[[1493-04-08 - Hour 6 III|<< Hour 6 III]] | [[1493-04-10 - Hour 7 II]] ## Hour 7 I The Spider tipped his hand today. I just got done talking to him not too long ago – we're at Cicero's now, waiting for Rictavio to finish his fitting with Rupert. But I'll get to the Spider later. For now: we all dreamed of Strahd last night. The dream started as a familiar one. I was in back in my hometown in Rashamen. My parents weren't in the dream; neither were any of my siblings. I wish it wasn't as much of a relief as it was, but it was hard enough seeing Birroo, and I'm not even related to that guy. I don't remember much of the time leading up to when I left for the Yuriwood; but I still dream of leaving, and I still dream of Birroo delivering the news of the draft several months prior. I've had the dream often enough to know that I was asleep. Still, I wasn't prepared for Strahd to show up – he never has before. Not in that particular dream, at least. I went to attack him but found myself without weapons and without the ability to get close enough to use my fists. So I was forced to listen to him say a bunch of stupid, purposefully ominous and accusatory bullshit for a while before he finally faded into mist. It kind of made me wish Achlys had been in my dream again instead, because she at least had the decency to not play games about it. I woke up just as Ezmerelda was waking up too. In the distance, the clock told us that we had transitioned into Hour 7. Mostly everyone seemed fine about their dream, with the exception of Ireena. I wasn't particularly surprised by Ireena being so upset; I also wasn't surprised when she said that she didn't want to talk about it. I'm trying not to worry too much about her. She's always been strong in her own unassuming way, and I'm sure things will be better once we're out of Elysium. Skoll and Rictavio made pancakes for everyone, which I thought was kind of cute. Nia and Ezmerelda evidently didn't think so; Nia turned Rictavio's syrup depiction of a smiling face into that of a frown, and Ezmerelda made a show of immediately cutting straight through her own. Skoll tried to defend Rictavio, but the bastard still pouted about it – I had to lean over and fix his own syrup, which he put on his pancakes in the shape of a frown. I was finishing up my pancakes when I noticed that there were two Skolls at the table, and that one of them distinctly had cat features. I suppose we had been warned. In any case, the Cat Lord didn't have much to say, especially after we started asking about the old gods of Elysium. There wasn't much we could say to contest its claimed lack of knowledge, even though the Cat Lord clearly wasn't telling the whole truth. After the Cat Lord left, we discovered that we had yet another visitor: the piano from Cicero's had somehow found its way into the living room. I wasn't really feeling up to a conversation with her, but I didn't have much of a choice; it tried to follow me, Skoll, Nia, Rictavio, Ezmerelda, and Little Balzac out when we went to leave the safehouse. As with our previous conversation, my talk with the piano was kind of uncomfortable. She asked if I could play a song before we left, and I had to once again tell a sentient piano that I am in a committed, monogamous relationship (which is still something that kind of amazes me, but that's neither here nor there). I tried to reassure the piano by saying that maybe Selise or Ireena would play a song while the rest of us were gone. It seemed to appease her, but I still feel kind of bad for everyone involved. It didn't help that Ezmerelda looked angry enough that I half expected steam to start pouring out of her ears. We left the safehouse and headed toward the auction for the hour. We hadn't been traveling for long when we ended up on a familiar street – Miles's house was there, in even worse disrepair than the last time I'd seen it. Something was moving beneath the rubble. I rushed over. Skoll and Nia helped me move the detritus, and soon someone was pushing their way out. It was Miles, in a sense, but he was a skeleton and had to be reminded of his own name. All he knew was that he had a job at the printing press to attend to. He thanked us as he was leaving. I wish he hadn't. Miles wasn't the only one to rise. As we continued walking, we witnessed dozens of the dead standing back up. None of us were exactly happy about it, but Ezmerelda seemed especially upset. I think she was thinking about her friends – the ones who patched her up soon after she arrived in Elysium who she had to take to the mausoleum. I put my hand on her shoulder and we continued on. The auction house looked bigger somehow. Mr. Fiddle gave me the creepy robe from last hour's auction; I guess my bid had been enough. Then, he had us sit down. It took a minute, but others started to file in eventually. I recognized a couple: Cheshire and Johannes. There was also an individual in druidic attire; we'd find out later that his name is Dr. Zakari, and that he was the druid who had watched over Ireena before she was imprisoned at the pharmacy. Mr. Fiddle spoke up, and then Mr. Blind revealed the item of the hour: some weird fucking teeth. Yes, teeth. And they weren't just _any_ weird fucking teeth, either; they were the teeth of Dahlver-Nar, the teeth pervert from the Amber Temple in Barovia. Because why the fuck not. I didn't want anything to do with them, which I thought would be the general consensus, but I was wrong. Dr. Zakari bid a raccoon-horse monstrosity – he does experiments on animals apparently, which Skoll was just thrilled (read: horrified) to hear – but he was outbid. He tried to up the ante with a rat-racoon hybrid and a small elephant with a wolf's head, but Mr. Fiddle was more interested in Nia's offer. Nia gave up the tiny magical sword that she got from Sir Talavar in Prismeer. She said that the teeth might be useful as a bidding item later, but I'm not so sure, since Fiddle and Blind were trying to get rid of them in the first place. Me and Nia spoke to Dr. Zakari briefly before leaving. Nia thanked him for keeping an eye on Ireena. He told us about how the animals that he experiments on seem to appreciate it. Since I had literally no way of knowing if that was true, I just kind of nodded along. Mr. Fiddle informed Nia of the fucked up ways to use her fucked up teeth (she needs to bury them or put them in her mouth – which, gross), and then we were off. Skoll talked Ezmerelda into stopping by the house of the couple whose remains she had to take to the mausoleum. I could tell that she was out of her element while she was choosing which of their belongings to take with her. Still, I'm hoping that Skoll's right and that it will help her somehow. We made it to the inn soon after that. Skoll brought our three new keys to the Proprietress, and she told us the corresponding rooms: 90, 133, and 213. Our first stop was room 213. To my surprise – and everyone else's, probably – there was a guy in there. He was occupying a bed covered in spiders. He wasn't dead; as soon as we got in the room, he bolted upright. The man – Rupert Deadbolt – was perfectly pleasant, despite having been stuck in an inn room for gods know how long. Apparently, he dropped his room key through the floorboards and had been stuck there ever since. I thought it was a tough break, and that was before he told us that he's been getting gradually more suicidal over the months. Rupert used to be an adventurer and tailor. He claimed to be from Greyhawk – unlike Damháin, he seemed to be telling the truth. He also seemed to be telling the truth when he said that he's just about done being a wandering adventurer, which is a sentiment I definitely felt. Rupert appreciated being let out of his prison; in repayment, he told us about a friend that he had made during his time spent locked in the room. He showed us a little card, on one side of which was a depiction of...something. Rupert called it the "Gaunt Silhouette." I knew, somehow, that he was right to call it that, which was more than a bit worrying. We agreed to take Rupert to Cicero's. However, we had other rooms to check out beforehand, so we had him wait in the lobby. The next room we entered was room 133. There was one thing of note in this room, and it wasn't a guy: it was a bronze bathtub in the shape of an ox, full of what I determined to be cattle blood. I was ready to go as soon as I saw the bathtub full of blood, but Rictavio wasn't so quick to leave. He explained that the bathtub was likely part of some youth-preserving ritual; he also explained that he wanted to bottle some of the blood. He initially tried to say it wasn't for himself, but it was clear that he was lying. He tried to get Nia to cast identify on it; she refused. So he just drank some of the stuff. I couldn't exactly blame the guy for drinking it in the first place. He's been looking a bit on the grayer side since we got to Elysium, and I'm not just saying that because everything is in black and white. Still, he probably shouldn't have drank it in front of Nia, who didn't look particularly happy to witness the sight. It worked in any case. I watched as Rictavio transformed, most of the gray leaving his hair and many of the wrinkles leaving his face. When all was said and done, he looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s. I'm not sure how old he was before, but I'd have put him in at 40-something by human standards. Rictavio seemed pretty happy with the change; he definitely had a spring in his step afterward. Ezmerelda didn't really seem pleased, on the other hand, which is probably because her dad looks like he's her age now. I tried to reassure her by saying that he'll be living longer now, at least – but she only responded by saying that she'll have plenty of time to decide if she's happy about that. Room 90 greeted us with no less than 15 skulls, which was super cool. They were arranged in a circle around a sigil marked with blood in celestial script. Again: super cool. Nia worked out that the setup functioned as a communion circle; communion with what, exactly, she couldn't tell. Rictavio wanted to be the one to commune in case it went poorly. I talked him out of it, because we needed him on hand to heal if something did go wrong. Skoll entered the circle. After a moment, his shadow started to extend, until something stood up out of it. It was that figure on Rupert's card – the Gaunt Silhouette. It leaned over Skoll; I put my hand on Ewyn and Ezmerelda put her hand on the sunsword. But it didn't attack. Instead, it told Skoll that he can ask three questions – "yes" or "no" only. Skoll asked if it is – or was – one of the gods of Elysium, to which it responded in the affirmative. Nia theorized later that it was the Ox. Next, Skoll asked if the ritual on the nexus can be completed. The Gaunt Silhouette said that it can't be completed without the right cooperation. So, in other words: yes, it can be. The last question Skoll asked was about the Spider; he asked if he can be convinced to change his ways. The Gaunt Silhouette didn't need any time to deliberate – he immediately answered in the negative. It stood behind Skoll for a while, said some cryptic bullshit about death being an illusion, and then sunk back into Skoll's shadow. Despite everything, the encounter left me feeling a little better than our conversation with the reverend did. The fact that the ritual on the nexus can be completed at all is worth something, I would think. I would hope, anyway, even if my conversation with the Spider didn't fill me with much confidence about his potential cooperation. Before we left the room, I took a moment to study the skulls that made up the circle. One of them looked like the cow skull that's mounted in Cicero's bar; when Nia went to identify it, Rictavio started complaining again about how she wouldn't identify the blood back in the previous room. I made a joke about how he'll always be Peepaw Van Richten in my eyes. Then he started going on again about how he's like a father to me or something. The bastard distracted me enough that I forgot that I was making fun of him in the first place. Anyway, the skull: if someone's wearing the thing, it grants them dark vision and the ability to breathe underwater. It also allows for an easier time moving underwater in general. We're getting pretty rich in underwater-based magical items – which is good, since we'll be heading for the bottom of the lake soon. I'll probably be using the skull; I gave the manta ray cloak to Ezmerelda; Skoll can turn into a shark, so he's covered there; as for Nia, I gave her the ring of swimming that I had picked up earlier. That should be enough for her since she doesn't breathe at all the begin with. That leaves Rictavio. When we went back down to get Rupert, he told us that he can make magical clothing – including magical clothing that is for underwater use. To make the thing, Rupert requested material from something that's adapted to underwater living. I dug around in my bag; all I could find was some of that fish jerky that I had made in Barovia with Skoll and Nia like three years ago. When Ezmerelda found out that I still had the jerky, she was…aghast, is probably the word I'd use. I thought it was kind of hypocritical of her, considering how long she went without washing her jacket when I first met her. All she said was that the coat was "developing an atmosphere" when I brought it up. Rupert didn't want to use the jerky – something about "bad texture." I figured I'd have to catch a fish, or maybe a dead mind flayer, or something. In other stupid news, I went to feed Sackville for the hour as we were leaving the inn; I ended up tossing in that collapsible rod I got from the stowaway. Sackville disliked it enough that he climbed halfway out of the bag to tell me as much. Apparently the material – plastic, he called it – isn't his favorite. He said that he might require something else soon. So I guess we have that to look forward to. Skoll and Rictavio fell back from the group as we were making our way toward Cicero's to drop off Rupert. Ezmerelda took the opportunity to express her disdain for Rictavio's reduced age and ask how me and Nia were feeling about it. Nia said that it's not her business, which was an answer that Ezmerelda didn't like; so instead of being honest about how I feel (I think it's funny, mostly, and I'm glad that Rictavio at least _looks_ a little closer in age to Skoll), I just told her that she wouldn't like my answer. Thinking about it now, I probably should've thought of something better to say to Ezmerelda, because she wasn't exactly pleased with my non-answer as it was. We soon had other things to worry about. Quicker than I could track, a storm formed overhead – and then there was a crash of thunder so loud that Skoll and Nia had to be healed by Rictavio. Rupert was the one who suggested that we find a building to duck into, but I was already on the lookout. The rain was falling hard. It was starting to burn my skin. The building we entered was unlocked. It was also occupied by a grizzled, heavyset man. Ezmerelda greeted him by name: Gregor. Gregor said that he was happy to shelter us for a while. In light of the fact that – given Ezmerelda's interactions with the supposed merchant – Gregor and the Spider are one and the same, I wasn't too keen to accept his help. But I had things to say and questions to ask. Gregor asked for our names as if he didn't already know them. On instinct, I shook his hand – it felt cold. He seemed out of practice. When Nia and Skoll lied about their names, Gregor called them out on it, but he didn't seem upset. He only said that we all have our aliases. I snapped, then. I told Gregor that we knew who he was; I told him that he was either going to tell us what he wants or that we were going to find somewhere else to be. I told him that I'm tired of playing this game without knowing the rules. He was silent for a long while. And then he said that he would only speak to me – everyone else had to leave the room. I'd be lying if I said that the idea didn't make me a little nervous. I wasn't the only one, either, but I was able to convince Ezmerelda that I'd be fine. And I was fine, ultimately. The Spider dropped the pretense of Gregor as soon as we were alone. He said that I should consider his words with care and discretion. Then, he told me that he wants me to die; a willing sacrifice is the only way to keep Elysium from collapsing. I die, and the clock rolls back. I die, and my friends walk. I think he was trying to butter me up about it. He called me "surprisingly bold," for one. He also called me reasonable, but that was before I told him that he should kill himself. I tried to get at the Spider's values. I asked if he cares about Elysium and the people in it and I asked if he cared about the other gods. But the bottom line seemed to be that he doesn't value anything more than he values his own life. He told me that I will either die or that I will doom this place and everything beyond it. I told him that I'd consider his words as long as he'd consider mine. The Spider asked if I wanted shelter. I said yes, but he made me shake his hand about it. And then he left. No one was particularly happy to hear what the Spider had said, least of all Ezmerelda; she suggested that we torture him until he wants to be dead. Nia seemed on board with the idea, but she also brought up a good point: we don't exactly know how to torture a god. I said that torture maybe shouldn't be Plan A. That said, I'm honestly not ruling it out completely. We settled in to wait out the storm. Away from the others, I asked Ezmerelda why she thinks the Spider had singled me out. She hesitated for a moment. Eventually, she said that the Spider probably recognized that me or Rictavio was his best bet for self-sacrifice. Ezmerelda asked if I at all considered doing what the Spider asked. I must've took to long to answer, because she saw right through me – so I told the truth. I told her that I considered it for a moment when he said that my death would bring the rest of them safety. But it was a brief moment. There has to be another way – and I'm not just saying that because I've only recently started to find happiness in my life, these past couple years. We continued to wait out the storm. I listened to Rictavio and Skoll argue about their future bakery/herbalist shop. I listened to the hail until the weather let up. And it did let up, eventually. We left the house for the rain, heading toward Cicero's. It wasn't a straight shot. Soon, something flashed, and then there were spider webs running along the street and everything else; then, one of them snapped. I was met with a splitting pain in my head; so was everyone else, with the exception of Skoll. Rupert had hit the ground and was bleeding out of everything that I could see. I healed him, then Ezmerelda, then Nia; Skoll healed Rictavio in the meantime. We figured out pretty quickly that the snapped web was somehow related to Skoll; beyond the fact that he wasn't hurt, he couldn't psychically communicate with Nia when he tried, but everyone else still could. I didn't like it, but there wasn't much any of us could do. I told Skoll to stay close. Then it was toward Cicero's once more. Cicero wasn't happy to see that we had picked up someone else. I didn't think much of it on account of the fact that Cicero is never happy about anything. When I asked Cicero if he had any fish, he pointed me toward the carp mounted outside the bar. It was flopping around still (somehow), so I asked Skoll to speak with it. The carp informed Skoll that it ate all the other fish in Elysium. It also informed Skoll that the age of man is over and that the age of carp will soon begin. I killed it and gave it to Rupert. He said it would work fine for the purpose of magical clothing. So that's where we're at. Skoll, Rictavio, and Rupert are in the other room getting Rictavio's measurements. I'm left thinking about the Spider. We're off to the mausoleum next, and we'll soon be heading down into the lake. If my instinct is right – and I'm hoping that it is – Amelia will be there. She'll have some ideas, hopefully. --- ## 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]]):** 04/09/1493