Session X.
August 5th, 2007
1st rule, state of Delirium, Day of Chastity, 127th year of Factol Haskar's reign

I'm sure that, in the morning Ludvik, woke with a thick head! During the night a light drizzle fell and a moderate wind made a dent in the fog. When I got up there was a rust-colored muck on the streets and buildings, washed down from the sky.

We meet up at Nabod's apartment. After some discussion, I went down to speak to Javis who intimated that the fated didn't need to know about the Portals. He agreed to talk to Ismine about hte Ghost, but wasn't comfortable renting the apartment just yet.

Chryseis goes to the temple for services and visits with Ismine. Chryseis agrees to spend the graveyard shift tonight at the local barracks.

Eki tried to take my bed back home, but the Fated saw it and tallied it along with the room. The fated who came to evaluate Nabod's room was a human woman who did not give her name. She seemed pretty self-involved, and not even my curiosity could get in between herself and her greed. If she looks at it, she claims it, I'm pretty sure we were all found wanting in her tally-books. She evaluates the room to a value of 750 gold rings. Javius seems about to faint!

Since Javius obviously doesn't have that kind of jink around, she claims some items in trade. She grabs the books, loose parchemnt, the quill and a couple of the decorative tools on the desk. That did it too - right then the ghost has a fit! He tries to attack the fated's goons, and makes her move like he was the Lady's own shadow.

Javius gets his receipt and Ekikos takes Javius for a drink to settle his nerves. The fated woman was so jangled that she didn't even stop for a polite word with Wingar.

Later, after the drink, Ekikos returns to the apartment and he figured out that to open the portal connected to the tub you poor salt into it.

Javius paid me later that day, and we get an informal rental agreement with Javius; the apartment is ours for one month.

We spend the afternoon securing the Armoir so it faces the wall, then break up. Chryseis and Ludvik go to the forge and help Hynrik with a big order for the Mercy Killers.

I pay tithe and head home to tell Da my adventures so far.

Ekikos hussels to get to the Marble District and from there into the Blood Pit to find Journos, his master.

And so, with Chryseis at the Barracks, blessing Hard Heads, the night of Lust passes with only the wind to complain.

2nd rule, state of Delirium, 127th year of Factol Haskar's reign.

Eki returned to the Blood Pit while Journos is giving a pep talk to his fighters. Eki learns that the Bloodfire and the Achilla had an altercation in the open area beneath the pit. One Achilia is injured and he later looses his match. It's not a good day for Journos's fighters.

Chryseis heals those brought into custody, then returns to CrossGuard.

Ludvik spent the eve helping Hynrik.

Zoe spent the eve trying not to tell her family about Hyzaik.

We met back up about 4 hours past peak and headed out to the Weary Spirit infirmary in the Hyve Ward. It was a long walk.

The Weary Spirit Infirmary is a large granite edifice, 2 stories tall with small windows, each barred with iron. There is a sign over the lintel of the doorway identifying the place. Beyond the now darkly stained rosewood granite building is a large waste pool in which swollen bodies of the dead float. The stench of decay is overwhelming. On the far edge of the pool a Collector uses a hook to try and pull bodies from the pool.

A shoot from the Weary Spirit allows the infirmary to expel the dead with a minimum of fuss. We watch as a few people arrive. They look desperate but frightened as they enter. Apparently some doctors from the Weary Spirit work at the BloodPit. They use non-magical means and work for free. Most of what they do, they do in the name of research.

A beggar we meet just gets weirder and weirder as we talk to him, finally muttering about "the ocean named earth" before we give up.

Ludvik asks around about he Weary Spirit infirmary. The stories are horrendous - people with holes in their heads, devoid of passion, unnecessary amputations, you name it. Collectors drop by several times a day, just in case another body has been deposited in the pool.

As night falls we head to the bar named Zero. Half-a dozen bleakers are outside; almost everyone is wearing drab green. We find Darioch outside and she leads us in. There's a sarcofocus at one end and people are standing on it. The few tables and chairs in the room have patrons facing away from the stage.

The creature on stage is harsh, 7 feet tall, with gangly limbs and huge noses. They both wear dark tunics, one over dark breeches, and the other with a kilt. The kilt-wearing one has shaved his head to show off a star-burst tattoo. He's reading poetry passionately while the other wears tiny glasses and plays a tiny drum. Darioch introduces them as Morvin & Phinnius - Asgardian Trolls.

We tell Darioch about the Chaositech warriors we encountered and their "attempts" to find the Barmie killers. She tells us that she noticed the sudden rush of deaths in the Hyve because they were so odd. No matter how different the background or appearance of the victim, they all died without a mark on them. Most of the bodies were found in the morning. She found no visible pattern to their deaths either.

By the time we left Zeroes it was raining heavily and the winds were picking up. Ludvik managed to find a burned-out husk of a two-story building where we could find dry shelter above the ground. We get fitful sleep as Chryseis stands watch all night.

Chryseis woke me when she heard a scream. Out in the rain, about 40 feet away, she head someone say "get off me". A man, possibly human, standing between 5'5" and 6' wielding a weapon stood in profile to her. He and a second - both armored by their profile - dragged an unconscious or dead humanoid form out from the alley and into the street. When I looked I thought I might have seen a human, possibly helenic, wearing a leather cap with short dark hair and a stocky build. Two more came out of the alley and looked around. Finally a fifth joined them. Six feet fall and dark cloaked with a deep hood. He put something back under his cloak and turned away.

I tumbled down and hustled after them, following as best I could. I leave chalk marks where I can. The group I'm following is being careful and staying out of the light as they beat a hasty retreat. Fortunately their rear-guard overlooks me in the mud several times when he turns to make certain no one is following. They lead me past a tenement with many windows, a lamp in each window - the place looks familiar, but I can't place it. They eventually stop at the Butcher's block.

Shortly after I leave them, Chryseis awakes Eki and Ludvik and they all climb down to street level. They scare two cutters, who dash for freedom. Chryseis, Eki and Ludivk go out and examine the body. Chryseis finds neither life nor wounds on the body, but after calling on the power of her goddess - she sees the victim's eyes dilate. With further investigation Chryseis finds signs of necromantic magic running over the body.