DKMortals/SessionSeven

[ST] The Once Dead emerge from the confines of Whispering Bear's home, trusting that the Ears of the North, or at least whoever gave them the job, will take care of the body. Night deepens over the square before the residence, though the streets are still lively. On one side of the square, an impromptu puppet show is underway, colorful things of wood dancing across a stage with a wagon. Incense

[ST] wafts through the air. An old man with startling blue eyes sweeps refuse into the gutters.

[Hare] "Immaculates or the girl?" Faithful Hare wonders contemplatively, staring at the temple across the street.

[ST] A young boy struggles by, pushing a heavy, wheeled cart nearly as large as he is. He seems to be struggling across the cobblestones, his breath emerging from his mouth in huge, visible puffs.

[ST] "Well," Jek says, stretching. "I know which tends to be more fun in general."

[Hare] 'Hmm. I suppose we shouldn't let the scene grow cold." She grins. "We can walk back together. Won't that be spiritual? Visiting the Immaculates after the brothel?"

[Fish] He shrugs. "Its been long enough anyway. So long as we're going to visit the monks, might as well be now."

[ST] The boy and the cart stop before the Immaculate Temple, where a girl of about twelve with short red hair and an upturned nose is sweeping the steps. She drops the broom at his approach and claps her hands. They are speaking, although far too distant to be heard.

[Hare] Faithful Hare drifts forward to the Temple door, straining to hear. Even the mundanities exchanged by servants could wind up sigfniciant.

[ST] Hare creeps closer without incident - it's easy to vanish in a crowd this active. She begins picking up strains of the conversation.

[ST] "-says I shouldn't," the girl says, chewing on her bottom lip. "It's gluttonous and greedy."

[ST] "You can have one," the boy protests, in a tone that marks him as her peer even if he's small for his age. "And I'm giving it to you. It's a gift, and it would be impolite to refuse it."

[ST] "I don't..." a sudden flash of inspiration strikes her. "Do you have any of the apple ones?"

[Hare] Faithful Hare hides a smile.

[ST] The boy opens the side of the heavy wooden cart, hauling out a pastry and handing it off to the girl. A smile splits his face. "Here you go, Twilight. I told old Jamm to make an extra, just for you."

[ST] "Thank you, Oros." A call sounds within the temple, and she makes a hurried bow. "I have to go now," she says, and slips off in a rustle of robes.

[ST] Oros stares after her for a moment, blushing slightly, then closes the cart and ponderously turns it around. "Sweets!" he calls, now that his private errand is done. "Sweets for sale!"

[Hare] If only her own boys were that sweet. They still thought it was lovely to rub dirt in their cousins' hair. Maybe a week earning a living would be good for them.

[Fish] Fish wanders over to the boy. "What d'ya have for my sweet tooth?" THe boy seemed friendly with the monk's girl. Maybe he could get some gossip out of him. Children usually complained about their keepers, especially ones as strict as the monks must be.

[ST] The boy looks up, astonished that he seems to be getting the attention. "All manner of things, sir. Apple pastries from the Greenfield orchards, cinnamon buns, hot rolls... er... all.. manner... of things..." With an effort, he heaves open the side of the cart, revealing a plethora of tarts, rolls, and various other sweets, most not even named.

[Hare] Faithful Hare wanders over a selects a berry-filled Calibration cake, sticky with sugar. She hands the boy a penny and bites into it. Flavors explode in her mouth. Her eyes widen. "That's ...good. Get a lot of call for that here around the Immaculates?"

[Fish] Fish leans over them, smiling and drumming his fingers on the wooden rim around the carts bed. "Thats a fair selection. Lets try one of them." He points at a a bun sodden with honey.

[ST] "Not really. Just Shimmering Twilight. She's not really an Immaculate, so it doesn't count." He looks down, making a production of putting the penny in the till and getting the item Fish indicates.

[Fish] He flicks the neccesary small change from his pouch, juggling it across his knuckles to land in the boy's hand.

[ST] The boy fumbles it, lunging to keep it from falling into the street. He's apparently not an old hand at this.

[Fish] "Thats the cute little lass you were talking to?" he asks offhand as he bites into the bun. It really was good. He'd leave a tip, but the kid might think he was buying the information. "Must be tough, being raised by monks like that.

[ST] "She isn't cute... she's just a stupid girl," Oros says, scowling. "Monks are nice enough. They only hit you when you steal things, and not that hard. They're smart too. In some ways. Mom says the Immaculate Dragons are all made up."

[Hare] "Might be worth it. I've got a boy or two who might benefit from some solid discipline," Faithful Hare mutters, remembering the night before. Let them whine about their crushed spirits to a monk. Hah.

[Fish] "Steal things often, do ya?" he was a talker. He grins at him, conspiratorially. "Where do you get these sweets anyway?"

[ST] "It was just one time," he says defensively, not returning Fish's grin. "This pretty inkwell Brother Thunder had. And these sweets are made by Old Jamm, the baker. My mom works- worked for him, but she fell a while ago. Now I do the work."

[Fish] "Ah, thats tough, thats tough. I remember when I first went out to work." He scratches at his cheek, itchy stubble over his raven. "How many children have the immaculates taken in?"

[ST] "Just Twilight right now. It's a small temple." The Immaculates had never been popular with the Haslanti League, and what few temples they established early during the Realm's rule have fallen into severe disuse.

[Hare] "Must be tough for her. I was taken in as a kid- got all the shit jobs." She glances at him. The business about his mother might be some story, but even so..."Why don't you give me a few more of those treats in a bag?" she gives him a handful of coins.

[ST] He fumbles around for a bit before finding the bag and packing them up. The coins clink into the till. "It is hard," Oros says, closing the cart up again. "She has to sweep the steps, and polish the altars and, learn to read."

[Hare] "Terrible," Faithful Hare says seriously, with a glint in her eye.

[Fish] "And the monks leave her to do all the scut work herself, I'd bet. Tell me" he leans in conspiratorially "they actually act as holy in there as they do in public?"

[ST] "I don't know... I guess. They laugh a little more." He scratches the back of his head. "But Old Jamm says even the holiest man shits as much as the rest of us."

[Hare] "Very wise." Faithful Hare pats him on the back. "Be nice to your mother, now."

[ST] Oros grunts and pushes the cart away, its wheels clacking loudly over the cobbles. Jek turns away from watching the puppet show - or rather, a plump maiden in the audience. "Careful, you two, someone'll get the idea you've got hearts after all."

[Fish] "Hey hey" he slips his hand in the cart, retrieving another treat. He tries the an apple tart this time, what the girl'd liked. He slips a coin through the slot, more than it was worth though he doesn't let the kid see. He treated his informants well.

[Hare] "Malicious gossip," Faithful Hare grins. She jogs up the steps to the Temple and pushes the door open.

[ST] The main room of the temple is as spartan as one would expect. Mats extend the length of the room, fronted by low tables. The sparse furniture looks well used. A small alcove in the western wall is taken up by a modest urn where incense burns. No icons are on display at the moment. A wooden screen divides the room, and from behind it, voices rise.

[Fish] "Fuck hearts, but I got a tongue." He gobbles the apple tart, enjoying it almost as much as the sweeter honey bun.

[ST] "A-and then-" a girl's voice, stumbling and uncertain. "Mela stood upon the mountain, and sm- smote? Smote it with her staff, and said 'Repent of your sins, Shammas, for your foolishness is as as-astonishing as your beauty, and yours is the path of the sick-sickly wh- whuh- whuh-"

[ST] "Whore," a second voice, deeper and masculine, but still youthful, corrects. The girl giggles.

[Hare] "Pardon me," Faithful Hare calls out. "I'm sorry to interrupt your instruction-"

[ST] "Shimmering Twilight shall not be sorry, I think," the male voice says, sternly. "She needs a moment to collect herself." The screen moves aside, and a man emerges, clad in the robes and manner of the Immaculates, his head shaved in their manner. His face is stern and denies any age, but he couldn't be older than thirty or so.

[ST] "I am Brother Thunder," he adds, bowing slightly. "Welcome to our Temple. What aid do you seek?"

[Fish] Fish stands back, letting Hare talk to them for now. He'd never spent time with immaculates, and his normal manner would probably just get them ejected. And it wouldn't do to be polite.

[Hare] Faithful Hare bows back smoothly, in the Immaculate's fashion. "My name is Faithful Hare. Perhaps you heard what befell my comrade, Whispering Bear?"

[ST] "Maybe there are worse things than working the week before Calibration," Jek confides to the other man quietly, looking around the bare walls.

[ST] Brother Thunder blinks, quickly masking his alarm. "I have heard nothing, but Whispering Bear is well known to the servants of the Dragons here in Icehome, and to our temple. I hope no serious ill has darkened his life."

[Hare] Hare pauses before answering. "I fear he was murdered last night but person or persons unknown."

[Hare] "I regret to bring you this news. Perhaps we could sit down?"

[ST] This time, Thunder does show his surprise, taking a step back. "Surely not -- he was... he was here only last night- I-" He looks back at the screen, where there has been no reaction - Shimmering Twilight must be too focused on the text. "Yes. Let us retire upstairs to the meditation chamber." He looks at Jek and Fish uncertainly. "All of us."

[Fish] He watches the child, wondering if she knew Bear as well. If she hadn't, Bear's dealings with the immaculates might have been hidden from her. He seemed neck deep in this polace certainly enough, so he would've been around.

[ST] "Sister Plum!" he calls upstairs, and a moment later, an older woman descends the stares, giving only a wordless glance of curiousity. "Please watch Twilight while I talk with these guests."

[ST] "Come, please."

[Hare] Faithful Hare follow hm upstairs and seats herself as he directs.

[ST] Thunder leads the way up a narrow flight of stairs and down a short hall into a room even more spartan, lacking even the furniture and mats of the downstairs chamber. The Once Dead must crouch, sit on the floor, or stand. Brother Thunder does the latter, lowering himself in a lotus pose. Jek leans back against the far corner.

[ST] "Now," he says gravely. "Please. Tell me who you are, and what you know. I find myself believing you against my will... a rare thing for a servant of the dragons."

[Hare] I am Faithful Hare. My companions are Laughing Jek and Winter Fish. We are Once Dead, assigned to investigate the death of Whispering Bear." She grimaces. "The second death strikes all too often, but it's distressing for someone who actually made it to retirement to..." she trails off. "We had hoped you or one of your fellow monks may have seen the killer- or killers. Bear didn't go down easy. But you knew him well?"

[ST] "The Once Dead..." The monk shakes his head. "I thought so from your companion's tattoo, and from your bearing... but I had hoped... Yours is a vile trade, but perhaps a necessary one. In any case, it was one I thought Whispering Bear had left behind. He was well known to us indeed. A rare convert among your people." He smiles tightly, and sadly, and perhaps a touch reproachfully.

[ST] "You Haslanti are a stubborn lot, so enthralled to your gods of dream and destiny."

[Hare] Faithful Hare smiles. "You have my sympathies. I'm an adherent of Yo-Ping and the Dayshield myself. How did he come to follow the Immaculate faith?"

[ST] Thunder smiles a bit more genuinely now. "I could not tell you exactly, but I believe it began with a gift of the Immaculate Texts he received from Cathak Sora, his liason to the Talon of the Realm here in Icehome. They worked closely together, and well, if the reports be true. He showed up here one winter night several years ago, saying he was curious. He was curious indeed, but pleasantly so.

[ST] A good friend to the Temple. I am saddened to hear of his passing."

[Hare] "You said you met him last night? What did you discuss?"

[ST] "He brought no news or trouble to the door of the Temple last night, though he had been drinking," at this, Thunder's mouth turns down, but he neglects to criticize the dead man much. "It is not his sin, for I asked him to come. I hoped he might find some employment in your government for Shimmering Twilight soon. She is a bright girl, and will go far, but she will never be a monk."

[Hare] Faithful Hare nods sympathetically. "He didn't follow the canons of the Immaculate Faith, then?" She recalled they weren't allowed sex, meat, wine, or fun.

[ST] "Few do, strictly. Imperfection is the hallmark of our existence. But it is the same with Shimmering Twilight - if every man were born to be a monk, there would be no need of the Immaculate Faith at all. Still, Whispering Bear understood the wisdom of the dragons, and their bravery, and the tyranny of the little gods."

[Hare] "Do you have any notion of any trouble in his life? A new woman? A dispute with a friend? An enterprise promising great wealth?"

[ST] "No. In fact, he was flushed with victory when last I saw him. He mentioned something about a trade agreement recently concluded with Cathak Sora between the Realm and the Haslanti League."

[ST] "Told you we should have gone to the brothel first," Jek whispers to Winter Fish.

[Hare] "I see. What can you tell me about Cathak Sora? He- she?- seems like a person to speak to."

[Hare] She ignores her gauche companion.

[Fish] "You want to sit there knowing you'd ahve to leave to come visit this place?" he whispers back. "'Sides it'll be busier later, get more info."

[ST] "She is a member of a great House in the Realm, and is the head of the Talon of the Realm in Icehome. She has visited this temple on occasion, as have most of those in the city who follow the Immaculate Faith." If he were not a monk, one might imagine a touch of pride in his voice when he adds, "Including Nellens Ralinona herself."

[Hare] Yes, but what is she like? "Nellens Ralinona? Doesn't she run a brothel?"

[ST] "She does. Doubtless, in her wisdom, she sees it as necessary." He speaks woodenly, as if this is a subject he has long forced himself not to think about too much.

[Hare] "Is she particularly devout?" Faithful Hare asks, fascinated. She sometimes wondered how Immaculates reconciled their religion with its exemplars.

[ST] "She must be." He smiles, extending his hands palm up. "How else could she have taken the Second Breath in the first place?"

[Hare] "She Exalted here?" Hare exclaims. She blushes at her outburst. "Forgive me, We didn't come for gossip." A pause. "How did it happen?"

[ST] "No, no, you mistake my words. I mean... if she were not devout, she would not be Exalted. She has lived many lifetimes, moving ever higher, finally gaining the favor of the Dragons. That is our belief. She must have Exalted half a century ago or more, somewhere in the Realm. How it happened is not important. That it happened is everything."

[ST] He nods, satisfied in his explanation.

[Hare] "Oh."

[Fish] Right, and all those with power deserved it. Well, religion was for others to debate. "Have people been harassing you immaculates?" Somehow he doubted that would be the motive of Bear's killer. For degree of difficulty if nothing else.

[Hare] The Immaculates wondered why they had trouble attracting converts.

[ST] "No more than usual. Truthfully, we attract little attention here. Ours is a small temple. Three monks and Shimmering Twilight, perhaps a score of occasional worshippers. I believe even the blasphemous Cult of the Illuminated is larger. People seldom bother noticing us. But the spider that spins in darkness makes a web nevertheless."

[Hare] "So it does," says Faithful Hare politely. She stands. "Thank you for your time."

[Fish] This had been a waste of theirs, so he saw no need to thank them for it. "We'll tell you if you need to worry." The courtesan probably had nothing to do with them, but if the brothel was run by one, who knew?

[ST] "Thank you. Know that you are welcome here, if you are willing only to listen. I wish you all success in finding the murderer... is... there anything you could tell us? Even if we worship your gods differently, we are no strangers to justice."

[Hare] "I'm afraid we still have little information as yet. Save that Whispering Bear was a skilled fighter...yet he died facing his opponent."

[ST] "We will remain vigilant, then." He rises, bowing again in farewell. "May the Dragons guide your actions and shield you from harm, and may you come to know them in time."

[Fish] He leaves with the others, not sparing many pleasantries.

[Hare] Faithful Hare bows in return, and leaves. As she passes through the entryway, she glances at Shimmering Twilight, still so young, and pities her.

[ST] "Don't know why that never caught on," Jek muses, as the Once Dead take their leave. A light night snow has begun outside, and will only increase in the coming hours. "Maybe something about the Haslanti not having been born with holes in their skulls."

[Fish] "Winter's too hard for that crap."

[Hare] Faithful Hare shrugs. "Some people need to feel like they have someone bigger and stronger to look out for them to feel safe." She wasn't the greatest fan of Master Winter or bleating tediously about her dreams, but she did admire the Haslanti approach to deities. They'd picked the smallest and most ridiculous in the North, and propsered for their self-reliance.

[Hare] She skips a stone across the street. "Come on. We have another appointment to make." She wondered if her breath would smell like corpse later.

[ST] The second address leads to a less affluent area of the city, well outside the curtain walls, among the shantytown of buildings that sprouts between the docks and Icehome proper. It's not terribly far, Hare realizes, from the fighting arena she dragged her sons out of. A pair of hooded men and armed men wait at either end of a narrow alley that matches the address provided to the Once

[ST] Dead, regarding the others threateningly.

[ST] This neighborhood is less raucous than the Old Market - the lack of enclosed arcades and winter streets means that much of the festivities remain indoors. A pair of children race after each other, laughing, and further down the street an old man roots through a pile of refuse, but other than that the area is quiet.

[ST] "Move along," the hooded man snaps.

[Hare] Faithful Hare shows him her tattoo.

[Hare] "We're expected."

[ST] "We listen and obey," the man snaps, stepping aside. It's true, then, they ARE members of the Ears of the North.

[ST] The alley is heavily shadowed - the street lamps in this part of the city are spottily lit in even the best of times, and Luna is beginning to wane above. One of the guardsmen moves up silently and presses a lit lantern into Winter Fish's fist.

[Hare] "Walk slowly," Faithful Hare says. She scans the ground before she even reaches the body. Too often valuable information was lost by careless stampeding to the corpse.

[Fish] He'd be careful. He didn't know much about searching corpses, but he knew how to avoid leaving traces of himself. He held the lamp high and forward, to light the scene as best he could.

[ST] The Once Dead pick their way carefully down the alley, Jek swearing choicely when he steps in what might be vomit. They don't have to go far before they find the victim. Pear Blossom lies on her back in a pile of garbage and splintered timber, wearing a white silken kimono stiff and stained with her blood. A single slash parts her throat from one end to the other, and the welling blood from

[ST] her throat covers her clothing, her pale flesh, and her flaxen hair. On her exposed chest a rune has been crudely hacked in Old Realm, the same on Whispering Bear's desk: "Betrayal."

[ST] Her eyes have been burned out just as Whispering Bear's were.

[Hare] "I wonder why they take the eyes," Hare says calmly. She supposed there could be ritual to see what those eyes had seen. Or they might just be fucking nutters.

[ST] Hare discovers a number of footprints on the soft earthen ground, of various sizes. That doesn't tell her much - it is an alley, and alleys are meant to be walked through. She finds that the freshest set are small and widely spaced, as if someone small was running quickly. A fluffy trail extends behind them in the dirt, as if something were being dragged. Two more sets, slightly less fresh, enter the alley, ending at the corpse. Only one set continues beyond, and the area around the corpse is disturbed.

[Hare] She crouches by the body and examines it without touching it. "I wonder if she lived in this neighorhood. She was well paid, surely. Why was she here? Why did she accompany the killer into the alely?" She lifts a hand lightly to look under the fingernails to see if Blossom had put up a fight. She had once caught a murderer stupid enough to leave a hair behind, lodged under the victims fingernails.

[Fish] "Think she was killed here?" He glances around for blood on the ground, but ddoesn't move to examin the back of her kimono. He knew Hare was better than he at this, so he didn't want to disturb anything for her.

[ST] "Hell of a waste," Jek comments. Indeed, the woman would be quite attractive, if she was a little less dead.

[Hare] She wondered if the urchin who had likely stolen Peach Blossom's clothing had seen anything. "Yes. I think those prints over there are the killer's-" she points to a small, light set. "A small man or a woman's. I wonder if they were friends..'

[ST] Hare finds nothing under the corpse's fingernails. From the disturbed movements, it seems clear she fought, but probably never wounded her attacker, at least with her hands. The first investigators on the scene have rigged up a crude canopy to block the snow, but the corpse's flesh is chillingly cold, like meat stored in a snowbank.

[Hare] "The drag marks - the child dragging Peach Blossom's winter coat?" Possible.

[Hare] She draws a line in the air above the dead woman's throat. "A small weapon- could be the same kind that killed Whispering Bear." She leans over and plucks a needle from the snow. She frowns at it and smiles happily. "A spot of blood. If it's from Peach's attacker...we're in luck."

[Hare] She pulls the kimino from Peach Blossom's well-muscled thigh, revealing a set of strapped throwing needles. "And look. One unaccounted for...Peach Blossom got her attack at least once. She wasn't just a courtesean, she was a spy...or..."

[Fish] "What d'you think they used to burn out the eyes?" It seemed unlikely the killer would be lugging around a red hot poker, especially in winter. Where did they get the heat?

[Hare] "Uhh..." Faithful Fare blushes. It hadn't even occurred to her to ask the question. She peers into the burned out eye sockets. "By the pattern of the sears- see how charred the flesh is here? I figure..."

[Hare] "Something sharp and hot." Obvious. "Or a ritual. Of some kind."

[Hare] To cover her embarassment, she leans down and tilts the corpse's mouth open. Her stomach clenches a little. At least the cold had preserved the body. Once there had been maggots. "I have any funny nicknames after this mission, I know who to blame," she tells the others without looking at them, before she leans down and kisses Peach Blossom full on the mouth.

[Hare] Cold. Gross. She murmurs the words of the ritual, her breath exhaling into the corpse as she speaks. A chill wind whips through the alleyway. She draws back with a grimace.

[ST] "I didn't know you appreciated women as much as I do." Jek tries to make it sound prurient, but he doesn't turn around to look at Hare or the corpse, which seems to unsettle him far more than Whispering Bear's.

[Fish] He chuckles lightly. "I ain't telling noone. How's she taste?"

[Hare] "How do you think?"

[Fish] He shrugs. "Depends on what she put on her lips before she dies." High priced courtesans, he remembered moving a particularly nice flavored aphrodisiac once or twice. He'd used up his stock long since.

[Hare] A moan escapes from Peach Blossom's lips, dragging Hare's attention back to their murdered guest of honor. "Who killed you?"

[ST] Pear Blossom's corpse stirs, shuddering. There is a horrible dry whistling sound as air moves past the hole in her throat. Her voice, once again, is Hare's own. "A girl, young."

[Hare] Why did she kill you? Hare wants to ask, but she wasn't talking to Pear Blossom, but only to her bones. "What did you do in the day before you died?"

[Fish] He shivers slightly. Well, he'd buried his bodies rather more thoroughly.

[ST] "Woke. Met with Hooded Owl. Worked in Seven Sighs. Customers. Met the girl. Talked with the beautiful girl. Came with her here. Fought. Died."

[Hare] "What did you discuss with the beautiful girl?"

[ST] "Sex. Payment. Fine jade. Where I had to come to get the jade. Why she was attacking me. Why my eyes had to be burned out."

[Hare] "What did she say about why she was attacking you and your eyes had to be burned out?"

[ST] "Because I was the whore of the dragons. Because one is always blinded by the sun." A final rattling exhalation, and the corpse lies silent and still once more.

[Hare] The sun again, Hare thinks, feeling a chill. She looks up at the blue sky. She'd never thought of it as sinister before. "Do either of you know anything of the Cult of the Illuminated?" Brother Thunder had said it was "blasphemous," though he hadn't singled out her religion the same way. Illumination..light? Sunlight?

[Hare] She was grasping at straws.

[Fish] He grunts. "Maybe we should warn the immaculates. Or watch the temple."

[Hare] "I think that's a job for our listening brothers," Hare says, glancing sidelong at the strangers guarding the alley.

[ST] The strangers do not reply. You might not even be there for all they care.

[ST] "I don't know anything about the Cult... but it can't be very big," Jek says. "I've never laid one of its members."

[Hare] "You say that, but you haven't even slept with Startled Rabbit, that I ever heard of."

[Fish] He rolls his eyes. "Maybe because you aren't either."

[ST] "Attacked on both flanks!" he shakes his head. "You've heard wrong, Fish, and probably from Rabbit, who should BE so fucking lucky. So... my skill in the bedchamber aside, what now?"

[Hare] "I've a ritual I can perform, but it will take some hours. There's also Cathak Soras, the Nellens woman, and the...brothel."

[ST] "Well, I'd love to see a woman that wasn't dead or a monk before the night's out."

[Hare] Faithful Hare coughs discreetly.

[ST] "Once Dead don't count," Jek adds dismissively. "Unless you're Snow Peacock."

[Fish] "See if we can follow the tracks?" he asks, not really expecting to be able to. They probably hadn't survived far out of the ally

[ST] Fish follows the tracks out of the alley, but they are quickly obliterated as the dirt meets a cobblestone street.

[Hare] "...the brothel?" She had no objection. She could question Nellens.

[ST] "Now we're talking," Jek says, slapping the other two on the back. He hasn't looked at the corpse since that first moment. "Let's get going, then!"

[ST] Back into the city, through streets growing colder and an increasing snowfall. The sentinels remain behind, as wordless as ever. If they intend to take Hare's suggestion, they don't show any indication of doing so. Workmen hustle to finish up the night's work down by the docks, nailing boards hurriedly into place, storing supplies, putting away hot road tar. The night creeps on, and the Once

[ST] Dead arrive before The Seven Sighs of the Dragons.

[ST] Unusual for the city of Icehome, it's a sprawling building of only two storeys, taking up most of a city block. It's unseemly to the Haslanti to be so wasteful of space, but Nellens Ralinona pays, and pays well. The building is of stone and wood, strung with paper lanterns behind a glassed in enclosure so that they are not spoiled by the snow.

[Hare] Faithful Hare had never been inside, so it is with more than a little curiosity she pushes the door open and stomps the snow off her boots.

[ST] It flares with a thousand points of colored light, and seems to vibrate with music and laughter. The door opens onto an atrium of fine tile and hanging tapestries. The door guard there is lightly armed and almost perfunctory - it's said Ralinona bounces all serious troublemakers herself.

[ST] "Looking for a good time, are we?" He asks casually. "It isn't free."

[Hare] "We're here to speak with Railnona, as it happens."

[ST] "Aren't we all, lady. It's few as get to. I've seen her turn down better lookers than you."

[Hare] "We're Once Dead. We've information for her. Make it happen," Faithful Hare snaps. Her temper was never the best.

[ST] "Prove it. And make it worth my while." He steps back, scowling.

[Hare] Hare shows him the tattoo on her shoulder. Wishing again she'd placed it on her hand. "Now get."

[Hare] If Red Boar were here, she thinks resentfully, they'd already be sipping wine in a luxury suite. Some people respected you if you were heavy as an elephant and ugly to boot.

[ST] He goes, but not gladly, leaving the door unattended. Jek takes the opportunity to slip within and is soon lost in the crowd. A few minutes later, the guard returns, face set stoically. "Nellens Ralinona says you should meet her on the balcony. Just up the stairs inside, there."

[Hare] Faithful Hare and Winter Fish climb the stairs. Hare gawks at the crowd as she does. She'd been in brothels before, but not such fancy ones. She'd certainly never seen someone do *that*.

[Hare] Perhaps Pear Blossom wasn't a secret assassin, she muses as she reaches the balconey. Maybe Hare had just always underestimated the athleticism involved in high-class whoring.

[ST] Within, the brothel is pandemonium. The bottom floor seems given over entirely to cushions, opium dens, lounges, and couches. Courtesans recline or lean over couches, whispering, guiding others back to the stairs and the private rooms above. Others do not bother. There are games of cards and gateway, dream readings, hookahs, smoke, and more earthly pleasures. And familiar faces -

[ST] dignitaries, wealthy merchants, members of the Once Dead.

[ST] The balcony opens on the western side of the building, lashed by an icy wind from the sea that steals breath and threatens to steal gloves. A shielded pair of lanterns on posts gutter fitfully.

[Hare] "My lady?" Faithful Hare asks tenatively, stepping out into the cold. She wraps her coat tighter around her.

[ST] Fine furniture is laid out, lightly dusted with the falling snow - couches, chairs, tables. Nellens Ralinona reclines on one of the couches. Her hair is spun gold, her flesh marbled and white. She is beautiful in the way a mere mortal never could be. Beside her, the most beautiful mortal woman is worn, useless, tawdry. She wears only a thin white robe, open to expose her flesh to the night. As an Air Aspect, she feels nothing

[ST] of the cold.

[ST] Ralinona raises a hand in greeting. "Welcome. Please. Have a seat." She gestures to a snow-covered setee, a smile forming on her lips.

[Hare] Keep a respectful tongue in your head when facing gods, Enigmatic Butterfly had said, Faithful Hare reminds herself to guard against any temptation to feel resentful. Then poison their favorite lover later. "Thank you. We're grateful you could speak to us on short notice," she says, seating herself.

[Hare] She feels the cold wet snow against her leather coat. It would soak through soon enough.

[Hare] "I regret to inform you that Pear Blossom died sometime yesterday." She watches the Dragonblooded's reaction closely.

[ST] "So, that is your important information. It grieves me to hear this." Nellens Ralinona shifts, her long golden hair falling across her bare shoulders. She really is exquisitely beautiful. It's obvious she held this meeting out here just to make everyone else uncomfortable, but isn't that just being shrewd, really?

[ST] "I shall have to replace her. What happened?"

[Hare] It would be easy to like Nellens Railona, Hare reflects. The Dragonblooded's voice drips with warm concern in spite of the icyness of the room. Easy, but false, Enigmatic Butterfly's voice whispers at her ear. "She was found dead in an alleyway. A single slice to the throat. We're just beginning our investigation, and hoped you could tell us more."

[ST] "A murder? How vile, but not unexpected amongst you Haslanti, I suppose. She was of your stock." Her eyes flash, and she smiles, a dangerous razor crescent. "Of course I will aid you as I can. But I'm like all of my girls and boys - I don't work for free, even if the company is pleasant."

[Hare] She wondered why it was so difficult for the Realm to distinguish between Haslanti and Easterners. The Haslanti saw it straight off. "What do you wish from us, my lady?" Hare asks warily.

[ST] "Oh, what a sweet question to hear." She laughs, and the sound is like bells tinkling in cold air. "Do not mistake me - I bear insults poorly, and someone will pay for this, if insult it was. But I cannot rage against happenstance itself. I require information to know more. I want you to give it to me."

[ST] "But that is not all. You seek aid from me, and would gladly give this information. That is no payment. You are Once Dead. You must know about the Anathema that appeared at Madame Pearl's? Your companions must have told you."

[Hare] There had been no keeping it secret. Avir had told her, privately, of Peach's death. They had been more than acquaintences, but less than friends, but still, it had hurt. She cocks her head.

[ST] She leans forward, lips parting slightly. "Why don't you tell me what you know?"

[Hare] "Madame Pearl's was destroyed in a fire," Faithful Hare says with an attempt at insousciance, her heart suddenly beating like a frightened rabbit's.

[Hare] "I know you want to cooperate with our investigation, but I'm afraid- since you're far too rich for us to bribe- we can only humbly request your help."

[ST] Ralinona smiles, pleased at this articulate display of propriety. "Perhaps. But jade is not the beginning and the end, and to call it a bribe sounds so... unseemly."

[Fish] Fish shrugs, not interested more in the company than pretending to keep secrets he never had. "I've asked around. Most I could tell was it liked fire and making a scene. Someone mentioned knives."

[ST] "So the two of you weren't there, I take it?" Ralinona leans back. A dusting of snow gleams unmelted in her hair, her eyelashes, on her lips - but not quite as it had on Pear Blossom's.

[Fish] He drops some of his rude persona, leaning forward, and composing himself. He was haggard still, and the crude tattoo would never leave, but his eyes seem more intelligent. "Have you heard anything else about Anathema in the area? Or other Exalts such as yourself. The murders involved some disturbing signs that magic might have been involved." And he was still trying to figure out what had defended that ship from his pi

[Fish] And he was still trying to figure out what had defended that ship from his pirates.

[Hare] "Please, my lady," Hare adds. "We're working blind here, without the guidence of Exalts such as yourself. If there's any information Anathema are involved, we need to know it so that we may guard our nation against corruption."

[ST] "Surely you could tell me more about the Anathema. Your companions were there to see it. Why don't you ask them? I'd... dearly appreciate it if you could seek amongst them." She leans forward again, and her voice seems to ring. A cool wind whips up around her, somehow more chill than the surrounding air.

[Hare] "The only ones at that bar that night are investigating some strange disappearances down south."

[ST] She laughs lightly. "Oh, very well, little ones. I remember your names. And Dragons have long memories. What would you ask of me about Pear Blossom? What do you wish to know? What is this talk of Anathema in the streets of Icehome?"

[Fish] He nods "I'll ask around. I have a few people I haven't checked" he adds, trying to sound helpful.

[Hare] "We found her in an alley. She had fought her attacker. She was well-muscled for a courtesean..and had needles strapped to her thigh. She let loose two of them before she was killed. What was she involved in?"

[ST] "Clever little things, aren't you?" She leans back, extending her legs, wiggling bare toes that would quickly succumb to frostbite if she were human. "Shouldn't I be asking you those questions?"

[ST] "She wasn't my spy, I can tell you that much. I long suspected her of being one of your ridiculous Ears."

[Hare] Cathak Soras's, then? "Why? Was there anyone you suspected of conspiring with her? A regular customer, perhaps?"

[ST] "As far as I know, her customers conspired with her for just one purpose. I can hardly keep track of every admirer my courtesans attract."

[Hare] "What made you suspicious?"

[ST] "That would be telling. Let's just say I heard certain whispers I let slip to her repeated elsewhere."

[Fish] He leans forward, looking her in the eyes, rather than several rather more appealing places. Respect. "We think they might be targeting people connected to Princes of Earth here in Winterhome. You should protect your organization."

[ST] "So Pear Blossom was not the only victim? What makes you think this?"

[ST] Ralinona nods, the barest of gestures. "You could be right, but I fear no assassin here, nor should those under my protection."

[Fish] "The other was connected to an immaculate sect, and there were specific references to whoring for the Dragons at Pear Blossoms murder scene." References made by Pear Blossom, but he wasn't sure what she would think of necromancy.

[Hare] Hare glances at him. She would not have revealed that information; the Dragonblooded was the enemy. The kind of enemy who would smile as you froze to death talking to them , but still the farthest flower of the Realm.

[Hare] She was by no means certain the Haslanti League would act against the murderer, in the end.

[Fish] Perhaps her eyes weren't less appealing than the other sights. He hadn't seen others their like before. And she would be so very useful, even just as a contact for information.

[ST] "Troubling... I will take action to protect my people, but I think they are in little danger. Pear Blossom was not killed here. But I do not know where, or who perpetrated the deed. It takes a foolish man indeed to wake a dragon."

[ST] Her steely gaze flickers between the two Once Dead. The threat goes mostly unspoken.

[ST] "I do not attend to the activities of my courtesans overmuch. Perhaps Pear Blossom's companions could give you more information."

[Fish] He nods, of course. She wouldn't be in any danger herself, not unless this was far worse than they all thought. And there would probably be more bodies in that case.

[Fish] "Please, if you could direct us to them."

[ST] "Blind Lily was the closest of her friends. You should be able to find her in the blue lounge. I will let her know you are coming." A breath of wind, a soft, silent motion of her lips. "It is done."

[ST] It need not be said that every word of the conversation will make its way back to the Dragonblooded woman.

[Hare] "Thank you for your time."

[Hare] Faithful Hare moves stiffly, half-frozen from stillness in the cold.

[ST] Ralinona gives a slight nod, not returning the favor. She smiles at Hare's awkward movements and obvious discomfort.

[Fish] He bows to her as he gets up, then shakes off the water, at the same time recomposing his features into his usual mask. The night might get more pleasant yet, but probably no more memorable.

[Hare] Faithful Hare bows clumsily, and hurries back inside with as much grace as she could muster.

[Hare] Poison. Her. Favorite. Lover. Engimatic Butterfly had it right.

[Fish] He strolls off, hoping she had put in a good word with her girls for him.

[Hare] Hare tags after him. She had less confidence in him than she had that morning, and she wasn't about to let him question Pear's friends alone. Even if it did get embarassing.