02. December 15, 2019

We decide it would be smartest to spend the night elsewhere. Cam has an idea of a bolthole...we gather supplies and quietly exit the shelter by the back route and travel to this place. We have many theories about what might have happened and why...but until we can find out more, it will be a mystery.

In the morning, we examine the destroyed building, but don't notice anything new.

People Going Crazy at the Shelter

At the shelter, we follow up with victims. In the crowd, there's a lady who is distressed. Her boyfriend, Corin, didn't recognize her this morning. He took a backpack with all of his belongings, and left, heading south purposefully. The prior night he was distraught about what happened, was distressed about the lives lost; then overnight he had nightmares; but in the morning, he was cool as ice and didn't recognize his girlfriend. We ask about Corin's life dreams, what he was drawn toward. We learn he wanted to be an artist, and used to go to a few places and paint the coastline and interesting ships, those were his favorite subjects. Jaindoh offers to go try to find him, see if he's okay; the girlfriend says yes, please. She is going to stay here in case he comes back. We all recall who he is after she describes him...kind of quiet, sits in corners unobserved, observing everyone and everything else and sketching them.

We are Suspects to a Murder

We head south into the next ward, looking for Corin, we're in a ward with lots of rich people, gentry with bodyguards. A guards barrack is preparing to head out with four groups searching for something, but it's hush-hush A merchant with a small cart stepping out of an alley seems annoyed about a load of mud on his boot, which appears to be bloody. We follow the cart tracks back to a warehouse in a cul-de-sack. There's a spreading “mud puddle” from a trash heap, which looks like it's bloody mud.

We move trash. There's a body in it. An older, burly guy (not Corin). We recognize him as a city watch member, a friendly veteran near retirement, who did community relations. Oh, dear. He's been stripped, is missing his clothes and weapons. Cause of death was a blade shoved into the back, a single stab hitting several organs. We think the death was 1-2 hours ago. Also hidden in the trash, we find singed clothes and worn-out boots.

Boris from Guards Barracks #1 in the North Ward takes our statements. Cam sneaks a look at his 'book of clues' and besides descriptions of us that Boris wrote down, there's a note on the page about “break-in at Phalantar's.” (It's in Castle Ward, it's Phalantar's Philtres and Components, they deal in alchemical components, rat poisons, and some illicit drugs.)

Break-In at the Costumer's Hall

We decide to check out Phalantar's, see if there's a connection to the explosion from last night. It's over an hour away, we have to travel through the market place, and walk down the High Road to get there. We are nearly there, when we see a contingent of guardsmen and a few Black Robes, who are judges in black robes who pass judgment on serious matters. They are in front of a large, ornate, multi-building complex, it's a few blocks from the alchemy shop. They are in front of the Costumer's Hall, the guild hall for clothing makers, tailors, glovers, anyone who makes clothes. It's one of about 20 guilds in the city. The guards are speaking to representatives of the guild hall. We join the crowd of onlookers, and ask what's going on. Someone says there was a break-in at the Costumer's Hall, and the security guards for the guild cornered the thieves, and one security guard was killed, another maimed. So there were accusations against the city guards for allowing thieves in the area, and the judges are maybe here to judge if someone failed in their duty, speculates the crowd.

Three of us make our way around the crowd in front of the building, while Cam loops around the back of it to meet us at the other side. Cam sees a false window with what looks like a lot of arrow holes around it. He sees a slight buckle in a copper downspout in a copper residence opposite the guild hall, and sees rope fibers on the ground, so that's where an archer went up and shot from there. The cut was probably on the rope in haste, leaving in a hurry. Cam's guess is that the shooter(s) and people who entered the building were professionals. About 2 blocks away there's a sewer entrance, that Cam thinks could have been used as an escape, though there's nothing to show it was used recently.

Tyrant's Mercy

We visit Phalantar's, talk to the alchemist. Ask him about long-term medical effects we might see on people injured from the blast. He says “sure” and says “lay out the remains on the counter” and grabs a kit and starts doing scraping, and dropping bits into little vials. He goes into the back a few times, gets more tools, and then comes back eventually, very sober, with two security guards behind him. He says that the residue points to something called “Tyrant's Mercy,” it's a particularly nasty contact poison that slowly drives its victims insane. It makes a yellow-ish/white paste that you put on door knobs or things people will touch, or on liner for crowns or collars and cuffs in clothes so it leaches into the skin during the day. It's slow-acting, but will seep into them and slowly lower their wisdom until they are a husk. The toxin loses its potency after 6 months to a year to become inert. The poison makes people susceptible to suggestions, and eventually completely destroys their psyche. It's a rare and exotic poison from the north. If inhaled, like during an explosion, may cause someone's judgment and reasoning to go in 1-5 days. Eventually, you lose all sense of self.

They chemicals are not combustible. But whatever Sarah was working on, that was combustible, spread the Tyrant's Mercy in the air. It could be in or on anything.

How to mitigate it: with a good quality oil, and sage and honeythistle, you could mix it with the oil and cork it. Since it exploded, it would have burned up in about an hour, but anyone at the site of the fire is infected. The effects will be short-lived, but are permanent. High priests could magically aid victims, but ordinary medicine will not help.

The alchemist is looking at us a bit suspiciously, when Hakon breaks in with a request to buy rat poison, and cites some sailor's password. We retire while the alchemist is in a bit of confusion.

The Silver Coin and a Creepy Guy

We decide to take our news to Guards Barracks #1. We are halfway there, and notice a gaggle of urchin children outside of a money exchanger. They guy had a sackful of currency, of which one rolled out to the kids when he dropped it on the counter. Cam strolls over to the urchins, who hail him and clandestinely show him the silver coin that rolled out of the pouch. The coin is dirty, like it was dug up; it's bigger than a normal coin, there's a worn face minted on one side, and the other side has the symbol that we recognize is tattooed on the backs of our necks, the stylized eye. The urchins say the guy with the sack of coins was tall, pale, and a top hat with a wide brim. He headed to the cemetery afterward, straight into the City of the Dead.

City of the Dead

There are tombs, mausoleums, pretty paths, parkland. To the north of the main path is the biggest mausoleum we have seen, and slipping in through its doors is the guy in the top hat.

We have seen all we need to—the party was split on the topic of “help just ourselves by seeing where this coin came from that has the symbol that's tattooed on our necks—or help our community by getting back to Saltpork with our knowledge.” We know where to return in the City of the Dead, so we proceed to the guards barracks and leave this lead for later.