The Silver Sphinx

 

“We don't have internal conflicts. We are the conflict.”

Mordrigaarz Antill of the Xaositects

 

 

Fourth Lower Day of Savorus, 126 HR

Krystall pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders as she hurried through the alleys of the Hive. A thick, gray haze lay over the City of Doors that day and ash trickled from the sky, not only in the Lower Ward. Perhaps a portal had opened somewhere high up to the Plane of Ash or Gehenna. The wind sighed sadly, like an agonized animal. Living in Sigil for a while meant to get used to bad weather, but on days like this, few people were out and about. That was why the leader of the Razor Angels hurried to reach her target location as quickly as possible. And said location was the workshop of Krixxi and Figaro in the Hive. Not in the “poorest ward of Sigil Hive”. Krystall was already there, that was where she lived. In the “headquarters of the Xaositects Hive”. The fact that the ward and the faction headquarters had the same name was a fact that often caused confusion. And one that the faction certainly intended, encouraged and enjoyed. The workshop was located on Laughing Cat Avenue, in a low building made of red brick. At least one could guess that they had to be reddish bricks, because the wall of the small house was painted over and over in shrill colors. Probably by the goblin mechanic herself, Krystall speculated, perhaps with the help of a few friends. Some people derided the Xaositects' fondness for painting everything, some even turned up their noses at it. But Krystall had always found it refreshing and charming, a defiantly cheerful way of sticking the tongue out at the Hive’s tristesse. Of course, it didn't fill any stomachs or cure any coughs, but it was at least a small sign of joie de vivre, a symbol that hope and creativity couldn't be completely eradicated, even here. In a way, that was what she and the Razor Angels were fighting for, too. The paths might be different, but the goal was quite similar.

When she knocked on the low door, Krixxi's high voice soon sounded from inside, asking her to come in. Krystall had to bend down a little to avoid bumping into the doorframe as she entered. Fortunately, the room was high enough for her to stand upright. Even the minotaur Blackhoof, as she was amazed to discover, didn't have to duck his head. This was because there was no floor between the ground floor and the attic, the whole small house consisted of a single room. It looked more like a barn than a house. But that way, there was space for larger equipment, as well as the scaffolding and pulleys that Krixxi and Figaro needed for their work. The goblin woman waved cheerfully at Krystall while she tinkered with a device that looked like a cross between a diving bell and a strange flying machine. The workshop was apparently both the home and workspace of the pink-haired Xaositect and the awakened rooster. A large part of it was filled with workbenches, half-finished constructions and shelves overflowing with tools, boxes of screws and gears and strange devices that Krystall didn't even know the name of. At the back there was a small kitchen, a hammock patched together from colorful rags and an old plush armchair, so tatty that the stuffing billowed from it. Krixxi and Figaro seemed to spend most of their time here developing and constructing new devices and inventions. They were creative and imaginative and, as Krystall knew by now, liked to push the boundaries of what was possible. Their work might seem chaotic and inconsistent, but many of their inventions were remarkable mechanical masterpieces. Amidst all the chaos, Krystall then discovered that Zamakis was already present, along with Blackhoof. However, none of the factols were to be seen, which suited the leader of the Razor Angels just fine. She had always tried to interact directly with the Chosen and to leave the high-ups out of it. Pentar was too destructive for her liking and Skall too creepy – when he did show up in person, which luckily he usually didn't. But his deputies – the death priestess Oridi Malefin or the necromancer Komosahl Trevant – were not much better. On the other hand she liked Lhar and Karan personally, but Karan wasn't even always factol. And even when he was, he gave his people so much freedom that she often couldn't really see the Xaositects as a faction. Lhar was likewise quite relaxed when Blackhoof discussed things with the others without him, because the Bleakers didn't care about much anyway. Zamakis, as usual dressed in a noble black frock coat, had taken a seat on a stool that she had apparently pushed as far away as possible from all the other furniture in the room. It was no secret that she didn't particularly trust mechanical devices and preferred to rely on her arcane powers.

She nodded curtly as Krystall entered and seemed to anticipate her first question. “Rakalla isn't here yet,“ she explained. “But she'll arrive any moment.”

“Would you like a drink in the meantime?” Krixxi called down from the metal monster on which she was standing, tightening screw-nuts. “I got you some rum.”

Krystall had to laugh. “Is that so? Well, I don't know whether I should be happy or rather worried that I'm already known here as a rum drinker.”

Blackhoof snorted through his nostrils and raised his mighty shoulders. “As long as it's a good rum, you don’t have to worry, have you?”

The leader of the Razor Angels was about to reply when she heard the door open behind her. She reflexively drew a dagger from the sheath on her right thigh as she turned to face the entrance. But it was just Rakalla. “Ah, it's you.” Krystall nodded and put the dagger away.

The medusa grinned with amusement. “Are you expecting anyone else?”

“Oh, you know, in my position you always have to expect someone,” Krystall replied. “And usually not a friendly visit.”

Rakalla adjusted her dark-tinted glasses. “But such visitors doesn't usually knock, do they?”

“You'd be surprised,” Krystall said with a laugh. “Deception is everything. By the way, did Síkhara contact you about Haer'Dalis?”

The medusa nodded. “Yes, she did. I showed her where he is working these days - a smaller theater in the Market Ward. He seemed very happy to see her. The two of them must have been through a lot together. And while we're on the subject: Should we actually ... tell her more about the whole thing?”

“That remains the big question,” Krystall said. “I'm still a little unsure. Not because I distrust her. On the contrary, I like her very much. But if she knows about the whole matter with the Prophecy, that could also put her in danger. I told her a bit about it, but she said she was patient and that I should take my time to think about it.”

“Is she staying here in Sigil for now?” Zamakis wanted to know.

Krystall nodded. “It looks that way. She said she'd heard of something here in the Cage that might be connected to one of her previous cases. Something about shadow theft - don't ask. I think she'll be here for a while. So we still have a bit of time to think about it.”

“So, since it's not about the blood hunter, to what do we owe the honor of your visit?” The raspy voice came from about the height of her knees. It was the rooster Figaro, who now emerged from behind the device on which Krixxi was standing and on which he had apparently also been working. ”It's not that we don't like to see you. But there must be a reason for your visit that goes beyond good rum, if I'm guessing correctly?”

Once again, Krystall had to stifle a chuckle. Figaro's correct but dry manner, combined with his affected way of speaking, always amused her, but she took care not to show it in the rooster’s presence. He possessed a pride worthy of a cockerel. And since she liked him very much, she didn't want to offend him by making him feel like she was making fun of him. She knew it was a sore point with him that too many humanoids dismissed him as a funny, talking bird instead of respecting him as the talented and intelligent mechanic he was.

“That's right,“ she replied just as politely. “Well, it's like this: you remember the half-elf I took in recently? It was about five or six weeks ago.”

“Yeah, sure.” Krixxi was now trying to climb down from the large construction. But Blackhoof carefully reached under her arms and gently set her down on the ground. “Thanks, big guy! ... Now, where did I put that screw ...? ... Oh, there! ... So, again ... Oh yes, the half-elf. Sgillin, right? Was that his name?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Krystall saw how Zamakis raised her eyebrows with a hint of stress at Krixxi's confused babbling. She suppressed a smile herself. “Yes, that's right, Sgillin. I hadn't mentioned you to him yet because he mostly hangs around with the others. But I thought it was kind of fitting and wanted to wait and see how he would do with the Razor Angels.”

Rakalla nodded as she sat down on a chest with iron bands. “Right. Then he went on two or three raids with you and did quite well, you said.”

“That's exactly how it was,” Krystall confirmed. ”But just like us, the others then went on a mission – also to find the Keeper and the Proclaimer, as Sgillin told me afterwards.”

“No way!” Krixxi widened her yellow eyes. ”They were looking for them, too? Did they find them?”

“Yes, they did. But more about that later. Anyway, the day before yesterday, Sgillin came to see me again and asked me when I was going to tell him that we are an Anarchist cell.”

“Huh?“ Blackhoof wiggled his ears. “I thought he knew that.”

“No, not really …” Krystall sighed and now wanted to take a seat, too, on a smaller barrel standing near her. When she saw that a flame symbol was painted on it, however, she hesitated. Only after a reassuring nod from Figaro she sat down. “When I gave him the amulet, I watched him closely, of course. And his reaction had shown me that he hadn't recognized the symbol. I left it at that for the time being.”

Zamakis arched one of her dark eyebrows. “Because you were afraid he might distance himself from you if he knew you were an Anarchist cell?”

“Exactly.” The leader of the Razor Angels nodded seriously. ”I was afraid that the others had already influenced Sgillin too much. Hardhead in the group and all that. There are two or three among my people who have asked me if I'm really sure he's not a spy after all.”

“Oh, sweetie, that doesn't sound good,“ Rakalla said, and her snakes hissed softly. “Not that your people end up mutinying or something.”

“Don't worry,” Krystall reassured her. “I’ll stay in the saddle. I explained to them that in that case he would have had enough information for a long time to blow our cover. I was able to calm them down, everything is fine.”

Figaro fluttered onto one of the workbenches to be on the same level as his humanoid conversation partners. “And now that Sgillin knows that you belong to the Revolutionary League: How did he react?”

“Well, I told him I'd understand if he wanted to give me the amulet back.“ Krystall grinned. “But he didn't.”

“Your gut feeling is good, I see.” Rakalla sounded appreciative.

“Yes, it didn't betray me. He wanted to know in more detail what we are doing. Make sure we don't just kill anyone and stuff. I explained to him that we are exactly as he has experienced us up to now: We mainly carry out burglaries and robberies, and we target the rich, whose money we then distribute throughout the Hive. That was fine with him. Of course, I was pleased. Sgillin has a big heart and is brave. I like to see him in our ranks.”

The medusa now tilted her head and looked at her thoughtfully. Finally, she took off her glasses – by now Krystall had got used to that and also knew that Rakalla was able to control her gaze, so she no longer reacted with instinctive alarm. “Say, your cells,” the alchemist then asked. “With everyone doing their own thing ... don't you ever get in each other's way?”

Krystall grinned a little. “Well, sometimes yes, to be honest.”

The medusa laughed, and it almost seemed as if she enjoyed this answer. Well, there was a touch of entropy to it, so how could a Sinker not be pleased? “I thought so,” she said, amused. “But I didn't want to distract from the topic. What did you want to tell about Sgillin?”

Krystall took a deep breath before answering. “Well, I showed him the parchment.”

“That parchment?“ Zamakis raised her head warily.

“The one we stole from that guy from the Fated, right.” The leader of the Razor Angels adopted a slightly more upright, alert posture in response to the vampire's gaze, almost unconsciously. “The parchment that told us about the Prophecy in the first place and that lists a few of the Chosen. I thought it was time to tell him that we're involved in this too.”

Krixxi frantically twisted a small wrench between her fingers. “Do you really think that was a good idea? After all, he's hanging around with a Hardhead.”

“He didn't choose that,” Krystall immediately defended her new member. “And he's had enough trouble because he was exposed as an Anarchist. I thought I owed him that much.”

“He was exposed?’ Blackhoof snorted in horror. ”By the Lady! Does that mean the other Chosen know that he's one of you?”

“Unfortunately yes,” Krystall replied with a sigh. “But that's my own fault. Since he didn't know the symbol on the amulet, he showed it to his friends. Even to the Hardhead, unfortunately. And of course he told his factol.”

“Oh dear!” Krixxi widened her eyes in fear. ”Did Sarin do something to him?”

“No, not really,“ Krystall reassured her. “It stayed within reason. He must have given a good account of himself.”

“It seems so,” Figaro remarked gravely. “How fortunate for him, truly. And now?”

When she gave Zamakis a quick glance, Krystall could tell that the vampire was not happy about her arbitrary act, but was obviously willing to let it pass. “We've suspected for some time that Sgillin actually belongs with us. And now I thought I should maybe introduce him to you. But of course I wanted to ask you first and I would also wait to see what Lorias and Elyria have to say to us. They've already seen the others.”

“Really?“ Rakalla frowned somewhat disapprovingly. “Why them first?’

“I don't know.” Krystall shrugged. “They'll have their reasons. Maybe the others were the first to find them.”

“I wouldn't be surprised.“ Zamakis gave Krixxi a meaningful look. “As long and as chaotic as we were flying through the Outlands with that barracuda.”

“The barracuda was great!” the goblin woman replied, pouting. “And besides, it was a really exciting and fun trip!”

The vampire merely raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything more. Rakalla, on the other hand, gave the mechanic a consoling pat on the shoulder. “Yes, it was. Don't worry, little one.”

“I think that the order probably isn't that important,” Krystall tried to mediate. ”Sgillin, however, said that the meeting hadn't been particularly elevating for him.”

Figaro ruffled his feathers. “Why is that?”

“He didn't want to explain in detail. He said we should talk about it again after Elyria and Lorias have told us about the Prophecy. Then the story would be a little easier to tell.”

“Sounds pretty mysterious,” Rakalla noted. “Now I'm even more excited to hear what they have to tell.”

“Yes, indeed. And then there is the question of whether you would like to meet Sgillin. He said he would understand if you didn't want to. In his eyes, the intrigue and mistrust between the factions is the biggest obstacle in the whole affair.”

“Hm yes, there is something to that.” Blackhoof nodded. “Well, I'm fine with it. I'd be happy to meet him.”

“Me too.” Krixxi clapped her hands. ”I think it's a good idea.”

Zamakis was, as expected, more hesitant. “I'm not subject to the same strict regulations as someone from the Harmonium or the Guvners,” she explained calmly. “But on this particular matter, I would prefer to consult with Skall or Oridi before making a decision.”

“I hate to say it, but I feel the same way.” Rakalla sighed, somewhat resigned, as it might appear to Krystall. “I have to ask Pentar if that's all right. Entropy or not, but in this matter she doesn't like me doing something behind her back.”

“Of course I understand that,” the leader of the Razor Angels assured. “I thought so, which is why I asked for the meeting today. What about you?” She looked at Blackhoof and Krixxi.

The minotaur snorted softly. ”I don't think Lhar has a problem with it. But I'll ask him.”

“Well ... Karan's not factol right now,” the goblin woman said, frowning. “It's Quake, I guess. Or no, Mordi! ... Hm, or ... Oh, I don't know, to be honest.” She threw her wrench into a nearby toolbox. ”Oh, let's just say that I am factol right now, and I decide it's all right.”

Rakalla shook her head in a mixture of amusement and confusion. “Even as a Sinker, I find it weird how you handle your factolship.”

“But why?” Krixxi asked blankly. “It's a good solution.”

The medusa raised her hands in defense, as if to say she didn't want to argue about it, and Zamakis merely gave the mechanic one of her meaningful looks. As member of a faction that had had the same factol since its founding, the Xaositect practices must seem particularly abstruse to her.

Figaro nodded, apparently relieved. “I think, fortunately, no one here wants to get involved in this discussion.”

“That's true,” Krystall said with a laugh. ”All right, Blackhoof, Rakalla and Zamakis will check with their factols to clarify whether I may introduce you to Sgillin. The day after tomorrow we'll meet the Keeper and the Proclaimer. And now I'd like to get back to that rum.”

“Of course!” Krixxi was about to run off, but then paused. “Oh, Blackhoof? It's on the top shelf over there. Could you take it down? Then I don't have to use the pulley ...”

The minotaur motioned to her to take a seat again. “Sure, I'll get it.”

He went over to the shelf in question to take a bottle from the top board, while Krystall unbuckled the weapon belt with her rapier and hung it over a nearby workbench. She looked forward to the relaxed part of the evening that was about to follow. And she had to admit that she had grown quite fond of the minotaur, the medusa, the goblin woman, the rooster and even the vampire during the memorable flight with the barracuda. In fact, it was beginning to feel like she had a second, small family in addition to the Razor Angels.

 

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based on the role play with Sgillin's player on November 26, 2012