[[1493-04-12 - Hour 8|<< Hour 8]] | [[1493-04-14 - Letter to Those Who Come Next|Letter to Those Who Come Next >>]] ## Hour 8 - 10 We found Amelia. She didn't have any breakthroughs for us; the most she could offer was a contingency plan for if we fuck everything up. But more on those great ideas later. As with the last hour, the doors to the auction house were propped open. The difference was that the eighth hour brought significantly fewer perspective buyers. Johannes was there again, though. He told us that people have been disappearing – he's noticed dozens of people gone. It was a troubling thing to hear, to say the least, but there wasn't much of a way to address it without any leads. The auction's item of the hour was a robe for spellcasters. Skoll wanted it; me and Nia secured it against Johannes's bids of various body parts. I gave Johannes a wand I've never used before we left. He was there on Rosa's instruction, and I didn't want him getting killed just because we outbid him. In return, Johannes gave us gifts: a romance novel for me, and a badger for Skoll. Skoll tied a note around the badger's neck, gave it instructions to the safehouse, and sent it on its way. I've never been less surprised by an action of Skoll's in my life. Regardless, the badger didn't kill Mr. Nibblets, so it's alright in my book. We left the auction house and headed for Cicero's. On the way, we stumbled upon what was left of Rolf's street. The makeshift barricade had been smashed through. The street was littered with the blood and remains of the dead. Knowing that they were probably goners from the start didn't make it any easier to see the corpses of Rolf and his neighbors. It didn't make it any easier to haul them to the mausoleum, either, but it was all we could do. Deannach agreed to retrieve the corpses that we couldn't fit onto our makeshift stretchers. Before we left, he gave Skoll the bricked remains of Ezmerelda's friends, which he had asked for last time; Ezmerelda expressed appreciation at receiving them in turn, even if she looked a little at a loss. Cicero was, of course, at Cicero's – Foulsham was thankfully there too. After Foulsham ordered a drink with a ghost in it (he seemed unfazed), he performed his ritual that would allow us to breathe underwater, but only after trying to dissuade us one last time from going into the lake. Foulsham's ritual involved half an alligator and some seaweed; it was entirely unpleasant. Still, it was appreciated, as was his offer to wait in his boat in case we needed to be fished out of the lake. Then it was back to the mausoleum to catch the train. We ended up having to wait around for a while, so I got out my cards. Rictavio lost catastrophically. It was pretty funny. After waiting for what seemed like forever – at one point we resorted to discussing what kinds of sentient weapons we'd all be – we heard the train. Rictavio cast us into the ethereal; Skoll turned into a frog to more easily hide from the Sandman; and then we boarded. Train-Cicero was still occupying his bar carriage. I ended up asking for some soup; as flavorless as it was the first time, it left me feeling a little better, and I expected that train-Cicero's soup would be the same as that in the city. He was just as willing to accept a story as payment as the other Cicero was. I told him about me and Ezmerelda's time in Staunton Bluffs; I even got out that big stupid hat that Ezmerelda stole for me to show him. Cicero called Ezmerelda my "gal pal." When I complained, he pulled out the word "wife." I was too embarrassed to object. But I'm not sure that I'd object in any case, if I'm being honest. Anyway. The Sandman came through and checked our tickets, none the wiser to the frog that had just jumped into Rictavio's pocket. Eventually, the atmosphere shifted, and suddenly it was much darker inside the train than before. I heard a dripping sound. For a moment, I was worried that we were under the lake and that it was leaking in, but I was wrong. Instead, we were surrounded by a much more familiar threat: the sewers. I looked out the window. Standing in the middle of the tunnel was a twisting mass of nerves, spines, and scales; at the center of the monstrosity was the brain from the pharmacy. It had been busy; it told us as much in our own brains. We all proceeded to have a very unpleasant, mostly one-sided conversation. It addressed us as his "compatriots," which was gross. It also told us that it's been "reclaiming bio matter," which was as gross as it was apparent. But we managed to make it through the conversation without pissing it off. The train continued, and then the brain was behind us. The next stop was ours. Even before we left the train, the weight of the water was nearly unbearable. The bottom of the lake met us with ruins. The darkness of the water was pierced by a light coming from the only structure that was still standing. With little else to do, we went inside. Amelia was still nowhere in sight. But even if she had been, I'm sure it would've taken us a while to notice her, given the other thing that was inside the building: a huge, shifting orb of light. Indiscernible sounds were coming from it. In that moment, I knew that we had found the nexus of the gods' sacrifice. In part because it was so damn hard to look at, we didn't investigate the nexus immediately. There was also the fact that something else was demanding our attention – or Skoll's attention, rather. Skoll told us that the Gaunt Silhouette had a hand on his shoulder and wanted him to turn around. The rest of us couldn't see anything, but me and Ezmerelda still advised him against doing what the god-remains wanted. For whatever reason, Skoll didn't listen – he turned around. His eyes went glossy, like he was staring at something far away. The ensuing minute was a stressful one. Nothing me or Rictavio did could snap Skoll out of it. But it was almost *more* stressful when he finally did come to, because he was almost completely non-verbal; all he would say was that he wasn't hurt. And then he started getting frantic; and then, far above the water, the clock chimed. It was hour nine. I waited for Skoll to calm down a little before I left Rictavio to fret over him. Just as the water outside bore down on us, so did the pressure of time, and I couldn't help but feel like we were wasting it. Near the nexus was a pool streaked with silver and black. I asked Nia to identify the substance inside. When she was done studying it, she told me that it was full of raw, divine energy, and that the substance meeting a sentient weapon might cause the weapon to transform into something very powerful. We had discovered that Whippersnapper hadn't been lying, then, back during hour six. But I wasn't the one who had to make a decision. I left it up to Ewyn, ultimately, even though it turned out that he didn't need much time to decide at all. Regardless, his reasoning was sound: he said that it was worth a shot, especially with the very real possibility that we would soon see combat with a god. After making sure that Ewyn was confident in his choice, I lowered him into the pool. The transformation wasn't instantaneous, but it was quick. First, light from the pool covered him; then, his blade started to take on a brilliant white. He was streaked with swirling, vibrant colors in seconds, after which he was lifting himself out of the pool. I asked him if he felt any different; he responded by saying that he thinks that he could become an archfey now. I took that as a sign that he felt more powerful and not that he had gone insane, even when he called himself a soldier and me his war captain, and even when he asked me and my *betrothed* to join him in his fey domain. I left Ewyn as he failed to notice Ezmerelda's glare and rambled on. Me and Nia took a look at the nexus. It quickly became clear that something was wrong with it. The nexus was leaking magic. Nia concluded that it's weakening and that it doesn't have a lot of cycles left; the spell is going to fail, and soon. We discussed our plans as if we had options. With how much the Spider made clear that he wants to find her, I had thought that Amelia might have something up her sleeve; and she did, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. All there really is to do is convince the Spider, one way or another. But we still needed to find Amelia at this point. She was somewhere in the lake, and we knew it. We went back out into the water and were immediately rewarded for our terrible idea. Far in the distance, there was a rocky outcropping, clinging to which was a huge silhouette. Skoll tried to speak with it in Aquan. It made a horrible noise in response; then it came for us, covering the distance with a nerve-racking speed. I knew what it was called: the Lurker of the lake. God-remains or not, its flesh gave way to my swords all the same. And Ewyn *was* much more powerful – I could feel it in my hands. But it wasn't enough to stop the Lurker from retaliating. For a moment, I felt like I was drowning, and then it felt like I was being ripped away to another place. I closed my eyes and tried to stay upright. When I opened them again, I caught a glimpse of what looked like the inside of an animal's stomach. Beyond that, though, I could see a woman there, alive and conscious. I told the others what my gut told me: Amelia was in the stomach of the Lurker. Ricatvio asked me a couple questions. Without hesitation, he said that he needed the lurker to eat him, and that he could get out. I had no fucking idea what he was talking about, but he seemed to be sure of his plan. And it's not like I had much of a choice to do anything but trust him, anyway – the thing had my arm and half my fucking torso in its mouth when Rictavio flickered and disappeared. Rictavio hadn't been gone for long before Skoll decided to follow, leaving three of us to fight. Nia was able to avoid getting hurt, ever-evasive as she is; me and Ezmerelda weren't so lucky. We were managing to wear it down in any case. It was probably on it's last legs when Amelia decided to make her entrance – and she sure made it dramatically. The Lurker...burst open, is the best way I can describe it. An apparatus of sorts was in its place; the vessel looked to be comprised of scrap in a way that made me surprised it was functional at all. But it *was* functional, and through a porthole I could see three passengers: Skoll, Rictavio, and Amelia. Amelia had us sit on top of the thing while she piloted it upwards. It took several minutes and the shifting water pressure made me nauseous. Soon, however, Amelia was parking on a ledge near the surface, and we were swimming to the shore. On land, I tended to Ezmerelda, who was bleeding profusely. I tended to myself afterwards on her insistence. We decided that it was best not to linger outside, given that the Spider seemed great at finding us in situations in which we didn't want him to find us. So we headed for the safehouse. We were almost there when that damn clock started chiming again. And that wasn't the only thing that happened; underfoot, the ground was shaking. It seemed like it could've gone on forever – but after ten chimes, the shaking stopped, and it was quiet once more. Inside the safehouse, everyone was present: Ireena, Selise, RJ, Rupert, and our growing collection of animals. Skoll and Rictavio immediately got to work on making dinner. If I had to guess, they had nervous energy to expend. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't get it. At dinner, it was time for proper introductions. We gave our names. We learned that Amelia – in addition to being a monster hunter, adventurer, and explorer – was a college professor. And not just any college professor, either; she used to be one of Ezmerelda's. Ezmerelda was uncomfortable to be recognized – understandable, given how she left the school. But Amelia didn't seem to mind Ezmerelda's past or the coincidence of running into her again. I'd imagine her attitude had something to do with the fact that we're her best chance at getting out of this place. I returned Amelia's journals to her. After a brief Sackville-related diversion (he was kind of pissed that we'd forgotten about him these last few hours, but three snacks were enough to satiate him), Amelia had us go over our list of gods and our theories. She didn't have much to contribute; she didn't have any names to add to our list of allies, either. She asked about our plans. We told her the truth: we plan to politely ask the life-god to die. If he doesn't, we'll do what we can to convince him, which will probably involve a lot of violence. Amelia didn't have much faith in us. She started talking about the possibility of catastrophic failure – the case in which we can't convince the Spider to sacrifice himself. She laid out her ideas: if we fail to get the Spider to agree to our demands, another source of magic could theoretically be used to complete the spell, given that the source of magic is powerful and similar enough to the Spider's. That said, since there's not exactly *another* god of life and darkness hanging around, we'd probably need to use the Spider's magic somehow; Amelia's grand plan is to kill the Spider, bathe someone in his 'essence,' and then have them sacrifice themselves. She's entirely convinced that we're headed in that direction. While I appreciate the backup plan, I guess, I didn't really appreciate her insisting that one of us will need to bathe in god-blood and then die an hour after meeting us. But I know that the possibility of failure is a real one, regardless of plans and backup plans. I've written and copied a couple notes detailing everything that we know about Elysium and its situation; I plan to leave a few with Cicero and maybe Deannach. I'm hoping that the notes might help whoever comes after us, but I'm hoping even more that they won't be needed at all. I decided to be nice to Rictavio when he said that he was "flattered" that I was following in his footsteps with my "guide." Instead of going with my knee-jerk response of asking him what in the name of the gods he was going on about, I kind of just nodded. And then – as if in some kind of competition with Rictavio to see who could throw me for the biggest loop – Amelia hit on me by asking to sleep in my bed after I told her that she'd have to room with Rupert. I tried not to take offense with Amelia hitting on me right after trying to convince me that one of us will die; I managed to reason that the woman has been having a pretty rough time of it. Plus, I wasn't the only one she hit on (she kissed Ireena's hand in introduction and she's managed to get into Skoll's head about *something*). Not to mention that she backed off pretty quickly when I told her that I'm taken. I convinced Rupert to sleep on the couch so that Amelia can have some space. I'm hoping that the rest does her good, even if I was a little hesitant about taking time to rest at all, because things are coming down to the wire. Me and Ezmerelda went to our room in any case. But we weren't in there for long before Rictavio was at the door, looking as awkward as I've ever seen him. He wanted to talk to Ezmerelda. I left them alone, even though I felt a little bad for it – Ezmerelda looked like she didn't want anything to do with the conversation that was about to happen. I was sitting in the living room by myself when Ireena wandered out. We talked for a while; it turned out that we had a lot to catch up on. For starters, she made things official with Nia and Selise, which made me happy to hear. She was happy about it too, judging by the look on her face when she was telling me. After we talked about that – and after we gossiped about Rictavio and Skoll as well as Skoll's apparent newfound (or at least newly-expressed) bisexuality – Ireena grew more serious. She told me that she's scared. She told me that it's okay if I'm scared, too. I admitted that I'm nervous. Still, I tried to avoid revealing just how nervous, even if it was clear that Ireena could see right through me. It's not that I have issues being honest with Ireena. But I know that dwelling on fear can only make it worse; I also know the places that enough fear can take you to. So the truth is that I can't afford to be too afraid – not when Ireena admitted that she's been looking to me for courage. Not when this much is on the line. Ireena departed eventually. Soon after, Ezmerelda showed up to bring me back to the room. I asked what Rictavio had wanted to talk about. The answer, apparently, was everything. In a move that was probably in part thanks to me snapping at him however many hours ago and in part thanks to the fact that we all might die very soon, Rictavio decided that he wanted to unpack and apologize for broadly doing wrong by Ezmerelda throughout her life. Ezmerelda promptly ended the conversation with Rictavio. She told me that she's focused on other things right now – namely, our own relationship, as well as getting the fuck out of Elysium. But as uncomfortable as Ezmerelda was, she didn't seem mad or even particularly bothered. I think it's good that Rictavio said what he needed to say; as for Ezmerelda, I think that she'll find her own words in her own time, given that we make it out of here. To account for the chance that we *don't* make it out of here, I had some things of my own to say to Ezmerelda. I kind of fumbled over myself, but I talked about how – as shitty as Elysium is – I'm glad that this place pushed us to have conversations that we probably should've had a while ago. I told her that I look up to her, and that I've never been happier than I have been these last few years – I told her that I love her and that I'm beyond happy that she loves me too. Ezmerelda echoed my sentiments. She also said that she's found happiness and that the domains had nothing to do with it. She said that she's been considering things she never thought she'd be allowed to consider, like settling down and becoming a mother. I've loved Ezmerelda so acutely for so long. Honestly, I spent a lot that time being afraid to learn how she felt in return. But lately I feel like I'm floating; beyond that, I feel secure. I know that Ezmerelda loves me. I feel like that could be enough to carry me through anything – even Elysium. I'm headed for sleep soon, but before that, there's one more heart-to-heart to detail: a few minutes ago, I caught Rictavio in the kitchen, getting water just as I was. To start, I apologized once more for snapping at him; he brushed it off. He was glad enough to hear me out when I said that Ezmerelda will come around eventually. He was also glad when I told him that he's come a long way; he said that he respects my opinion, and that I've grown a lot as well. I will do everything I can to get them all out of here: Skoll, Nia, Rictavio, Ezmerelda, Selise, and Ireena. I love these people; this was true from the near-start. It's especially true now. I'd go so far as to call them my family. They've certainly shown me more love and patience and friendship and kindness than any of my blood family ever has. I owe my happiness to these people. I would give my life for them – even if (or especially because) they would try to stop me. I expect that tonight will be the last time that I am able to rest in Elysium. Upon waking, we will face the Spider. I'm going to pull out all the stops so that I can to see my friends out of here. Whatever happens, it's the least I can do for everything they've shown me. --- ## 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]]):** 04/13/1493