The Silver Sphinx

 

“The excitement surrounding the now apparently abandoned construction of the Xaos spoke is visibly waning. Some of the Xaositects have begun painting the structure, while another group is trying to build a small windmill on the unfinished spoke. Over one hundred and fifty rampaging Xaositects were arrested by the Harmonium and are expected to be charged with more than thirty-four violations of the Sigil Criminal Code. It seems that the Xaositect project is finally over, and as usual, nothing lasting has come of it. Bets are already being taken on what the next Surprise! will be instead. Factol Ambar and the Believers of the Source seem to be taking the whole matter with good humor."

Report in SIGIS

 

 

Third Void Day of Savorus, 126 HR

Together with Naghûl, Morânia was sitting in the Twinkling Rose, a small café in the Market Ward. It was named after the owner, Liri Fairthorn. She was an awakened rose who had used her wit and charm to carve out a very special place for herself in the City of Doors. Liri was a large, Arborean specimen with only a single red blossom. Like all awakened plants, she could move. But since her café had become successful enough to afford employees, she often preferred to sit in a pot of nutrient-rich soil and have a chat with the guests as they came to the counter for drinks or cake. Liri was a member of the Sensates as well as of the Rosebringers sect, and often commented on these affiliations with a self-mocking wink. She was also a good source for all kinds of rumors circulating in the Market and Guildhall Ward. Naghûl and Morânia had used the rose lady's knowledge several times before, but on this day they had left her to her animated conversation with a grippli bard and taken a seat at one of the small tables.

 

 

The weather was warm and friendly, neither sweltering nor muggy. The sky inside the ring was actually a delicate blue, with only a few small clouds drifting by, white and puffy like swan feathers. The wind for once was playful, and not predatory. It was a rare day in the City of Doors, and everyone tried to make the most of it. So Naghûl and Morânia took advantage of the by Sigil standards mild weather and drank a cup of Celestial Mocha in the open air while they waited for Lereia, Sgillin and Jana. The reason for the meeting, however, was less invigorating than the heavenly coffee and less sweet than the blueberry tarts in the cake display. They wanted to meet the amazon Garush - or rather, the half-orc wanted to meet them. The day after the scandal with the Mercykillers, Morânia had received a letter from Garush in the morning, asking for another meeting. She had written that she was acting on behalf of her factol and had permission to tell more, also about the other Chosen. She had approached Morânia because of the role the Ciphers played as mediators in Sigil, asking her to arrange a meeting. The letter had sounded quite urgent, so Morânia had first spoken to Naghûl and then immediately contacted Jana, Lereia, Sgillin and Kiyoshi. Unfortunately, the latter was on duty and therefore unavailable, but the other three had agreed to a meeting. In her letter, Garush had announced that she would wait for the group the same day, four hours after peak, at the crossroads of Bathhouse Street and Turtle Lane. So the companions had decided to keep the appointment the Mercykiller had offered and report to Kiyoshi after he had finished his shift. Despite the upcoming conversation with a Mercykiller and despite having been annoyed the day before, Naghûl was in a good mood. This was partly because it was Savorus, the month of the Sensates. With perhaps the exception of Capricious, it was the most eventful time in the Cage and, thanks to the faction being the force behind the month, actually a continuous celebration. During their own month, the Sensates wanted to make the inhabitants of Sigil forget their worries even more than usual. During these four weeks, the Festhall was bustling with events and sensual pleasures: lizardfolk ballet, exotic theater performances, painting and sculpture exhibitions, concerts, Bytopian cooking classes and a lot more unusual offerings. The Sensates also took over entire streets around the Festhall, where public, mostly free performances attracted crowds of visitors. The way the philosophy of the Sensates influenced Sigil during their month seemed to be even more comprehensive than during other factions' months. Not only the inhabitants were influenced, but the whole city. Everything became more intense during Savorus. The colors of buildings and clothing seemed brighter, scents of all kinds were stronger, and emotions also tended to swing to extremes more quickly. All in all, Sigil seemed to take on more of the characteristics of Arborea than the Outlands during Savorus, which Naghûl of course enjoyed every year.

When Jana, Lereia and Sgillin met them at the café, they too were in a good mood despite the events of the previous day, which was probably due to the influence of Savorus. Jana bought a bag of candied dragonfly wings from Liri, and then they set off for the nearby Guildhall Ward. They strolled along Duskgate Road, looking at the displays in some of the shops, before turning into Bathhouse Street. Due to several thermal baths located there, it clearly indicated the transition to the Guildhall Ward and the proximity to the Great Gymnasium.

“I don't trust Mallin,” Jana remarked as she put a candied dragonfly wing into her mouth. “Have I said that before?”

“What do you mean?” Morânia wanted to know. ”Well, the Mercykillers aren't my favorite faction either. But what do you mean specifically?”

A broad grin crept onto Sgillin's lips. “If someone doesn't have eight legs and razor-sharp claws, Jana is generally skeptical.”

The sorceress made a face at him, but then turned to Morânia. ”I'm sure he wants to peel us one way or another.”

The bal'aasi lifted her wings a little, which she often did in situations where others shrugged. “To be honest, I'm not quite sure what he wants. But he is a paladin, after all.”

“Bad enough,” her husband Naghûl teased her, smirking.

“Shut up over there,” Morânia shot back with a grin.

She looked back at Jana, only to notice that she had apparently lost interest in the subject already. Instead, she had stopped at a nearby well and was staring into it. “Where does the water come from, anyway?” she asked thoughtfully.

Lereia gave the others a doubtful look. Jana's increasingly erratic behavior had been noticed by all of them and was causing concern and irritation within the group. But Morânia decided not to address it directly at the moment, but to react as normally as possible. After all, they had almost reached the meeting point agreed with Garush, so there was no need to hurry. So the bal'aasi stepped up next to Jana and also took a quick look into the well.

“Sigil has a kind of groundwater,“ she explained. “Pretty much the only thing that doesn't have to be imported.”

The sorceress frowned. “But I thought Undersigil lies beneath here? Is it partly underwater then?”

“Yes, partly,” the bal'aasi replied. “But luckily the water doesn't come from there. There is a thicker layer between here and Undersigil, and most of the wells get their water from there. Other wells in Sigil go very deep. Even deeper than the Lower Realm.”

“Hm.” Jana stared into the well shaft unabated. ”I thought that was where the ring ended ... somehow.”

“How thick the ring is between Undersigil and its outer edge, nobody knows for sure,“ Morânia said.

“Exactly.” Naghûl nodded. “Maybe there is a Deep Sigil that lies even beneath Undersigil.” He seemed quite enthusiastic about the idea, and Morânia had to smile at his Sensate euphoria once more.

Jana looked at him thoughtfully, then looked into the well again, leaning alarmingly far over the rim. “This one seems to be pretty deep in any case.”

“Sit in the bucket,” Sgillin suggested with a grin. “I'll lower you down.”

Lereia only shook her head slightly, while Naghûl seemed to like the idea. A loud “Lady's Grace” behind them made them all jump. They turned around to see who had addressed them so unexpectedly and saw Garush. The amazon scrutinized their activities at the well with a skeptical eye.

“Heavens!” Sgillin exclaimed, clutching his chest. “Don't sneak up on us like that.”

The half-orc frowned. “I rarely sneak up on people, male.”

Although she didn't exactly snap at him, her tone of voice could clearly be described as brusque. Fitting for a half-orc amazon from Acheron and definitely fitting for the Mercykillers. Sgillin merely raised his eyebrows and said nothing more, while the others greeted Garush politely.

She scrutinized the half-elf, the only one of the group she hadn't met yet, then apparently decided to address Morânia. “I'm glad you came. But where is the Harmonium soldier?”

In her directness, she was obviously her factol's match, Morânia thought to herself. She could only hope that she would be more accommodating in the conversation that was about to take place.

“Unfortunately, Kiyoshi is on duty at the moment,” she replied to the amazon.

Garush nodded curtly. ”I see. That's unfortunate, but can't be helped. Then the six of us will talk for the time being.”

“Where shall we go?” Lereia asked. “I think we should be able to talk undisturbed.”

“I suggest we go to the house,” Garush answered.

The house. Although it was a completely unspecific wording, all the Chosen knew what the amazon meant. And the fact that she knew the house, too, did not improve the uneasy feeling they all had about this place.

“But not the house, is it?” Lereia replied with a sigh.

“What else?” Jana replied. ”It's the only house I know that everyone just calls the house. I never really understood what it was all about.”

Morânia had to admit to herself that she didn't understand it either. But given the subject of conversation, Garush's suggestion made perfect sense, she thought. A quick glance at the others showed her that they agreed, but Lereia and Sgillin seemed more reluctant than Jana and Naghûl. When they all nodded in agreement to Garush's suggestion, the amazon purposefully led the way through a few streets and smaller alleys until they once again stood in front of the mysterious house where, at least for Lereia, Naghûl and Sgillin, it had all begun. At the door, Garush took a key out of her pocket to unlock it, and Morânia immediately noticed that it looked almost exactly like the one Naghûl had. The only difference was that the five gems on Garush's key were blue, not green. Furthermore, it was made of a shimmering silver metal, in contrast to the key of their group, which was bronze in color.

“So you have a key too,“ the bal'aasi stated.

“Of course. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get in,” Garush replied.

She was apparently not particularly surprised that the other group also had a key. After they had pulled the door closed behind them, the dusky gloom of the empty house enveloped them again, and still there was nothing to see but gray stone floors and gray walls.

Lereia sighed. “I still don't find this house particularly confidence-inspiring.”

Morânia could well understand this sentiment. The place gave her an uneasy feeling too, and she hadn't even been there when Lereia, Sgillin and Naghûl had perceived various eerie phenomena here: a cat-sized scorpion with an eye on its back, graves that appeared out of nowhere and then vanished again, a vortex of white energy and a whispering voice ... Garush made no move to go to the back of the house, but stopped in the first room.

“You wanted to talk to us,” Morânia stated, while the amazon carefully put away the key. ”About what?”

“That's quite obvious, isn't it?,” Garush replied. “Of course, about you. And about us, too.”

Sgillin nodded. “Well, then, get started.”

The amazon scrutinized him again with a piercing look in her yellow eyes. “I suggest that we take turns at telling something,” she then said.

“Oh, really?“ The half-elf raised his eyebrows.

Jana lowered the paper bag of candied dragonfly wings. “We would have to discuss it first before we could tell you anything.”

Garush frowned doubtfully. “You haven't?”

“No,” Lereia replied. “We haven't had a chance to discuss it with our factols.”

Morânia sighed inwardly. Garush's request had sounded urgent, and so they had all hurried to the meeting. But none of them had consulted with their respective factol beforehand.

“But Sarin was willing to talk to Mallin,” Garush objected. ”They must have exchanged some basic information. I therefore assumed that you had clarified that.”

Naghûl folded his arms. “Unless I hear otherwise from Erin, I won't tell you anything.”

With a hint of impatience, the half-orc bared her tusks. “I'm afraid we won't get very far like this.”

“Yes, you don't get far when you send a rabid butcher to arrest us,” Naghûl said grimly. “You have squandered any spark of trust, not us.”

The amazon's eyes narrowed. “I already explained that this was not my idea. And I apologized. I can't do more than that. And no daughter of Varuskias apologizes twice for the same thing.”

Morânia sensed that the situation was getting out of control at just the beginning of the conversation. Of course, this risk had existed from the start, but she had hoped to learn at least a few things from Garush. “You don't have to apologize again,” she said, trying to appease her. ”We just want to explain our point of view.”

“I believe you when you say that this wasn't your idea, but that you were only following orders,” Naghûl explained. “But how can we be sure that this isn't just another order to learn more about us?”

“This wasn't Mallin's idea,” Garush replied. ”It was mine. I believe that we, as the Chosen, have the right to learn more about each other. And I told him that I wanted to talk to you.”

From the corner of her eye, Morânia saw her husband shake his head vigorously. “I still won't tell you anything. For one thing, you're a Mercykiller, and for another, our last meeting was more than destructive. You're welcome to tell something, but you can't expect anything from me.”

The bal'aasi sighed inwardly. Of course she had no intention of telling Garush everything without consulting her factol. But in this undiplomatic way, they wouldn't learn anything from the amazon either, and that would have been a wasted opportunity. So she looked at Naghûl and gave him a meaningful glance. “We shouldn't rush anything here,” she said. “This is the best chance we've had so far to learn more about the others.”

“My love, no,” Naghûl replied firmly. ”I will tell her nothing, not a thing. And I also ask my companions to respect that and not tell her something about me. If someone else wants to reveal something about themselves, there you go.”

To Morânia's relief, the amazon nodded curtly. “I understand your point of view. Perhaps we should start by talking about the things we already know about each other. How about the house? You knew it, you also have a key. So I assume that this is where it all began for you, too?”

Sgillin nodded. ”Yes. That's right.”

“I don't know if it began for all of you here,” the amazon continued. ”Or only for some of you. Probably that's not important either. In any case, here it began for Yelmalis and me. He had received an envelope containing an old key. No sender, no accompanying letter. He is a lawyer for the Fraternity of Order and was working on a somewhat delicate case. He suspected that this mysterious envelope might have something to do with it, but feared that it was a trap.”

“Very exciting,” Jana remarked, now clearly interested. ”What kind of case was it?”

Garush shrugged. “I'm not sure. I think one of the Golden Lords is involved, but I don't know any details. In any case, Yelmalis didn't want to go without protection. Judge Jamis, who was in charge of the case, asked the Harmonium and the Mercykillers. My faction was a little quicker to send someone to support Yelmalis. Me.”

“So it was just a coincidence?” Lereia interjected.

The amazon shook her head thoughtfully. ”I thought so at first. But now I'm sure that there was more to it than that. So we set out. Yelmalis had already done some research and found out in which district this type of key was once widespread in ornamentation and design. It still took a while before we found the right door to this key. When we entered the house, we were surprised to find it empty. And soon Yelmalis sensed that the whole thing had nothing to do with his case. We saw a strange animal, a scorpion with an eye on its back. It led us to the back of the house, so to speak.”

“Hm, yes.” Sgillin nodded. ”That sounds familiar.”

Naghûl gave him a less than enthusiastic look, but the half-elf merely shrugged. He apparently didn't think it was a big deal to admit that they had had similar experiences to Garush and Yelmalis in this place. The others also seemed calm, whereupon Naghûl's expression darkened a little more.

Garush, on the other hand, nodded gravely at Sgillin's words. “I had feared as much. Then we saw a strange apparition back there: seven graves. Grave of Time, Grave of Life, Grave of Dreams ... I don't remember exactly. Yelmalis is the scholar among us. He wrote this down right after. A voice whispered something to us ... Who is the Dreamer and who is the Thinker? Who is the Seeker and who is the Watcher? Such things ... When it was over and we were still thinking about what we had just experienced, I noticed something strange happening to me: I heard people talking outside on the street. I was able to hear perfectly normal conversations through thick stone walls. A mother scolding her dawdling child ... two people leaving the Great Gymnasium ...”

Naghûl snorted softly. “Great ...” It obviously stuck in his craw that the Mercykiller, whom he didn't trust, possessed such an ability.

Fair enough, but Morânia thought he didn't have to show it quite so blatantly. She shot him a reproachful glance, but Garush didn't seem to be bothered by the remark.

“Then I noticed that I was perceiving the craziest smells,” she continued. “For example, I smelled the steel of my armor much more intensely than usual. But I also perceived a slight musty smell from a few lichens on the stone. It was as if all my senses were incredibly sharpened.”

“Is that still the case?” Sgillin wanted to know.

Garush shook her head. “No. It seems to come and go at random. I can't control it.”

“And the ability to move so quickly?” the half-elf followed up.

“I had already discovered that shortly before visiting this house,” the amazon explained. ”It had happened very suddenly and surprisingly during my combat exercises in the Prison's courtyard. I was confused, but since I couldn't understand what was happening, I didn't talk about it to anyone at first. But when we were here, it happened again: Yelmalis had gone a little further to examine the room. As I was about to follow him, I noticed that I was once more moving very fast. And he was visibly surprised when I suddenly stood next to him.”

“And what ability did Yelmalis show?” Morânia asked.

The amazon was apparently willing to reveal more, because she nodded and continued. ”Yelmalis explained to me that he had already experienced the exact moment when we had entered the house – because he had jumped back in time. He had traveled back for about ten minutes and then relived part of our conversation. Which, of course, I hadn't noticed.”

“Phew ...” Lereia exhaled audibly and Sgillin whistled softly, while Jana's eyes widened.

Naghûl's gaze changed from dark to worried. “Dangerous ...” he stated.

Morânia had to agree. Time travel was a tricky and risky business and chronomancy was forbidden in most places of the multiverse for good reason.

Garush seemed to agree, because she nodded. “Yes, indeed. And you can imagine our confusion.”

“And can Yelmalis control it?” Jana asked. ”Or does it also happen by chance?”

“At the time, it also happened at random,” the amazon explained. “But now he has a certain amount of control over it.”

Morânia nodded thoughtfully. “And how did you find out that it was about a prophecy?”

“Yelmalis told me that this wasn't the first incident,” Garush continued. ”He had already experienced something similar a few days earlier, in the office of his factol. However, he didn't mention the prophecy yet. But he asked me to accompany him to Hashkar to report on my experiences as well. I had no objections. After my report, Factol Hashkar naturally suspected that I was also one of the Chosen, so he contacted Mallin. My factol was also aware of the matter. He had never done anything about it before because he didn't know that someone else had information about it ... or might be a Chosen.”

With these words, the amazon ended her story for the time being, and they all remained silent for a while, letting the insights of what they had just heard sink in. Lereia twisted a strand of her white hair around her index finger, as she often did when she was thinking.

“It would probably be best if the factols met,” she said. “They could decide what should be exchanged and discussed. They certainly have the best overview of these things and how important and big the whole matter actually is. It's certainly no coincidence that in every faction, someone seems to know about it.”

Sgillin nodded. “Yes, I think so too.”

“I agree with you,” Garush said. ”But since we are the Chosen, I think it is appropriate and important that we talk to each other as well. I am convinced that it is our destiny to work together. Even if ... not everyone in our group thinks that way.”

“I agree,” Sgillin stated. ”The conflicts between the factions must fade into the background in this matter. When all this is over, they can continue with it.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Morânia saw Naghûl raise his eyebrows slightly, and Lereia let out a soft sigh. “Whether it is that easy …”

Morânia had her doubts about that, too, even if she was inclined to agree with Garush and Sgillin that the matter of the Prophecy went beyond faction-philosophical boundaries.

The Mercykiller looked around. “Let me summarize: We now know that we all know the house. I know you six, you know two of us. So, in my opinion, it would be fair if you were to learn who the other three in our group are.”

Naghûl looked at her skeptically as she spoke. ”But?”

“No buts,” the amazon replied. ”I will tell you. Besides Yelmalis and me, there's also Tarik, a tiefling of the Sign of One. If I had to guess, I'd say that his human part is of Tharpuresian origin or from one of the realms of the Vedic Gods. He's a psion. One of those seers, you know.”

Sgillin shrugged. “Nope, don't know.”

“He can discern things by touching objects,” Garush explained. ”Who they belonged to, what happened to them recently or even a long time ago, and so on. He somehow perceives mental traces or remnants of their owners. I'm not that familiar with these psionic abilities, I find them somewhat suspect. But those are his abilities as a psion, not his gift.”

“And what is his gift?” Jana asked immediately.

Garush shook her head. “As long as I don't know more about yours, I don't want to reveal that yet. What I can tell you is how we came into contact with Tarik: Yelmalis wanted to consult a psion with seer abilities in the course of his research on his case, and Tarik responded to one of his notices. The fourth of our group is Sekhemkare. He is a yuan-ti halfblood and a member of the Fated.”

“The snake among the Takers.“ Naghûl raised his eyebrows meaningfully. “Fitting, yes.”

“Now, now ...” Morânia admonished, but grinned a little.

“Just a little pun,” her husband replied mischievously.

“I don't know the factions as well as you do,” Lereia said cautiously. “But the Fated ... they're not particularly likeable, are they?”

“I don't like their factol,” Naghûl said bluntly. ”The faction itself is decent enough, as far as that goes.”

Morânia nodded. “It also depends on one's point of view. There are Takers of all kinds, very different people are members.”

Garush laughed briefly. ”If that wasn't a Cipher saying.”

The bal'aasi smiled, but she couldn't deny that there was something to the amazon's words. Therefore, she decided not to contradict but to bring the conversation back to the original topic. “And who is the last person in your group?”

“The fifth is a dark elf of the Free League,” Garush explained. “Her name is Dilae Tor'ana, a priestess of Eilistraee.”

The name seemed vaguely familiar to Morânia. Something tickled her memory, as if Naghûl and Sgillin had once mentioned an elf of that name in a conversation. Apparently a mutual acquaintance of theirs, but one whom Morânia had not yet met.

And indeed, the half-elf nodded immediately, joyfully surprised. “Dilae? Well, well.”

Garush turned her gaze to him. “You know her?”

“Yep.” The half-elf nodded. “She's a good one. What is her gift?”

“Sgillin,” Lereia said admonishingly. “Garush already said that she doesn't want to reveal anything about the others' gifts.”

“Right,” the amazon replied. “Not until I know more about you.”

“I don't have to answer to any factol,“ Sgillin stated. “So I can make a deal with her.”

Lereia's eyes widened. “You want to tell everything about us?”

“Not about you,” the half-elf explained. “But about me. Of course, I respect that you have to ask your factol first.”

The young woman breathed a sigh of relief. ”Oh, well ... Thanks.”

Sgillin was obviously a little offended that she had thought he was capable of such a move, and he shook his head slightly. “Come on ...”

“Sorry.” Lereia smiled at her companion, somewhat caught, and squeezed his hand briefly.

Morânia hadn't failed to notice that Garush had observed this little exchange with interest. Now she looked at Sgillin. “All right, I'm curious.”

“Just like you, I can't control the gift,” the half-elf explained. “It comes when it wants and has already put me in precarious situations. I can swap bodies with other beings. My mind then takes complete control of someone else and vice versa. I have already been the scorpion with the eye on its back and a minotaur.”

The amazon raised her eyebrows in surprise. “By the Lady's Blades ... Well, at least that sounds rich in variety. All right, I'll tell you about Tarik's gift.”

“Wait a minute,” Sgillin objected. “I want to know about Dilae's gift.”

“Since you know her, I understand that,” the Mercykiller replied. “But besides Yelmalis, I'm most certain that Tarik would agree to tell you more. I'm not quite as sure about Sekhemkare and Dilae.”

“Very well,” the ranger conceded. “I'm all ears.” He winked. “Old elven joke.”

“Yes, very witty,” Garush replied dryly.

Sgillin's indignant look at her disrespect for his joke amused Morânia more than his dubious pun. She could see from the looks on Jana and Lereia's faces that they felt the same way.

“All right,” Sgillin sighed. “Back to Tarik, yes?”

“Tarik has some kind of access to the dream world,” Garush explained.

Lereia raised her eyebrows in astonishment and Naghûl frowned. “Like a night hag?”

The amazon shrugged. ”I'm not a scholar, I don't know too much about it. A bit like that ... and yet different. There is a world of dreams. And when we dream - that's how Tarik explained it - those dreams go there. It's like a kind of transitive plane, but not quite. It's a very confusing matter ... He took us there once, briefly. I found it very disconcerting.”

This information had clearly piqued Sgillin's interest. “That sounds really exciting. Can he choose which dreams he wants to travel to?”

“He seems to have limited access to the dreams of others,” Garush confirmed. “But he can also travel to dreams that have already passed and are on the Plane of Dreams. It's a very bizarre world full of symbols and metaphors. It's hard to understand what has real meaning there and what is just a coincidence or the arbitrariness of the dreaming mind.”

“Can Tarik control it” Sgillin wanted to know.

“To a certain extent. More than I do, less than Yelmalis.”

The half-elf nodded thoughtfully, then seemed to pull himself together. ”I have another question that's been bothering me. It has nothing to do with the gifts, but I have to ask: Have you been working against us?”

“Against you?” Garush frowned. “In what way?”

“Regarding the Prophecy.”

“I thought so,” the amazon replied. ”But since I don't really know what you've done so far, it's hard for me to give you a straight answer.”

“I find that a bit strange,” Naghûl said. “On the one hand, you have been spying on us, but on the other hand, you cannot answer this question. That doesn't seem entirely credible.”

Immediately, Garush's eyes narrowed. “Are you calling me a liar?”

Her voice had clearly become harsher and Morânia bit her lip. Remarks like that were likely to complicate or even end the hitherto successful conversation. She shot her husband an angry glance, but then turned to Garush. “No one here wants to question your honor, daughter of Varuskias.”

Naghûl folded his arms. “I'm not calling you a liar. But you are avoiding a question.”

“An amazon never avoids anything!” the Mercykiller snarled. “We followed you for a short time, yes. But I don't know your real goals and motives. Therefore, I don't know if we are or were working against something that concerns you.”

“I think you two are talking past each other,” Jana put herself on the line. She looked at Naghûl. ”Garush didn't work against us deliberately and consciously, isn't that enough?”

Lereia came to the sorceress' aid. “Exactly. And even if we don't tell each other everything yet, we should try to get along. We all have the same fate and are thus in the same boat.”

“Yes.” Jana nodded in agreement. “That's right, we are in the same boat.”

“I think her cooperation shows that she's not working against us,” Sgillin said, turning to Garush. ”We have been told that there are apparently other factions or Chosen working against us. Hence my question.”

Naghûl raised his hands in defense. “All right. I'll be quiet.” However, he put on a smile that clearly raised doubts that he believed Garush. Morânia took a deep breath. She knew her husband's provocative manner when he wanted to irritate someone. Fortunately, the amazon remained calm, probably mainly due to the other's reassurances.

“Thank you,” she said coolly. “I would like to point out that it was me who initiated this meeting. And that I was willing to meet here alone with all of you and tell you a few things.”

“The fact that you wanted to talk to us says nothing,” Naghûl replied, breaking his just-announced resolution. “The motivation could be sincere, but also cunning. In any case, that doesn't give me the slightest reason to trust you.”

“Are you accusing me of dishonesty and deceit?“ Garush looked at him calmly with her yellow eyes – as calmly as a predator lying in wait.

“Naghûl ...” Morânia said, irritated. She felt her annoyance growing. The conversation had gone well so far, and she didn't want her husband to endanger everything they had achieved by his open aggressiveness.

But he didn't listen to her. “I don't know you, nor do I know your tribe,” he told the amazon. ”One can tell many stories, but what has been told so far does not convince me. If that affects your honor, then see to it that you set things straight instead of getting upset.”

Garush bared her tusks. “You're good at talking in your faction. But you don't want to give me a chance. You distrust me because I'm a Mercykiller. And to be honest, I have little use for your faction either.”

Sgillin had followed the exchange with growing disbelief and now shook his head in annoyance. “Calm down, everyone. We finally have an opportunity to learn new things – and for once not in some cryptic form. And all you do is argue.”

The amazon gave the half-elf a warning look. “In my tribe, it is no joke to doubt someone's honor. I'm sorry, I don't react well to that.”

Naghûl waved it off with ostentation. ”We are good at talking, you are good at beating. Which is better? But that's not the point. The point is that I don't trust you or your faction. It's about the fact that you avoided a simple question and it's about the fact that convening such a gathering doesn't say anything about your true motivation. You could be an amazon, very well. I don't know for sure and it hasn't been proven to me. I have every right to be doubtful.”

Garush's eyes darkened when Naghûl again doubted the sincerity of her words. For a brief moment, Morânia cursed him. Based on Garush's clothing, the talismans attached to it, and her tattoos, she had no doubt that the half-orc was indeed a Tonoe. But if she was an amazon, then doubting her origin and honesty was the best way to reach an irrevocable dead end. Naghûl had traveled the planes long enough to know this. But for now, he gave free rein to his Sensate dislike of the Mercykillers, which unfortunately was diametrically opposed to her own goals and philosophy as a Cipher.

But before she could turn to her husband, Jana intervened. “Well ... In the end, it doesn't matter whether we trust Garush or not,” she said. “I, for one, do. But as I said ... it doesn't matter.” She raised both hands and took a deep breath. Indeed, Garush momentarily averted her gaze from Naghûl and now scrutinized the sorceress. “The deciding factor,” Jana continued, ”is who, besides Garush, will learn of what we reveal, and whether we can trust this ... circle of people as well. And I definitely think that's ... um ... out of the question. Because, I mean, you're here on behalf of your factol, aren't you? Then you'll have to report to him as well.”

Garush nodded curtly. “Not on his behalf, but with his consent. And yes, sure.”

Jana looked at the others. ”That means her factol will also get to hear of what we say. So we would have to trust her factol as well.”

“And what's the problem?” Sgillin shrugged. “I think he's a paladin too, and a good pal of Sarin?”

“Well, that's why we want to consult with our factols,” Lereia said. ”If I know that Ambar has no objections, I'll tell more about myself.”

Garush seemed to have calmed down a little and nodded. “As I said, I had hoped that you had already discussed this with your factols. Admittedly, it was a very spontaneous matter. That's just the way I am. I wasn't even sure if you would come at all. I understand if you don't want to reveal more without consulting your factols.”

“Yes, it was a bit short dated,” Morânia agreed. “Maybe we should defer it?”

Before Garush could say anything, Jana let out a soft groan. She staggered a bit and had to lean against the wall.

Sgillin stepped next to her, concerned. “Hey, are you all right?”

“It's happening again,” the sorceress murmured.

Then she sank to the ground and remained sitting, leaning against the wall, with a vacant expression and milky white eyes. Damn it. A vision was apparently approaching, at the most inconvenient time in the presence of the Mercykiller.

“Garush shall go,” Naghûl said immediately. ”Right now!”

The amazon looked irritated at Jana and hesitated briefly, but then nodded curtly and headed for the exit.

“Thank you,” Lereia said hastily, hurrying to Jana's side as well. “We'll contact you as soon as we know more.”

Garush had almost reached the door ... when it went dark. Morânia had no idea whether this only affected herself or selected members of the small group or everyone present. But the darkness that suddenly engulfed her did not last long. A vision quickly formed before the bal'aasi's eyes: a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and dressed in a white robe. But she was lifeless, resting on a bier that was being carried through a crowd by several people in dark robes. In her hands she held a slender sword, which was probably given to her for her last journey. Several armed guards had to hold back the people who were crowding in from all sides to touch the hem of the beautiful woman's robe, the tips of her golden blonde hair or at least the red velvet on which she was lying. The pain and sorrow of the bystanders was heartbreaking. And then Morânia heard a voice whispering from somewhere: “Something ends ...” However, she could not make out who had spoken, the voice seemed to come from no particular direction. The image of the woman on the bier ... She felt a memory of it, but could not grasp it, just as a colorful fish swims out of reach of the diver in the water. Then the scene faded away.

 

 

Instead, a new image formed ... A man, in the pouring rain, beneath a stormy sky, from which lightning struck. Inky black oak leaves swirled around him, and he held a bloody dagger in his right hand. Although he was wearing a hood, Morânia could see his face ... She looked at him, and there was nothing but madness in his eyes. A look so full of lunacy and obsession that it pierced deep into her heart. It triggered unspeakable terror in her, so much so that she felt her guts were melting with fear. And then the disembodied voice spoke again. But this time it whispered different words ... “Something begins ...” Then mercifully this image faded from her mind as well, and she was enveloped in darkness once more. 

 

When the shadows lifted, she was still in the mysterious house, her husband Naghûl at her side, Jana sitting against the wall, Sgillin and Lereia next to her, a confused-looking Garush standing near the door ... Morânia rubbed her temples and shook her head slightly to get rid of the last shreds of the images. So this was what it felt like when Jana shared a vision. Naghûl had told her about it, but she hadn't experienced it herself yet.

The sorceress' eyes were clear again, and she looked around, still slightly disoriented. “You ... saw that, didn't you?”

“Yes ...” Sgillin replied quietly.

“It worked,“ Jana murmured. “I wanted to show you ... and you saw it.”

Garush touched her forehead and stared at the sorceress, almost accusingly. “What was that? What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Naghûl, who had regained some composure, tried to play it down. “We didn't do anything.”

“Yeah, sure,” the amazon replied dryly. “I see strange images all the time.”

“Leave it be.” Jana waved weakly in Naghûl's direction. ”It would be foolish to claim otherwise.”

“What did we just see, Lost One?” the Mercykiller demanded to know. “What was that? Your gift, isn't it?”

Naghûl snorted and his eyes sparkled angrily. It was obvious that he didn't like at all that Garush had witnessed this involuntary demonstration of Jana's gift.

The sorceress, however, slowly stood up. “Yes, my gift,” she confirmed, still holding on to the wall. “I ... see things. It wasn't supposed to happen in your presence, but ... it just happened.”

Before Garush could answer, Naghûl began to weave a spell.

“What are you doing?” Morânia asked, alarmed.

The others, too, looked at her husband, astonished and confused, but he didn't answer, so as not to interrupt the spell, and continued undeterred. Morânia recognized the spell. Even though she was not proficient in arcane magic, she had seen Naghûl use it often enough ... This could not end well.

“Please stop this!” she said urgently.

Jana seemed to have understood as well. “What are you doing, Naghûl?” she asked disapprovingly.

But it was too late. The tiefling finished the spell and a large green hand shot towards Garush. It should have grabbed her, holding her in place ... should. But it seemed to bounce off the amazon and then dissolved. The Mercykiller glared at Naghûl, and for a moment Morânia feared a fight would break out.

But then the half-orc just twisted her mouth. “I see it wasn't planned for me to see this,” she said coolly. ”I'll probably leave you alone.”

“In a moment you may leave,“ Naghûl said. “But first, you will drink something.”

Garush raised her brows, slightly sneering. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, really,” the tiefling replied unimpressed, while he pulled something out of one of his belt pouches.

Morânia could hardly believe her eyes when she recognized it: a small vial of Styx Tea. He couldn't possibly be serious ...

“I'm not drinking anything,” the amazon replied curtly and turned to leave.

Naghûl stepped between her and the door. “Yes, you will,” he said, unyielding. “Do it willingly, or I'll have to make you drink it. Styx Tea. You won't be harmed, only forget what just happened. The last few minutes.”

Garush snorted contemptuously. ”No chance.”

“Then I'll have to force you,” Naghûl explained. ”Even though I dislike it.”

The amazon remained outwardly calm, but the trained eye of a warrior revealed to Morânia that all her muscles were tensing, that she was preparing for a fight. Damn it, that had to be avoided under any circumstances ...

“So that's how it is,” Garush stated dryly. “It was a trap, eh? You wanted to learn something from me and revealed something yourself so that I would tell you more. And now you want to elegantly reverse it.”

“No!’ Morânia insisted emphatically. ”It wasn't planned that way.”

Lereia nodded imploringly. “That's true. Jana's vision happened unintentionally.”

“My goodness, she just learned about it.” The sorceress looked at Naghûl. “Let's leave it at that. I am decidedly against harming her. And that includes forcing her to do anything.”

But Naghûl didn't pay any attention to her words, he only focused on the Mercykiller. “Drink or I'll have to enforce it,” he repeated. “Every minute that passes makes the potion less effective. Stop playing for time.”

“You planned this from the beginning,” the amazon snarled, glancing darkly at Morânia. “Don't give me that blex.”

“No, we didn't,” the bal'aasi assured her again, glancing sideways at her husband. “What difference does it make? She already knows about Sgillin, too.”

“Bad enough,” Naghûl replied uncompromisingly.

Sgillin rolled his eyes and was about to say something, but then waved it off and remained silent, as if it was useless anyway.

“So that was the price of my trust.” Garush sounded angry, but also bitter and disappointed. “The Duke was right, I should never have come here. He said you would trick me. Especially you.” She looked at Naghûl.

Morânia closed her eyes briefly. Yes, she could well imagine that someone like Rowan Darkwood would be only too happy to play off a Mercykiller against a Sensate. It was a success they should not grant him under any circumstances. But neither Naghûl nor Garush gave the impression that they wanted to deny the Duke this triumph.

“I can't let you hurt her,“ Jana declared firmly, taking a step forward.

“And I can't let her get such information,” the tiefling replied darkly.

“But she already got it,” the sorceress countered.

Naghûl looked around, but when he saw that everyone else was backing Jana, he angrily threw the vial of Styx Tea on the floor. Made of magically reinforced glass, it did not break, but clinked audibly in the silence that had fallen over the room. “Fine, do whatever you want,” he snapped and kicked the small flask away. “Naive fools!”

“Hey, now just stay calm,” Sgillin called to Naghûl as he made his way to the door, but the tiefling didn't react and just marched on.

“Naghûl, stay,” Lereia pleaded. “It's Jana's decision, we agreed on that. Everyone says what they want about themselves. And Jana has accepted it.”

“Be true to your word,” Naghûl barked over his shoulder, then he left and slammed the door shut behind him.

Lereia lowered her head with a sigh and Morânia sadly hung her feathery wings.

Jana, on the other hand, looked at Garush, embarrassed. “Maybe you should take the opportunity to leave, too? And please ... well, I feel the need to apologize for him. I didn't mean for you to see it, I think I already ... well, it just happened.”

“I shouldn't have believed that a Sensate would work with me in any way,” the Mercykiller replied, disillusioned. “Well, it may have been worth a try or not ... I wish you success with all of this in the future.”

“Yes, and the same to you,” Jana assured her. “And maybe you won't think too badly of us if we meet again.”

Sgillin shrugged. “We will have to work together, we won't have any other choice.”

“I don't know where we go from here,” Garush replied. “That's up to Mallin now.”

Morânia nodded in understanding, but Sgillin sighed deeply. “This city and its factions ... it will be the end of us all.”

Garush didn't comment on this, her expression seemed harder than during the entire conversation so far. “Lady's Grace, sisters,” she said curtly. “And to you as well, brother.”

“Lady's Grace,” Morânia replied dejectedly. “I hope we'll meet again, and then under better circumstances.”

“Yes,” Jana agreed. “We're all in the same boat.”

Sgillin nodded. “Take care of yourself.”

Garush looked at each of them and then turned to leave. A heavy silence fell over the room.

 

------------------------

played September 29, 2012

The reason why Jana unintentionally shared her vision with Garush: because her player rolled a 1.

Since Kiyoshi's player was absent that evening, Kiyoshi unfortunately had to work the late shift.