Getting to the Heart of the Matter

[Glenn]

A series of hastily (but neatly) written letters would be sent around Myrken, even as the Governor left the meetinghouse with other business in mind.

Agnie,

I would have your account of last night's events, either through a written response or through finding me in town where I search for cultists of all things. I would prefer the former, but understand if you decide upon the latter.

Glenn
---
Aleksei,

What the devil is going on? I swear I need send you one of those unsolvable math problems to keep your hands and your head busy. You think having a wife would take care of the former for you and having Agony as the wife in question would solve the latter. Send me a letter at your earliest convenience informing me of your well-being and your take on the events of last night. As your employer, I might add that your earliest convenience is 'immediately.'

Glenn
---
Miss Carver,

I humbly request your learned opinion on recent and sundry events that occurred at the Broken Dagger. You know of what i speak. Many of the parties involved are far too close to the matter at hand and I trust on your ability to supply an educated and independent opinion on matters. I know that we have had disagreements in the past, but I also trust on your desire for the least amount of harm to occur and that is my intent in this matter.

Glenn Burnie
Governor of Myrken Wood
---
Altias,

I am sorry to hear about some form of stabbing, if the story is correct. I understand you were a witness and perhaps a participant in the actions at the Dagger last night. Your account would be appreciated.

Also, what's this business of you having a niece? If you are able, an immediate reply would be appreciated.

Glenn Burnie
---
Finally, a rather non-descript Inquisitor dressed in drab, grey clothing would be sent down to Catch's shack and the immediate environs in order to find him. When found, a note would be read saying, simply.

"Catch,

It would be helpful if you could let us know what you feel happened last night in as much detail as you can manage. It's quite alright if you want to say nice things about the Eight or bad things about Aleksei or Agnieszka. You will not be in trouble so it will do no good for you to hold things back. We just want to figure out what happened. Please tell the man reading this message and he will write down and tell me what you've said.

Glenn"

[BetaFlame]

Really? Glenn wants to get involved now? Where was he all the times Catch tried to rip him open? Where was his vast network of spies?

Glenn,

You want to know what happened? Catch tried to kill me. Again. He continues to do this. He approached me in his sane state. His most dangerous. I knew what he wanted, so I forced him to say it. He attacked me. His presence, as you may or may not be aware, causes things to happen. He caused the corruption inside me to become stronger and overwhelm me. Fortunately, the other force inside me kept it from completely falling under and killing everyone there. Aren't we lucky?

You remember when I told you that.. this had never been done before? Freeing something inside a Knight? Well, this is why: The length of time something like that is inside you, it changes you, Glenn You become something else. Something between human and whatever you held.

So long as Catch is here, no one is safe. He is a monster that will bring about the destruction of Myrken. I've seen it. He showed me what he can do to cities. He has no control.

Cinnabar thinks he can be reasoned with, made to be a man. But he can't be. He never was a man. He is a beast that will eventually kill us all. Maybe its time to stop worrying about cults, and rings and potions and start finding a way to deal with that problem that his been living here for years?

He doesn't even bother to sign it before he sends it, and goes back to his study. There, in his basement lab hangs a single, silvered tendril from Catch. Suspended in a matrix of magic, keeping it from dissolving.

[catch]

There had been remorse. Not what he had done to Aleksei. That was a Good Thing, a Wonderful Thing, and Catch had thrilled, had been overjoyed, to hear the Bells, the Howls, the terrible ripping of wings. He had his momento, a single and red feather that he still clutched in his hand, tasting it, every once and awhile, and coaxing forth that memory. But after his run with Greets, in the small, dead-hours of the morning, he had crept back, had cleaned himself, had thrust himself into his hut and barred the door. His sanity had passed, and he knew that there would be a Telling, and despite Airy Ann's soothing, her assurance, Ser Glenn ever loved the Wormwoman so much more.

So when the Constable came, he, at first, said nothing to his door-pounding. The Constable was a clever man, however, and when he shouted 'I hope you are having a nice day, please,' the Politeness in Catch could not help but respond, 'I am having a good day, thank you,' and from there the note could be shouted and explained, and Catch could not hide any longer, but must give his accountings, written as such with a hasty hand, the note plastered against the door, so quickly that the poor constable had needs to skip the more conventional forms of grammar and punctuation to get it all.

i wanted to see the Eight in aleksei because it is a Wonderful Thing but i was being Very Good and a Junior Constable so i was asking questions first because i remember you like to ask questions A Lot and it was about the Rings and then Nicely I Asked to see the Eight only not because the Eight are a different Thing now, Ser Aleks is a Different Thing he is not Human and I Just Wanted To See he pulled out his sword and acted like i was terrible and awful and would hurt him but I Never Would and it made me a little cross and he hurt my hand and made it Feel Funny so i punched his belly and blood came out and it was Very Upsetting and then Airy Ann was there and she is so beautiful and Smart and she glowed like so-many mirrors and he hurt my throat so I I I may have spit on him a little, just a little spittle, and he pushed Terrible Things into my head and made my head hurt Very Much like Cloud-hair and I did Not Appreciate it At ALL and then he made a such a wonderful, beautiful Noise and we sang a little, together, and he fell over and Miss Jirai came then and she touched me and made me feel better and said I did a Very Good Thing and Lady Lamai came down and Ser Baie too and Ser Aleks With Wings was not very good at Singing because he was on the floor and like a Good Citizen and because the Lady Lamai looks very Cherny-like with arrows to take him up the stairs for turnip soup and rest. and that is when THE WORMWOMAN came in and she skreeched and howled and put a knife in Ser Baie for NO GOOD REASON and scared Miss Jirai away and chased me with her worms and made Accusings That Are Not True she is very awful and her and Ser Aleks went away somewhere.

[channe]

The hand is scraggly, quick; oh, Glenn, Agnieszka is angry. At least her grammar and spelling is miles better; must be all that tutoring Aleksei is giving her.

Glenn,

Catch attacked Aleksei. He RENT his STOMACH near OUT. He can hardly walk. Catch brought the Eight up and for a moment I thought I was going to have to Kill Aleksei too but thank God he was able to get Control. Glenn, CATCH WISHES THE EIGHT UPON US. I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO KILL ALEKSEI. THIS IS UNAKSEPTABLE. ABSOLUTELY UN AKSEPTABLE ARE WE CLEAR.

Altias was being stupid like always, he got stabbed somehow, I didn't do it, I think I saw Jirai hanging around but you know I was busy with trying to make sure Catch didnt kill Aleksei. It was a chaos situation so of course Jirai would try to do something.

Ariane would not take Aleksei to the hospital when I asked because I tried to Apprehend Catch for ASSAULT but I was stopped by Altias and Ariane both of whom apparently want to let an Assaulter and a Criminal go because he is Damaged and Cute. Is this how it is to be in Myrken? Assaulters and Criminals can go and make daisy-chains if they are powerful enough? They can stab people and rend people and crap? It is like opening a door for Channelers and makeing them dinner and dessert and then saying HERE BLOW UP OUR BUILDINGS.

this has gone on Long enough. Catch has proved Over and Over again that he cant control himself and that his actions are Malicious and Contrary to the health of the people of Myrken Wood. I dont care how many people he has under his Spell. If he were a Hairy Spider or the Ashfiend he would be dead by now. But no. STOP RATIONALIZING THIS. Glenn, this is what you asked me to do: I protect Myrken Wood and so do you. Either you do something about it or I will.

Also I think Ariane is still sleeping with Altias and I am questioning her judgment because whenever they get together it is like STUPID TIME in her head.

- Agnie (River)

[Glenn]

Cinnabar,

I hope you are well. It's been too long. I'm sure you know the feeling having sat in my chair. I'm just not sure where the time goes some days.

Perhaps it goes here: Attached are excerpts from three letters and one account. I have also attached a private note from myself to Ariane to help inform her about Aleksei River upon her taking up position of Marshall. My comments on this matter follow at the end.

Attached beneath were Ariane's final letter, with the accounting of events in full, Agnie's letter with the line about Bromn and Ariane potentially sleeping together taken out, Aleksei's letter in full, and Catch's account. Also attached was Glenn's report on Aleksei to Ariane with the first line taken out.

I've sent messages to Bromn and Lamai requesting their accounts and have yet to hear back from either. The problem, in short, is this: even when not actively interfered with by malefactors, Catch will respond in an extreme manner to almost any sort of preexisting preternatural or otherwise negative stimuli and in doing so create both dangerous effects within himself and that stimuli. In this Aleksei has something of a point. I think you've met the man. He's useful and means well. He is not one of us which brings with it both the nobility of still wanting to help at great sacrifice to himself and the unfortunate inability to understand that plagues all newcomers, the well-meaning ones most of all. Obviously his suggested solutions would cause more harm than good. That said, some response is absolutely necessary. Catch cannot be isolated from every piece of darkness, not here. I am tempted to request an escalation of your efforts.

Your thoughts?
Glenn

[Cinnabar]

Glenn,

It's good to hear from you again. I wish the circumstances were more positive.

I've met Aleksei River on a couple of occasions, yes. On the first instance Catch attempted to dash Aleksei's head against a tavern table and I had to intervene. On the second occasion he paid a social visit to my home, bringing with him a fair quantity of good-quality metal for forgework, and seemed personable enough if somewhat naive. Nevertheless, it is important to consider why Catch behaves in this way towards Aleksei, and what it is within the man which prompts such a reaction. Further investigation will almost certainly be necessary.

My thoughts, then, given the information at hand:

Being as it is that Aleksei River is infested with whatever corrupted Aeryn Karolinger ("the Eight"?) my most urgent recommendation would be to see him confined and quarantined as quickly and thoroughly as possible, in the interest of public safety. Use whatever force necessary - from all accounts Aleksei River's will is all that stands between Myrken and the Eight, so matters are extremely precarious. Karolinger was little more than a brute and turned out to be more than capable of wreaking terrible bloodshed; your files indicate that River is some manner of arcanist as well, which makes him vastly more of a threat. If he has even a scrap of good sense he will understand that such precautions are necessary, and agree to them willingly. Whatever confidence he holds in his own ability to keep the beast contained, his efforts to protect those around him can only be improved by the addition of stout walls and sturdy locks.

I imagine that Agnieszka will protest this. Any such objections should be disregarded and overruled. If she continues to protest I would advise seeing her confined and quarantined also, on the basis that she is the one thing in common between Aeryn Karolinger and Aleksei River, and the threat to Myrken presented by the Eight is clear and undeniable. That she may have played a part (unwitting or no) in their corruption should not be discounted as a possibility, nor that she may have been infected by contact with them. Whatever the case, her judgement in this matter cannot be relied upon, just as it could not in matters involving Karolinger - a callous murderer even before the beast consumed him. Her steadfast loyalty would be commendable, if only it were directed towards more deserving recipients.

As an aside, it may be that Karolinger's bloodthirsty character made him a singularly suitable host for the Eight; Aleksei shares similar traits - prideful, headstrong, resistant to advice or reason - but his role as a deliberately-crafted vessel for arcane entities renders him even more vulnerable - a vessel emptied but for a fragment of the Eight, which has found itself with room to grow. This is pure speculation, of course.

Lamai's appraisal of the situation has proven woefully inadequate. Were I prone to mistrustful thoughts I might even wonder if this were a deliberate oversight. Why is Lamai present in Myrken Wood, incidentally? Last I heard she was married to a Thessil lord.

I will resume contact with Catch as soon as I can.

CC

[BetaFlame]

Aleksei had his own letter to send out.

One Glenn didn't need to be aware of, one Agnie didn't need to be aware of.


Ariane,

I would like to apologize for any injury, both to your person and your pride caused the other night. Catch has a surprisingly powerful attachment to the Eight, and it was used to full effect the other night.. letting too much of it spill into me. That said, I am worried. I am worried I might be losing my grip, and I need your help.

We mentioned a friendly sparring contest, once. I need it to be more. Live blades. No rules I want you to honestly come at me full force while I try and old back the Eight inside me. If I fail, I need you to kill me.

This is a request, from one friend to another.

I don't want Glenn or Agnie involved. Glenn because his.. emptiness muddles things, and Agnie because.. well. Agnie.

I don't expect you will want to do this alone.

I honestly don't expect you to agree.

Let me know your thoughts.

-Aleksei.

No runner. Not for this. A small elemental, pulled from Air, and sent to deliver the message.. adding it to one of the many the Marshall is likely to get during the day.

[Carnath-Emory]

It can't be Radeorin; not for this. And because she has no intention of broaching the matter with Darkenhold's architect, it can't be 'Siris, either.
Because this is her business - only hers - it will also be her hand which writes the response: small, precise letters upon a very neat page, penned with
all the literacy one would expect of a woman who has dedicated herself to steel.


Aleksei

I do not know what to bel truth from theeorie from madness from posession. Perhaps you write this. Perhaps it write this through you. I do not know if this is so and I haf no way to lern, for every singel resorse is either unreliable or ill informed. So. I am willing. My condition for this venchur: that after, there will be questions, and that what questions I ask you will not hesitate to answer.

By then I will know to what I speak.

Live blades. I choose the lokation. I choose who accompunies. As I cannot distinguish Eight from Goddess from Demon from whatever else you might have swallowed you will do well to with hold your magickings.



I will have you put down if you become uncontrold.

That is a promise, from one friend to another.

-Ariane

[Carnath-Emory]

Within the hour, another:

Cinnabar

I haf a request. You will hate it.
Tomorow night, that tavern. It is no good for writing.

-Ariane

[BetaFlame]

He nods at the letter. Much as he expected. It goes in the fire, and another is sent.

Agreed.

Bring a bow. In case, you know. Wings.

[Carnath-Emory]

You must write this for me, she'd said, and perhaps he'd found the tone a little imperious; perhaps he'd only grown tired of fulfilling her demands.

Because it cannot be Radi, she'd said: so young a boy, after all; kind-hearted besides. And 'Siris can never know.

The negotiations which followed involved three fifths of good brandy and a particularly tasty stew.


Glenn Burnie

I have done a terrible thing to Aleksei River.

He has survived it in good spirits and will require only a few days in which to recover.

He intends to write to you detailing what was done, in order to explain its necessity and also his conclusions. Because this is Aleksei, he might neglect the one and linger upon the other. So that you may explain this matter to Agnieszka, should she come to you in search of satisfaction (this seems likely): what was done was done at Aleksei's repeated request, and with measured care, for we had a single purpose and that purpose was not murder.

I will note for your eyes, however, that execution was always a possibility.

The events involving Catch led Aleksei to suspect a failing in either his wards or his personal self-control.


Both, he insists. Both.
The argument is short-lived and unsatisfying.


I do not pretend to understand wards. You know my understanding of control. For reasons I do not want to consider, he approached me to request a test of both. An isolated location was secured. Cinnabar accompanied, a check against the failure of those wards. Aleksei will likely detail for you what followed. I think that Cinnabar will also write to you describing this. I will add this, being a list of the things which I saw and which they could not, because in this moment Aleksei was face-down upon the ground and I stood very near. That it was not until Aleksei began to bleed that the wards


You must list these things, she explains, at a loss.
It is called point-form, she describes, fingertip jabbing at the page, and it is the only way that I can do this.

Do not forget the dot.

- They are written into his skin with silver, like words that I cannot read.
- They grow excited at the touch of his blood
- Their design transforms
- In a manner which does his skin harm
- At this began, he grew as still as he had before Catch the day before, and the blood which he bled began to blacken
- The skin at his back tore although it were his leg the bolt had struck, and my sword was at his throat. It tore spontaneously and sealed itself closed again. I suspect an aborted emergence of wings.
- The wards began to quiet, although some of these had grown reddened. 'The Red' is the phrase with which he halted Agnieszka's attack upon Catch the day before. What this might signify, I do not know.
- His recovery was abrupt.

This is certain: that Catch is easily able to free the imprisoned Demon (Eight? I do not know the words for these things) from within him, but that his own control of that thing will not yet falter freely beneath stress, severe pain, a threat to his life. There is no reason to feel that this is an ability unique to Catch. I dislike and distrust this matter a little more than I do Lamai and hope that she may be had to examine the Inquisitor again in close detail.

-Ariane

Cinnabar is aware that you may have difficulty in finding sufficient a wall at which to throw him.

[Cinnabar]

Governor Burnie

At the behest of Inquisitor Aleksei River, Marshall Emory and myself engaged in an experiment; my role in this was to see the Marshall kept alive. The methods were crude - he asked to be threatened physically, to be incited to anger and fear, and they fought with blades; he took some blows in the course of this, but by no means enough to drop him when he abruptly fell; he lay still and refused to rise, and expecting some deceit I loosed a bolt for his leg; it struck but did minimal harm; he then provided some information on what he contains and how he contains it - however reliable you feel that makes it. He may have told you these things before, he might not. I detail them here in case the latter is true.

What was said about the thing he contains:

- The fragments lodged inside him hold a remnant of the creature known as the Eight, considerably weaker than the creature which took Karolinger.
- It possesses will but not intellect, acting on impulse and instinct without benefit of planning or calculation; presumably the intellect is provided by the host, in which case we are fortunate.
- It is attempting to weaken the Inquisitor's body and thus resolve in order that its will may become ascendant over his.
- Its overriding goal is to release the greater part of the Eight from wherever the Inquisitor imprisoned it.
- The Inquisitor claims himself to be "the perfect host" and thus "the perfect prison" for this remnant, by virtue of the residual taint of the creature he held previously, countering the influence of that which he holds now. What is to stop him from absorbing the taint of his latest occupant was not explained.

What was said about the wards keeping it contained:

- Under provocation the fragment attempted to press against its prison; this allowed the Inquisitor to alter the wards inscribed upon his own flesh (once markings of silver presumably used to bind what inhabited him before, now silver and red of a slightly different pattern) to better contain the fragment.
- Extensive damage to his flesh (amputation was the example given) may be enough to disrupt the wards. However:
- The markings are resilient enough to stop a crossbow bolt that should by rights have passed entirely through his flesh. He took a wound, but nowhere near as serious as one might expect. If he must be ended, strike for parts of him unmarked.
- By his reckoning the wards should last up to forty years before requiring renewal, a process specific to his homeland.
- He can voluntarily suppress the wards, but not deliberately break them. I find this part unlikely to be true; given his ability to rework them to be stronger I see no reason why he might not rework them to be weaker, if so inclined.
- The wards will endure for a lunar cycle after his death, at which point they will fail and the thing will be released; I would reckon it as three weeks, possibly less, in the interest of caution.
- On its release it will seek a new host - any living creature would suffice.
- He has no plan for what might be done should he die, but suggested begging Lamai or her husband for aid. I suggest shipping his remains to their home in a stout box.

Do with the above information what you will. My own advice would be to see him well-secured from others, particularly Catch, until some method can be found to have the thing within him removed, destroyed, or more securely contained. House arrest, a well-appointed cell, a mountain hermitage, whatever is most convenient to you. The weakest part of the thing's prison is Aleksei River himself - specifically his overweening pride and confidence in his own capabilities. He reckons himself a monster and a martyr by virtue of what he contains within him; I reckon him a stout crock of blood and shit that we cannot afford to have shatter in our laps.

The Marshall has also asked me to serve as scribe in submitting her own account of events, which should reach you alongside this report.

CC

[BetaFlame]

Gleen,

I will sind you a somewhat brief reteling for the moment. Excuze my words, the painkiller yoo understand. I will detail longer wen I am more together

I beseeched the aid of Ariane for my problem. The shard, or whatever yo wish to refeeerence it as, needs fuel, like a fier. These fuels are emotions. Raeg, hate. Violence. Blood.

Twen her and I, I don't know of two better to understand those. I wil spare you most of the details, but you are smart enugh to know how to spark those sorts of fiers in the heart of man. She did, vary well at that.

(here are some smudges, after the quill was laid down)

Sorry, I fell asleep. My head is a little clearer now, and good lords that is atrocious above. I will refrain from writing on that particular medication in the future. I am still not feeling well, so my letter may be shorter on details than you like.

I asked Ariane to try and kill me in combat. I was earnest in that request. I needed to feel bloodlust and battle rage, so this thing could start welling up inside me. It needed to happen, because I needed to feel it. When Galacia drew it out, I didn't know it could happen. I wasn't prepared for it, and could not stop it but most of all I could not feel it to know the details. Details are at the heart of it, Glenn. When Catch drew it out, it was such a sudden rush I felt nothing. It completely overwhelmed me in a moment. Aleksei River was pushed to the back of my mind in that moment. My only defense was to shut down my body entirely.

So I found a way to release it more slowly. So I could feel its energy. One thing we have been wrong about, all of us, is the level of intellect we credit this thing with. Its barely above an animal. It only contains a fragment of power. That power is enough to corrupt still, as it as corrupted part of my body already.

If you remember when we were discussing the problem of the Axe-When-It-Was-Whole, my wards on my body were not enough to hold it. That is no longer true. I was able to take part of the energy Lamai left in my body, part of the latent energy left in me from my previous companion and use that to change the nature of my wards to house my new.. whatever it is.

I don't plan on leaving it there, of course. Since there is an energy seepage, as I have discovered from the void left by the celestial.

The seals will hold it in the exact same manner as it held my previous occupant. I outlined those details for you already, but if you want them again I will provide.

I have a plan to get rid of it. I know people who specialize in possession, and sealing things like this away. But I am not sure I am willing to pay the cost.

I could appeal to my homeland. Of course there would be a cost with this, and I do not know what they would ask. Likely, my head on platter. Who knows? My head hurts too much to speculate.

I could appeal to Thessilane. They seem to know the most about these daemons. Of course, most people here would call me a traitor.

I'm sure you will ask things. I will be resting here for a week at least. The physical injuries are not bad, but I am drained of energy.

-Aleksei River

There is a book with this. From his homeland, a book on Binding. If Glenn cares to read.

[Glenn]

Aleksei,

I am glad you live. Next time you wish to come so close to death, ask me.

I have three accounts to review and more questions to ask. This will take time. In the meanwhile and due to your weakened state, I wish to post a guard to help protect you. I imagine this will be Agnieszka's wish as well. Most of all, I impart upon you the responsibility of making sure your wife understands the situation. If she acts with passion that is understandable and why I value her so. If she acts out of ignorance, I will not forgive you.

I forgive you most other things.
Glenn

[BetaFlame]

Glenn,

Guard is fine if it makes you feel better. Can I request they stay on the porch? I don't much like having my home invaded, and Agnie has learned what to not touch in the house. I dont want to send a newt back to you. Or someone fingerless. Or have to explain why someone's dying of chemical poisoning. I assume Agnie is plenty of guard me inside the house?

I will speak to more. She is very.. Agnie."