Chapter 1: A Knife in Darkness

[tibbius]

The guard captain wearily gestures his men toward the alley, and follows, casting a skeptical glance at your company.

You continue through the gate and toward the house of Akhtesh Behruz.

As you approach along the street, in the pale purple-grey light before the dawn, you see a crowd before you and you smell smoke - not that of a cookfire or a pleasant hearth, nor even a charcoal brazier overturned, but something much deeper and somehow older. An odor like decades eaten by fire.

The crowd is focused on the Behruz house. A glow of firelight dances on their faces, turned toward the flames that flicker and burst from the windows and door and roll at the eaves. Black smoke billows out of the building into the fading purple sky.

What do you do?

[Scott308]

Ishbak Arus

Lathi, I'm afraid your new residence may not be very comfortable.

[Rex]

Lathi

"Warm I guess, that didn't last long."

[Monsieur Rose]

Xara

"I'm sorry Lathi. You had just received that place. It's not fair that you won't be able to enjoy it." She looks around at the crowd. "But it still doesn't explain why this is happening? Who is doing it?"

[ravenn4544]

Og looks into the fire. "Who is doing this, indeed. That is a great question. How do we kil- i mean find the person that's pestering us?"

[Rex]

Lathi

"I am not sure Og, but they best hope I don't find them."

[tibbius]

For now, there are neither answers nor reasons by who or why the house was set ablaze. The crowd begins to drift away as the sky brightens pink and the smoke and flame diminish.

You recall that later today you are supposed to pick up a copy of Akhtesh's will.

Where do you go? What do you do?

[Scott308]

Ishbak Arus

Looks like I'll be staying in a flophouse, tonight, then. Meet up to get the will later?

[Rex]

Lathi

"That seems the best option."

[tibbius]

Agreeing to meet up at the noon hour, at the Palace offices, you each depart the scene.

Please briefly describe where you go and what you do.

[Monsieur Rose]

Xara

Xara goes back to the temple with her new bag of jewelry. She'll try some on and fall asleep with them on for a quick nap before noon.

[Rex]

Lathi

Lathi heads for the nearest flop house and tries to get a few hours of sleep.

[ravenn4544]

Og agrees and follows, "Been a long day - a few hours to freshen up before we go get that will would do us good.."

[Scott308]

Ishbak Arus

Ishbak will look for someplace to sleep nearby, but more importantly, someplace cheap!

[tibbius]

You all scatter to accommodations, wearily promising to meet again at the palace offices at noon.

Things that have happened in the past eighteen hours:

- you learned the details of your inheritances from Akhtesh Behruz
- you interviewed Jabdar Laugra, master of the Handlers guild, about the disposition of Akhtesh's warehoused assets
- you visited the Behruz house, where you drove out some squatters and soon after were ambushed by unknown arsonists
- you left the house to get some food
- after eating, you watched Jabdar Laugra behaving strangely, and followed him to the Crypts of Yadar on Green Peacock Square
- you watched Jabdar attack the priests guarding the gates of the Crypts, and killed him
- you fled into the Pleasure District, returning later to explore the Crypts, the gate of which still stood fortuitously open
- in the Crypts, you encountered sentient ghouls
- escaping the Crypts, you turned back to the Warehouse District and attempted to ransack the jumble of valuables in the Behruz building
- desisting from that, you returned to the Behruz house and found it engulfed in flames
- now you're set to rest a few hours.

Next post will be a new Chapter, starting again at the palace.

[tibbius]

Chapter 2: Sharp Edge of Day has been opened.