Lady's Grace, cutters!

 ”Salted bat with goblin pepper, served with cage beer; a bowl of deep-fried rat tails for just 3 greens extra.”

menu of the Slumbering Lamb

 

First Market Day of Retributus, 126 HR

 

When Terrance reached the Slumbering Lamb, it was just after peak and the sky was pale gray and overcast, like so often in Sigil. He wore the long, dark cloak and the black, wide-brimmed hat, as he always did when he traveled incognito in the Hive. No one passing by recognized him, and despite the unpleasant surroundings, he enjoyed the freedoms this brought. As one of Sigil's factols, he was almost always a focus for public interest, for intrigues and power games both inside and outside the faction, for concerns as well as attacks - usually only verbal, fortunately - and for honest as well as hypocritical displays of honor. Being able to move through the streets as an ordinary man, in whom no one was interested and from whom no one wanted anything, was a small personal luxury that this least luxurious corner of Sigil allowed him. Mostly he came here to care for the sick and injured, following the one principle of his former goddess to which he still felt deeply committed: the art of healing. But from time to time he also had other reasons, like meeting with faction informants who would rather not be seen in the Shattered Temple. Today was no exception, although in this case he himself was the informant. He had important news for the Chosen, who were currently searching for Eliath in the Hive, and hoped that Askorion had been able to find them in time for the meeting he aimed at. Basically, however, he had no doubts about that. His young secretary was a master at moving quickly and inconspicuously in all kinds of places. He also possessed the valuable ability to gaze through someone else's eyes: those of a small gray cat whose irises looked exactly like his own: one golden and one turquoise. This was a rather unusual aasimar gift - as Askorion himself claimed, a gift from the Cat Lady to one of her third-generation descendants. This had the effect of giving people the impression that Askorion could be in several places at once - a talent that any factol would appreciate. The tavern of The Slumbering Lamb was located in a two-story slate-roofed stone house that was in fairly good condition by Hive standards. He regularly used it for his meetings in the Hive, so the landlady knew him and knew who he was. When he entered, however, he couldn't see her behind the bar, so she was probably in the kitchen at the back. So he went into the dining room, where he did indeed see Askorion and the Chosen - though not quite in the shape or condition he had expected or hoped for. While Sgillin was mostly the same sight as when they met at the Berronar's, he only recognized the tiefling Naghûl by his red hair and horns, as he now wore a rough, dark grey cowl instead of his noble attire of a few days ago. Which certainly made sense for undercover investigations in the Hive, but was a rather unusual sight for a Sensate. Even more unusual, however, was the large, white tiger standing next to the two men. Terrance paused for a moment, but then remembered Ambar's enthusiastic tales about Lereia being a weretiger. So it had to be the young woman transformed. Next to her stood Sarin's new recruit Kiyoshi, also in a dark robe. But where was Jana? He let his gaze wander around the room a second time before he spotted her: she was stretched out on one of the wooden benches, pale, apparently asleep ... or unconscious? Well, that was an interesting start for the meeting with the Chosen of the new, small alliance that fate had imposed on him with a good dose of irony. He now stepped fully into the room, taking off his hat so that those present could recognize him better. Naghûl and Sgillin greeted him politely and bowed, and the white tigress inclined her head in his direction. While he greeted back and was just eyeing the transformed Lereia with interest, Kiyoshi threw himself on his knees in front of him and touched his forehead to the ground. Terrance, of course, immediately remembered the same scene that had amused him and Erin so much at the Berronar's. But why was the young soldier giving him this in Sigil unusual greeting? Terrance sighed inwardly. Surely he didn't end up doing this to all the factols? Askorion's look betrayed confusion, while Sgillin and Naghûl seemed less astonished and slightly amused. Lereia's feelings were difficult to interpret due to her transformation.

"Never mind, dear factol," the half-elf said with a grin.

Terrance raised his brows slightly at the fact that his fellow factol had apparently not yet knocked this behavior out of the young soldier. "It's me, Kiyoshi," he explained amiably. "Terrance - not Sarin. So what are you doing?"

Kiyoshi didn't look up as he replied. "I'm paying my respects, venerable factol Terrance-heika, daimyo of the Athar."

Ah yes, just as he had feared. He apparently categorized all factols as princes and felt a proper greeting was in order. The high priest sighed softly. "I don't think that's necessary," he explained patiently. "Please stand up."

"As you command, venerable factol Terrance-heika." The young man stood up, but kept his eyes lowered to the ground.

Shaking his head, Terrance ran his fingers through his graying hair. "Daimyo of the Athar ... mhm." His gaze wandered once more to the white tigress and now Naghûl took a step forward.

"This is Lereia," he explained. "She had to transform and now has no clothes. So we thought it would be better if she stayed that way."

One was unconscious, one had no clothes ... Well, that promised to be an interesting report. Terrance nodded kindly to Lereia. "Yes, I thought so. Ambar told me about it. Very impressive, really."

"Thank you, Factol."

She bowed her head slightly, then Terrance could finally turn his attention to his main concern since entering. He stepped up to Jana lying on the bench. "What's wrong with her?"

"She must have had another vision," Lereia explained. "And this time, apparently, a fiercer one."

"Can you wake her up, Factol?" Askorion asked worriedly.

Terrance leaned over to Jana and placed his hand on her forehead, closing his eyes to concentrate on her breathing. Slow, but steady and calm, as was her pulse, which he checked next. "Hmm ..." He opened his eyes again and looked at Askorion. "I'm not sure if it would do more good or harm to wake her."

"But she's fine, isn't she?" the aasimar wanted to know.

"I would say yes." Terrance nodded. "I guess she'll just have to get used to this gift." He checked that she was lying securely on the bench, gently turned her on her side and then stepped back. "Let's give her a little time."

He was about to take a seat when he heard footsteps behind him. Toozer, the tiefling innkeeper of the Slumbering Lamb, had returned from the kitchen and entered the public room behind him. Terrance turned to greet her, and although she knew him, she stepped closer almost shyly. She curtsied so low it was more like a genuflection, and before Terrance could stop her, she took his hand and kissed it. "Factol, it's a great honor!"

He sighed. Perhaps a small payback for the fact that he had just been inwardly amused by Sarin and his new recruit. Her greeting, although not unfamiliar, made him more than a little uncomfortable, and he could almost feel the curious looks, especially from Sgillin and Lereia. He gently withdrew his hand. "Please don't. That's ..."

Toozer stood up and smoothed the folds of her skirt. "You are a factol and a high priest, my lord!"

"Yes." Terrance feared his smile looked a little forced despite his better efforts. "But I'm not one of those high priests, you know that. Not anymore."

"A high priest is a high priest!" the tiefling woman retorted stubbornly. "You have great power. And you healed my granddaughter! Without asking for anything in return." She smiled warmly. "We here know only too well who you are and what you are entitled to."

Terrance sighed once more. He knew from experience that it was actually pointless to argue with the landlady, who was very devoted to him, but also stubborn. So he just nodded in agreement. "Would you just bring us something to drink? That's enough for me."

She bowed again and went to the counter, where she began to place some jugs on a tray. Terrance, on the other hand, finally took a seat and beckoned the Chosen to join him at the table. Lereia sat upright between Sgillin and Naghûl, the tigress' head now almost towering over those of the two men.

"I apologize for these occurrences," Terrance remarked. "I use the Lamb from time to time for meetings like this one. She's a good woman ... But it seems I just can't shake this patriarch thing from my past."

Askorion smiled knowingly. "That's what I always tell you, Factol. Maybe you shouldn't try anymore either."

"What kind of patriarch thing?" Sgillin asked curiously.

Ah yes, prime, quite new to Sigil, Terrance reminded himself. It was almost refreshing that they knew so little about him. "Before I abandoned my faith and joined the Athar, I was high priest of Mishakal and patriarch of one of her temples in Elysium. And the rules of etiquette towards high priests include ..." He waved his hand. "Well, you've just witnessed it. I don't want that anymore, but ..."

He raised his shoulders and Sgillin smiled mischievously. "Well, you have what you have. And it's not exactly the worst thing."

Askorion grinned. "Exactly."

The factol frowned. His secretary knew only too well that he didn't find this funny and didn't like it either. His reprimanding look therefore needed no further explanation, and the young aasimar cleared his throat guiltily.

"I'm rarely greeted like that by ladies," the half-elf on the other hand continued innocently.

This remark elicited an amused grin from Terrance. "Well, you have to work hard for something like that."

"Exactly," said Sgillin. "And then you should enjoy it."

Askorion laughed at this statement. "It's not in our factol's nature to enjoy it. I always tell him it's simply a sign of great respect."

"Which just reminds me too much of my past, Askorion," Terrance remarked reprovingly. "We've been over this before."

With an apologetic smile, the aasimar raised his hands. "I'll shut up."

"Thank you." The factol gave him a final, stern look, but then added a smile to reassure Askorion that he wasn't really disgruntled. He glanced briefly at Jana, but she was still lying quietly on the bench. Since her breathing was even and her eyes weren't twitching under her eyelids, he decided to give her some time to rest. Then he looked at the others. "So, the reason I'm actually here ... It's about Eliath."

"We could learn something about him too," Lereia remarked. "But you first, please."

"Have you spoken to him?" Terrance wanted to know.

The tigress shook her head regretfully. "No, he's dead."

Terrance frowned skeptically. What was she talking about?

"We learned it from a group of collectors," the tigress explained. "We found a corpse, and the collectors who appeared shortly afterwards told us of two more murders, including Eliath. Toranna from the Dustmen also confirmed this."

"But Eliath is not dead," Terrance replied seriously.

"What?"

Despite the lack of humanoid facial expressions, he could see Lereia's bewilderment. Sgillin and Naghûl were also wide-eyed. Kiyoshi, on the other hand, cleared his throat.

"Yes?" Terrance prompted him to speak.

"I pointed out that Toranna was hiding something from us," the young man explained. "We wanted to question her too, but she escaped."

The factol nodded gravely. "I see... Yes, obviously something was hidden. It was only this morning that Caylean, one of our athaons, saw Eliath in the Black Sails. In the company of some Doomguards."

"Damn," Naghûl hissed.

"Yes," Terrance agreed. "That tricha is cooked."

"But that would mean that the collectors lied to us, too?" Lereia asked, then paused. "Or didn't know any better ... What does that mean for us?"

"That there are other factions in play," Naghûl replied.

Kiyoshi leaned back. "So we have proof," he stated with satisfaction. "That she lied to us. She claimed that she had burned Eliath herself. She should be arrested and sentenced for that."

"She was probably threatened," Sgillin pointed out.

Terrance swayed his head thoughtfully. "Who knows? The Doomguard and the Dustmen get along quite well. But we know too little to make a judgment." Then he looked at Naghûl. "Other factions? Who else?"

"Well, in any case, the Mercykillers seem to be involved," the tiefling explained. "Probably cooperating with the Guvners or the Fated."

"In what way?" Terrance asked skeptically. "You mean they're working with the Dustmen or the Sinkers?"

"More like a third party, I'd say. According to Toranna, she also turned them away. I don't think they're cooperating with the Sinkers."

The factol nodded. "That would surprise me, too, from both Mallin and Hashkar. The Duke ... well, I wouldn't put it past him, but still ..." He pondered for a moment. "Please tell me what you were able to find out."

The men promptly looked at Lereia, and Terrance had to smile a little. As at the meeting in the Berronar's, it seemed to be the young woman's task to give a summary of the essentials. However, seeing her do this in the guise of a white tigress was an experience in itself. Lereia reported on the investigation at the Gatehouse and in the Blood Pit, of the half-elf who had seemed strange to them. She told of the madman they had pursued shortly afterwards and then found dead. Of the collectors' reports about Verden and Eliath. Of the investigation in the Mortuary as well as the fight against the thugs and the half-elf when they had threatened a collector. She also reported on the talking grimace and the letter from a certain Derioch to Eliath. On Naghûl's signs and the Xaositects, on Jana's vision and the soul signatures that she could now always feel on people.

Terrance listened to everything and shook his head slowly. "You've experienced a lot ... And not everything makes sense to me, but who knows what else you'll find out." Then he looked at Kiyoshi to ask a question that had been on his mind since the first mention of the incident during Lereia's report. "What did that grimace say?"

The young man tightened his posture, as if snapping to attention. "It said that we need to find the Keeper and the Proclaimer, venerable Factol Terrance-heika. It also said, 'Find them under the skies of heaven. Find them where the land in the waves is like the stars in the sky. Find them where tears are like jewels."

"That's what it said?" The factol sighed. "Well, once more, those are extremely specific instructions."

"Hm," Sgillin mused. "That kind of sounds like the Elysium, doesn't it?"

The prime's quick, spontaneous association of these enigmatic words with Terrance's home plane surprised him. The half-elf seemed to have a good intuition. "To be honest, that was my first thought too," the high priest explained.

"Keeper and Proclaimer ..." Lereia mused.

Askorion raised his shoulders. "That could be two more Chosen, couldn't it?"

"It sounds like it," Lereia agreed. "I'm just wondering if it fits with the clues we know so far. Maybe Watcher and Prophet, but it's hard to make a connection to the gifts with just a name."

Sgillin sighed. "Those who came up with this prophecy probably had a lot of fun with it. But I can at least solve one mystery. - I know who is responsible for the murders in the Hive."

"What?!" Lereia's head jerked around to him, and Naghûl and Kiyoshi looked surprised as well. "You ... You just remembered that right now?"

The tigress sounded somewhat shocked, which made Terrance sit up and take notice. Interesting. Apparently not all knowledge was shared within the group at all times. Whatever that might mean.

"I was going to tell it earlier," Sgillin placated. "But we were waiting for the factol. And then I let you give the report first, polite as I am."

"He's right," Naghûl came to his aid and Kiyoshi nodded in agreement.

Lereia took a deep breath. She still didn't seem completely appeased, but she left it at that for now.

"So ..." Sgillin continued. "It's the half-elf who, according to your stories, threatened the collectors together with the thugs."

"The one we've already seen in the Blood Pit?" Lereia asked.

Sgillin nodded. "Yes. Well, it's at least very likely that it's him."

Terrance leaned forward slightly and scrutinized him inquiringly. "How do you know that?"

"I found out from someone who witnessed the half-elf murder a bubber along with two thugs. Perhaps this Verden."

Sgillin's slightly evasive answer made Terrance even more curious. "Who is this someone, if you don't mind me asking."

"A trusted informant."

Of course. As you would call any source you didn't want to name. Who exactly was behind this information, whether it was a harmless little secret or something darker, Terrance couldn't fathom at that moment. But he didn't really like it. "Sgillin, listen," he said calmly but seriously. "You don't belong to any faction and are therefore not accountable to any factol, that may be. But in the long run, it won't do you or the Chosen any good if you don't tell us everything you know. For now, you may know what you are doing, but that will not be an option in the future."

The half-elf nodded. "I agree with you there, dear factol. And if we were sitting in one of the faction quarters right now and not in a kip in the middle of the Hive, I would tell you more about this informant. But it's honestly too unsafe for me here, and I don't want this source to be lying dead somewhere in the Ditch next."

He seemed sincere, Terrance had to give him that. So he let it go for now. "I certainly give you credit for that. And you can tell everything at our next meeting."

"I will," Sgillin promised. "But what I wanted to say ... After the half-elf killed the bubber with magic, he instructed the thugs to take the body to a place where the dead man would be found. I assume a place with a bit more public traffic. The half-elf then disappeared in the direction of the Madhouse District. Unfortunately, my informant could not understand what syllables the half-elf spoke while casting the spell, nor remember what gestures he used."

"Thugs ..." muttered Lereia. "That would explain why they stopped us once and why he joined them in threatening the collector."

"Yes," Terrance agreed. "She would probably have become a victim."

"Maybe we can find her," the tigress mused. "She might be one of us. And we should also question this Derioch from the Bleakers. The letter to Eliath may have been forged, but it's also possible that she can tell us more about him."

Kiyoshi nodded to this, but there seemed to be something else on his mind. "Forgive my ignorance, venerable Factol Terrance-heika, but how would you rate the priority of finding the two people the metal face mentioned?"

That was indeed a good question. This matter seemed to play an important role in the nebulous prophecy. "I would rate this as a high priority," the factol replied. "However, I would still like to discuss it with Ambar, Sarin and Lady Erin. But if a part of Sigil's architecture suddenly comes to life and speaks to you in the Old Tongue, that sounds pretty important."

"True," Sgillin interjected. "But I think there's less risk of these two being assassinated in the Elysium - if they're there. Other than Eliath and the collector."

The half-elf was undoubtedly right, and Terrance nodded. "Yes, so you should finish the original mission first."

"The only lead to Eliath was the letter from Derioch," Lereia said. "Perhaps another man had this letter with him, which is why the collectors thought he was Eliath."

"I would advise you to go to the Black Sails, the tavern where Caylean saw him. And talk to him. But be careful, it's a Sinker hangout." He looked at Kiyoshi. "So you'd better not go there officially as a Harmonium soldier."

At that moment, Jana, who was still lying on the bench, murmured softly, and Terrance immediately got up and walked over to her. He knelt down next to the bench and gently touched her arm. "Child," he said softly and reassuringly.

She opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion. "Have I been asleep?" She pushed herself up slowly until she sat on the bench. "I'll need a moment before I can ... stand, Factol."

Terrance helped her to sit up and gently held her shoulder. "Stay seated," he replied kindly. "You've been gone for a while, that was obviously a fierce vision. At least that's what we thought."

"Thank you," Jana mumbled. "I think ... well, I was dreaming about Factol Sarin. How long have I been ... how long have you been here, Factol?"

"Well, a while," he replied with a smile. "I didn't want to wake you for fear that it would do more harm than good."

Naghûl nodded. "You seem to have needed the rest, too."

"For a while?" Jana looked visibly shaken. "Then it didn't just seem like an eternity. ... Well, I saw Factol Sarin, but he was younger."

Terrance now took a seat next to her on the bench. "So you saw something in the past?"

"Yes, if such a thing is possible. I'm sure he was younger. Maybe by ten years?"

"So that was before he was factol ..." Terrance concluded. "Interesting. What exactly did you see?"

"He was wearing a rank insignia I didn't recognize," Jana described her vision. "And there were others there, three people. One I knew, he's also a member of the Harmonium. There was also a half-elf and a celestial with white wings and blue eyes. Factol Sarin was arguing with him ... or they were talking heatedly. But I don't know what they were talking about, because they were speaking Celestial. The other two just listened at first and then joined in. I think they all wanted to persuade the celestial to do something. But he didn't want to and just left. The others then carried on talking. I ..." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think it has much significance."

Terrance sighed softly. So she was still at the point of thinking her gift was random or inconsequential. After the vision about the mysterious house and then the hard to categorize image of the skeleton with a baby, now a vision from Sarin's past. It was certainly difficult to make sense of it. But he didn't like the fact that Jana wanted to dismiss it as unimportant. It gave the impression that she was trying with all her might to suppress what she didn't understand, and that couldn't be good.

Askorion came to his aid. "Everything you see has meaning," he said to Jana, smiling and encouraging her. "I'm sure it does."

Terrance nodded his thanks to the aasimar and then looked back at the sorceress. "Who were the others?" Terrance asked. "Do you know them?"

"Well, I know one of them. I saw him in the Barracks when I had my first vision."

The factol vividly remembered the scene in Sarin's office. "Oh, Tonat Shar? Yes, he was there a few days ago."

"The half-elf ..." Askorion pondered. "Did he have long, black hair? And was he quite attractive? You know, like me, only in dark."

He winked jokingly at Jana and she had to grin. "Hmm ... Yes, long, dark hair and quite attractive."

"Maybe that's our suspect," Sgillin speculated, but Askorion shook his head. "The half-elf was Killeen Caine, for sure."

Since Jana had seen Sarin and Tonat Shar, this was a very reasonable assumption. "Yes," Terrance agreed. "I think so too."

Naghûl also nodded in agreement, while Jana tilted her head questioningly. "Killeen Caine?"

"The second legate of the Harmonium, next to Tonat Shar," Naghûl explained. "He commands the troops on Arcadia."

"So not the suspect?" Lereia asked.

Terrance smiled. "I would venture to say with certainty that Legate Caine does not have collectors assaulted in the Hive. No, your man must be another half-elf."

Sgillin didn't seem entirely convinced. "Does he still command the troops?" he wanted to know.

"Yes. He's in Sigil from time to time, but more often in Melodia, the capital of the Harmonium on Arcadia."

"Is he a wizard or a sorcerer?" Sgillin probed.

Terrance guessed where this was going. He hoped to himself that the Chosen, especially Sgillin, would not get carried away with this idea. Otherwise the next meeting with Sarin could be fun. "A wizard," he informed them nonetheless. "A pretty powerful one."

"Hm." Sgillin frowned. "The half-elf I was told about is also a mage."

Just as feared. "Well, there may be some half-elf mages," the factol therefore put in, and Naghûl shook his head as well.

"Sgillin, I don't think the legate is rummaging through the Hive and murdering madmen. If that were the case, entropy would be closer than we'd like."

"I'm not saying it's him," Sgillin said. "But so far we have no evidence to prove that it's not him."

Terrance took a deep breath, but was interrupted by Jana before he could reply, and he was grateful for it. Although her question went in one of those directions again …

"Do you really believe that these dreams have a deeper meaning?"

"Yes, Jana," he explained patiently. "Of course I think they have a deeper meaning. Do you really think you suddenly received this gift completely by chance?"

She nodded, not looking particularly happy about his answer. "And if so, should we ask Factol Sarin about the conversation? Should we tell him about it, that is?"

It was interesting that Jana saw the Harmonium's factol in her visions, and in his past at that, before his factolship. It had to mean something, and it certainly couldn't be kept from Sarin. Besides, his new recruit was present, so the paladin would find out anyway. Not that Terrance wanted to hide anything from him in this case. Sarin seemed to be steering the Harmonium in a good direction, and the Athar's factol had a higher opinion of him than he would ever openly admit. Therefore, he nodded. "Yes, if you see Sarin in your visions, we should probably talk to him about that. But if we want to address the fact that we suspect Legate Caine of being a murderer, we should be very diplomatic about it."

He glanced at Sgillin, who shrugged his shoulders in an unconcerned manner. "I'm relatively neutral about it. A black-haired, magically talented half-elf is most likely the Hive killer. And Jana has been dreaming about a black-haired half-elf."

Terrance suppressed a grin as he involuntarily imagined how neutral Sarin would be about this.

Naghûl seemed to share his thoughts and looked a little strained. "Sgillin, there are countless black-haired, magically talented half-elves in the Multiverse."

"Yes, I know," he replied. "I'm just saying that I'm not ruling anything out."

Terrance decided to drop the subject. "As you've all seen him in the Blood Pit, you'll be able to tell for sure whether it was him or not from a picture of Legate Caine."

Naghûl nodded. "I'm sure we can also request a report on what the legate has been up to in the last few weeks." He grinned slightly, but Sgillin merely made a gesture of refusal.

Terrance now turned back to Jana, because there was one question about this vision that was still bothering him. "The celestial. Did he have golden hair like Askorion and was he wearing Empyrean-style armor?"

"Empyrean style?" The young woman looked at him, overwhelmed. "I'm not sure ... well, I don't know anything about armor. He was flawlessly beautiful, with fair skin, white wings and sapphire blue eyes. But he also seemed strangely intimidating and distant."

"A real angel," Naghûl observed. "Beautiful to look at, but kind of scary and you might not want to deal with them after all."

Terrance listened to her description and furrowed his brows thoughtfully. That sounded just like Lord Valiant. If Jana saw him in her visions and he was involved with the prophecy, it was anything but pleasant.

The sorceress looked around uncertainly. "Do you know who he is, or do you have any suspicions?"

"I don't even know this Tonat Shar," Lereia replied with a sigh.

A quick sideways glance at Naghûl told Terrance that the tiefling probably had an idea, but was keeping it to himself. Better that way, there was no need to startle someone as long as there was no proof.

"Factol Sarin will know," Jana said.

"He certainly does," the high priest replied. "And I assume he can even tell you exactly what kind of conversation you saw. I think he should comment on that himself. His past probably has something to do with our present or even our future."

"I find that disturbing," Askorion murmured, though more to himself.

"I would also like to tell you something about my gift," Lereia interjected. "I don't know if it's important." Unlike with Jana, this remark did not seem to stem from fundamental skepticism, but from polite restraint.

"Everything about your abilities seems important," Terrance encouraged her. "Please go on."

"It's about you, Factol. As you know, I perceive certain signatures, as I call them, from people. In the case of the zebra, for example, it was dry grass and warm sand. But with you, the perception of this signature is very complex, more detailed than with most others. Similar to Ambar. With the landlady here, for example, it's simply fresh sage. But with you, it's more complex. I don't know, maybe it's because you are a factol or because someone has experienced a lot in life."

This was the first time he had heard about Lereia's gift in such detail, and it sounded both mysterious and fascinating. And made him want to find out more. "May I ask what exactly you perceive?"

"In your case, it's many tears of heaven on the seashore, scattered in the white sand and gently washed over by the water. Does that have a certain meaning for you?"

Terrance was pleasantly touched by the image Lereia used to describe his spiritual signature - something he had never heard of before, and which sounded both cryptic and enticing. "Well, I come from Elysium, and in my youth I was often on Thalasia, by the sea. In my temple back then, when I was still high priest of Mishakal, a lot of decoration used tears of heaven: statues, mosaics ..."

Lereia nodded as if his words made sense to her. "With Ambar, it was warm gold and fresh birch leaves on a spring day," she then explained.

"Yes." He had to smile. "That suits Ambar."

"What do you notice about me?" Askorion asked curiously.

The tigress turned her head towards him. "With you, it's starlight in the dark of night."

A delighted smile appeared on the aasimar's lips and his turquoise-gold eyes seemed to shine a little brighter. "That sounds nice. I like that, I think."

"What did you actually notice about us?" Sgillin wanted to know.

Lereia paused for a moment before answering. "I don't sense anything from you."

"What?" The half-elf widened his eyes. "From zebra to factol, you can sense something in everyone but us? If that's not strange ..."

It was indeed, and Terrance understood and shared Sgillin's surprise.

Naghûl became alert immediately and he almost jumped to his feet. "And what do we all have in common, huh?"

Jana nodded in understanding. "We could use that to find others like us!"

Lereia nodded. "That's true. For example, I could sense fresh hay from the madman we found dead, so he wasn't one of us. The Xaositects and the tieflings in the Blood Pit also had signatures. I try it on almost everyone we encounter for any length of time."

Sgillin frowned. "That's great! With this gift you can see through all disguise and deception. You could test the legate like that to tell if he's the one we're looking for."

Terrance had to laugh when Sgillin brought it up again. "Yes, please! Tell Sarin that a weretiger wants to examine his legate in Melodia because you suspect him of being a murderer in the Hive. And I really want to be there when you do."

Despite her tiger form, Terrance thought he recognized amusement in Lereia's eyes, and Sgillin grinned mischievously. "Well, he doesn't have to notice."

"But if we meet Eliath," Lereia mused, "we might be able to find out quickly whether he really is one of us."

At this point, Jana frowned in irritation. "Meet Eliath? Wasn't he cremated?"

"Oh, you don't even know that yet," Terrance recalled. "That's right, Eliath is alive. Caylean, one of our athaons, saw him in the Black Sails, accompanied by some Doomguards."

The sorceress took the surprising news quite calmly and confidently. "And what are we going to do about it?" she asked matter-of-factly.

Sgillin put down his tankard. "Well, either we look for Eliath or we talk to Sarin."

"Eliath first," Naghûl said. "Otherwise he could still get murdered."

Terrance nodded. "That's right. Sarin won't run away."

"That's to be feared," Askorion remarked with a sigh, and Terrance gave him a quietly reproving look. He hid the smirk he couldn't quite suppress behind his wine glass.

"Excuse me, Factol..." the aasimar murmured.

"May I ask where we can find the Black Sails?" Lereia wanted to know.

"It's a tavern in the Lower Ward, near the Armory," Terrance explained.

"Thank you." The tigress tilted her head slightly. "I've never been there before."

"Actually, I avoid the vicinity of the Armory as well," Naghûl sighed.

Sgillin listened up. "Why?"

"Sensates and Doomguard don't get along too well," the tiefling said with a shrug.

The half-elf finished his tankard and shook his head. "Man, it's complicated here with you."

"Not at all," Naghûl replied. "We're great, they're stupid."

Terrance had to smile at the way the tiefling broke down his faction philosophy to the essentials for his friend from the prime.

The half-elf promptly rolled his eyes. "I'd rather be clueless."

Askorion also looked amused, but then stood up and looked around. "I can take you there if you like."

Terrance nodded in agreement and then stood up as well. "I think I should meet Ambar and tell him about our new findings." He glanced briefly at Kiyoshi, remembering his greeting. "And I should have a few words with Sarin, I suppose. At the risk of ending up arguing about the question of faith again."

Kiyoshi seemed to go a little pale, but Terrance wasn't quite sure in the dim light of the tavern. He glanced at the counter. Toozer was apparently back in the kitchen. He hesitated briefly, then put on his hat. "Askorion, you pay the bill. Give Toozer my best regards. I'm leaving now without being noticed, so there won't be any more ... unnecessary attention."

He realized that Askorion was probably going to contradict him, but then thought better of it. Good. He liked Toozer and would certainly return to the Lamb often enough in the future. But her way of greeting had been enough attention for him in the Hive for a day, so he preferred to leave quietly and without a fuss. He nodded goodbye to Jana and the other Chosen, turned up his coat collar and then stepped out through the back door into the cool, clammy air of the Cage.

 

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played March 18 and 21, 2012

The first evening Jana's player wasn't there, so Jana lay unconscious on the bench. On the second evening, Kiyoshi's player wasn't there, so Kiyoshi was suddenly so quiet. Well, even more than usual, that is.