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