings at his passing and mothers [22:24] 3scream for their children to come inside from the street. Miraculously, no-one is injured as Mud and Straw pulls up to the front door of the abandoned hovel, panting like a dog. 15[22:30] <@VoxPVoxD> The guards, despite the exchange, look warily at Keldar and company as they march up the steps. "Business?" one croaks. [22:31] 4Judge appears not far behind, much more composed. "I'm not sure how you didn't draw the notice of everyone in town doing that, but you don't seem to have been followed." [22:31] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar nods. "We'd like to examine the body." [22:31] 7Blossom: "That's right. It's imperative we do so quickly." 15[22:32] <@VoxPVoxD> "On whose authority?" [22:33] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar draws a breath and begins to raise a finger, but probably ends up pausing in time for Blossom to start in. 15[22:34] <@VoxPVoxD> In the alley, Stranger meets a lithe young man, hair all black and braided with feathers. This is definitely one of Qaile's tribe, the shapeshifting beastmen who can walk the world or cross it as the crow flies. "You stick out in a crowd," he says, crouching in the shadows. [22:35] "Birds of a feather, 14Stranger says, smiling. "If you'll pardon the expression. To what do I owe the honor?" [22:36] 3When the others return, they find Mud taking a nap atop a pile of loose bricks that have been arranged into the shape of a throne. The rest of the building materials are fanned out in seperate piles within the hovel. 15[22:44] <@VoxPVoxD> The Judge moves in and among the bazaars of Nexus, trading words as freely and fluently as others exchange goods and favors and coins. It takes a while to piece together a history of the cabbagemonger, but once he does it's fairly comprehensive. The cabbagemonger's name is Surik. He inherited the family farm, bringing the cabbages his sister grows out in the farmlands to market to sell. He lost his wife and son to cholera some years back, and his sister never married. It's just the two of them, or was. 15[22:45] <@VoxPVoxD> He was an honest tradesman, to a fault. One thing that keeps coming up in every anecdotes Judge hears is that the man had an uncanny head for rules. Almost nobody in the city can keep the Civilities straight from day to day, and many merchants try to abuse this fact. But not Surik. Surik always knew when it was okay to sell, where it was okay to sell, and who was okay to sell to that week. [22:45] 7Blossom: "Authority? You know perfectly well who we are. Without the Emissary, the enforcement arm of this city is--" 7Her eyes narrow. "Did Valko put you up to this? Is that man trying to expand his little fiefdom?" 15[22:46] <@VoxPVoxD> The guard bristles. "Ma'am, due respect, I don't know what the Guard-Commandant is up to. That's past my pay grade." [22:47] 4So how did he get mixed up in this? He doesn't even sound like a good patsy. 15[22:47] <@VoxPVoxD> The crow-boy looks up at Stranger warily. "Qaile sent me, while someone else goes and gets word from the Lady. She's far to the north of here, near Highland and Thon. Should be a few more days. But here's what we know down here. We saw the red star." 15[22:48] <@VoxPVoxD> "Our medicine men, the wyld singers, they say they heard bells. Bells in their dreams. Bells out of nightmares. That mean anything to you?" [22:48] 14Ah. Pity. But they knew their work would separate them like this. "Hmmm." 14Does it? [22:50] 14Oh, right. The bells in the city that rang upon the Emissary's death. [22:50] 7Blossom: "That's a relief. We were supposed to deliver our report to Pellicia and the Council days ago, but somehow there's always another permit to acquire, one more 'debriefing interview' to sit through. He's trying to beat us to it, I'm sure. Have there been other scholars in to look at the body?" [22:51] "Did they sound iron, or brass?" 15[22:51] <@VoxPVoxD> "Truthfully? Not many. Seems like most of them are being begged off before they get here," the guard confides to Blossom. [22:51] 14He paces a bit, then looks at the boy. "Could they tell?" 15[22:52] <@VoxPVoxD> The crow-boy: "They were silver bells, they said, and there was singing with them. A mourning-song, in foreign words." 15[22:52] <@VoxPVoxD> "And there were visions of honeycombs, of rose fields far as the eye can see." [22:53] "Honeycombs. Roses. Yes, sadly, this does make sense." 15[22:53] <@VoxPVoxD> A honeybee buzzes lazily through the alley then. [22:53] 14His eyes narrow. 15[22:53] <@VoxPVoxD> The crow-boy's do too. [22:54] "Catch it or kill it." 14Stranger brings the cane up, trying to swat it out of the sky. 15[22:56] <@VoxPVoxD> The crow-boy tries and fails. [22:56] 7Blossom snorts. "Trying to divert competition, no doubt. Listen, please just let us through. Valko doesn't have to know when we got in if you don't tell him, and I'd hate to have to make a Council case out of this..." 15[22:56] <@VoxPVoxD> Judge keeps asking around. It's a terrible surprise what happened to Surik. He wasn't even supposed to be working that day. He was supposed to be on his way home to the farm. 15[22:57] <@VoxPVoxD> But Surik underestimated how many cabbages he had left to bring to market - he was saying there were three or four times as many as he thought - so he decided to make one more circuit before heading home. [22:58] 14The bee dodges the crow-boy, but then there's a flash of grey and a glint of light on glass, and suddenly the bee is in a slightly dirty, empty preserves jar that Stranger is screwing shut. "Something," 14he says quietly, "is going on. Something big. I think that...I'm sorry, I didn't get your name. I'm Stranger." [22:59] 4Did someone set him up by... just giving him more cabbages? 15[22:59] <@VoxPVoxD> That would be bizarre, Judge thinks. But... it fits the fact pattern. 15[23:02] <@VoxPVoxD> On the way through the bazaar, he finds something odd. In the space between an awning and the wall, there's a steady buzzing sound. He looks up, and finds wedged in there... a hive. Or no, not even a proper hive. Just a stretch of honeycomb covered by bees and filled with wriggling larvae and amber honey. 15[23:03] <@VoxPVoxD> The crow-boy: "I'm Tuo. Do you know what's happening?" [23:03] 4These bees. Judge has some gloves, but could he get some of that honeycomb without drawing a bunch of attention? 15[23:03] <@VoxPVoxD> That depends. Is he feeling sneaky? [23:05] 4What kind of question is that? 15[23:05] <@VoxPVoxD> The guard looks from Blossom to her compatriots, before sighing. "Alright. But if word reaches the Guard-Commandant, it was someone else who let you in, yeah?" [23:05] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "It's not like we know who you are." [23:05] 14Stranger: "Not entirely. Not exactly. But this has the fingerprints of the Fair Folk on it, and Firewander has been restless. Tuo, if you have anything else to tell me, tell me now -- and then leave this city." 14He raises the jar, keeping his body between the boy and the bee. "I don't know if this is a spy, or if so, to whom it is reporting, but it has 'seen' your face." [23:06] 7Blossom: "Naturally. Thank you~" 7She smiles as they stride past. Oh, that was fun! [23:07] 05 Xu glances over as they pass, returning her smile with a pouty, puckered look of his own. [23:08] <@Ferrinus> Keldar's massaging his hands and cracking his knuckles as he proceeds forwards and downwards. "Alright, so, do we have a plan for deflecting some sort of infinite corpse-warding death curse, here?" [23:09] 4Judge somehow manages to sidle in between the buildings, then runs up the wall briefly to snatch off a piece of honeycomb, hopefully before bees or citizens are any the wiser. [23:10] "I'm fairly certain I'll notice one before we trip it." 7She's not, but how hard could it be? 15[23:10] <@VoxPVoxD> Tuo: "The rivers are thin. Fishing's getting bad. The Gray especially. Do you know this already? It's bad upriver, not so bad here yet." [23:11] 14Stranger nods. "I've heard. One of my colleagues is working on it, in fact. If it's a priority for your clan, I'll make the trip with him myself." [23:12] "My plan is simple, stand behind you before it becomes a problem." [23:12] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I've got some charms and walkaways and things pocketed here, but I'm guessing this is a little above their grade. We should probably check out the other bodies first to see what it was that killed 'em." [23:14] 7Blossom: "Sensible." 15[23:16] <@VoxPVoxD> Tuo nods. "We can hunt, but the fishing was important too. Even more important for the farmers and princes. I hear word of famine." [23:17] 14Stranger: "It might take us a day or two, but the colleague I have in mind holds sway with the river gods." 14After a fashion. "Inform Qaile the concerns will be heard." 15[23:18] <@VoxPVoxD> "Many thanks, Stranger." Tuo jumps, and his body rises into itself, feather-braided hair turning into the glossy body of a crow that wings away, north-northeast. [23:19] "Fly fast. Fly safe." [23:20] 14When the boy is gone, Stranger heads back to the teahouse to check on things there, and then will return to the hideout. [23:21] 14Bee-jar under his arm. 15[23:21] <@VoxPVoxD> The Crematory Temple is even brighter and airier within than without. Outside, the afternoon light was deepening. In here it's bright as midday. Their footsteps echo on the soapstone floors, and white-robed priests bustle to and fro around them. Since they're inside, no one gives the solars any attention. If they didn't belong they wouldn't have come in through the front door. [23:25] 4Judge heads back to the newly discovered hideout with his piece of honeycomb. 15[23:25] <@VoxPVoxD> It's a big temple, and navigation would be tricky... except! One of the sets of double doors is sealed, and as they walk and observe nobody sees anyone going in or out. [23:26] 3Mud walks the bridge in all its creaking glory. He unfurls his scroll and runs some numbers, tests the tensile strength of the ropes, scowls, runs them again. Contented, Mud and Straw uncoils a length of rope from his satchel and giddily runs from one end of the bridge to the other, running it in loops through each of the tension points to replace the frayed original rope. The rotted [23:26] 3planks are pulled out and replaced, the knots providing tension to the supports are undone and redone, and when all's said and done Mud and Straw steps onto the bridge and falls through a gap in the boards into the river below. [23:26] 3Mud and Straw pulls himself up the muddy bank, coughs, apologizes to the water spirits (if any may live in the polluted effluva of Nexus) and makes his way back up to his tools to begin anew. [23:27] <@Ferrinus> 12Like he said, Keldar'd like to get a preparatory look at the victims of the Emissary's corpse before tackling the corpse itself. Any indication as to where those are? He'll just grab a priest and ask if need be. 15[23:28] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar's directed to a smaller mortuary-chamber, one full of long drawers and cold jars. It's very cold in here. [23:28] 3The new boards are pulled out and replaced with new-new boards carefully interlocking like the scales of a dragon, supported at each point by triangular interlocking knots of rope secured to the banks with iron pins. Mud and Straw runs the length and back, twice, to confirm that this new iteration will last a decade or more. 15[23:29] <@VoxPVoxD> All three of the Solars can tell that this is a geomantic effect, subtle but potent. [23:30] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar waves around. "Well, you're the sorcerers. Tell me how these guys bought it." 15[23:30] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud's accumulated a small crowd of onlookers here, locals to the neighborhood. At first they're frustrated by this fat man blocking the bridge, but as they see him work their grumbling turns to cheers - as well as more than a few laughs and gasps when he falls down into the muck. [23:31] 14Stranger probably wanders up during this time. He'll take the opportunity to watch whoever is watching -- and see if he can't identify some community leaders. 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> It doesn't take the temple team long to find the relevant corpses - the slabs they've been shelved in are slick and red, and the sheets draped over them are soaked through. 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar recognizes the effect immediately. They say the Emissary could boil a man alive from the inside just by looking at him through that mask. 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar's seen it done. Not a pretty business. [23:34] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I guess that trick didn't stop working, eh?" [23:36] 3There's some clapping and cheering as Mud finishes his maiden journey across the span, then turns on his heel at the landing at the other side, waving others across. He squats down atop a simple stone bench and gleefully greets those who pass with a pleasant smile and an upraised hand. [23:37] "Next, I think I'm going to do something about the roads. I noticed there's a bit of a stench, I think you could use some gutters to collect the waste and maybe something to make the cart rides a bit easier." 15[23:38] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger sees, among the crowds, an old woman who the other locals treat with an almost unconscious reverence. She's tiny and stooped and her hair is white and wild. [23:39] 14He will sidle up as they both watch Mud gleefully high-fiving the crowd. "He's quite something, isn't he?" [23:40] 05 Xu absentmindedly reaches a hand into his billowing robes to stroke Piotr's strange artifact as he stalks through the dead, carefully examining their remaining auras and whatever ghostly residue might have remained with the bodies, rather than any merely physical signs of injury. His mind can't help but stray back to the feeling of blackest treason he sensed when the star flashed in the... [23:40] ...sky. Was the Emissary betrayed in such a fashion? 15[23:41] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim undertakes the grisly business of studying the remains closely. The bodies are all but voided of fluid, leaking from the eyes, ears, mouth, foam crusted and congealed at every visible orifice. He's able both to confirm that Keldar's supposition was right, and learn something more - one of the corpse's fingertips are visibly burnt and reduced to pustules. Whatever provoked their demises, it started there - this woman touched the Emissary's body. [23:42] 7Blossom is only a practicing sorceress by instinct and guesswork, but she's very well educated. 15[23:42] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom notices something further on those hands, a smear of something embedded under her fingernails. They come away into Blossom's hands if she's careful. This looks like - oh dear. 15[23:43] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom knows exactly what this is. No student of the histories of the Realm could possibly not. 15[23:43] <@VoxPVoxD> This is iron thistledown. 15[23:44] <@VoxPVoxD> The stuff that the war-manses of the great Sword of Creation, the "Realm Defense Grid", used to drive back the fae armies at the dawn of the Realm. 15[23:44] <@VoxPVoxD> It came off the Emissary's body. It rubbed off on her hands before she died. 15[23:45] <@VoxPVoxD> They're so delicate here, slender and light like simple iron filings. [23:45] 3The fat man reaches down to the road, wraps his stubby fingers around a cobblestone, thinks for a moment, then rips it up. "This is a fine stone. Really, they're all fine stones. It's just the arrangement is all wrong. This rock is much better... here." 3Mud waddles forward, heedless of the foot traffic around him and rips up another stone, replacing it with the former. "And this [23:45] one..." 15[23:45] <@VoxPVoxD> But not even the savants of the Heptagram could tell you how many of the raksha were destroyed by them. 15[23:46] <@VoxPVoxD> The old woman doesn't look at Stranger as she watches Mud work. "I should say so..." [23:46] "No, that trick definitely did not stop working. Also: observe these fingertips. When we observe the Emissary, we must not touch the body." [23:46] 14Stranger blinks as Mud moves on. "And there he goes again." [23:47] "I would have thought he'd start with the building, rather than the street." [23:47] 7Blossom: "This is... surprising. Do you know what this is?" 7She shows the other two the small smear of thistledown. [23:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar peers. "Uh..." [23:47] 14Stranger manages not to jump. Did the Judge just slip into the conversation out of the aether? [23:48] "This is iron thistledown, the ammunition used by the Imperial War-manses against Fae armies. The Scarlet Empress drove back the raksha with this when she founded the Realm." [23:48] 7She continues. "It must have come off of the Emissary's body." [23:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Shit, that's ir- yeah, yeah. But... which is it?" [23:48] 4He does have a tendency to do that. He was wandering back from the market. [23:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Did it kill the Emissary... or did it fail to protect the Emissary?" [23:48] "This city wouldn't be standing here if the Realm Defense Grid had been used in our lifetime." [23:48] 3Tight fit the stones in Mud's new road, secured by the perfection of their fitting. Great care is taken and no stone is unused, though a few particularly weak stones are smashed with his hammer and mixed into a gravel that is sown along the sides where the street meets the buildings in order to accomodate the rainwater that would otherwise collect into fetid pools lining the district. [23:49] <@Ferrinus> 12Does iron thistledown have to be catalyzed or fired somehow? Is it just lethal to the fae on contact? How's the stuff work? [23:49] 7Blossom: "It may be neither. The Emissary might have been what kept that army from marching out of Firewander, and the raksha merely took advantage of the hole in the city's defenses." 15[23:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Iron thistletown is a standing weapon, projected from a war-manse with great heat and velocity. In full glory it's said to look like a cross between a snowstorm and a meteor shower, blanketing vast distances. [23:50] 3Before the sun sets on Nexus, the entire street of the neighborhood has been ripped up and re-ordered into a smooth, even surface that would be the match of any of the finer boroughs. [23:50] <@Ferrinus> 12So this is thistledown that hasn't actually been used, yet, right? As otherwise it'd just be slag or vapor or something. 15[23:51] <@VoxPVoxD> How is Keldar's metallurgy? [23:52] <@Ferrinus> 12Well, he's probably great at identifying the make and material of stuff that specifically goes into combat and adventuring gear. No real ability to make it, though. [23:53] 14Does the Judge have the honeycomb on him, still? [23:53] 4Yes. "I found more of those bees, and some of their honeycomb." [23:55] 14Judge shows him the jar, still half-covered by his robe. "I found this buzzing around a meeting with a contact." [23:55] 14Stranger shows him the jar, still half-covered by his robe. "I found this buzzing around a meeting with a contact." 15[23:55] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim and Blossom can tell that this iron actually has been melted to the point of brittleness. When it's active, a piece of iron thistletown is like unto a snowflake, and these are more akin to iron filings. This was fired at someone, albeit not recently. 15[23:55] <@VoxPVoxD> The easy deduction here is that it was embedded in the Emissary. [23:55] 14To Judge: "Can you take it back to the hideout? I'd like to have a word with the community leaders here about keeping this, ah, quiet." [23:55] 14Somehow. [23:55] 05 Xu Sim checks over his shoulder as he sprinkles bits of powdered rhinocerous knuckle, crushed white lead, a drop of salt water, a crumble of tallow, all onto a small spoon he has procured to gently scrape away at the iron thistledown. Each new reagent he drops upon the spoon - decanting from some height - produces a small puff of smoke, a bit of light, perhaps the hint of a shape of a... [23:55] ...skull, and so on. [23:56] 4He nods, and strolls on past Stranger and Mud's working. [23:57] 7Excessively Righteous Blossom carefully cleans the thistledown from her hand. "Curious. It looks like he was actually shot with a thistledown payload. When, though? And by whom?" [23:57] 14To the old woman: "He's just going to keep going, you know. Not demanding pay. Not settling for anything less than perfection in his works. It's his nature, this man." [23:57] 14Stranger: "And that's going to lead to questions." 15[23:57] <@VoxPVoxD> "Truly remarkable," the old woman says, clapping with delight at Mud's handiwork. The others join her. "We've wanted this road tended to for years, but who has time for us? And this man just does it, without asking payment." 15[23:57] <@VoxPVoxD> Her eyes narrow at Stranger's words. "What are you getting at?" [23:57] "Few could use such an esoteric weapon." 15[23:58] <@VoxPVoxD> None could. Iron thistledown has, for centuries, been the sole prerogative of the Scarlet Empress. 15[23:58] <@VoxPVoxD> With her gone... [23:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar looks around the room. "Is this... is the fucking, did the damn Realm assassinate him somehow? From all the godsdamn way over on the Blessed Isle?" [23:59] 3When the sun sets on Nexus, tonight, this small, crowded district- really, just an angled street between wharves of the great canals and the hovels sprung up around it- it will set on a safer, cleaner, more orderly place than it last arose upon. And really, in the end, isn't that the most anyone can hope to accomplish in this fallen age? Mud and Straw wipes the sweat and dirt from [23:59] 3his forehead, collects his tools, and with a pile of planks over his shoulder, sets off for the final project of the day. [23:59] 7Blossom shakes her head. "Impossible. I doubt the Sword of Creation can aim so finely as to assassinate a single man and leave the rest of the city untouched. Also, only the Empress had the ability to work its controls." [00:00] 14Stranger: "And he never will. And eventually he will leave, as all things do. But until then...he and his services are yours. So long as no one comes to take them from you." [00:00] "Perhaps it could be synthesized by some other means. We will surely have to examine the body." [00:01] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "What's the, uh... say you wanted to shoot someone with this stuff, and you had some of the ammo on hand. What do you need in terms of a launcher? Minimum?" [00:03] 7That's a good question. Would you need anything more than firesand and a barrel? 15[00:03] <@VoxPVoxD> The old woman: "Are you threatening me, sir?" [00:04] 14Stranger: "I am merely remarking on the realities of this world. The things that threaten you -- this community -- are not me, nor are they him." 15[00:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar knows that such a thing would be impossible. To project iron thistledown from even something the size of one of the great lux-cannons of Lookshy would be impossible. It'd melt and clump and come out as an ugly cannonball. From something like a flame piece? It'd blow the barrel apart before it did anything useful. No, iron thistledown is a weapon of armies against armies. If someone's been hit by iron thistledown, it was a war manse that did it. [00:07] 3And so it comes to pass that when the others return from their various efforts they find that the safehouse has not been finished- not even begun, actually, but that the whole neighborhood around it has been more or less rebuilt. Mud is, of course, napping on his mekshift throne of bricks with a few jugs of apology beer next to him. He'll get to it after his nap, of course. [00:07] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "...it'd be like, a damn building, right? Yeah, no, not even one of those big sorcerous ballistae or whatever'd do it properly. I've heard about what this stuff looks like in action." [00:08] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "How in the fuck, then, does this happen? Who managed to stick the Emissary with this stuff without blowing up an entire district? ...has it been stuck to his body for centuries, or something?" [00:08] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Let's, uh - let's look at the genuine article, I guess. And make sure not to touch it barehanded." [00:08] 7Blossom: "It must have been..." 15[00:09] <@VoxPVoxD> As they depart, they find the door to where the Emissary's body is presumably kept remains sealed. [00:10] <@Ferrinus> 12What's a priest say when Keldar demands access? [00:12] 14Stranger: "We won't be here forever. We will move on, eventually. But while we are he, we -- specifically, he -- is at your disposal. A cart wheel needs fixing. A bellows won't heat. A roof leaks. A tool goes dull or weak or wrong. He will be by. He has a nose for these things. He will fix things that you don't even know needs fixing. Any requests your people have, they bring to [00:12] you, and you bring to us." [00:13] 14Stranger: "And here is the catch: only your people come to you. Only you come to us. No one from outside knows. Especially not the watch. I will ask him to be more...discreet than he was today. If asked, your craftsmen have been diligent and hardworking, efficient and quiet. And that's not a lie, as for the time being, he is your craftsman." 15[00:13] <@VoxPVoxD> The first priest Keldar grabs says, "Are you insane? Didn't you hear what happened to Tellagra and the adjutants?" [00:15] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Were they the people who personally repelled the cataphractoi that charged out of Firewander right at the moment of the Emissary's death?" 15[00:16] <@VoxPVoxD> The old woman gives Stranger a long look. Then she sniffs. "To hell with the watch anyhow. You've got friends here if you want them, stranger." 15[00:17] <@VoxPVoxD> The priest: "...no." 15[00:17] <@VoxPVoxD> "The door'll open if you push it. Ring the bell if one of you starts liquefying." [00:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Well, we were. Two of us, I mean, but we're vouching for this dude. And will do." [00:18] 14Stranger touches his forehead in a hatless salute. "Glad to hear it. I'm sure you already know where to find us, my lady." 14Then he slips into the crowd, idly twirling his cane. [00:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar puts some hard-wearin gloves on before cracking his knuckles and pushing open the great doors. [00:19] 05 Xu Sim strides over to the door as soon as the priest explains. He surreptitiously retrieves the bauble he had been fiddling with earlier - a complicated glass and brass object, dangling on a rather fat iron chain. 15[00:21] <@VoxPVoxD> The doors yield to Keldar's strength. The room inside is all but barren, lit with the kind of white light that brings every imperfection in your skin into relief. It's a harsh light, the light of insights you'd prefer to avoid. It contains a single long table, almost altar-like, bisecting the center of the room. At the center of this table lies the Emissary in repose. 15[00:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Still in cloak and cape and silvered mask. Arms crossed over his chest. Blood spatters across his chest from where the ill-fated clerics must have stooped over his body. [00:22] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Well... okay, so, we won't look the mask in the face, and we won't touch the body directly. Anyone got, uh, chopsticks? Tongs?" [00:24] "This," 05 Xu replies, hoisting the artifact gently on its chain. [00:24] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Whassat?" [00:29] "All will be well, Keldar." 15[00:29] <@VoxPVoxD> The brooch gets hot when he says that. [00:30] <@Ferrinus> 12Visibly so? 15[00:30] <@VoxPVoxD> Palpably so. It doesn't glow red-hot but in the chill of the temple all three of them can feel its warmth. [00:30] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Is that a lie detector? Try another one." [00:30] 05 Xu rolls up his sleeves as he approaches the body. [00:31] 05 Is it covered in iron thistledown? Or any other obvious poisons? Or perhaps the risk is more metaphysical? 15[00:32] <@VoxPVoxD> There's no iron thistledown visible on the Emissary's body. Whatever came off on the cleric's hands came off his skin. 15[00:34] <@VoxPVoxD> The body looks, in almost all respects, like it did on Sentinel Hill. 15[00:34] <@VoxPVoxD> Two obvious discrepancies present: [00:34] 05 Xu runs his hand gently across the cloak as he considers the Emissary like a Westerner might examine a sea-mantis before breaking out a mallet. 15[00:35] <@VoxPVoxD> -The Emissary's body has a spatter of blood on it, no doubt from the grisly fate of Tellagra. 15[00:35] <@VoxPVoxD> -The Emissary's mask has plainly been removed and then put back. [00:35] <@Ferrinus> 12..! [00:36] 05 In that case - Xu blows on his hand for a moment before grasping the mask and hoisting it off. 15[00:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim is not struck down, smote, or boiled alive. 15[00:38] <@VoxPVoxD> The Emissary's silvered mask pulls back to reveal... 15[00:39] <@VoxPVoxD> A man's face, soft and pointed in its features. His skin is the color of bruised peaches, purple-blotched pink. His face is ragged with scars, iron embedded in his skin almost marring him beyond recognition. 15[00:39] <@VoxPVoxD> All three of his eyes are closed. [00:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I don't know what I was expecting." [00:40] "Fascinating," 05 Xu breathes. 15[00:40] <@VoxPVoxD> The two eyes that sit where a man's eyes typically would are small and deep-set. Even in death one is compelled to envision merriment and wrath in them, pinpricks of passion like stars on the horizon. 15[00:40] <@VoxPVoxD> The third eye, set high on his forehead, is sewn shut with fresh thread. [00:41] 7Blossom: "Now who would have done that...?" [00:41] "Nobody who has been boiled alive." 15[00:41] <@VoxPVoxD> Emerging from the temples are two broken protrusions of bone or some other keratinous matter. The immediate first guess suggests that antlers once grew here, though they were broken off long ago indeed - the breaks are all but worn smooth. [00:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "...Dorma. Right? Only guy who came and managed to leave." [00:42] "I doubt he is the needle and thread type." [00:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Then a... servant, or artifact, or something. Or else someone snuck in here, like we were thinking of doing..." [00:44] 7Blossom: "What about his assistant? His... assistant." 7She finishes lamely. He was short, wasn't he? Fairly short. Or did he just look shorter when compared to the massive Dorma? [00:44] "Keldar, if you please," 05 Xu hands him the mask. [00:45] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, yeah, he had someone holding stuff...?" 12The Dawn takes the mask absent-mindedly. [00:46] "The address he gave me had the end of a prayer written in Old Realm on it." [00:46] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "How'd it run?" 15[00:46] <@VoxPVoxD> He was short, though in Nessun's wake he seemed miniscule. He was about Xu Sim's height. What in the world was his name...? [00:47] "I need a mirror. Either of you?" 15[00:47] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar's holding one right now, in point of fact. [00:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar raises and tilts the mask a bit. "Good enough?" 15[00:47] <@VoxPVoxD> The Emissary's mask is flawlessly reflective, though if Keldar looks at it from the face side, finds it clear as glass. [00:47] 7Blossom: "I don't think he told us his name. Anyway, it says 'Why should you help me? She asked. 'To know the world is to serve it,' They said." 7She shrugs. "That's all. It doesn't mean anything to me." [00:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Me neither." [00:47] "Should work. Next, a shroud or the like..." 05 He glances around the room. [00:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar didn't bring a cloak or anything, but if all else fails he could probably just step out and grab one from another room. This is a mortuary of sorts, after all. 15[00:49] <@VoxPVoxD> There are gauzy sheets in any room Keldar cares to look. [00:50] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar returns with on shortly, idly thinking on the prayer all the while. [00:51] "Blossom, hold the gauze just so," 05 Xu Sim arranges the two of them so that mask will carry at most the reflection of the third eye - he slips his hands under the shroud, using the mirror to guide his motion. Now the autopsy can begin in earnest. 15[00:56] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar thinks about the prayer. It's a curious thing. But every time he tries to mull over its origin or meaning, his attention is drawn back to the Emissary. Keldar is certain that this corpse has the look of a raksha, mostly. And something is tickling the back of his mind. Something he heard. Something he read. Something Xu Sim said... 15[00:59] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom holds the fullness of it in her mind. She can feel the weight of the prayer, the solemnity of the gesture. Something precious and broken was handed to her, each side containing a fragment of knowledge, useless on its own, powerful if deployed correctly. Either side's knowledge might better her life. But both...? And it feels especially pertinent now, looking at this corpse. It's obvious, isn't it? The prayer is, among its many meanings, a meditation on the Emissary. To have been elsewhere, to have come here. To live and die by the old etiquette... 15[01:00] <@VoxPVoxD> That face. That old and wounded face. That terrible gaze. 15[01:00] <@VoxPVoxD> The name is on both their lips in that moment. The Red-Eyed King. The Sword of Chaos. Balor. [01:01] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Say, haha. You know what'd actually make sense, technically?" [01:02] 7Blossom: "Sacred Yu-Shan... it's Balor of the Terrible Gaze!" [01:02] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "You pick, you know, the first high-profile fairy you can think of - one that goes back far enough to have actually caught a faceful of ironthistle -" [01:02] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Whaaaaat? No. No, c'mon, I was kidding." [01:03] 7Blossom: "I wasn't. It's him." [01:04] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "But." [01:04] 05 Xu Sim carefully cuts his way through the flesh, moving with meticulous precision. His knife is very small, and between it, a single silvered chopstick, and his bare hands, he dives into the bloody work of his profession. 15[01:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim can scarcely hear them. His focus is absolute. He cuts with a quickness and a surety backed by Hell itself. 15[01:04] <@VoxPVoxD> The corpse yields to knowledge. Even him. Even here. Flesh holds no secrets. [01:06] 7Blossom: "To be old enough to have caught a volley of thistledown and yet live, that face, that eye... the prayer shouts it, now that I've seen his face. It couldn't be anyone else." 15[01:07] <@VoxPVoxD> The Emissary's entire body is wracked with thistledown scars, from head to toe. Only his hands are free of blemish. The lavender skin of a raksha noble of the eastern Wyld yields in places to the blotchy pink-brown of human skin. As Xu Sim cuts, he finds a curious conundrum. The bodies of the fae have only the impressions of biology, organs and viscera serving a ceremonial purpose. But this body... it lived. Its heart beat blood from head to toe. It hungered and hurt and suffered all the urges and frailties of the flesh. 15[01:08] <@VoxPVoxD> It changed. [01:08] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "So the... the prayer's saying what? This thing - the Emissary - Balor - it was serving the world? How the hell would Dorma know that?" [01:09] 7Blossom: "There must be lore in Lookshy from the Shogunate at least. Maybe they've always known the Emissary's secret." [01:10] 05 Xu continues the bloody work, shaking his head as he proceeds. He is frowning now, deeper in concentration as he drives after the secrets contained in the flesh before him. 15[01:11] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim cuts, and finds the border-marches of the flesh, the liminal places where Wyld-nature is given over to flesh. They run melancholic, along the channels dictated by the elements of earth, by the whims of caution and despair. It was iron thistledown that brought Balor low, but it was heartbreak that changed him. 15[01:12] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim theorizes as he cuts. But a raksha is a raksha. It is not a creature of flesh and blood. It's a creature of will and rules. What rules exist that could sustain what remains of the Emissary's fae nature? What laws could he have- it's maddeningly obvious now. 15[01:13] <@VoxPVoxD> The Dogma! The Civilities! The gilt laws of Nexus. They fed him. They kept him whole. 15[01:14] <@VoxPVoxD> He should have died here, all those centuries ago. But in his despair he found wisdom. He remade himself. 15[01:15] <@VoxPVoxD> Balor fashioned himself 'Emissary' before anyone else would have respected the name. And in so doing, Nexus blossomed from the ruined city that should have been his tomb. 15[01:16] <@VoxPVoxD> But this is prologue. The origins of the Emissary are not at issue here. Even the body, maddening wonder that it is, is not why Xu Sim set to work. 15[01:16] <@VoxPVoxD> The question is this: what was it that finally killed the Emissary? [01:18] 05 Balor's star was in the heavens at the moment of his passage. Surely it can't have been on the brow of this strange body... 15[01:19] <@VoxPVoxD> As Xu Sim cuts, he can find in the Emissary no wound of the flesh so grievous as to explain his death. No poison, no cut, or battering. The Emissary's death is a product of the failure of his fae self. Something destroyed the laws of Nexus, or his relationship with them, so fully and fiercely that he could no longer live by them. He could no longer live at all. 15[01:19] <@VoxPVoxD> The cabbage-man's presence? Pure serendipity. A fault of the stars. 15[01:25] <@VoxPVoxD> A thought occurs to Keldar, as the one whose mind is most oriented to such considerations and least overcome with epiphany. 15[01:25] <@VoxPVoxD> If that star, Balor's star, shone all the way into the Wyld... 15[01:26] <@VoxPVoxD> ...who would dare answer it? Who is mighty enough to see that sign and march toward it? 15[01:26] <@VoxPVoxD> What is coming to Nexus? 15[01:30] <@VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: Bandages, banners, and banshees