The Silver Sphinx

 

“I don't belong to any faction, berk!

I'm an Indep.”

Hoffy, a bariaur

 

 

First Clerk's Day of Pivot, 126 HR

Whenever Dilae walked over the Great Bazaar, she knew why she had chosen the Free League as her faction. The vibrant life, the colorful diversity and above all the smell of adventure and freedom – her faction represented all of this and thus also its headquarters in the City of Doors. She was a priestess of Eilistraee as well as a bard and she focused on the graceful sword dance in honor of her goddess. But she was also an Indep at heart. The Great Bazaar was one of the largest marketplaces in the multiverse, teeming with all manner of people and exotic goods in abundance. Upon entering, all senses were overwhelmed by a never-ending flood of smells, sounds and sights. The crowd was colorful and chaotic, with visitors from all planes coming to trade. As she strolled between the stalls and tents, Dilae saw a centaur selling his wares to an orc and a gnome chatting with a minotaur at the next booth. Here, a group of dwarves were haggling with a goblin merchant over the price of a piece of jewelry, while there a half-elf and a tiefling were engaged in a heated debate about the best way to prepare hydra corms.

Every single day, the Great Bazaar was a fascinating insight into the multiverse, where cultures from all corners of the planes came together to do business in the beating heart of Sigil. The goods sold here ranged from the ordinary to the almost unattainable. Some merchants sold magical trinkets, exotic foods or clothing made from cobweb silk and butterfly wings, but also everyday items such as simple weapons and armor. Whether one was looking for a frost blade from the Plane of Ice or a simple steel dagger, the Great Bazaar was sure to have something for everyone. One could even get dragon bones or the heavenly metal solarium here if one knew who to approach – and had enough jink. But there were also more harmless things, cheaper and easier to find. Currently popular, for example, were spheres of elemental fire that floated around and exuded a soft glow, or small figures made from Abyssal bronze that reacted to touch and moved. At one booth, Dilae saw small clockwork birds that chirped and hopped around when activated, and at another, rings that subtly glowed when they came into contact with certain materials. She paused briefly to watch an older gnome selling various pets. The friendly, gray-haired man had tiny sapphire lizards from the Plane of Mineral, cute fox pups, grass-green monkeys and even a winged, celestial rabbit. Dilae was tempted to buy the rabbit. But she knew she didn't have enough time for a pet.

So she strolled on, her eye caught by a fire genasi's tent. She sold elegant garments and her table was always surrounded by a crowd of customers. Dilae thought she knew the reason: Factol Erin had recently purchased a robe from this tailor - the famous Flame Dance Dress she had worn at the Aphrodisia. Inspired by the element of fire, this dress was made of heat-resistant Ifriti silk and had a striking red and orange pattern that gave the impression of a blazing fire dancing on the dress with every movement. That, of course, explained the rush that the fire genasi was now experiencing. Dilae smiled. Her tent here in the crowded Bazaar would certainly become too small to accommodate the new customers that the Factol of the Sensates had brought her. She would definitely open a larger tailor shop in a nice store in the Clerk's Ward soon. The dark elf did not begrudge her the success. The merchant would make good business, which she had earned completely honestly and without immoral tricks, simply through her skill, which had inspired even a factol. As Dilae continued on to her destination, the Red Lion Inn, she tossed a few greens into the tray that a halfling juggler had set out on the pavement. Street performers were a common sight in the Great Bazaar. From a simple musician's ballad to a puppet show supported by arcane effects, there was something for everyone to see.

On this rather friendly day, the light clouds typical of Pivot were to be seen in the sky. They only appeared in the month of the Ciphers and radiated bright daylight. If this happened after the Last Light, the Cage experienced a night without darkness. Unlike the normal light of Sigil, the light of these clouds had the same effects as real sunlight. It therefore hurt creatures that were damaged by the sun, such as vampires. For everyone else, however, the light of the clouds had a positive effect: one felt calmer and had more inner balance. In addition, the light even healed minor injuries. Even as a follower of a moon goddess, Dilae appreciated this weather phenomenon. At a booth run by a half-elf carver, she noticed a small bird figurine. Although not particularly delicate or detailed, it had been carved with care and love, a simple yet charming piece for a shelf or desk. She bought the bird as a gift for her sister and then entered the Red Lion Inn, which served as a kind of unofficial headquarters for the Free League. The bard Bria and the wemic siblings Lethea and Lesander regularly met here with other important members. Overall, many hybrids such as centaurs, wemics or bariaurs were guests in the Red Lion Inn, so there were fewer chairs than in other taverns and tables of unusual heights. Many rooms were more stable- or cave-like. The inn also had a flat roof with a landing area and accommodation for flying creatures. In general, the tavern attracted travelers from all over the multiverse and was a popular meeting place for adventurers, wandering merchants and anyone looking for a good deal. It was the perfect place to make new contacts, exchange information and hear tales of adventure. It was also where one could often hear Bria Tomay playing and singing. She came from a family of Sigil-based silversmiths, but had chosen the path of a bard and enjoyed creating new string or wind instruments. Of course, the Free League had no factol, and Bria would have rejected the idea of playing such a role, even unofficially. The League was far too free-spirited for that, and rejected the term faction and the office of factol too decisively. But Bria coordinated the Indeps of the individual wards and districts, and most members saw her as someone who could speak for them. That made her something of an unofficial leader, a responsibility she shared with the wemic twins Lethea and Lesander.

And yet Bria was the one who apparently played a role in the Ring Prophecy, as the Lady's Minstrel, as the Keeper had called her. Whether the bard liked it or not, providence had chosen her for the role that the factols of other factions played: Rowan Darkwood as the Lady's Seneschal, Hashkar as the Lady's Judge, Darius as the Lady's Chancellor and Mallin as the Lady's Executioner. Every title was connected to a strangely dark verse that seemed to refer to the future fate of the five. Dilae was satisfied with simply having received a description of her gift, and her role as the Dancer was something she could easily get used to. She found the bard in the back of the inn. Bria had wanted to talk to her, Tarik and Yelmalis, but without Garush and Sekhemkare. This was not so much due to the two Chosen as to their factols Mallin and Rowan Darkwood, with whom the bard was not on the best of terms. Tarik was already present and sat together with Bria at one of the round tables. The Dreamer in the Prophecy – how fitting for his faction. Just as Yelmalis' title the Thinker seemed to be tailor-made for a Guvner. Garush had been called the Huntress by the Keeper and the Proclaimer, while Sekhemkare was the Caller. Whatever it might tell them, they now at least knew beyond doubt who they were in the ancient scriptures. When Dilae approached, Bria greeted her warmly and Tarik also seemed pleased to see her. After the joint mission in the Hive in search of Eliath and then on the Plane of Ice to find the Keeper and the Proclaimer, the group had grown quite close.

The dark elf ordered a Brew of Valor, a drink from Ysgard that was mixed from red wine and black coffee and refined with vanilla and apple slices. They had a brief conversation about the light clouds and the most recent meeting in the Hall of Speakers, but shortly thereafter Yelmalis arrived – five minutes late, which was rather unusual for a Guvner. As he approached, a slight draft of air seemed to blow through the room.

“Lady's Grace,” he greeted somewhat hurriedly. ”Please excuse me for being late. I underestimated how long it takes to navigate the Grand Bazaar.”

“You can say cut your way through,” Bria said with a laugh. ”Because that's exactly what it's like. And don't worry, it's only five minutes. We're not that punctilious about such things here.”

The air genasi forced a smile, perhaps because of the rather relaxed Indep view of punctuality, or perhaps because he felt a little out of place here in the Red Lion Inn. Indeed, with his neat, elegant frock coat and the perfectly fitting frills of his snow-white shirt, he didn't quite fit into the picture. The young lawyer was a rather unusual sight among laughing half-elf adventurers, carousing satyrs, bariaur traders and frolicking fey creatures. Tarik smiled and beckoned him to join them at the table. Yelmalis nodded and bowed deeply to Bria before sitting down – another sign that the Great Bazaar was not his usual environment, because no one who really belonged here treated the bard or the wemics like one of Sigil's high-ups – even if they certainly had their influence. Bria acknowledged it with a cheerful nod, while the air genasi placed his blue tricorn on the bench next to him.

“Where's your cute monodrone?” Dilae wanted to know. ”F-5 or F-45? I always forget ...”

“Its full name is F45-74Rg-34,” Yelmalis replied with a smile. ”But just F-45, yes. I preferred to leave it at home. All the hustle and bustle here in the Grand Bazaar ... I don't know, I was afraid it might get lost.”

“What a shame,” Dilae said. “It's just so cute. Now that it's not here, I can say that without getting another comment about the nature of its outer shell.”

Bria laughed heartily. “Yes, that does sound like a modron. In any case, we're happy to have you here, Yelmalis. Where did you just come from?”

“From a client,” the genasi explained. “Jana Wetter.”

He raised his white eyebrows meaningfully and Dilae whistled softly. “Jana Wetter? Isn't that one of the other Chosen? The Athar, right?”

“That's right.”

The air genasi nodded and Dilae now noticed a butterfly fluttering around him: a dark blue moth that occasionally landed on his lapel and then flew around again. She knew that it was not a real animal, but an elemental manifestation, a part of his genasi heritage. Dilae had known that genasi, who descended from so-called kami, were occasionally surrounded by apparitions or animals that matched their element. However, it was a rather rare phenomenon and before Yelmalis she had not yet met a genasi for whom this had been the case. He himself seemed not to notice the butterfly at all, although it kept landing on his shoulders and sleeves.

At the mention of Jana Wetter, Tarik had also leaned forward with interest. “And why are you pleading her cause, if I may ask so bluntly?”

“It's an official faction assignment,” Yelmalis explained willingly. “A kind of conciliatory gesture from Hashkar to the other Chosen.”

Bria nodded knowingly – she was probably already aware of this fact. After what Mallin had done to the other Chosen, Dilae could well understand these efforts on the part of Factol Hashkar. Both the Guvners and the Mercykillers were politically allied with the Harmonium, and the wise, level-headed dwarf certainly didn't want any bad blood between them and Sarin. Of course, the fact that this gesture of goodwill now included defending an Athar was somewhat ironic in view of Sarin's paladin status.

“Did she know who you are?” Dilae asked.

“I hadn't met her before,” Yelmalis said. ”But Garush had told them about me, so she knew who I was when I introduced myself. I said I would plead her cause, assuming that she agreed and hadn't already hired another lawyer. As it turned out, she could have gotten a lawyer from her faction, but no one had been chosen yet. So she decided to let me conduct her case. She asked me if I had a strategy.” Now he had to smile a little, as if this question had been quite absurd. ”I advised her to stick to the truth, since there was an eye witness to the crime. Ironically, this witness is the soldier Kiyoshi, who is also one of the Chosen of her group. He had also arrested her.”

Dilae shook her head. “He arrested one of his own? There you go! They are nuts, those Hardheads.”

Yelmalis frowned. ”She has clearly violated the laws of Sigil. Kiyoshi was only doing his duty.”

The dark elf was about to reply, but Bria gently placed a hand on her arm. Dilae was able to interpret her placating look correctly: this was not the appropriate occasion to get into a fight over faction-philosophical questions.

“And what is the charge?” Tarik wanted to know.

“Gross defamation of deities,” Yelmalis explained. “In coincidence with defiling sacred sites and causing public nuisance. She asked me how she could have caused public nuisance. All they could prove was that she had drawn a waterfall, and that was hardly a gross defamation of deities. She was ... quite upset.”

Tarik smiled. “And what did you reply?”

“That I didn't prefer the charge, but only told her what it was.” The air genasi raised his hands in a gesture that emphasized that he didn't quite understand her agitation. By now, there were two butterflies fluttering around him, one blue and one white. “I explained that defacing temples in Sigil is considered a public nuisance because the public in the Temple District is annoyed by such things. She then admitted that it was rash to choose the wall of a temple, but it seemed appropriate to her. She asked me how the trial would proceed, and I explained that she would have to testify, that witnesses would be called and she would be asked questions. Whether she admits the crime, about the motivation for the crime. The usual. Of course I will plead her cause to the best of my ability.”

Bria nodded gently. ”Can you estimate what the verdict will be?”

“Unfortunately, I can't foresee that,” the genasi said. ”However, there is a certain range within which the sentence can be in such a case. A fine is possible. But the court probably won't go for that because in such cases the faction is likely to pay, not the individual. A prison sentence would also be possible, but I have the feeling that Factol Terrance may have pulled a few strings in advance to prevent that. It's also possible that she will have to remove her graffiti herself or she will have to stand in the pillory. I think it's unlikely that she will be branded because it's her first offense in this regard.”

He explained it with all the dry neutrality of a lawyer, but Dilae winced. As much as she, as a priestess of Eilistraee, objected to what Jana had done, she considered the laws of Sigil to be too restrictive and extreme in many matters. A sidelong glance at Bria and Tarik told her that the two of them felt the same way.

“She then asked whether the time she had already spent in custody would be deducted from the sentence,” Yelmalis continued matter-of-factly. ”And she said she would like to aver the aggravated conditions of her detention, because she was constantly surrounded by paladins and clerics in the Barracks. But I don't think she was entirely serious.”

“Hey, she's an Athar,” Dilae replied with a grin. “I'm sure she meant it.”

“Maybe so,” Yelmalis admitted, amused. ”But I told her that, on the contrary, I had the impression that she was treated quite gently in the Barracks because of her ... connections. She admitted that.” Now there were three butterflies fluttering around him, one white, one blue and one white with two blue spots. “She will be released on bail, with the condition that she doesn't leave Sigil without explicit permission until the trial. But it will only take place in the course of Nihilum.”

“Well, that's a pretty weird story,” Tarik said. “But ... we didn't meet here to talk about the crimes of that Athar, did we?”

“Well, the story was quite interesting,” Bria said with a laugh. “But you're right, that's not the reason.” She looked at Dilae, as if to give her permission to speak.

The dark elf sighed softly and put down her mug with Brew of Valor. “Yes, I have something to tell you. I know both Naghûl and Sgillin, even if only briefly.”

“You mean ... independent of the Prophecy?” Tarik asked cautiously.

“Exactly. Naghûl, Sgillin and I knew each other before this matter. But I hadn't memorized Naghûl's last name back then, and Sgillin doesn't have one at all. So I wasn't sure if it was the same two guys when the names were first mentioned. But Naghûl and Sgillin, tiefling and half-elf, the tiefling a Sensate ... that was a rather strong probability. I pondered for a while whether I should tell you. But we've been through a lot together, and I think keeping too many secrets from each other will ultimately do us more harm than good.”

Yelmalis nodded seriously. “I agree.”

“Yes, and a few days ago, Naghûl approached me and asked to meet with me. He said that my religion, my faction and I as a person inspired much more trust in him than the Mercykillers or the Fated.”

Bria smiled. ”Who can blame him?”

Tarik put on an innocent expression and even Yelmalis, although a member of the Triad of Order, seemed to be able to understand this point.

“Yes, he has reservations about Garush and Sekhemkare, mainly because of their factions,” Dilae confirmed. ”The Harmonium, on the other hand, is the reason why we in the Free League are not keen on working together. And the Signers aren't on the best of terms with the Athar at the moment. Somehow it's all a bad constellation.”

Bria nodded. “Personally, I'm not so keen on the Red Death either, but Garush is all right. Of course, apart from the fact that the Mercykillers are all nuts.” She grinned a little.

“For an amazon, she's rather moderate,” Tarik said, amused. “Well, she has to be if she accepts a man as her superior. Mallin, though, still gives me the creeps.”

“But what was the point of your meeting?” Yelmalis recurred to the subject.

“Naghûl basically has a very similar problem,” Dilae explained. ”That we don't know what the purpose of the Prophecy is supposed to be. We have asked ourselves whether we should act more in the interest of the Prophecy or in that of our factions. Of course, I'm not the most unbiased person to ask, because I think that the factions have too much power and influence in Sigil anyway.” She winked at Tarik and Yelmalis and smiled apologetically. “That's why Naghûl had turned to me. Because I don't have to answer to anyone. Because I could decide for myself whether or not to talk to him. The conversation went in the direction that we don't know whether the current … composition of the groups is correct at all.”

That was not a lie, because they had really asked themselves these questions and had talked about them. However, she did not yet mention that she and Naghûl had made an agreement: to issue warnings to each other should they realize that parts of their respective groups endangered each other, whether consciously or unconsciously. The suggestion had come from Naghûl, but Dilae had not deemed it a bad idea. After all, it was quite possible that they would all have to work together in the end. They had both been unsure whether this conversation and agreement were right or not. They had promised each other that this arrangement would remain between the two of them, and only Erin and Bria would know about it for the time being. But at least, and that eased her conscience quite a bit, she hadn't kept everything from the others. Because sooner or later, all secrets would come to light, she was sure of that. She reached for her mug and took a deep gulp, while the others discussed the question of whether the groups of the Chosen were built-up correctly. After all, there was also a third group, even though their composition seemed more coherent at first glance. But whether it was right or not, they could only guess. Only time would reveal more, and probably they would have no choice but to be patient until then.

 

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

based on the role play with Naghûl's player on November 6, 2012 and with Jana's player on November 15, 2012