The Miskatonic Monthly

1st Edition, 1st Revision
Publisher/Editor: J. Carter
Reviewed by: Morella

The Miskatonic Monthly is a collaborative report produced by the Sinners of the Limbus Company Bus Department (LCB), detailing the exploits, entities, and knowledge that they have encountered. This information is to be disseminated to the other departments of Limbus Company, to better aid them in their duties in service of the Company. It is our hope that this information saves much needed time and resources that would be wasted on research already conducted by the LCB - as well as acting as a report to the upper management of Limbus Company.

We will update this Manuscript often and send revised copies to Limbus Company HQ - however, the duties of the Sinners often limit the swiftness of our entries. I sincerely apologize on behalf of the LCB for this inconvenience.

To the reader of this text - I am honored that you see the exploits of the LCB as a pertinent research topic, and pray that you find what you seek within these pages.

Organizations and Factions:

Limbus Company:

Author: R. Carter
Limbus Company is our employer. From what I have gathered, they are a relatively new, non-Wing corporation with significant resources. Their primary stated objective is the retrieval of 'Golden Boughs' from the ruins of the former Lobotomy Corporation branches. To this end, they recruit individuals from disparate and often desperate backgrounds. In exchange for their surface, the 'Sinners' were offered to have their 'Dreams' fulfilled by the company.

Limbus Company appears to possess several advanced technologies - resurrection keyed to Manager Minos that can evade the Head's retribution, granting the use of E.G.O. to the Sinners, and the Elixirs and its 'Identities'. While the Company's upper management remains unseen, their reach is undeniable, possessing the influence to negotiate with Wings and navigate the City's complex bureaucracy (for example, obtaining Residency Permits in a relatively brief time frame, and request X-Corp to hire the Sinners instead of using their own Excavators to eliminate a hostile).

We, the Sinners of the Bus Department, appear to be their primary field team in the retrieval of the Golden Boughs. Other Departments exist, but so far none have been acquainted with the LCB as a group.

X-Corp:

Author: Manager Minos
The Wing in control of District 24. X-Corp specializes in the production of hyper-durable alloys, which are then fashioned into various arms, armor, and prosthetics. It is said that almost all of the highest grade equipment in The City is produced using materials exported by X-Corp - as such, it would not surprise many readers to learn that the Tres association is the largest consumer of X-Corp alloys.

While status determines ones life in any District, it is most noticeable in District 24. Mount Olympus, the largest mountain in The City, dominates the entirety of the surface - only the 12-member Board of Directors (or 'Pantheon' to the Feathers of X-Corp) are allowed to live atop it. Everyone else must reside inside the mountain, their rank within the company determining how high their living quarters are positioned. The Backstreets of Distrct 24 are located completely below ground, within the intricate tunnels and sewer systems under the District. Further below is the dreaded Labyrinth, which only the poorest residents and Excavators of X-Corp dare enter.

X-Corp is arguably one of the strongest Wings in the city, but due to the fractured nature of their leadership, their terrifying Excavators are divided into many seperate and disorganized factions. But even if their squads may be smaller, staring up at a 10 foot tall Triton or Cerberii will make you wish you messed with another Wing.

Locations and Environments:

Polis:

Author: Manager Minos
Due to the sheer scale of operating in both Mount Olympus and the underground of District 24, the Pantheon saw fit to divide the District into 13 separate factions - one for each member on the Board, and one for Executive Hades. While each Polis was technically under the rule of their respective Patron, the vast majority left the day-to-day management to their Archons - the highest power in any given Polis, second only to the Patron themselves. After all, the time of the 'Gods' was far too precious to waste on things as trifling as solving a housing crisis or securing food imports...

It is embarrassing to admit, but I'm not actually familiar with most of the Polis - I spent my tenure in X-Corp either in other Districts making deals, or managing my own Polis. I seldom had the time or energy to explore the facilities of my peers... but I know of the most important ones, at least. The Crete Polis (Hades) specialized in research and development, as well as mapping the Labyrinth and its constant fluctuations. The Olympia Polis (Zeus) acted as the central command of X-Corp, giving commandments to the other 12 Polis and organizing the various Excavator factions in emergencies or Patent Wars with other Wings. The Athens Polis (Athena) is in command of the Peripoloi (the border guards of District 24), conducts rescue missions into the Labyrinth, and many other duties related to domestic security. The Atlatis Polis (Poseidon) is ran by a bunch of ******** and command the Tritons, who are also ********.

The Outskirts:

Author: R. Carter
The term for any land that lies outside the jurisdiction of the Head. It is a vast, untamed wasteland littered with the ruins of old corporations and strange, impossible phenomena. Life is hostile and strange, esoteric materials and resources are in abundance, and even the greatest Fixers are careful when treading here. It is a place of immense danger, home to monstrous creatures and inexplicable hazards, but also a place of great opportunity for scavengers and those fleeing the City and the retribution of the Head. The Labyrinth is technically the 'safest' and closest part of the Outskirts, which should tell you everything you need to know about the rest of it...

The Labyrinth:

Author: Manager Minos
A sprawling network of hyper-durable alloy and machinery, extending in all direction for many miles. It burrows into the Outskirts and caverns beneath The City, extracting the many ores and precious resources to be refined into X-Corp's alloys and the various products it manufactures. While not technically the Singularity of X-Corp, it is so heavily intertwined with their Singularity that the difference is minimal. The geography of the Labyrinth shifts wildly depending on elevation, region, and the activity of the inhabitants and the labyrinth itself - everything from the traditional maze, to massive caverns that have been cleared and formed 'towns' of lost scavengers, to even lakes and underwater mazes are all possible to find within the Labyrinth.

It is the job of the Excavators of X-Corp to enter into the Labyrinth, retrieve the various alloys it produces, and return with them to the safety of the Wing. The vast majority of 'Hellholes' (the entrances into the Labyrinth) exist underneath District 24 - but the Labyrinth itself extends underneath almost every other District in the City. To dissuade the encroaching rival Wings, the Labyrinth was designed with spatial warping technology to be as difficult and nonsensical to navigate as possible - combined with the natural movements as it searches for ore veins below, and the Labyrinth is a death sentence for all but the craftiest or those assisted by X-Corp.

The Labyrinth is home to many entities - failed robotics from X-Corp, monsters and sentient non-humans from the Outskirts, and even scavengers that have been lost while searching for previous resources. In some tunnels, one may even find Sweepers that are 'nesting' until the Night in the Backstreets begins. Few of these entities are benevolent, often attacking anything they meet within the darkness - they are the reason the Excavators are so heavily armored, after all. The most dangerous of these beasts is... well, you'll know him when you see him. And you'll wish you hadn't.

Concepts, Phenomena, and Technology:

The Light:

Author: R. Carter
The Light was the energy source and Singularity of the old L-Corp. After the Wing's collapse, it was released across the entire City in an event known as the 'White Nights and Dark Days'. It is not light in the conventional sense, but a form of energy that gives physical form to the human psyche. It is the source of Abnormalities, Distortions, Shin, and E.G.O. Its presence lingers in every part of the city, but high enough concentrations have an adverse and manipulative effect on the surroundings - as we've seen in the vicinity of Golden Boughs.

To study it is to study the core of human consciousness, a prospect that is as terrifying to this researcher as it is fascinating. I await our acquisition of our first Golden Bough, so I may properly look into the more intrinsic properties of the Light.

E.G.O:

Author: Morella
An acronym for "Extermination of Geometrical Organ." It is the manifestation of the human psyche, given form and power by The Light. Unlike a Distortion, which is an uncontrolled and destructive eruption of one's psyche, an E.G.O. is a tool harnessed through willpower and a strong sense of self. Even an 'average' E.G.O. is enough to allow any Fixer to punch above their Grade, acting as a trump card that few can reliably counter. It typically manifests as armor, weaponry, or a tool of some kind - but more exotic forms have been documented, even amongst the Sinners. The majority of the Sinners appear to be capable of manifesting E.G.O. (either before or after the contract) - my hypothesis leans towards interactions with the 'Chains' released from Manager Minos when the contract was forged, but I can't reliably test that unless we get more prospective Sinners to take the contract.

Manifesting and wielding E.G.O. is mentally taxing, and overuse can lead to 'Corrosion,' where the E.G.O. begins to consume the user's mind - administration of base Elixir can ease the mental burden, but will exacerbate the effects of Corrosion if it has already taken root. The effects ID Elixirs have on Corrosion is unknown, so you'll (unfortunately) have to inquire with Hyde if you want more information...

Elixir:

Audio recording: E. Hyde
Interviewer / Transcriber: Morella
Lookin to poach my tech, huh? Well good luck, I doubt any of you chuckle***** could pass a first year Wing-sponsored Chemistry course- well, 'sides you, I guess. Maybe Watson. Better not try using your analyzing bull**** on it though, otherwise I'll start a patent war on your ***, y'ken?

I don't plan on it... The fact you made something so complex that even I struggle to grasp it is depressing enough. Please just answer the questions so we can move on to something else...

Alright, alright, I'll try to dumb it down for ya, heheh. Elixir is a psycho-reactive agonist, specifically targeting the limbic system and hippocampus. Or, for the dip***** on the bus - it buffs up the bits of your brain that regulate emotions and stores memories. On its own, it makes connection to the Light a hell of a lot easier - more conductive. Drink it or shoot it up, and all of a sudden you're spamming your EGOs like a madman, or Lance and the mute girl might pop up another ring of Shin-

The rings are called Mang, actually. They're fueled by Shin, whic-

I don't really care, Borella. Like that? Portmanteau of Bored and Morella? It's cause whenever you talk you bore the hell out of everyone arou-

Moving on please, before I punch you... Why don't we just use it before every fight, if it's such a force multiplier?

Well, I don't know if you've seen me actually make the stuff, but it's pretty gory. Do it too much and I might lose the source, and I don't think it's something the Manager can heart attack back into existence. I like to keep most of it for makin IDs, and while it makes it easier to use the Light, it also makes you a bit unstable. Emotions runnin rampant, riskin a distortion, that kinda ****.

So it makes people as sociopathic as you?

**** off.

Identities:

Audio recording: E. Hyde
Interviewer / Transcriber: Morella
What about the 'ID's? I've read about them in the company contract, but have yet to experience one.

Yeah... Uh, I don't actually have any good ones yet, if I'm being honest with ya. They're kind of a ***** to make - need to mingle with the people I base 'em off of, so all the ones I have access to right now are from weak little ******** that wouldn't really help us if we used 'em. And the stronger someone is the more risk there is of them overwhelming your psyche, so we actually kind of got a narrow window to work with if I'm being honest.

That's... kind of disappointing. Aren't they your main contribution as a Sinner? I was looking forward to learning some Wing secrets...

I'm an investment, alright *****? How many IDs you make before!? Here, I'll give ya a free recipe - 'bout 12 fluid ounces of Elixir, 8.51 grams of sodium ethoxide, and 6 inches of rat tail - diced. Dissolve it, toss it in the centrifuge for a couple minutes, and you too can turn into an alcoholic loser from District 13! **** gets a thousand times more complicated when you want to make something actually useful...

Uh, point made, I suppose... Well, can you explain to the reader what the advantage of an ID is?

Oh ****, kinda forgot that part... Uh, when you take an ID Elixir, your gain the memories, skills, and even some of the augments of the bloke its based on. Mostly organic stuff though, you're not gonna be popping out metal prosthetics unless I crack that part of the formula... Oh, uh, while it don't make you too much stronger, havin a whole extra skillset and years of combat experience can make a real difference in a fight. Lot of uses out of combat too - learn skills you don't have, get memories from whoever you're working with so you can get their bank account info and ****, stuff like that. I'd make one of Mila so we could finally kick her *** off the bus, but I wouldn't let her dip*** memories in my head even if you paid me.

Do you take requests? I can think of quite a few I'd like produced - a Warp Train Cleaner, some Thumb Soldatos, a Little Sister of the Middle-

I'm not a damn concession stand! Alright, interview over!

Entities:

Sweepers:

Author: Ringo
Real nasty things, aren't they? Yep - even a Grade 1 sharpshooter like me has to be careful around them. Mechanical humanoids with sharp blades on their arms and a tank of red fluid on their backs. No one's real sure what the Sweepers are or where they came from, but if you ever spent a Night in the Backstreets, you've learned to fear 'em. You ever wonder what happens to all the dead bodies that wind up littering the streets after Syndicates duke it out or a Fixer bites the dust? These are the guys that handle it. They swarm out every night in the thousands, hunting every person they can see on the streets - dead or alive. Fighting one isn't too bad, but they never fight one-on-one. Hell, it's hard to avoid being taken down in the stampede, let alone do it while fighting the things.

Y'know the tank of red fluid on their backs? That's their weakpoint. They convert the humans they find into more of that fluid, and use it as fuel for their mechanical shells. Break or remove the tank, and they'll die in an instant - but good luck, it's the most reinforced part of their body. Much easier to just stay indoors - they only really come out during the Night in the Backstreets, and they're real careful to avoid entering or disturbing anywhere with a Residence Permit. Just... don't be stupid about it, alright? One time I saw a crazy bastard yelling in the streets about how his brain was residin' in his skull, and he was a sovereign citizen of the district, and blah blah blah. Guy didn't last a minute - you won't either if you're slow.

They might seem scary yeah, but if you can speak their language you'll learn that they're pretty nice and respectful, all things considered. Well, as nice as a bunch of mechanical cannibals can be.

Tritons:

Author: Manager Minos
The excavators of the Atlantis Polis. Like all Excavators in X-Corp, the Tritons wear massive sets of power armor made from the hyper-durable alloys the corp is known for, and wield weapons that double as excavation equipment - drill spears, pile drivers, detonation hammers, and massive pickaxes. What sets them apart is their... accessorizing. The Tritons are real prideful, and wear their accomplishments on their armor - trophies for every major kill. If you're fighting a Triton with rows of teeth draped across their armor, or a couple dozen notches in their helmet... you know you're dealing with someone experienced.

Tritons aren't as strong as the Peripoloi or Myrmidons, but they specialize in 'big game hunting' and navigating the various aquatic environments that can be found within the Labyrinth's depths. They cull the populations that call the Labyrinth home and make the work of other Excavators more difficult, justifying their existence with occasional dives into a lake and retrieving the massive deposits of alloy that build up down there... Overall, they're a group of showboats that skate by and takes the easy way out. In a fight, your main priority is limiting their movement - their armor is designed to handle all kinds of environmental hazards and has great maneuverability, at the cost of durability. If you can limit their movement and aim for the chinks in their armor, they're just overpaid Fixers that rely on their gear.

The Tritons are led by Theseus. That should tell you all you need to know about the Tritons as a group...