[coronatiger]

The Blekborg Quest

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

By Your will, the chapel I found in Byblos was able to locate a group of merchants from the Prince’s Cities. The caretaker paid my fare all the way to Blekborg so I could travel with the foreigners.

I did not identify myself as Your follower, for I knew that in the Prince’s Cities, Your faithful work in secret. Of course, the merchants noticed my devotion, but they respected my wish for privacy when I whispered my prayers or made the holy signs with my hands, and asked no questions.

We passed through Arland without trouble, although the guards at all the nobles’ checkpoints were alert with the rumor of a slave uprising near Istan in the north-east.

A few nights before the border crossing, the caravan made camp in a grove of trees. A viper approached the fire to bask in the heat, and the merchants were startled, leaping to their feet. Some drew weapons, but I seized the holy creature and protected it in my lap. I recognized it as a good omen, a blessing for my quest. The merchants were uneasy and gave me a wooden box to keep it in.

In Blekborg, I wished the merchants farewell and began my search for the chapel. I found it in the poor quarter, in the cellar beneath a soup kitchen called “Sissi’s”. A secret sign marked the chapel for what it was. I identified one of the diners as a fellow believer. Baldrian was a half-elf around forty years of age. He was a Bearer, and very talkative. He was about to leave town, as his business would take him east the next day, and wouldn’t attend tonight’s Meet. He told me that on his travels, he was more comfortable if he had other believers with him. Being on Death’s side lessened his worries. When I asked about the chapel, he bade me remember that “the masked one” was an elf. It seemed important to him that I knew this, for some reason.

The Meet was already in progress when I entered. I sat down quietly, and when the time was right, I introduced myself. Sissi was there, a Dagger who served as the caretaker of the chapel as well as running the soup kitchen above. In her mid-twenties, she was a few years older than me. She invited me to stay with her while I was in town.

Leading the Meet from behind a snake mask, the alleged elf didn’t give his name or rank, but I deduced that he was a Serpent, which would make him Rhuk’s superior, and she’s a Night Stalker! He seemed old. He had anticipated my arrival, and instructed others to provide me with information and equipment, as needed. He appointed a man named Odin, a fellow Toxiner, to be my guide.

I brought out my wooden box and offered the viper as a gift to the chapel.

Odin didn’t speak during the Meet, he just nodded when he received his instructions. The next day, he took me sight-seeing, communicating with gestures when needed, otherwise he just led the way to the next place I wanted to see. Sissi had suggested some sights to see at breakfast, but I also had some ideas pertaining to my mission.

I had come to believe that Odin was mute, and was surprised when he dragged me into an alley the next day, to hiss an answer to one of my questions. Like me, he has a forked tongue, but his words were mangled, so I understood why he wouldn’t speak in the presence of outsiders.

I spent two weeks studying my mark. Klodrik Angdal was a high-ranking city guardsman, but evidently corrupt and generally considered a bad man. If I hadn’t known my mission’s source to be a holy vision, I would have thought that someone from Blekborg had summoned me to get rid of him.

I discovered that Klodrik was having an affair, and that he kept it secret, even from his guards. At least, he visited his mistress alone and in disguise. One night, I waited for him in a dark alley. He didn’t spot me among the shadows. I moved up behind him and impaled his neck from both sides. He crumpled to the ground and I said the ritual words over the body before I took his head away as proof. Not that my word wouldn’t suffice, but one should follow the proper procedure, if one can. Odin helped me seal up the head in a box of salt so it wouldn’t rot on the long trip home, and then I settled down in the chapel to lay low for a while.

After a couple of days, I learned that rumors about me were spreading in the underworld. I asked Odin to find someone who would travel west soon. He’s impressed me with his ability to get things done while pretending to be mute.

O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will.