[[1493-04-07 - Hour 6 II|<< Hour 6 II]] | [[1493-04-08 - Hour 6 III|Hour 6 III >>]] ## Hour 6 II Things have gotten even shittier in this place, believe it or not. Nia identified the Cat Lord's "toy" as something called the Armillary Sphere. She hadn't been talking about it for long when the thing itself spoke up; it's sentient, apparently, occupied by the soul of an old reverend of Elysium. Skoll was the only one able to speak with the reverend. He translated for us while we asked our questions; the reverend wasn't...happy, per se, to answer them – and he wasn't that coherent either – but he answered regardless. That's how we finally learned something about what went down in Elysium to bring the mists. I only wish the story wasn't so worrying. Anyway: before the mists, there were gods. They had a close relationship with the people of Elysium; they cared and were cared for in turn. There were thirteen gods in total: * The Ox, of the first month, is the god of persistence and memory * The Vermin, of the second month, is the god of sickness and health * The Dreamer, of the third month, is the god of dreams and guidance * The Twins, of the fourth month, are the gods of knowledge and responsibility * The Wolf, of the fifth month, is the god of angels and aid * The Rose, of the sixth month, is the god of passion and unity * The Dragon, of the seventh month, is the god of cooperation and generosity * The Widow, of the eighth month, is the god of death and light * The Hunter, of the ninth month, is the god of protection and ambition * The Spider, of the tenth month, is the god of life and darkness * The Crab, of the eleventh month, is the god of water and nothingness * The Cat, of the twelfth month, is the god of kindness and play According to the reverend, things were going great for Elysium, until they weren't. Something showed up. The reverend says that it's beyond Elysium and beyond anywhere else, too. The only name he had for it was "the thing in the mirror." I have the unfortunate feeling that I've already seen it, back when I spotted that swirling, jagged thing in Ewyn's reflection. The thing in the mirror represented a threat. The only thing the gods thought to do was imprison it; they built a nexus in the center of the lake, aiming to trap the thing beneath the surface. All the gods were needed to complete the spell. They were to give up their lives. One of the gods – the Spider – didn't show. And so the spell failed; the gods died; the mists rolled in. All that's left is the thing in the mirror and the Spider, the god of darkness and life. The reverend was pretty fucked up by the time he finished telling us everything. It made sense, considering that he dedicated his life to gods who ultimately failed him and that he got stuck in the armillary sphere – a replica of the gods' nexus – for his trouble. He kept going on about how the gods abandoned them. Skoll and Nia theorized that remnants of the gods still remain and watch over Elysium in the ways that they can, but the reverend couldn't be convinced. The reverend also couldn't be convinced when I suggested that we could persuade the Spider to sacrifice himself and complete the spell. No one could be convinced, really, except for Skoll. But to give credit where credit is due: Ezmerelda at least told the others that they should consider my idea, which is something that had to be said to account for the fact that Rictavio is a jackass. Me, Skoll, Nia, Ezmerelda, and Rictavio left the safehouse for the auction house, with plans to stop by the duchess's afterward; Nia thought that she might be what remains of the Widow, who the reverend indicated didn't often get along well with the Spider. On the way to the auction house, Rictavio thought it'd be a great time to ask about Borca again – Ezmerelda had alluded to our dealings with the dark lord there during all the god-talk, and I guess it tipped him off to the fact that there's some information he hadn't received. We told Rictavio what happened with Ivana. He was basically hysterical over it, which is exactly what we needed. Ezmerelda was saying that the only way it could've gone worse was if his heart actually gave out. I'm glad it's over with, in any case, even if he felt the need to lecture us. He also felt the need to ensure that we're not about to roll up to a bunch of domains to free the dark lords. I'd be offended by his complete lack of faith in me if it wasn't clear that he was having something of a moment. We made it to the auction house soon after Rictavio stopped freaking out over nothing. I won the bid on the ring of swimming, so I picked that up, and asked what was up for auction this hour. Mr. Fiddle showed us a robe with a bunch of eyes on it, which apparently allows the wearer to "see things better." I put up a bid just for the hell of it, but I'm not going to be too beat up if I don't get the robe. It kind of creeps me out. When I was rooting around in my bag for something to offer up, I came across the helm of brilliance. I figured it'd be useful, so I offered it to Ezmerelda; she was reluctant to take it because of her "cultivated look" and because the thing looks stupid as hell. She did end up taking it, though, but only after Skoll and Nia got her to start shouting about how she loves owls. It was cute. After that brief reprieve, we headed in the direction of the duchess's house. We weren't traveling for long before we heard wailing cries and the crash of lightning. As we continued further, we saw shapes cutting through the rain – creatures made of lightning and water, with wings trailing behind them and crowns atop their heads. I think they were angels. I know they were in agony. Most scattered as we approached; three remained. They were shrieking. It sounded like dozens of people in pain. Skoll tried to offer them goodberries, and it went as well as anyone (except Skoll) could expect; he got shocked to all hell. The angels hit hard, but only two of them even had the chance, and only once. Rictavio killed one, Skoll killed another, and Ezmerelda killed the last, all with fire. The lightning and shrieking quieted until all we could hear was the angels chanting "everyone is going to die." And then – because everything is so fucking dramatic with this place – they exploded, the area around them briefly flashing with color. I healed Skoll and Rictavio while they had an argument in the middle of the street about whether or not Skoll should've marched up to a bunch of hostile angels. And while he obviously shouldn't've, I told Rictavio to knock it off – all he'd done all day was lecture people, and Skoll's going to do what Skoll's going to do. We found Cheshire in the crooked house. He was slightly more helpful than last time, even though he still spoke in riddles; but the riddles were enough to convince the others that we should check out that boarded up room in the house. Before that, though, we had a duchess to visit. As was the case the last time we visited, the duchess was facing a wall in a chair in the sitting room. The hundreds of tiny spiders crawling all over her was a new addition – or maybe I just couldn't see them before. The duchess – or the Spider, rather, unless I'm wildly misinterpreting things – was not quick to answer our questions. The Spider was mostly concerned with where we were getting our information; it seems like he wants us in the dark as much as possible. When we wouldn't let up, the Spider agreed to make a trade: information for information. Nia fed him some bullshit about Amelia; in return, he told us a bit about himself, not that he ever actually indicated his true identity. The Spider was not as favorably regarded as the other gods; he was worshipped in fear rather than loyalty. That might explain why he thought that it was "unfair" of Elysium to expect him to sacrifice his life for its residents. And that's about all we learned. The sphere had indicated previously that the Spider may be able to intercept our telepathic communication; still, I was frustrated at the lack of answers, so I psychically told Nia to look through the mirror at the "duchess." The Spider threatened us. He said that he'd like for us all – including Selise and Ireena – to maintain a good relationship. Nia put the mirror away and we made to leave. I told the Spider that it's in his best interest to tell us if there's something he wants from us. He didn't seem to agree, based on the fact that he didn't say jack shit. All that was left for us in the crooked house was that boarded up room. I told the others that I didn't think it was a good idea, but they weren't going to be convinced, even Ezmerelda. I didn't really have anything to worry about. Being in that room certainly wasn't a *pleasant* experience, but there was at least nothing in there that wanted to kill us. The room felt like death. The walls were stained, but there paintings on them, vivid with color. The floor was rubbed raw in a line – from pacing, I'd guess, judging by the fact that someone was pacing in there at the time. The occupant of the room had a face that was boarded over with twisting beams. There were beams sticking through her, too, and it made it hard to make out the shape of her. But I knew that she was weeping, and I knew that she was called the Painted Lady. She was loosely responsive, and – despite Skoll's best efforts – she didn't want to leave the room. It was clear that she's what remains of the Widow. When Nia sked if she thinks any of the other gods are left, she said, "Only silhouettes now. But I remember them, so they're never really gone." She started crying again after that and refused to respond further. So we left. This places sucks. Everything here is broken in a way that doesn't seem fixable. I'm not sure what to do about it. At least we know who the dark lord is, I guess: the duchess, with her webs and her spiders; Damháin, with his spider eyes. And he can't let us out of Elysium. We're back at the safehouse now. Ireena and Selise are safe. We're off to the train station next. We'll figure it out. We have to. --- ## Page Tags/Properties **Tags:** #Journal **Category:** [[Journals and Writings.base|Journals and Writings]] **Character:** [[Krue d'Avenir|Krue]] **Campaign:** [[City of Eyes]] **Date ([[Calendar of Harptos|Harptos]]):** 04/07/1493