Lady's Grace, cutters!

 

„Entropy is ecstasy!“

Doomguard slogan

 

 

 

First Market Day of Retributus, 126 HR

As promised, Askorion led them to the Black Sails, the tavern where they hoped to find Eliath. They left the Marble District, at the foothills of which lay the Slumbering Lamb, and crossed the Gray District, which surrounded the Mortuary. It merged into the Central District, one of the better areas of the Lower Ward. Naghûl was relieved to leave the Hive behind for now - though not for long, he feared - and the others seemed to share his feelings. Not that the Sinker pub was a much more welcome place to the Sensate. They passed the New Market and the Foundry District, which, as always, was filled with smoke and the noise of many workshops. Then they finally reached Swordhold, the district near the Armory where the Black Sails was located. Here, too, the buildings were rather simple and plain, some of them quite tall, but far more modest than in the upper wards. As a rule, there were no gardens, only large courtyards and backyards, where workshops and stores were located or small animals such as chickens, trichas or sand lizards were kept. Here and there, of course, individual residents had obtained and sown seeds, so that in some places you could see a small courtyard covered with grass, a few flowers or bushes, here and there even a single tree. But these were exceptions. On the whole, the Lower Ward was gray, dominated by massive stone buildings, busy and noisy, the air mostly sooty from all the forges here. But it wasn't the squalor of the Hive, not the decaying houses and patched wooden shacks in between, not the pervasive crime and poverty. The Lower Ward was home to simple and robust, but mostly honest and hard-working citizens who wanted nothing more than to ply their trade undisturbed and have a good drink in one of the taverns in the evening. When they reached their destination, Kiyoshi said goodbye to them. He wanted to finally go to the Barracks to report back and get further instructions, especially regarding Toranna. Now that they were no longer in the Hive and Swordhold was even at the crossing to the Lady's Ward, Naghûl had no qualms about letting the young soldier go his way this time. They decided that Kiyoshi should return after his report and meet them again in the Black Sails. Then the group let their eyes wander to the tavern Askorion pointed to. It was a sight in itself, and where the tavern's name came from was perfectly obvious: walled into the building, just under the gable, was a medium-sized shipwreck. The bow still stuck out a good way on one side and was supported from below with thick wooden planks to prevent it from breaking away. All three masts were still on the deck, with two of them protruding through the roof of the building. Black sails hung from them. It looked as if the ship had crashed into the building at full speed and got stuck there, and then the house had been rebuilt around the wreckage.

Fascinated, Lereia looked up and Sgillin whistled softly. "Came through a portal, surely?"

The aasimar nodded. "Yes, I strongly suspect so. But no idea from where exactly. It's been there since long before Hashkar."

"Which means for quite a while," Naghûl remarked, and Askorion laughed.

"Indeed. The sails were probably white once, but the soot of the Lower Ward eventually turned them black. Hence the name. I would love to come with you. But Jaya, one of our factors, needs me for something."

"All right." Lereia nodded. "Then we'll try our best to talk to Eliath. Do we have a description?"

"Eliath has been there in the company of several Sinkers, Caylean said. A middle-aged human man, longer brown hair, dressed rather simply. I'm afraid I can't tell you any more details."

They thanked Askorion for the company, said their goodbyes and then entered the tavern. The atmosphere was rather raucous, and at first glance the crowd consisted mainly of Sinkers, mixed in with a few Xaositects, simple craftsmen and workers from the nearby airship port. The decor reflected the name and the shipwreck outside: thick ropes and nets were dangling from the ceiling beams everywhere, and the walls were hung with steering wheels, old anchors, stuffed sea creatures and navigational instruments. Clouds of smoke hung thickly in the air, it was fuggy and the light was rather hazy. Lereia beckoned the others closer.

"I will try to recognize a signature on hooded persons or on those who could fit Askorion's description," she explained quietly. "I guess we can grab a table. As long as they're in sight, it should work."

Jana stepped closer and nodded, visibly tense. Naghûl looked around, something very specific in mind. It didn't take him long to find it. "Ah, there's the bar!"

"Yes, let's have a drink, please," Jana asked, sighing. "I mean, that's what we're here for, after all."

"Bring me a mead?" asked Sgillin as Naghûl was already on his way to the back.

"Aye," the tiefling nodded.

He walked up to the counter, ordered a large jug each of water, rum and mead and casually tossed the requested coins onto the rugged wood. You could probably tell that the massive bar had already caught a blade or two. Then he made his way back through the tavern, which was already quite crowded in the afternoon. The others had found a round table in a slightly raised alcove, which they had to climb up a few well-worn wooden steps to reach. Separated by a curtain, there was another alcove in which sat a group that had probably aroused the interest of the others: a dwarf, a human woman and a medusa, all three wearing the a Doomguard badge - and a middle-aged human man with shoulder-length brown hair, but without the sign. Now, there might be many such humans, but right now the man was the only person in the tavern who matched Askorion's rough description. Naghûl took a closer look at him and the medusa as he walked up the steps to the alcove. Even in Sigil, it was wise to exercise some caution around a medusa. And a medusa from the Doomguard ... Naghûl didn't want to be prejudiced, but ... Well, if he was honest with himself, he did want to be. He simply didn't like the Sinkers, and that was that. He put the jugs down and took a seat.

Sgillin had pulled a packet of cards out of his pocket. "Well then," he remarked, looking at the tiefling. "Show me what you've got!"

He placed a few coins on the table and Naghûl followed his example, throwing a few greens in front of him. "I'll shuffle first," he said and reached for the cards.

"But roll back your sleeves," Sgillin replied jokingly.

"Don't trust me, do you?"

"Hm, let me think for a moment ... No."

Sgillin laughed, and Naghûl pushed back his sleeves with a grin and shuffled the cards. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lereia falter briefly. Then she quickly jotted something down on a piece of paper and passed it to Jana. The sorceress had just poured herself a glass of rum and took a large gulp as she slowly pulled the folded piece of paper towards her. She read it, raised her eyebrows and passed it to Sgillin. Naghûl tried not to watch them too curiously, instead dealing two cards to Sgillin, then two for himself and turning one face up. Meanwhile, the half-elf inconspicuously took the note from Jana and read it, while Lereia looked at her intently.

"Well, strike me pink ..." the half-elf murmured quietly, then handed the paper to Naghûl.

Finally, the tiefling was able to pull the small note towards him to see what Lereia had written on it. "Dwarf: heated lead – human woman: vine leaves – human man (Eliath?): amber - medusa: nothing!" was written on the piece of paper.

So Lereia had once again discovered someone whose signature she didn't sense. But why, by the Lady, did it have to be a Sinker of all people? The Sensate in Naghûl wept inwardly. But he pulled himself together, acted as if nothing was wrong and pocketed the note while placing his cards on the table in front of him. "Seventeen," he explained.

Sgillin looked at his cards and threw them on the table. "Twenty-three ... Damn."

"Ha, your greens in my pouch," Naghûl shouted triumphantly and a little louder than necessary to cover his unease at the missing signature of the medusa at the next table.

"Another round," said Sgillin and began to reshuffle.

Jana rubbed her temples and nodded slowly. "Well, at least the rum is good," she said aloud, and then added much more quietly: "A medusa? What are we going to do now? We can't just let her in on it, can we? What if we can't trust her?"

"I'd like to listen to their conversation," Lereia whispered, looking around questioningly.

Sgillin shuffled more slowly. "Hm, I have an idea. But it's risky."

"Let's hear it," Naghûl said and leaned forward.

"Risky is not good," Jana interjected, but still looked at him intently.

"I could hide in the shadows and go near their table," the half-elf explained. "I don't think they'll notice me - unless one of them has truesight."

Naghûl nodded. "I see. But it's actually rather unusual to have it. Especially if they're not high-ups."

"Well, I'll go over there ... But be ready to get out of here very quickly if things go wrong."

Jana drummed her fingers restlessly on the table. "But please be careful. I don't want a fight in here."

Sgillin nodded gently, then tossed the cards on the table in front of him. "Twenty! This time the greens are mine! So ... I'm off to pass water. See you in a moment."

With that, he rose and headed for the exit. Naghûl dealt a round of cards to distract Lereia and Jana. The look on their faces was too obviously concerned, and for once he really didn't want to attract any attention. The two took the cards and nodded at him, understanding. So they began a game, talking quietly, but not too quietly, about trivial topics such as the ozone storm from four days ago and the quality of the rum Naghûl had fetched from the bar. It took longer than the tiefling would have liked for Sgillin - who had apparently scurried back outside, hidden in the shadows - to come back in, back to their table.

"Sorry, I got held up," he said as he sat down.

Naghûl nodded. "Have another drink."

"I won't be told twice!" Sgillin replied and poured himself another tankard of mead. Then he leaned forward and continued more quietly. "First things first: The man with the long brown hair, they actually called him Eliath. So he really is alive, and he's sitting over there."

Jana nodded excitedly and Lereia looked relieved. Naghûl also took a deep breath. At least some good news in all this mess.

"That's something," he whispered. "What were they talking about?"

"This and that," Sgillin reported in a lowered voice. "They're not exactly talking quietly, so I didn't have to get that close. The three Sinkers talk quite a lot and are in a good mood. Eliath seemed somehow confused and disoriented to me. As you would expect from a very hungover person, you know. The first topic was an argument between a few Preservers and Ravagers in the Armory, as the medusa called them. I have no idea what that means."

Naghûl nodded to himself. Two of the subgroups in the Doomguard who traditionally had very opposing views and therefore rarely harmonized well. He did not interrupt Sgillin in his remarks, however, and the half-elf continued.

"Then the subject came up about the murders in the Hive. Apparently the Sinkers don't know anything more about it. The woman said it would be good to speed up the course of entropy, the medusa and the dwarf seemed to see it a little differently. They said the Multiverse is decaying at just the right rate." Sgillin lifted his shoulders, as if to demonstrate that he had no idea what that was about. "They asked Eliath for his opinion, but he answered rather evasively. Then the conversation turned to where to get the best Hellfire Brew in the Hive and that there will be a trial tomorrow against a woman allegedly dealing in baby oil. But there was no mention of the Chosen or that Eliath might have been dead or disappeared. Then it was about some brothel and debauchery that is said to have taken place there. Hmm ..." Sgillin grinned. "Maybe I should look into that."

Naghûl grinned at his friend's final comment and leaned back thoughtfully. So there he was: Eliath, the man they had been searching for so feverishly - with the Doomguard. And in the company of a medusa without a soul signature - so possibly one of them. Naghûl didn't really like this turn of events.

 

__________________________

played March 21, 2012