Strange event. Streakin'. I had to try it - now that I am in a semi-safe place. Wanted to prove that no one can see me. T'is true. I streaked down the street naked as a jay-bird. No one even looked. The end of my jaunt concluded with a quick and refreshin' dip in the central fountain. The water was as excellent to swim in as I expected. I had to go quietly though. One guard even got a little too curious as to the wet footprints that were appearin'...heh heh, he thinks he saw a ghost and just fled. Then again...

45) We have recently returned to Sigel via Tradegate's bazaar. The air is its usual chokin' coal filled lung destroyin' self. To think I consider it the usual is nearly as insane as the shoppin' trip I went on just before leavin' Tradegate. I was able to pick up a few pairs of pants, some shirts and a couple of scarfs though the colors hurt my sore eyes and the prices were outrageous. I'll be attemptin' some new disguises based upon a several gypsies I've recently observed. Mental Note: Not too much cover up - it shines like the plague in bright light.

I was able to talk Cha-kan into showin' me Crystal Dew Lane. It has to do with the Parcel Silvertong thing. I've gotten that "Heartless" is slang for Fated. Turns out a lot of 'em work in the Hall of Records. Maybe that's where I'll find Silvertong.

I've seen two buildings of note in the Clerk's Ward. The first is the Civic Feast Hall. Its the location of the largest party I've ever seen. Jugglers, Sword Swallowers, Musicians, Mimes - all fightin' for space to perform and make money. The Captain says its the homefront for the Sensates. There is even a huge geyser of water over 100 feet tall. Mental Note: Find out quality and where water is comin' from...

The other main buildin' is a walled compound with spiked towers. Its not only huge but stuffed with information. Its the Hall of Records and chances are, I can float some Fated a few cages and find out more about Silvertong and why the name means anythin' to me. I'll be headed there later though I can't say for sure what I'll find or even if I want to know.

All the buildings in between are art supply stores, taverns or setups for scholarly pursuits. There are even some small little shops that serve an awful tastin' hot brown liquid. Its taste remind me of boiled mud. It tailors mainly to a crowd of young creatures that appear mostly human and elvish yet dress in bizarre clothin' - mostly students and the scholarly teachers. They use it like a drug to avoid sleep. Depraved. Like teachin' or learnin' is a high stress job.

46) A muggin' at last. I've found out Cha-kan is really like the Captain more than I thought. Shortly after the Hall of Records, he expressed an interest in goin' to the White Casket, a tavern in the Lower Ward that tailors toward Dustmen, and muggin' some undead. Now then, I didn't care a muskrat's anus for the idea of nailin' some undead yet I had promised the Captain to join him in his little venture and muggin' is right on my agenda. Especially since we needed the money. I just didn't like the idea of playin' with brain-eaters.

The actual muggin' went without a hitch. Mostly. The Captain knew right off where the White Casket was, he set up Lilah, Rogan, Valas and myself in the shadows. We hung tight until this gloomy fellow came out. He was very gaunt and dressed in old motheaten robes. They were really eaten by bugs - not the usual banter I ride Lilah about with her tail. This Dustman had with him five creatures. The first two I mistook for gaunt humans though they were tattooed with numbers on their head (643 and 218) and shuffled along at a slow pace. The other three, however, were deader than I had ever seen. Bones only. No skin or muscles. I'm not mistaken either.

Well, Cha-kan went right up to the gloomy guy and challenged him about something. I couldn't quite make it out and he had his back to me so lip readin' was out. Shortly after that, Mr. Gloom walks away and the five creatures start closin' on Cha-kan. I snipe off a shot and impale one in the head though it doesn't drop. Gave me the shivers. It turned toward me and started ramblin' my way hence I fired a few more shots but it kept closin'. I was gettin' worried and thinkin' of high-tailin' but it finally remembered it was suppose to be dead and dropped. Of course, it took Valas walkin' up behind it and doing his magic thin'. I couldn't quite see what he did but I saw him pull out this strange symbol. Hurt just to look at it. He said a bunch of things in that bizarre language of his and suddenly the slow shufflin' brain-eater dropped like a downed pigeon. Lookin' around I saw it was the last one and my companions had finished off the others. Good thing too. Disturbin' Note: Cha-kan bleeds normally, however, he sews up his own wounds...very disgustin'.

After the battle's over, we clean up, strip the Zombies (as Lilah called 'em) and prepared tomorrow's meetin'. We're goin' to gather at the Black Sails around mornin' time to see Tarsticks in the prison. I'm goin' to work a bit of my disguisin' charm on Lilah so no one will recognize her. Especially with the big Indepth hunt goin' on - no good to stray around the prison area with one.

47) Interestin' events. Tarsticks is dead yet he isn't. There isn't a record of him at all. First thin' off, I decorated Lilah up real good. One of the best cover jobs I've ever done. I toned her hair to Auburn, added color to her skin and set it with a deep crimson lipstick. I then tailored her up in my blue robe. Someone said she looked like a priestess so I jury rigged a holy symbol - tossed a chain and a few dozen fishhooks as the religious oriented symbol. Cha-kan got excited. He said she looked like a priestess of Lovitar and ran out for some razor vine to make a whip for her. I coulda sworn he said don't touch the razor vine.

I remained in my Akkad outfit as it hadn't been blown by more than that drow in the shop. We then scragged (which means went to prison). Glad I hadn't gone with the Red Guard that kept offerin' to drag me there. Its a huge 10 block fortress. It has towers, peaks, lights and rows upon rows of guard patrols. They are all Mercy Killers too. Its another faction, similar to the Red Guard but they don't enforce the law, only execute the sentences. Cha-kan went right up and asked for the Mercy Killer Kayle as well as to visit Tarsticks. Someone ran off but the a small group of ten or so hung loose and ogled Lilah. Glad to know my work is appreciated. Thankfully, they left us alone. Now I know how a cornered rat feels like. Took everythin' I had not to run screamin' out of this dismal hostile place.

Shortly afterwards, this shorthaired metallic-blue skinned female drow walks out. I got a little nervous until I realized it wasn't the same one. She introduces herself as Factal Nal-a-sia and says we get fifteen minutes to chat with Tarsticks. She then marches us off to a waitin' room. Shortly after that though, she comes back and claims he was executed the night before - said the Governor signed the warrant himself. Figures. Our luck. I'm thinkin' "Great, one guy we need to talk to is dead" yet I'm more wonderin' why he was executed. What did he do that was that bad? Especially for the Governor to sign it. Picked a rotten time too. Stupid carpstuffed prison is only open on the first of a month for visitations and they have to execute him the night before. Mental Note: Find out about time and date information of Sigel...ie what month, day, etc this is.

From there we left and went to the Mortuary. Cha-kan says he has a way of talkin' to dead bodies. I didn't want to know just how he can do that but I shrugged my shoulders and agreed to go with the flow. We soon find the Mortuary. Its surrounded by cheap taverns, boardin' houses and looks very dismal. Its of course, in the Hive. Who would notice the smell of the dead here afterall? Maybe this is half the reason the Hive has its particularly strong stench in the first place. Who knows...

We were interrupted in route once. It was by that strange singing man. The one that recites the abyss stuff. He worries me but then again, he worries everyone. He sung for a bit, danced and repeated more abysmal lord names. Suddenly he sees me, screams again and runs. I caught most of what he was hollerin'; "Your flies will not take me like they did the blue scarecrow in the goundin' fencer!". Everyone in our group looked upset. They can't be as upset as I am about the whole thing. Cha-kan said it sounds like the demon/devil Catix in the slages. Great. I'm bein' compared with a WHAT?!?!? Mental Note: Shoot next mage that bothers me... BEFORE he completes his spell.

The actual buildin' is domed and reminds me of a giant lurkin' beetle in the center of a big nest. Its described as havin' portals everywhere. I'm thinkin' that's great I can go home until Lilah me asks me if I really want to go somewhere where only dead bodies end up appearin'. She has a point. She then details religion. She says that there is evil, that's when your dead, your God eats you. She then points toward Good where when you are dead, your God sends you to fight evil where you die forever. Mental Note: Do not get involved with religion...period.

Upon entry, Cha-kan asks for the Dustman Taranna. They escort us to some huge chamber inside. Its got a black marble floor and geometric designs on the wall. The pictures though, are dark and disturbin'. Valas is quick to point out that they are necromantic pictures. Soon several dustmen come in, includin' one named Taranna. She is a tall athletic lookin' woman in chainmail. She's got long shoulder length blond hair that has several grey portions to it, blue eyes and is wearin' a grey robe over the chainmail. She relates that Tarsticks never showed. She mentions two possibilities; first bein' the Mercy Killers lied which is next to impossible - they don't lie (or so everyone keeps tellin' me). The second is the body was stolen on the way here. There is a third possibility actually, and that is the Dustmen are lyin' but I keep my mouth shut. No good harassin' the locals. Taranna suggests we head for the city courts and check on the governor's execution statement to find out if he is really dead. Tarsticks. Not the governor.

We high-tail back to the City Court. Just our luck, its on the opposite side of Sigel - back in the Lady's Ward. I'm feelin' a bit like a sheep underwater though we continue on. Soon we get to this two story buildin' that has a five story clock tower on it. Its very orderly and there are massive amounts of Red Guards here. I'm feelin' more nervous than that same sheep in a half-starved shark pool but none of the shark-eyed law abidin' Harmonia bother us. Soon Cha-kan snags some Fated man. He's real annoyin', richy and talks so complex its hard to follow. Rogan though, struts up and begins harassin' him back in the same lingo. Soon, to the price of six cage, the Fated is off with his black knit hat to find out the information we want. Forty-five minutes later, we learn that there is no record of Tarsticks bein' executed. So where is he? Is he dead or not? Why won't anyone tell us?

Cha-kan says we are goin' to stop in some Theater place for a meal and a rest. He says we're gonna talk to someone that might know what we are lookin' for. Suits me much better than the prison or the mortuary. Two places I have never wanted to be in yet I've been in both in the same day. Mental Note: Do not risk fate by goin' to either...again.

48) The Seawind Theater. I like it. Somewhat that is. Its my kind of place. Sorta. Its got a three-headed monkey, a Chia made of Black Tiger and a huge Eye with wings. All three of 'em have strange names I can't pronounce nor shall repeat yet the last is from the Abyss. I recognize that one as the place Lilah's mom said not to go. She was merely disappointed we had taken her daughter to hell. Definitely not somewhere I shall visit. On the bright side, the three creatures were all in cages - where these sort of things belong - not roamin' the streets barterin' for goods.

Cha-kan heads right up to this 4'6" black haired man. He's wearin' black robes though we can't see his face too well. He's also readin' poetry. The Captain addresses him as Lynne Semester and then compliments him on his work. He then asks for his signature and some penwork. Cha-kan fires away with the exact request; an order from the governor recallin' Tarsticks from the prison. I'm a trifle aghast - coulda given him a hand with it had he asked yet again, I've not seen any documents from around here. It be hard to imitate the governor's signature. Anyway, Lynne fires back with a bid for 35 cages which Cha-kan accepts. No barterin'. Apparently, they don't barter for this kind of thing. Not at all. Works for me though it is goin' to take me some time to get setup. Lynne says for us to pick it up near Anti-Peak at his Studio near the Black Wind Tavern. Mental Note: Get a good look at the document before we use it.

Cha-kan then says we need to get Red Guard disguises and that we should take a few down. He even granted me permission to be the bait and do the muggin' to get their attention. Finally, somethin' I can work with.

49) Well, that went poorly. Rotten goat innards. We had such a good setup too. Lilah had talked two Indepths into joinin' us and Cha-kan had gotten his partner Hugh to help. The eight of us were setup in an alley that had a safe out for emergencies. Lilah was on the roof, Cha-kan and Hugh were in the back of the ally and Rogan was disguised as a beggar-wino on the ground behind some boxes.

I was a bit too excited and am more used to just runnin' up and takin'. After about ten minutes of people avoidin' me, I was able to chill a bit and look more relaxed against a wall. Soon, this young kid comes runnin' down the street. He's dressed in black and in a big hurry. Not payin' attention. Talk about a target. The luck was in our favor, sorta, as comin' the other way was a pack of three Red Guards. They were saunterin' some distance away but enough to be able to see and hear the events.

As the kid got closer, I quickly reached out with my oar and smacked him on the noggin'. I knew I was a bit too excited as his head just exploded in white mushy brains. I didn't mean to kill him either - it just kinda happened. Mental Note: Remember objectives. Relax. Don't hit so hard durin' muggin's.

Well, the Red Guards saw the whole thing. I started to haul the body into the ally. The rest of the group was gettin' ready for the hit when the Harmonia's voice trailed out to me "Sir, would you step out here, we'd like to talk to you." I felt all funny at the voice, my body tingled a bit, but the request sounded so reasonable. I just don't understand it. I felt compelled to walk out there to explain myself. Well, as I start to start out there, Cha-kan grabs me from behind and smacks me on the head. It hurt too! I was thinkin' of turnin' around and smackin' him good but this big fight then breaks out. The three guards had come down the ally toward us, Hugh nailed one with a crossbow bolt, Rogan snagged one with a dagger from behind and Lilah sank knives into 'em from above. By the time I became sensible enough to remember the objective, the Red Guards had dropped and I hadn't even fired a bolt. Wasp gnads, did I feel silly.

Looked like the Captain was goin' to berate us too when things went bad. A strange lookin' man in robes appeared at the end of the ally with two chainmailed sword-wieldin' mercs. I get all nervous, and snipe off a bolt into his chest. It sinks real deep but he shrugs it off and starts chantin' and wavin' his arms. At least he was bleedin' though. As quick as I can, I snap the crossbow down and up, cock in a new bolt but its too late. This wave of white glowin' sparkles pours over Rogan, Lilah, the two recruited Indepths, Cha-kan and Hugh, however, it stopped right before me. The first four start movin' in slow motion though the Captain and his partner shrug it off and high tail it toward the mage. I'm debatin' on how to get a clean shot when suddenly I get this sense of trouble behind me and quickly jump back spinnin'. Good thin'. Two more mercs slipped in the backway and woulda nailed me sideways and crushed my skull. I'm feelin' attached to my skull so fire off a bolt pointblank into the chest of one of the mercs. He flops back and goes still while the other one tackles one of the recruited Indepths. Another pair of Mercs appear in two of the side allies but the tide had turned. We were winnin'.

As I gander back toward the mage, I see him hightail it off down another ally. Drat! He'll report us or get more help. Plus, based on him being a mage and my attitude, he really should drop. I have yet to riffle through a mage's things. I start racin' after him along with Cha-kan. We hear whistles blowin' in the distance so quickly split the party. Everyone but Cha-kan and myself took off with the bodies. The two of us went off to find the mage. I tracked his blood for a bit, but its not my specialty. I just couldn't find him. I thought Cha-kan was suppose to be good at these kinda things? Oh well, we all are suppose to meet at Stump Street as soon as possible.

Soon we'll be meetin' up with the others. I took a peak back and the kid I snuffed was gone. I hope that pack of rabid thieves I'm hangin' with doesn't take all of his stuff. I'd like to have somethin' to remind myself to take it easy on the muggin's as well as a souvenir. Not to mention that I am broke yet again.