Vast Formless Things III

Yesterday, we went from Illinois to Michigan to visit Addie's graveyard. When we arrived, we saw a woman kneeling at one of the graves. She heard our footsteps and rose to her feet, turning to see us. 

"Ah, Mr. Zane. I am Melinoe," she told Eric. "I was the one who informed on you for the Chthonian cause, all those months ago."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Eric asked. (I suppose he can be a little prickly when he first gets to know a person.)

"Have you so quickly forgotten? When we visited you recently, we knew of Zagreus, and how he renounced his true name in favor of some trash given him by his supposed parents. This mangy dog wondered how we knew, did he not?" Melinoe asked rhetorically, pointing at me. "He thought you might have had an informer in your midst, but it was nothing so dramatic. He simply needs to stop speaking of everything that happens to him or otherwise enters his thick, stupid skull."

By which she meant she just read my blog. I still don't know if that revelation was anticlimactic or relieving.

Clara backed away. "Please, stay, dearie," Melinoe growled.

Clara stopped in her tracks, paralyzed by fear, and Melinoe went on. "I suppose you think you have the advantage of numbers. But you don't, not quite." She outstretched her arms, and portals opened like the ones Triptolemus had summoned for the parking-lot fight. "Thanatos' chosen are never alone."

From one portal stepped Triptolemus, Hecate, and Acheron, from another two Puppets who looked a lot like Clara and two people wearing masks and coats. One of them was wearing Kaden's old kitsune mask and the other was wearing the Alan Roach devil mask. They were Mountebanks.

"I thought Puppets were your enemies," Eric said to Melinoe.

"They were, but you would understand the benefits of rallying those in conflict against a common enemy, would you not?" Melinoe asked him.

Then she took out a knife and went straight for him. He grabbed her arm as she stabbed and put her in a headlock, then used his leverage to disarm her. She elbowed him in the chest, causing him to double over where she hit him. She went for her knife. I panicked and hit her with my knife's handle. Triptolemus trained a pistol on me, but Eric tackled him to the ground.

Meanwhile, a Mountebank in the devil mask of Alan Roach aimed a gun at Kaden, leading Giles to send several birds after him. The kitsune Mountebank threw a Molotov at the birds, so Kaden teleported behind him and kicked his legs out from under him. Ash and Alice tangled with Acheron and Hecate, respectively, though the specifics slip away from me thanks to how much was going on at the time. I think Caledon helped them with that, courtesy of his knife.

The female Puppet walked towards Clara and said to her, "My, my, Clara, how you've developed since last I saw you. Be a dear and put that newfound strength of yours to use, hm? Help Mother. These people aren't your friends."

Clara took out her knife, but the male Puppet pulled her away before she could do anything to the strings that hovered in the air above her mother.

"Oh, that's your father," Clara's mother said as she struggled. "He used to be a willing servant, good as could be, but then he misbehaved, and we had to get him under control." She giggled. "You thought he was away. No, no, he just got what he needed. I suppose the same thing happened to me. Isn't that right, dear?"

Clara's father nodded silently.

"He's not a talkative one, your father," Clara's mother said, raising her eyebrows knowingly.

Caledon had been assisting Ash and Alice in fighting the Timberwolves, but when he realized what was going on with the Puppets, he decided the agents were a match for them, and went over to the two Puppets. Then he cut their strings. The Puppets—Clara's parents—collapsed to the ground.

While Caledon rushed to get Clara out of the graveyard, Eric and I were still struggling against Triptolemus and Melinoe. As I mentioned, Eric had tackled Triptolemus and I had hit Melinoe with my knife's handle. By the point where Caledon and Clara had dealt with their own problems, Triptolemus had rolled over and pinned Eric down. So I grabbed him, pulled him off Eric, and shoved him into Melinoe.

"Thanks."

I nodded.

Then Acheron, the largest of everyone there, saw how his bosses were doing. That made him a little upset, by which I mean he plowed directly into me, knocking me to the ground, and punched me repeatedly. I was able to dodge some of his blows, but not all of them. He was tough. It was painful.

Alice told Ash to give her an opening, so he dealt with Hecate while Alice took out her gun. She kept it lowered.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked Acheron.

Acheron just growled and rushed her.

She clicked off the safety and fired into Acheron's leg. He howled in pain and collapsed to the ground.

I winced.

Hecate opened a portal and went through with Acheron by her side. I assume it led to a Timberwolf base.

Melinoe slashed at Alice with her knife, having seen how willing she was to use the gun at her side. Eric and I had been dealing with Triptolemus; Ash was trying to assist Alice in dealing with Melinoe, but was unable to keep her from getting cut. It was a long, nasty cut that went across her face, and it was bleeding out. Ash apologized and got Alice out of there. She tried to convince him to stay and let her deal with it herself, but he insisted.

(Ah, romance. Truly, the only thing keeping people from allowing one another to bleed to death.)

"Roll call. Who's left?" Eric asked.

"Me, you, Kaden, Giles, two Timberwolves, two Mountebanks," I replied.

"Those odds aren't bad.

 "Eggs haven't hatched yet," Kaden said. "My magic isn't working quite right at the moment. I haven't the faintest why, but if I had to guess, Jack thought it would be funny. The bastard."

Then he took out his coin and stared at it for a moment. He handed it to the kitsune Mountebank. "I'd like you to take a look at this."

"Jack's coin?" the kitsune asked in shock. "It's shifting... you used your powers to fake it, didn't you? He wouldn't have given you his coin. You're a rogue Mountebank. You betrayed us all."

"You idiot. You absolute idiot. I'd have used my powers to blast you into a pile of dust by now if I still had my powers. Jack's not listening to me anymore."

"Maybe he wants you to put in some work of your own. That would certainly be a change of pace, wouldn't it?"Kaden shrugged. "It's no concern of mine that you hate me. That's your problem, Adam Weiss."

"Adam Weiss?"

"You don't do a very good job of disguising your voice when you're in the midst of battle." He shook his head. "I'm surprised. I never would have expected that growl of yours to be your real voice! Ah, well." He turned to Eric, Ash, Alice, and myself as we fought Triptolemus and Melinoe. "I imagine you're wondering about the identity of Mr. Weiss here. Well, for lack of a better term, he's the boss of our little club, Jack not included." Kaden held out his hand to Weiss. "Well, I'd like that coin back now."

"No. It's not yours to own. I'm Jack's favored one."

"Who gives a shit about Jack anyways?" Kaden asked. "And that’s a serious question, by the way. Why do you even care? He clearly doesn't care about us."

"I... no. Of course he does. We're his chosen ones. You turned your back on his favor, that's why your powers aren't working, but the rest of us are his faithful servants. Why wouldn't he care about us?" 

"Because he doesn't care about anybody. He's Jack. He's not a nice man. Open your eyes, Adam. He's a monster. There's nothing in him but dust and hate. Do you want to be like him?"

"You're wrong. We're the only ones who matter. We mock each other, but we're steadfast companions to the end. We do Jack's work."

"You don't do shit." Kaden kicked Adam Weiss in the chest, sending him reeling backwards. "Help me stop these clowns. Don't look at me like that, I'm serious. For once in my life, I care about something. You can do what you want to me. Do your worst. Keep the stupid coin. I don't give a shit about any of that. Just help me protect Giles. Help me protect my friends. Jack wants me to live so he can keep tormenting me, but I can't live without these stupid jerks—and Clara. You care so much about Jack? Help me out."

As all of this was happening, a battle raged. I had no clue at the time how they managed to avoid getting hurt in the midst of the fight, but in retrospect, I have to wonder if Jack was keeping us away from the two of them somehow. Weiss muttered something to himself, then turned to Alan Roach, who was fighting Giles.

"Alan. Stop fighting the Nest. Assist Kaden."

Alan didn't seem to be paying attention. He was too busy trying to make sure Giles didn't turn him into a human sauté.

Weiss shrugged apologetically at Kaden, then knelt down to pick something up. It was a rock, which he proceeded to throw at Alan's head. "Pay attention, you thick-skulled cretin," Weiss said irritably. 

Alan and Giles stopped fighting for a moment as they realized what was going on.

Alan shrugged and said to Weiss, "Alright, boss. Whatever you say." After that, the Mountebanks helped out a fair bit. It made things a cakewalk for a while.

Then the Black Dog arrived. It came silently. None of us seemed to really know when it showed up. And once it did, we stopped fighting. We were all allied against the beast.

Melinoe's first instinct was to attack it with her knife. Bad move, obviously. She landed the hit, but the Dog just tore off part of her leg and began to regenerate. Then it turned to me and growled. I stood paralyzed in fear. It started to charge, so Eric grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me away. He took the hit. He survived, thank God. But he was hurt badly. I had to do something, but what? I certainly had no clue.

"Cut the Dog, mate," Giles said. "I've got an idea."

"Are you crazy?" I asked. "Did you see what it did to her?" I gestured at the portal through which Melinoe and Triptolemus had just exited.

"I said, I've got an idea. You cut it, I sear it. Slash and burn. Like the Hydra."

The Dog growled. I already had my knife out. I cut the Dog, and it howled in pain. I would've felt bad if I didn't know better. Then Giles sent the birds after it, and they electrified its wounded flesh. It bit me, which hurt as badly as you might expect, but it didn't do anything for the Dog. It was unable to regenerate. It laid down on the ground, weak and battered. "How the hell did you figure that one out?" Eric asked.

"Lucky guess, I suppose," Giles said with a smile. "Now, let's not push our luck, alright? We don't know it'll stay down. Let's move."

"...Right," I said.

I realized with a start that the Dog was on Addie's grave. I doubted it was a coincidence. I kicked the thing aside and knelt down. Then I took out a rose from my coat pocket. It wasn't perfectly intact, but I got the feeling she wouldn't mind. With that, I set it on her grave and walked away with my friends by my side.

- Henry Hallack

King Pest III

It just occurred to me that this title could be read "King Pest the Third."

Anyways, we left the hotel we'd been staying in. It was going nicely, but then Clara started seeing something we didn't want around. Shadows in the corners that didn't have casters and moved on their own. Nightlanders, they're called. The fear of the unknown.

They get dangerous when they're angry.

Incidentally, I don't really get why standard Runner practice is to only have one or two companions at a time. I think the idea might be to avoid attracting attention, but our group already looks pretty conspicuous, and a lot of Runners do, too.

None of this is really relevant to what's really important, though, as exciting as I'm sure you find it. Actually, most of what I wanted to say here is that we're planning on visiting Addie's grave. I think I want to pay my respects to her, one last time. I never really got to say goodbye, after all.

Especially since Eric and I are dating now. I just don't think it would be exactly pleasant to be in a relationship with someone who's constantly dwelling on his dead girlfriend. I mean, it's not like I don't care about Addie anymore, but I don't think she'd want me to be the way I've been for all this time. And I don't either.

- Poe

For Evermore II

I dreamed about the Constant Wanderer last night. I assume it's because I've been thinking about them, what with my latest post and all.

In the dream, I was floating through the college where I met Addie and I knew, all of a sudden, that I was near the Constant Wanderer. I asked the Constant Wanderer what they were doing there, even though I knew what they would say. They said they were just passing through. Then they asked what I thought of the idea of immortality. I told them I wasn't sure. I didn't quite know why, because I knew what I really thought, at least in the dream. I never wanted to die.

The Wanderer seemed to know what I was thinking, because they told me something that we humans have known for a long time. They told me that immortality is hell.

It's one of the oldest ones in the book, really. (The Epic of Gilgamesh, to be more specific.) The Wanderer told me that no matter how hard it would be on my friends for me to die, the guilt that comes with watching others do the same would always be worse.

Of course, I have no intention of living forever in my waking life, but it seemed slightly presumptuous of them not to consider the possibility of that being the case even when you're mortal. I told them that. They seemed earnestly surprised, and apologized for the transgression.

I noticed after a little while that I had, at some point, ended up in the graveyard where Addie was buried.

We floated a bit more, maybe, and then I woke up.

When I woke up, I remembered what my current circumstances were. Specifically, my friends and I were staying at a hotel, courtesy of our benefactors at ARC. (Complete with moderately nice pool.)

I also remembered that I didn't care what the Wanderer thought.

- Poe

For Evermore

That motley drama—oh, be sure
It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased for evermore
By a crowd that seize it not,
Through a circle that ever returneth in
To the self-same spot,
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
And Horror the soul of the plot.

I think I'll take a break from posts involving my personal life real quick to talk about a particular Fear.

The Constant Wanderer is a humanoid Fear that wears an auburn ponytail and an eyepatch, and that used to be human. I've heard conflicting reports of what their human self was like, but a personal favorite story of mine is that they used to be a writer. I guess that's a bit of bias on my part, though, especially since the Wanderer is one of the few Fears that doesn’t seem to be actively malicious. Rather, they unintentionally cause time distortion, particularly loops.

Frankly, I feel bad for the Wanderer. Like I said, they used to be human, and they don’t really seem to be malicious, and became a Fear by suffering... well, a lot.

(Maybe I'll end up as a Fear soon. That seems about right.

Still, being around Eric, Clara, Caledon, Kaden, Giles, Ash, and Alice has been... pretty nice. Sure, I've ended up in some tricky situations as a result of being around people with their own complications, like Caledon's former employers, but it's not like I didn't already have a difficult life.

Not that material assistance from Eric's employers hurts, for that matter.

But, really, things are starting to get better. It's a weird feeling.)

- Poe

Vast Formless Things II

My little group was eating together the other day when Caledon and Clara showed up, along with two suited people.
Cal walked over to our table and explained, "I've gotten ARC to let us go with you, with another agent or two alongside us to protect Clara and ensure I don't do anything too, y'know, risky."
"Wait, you're Zagreus, aren't you?" asked Kaden.
"Caledon, actually. Used to be, though."
"Oh. You aren't an Angel anymore?"
"No. I left them a few months back."
"That makes sense. You certainly looked miserable back then. ...Do you fellows want to sit down?"

The four newcomers sat down at the table next to ours.
"Well, then. Let's recap, shall we?" Kaden asked. "We have a former Mountebank, a former Angel, a reluctant Nest, three ARC agents, a Runner, and a would-be Puppet. Is that all correct?"
"Yeah, pretty much," I said.
"God, that is a weird group. Hello, by the way," he said to the agents.
"Hello," said one of them, who wore a suit and generally looked like he should have been in a 40s crime movie. I assumed he wasn't wearing a fedora because he was in a restaurant, despite its relative lack of classiness. "My name's Ash, and my partner is Alice."
"Wait, Ash and Alice?" Eric asked. "The legendary..." He trailed off as he saw Ash and Alice look at one another in an "I can't believe we're having this conversation again" kind of way. "Never mind. Anyways, I'm Eric, this is H—, this is Kaden, and this is Giles."
"I see. Kaden, you mentioned a former Mountebank and an unwilling Nest?"
"Yes. I used to be a Mountebank. Giles is a Nest, but the birds usually go near him instead of inside. But I assume ARC doesn't need to assign any more security to us, what with the three agents?"
"Unlikely," Ash said. "Unless you're particularly dangerous."
"That's fair... it isn't like I'm a wizard or anything." He smiled.
Ash laughed, though I detected a hint of suspicion in his expression.
"So," said Kaden,  "what are we going to do? Our circumstances aren't the best at the moment. Couldn't we just stay at ARC headquarters?"
"We'd like to be able to house you long-term, but we just don't have the money for that, especially with how spartan the holding cells are currently," Eric said. "I guess what I mean is, if you're interested, you could go there, but it wouldn't be perfect. Which is also why we don't take in Runners. Much as we'd like to, we don't have unlimited funding, so we have to prioritize."
"...Oh," said Kaden. "That makes sense. Hm." He rubbed his coin absentmindedly.

As I looked at Kaden's coin, I noticed the image on its "heads" side shift slightly. Then, yet another important person walked into the restaurant. I assumed he was Jack of All, Kaden's former patron. He matched the new look of Kaden's coin, for one thing, and he wore a red glove on his right hand, for another.

"You know," Jack said to Kaden, "God doesn't play dice. But I do."
"Why are you here?" Kaden asked angrily.
"To explain something. You see, you really did get off easy when all that happened to you was that you got stuck with the Mountebanks. I rolled snake eyes when I decided what to do with you, and I don't fix my games. So I went with it, and I allowed you to escape the Mountebanks without your end of the deal being nullified. I even gave you that good luck charm, Kaden dear," he said, eyeing the coin. "Though that was more out of generosity than anything else."
"You expect me to believe you?" Kaden asked.
"You don't have to," Jack said casually. "It's not like I can make you. But I can certainly make good on my promise in the future. Besides, what difference does it make whether you believe me or not? You can't hurt me."
Kaden sighed. "I guess you're right, but—"
"No buts, Crowley. I'm right. That's it."

Kaden stared at him in anger as Jack walked away. Jack turned around to say, "Oh, and don't expect things to turn out right. I'm not the only power out there... or around here." Then he disappeared back into the night.

I'm pretty glad we were the only ones there, aside from the staff. I have to assume the people who were there just took it as a strange midnight chat between people in a cheap restaurant.

- Poe

King Pest II

Kaden has taken to calling Giles his "old flame." He pretends to be joking, but...

Honestly, they're adorable.

(And no, the title isn't even slightly fitting here, but I'm too lazy to find a relevant Poe quote, so I'm recycling from when I met Eric and found him annoying for some reason. Probably just inability to cope with having another snarky guy around. That, and his working for ARC, whom I still don't really trust or like.

Oops.)

- Poe

The Winged Seraphs II

The Timberwolves found us.

Evidently, they had started trailing us at some point. Either we've got a mole among us, or they've been trailing us for a while now, because they knew about the Caledon situation, and they weren't happy.

For once, I think I'd rather it be the latter option.

Let's back up.

The four of us were eating dinner at a fast food place when a bald, bearded man with the Archangel seal tattooed on his neck showed up at the table next to ours. To be perfectly honest, having the symbol of your group drawn on your skin with ink isn't exactly subtle. On the other hand, given his pointed glances at the four of us as we ate, I don't know if subtlety was his goal.

We finished eating quickly after he arrived. What little food we had left by that point, we trashed. Better to be hungry for a little while than to stick around for a fight with one of the Archangel's dogs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, though, the Timberwolf wasn't really interested in eating, and followed us outside shortly after we started to leave.

What a shame. I usually like eating the leftover fries, and they went totally to waste.

There were no other people in the parking lot by that point.

"You four. H—, I mean, and your little gang. Of course, my pal isn't with you anymore, but he didn't have to be for long, eh?"
"Who is this guy?" asked Giles.
"I think he's the partner of a guy who betrayed the Timberwolves," I replied.
"That's correct. My name is Triptolemus. I was assigned to Zagreus to keep him from doing to us what he'd already done to ARC, Eric's, eh, employers. By which I mean betray us. And now that's happened, and it's your fault, I'm a little upset with you guys."
"So, what is your plan, exactly?" asked Eric. "Other than just attacking a Runner, an ARC agent, a Nest, and a sorcerer, that is."
"Was that deliberately ranked in terms of least to most powerful, or was that a coincidence?" asked Kaden.
The three of us glared at him. He just raised his hands as if to surrender.
"Actually, no, I had no plans of attacking alone," said Triptolemus, completely ignoring Kaden. "Everybody, meet my friends Hecate, Acheron, and Melinoe. They're… what's the word… angels."
I didn't like where I was pretty sure this was going.

Three more Timberwolves stepped out of portals behind Triptolemus, apparently using some sort of domain-based transport. I took out my knife, Eric took out his gun, Giles called the birds, and Kaden summoned a ritualistic-looking dagger.

Triptolemus held out his hand before his Timberwolves could do anything. "Wait, friends. Perhaps we don't have to resolve this through violence. How about you just tell me where Eric here is keeping my buddy, and I tell my goons not to hurt you?"
Eric grimaced.
"I'll take that as a no?"
Eric, ordinarily so hygienic, spat on the ground.
"Hm. Playing hard to get, eh? That's alright. We can tango if you're looking to tango." He made a throat-slitting gesture and pointed at us.

It was barely a contest. Giles' birds mangled the Timberwolves, or at least Melinoe and Acheron. The difficulty was keeping the birds from killing them without making the birds angry at us. Kaden offered to summon birdseed, but Giles said the Convocation weren't interested in that now that they'd tasted blood. Thus, Kaden did the only sensible thing and summoned some more.

I suddenly don't want to know how Kaden's summoning works.

At any rate, that distracted the Convocation, but it also kept us from doing anything when Triptolemus opened a portal to Bliss and, along with his allies, escaped.

I think Kaden mentioned something about recognizing Triptolemus. That comment made a bit more sense when he explained that Triptolemus had met him when he was a Mountebank, meaning Triptolemus didn't recognize Kaden's face, voice, or name, and he'd also lied to him, meaning he had reason not to mention it earlier.

At any rate, that's another complication for us all to deal with. I'm torn between feeling glad that we escaped unharmed and horrified at what the Convocation did to the Timberwolves, even if I think they might still survive.

C'est la vie, I suppose.

- Poe

The Night's Plutonian Shore II

This is the second person to appear out of nowhere in recent days, and I thought this one was dead.

Yeah, Kaden just walked out of the fog at night, flipping a strange-looking coin and looking away before he saw what it landed on. I didn't recognize him at first, but Giles did. Unsurprising, I suppose, given what I've heard from Giles about their long history together.

Actually, Giles didn't just recognize him, he ran up and hugged him. I'll be honest, that never really came to mind as being high on the list of things I'd expect him to do under any circumstances. After regaining his usual composure, Giles used the standard trick of asking questions to make sure he wasn't some sort of imposter or illusion. After a little while, he seemed satisfied. 

Things got slightly sappy for my tastes after this point, but Giles and Kaden both strike me as the types who could use some emotional vulnerability every once in a while.

After the two finished swapping stories and talking about how much they missed each other, Giles wanted to know how Kaden survived the Mountebanks. As it turns out, the answer was... magic.

Evidently, as part of a deal with Jack of All, Kaden joined the Mountebanks and stayed with them, and in exchange, Jack granted him powers. The time he needed to remain in the Mountebanks has passed, so he still got his end of the deal from it, and now he's using it to evade his former employers. (Something tells me Jack still plans on messing things up for Kaden. As insufferable as the Mountebanks are, temporary membership among their ranks doesn't seem nearly as bad as how most of Jack's deals end up.)

In summary, Kaden's is what you might call a slightly convoluted origin story.

At any rate, I'm a bit nervous that Kaden's past will catch up with him. Maybe that's a bit hypocritical, though, given I was the one to suggest bringing the others with us. I mean, it's not like Giles is much different.

- Poe

Blood-Hound II

So, last post I mentioned the name "the Once-White Wolf." This is a nickname I've heard given to the Black Dog in reference to a bit of Runner folklore, one of which I happen to be partial to myself. The story goes that the Black Dog used to be pure white, but when it took on the duty of punishing sin, its fur became black as night, stained by the ash of guilt. They say it wasn't only the fur of the Dog that was made ashen, but its very soul; being among the guilty and punishing evil with evil lead it to become a force of darkness itself.

Like I mentioned, I'm partial to that idea. I've never been one for punishing evildoers (certain notable examples aside), and the notion that the Black Dog became evil through doing so speaks to me, in a sense. It's poetic, I guess.

Mind you, there are those who claim the Fears are impartial and cosmic, not truly evil. I'm inclined to disagree. The Fears are all too willing to place stakes on our personal lives, and raise them, for that matter. Otherwise, why bother? Seems a bit odd for a being of sheer alien indifference to seek out servants and murder humans. No, the Fears are evil, the purest personification humans can ever hope not to encounter.

And, of course, I'd know.

- Poe

Blood-Hound

As if the birds weren't enough to deal with, now I have to deal with a dog too. The Once-White Wolf, the Long Slash, the Blood-Hound. The Black Dog.

It visited me last night and it gave me a single raven feather. Very subtle.

I was under the impression it only came for you if you had secrets, anyways. Everyone who reads this blog knows about what happened to Addie. What does it want with me, in that case? Or are those just rumors, and does it come for you no matter what you do, an implacable and unrelenting incarnation of guilt?

...That was melodramatic.

Sorry. I'm still feeling a little shaken.

I was sound asleep, but I jolted awake when I felt hot breath running down my neck. I looked around, and it was there, carrying a bird's feather in its mouth. I was the only one who was awake. It disappeared into the shadows before I could wake up Eric or Giles, leaving nothing to testify to its ever having been there but my memories and the feather on the ground.

(Do you suppose the Black Dog realizes that possession of raven feathers is illegal in the United States? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service definitely needs to get on this.)

- Poe

Their Condor Wings II

It's been a long few weeks.

After the encounter with the Carcass, we entered ARC headquarters without much further hassle. I'd describe it, but I don't want to give any more information on it than necessary. Suffice it to say that most of it is underground, the majority of it being an innocuous-looking building on the surface (which is a bit of an unintentional double meaning). I'm not sure what's going to happen to Clara and Caledon in the future, but currently, ARC is taking care of them and watching the latter closely.

As we left, we were ambushed by Puppets. They'd trailed us, I guess. Before they could attack us, they disappeared in a dark cloud. A figure stepped out, surrounded by birds.

"You have to be kidding me," Eric muttered.
"Unfortunately, no," said the Nest. "But look on the bright side, I got rid of those Puppets for you." He smiled, but it quickly turned to a grimace. "The name's Giles. Giles Grimholt."
"That sounds made-up," Eric noted.
"It does, doesn't it? But it's not. It's my real name. Real as a name can get, anyways. ...Ah, I sound like Kaden, that crazy weirdo. I just wish I got the chance to talk to him one last time after he went the Mountebank route. I think he's dead now, you know," he said, shaking his head. "Tried to save you two and Clara."
"Kaden? You mean the man who called himself Asher Lyall and saved us from the Puppets underground?"
"Aye, that's right. Kaden Crowley, if you can believe it. Well," he said, taking a drag from a cigarette, "even though I don't much like the idea of you letting my Kaden run off to die, we don't have to fight. See, I want something you have."
"And what's that?"
"Freedom. Freedom from the Convocation, and more to the point, safety from what they'd do to me if I abandoned them. As you may have guessed, I'm a Nest. However, they usually just flock around near me, so theoretically it should be possible to keep them away from me. I think maybe it's because they don't like the smell of cigarette gunk and alcohol.
"So here's the deal I'm offering: I join you. You don't turn me in to ARC and you don't let the Convocation get me, and I protect you from whatever other threats you might face, and I don't fight you."
"Because making a Faustian bargain worked out so well for us the last time," Eric said, crossing his arms.
"Oh, it could've worked out much worse, my friend. You could've died." Giles laughed.

A few moments passed in silence. I finally spoke:
"Alright."
Both turned to look at me. It was the first I'd said since this conversation had started. Giles started to laugh. "Who're you supposed to be, again?"
"I'm, uh, Poe."
"You want to tell me who you really are, or should I name myself after a dead goth too?" Giles asked, raising an eyebrow.
"H—."
"H—! Always liked that name. Well, alright, then, H— and Eric. We're friends now?"
"Allies," Eric corrected.
"Friends are just allies you like. Close enough, I'd say."
With that, we set out, accompanied by our new ally. We've had spotty Internet, so I haven't been able to post anything much. Sorry about that.

And don't even ask about the fact that this guy works for the things that killed Addie. Believe me, I've thought about it. But he clearly doesn't want to work for them. The only thing stronger than my hatred for those things is my fear of the possibility of becoming a bad person.

- Poe

The Horror of Blood III

We had just arrived at ARC's local headquarters. Caledon heard something growl from the bushes. Pretty quickly, we figured out something was wrong. Clara ran inside as soon as the thing showed itself. I suppose she realized that a fight between a teenager and a Dying Man shard wouldn't end well for the teenager. Eric shot a few times at the Carcass. It didn't do much.

Caledon, meanwhile, took out a long combat knife and made a swing at the Carcass's neck. It didn't do much, but it seemed to cause the Carcass pain.

I, meanwhile... well, I provided moral support. (I'm not much of a fighter.)

But seriously, I did help somewhat. The Carcass, as has been established by now, is rather stupid, and there was a rock by my feet. I threw it while the Carcass had its eyes closed for a moment, and it honest to God looked to see what made the sound. So Eric took the knife from Caledon and stabbed it into the Carcass's leg. The Carcass howled and swatted at Eric, scratching up his face.

That did it. I took out my own knife and stabbed the Carcass in the eye as it moved downwards to bite Eric. The Carcass, apparently acting on what was left of its human instincts since it had been possessed, ran back into the woods with a limp, bleeding from several spots.

After that, we followed Clara's lead and went into the headquarters. The situation is... being worked out right now, what with Caledon's being a former member of both ARC and of one of its most personal enemies, and Clara's being a teenager with a Puppet for a mother and a father who is, to my knowledge, absentee.

And... I feel really bad for suggesting the Carcass was David. I mean, I know what survivor's guilt feels like, I know what it's like to feel as though the people you once knew want vengeance from beyond the grave, and I know what it's like to be told you're right. That's not something I would wish on anyone.

I guess I was just projecting.

- Poe

The Winged Seraphs

In short, I became a new man, and lived a man's life. 
It was Alan Roach. It was his footsteps I heard.

Or rather, it was the man I met while he was wearing the mask of Alan Roach, and playing that part. (That mask, if you're curious, is a good old-fashioned devil mask.) Currently, not-Alan is going by Asher Lyall, and he's wearing the kitsune mask to match. Really, he's indistinguishable from your average Mountebank, complete with the tattoo of a hand shaking a red glove on the back of his neck. However, he said he wasn't really... working with the Mountebanks for that particular mission.

Unfortunately, Eric, Clara, and I were all unable to save Asher. He had cleared out the Puppets nonlethally, mostly through his sharply-honed stealth skills (and, apparently, actual magical abilities, though I... think he was joking about that?), and gotten to the cell where Eric and I were being held, but some other people came after him. Angry Mountebanks, I think. I don't know if they've captured him yet, or what, but it doesn't seem like things are looking up for him. He told us to get outside, and to leave him down in the tunnels.

He said it was his battle to fight, not ours. I didn't argue. (...Should I have?)

Shortly after leaving the tunnels, we came across a man with long hair and a long beard. Eric recognized him, called him "Caledon." He had the Archangel seal on his hand, though he tried to cover it up when I looked. Evidently, he was Zagreus, the former ARC agent/current Timberwolf I talked about a few posts ago.

He asked us to kill him.

We refused, of course. Even though Eric had seemed... pretty mad, he pretty quickly decided not to do what Caledon had asked; instead, he brought him along with us. I think Eric's planning on turning him in to ARC. We're headed back to their local headquarters anyways (again; hopefully we don't get attacked by Puppets this time around) as it stands.

Not sure what ARC will do with him.

- Poe

Mere Puppets II

Clara snuck in my phone.

I guess I should give context for that. Eric and I got kidnapped by Puppets as we made our way to the local ARC HQ. One of the Puppets is named Henrietta Bendis, and she has a daughter named Clara who's being trained to become the Princess of Puppets, meaning the Wooden Girl will take control of her body if her current one gets destroyed.

Currently, Eric and I are being held in an otherwise-abandoned tunnel. Evidently, this city has a lot of those lying about. Just our luck. The Puppets are usually very picky about leaving Clara unwatched, but I guess they were busy dealing with some sort of intruder, and they decided Clara was too vulnerable to be exposed to anything like that.

I'm going to give my phone back to Clara after I write this. I don't want the Puppets to suspect her of anything; her situation is clearly not working in her favor, and it wouldn't surprise me if they mistreated her upon finding out that she let me use this. I actually tried to convince her not to give it to me, but she insisted, so I figure I may as well leave a post and update you

Footsteps

The Tell-Tale Heart

Eric says he's okay if I post this here. So... I guess I will.

We swapped stories last night. He already knew about Addie, so I didn't tell him about that. I don't... really want to talk about what I told him in such a public place, though. It's hard to explain. Just suffice it to say that I've told you all about some pretty terrible things... and this was worse.

Eric, meanwhile, told me about his own past. It happened pretty recently, actually. It turns out his circumstances aren't all that different from mine.

Eric was camping in the Appalachian Mountains with a guy named David. A friend of his, evidently. It was cold, and they were alone. David heard something. Eric didn't. It got pretty tense; Eric eventually agreed to go check with David, but at some point they got separated without realizing it. Eric heard something, something horrible. In a panic, he searched for David. He found him, all right. Just... not living.

The official answer was highly unclear. They thought it was some sort of wild animal that did it, but they couldn't get any further than that. It wasn't human, at any rate.

ARC contacted Eric soon after. They didn't say what did it, because they didn't know. They just told him they didn't think it was natural. They did say they'd had an eye on him for a while, though; he was a law enforcement ranger, and they believed that, despite the tragedy inherent in the situation, it was the perfect opening for a job offer. And now Eric works for ARC.

I think David was the Carcass.

It all clicks. I think, in some way, the Carcass was vengeful.

It sounds crazy, I know. But then, is the idea that it could feel residual anger really more unbelievable than that it could exist in the first place?

I don't know.

This all feels weird.

- Poe

The Night's Plutonian Shore

“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”

I feel like Eric should be banned from ARC.

Or maybe it's standard practice for servant-fighting groups to drag Runners along with them to incredibly shady stores run by Jack of All cultists.

I guess I should clarify that. There's a guy called Jack of All who is essentially the Devil. He wears a glove on his right hand, and he likes to make deals with people that always go horribly wrong. It's unclear whether or not he's a Fear, and as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't really matter.

Jack of All has a cult called the Mountebank Club. After dark, they become the aptly-named Night Shop. Members of the Night Shop want weird things from you in exchange for equipment, food, and the like, such as your true name (if you have a pseudonym) or your darkest secret. They also have personae, which are alter egos that Mountebanks alternate between.

As far as I can tell, the Mountebanks are a bunch of glorified theater kids.

Anyways, Eric and I visited the Night Shop a few hours ago. The person who dealt with us... I think he was called Alan? Alan Roach. Alan asked Eric about his life experiences. Eric went pale.

Alan tilted his head. I guess a mask isn't the best for emoting.
"In that case, how about you don't tell me for free? How about..." Alan trailed off, chuckling. "How about you tell me that juicy information, and I give you what you came here for? Say," he said, sounding surprised, "what did you come here for?"
"I want to know why there are so many Puppets and Timberwolves around, and what the deal is with that... thing I saw the other day. The rotting thing."
"Tut, tut," Alan said, shaking his head. "The Carcass? The Puppets and Timberwolves? Too easy. You're boring. Oh, well, I guess it isn't as if I'm asking for much in return, is it? Just your story. So tell me, what is your story?"
Eric grimaced.
"Fine, fine," Alan said. "Hardass. Just tell me in private. You can even keep your weapon with you, if you're scared. You are smart enough to carry a weapon, right?"
"Why do I get the feeling you absolutely should not trust this guy even a little bit?" I asked Eric pointedly.
"Because I shouldn't."
I looked up at the ceiling. "Okay. So you're making a weird deal with someone you don't know and shouldn't trust because you're mildly curious."
"Yes."
"Didn't you bring me on board to protect me?"
I think Alan glared at me, though the mask made it hard to tell. "Shut up, would you? I'm trying to cut a deal here."

After that whole... debacle, Eric and Alan went into a backroom and emerged a few minutes later. Eric and I said goodbye to the nice people at the Night Shop, and we continued on our way.

I'll start with what Eric told me about the new shard. Essentially, this Dying Man shard is called the Carcass. It has the unique ability to possess dead bodies as well as living ones, hence the name, as well as its tendency to be followed around by rats and insects.

Eric's decision to try and shoot at the Carcass while it was chasing us, evidently, was due to him being totally unfamiliar with it; he wasn't, and still isn't, totally sure whether it's mortal or not. I, for one, am working under the assumption that its body can theoretically be damaged, since it was originally human, but that it's a bad idea to stay near it long enough to try to do so.

So the Carcass is a lovely beastie, though I wouldn't consider my personal experience with them to be evidence of its intelligence. I mean, the old "hide in an alleyway while your pursuer continues in a straight line" trick worked on it when it came after me and Eric, for Christ's sake.

As to the Timberwolves and Puppets, evidently the local ones are in a turf war. The place Eric and I are hanging out lately is a big city, so it's no surprise they'd want to control it. The Timberwolves have always been pretty big here, I've heard, and Eric said the Puppets were the aggressors, so that all checks out.

I've also heard that the Puppets have plans of taking over a particular construction site. Evidently, the Timberwolves claimed it for their own a while back. Eric actually said one of his old coworkers met the Archangel in person in that construction site and... well, apparently he got sent to Bliss, and he hated his job as an ARC agent, so now he's a Timberwolf. From the sounds of it, he's not much happier with his current job.

Anyways, to be frank, I'd rather not get caught in the crossfire of this particular fight. Which, of course, means I will be.

- Poe

The Horror of Blood II

This day we found ourselves completely hemmed in by the ice, and our prospects looked cheerless indeed.
Eric finally made good on his promise.

Other than the food and shelter thing, I mean. He's been quite helpful there. No, what I mean is that he helped me, directly, with a Fear. A Dying Man shard, to be exact. I actually encountered one of them, lucky me.

It was a huge thing, huge and skeletal. There was some meat on its bones, but not much. The rest of it was rotted away. The flesh and bones on its face had slash marks; Eric said it was because the human the shard's body used to be tried to tear out the thing inside them before it took over. Poor bastard.

It showed itself in a remote area. Frankly, I'm surprised such a thing exists in as big a city as this, but apparently miracles do happen, and they result in encounters with flesh-eating revenants.

Anyways.

Eric saved me, like I said. It showed itself when we were all alone. Eric shot at it a few times. I asked why. He said he combatted the anomalous, and if he wasn't sure what properties any particular anomaly had, figuring out firsthand whether it was bulletproof was as good a thing to try out as any. Then he ran, and I followed suit.

It followed us. I guess I can't say I'm surprised. We ducked into a back alley. Apparently I was breathing heavily, because Eric put his hand over my mouth to silence it. It took some time, but a while after the shard finally passed, Eric's judgment saved me. I nearly left the alley too early, but Eric pointed out my mistake, in the whispered tones you might expect.

I still don't like him.

- Poe

King Pest

"Treason!" shouted his Majesty King Pest the First.
Eric is getting on my nerves. On the other hand, I'm sure I'm getting on his too. Ugh.

At least I have a reason to be as annoying as I probably am. Not having much human contact isn't good for one's social skills. I desperately want to be able to have some sort of real, stable friendship, but as it stands, that's not happening.

Maybe Eric could change that.

And maybe the Archangel just wants a hug.

- Poe

Mere Puppets

Mimes, in the form of God on high,
Mutter and mumble low
 And hither and thither fly—
Mere puppets they, who come and go
At bidding of vast formless things
That shift the scenery to and fro,
Flapping from out their Condor wings
Invisible Wo!
I'd been looking for shelter all day, but the only thing I found was a bench with a statue sitting on it (thanks). I was busy putting up a Runner sign for "no shelter" when I heard footsteps. I drew my knife, quietly as I could, and turned around.

I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I didn't want to get hurt either.

I was expecting it to be some kind of common mugger. Wasn't, of course. I can never get the regular dangerous criminals. But I'll get to that.

The newcomer went for me right away, no hesitation. I shoved him away and brandished my knife. No reaction at all. He just lunged at me again. I briefly set aside my personal distaste for violence, but he still didn't react in the slightest, other than being pushed back and having his would-be attack more or less nullified.

Then I noticed the strings.

They were very thin, almost invisible, but they were there. He was a Puppet, a servant of the Wooden Girl. The fear of control.

I should've known.

I took that as my cue. I aimed above the Puppet's head, hoping to cut the strings on him. He just grabbed at my arm. I grimaced. His grip was tight as a vice. Then he knocked my knife away. I was fully prepared to die, at that point.

In an interesting twist of events, I heard a voice behind me say, "Hands off, jerk." The Puppet turned around, possibly a fortunate remnant of his former humanity.

The next few moments passed even more quickly than the ones preceding them. I saw hands tear away the Puppet's, and then I saw the newcomer push the Puppet away before shooting him several times. I dove for my knife.

"Wait a sec," said my rescuer, who was still eyeing the Puppet. I stood up and dusted myself off.

"Who are you, then?" I asked.
"Eric. Eric Zane."
"Eric Zane."
"Yes."
"Like the Lovecraft story?"
"Like the—? Runners. Nerds, all of you," Eric muttered, running his hand through his hair in irritation. "Anyways, I'd come with me if I were you. And quick," he said, nodding at the Puppet, who was still lying on the ground.
"And you want me to trust you because...?"
"I'm with ARC."
I groaned. "Why?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" He sighed. "Whatever. Point is, I work for Anomaly Research and Combat—"
"I know what ARC stands for—"
"And we need your help."
"What?" I asked, utterly dumbfounded.
"You heard me. You've got a certain... moral core, H—," Eric said, using my real first name. "And you've got firsthand knowledge of Runner culture. The signs, the mythology, all that."
"You know my name?"
"Who doesn't?" Eric replied. "Everyone's heard of you."
"Flattery doesn't work on me, but I appreciate the effort."
"You'd assume someone with your... condition would take whatever he can get."
"It's called anxiety."
"Yeah, yeah," Eric said. "Speaking of which, we can help you."
"What, like therapy?"
"Like food and shelter. You've already seen how tough it is to survive without those things, haven't you?"
"...Yeah."
"Alright. Then come with me. And quick." He shot at the Puppet. "That thing has been trying to stand up again for the past... half a minute?... and you didn't even notice. You're welcome." He then walked over to the Puppet and cut his strings. Now he was just an ordinary corpse.

I guess that proved his point quickly enough.

I'm working with ARC now. Not as a member, as an ally. Not because I want to, because I have to.

If I'm being honest, I feel like I've betrayed my fellow Runners. I mean, ARC is willing to let us die if they think it'll send a message, if the other day was any indication.

At least this particular bad mood is a change of pace.

- Poe

Habiliments of the Grave

Deep in earth my love is lying
And I must weep alone.
I saw it wearing her face. The Archangel was wearing her face. Addie's face.

God, it just looked so real. I almost thought it was her for a second. That she had survived somehow. That I had left her for dead all those years ago.

But no. It was the fear of the afterlife. It wasn't her. It wasn't Addie. Addie would never do anything to try to hurt me.

This thing did.

- Poe