One of the cells in the Harbinger House of old - believed to have been similar to the cell in which Subject 94 was held.
I take full responsibility for the atrocities committed at Harbinger House during the period of Parick's stewardship. I was, after all, the one who appointed him to succeed the previous owner after her untimely demise. I should have been far more deliberate when picking someone to watch over the potential Gods. I fear that one day, a force beyond my own conscience will punish me for my negligence. - Ambar Vergrove: Believers of the Source
Glimpses of a Phantom: Numerous sightings of a strange woman were reported by passersby. Known sightings occurred in Undersigil, the wine cellar of the Foul Olde Spirit Inn, and the area near a portal to the Grey Wastes located on the outskirts of Sigil’s Great Bazaar. Witnesses reported the woman’s face as deathly pale and hair as jet-black. The woman’s clothes were strange, and though of a fine quality, they were colored a drab grey and appeared quite old – as if they were out of fashion for several decades. Her body appeared to be translucent and her voice distant.
Sensory Stone: The dwarf Brogar Bellbreaker, shortly after sighting the Phantom, stumbled across a sensory stone located in a secret compartment within the delivery monodrone Pipsqueak. The initial sensation inside the stone was cryptic at best and the dwarf decided to investigate it further by taking a trip to the Festhall. The Sensates were rather interested in the stone and offered to enhance BrogarÂ’s sensation using Velurian Mist in exchange for the stone itself. Brogar refused the terms and managed to get his hands on the Mist anyway via subterfuge. Once privy to the full contents of the Sensory Stone, Brogar decided pay a visit to the Mortuary.
Persuading Lord Bereszar: Lord Bereszar was an imposing, fearful figure and predictably reticent about sharing the secrets regarding his apprentice- VarethÂ’s past. Through delicate conversational maneuvering, Brogar managed to convince Lord Bereszar to give Vareth the choice to remain oblivious to his past or reveal the dark secrets he hid away after Styxwashing himself.
Vareth’s Disappearance: After the encounter with Brogar, Vareth decided to leave the Mortuary and Bereszar’s apprenticeship – though it remained unclear whether this was due to him not trusting Bereszar for hiding his past from him, or the fact that he saw what was within his old Sensory Stone and decided to return to his past life (or both). The human was not seen since.
Subject demonstrates innate telepathic ability used to not just communicate with, but also to persuade those around her. This effect is near-immediate in those without wards against psionics, and insidious in those who are warded. It is recommended that the guards charged with watching her room are rotated on a regular basis to prevent sympathy towards subject. - Harbinger House Log: Subject 94 – Page 39
Searching for Pipsqueak Upon catching chant of Pipsqueak vanishing, Rond and Wuhi went out to explore the Hive where it was rumored that the monodrone was last seen. They questioned a local Harlot regarding PipsqueakÂ’s whereabouts. She did offer some information but the knowledge led them into an ambush. Remaining cooperative, the duo were escorted by a cadre of thugs to a seemingly abandoned tenement in the Hive which was actually a stronghold for the Hive Resistance against recent Invaders from the Far Realm.
A Conversation Gone Sour Inside the tenement, Rond and Wuhi discovered that Pipsqueak was being held captive in a room nearby. Apparently the Hive Resistance wished to use the monodrone to help them locate portals from which the Far Realm Invaders would be arriving. Additionally, the Invaders used a tactic of tricking groups of resistance fighters into various portals to nowhere with no return (this tactic was more useful initially, before public warnings by the Harmonium drew attention to it). Pipsqueak was useful to have around for he would lead any group trapped in a ‘dead-end’ Plane out of there.
During the interrogation, Rond maintained his composure, though the same could not be said for Wuhi, and soon all Baator broke loose. Groups of Hive Resistance fighters and toughs began to throw themselves upon Wuhi, who fought with deceptive strength and supernatural fury. Meanwhile, Rond used his magic prowess and strategic acumen to hurl spells that effectively neutralized the small horde of fighters. Despite their success in the fight, the leader of the Hive Resistance managed to give them the laugh and escaped via portal with Pipsqueak.
A Peculiar Request Later, in front of Khazeet’s Family Establishment, Rond, Wuhi and Eloe felt a nearly irresistible urge to investigate the wine cellar of the Foul Olde Spirit Inn. As they approached, they soon saw that they weren’t the only ones with the strange urge as a small crowd of bashers from around the Bazaar area were also gathered to the spot like moths to a bright flame. Amidst the confusion, the Phantom made her presence known, and spoke a vague order to “Go help the child.”
A large majority of those gathered left without question – collectively heading towards the Hive with a blank expression on their faces and eyes glazed over as if in a trance. It was then that Rond understood with no small degree of confidence that the people were influenced via psionics.
Trouble at the Weary Spirit Infirmary The moderate-sized group of bashers- Rond, Wuhi, and Eloe included – arrived at the Weary Spirit Infirmary where there seemed to have been a recent tousle between Far-Realm Invaders and the wardens of the Infirmary. The ground floor featured carnage and devastation, along with a few Invaders who decided to linger and were dispatched quickly by the ‘mindless’ group under psionic control who literally threw themselves at the Invaders until they were neutralized.
On the second floor, more Invaders were preparing to break down a locked door but were once again halted by the mindless crowd which seemed to snap out of its psionic-induced trance once the last of the Far-Realm Invaders fell.
Most of the crowd wandered away in confusion, while Eloe, Rond, and Wuhi remained behind to investigate what..or who was behind the locked door. After convincing those inside that it was safe to emerge, they met Ivan, Kallista, 3, and a Weary Spirit Infirmary worker.
Ivan was loudmouthed and started to spill the Dark on his abilities, much to the chagrin of Kallista, 3, and the Infirmary worker. He managed to tell them that he can communicate with the Phantom before being stifled by his companions. While Rond and Wuhi were content with the information that they received, Eloe was not.
Eloe Demands Answers Much to everyoneÂ’s surprise, Eloe grabbed Kallista and held him hostage, threatening to harm him unless she got more Dark about Ivan and KallistaÂ’s abilities. While the Infirmary worker reluctantly revealed the Dark, Ivan used the opportunity to contact the Phantom and summon her to him.
A Disturbing Cameo A female in dark clothes and an oversized hood entered the place unauthorized. 3 went downstairs to investigate and was destroyed. When she arrived at the second floor, she pointed a finger towards Eloe, subsequently disabling her, presumably via psionic methods. After that she vanished. Eloe was in a pseudo-catatonic state for two hours afterwards though eventually recovered her mental and physical faculties very slowly thereafter.
Playing Doctor Rond volunteered to offer some of his time and limited knowledge of healing to the Weary Spirit Infirmary while it searched for a new full-time doctor to permanently fill the void left after the previous one was slaughtered by the Invaders.
Honestly, I've never seen anything so horrendous. Mouth gaping open, eyes rolled to the back of her head. You've got to be thinking to yourself, what in the Nine Hells did she see before she died?
- Kristopher Narel - Harmonium Measure IV, Investigator
Break-In at the Barracks A Harmonium Notary was murdered in a violent, bloody manner with numerous dagger swipes just outside the city Prison. This turned out to be a distraction for as authorities and investigators from the Barracks were sent to the area, the archives of the Barracks were infiltrated. A hooded figure was spotted on the roof and jumped vertically in an apparent suicide until a portal opened up midway through the jump, absorbing the figure and ensuring its getaway. The Harmonium later discovered that only a single file had been removed from the archives: that pertaining to "Subject 94." Only a handful of people in the entire faction understood the significance of that file missing.
Signer Poisonings A psychic poisoning wreaks havoc on the Sign of One, and has particular potency among this faction due to their sheer imagination and belief in the power of belief. Dozens of Signers die before the Harmonium quarantine the faction headquarters and begin to erase people's memories with the help of psionists from numerous factions. Heyreddin and Ravanna, two factioneers demonstrate a resistance to the poison due to their arrogance and belief in their ability to resist such a poison. However their results to gain a complete immunity to the poison are inconclusive as they are unable to successfully poison themselves again. Whether this is due to a true immunity or just the inability to conjure the poison remains to be seen.
The Murder of Victoria Swanson Victoria Swanson, a member of the Athar, was booked in the bazaar, in the middle of a large crowd. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her mouth gaped open into a silent scream before she collapsed onto the unhygienic floor of Khazeet's bar and expired. This happened during a meeting with a Dustman known as Fracaccoli the Collector. Her body was dragged off by Fracaccoli to the Barracks where she was officially pronounced dead in the Infirmary. After much interrogation, Fracaccoli was released and was believed to be uninvolved in her death. The cause of death is unknown as there were no trauma wounds on the body.
Nightmares Ganatog and Brogar start having odd visions. Ganatog constantly sees a hooded woman- mischievous and taunting. There are times when Ganatog wonders if these visions are all in his head because sometimes no one else seems to notice her presence but him. Brogar starts getting strange flashes involving hooded men standing in a circle. Notably, both Brogar and Ganatog have had indirect contact with Subject 94 previously, and were exposed to Vareth's Sensory Stone.
The Murder of Gina Bas'rah Gina Bas'rah, a member of the Sign of One, is murdered in one of the apartment complexes outside the bazaar. She was seen fleeing from an unknown entity on the roof and tripped and fell. Her eyes were rolled to the back of her head and her mouth gaped wide open in a silent scream. The only trauma wound on her body was on the back of her head which struck the ground after her fall. The question was brought up whether she died before or after tumbling to her death. A white feather was found by Loona and Herbert at the crime scene, which implicated Factor Ziporath. After much interrogation and the influential power of Darkwood, the Fated factor was released with no charges. The Harmonium strongly suspected a connection between her murder and the one of Victoria Swanson due to the uncanny similarities.
Executive Meeting After hearing of the second bizarre murder, along with the recent break in at the Barracks and the Signer poisonings, Ambar Vergrove has strong suspicions of who the common perpetrator might be. Hegoes to the most well-connected blood in the Cage- Rowan Darkwood. Vergrove admits that his faction alone does not have the capability to find and capture Subject 94, nor do the Harmonium. He asks a favor of Darkwood to bring some factions together and create a joint task force.
Maelfina visits the House Harbinger House does not allow visitors, unless of course those visitors are high-ups in the Believers of the Source, and even then they must get clearance from the Warden/Housemaster Bereth. The Housemaster requests that Maelfina speaks to Vuna, a wielder of Spellfire. After a brief conversation, Maelfina speaks to Bereth who informs her that Vuna actually has two personas. Before her admittance to Harbinger House, she was diplomat and spy for the Transcendant Order. Bereth suspects that a powerful psion and previous ward of Harbinger House known as Kathryn may be responsible for Vuna's predicament. He also informs Maelfina of the plan to form an investigation team devoted to capturing or killing this psion and tells her that if she wishes to be involved, she should gather a few resourceful bloods.
Dace begins to Investigate Dace, asked by Maelfina to quietly investigate the Mercykiller Archives, learns that a Justicar named Zadara has been extensively accessing files pertaining to Harbinger House over the past 3 months. He also learns of the break-in at the barracks.
The Mortuary on the night Dace and Roza infiltrated it.
“Someone's dirty 'n yer faction an' I'm trynna findo u' who!" - Arthritis Jones speaking to Roza, who he believed to be a Dustman.
The Murder of Zadara
A Mercykiller Justicar was murdered in an alleyway in the Lady’s Ward. From what the Harmonium could piece together via eyewitness reports and forensics, something caused a great degree of fear and anxiety within her. She dropped her axe and began to run. After about fifty steps she collapsed onto the ground, her facial expression contorted into a silent scream and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. This form of presumed murder matched the previous deaths, and the paradigm of ‘two is a coincidence while three is a pattern” took hold.
Junther Xeamunblood
Maelfina represents the Godsmen at the faction summit where she meets Measure Junther Xeamunblood of the Harmonium. His flamboyant, narcissistic mannerisms seem to annoy many of the other representatives (in addition to the baseline annoyance the average cutter feels for any member of the Harmonium). She gets a hunch that this isnÂ’t the last sheÂ’s seen of this odd half-orc.
Heartbroken
Factols Darkwood and Nilhesia have a falling-out, calling the engagement off. This serves to complicate the accord they signed earlier regarding interfaction cooperation in sponsoring the Subject 94 Investigation Team.
Jefe the Vigilante
The leader of a small gang of well-to-do ruffians starts to become known in and around the bazaar. They are led by one Jefe the Vigilante – an outspoken human male. Etzy and Minestra witness firsthand that he’s well-lanned with some bloods in the Lady’s Ward – however he seems to be a pawn for the more powerful players. Etzy and Minestra follow him to the Golden Bariaur where they learn of a meeting Jefe has with these bloods. They overhear the interaction and it turns out that Jefe is basically being bullied for information.
Infiltrating the Mortuary
Dace and Roza work outside the confines of the law, against Nilhesia’s wishes and manage to sneak into the Dustmen’s headquarters in order to investigate Zadara's death - with the hopes of locating her corpse. Within the massive structure they find an old tinkerer named Arthritis Jones who has also infiltrated the Mortuary. He gets captured by Roza and Dace, then interrogated though not before sabotaging several of the armored skeletons in the Great Hall – a maneuver that allows Dace and Roza (with Jones in tow) to flee largely unnoticed.
Jones informs the Mercykillers that there are bodies unaccounted for in the Mortuary – which are neither cremated, memorialized, nor animated. He noted that some bodies in the receiving room are marked in the back of the neck and these bodies are ultimately unaccounted for. Roza decides to let Jones free, much to Dace’s hesitation.
Encounter with JefeÂ’s Crew
Corny and the Crooked Blades stumble upon Jefe’s crew in Undersigil. Jefe is looking for a “ghost-woman” who has been sighted multiple times in the area. Apparently one of the Crooked Blades also encountered her. The groups decide to form a temporary alliance and go searching for this ghost-woman. Jefe’s crew searches the upper part of Undersigil while the Crooked Blades further descend into the catacombs. Jefe leaves his crew for the time being and tags along with the Crooked Blades.
Mistrust becomes rampant as Jefe starts exhibiting odd behavior. He starts wandering away from the group at times as well as apparently speaks to himself. This culminates when a mysterious female voice is heard saying “your time is short, Jefe!” The Crooked Blades, now on high alert, take Jefe back up and out of Undersigil, largely against his will. On the way up, they discover Jefe’s Crew.. or more accurately – the remains of Jefe’s crew. The bodies of his friends are strewn about with claw and bite-marks. Notably, the bodies have been found in the same area where one of the Crooked Blades encountered the ghost woman.
Once out of Undersigil, inside a room at the Foul-Olde-Spirit Inn, Jefe discloses that a female named Phyrra has been extorting information about the Undersigil Ghost out of him. He requests that the Crooked Blades protect him and kill her and her cronies. The Crooked Blades consider his offer, and he walks out into the Bazaar for a drink at KhazeetÂ’s.
The Murder of Jefe. Etzy at Large
Shortly after having his crew murdered and speaking to the Crooked Blades, Jefe is seen having an amicable conversation with the nervous Etzy at KhazeetÂ’s. Abruptly, his eyes roll to the back of his head such that only the whites can be seen, and his mouth opens into a scream that never had a chance to become audible. After a few clicks of his mouth, it opens permanently as the musculature of his face succumbs to rigor mortis. JefeÂ’s death is witnessed by many and is similar to the murder of Victoria Swanson in both the manner of death as well as location.
When Harmonium arrive at the scene, Etzy manages to make a quick getaway. Aeron, Iviyixxis, and Roza are questioned by the Harmonium. A notable bit of information gleaned is that both Iviyixxis as well as Roza recall a man in a black cloak and black-face mask suspiciously leaving the scene shortly prior to the incident.
The fourth murder inspires Bereth to meet urgently with Team 3. He indicates in correspondence to Maelfina (who had previously indicated interest in the priority operation in Curst) that there is a complication.
