Clippings, Cut Lines, and Collation

chirp!

The noise that indicated that playback was finished played a few more times, then went silent as the tape recorder’s tiny wheels stilled. A few hours of listening and I was done going through my records. Munkarshan was a complete goldmine of rumors, but finding myself with an embarrassment of riches meant picking through them for only the most important figures.

Shifting over a little, I pulled my scattered notes out from the only place I could fit them - under me. A few paper scraps flew free, but I didn’t bother picking them back up. I’d get to them eventually.

Armed with some old newspaper articles and a handful of other, stranger sources, I was ready for another playback. I never catch everything on the first listen, after all.

click

Liv

click

“-so I purchased a precious little punt gun from the Guildsmen. All custom work, precisely three meters long, fires a kilo and a half of shot per load. She’s a real beauty, she is.”
“Hell you need something like that for, man?”
“I was considering a vacation to the Rotten Peaks, strike some fleshbirds from the sky, though the commute is looking to be somewhat unpleasant, what with the dead legions rising up again.”
“...Yer a nut.”

click

“But what does it actually do?”
“No clue. It’s a variety ‘nade, the mystery’s the whole point!”
“I… y’know, that actually sounds fun. Where’d you get it?”

click

“The Guild? Fuck’em, I sued those bastards for all they had! That Liv maniac needs to get chained to a radiator and introduced to Mr. Hammers repeatedly. Hey, let me tell you about what she did to my hous-”

click

An outdated guild card, tattered, singed, and oil-stained

I can see the concept now - ‘Tech Talk’ with an engineer, what sort of difficulties Fharamun’s Guild faces on the supply side of things, how combat engineers function in places where you can’t trust base elements to do their jobs… Yeah, there’s bound to be some interesting material there. I’d just need to understand enough to dumb it down for general readers.

Well, there’s always a catch to these things. Maybe I can ask to follow her around for a day, see how things are in her slice of the world. Does she sell weapons to the average civilian, or just adventurers? Trade secrets could be an issue…

Hm, I note she acts more Goblo than Human. Ancestry or just personality? No, it’s rude to ask.

Alicia

A more recent guild card, though half of it’s missing. Teeth marks imply where the rest went.

click

“Alicia Sandmane? The Sandmane? The Guild’s top gal? The one with the giant spear? No, I’ve never heard of her. And fuck off back to Telmur, tourist.”
"Teller, Ronny!”

click

“I’d sand her mane, if you catch my feeling.”

click

A clip from a newspaper, from a few days ago.

One of the Guild’s more relevant adventurers, though I’m not sure what I find here that hasn’t already been covered. The life of an adventurer at the top - no, while she might have some interesting stories about her job, that’s not a perspective I’m interested in. Too removed from human interest, too adapted to the dangers for a glimpse into the fear of an encounter. Maybe if she gets involved in something worth following, I could do something with her.

Well, I could hire her and try the Valleys myself, but with what money?

Sa’ad

click

“I’d sad his salad, if you know what I mean.”

click

“That little faggot with the earring and the makeup? He’s got his own jet carrier, he’s a millionaire. I get through installing a microwave at the Knopfler place and I hear the howl of his engines overhead, like he’s laughing at us normal people from the sky. I try to watch the sunset and his fat ass is in the way. Whoever shoots that eyeblight down’ll be my darn hero, that’s the truth.”

click

“Politically speaking, it’s a complete nightmare. Qatum on one side, dead Nurullah on the other, and Fharamun stuck in between. Even if they send a token assassination force to appease radicals back home, that helicarrier might be going down. And you lot have seen how Al-Asad keeps flying it over the cities, right?”
“...and if it’s not a token force, well. War’s bad for business, you know.”

It’s dramatic, it’s striking, it’s fresh.
It’s also solidly outside of my project’s purview. Damn.
Well, it’s not like I’m strapped for time. I could drop by unannounced and see if Al-Asad is willing to spill his story. Maybe he’ll be interested in publishing his perspective on the Nur Affair?

Hm, if the helibase is armed, would that be an issue…?
Guns, missiles, maybe a ward or two, shouldn’t cause any probl-
Ah, my clothes. I’m running low. I’ll have to be more careful.

Faceless

A strange notecard, received through the mail.

click

“-the Seer? Sells information, pricey. Sells fates, priceyer. Hard to find, though. Try look for dolls.”

click

“If you loved that story, I’ve got one better. There’s a legend, see, of an old demon. It’s said that he was born with no eyes, no mouth, no nose or ears, no senses at all. But he knew that there was a world out there, so he dug a hole in its head to let the world. But what he saw was Fharamun, so he went mad. Pretty fucked up little tale, right?”

click

…I’ll fall for it, I know I will.
I’ll take the deal, just to see what happens.
I can be too damn predictable at times.
Just not now. I have articles to write.

Well, whatever you are, I hope you’re ready to get dragged out into the light. What else can I do, with an invitation like that?

En

click

“Oh, yeah, somebody did pass through! This funny little guy, called himself En. Got the whole barracks laughing! Shoulda seen what happened with the chair- you just had to be there. Heh.”

click

“-and I’m all for interracial relations, right? I mean, especially me with that cute Wyvre guy in the Termination Squad, rawr. Yeah yeah, anyway, y’know, it was a little creepy? A corpse eater walks up to us, the exact sort of thing we’re supposed to put down, and nobody cares? Like, not even a little? It’s not like I hate him, but… the fact that I don’t kinda scares me? Like, does that make sense?”

click

A photo of a photo - an unassuming kid and several adventures, posing for the camera.

A ghoul that doesn’t rot? Well, it’s something, at least, but there’s far better stories out here.
Still, I have a weird feeling about this one…
Why show up now?
The obvious tie is with the undead in the Sanctuaries. But that’s not necessarily the case, especially since both could be triggered by the same phenomena, like a shift in the underworld’s boundaries.
Still, something about this picture is all wrong, isn’t it?

I was interrupted by the roaring of the Munkarshan guns. So near to the Sanctuary Groves, the city is often beset by tides of the undead, leading to the development of gunnery towers on the walls. Big ones, more like cannons than what people used, made for cutting down entire hordes clad in heavy armor.

The issue was they sounded like the roars of Hell and I was probably twenty feet away from one. Even through the walls, I could hear the shrieking metal.

I closed my eyes and waited for it to end. Idly, I wondered about getting shot by one of those, just to say it had happened.

Ugh, who was next?

Oh, this is a good one.

Byelana

click

“If I met her, I’d ask her to bring my wife back. Died to a cavebeast some years back, the little ones never recovered. That’s why I carry her head around, just in case I meet the White Doe. Here, take a look, I’ve kept her in good condition.”

click

“Never seen her myself, but I’ve seen the Boy, the little wretch. And who hasn’t heard the stories? There were a dozen things that could’ve been done, for it to end so badly, it could only be Fate.”

click

“If you ask me, it’s unnatural. The living are the living, and the dead are the dead. Nothing good can come of a spell like that, and people who disagree haven’t been paying attention.”

click

“I’d white her doe, if you get the drift.”

click

I guess something like this is to be expected.
The story’s interesting, the prize itself… not really.
It’s more of a stopgap than anything. The doe’s mortal, so she’ll die, and whoever she brought back won’t live forever either. Better to make peace with the end of a story than trying to add more chapters at the end - though I guess to the other races, it wouldn’t be a stopgap at all.
Who would I bring back, anyway…? I guess everybody I care about is probably still alive.

So, there’s a lot of buzz around this, and very little of it cares for the girl’s own perspective. Hearing the story straight from the Kuranta’s mouth (or would it be Elantra's in this case?) would be interesting. How is she holding it all together? Can’t imagine it’s going well, but who knows?

The only trouble is hunting her down. Sounds grim, but that’s what it’d be, just like what everyone else is doing. I hope she meets somebody that won’t use her for their own gain, but that won’t be me.

Morrigan

A chart of reported attacks, most fake.
A few scattered pages, ripped from a book on Cockatrice biology.

click

“So there was I, deep in the snowdrifts, and I spots who? The One-Eyed Witch herself! Barely got outta there alive, though me horse didn’t make it. Turned the poor dumb beast into a smear, she did. Almost lost an arm meself!”
“That’s nothing! That’s nothing. I got a better one. I didn’t just meet her, I spoke to her! She tried to cast doom on me and my blood, but I plugged my ears and ran so fast she couldn’t catch me.”

click

“-shattered my fence, stole my prized hog, killed my dog, and probably poisoned the wells, too. How nobody’s decided to put a bounty on the bitch’s head is beyond me-”

click

“Would. Absolutely would. They’d have to pull me off her with a crane. Evil women are the gods’ greatest gift to us mortals, and I will worship at that altar.”

click

“It’s the result of interspecies adoption. Races should stick to their own, then things like this wouldn’t happen. Look at what happened with that Lance kid - ‘he’ killed ‘his’ own father too, didn’t ‘he’? A cockatrice in another skin, I’m sure of it. Terrible stuff.”

click

“How much do you think I’d need to pay for her eyes? I’ve got a lot of weapons, but I don’t have one made from cockatrice. They’re a special sort too. Ah, everyone would be so jealous…”

click

Another fascinating incident, like something out of the hag stories. She’s notorious enough already, but the rumor mill seems to have gone insane over this. Confirming the nation’s fears, or denying them, either one is sure to be a hit.

It’s not very time-sensitive, since I don’t think any other journalists want to meet a local urban legend in the flesh. I’ll keep an eye on it, but I think I’ll see to some other leads first.

Well, unless I stumble across her first, but small chance of that.

Emiline

click

“Hm? Yeah, they’re good, they’re good. 20% off sale should still be going on if you want to test ‘the goods’ for yourself, dude. Best shit you can find in this shithole, am I right fellas?”
“Right!”
“I dunno, I like the shrooms more.”
“You fuckin’ would, too.”

click

“I’d dry her ad, if- hey, where are you going!?”

click

“I bought a trapper plant from the Garden and I keep feeding it flies, cause its really cool to see it eat them, but sometimes I think it’s staring at me whenever I’m walking around, and I’m starting to wonder if they didn’t feed it bird meat back home and whether it’s looking at me like I’m some big fat chicken for it to eat, but I don’t think I’d have the heart to kill it after I fed it so much, it’d be like stabbing a baby. What do you think I should do?”

click

A picture of an overgrown house, still seemingly in use, with an address attached.

Hm.
Hmm.
Hmmm.
I can’t see anything to do here, besides serve as an advertisement. I guess the plant-person thing is odd, but it’s not really enough to fluff out an entire article.
Well, it’s not that far. I can visit, scope the place out, ask around, but I won’t get my hopes up.

Though I wonder if ‘the goods’ are really all that…

Lance

click

“Speaking of phoenixes - there’s that one guy, whatsecalled, Lance Apex or whatever. If you’re interested in the Birds, you’re outta luck. That’s the only one in the whole country.”

click

“Ah, right, right. Pleasant young man, that Lance. Shame about what happened to his father, he was a real pillar of the community. Very sad. Of course, Lance changed the direction of his father’s business, so I don’t have much reason to stop by anymore. Now they do something a lot like police work. As though you can police a place like this, eh?”

click

huff “I’D LANCE” huff “I’D LANCE HIS BURN” huff “IF YOU COMPREHEND THE MEANING” huff “GET BACK HERE YOU WHORE I’M NOT FINISHED-”

click

A business card, with the contact information scratched out.

A fledgeling…?
Did somebody I know dump him here?
Well, if I’m to be sharing a country with another Bird, better a newborn than a historian or wingeater.

Ah, I suppose I should show him the ropes, but it looks like he’s already got his affairs in order. Not much point to me barging in, then; he can chase me down if he’s ever interested.

As for the story, it seems more fit for a novel than a news report, but at the same time, I’ve never interviewed a detective before. If he has any interesting cases, it’d be a good show of life in Fharamun. And the reality of policing a wilderness like this is something that would fit right in…
Guess I’ll be visiting anyway, despite my misgivings. Oh well.

Dyna

click

“The Devourer cometh for our flesh, our bones! The blight of her bloodline, strengthened by vile necromancy, a body that refuses to die! She’ll come and devour you toophshahahahaha sorry, I can’t keep a straight face. How’s my dark mage impression? Good, right?”

click

“Dyna? Oh, I liked her. Easy mark, you could cheat at cards all day and she wouldn’t put together why she kept losing. I was starting to feel bad for her, but eh, I need to put food on the table. My table, to be specific.”

click

A roving adventurer? Well, more of a wandering violence dispenser.
Yeah, I could work with that. Outside of territories like Fharamun, an existence like that would end quickly - by recruitment or by spellfire. Should be worth a small article, or at least a closer look.

Ferdinando

An old library book.

click

“That guy? He’s more like… angry furniture, you know? He doesn’t do much, just stays in his hole up near the Peaks and leaves the rest of us alone. Funny, right? I couldn’t believe it at first. Back home in Stalhaven the government would start a race war over something like that, but here, we can exist in peace. That’s why Fharamun’s special.”

click

“Ol’ Ferdy’s more of an asset than a danger. We hate the Flesh, he hates the Flesh, and in the end, we deal with the Flesh less. If he wants to be our shield, he’s free to it.”

click

“You ever hear the saying? ‘Around Nachs, never relax’. I say - kill’em all, before they eat all our organs. That is, quite literally, the very reason for their existence, so how the hell can we let them exist?”

click

So this is who leads those ghouls?
Not the best of introductions, I’ll admit - but it’s a foot in the door. Should be easier to get an audience with him now, and we can work our way up from accidental enemies after that.

And I hope we do, there’s so many things to ask…

Seems a little familiar, somehow. Did I hear this story already, somewhere? Might just be my imagination.

Arthur

click

“Darling-”

click

No, not this one. We’ll never see eye to eye, anyway.

I won’t be covering him and his business unless he asks, and I doubt he will. Even when he dies.
That’d feel too much like rubbing it in.

Who’s left?
I shuffle through the stack of notes. Hm, there’s a couple relevant faces I still needed to consider, and then there was the matter of Cyrus-

I’m interrupted again, by a knock at the door.

Speak of the Debiru, huh?

Cyrus

The door swung open, and Cyrus peered down at me.

“Is this how you normally work?”

I stretched, back cracking, then pulled myself into a standing position off the doorframe. “No, I just needed a cheap place to focus.”

He looked a little confused about it nonetheless, but didn’t say anything about it as we walked away from the closet. “Did you find anything?”

There was another thing I had to deal with. Cyrus needed help, more than I could reasonably provide, especially since there were my own problems to worry about. My hopes that I could spin a story out of it all were fairly dim, especially considering the time investment - but I couldn’t leave him out to dry, either. I’d get him to the next step on his journey, and then we part ways. Thankfully, the next step should be useful for both of us.

“I think I’ve got a lead.”

We found ourselves at a cheap cafe out somewhere in the backstreets of the city. I got water and bread. Cyrus didn’t get anything.

“I’ll lay out my thoughts. Stop me if anything strikes you.”

Cyrus nodded, leaning back a little in his chair.

“Red eyes is our one clue, but it’s actually a lot of information. Red eyes is a Strigoi trait, so much so that their nobles are named after it - so much so that people with red eyes try to hide it, to avoid being mistaken for one.” Like me, I didn't say. My situation wasn't quite the same, so it didn't really matter here.

“The woman’s likely a Strigoi, or some other Debiru lineage - not many others would wear eyes like that so proudly. There are some other options, but I think we should try this road for now.”

Cyrus shrugs. “Makes sense to me, but how does this help?”

I slid some papers across the table to him.

Alistair & Alexandra

“These two are Omens, from the Dusk Mist carnival - think something like Debiru recordkeepers and memorialists. They keep tabs on important ones, living, dead, or both.”

I could practically see the wheels grinding in Cyrus’s head. “Then if that woman was a Strigoi, they’d know?”

“Their carnival would, or at least point us to one that does.”

Cyrus practically melted into his chair. “Then she’s not so far away, after all.”

Silently, I hoped she was. If she was a Strigoi, then - a Draco soldier in his armor, wielding blood magic, chasing a Strigoi? There would be only a few ways this could go, if she really was one of the bloodsuckers - all of them bad. But what the hell could I say?

“It won’t be easy getting into a carnival, since we’re not Debiru - but yes, she might not be very far at all.”

I distracted myself considering the carnival. I don’t think anybody’s ever done an interview with one of those. They’re almost sacred in the Debiru ‘culture’, so it’d be a hell of a scoop. But, by the same token, it would be almost impossible to get in. From what I remember of Omens, they could be extremely secretive, particularly around outsiders.

However, we had a big advantage. One of the pair was rebellious, more interested in acting outside of the clan than within. Starting with one of her concerts, we’d have a small inroad. Through her, we might have a chance to get up close with an Omen Queen.

Well, there’s that, and I can pull a pretty convincing Strigoi impression when it comes to it. If all else fails, bloodface was an option.

Random completely pointless self-indulgent extra No idea why I did this, and it's not even good. Read at your own peril, I guess.