Black Watch: Let it Burn

Summary

Adventure Black Watch: Let it Burn
GM Stephen
Season Summer 824 WK
Night Monday
Location New Windsor
Area Seagate and Carzala
Level Low

Party

Celeste (Party Leader pro tem) - Half-Elf (f) Barbarian - Dean
Zardoz (Scribe until rescued) - Halflynge (m) Celestial (Sh) - Martin
Kharmul - Human (m) Celestial (Dk) - Chris C
Moly - Orc (m) Fire Mage - Ciaran
Hrothgar Bronzebeard (Military Scientist until relieved) - Dwarven (m) Artificer - Alex

Employers: Seagate Guard and the Seagate Guild

Mission: Protect Seagate, Carzala, its people and interests from all dangers - domestic, foreign and other.; A threat has been foreseen that requires the temporary reformation of the legendary Black Watch.; While all previous members were nowhere to be seen and comparable heroic guild members of note were all 'busy', the Seagate Guild once again demonstrates its depth of talent, volunteering an elite squad of top tier heroes (those not fast or wise enough to be 'busy') to once again protect Carzala.; The heroic volunteers are recruited for a 12-week term of service in the Seagate Guard at the top-end of the pay scale.

Payment: 4,800sp ea (12 weeks at 400sp p/w) + room and board in the barracks.

Scribe Notes

Duesday 1 Meadow

The Summer season Guild meeting started out pleasantly enough. Having returned from the wilds of Westmarch I was more than happy to get good Carzalan cobbles once more underfoot and to see what opportunities might arise for lucrative employment. There was the usual renewing of acquaintances, and good-natured joshing over who had picked up what (treasures, curses, diseases, spider children) and so on.

As the afternoon wore on, and no particularly interesting capers presenting, I was just resigning myself to an enforced period of rest and relaxation, (and perhaps a little training) when one of the well-nigh interchangeable guild representatives (this one a little more nervous and sweatier than usual) cornered me and requested that I head at once to meeting room 3 as the Guild had need of my "particular skills" in the "urgent defence of Seagate". Who could turn down such a flattering petition? Less than a day later, I'm rather wishing the answer was "me".

On the way to the room, I assumed the form of an elf, partially as it is a new ability and interesting, and partially out of capriciousness. The room was empty when I arrived, so I took a chair and stretched out my now elongated legs. Not long after a rather wide-eyed young dwarf wandered into the room, and then in bounded Celeste, with whom I was already acquainted, and her cat Nunda. I surprised Celeste with my altered form, and she in turn disconcerted me by suggesting that, given my elven physique, we might engage in amorous activities. An immediate image of bruises, breakages, and dislocations arose, and I demurred. Hrothgar Bronzebeard, for that was the dwarf's name, introduced himself as a recent arrival to the guild and an aspiring binder mechanician.

The remaining chairs remained stubbornly empty, in hindsight, another warning sign. Our anonymous representative waited a while before leaving in search of our errant comrades, and on his return informed us that two other members had been secured for the group but that their arrival had been delayed. Once assembled our full group will comprise Celeste, daughter of fire; Hrothgar the aforementioned dwarf; Moly, orc fire mage and pyromaniac; Kharmul, a dark celestial; and I, your humble scribe.

The Guild arranged greater and lesser enchantments and lucky numbers, which together took most of the afternoon to apply. They were particularly generous in offering full spread greater enchantments though they did note that the myrrh was past its use by date, and while the greater enchantments appeared as efficacious as expected, over the course of the afternoon and evening deleterious results of the sub-standard myrrh became apparent.

Summarizing the mission, our liaison explained that the duke's astrologers, amongst their usual prognostications to determine the fortunes of Carzala, received a reading filled with imagery of fire and blackness, which they interpreted as Seagate burning and of requiring the skills of the Black Watch to prevent this. I cannot help but feel that the astrologers may be misinterpreting their reading. The composition of their new Black Watch patrol has me wondering whether we may be the source and cause of any such devastating conflagration. It would certainly not be the first time that a prophecy has been self-fulfilling.

We are commanded to report to the Seagate guard HQ at 6 am on the Morrow and present ourselves to Senior Sergeant Albrecht as his new Black Watch patrol. There was discussion of historical issues arising from previous such patrols, and we were requested to wherever possible deescalate tensions with noble officers and extinguish enmities. It was made abundantly clear to us that we would be subject to the laws of Seagate and that should we execute any violence against criminals we would need to provide irrefutable proof that they had been involved in wrongdoing.

On this basis I have quietly requested that Hrothgar craft several poor-quality daggers such that may be found on the body of a thug; I will retain these in case they are required. I'm also considering whether a small supply of debased or street-cut Krrf might not be a good idea.

The relative importance of the urban areas that make up Greater Seagate was explained, with Old Seagate leading the list and Southport rearmost. There was also some delicate dialogue concerning current politics in Seagate, Mayor Roderigo the sausage maker, and recent policies on halfling equality. The infamous "F & F" tavern was mentioned at which Celeste's eyes veritably blazed, and she insisted that we must visit it that evening.

Taking our leave of the Guild we headed to Old Seagate in search of the current location of the "F & F". Celeste managed to locate Dedication Road and the homely temple of Chantress (through some mystic connection with her fathers), while I secured the current location from a likely looking character. Somewhat unusually the current tavern location was in New Seagate, so we proceeded back that way, encountering Moly as we entered Duke Street and approached a warehouse with lurking bouncers. Inside crates and barrels had been pushed aside or used to form a bar and there were organised fights already beginning.

Celeste and Molly entertained themselves by beating on local bravos, Hrothgar became the obvious target of swarming pickpockets, and I had fun relieving the pickpockets of their ill-gotten gains. Hrothgar was rather unimpressed by the Tavern, and I must say after visiting a genuine dwarf tavern in Westmarch, so was I. Despite its fame I feel that it would require substantial self-reflection, a prodigious course of self-improvement and considerable raising of personal hygiene standards for the "F & F" to aspire to reach the coveted status of "dive bar". We left before the obligatory bar brawl and general melee got into full swing as we had an early morning planned.

W'ansday 2 Meadow - Training Day

Leaving the Guild in the bleary-eyed dawn we made our way across the bridge to New Seagate. There was some confusion with the bridge guards as we had been warned not to present as Guild members but when we did not, they began making suspicious and invasive inquiries into who we were, what we wanted in New Seagate at this time of the morning, and why we were equipped for battle, exposing further flaws in this cunning "Black Watch" scheme.

Arriving at HQ we were shown in and given an orientation speech by Senior Sergeant Albrecht, a rather aged and leathery human of that particular military subvariety that if sliced across would probably show chevrons throughout like novelty candy. Sergeant Albrecht was quite dismissive of the astrology reading and irritated that his summer budget for additional guards was being wasted on a Black Watch patrol. As such he expects us to operate as a standard guard patrol within Phoenix Company while discovering who it is that plans to burn down Seagate during our plenteous free time.

While on patrol we are expected to dress and act like regular guard members and while we remonstrated that this restriction could easily prevent us from achieving our Black Watch mission imperatives, he remained obdurate. I have been made patrol corporal (under the name Zebulon Grimes) as evidently having halflings in the guard meets targets set by Mayor Roderigo, and we have been issued with leather armour, saps, heavy truncheons, manacles, and whistles that it seems have the magical property of summoning other guards, provided they are not too far away, or busy with other duties. I was also issued a key for the watch boxes, semi-lockable outhouse shaped buildings scattered around Seagate from which we can resupply.

It appears that if we are to successfully prosecute our conflicting directives, we may need to work around our guard duties. We have discussed subcontracting the guard patrol aspect of our work, perhaps to out-of-work actors, and also manufacturing senior guard insignia that entitles the wearer to bear more military arms, but perhaps other ideas will present themselves after our first patrol accompanied by the sergeant.

I am colluding with Hrothgar to modify the appearance of my armour so that it will pass casual inspection as guard leather while not losing its exceptional abilities - a small act of defiance that I was suitably grateful for later in the day, and something I wish we had been less quick to compromise on.

After further fitting out of guard gear, and a brief précis of the expected duties of a town guard, which I now understand should avoid creating too much paperwork for our seniors, only some of whom are lettered, the Senior Sargeant led our happy band out on a training patrol.

The morning was largely occupied learning the basics of proceeding, appraisal of alleyways, the accepting of gratuities but not bribes, polite extemporizing, and the taking of particulars. We also gained experience in judging the willingness of locals to provide space for the guard to pass. This seemed the norm save for a recalcitrant few pedigreed popinjays and pompous prigs, either narcissistic nobles, inheritors of receding chins, arrogant adventurers, possessed of unfounded airs and graces, or boorish bourgeoisie, revelling in their nouveau riches.

After a pleasant albeit plain lunch funded by the Senior Sargeant, and marred, at least in my case, by some abdominal rumblings and an inability to partake of the buttered potatoes, we were approached by a halfling matron in some state of distress. Fleda Underlake, late 50s (wouldn't provide accurate age for the particulars), of Mimbleberry Close, off Oak Wood Street, Fairtown, wished to report missing her daughter Albo Fleda Underlake, 27, of same address. Per Mistress Underlake, her daughter and friends had been out the previous Duesday evening at a reputable halfling-run tavern on the north side of New Seagate, but Albo had failed to return home and her whereabouts were not known. We made assurances that we would investigate immediately and set out north, proceeding through Michael's Gate into Fairtown.

The next few hours were spent locating and interviewing Albo's companions, who after some initial evasion and prevarication admitted they had been at an altogether other tavern, one primarily serving humans rather than halflings. Celeste presented a master-class in looming, and the additional presence of a human, dwarf, and orc helped loosen tongues. The young woman had been seen flirting briefly with a human youth, and also with a halfling tailor, and that they were unsure of when or with whom Albo left, or whether she had still been at the tavern when they themselves stumbled home drunk on cider.

The remarkably tame and pleasant Dancing Apples tavern was our next stop where a young staff member (Maisie, 20s, human female) recalled "Proudfoot's group" of the night before but could provide no additional details regarding Albo. Proceeding on to the street of tailors we closely questioned Doderic Barrowes, 41, journeyman tailor at Silk and Buttons. He admitted to having purchased the young woman several pots of cider, but claimed when they each visited the privies around 10 bells she disappeared. He continued to repeat his claim that: "I didn't do nothing wrong", and we warned him to expect us back had he withheld information. Our Sargent departed at this point for HQ after commending us on our diligence in investigating beyond shift end, and we returned to the tavern.

Senior Sargeant Albrecht appeared quite impressed at our taking of detailed particulars and mused about establishing this as a standard for reports. Given the lack of skill in letters that we understand is common within the guard, standardizing on written reports of a specific format should prove immensely entertaining and I fully intend to actively encourage this approach to "modern guarding".

The minimalist ablutions behind the establishment adjoined an alleyway and we surmised it possible that Albo had departed that way, though whether of her own volition or not we couldn't say. While we were conferring, we were approached by a neighbour, Grapdrop Cointoe, 137, male dwarf, who complained to Hrothgar about the noise for the tavern and assumed that we were there to close it down. Further grumping and grumbling revealed that at about the time Albo disappeared he shouted at two humans dragging a protesting "child" away down the alley. We thanked him for his information, extemporized regarding the tavern closure and agreed we were now most likely looking for a victim of abduction.

After discussion Celeste lopped back to Aldo's home and returned shortly after with a pair of house slippers. Activating Nunda, she had the cat scent the slippers and then try to follow Albo down the alley. Nunda's presence caused something of a stir in the main streets, but frankly, by this point we were quite prepared to dispense with the illusion of being guards in the interests of finding Albo.

The trail continued into Unity Street and then into minor roads off that thoroughfare, with Nunda losing the scent in an oddly smoky-smelling area of back alleys. As the direction of travel appeared to head toward the docks we moved further south and attempted to reacquire her scent but could not. Our appearance at the docks created some consternation amongst the less law-abiding folk that had begun to ply their trade in the increasing gloom. I made enquiries of a helpful citizen, who was moving goods most likely not his own, and he seemed quite truthful when he claimed to know nothing about halfling trafficking and expressed that in the current political climate only nutters would engage in such an egregious act.

The smoky area intrigued us as we couldn't envisage the cause of so strong a smell at street level. Returning to the area we investigated more closely and eventually teased from Nunda that the smell was something she had experienced before when Celeste was learning Fire magics, specifically Smoke Creation. We were still unsure why this may have been cast in the alley, but after all other examination provided no new findings, Celeste conjectured that the smoke might reveal something of note. Creating smoke caused a fiery symbol to become visible to infravision on one of the firmly secured doors opening off the alley. The sigil's aura identified it as linked to the Duke of Fire, marking this as a likely nest of fire cultists. Hrothgar made much of the door transparent and we and the cultists seated inside next to a brazier in the back of the warehouse were somewhat startled to observe each other.

As a note in the benefits of hindsight, getting Hrothgar to take a minute and cast the spell one-way only would have been helpful. As would have been being more supportive of his desire to bring a battering-ram, or "Dwarven Lockpick" as he calls it.

One cultist ran, presumably to alert others, while the second activated a flaming sword as Celeste and Kharmul broke down the door. Moly crashed though the scattered fragments of the door and engaged the cultist whose eyes promptly glazed from stunning blows, dropping his sword. Celeste scooped this up and headed left, as Kharmul and I headed right, after the fleeing cultist.

A moment later a globe of volatile liquid exploded against the brazier in the room, filling the area with fire. Kharmul had another globe shatter against his chest, drenching him but not catching alight. The globe throwers retreated, with us in hot pursuit. Celeste dropped the flaming sword, having sensed evil from it, and reaching the central part of the warehouse we discerned that boxes and crates had been stacked up to create a concealed area. Marked on the floor was an arcane circle, the lines alight with invisible flame, at the centre of which lay a small figure we assumed was Albo. Two cultists were engaged in chanting, while the two we were chasing attempted to collect new globes from barrels.

Celeste and I brought these down while Kharmul engaged one of the chanting cultists, who proved somewhat more adept than his fellows and with an invocation "in Agni's name" set our companion and much of the room alight, exploding numerous globes, before plunging his flaming dagger clean through the ineffective guard leathers. As Kharmul dropped insensate, fire spread at preternatural speed throughout the building, a clawed hand rose from the burning floor adjacent to the discarded sword, and the furthest cultist entered the circle and approached the sacrifice with a blazing dagger.

I scrambled to ensure my target was no longer a threat, and then attacked the cultist who had so badly injured Kharmul as Celeste attempted to extinguish the inferno and Hrothgar and Moly arrived. What happened next may require some discussion and unravelling. The entire conflagration appeared to be drawn into Celeste who became an incandescent pillar of fire. All of the other flame was quenched, building, daggers, and summoning circle. The discarded sword was slagged and two detached clawed fingers remained.

The cultist in the circle attempted to murder Albo with his snuffed out dagger but muffed it. He did not get a chance to undo his mistake as he then received a shot from Hrothgar's slug thrower to the face and was beaten to death by Moly.

The pillar of fire coalesced back into Celeste who restrained the surviving cultist, near squashing me in the process, and I discovered with considerable regret that I was too late to use a healing item on Kharmul.

We threw open the front doors of the warehouse onto Unity Street and blew whistles until additional patrols arrived. One of the new arrivals noted the Albo was suffering from an immediate infection as a result of the failed sacrifice attempt, and not knowing how quickly that might prove life threatening I used the item I had prepared and removed the effect.

There are going to be hard words about this. We warned Senior Sargeant Albrecht that typical guard gear may prove inadequate and that deprived of the specialist equipment we possess we may not be able to commit to Black Watch duties. If Kharmul had been wearing his own armour and wielding a weapon more suited for a melee there may have been a quite different outcome for him.

Aftermath

The whistles brought senior guards who after assessing the situation summoned the corpse waggon and a rather better-quality sprung coach fitted with stretchers with which we transported the injured Albo, along with Kharmul's body, and our one our remaining cultist south to the Guild.

We attempted to limit the information we provided to the senior guards as the operational security of the city watch is on par with that of an Elven book club or Dwarven chainmail knitting circle. News is inevitably going to get around about the incident at the warehouse but we're hoping where possible to keep our names and descriptions out of it. The story that's likely to get out is that a group of summer guards were first on the scene at a building fire, and after extinguishing it found a number of bodies in the partially burnt-out warehouse. Numerous neighbours surrounding the warehouse became aware of a large extinguish effect and complained that cooking fires and lights were suddenly doused; hopefully there will be sufficient confusion to muddy the waters.

Heading to the Guild we put Albo and Kharmul into the care of the healers, who also wished to check up the rest of us. The healers discovered an affliction that they cannot yet identify. The nature of this malady appears to weaken the link between body and soul. Neither Celeste nor Moly was affected while Hrothgar and I both apparently resisted the effect. Albo is suffering from it and there are concerns that it is present in Kharmul's body. While being checked by the healers I prepared a written report of the day for our Sergeant and a chatty letter with recipes for "Aunt Sophia" to be dropped off at a shop in the morning.

Hrothgar went off to the library to investigate the cult that we had encountered and discovered information the Guild was holding regarding Agni. (See notes below.) Further information from the librarians suggests that the appearance of the Agni personality has caused a schism in the more traditional cults of the Duke of Fire and is not fully integrated with his better-known persona who has a long-standing vendetta with the Guild.

Moly and I questioned the surviving cultist in a secure location at the Guild. He refused to provide a name and I have christened him "Bob the Water Mage", mostly for its value in annoying him.

He gave the impression of being a true believer and it took some persuasion with a half barrel of water to get him to open up to us, even then the information was mostly of low value. He is a native Carzalan, though not necessarily from Seagate, and may have been an Agni cultist since not long after the reappearance of that aspect in 809. There is reason to believe that professionally he may be a blacksmith or in a related trade. Some of his ramblings were of typical Fire Duke nature, "creation through destruction" and so on, however statements regarding the "greater good", "season of fire", and a time of ascendency were more troubling as were his comments regarding "one preeminent god". He appeared to believe that he was the leader of Agni worship in Seagate and provided no information on other groups.

Information from the Guild healers suggests that Bob's life force is waning, and we hypothesise that his arrangement with Agni may leave him open to having his energies drained by the demon. We are hoping that the containment magics in the guild will slow or prevent this. The Guild do not wish to retain him on the premises for long, but if nothing else this draining effect should be monitored. For the purposes of our city watch role Bob will be charged with a plethora of offences including possession of an unlicensed weapon, accessory to kidnapping, attempted murder, successful murder, and arson, and at the point we hand him over to the guard it seems likely that they will simply execute him.

Guild divinations were provided on the recovered items. The most concerning information is that while the items were initially imbued with infernal power approximately one year ago, they have been subject to two upgrades since then. The implication of this is at least two sacrifices having been performed in this timeframe, though whether they were performed in the Seagate area is unknown.

Th'rsday 3 Meadow - Day Patrol

Early next morning, and after insufficient sleep, we reported to guard HQ and Senior Sergeant Albrecht. There was a somewhat acrimonious and tense discussion regarding non-standard weapons and armour and also the existence of extinguish grenadoes in the watch boxes and the inability for these to be issued to us despite our specific mission parameters involving hunting fire cultists.

Albrecht remains impossible to persuade that our operating methods differ by necessity from those of his watch. I pushed the matter as far as possible before taking Celeste's cue to agree to compromise. It appears that we will need to proceed with hiding or disguising our equipment, at least enough to pass casual inspection and so not cause alarm in town.

We did investigate whether tracking the origin of the volatile globes was feasible, however information from the senior Sergeant suggested that any alchemist involved in providing these to the cult was doing so clandestinely as chemicals of this nature are quite unwelcome in a built-up city.

Heading out on patrol we walked the Castlegate area and the triangular-square of the Newmarket open air market. A cry of "stop thief" began us on a chase through the market and nearby alleyways with Celeste and Moly in direct pursuit of a small thief. I attempted to estimate where they would arrive appear and angled to intercept, while leaving Hrothgar to take particulars from the aggrieved merchant (Dustin Beck, 43, male human).

After an invigorating run through the byways and back alleys of the area Celeste cornered the hafling thief and took him into custody. He had upon his person a bulging purse of coins that I estimated from weight at around 300 pennies. We took the thief (Rosco Copperkettle, 31, male halfling) and purse back to Newmarket.

Conferring with Hrothgar I learned that the merchant had reported a loss of 500 silver pennies and on examination the purse contained 320 sp. Hrothgar became unusually angry with the merchant and accused him of lying to the guard. It appears that dwarves take money very seriously and such a discrepancy appeared to genuinely offend Hrothgar at a visceral level. The merchant in turn puffed up and claimed that the thief must have handed off money or otherwise reduced the amount, and after further pressuring from Hrothgar claimed he would file a complaint with the duke. I attempted to defuse the situation by asking the merchant to check his receipts as these would obviously show the amount that should have been present in his purse, but he claimed that no such receipts were kept. I suggested that he might not be paying his taxes and that the duke's auditors should be involved. He appeared to welcome this, so perhaps he is what he says he is and is perhaps just very poor at estimating his day's takings.

We took our prisoner to guard HQ where the duty Sergeant looked him over, told him not to be seen in here again and released him with no charge or any apparent paperwork. I stopped our thief on the way out and told him that I did not want to see him again, and that I was quite capable of identifying one halfling from another. He in turn made odd comments that led me to believe that halflings are aware that they can get away with crimes, and he thought I was attempting to warn him off my patch, where the gang I worked for ran crime. All of this is quite concerning and I'm adding an additional report to the agency.

My concern is twofold. First there is the simple matter of professional standards. Bluntly put, Rosco is a very poor thief, though a decent runner, and without the threat of punishment for being caught held over him is unlikely to ever improve. Rather more worrying is the resentment against halflings that is likely to build if the other inhabitants of Seagate see our people getting undue leniency. This may lead to a backlash that none of us need.

At lunchtime we visited the dwarven tailor shop InStitchu for measurements so that they can prepare lightweight leather clothing that may be worn over Guild gear to give a city guard impression. I also dropped off my letter and recipes.

The remainder of the patrol passed quietly, and we returned to guard HQ. None of the bodies recovered from the warehouse have been identified, suggesting that if they were locals to Seagate they were not known criminals. We are undecided on our next steps and how we might continue the hunt for fire cultists.

As we discussed the events of the day Kharmul sauntered in looking rather better than the last time we had seen him, having had the gaping wounds in him repaired, his somewhat ragged soul restored to his mortal coil, and having been cleared for duty by the Guild healers. He bore with him three notes addressed to Hrothgar and dealing with some of our questions.

In order, the fire college disavowed any knowledge of an unusual fire bonuses or effects, the philosophers enthused that the symbols of Aim and Agni are exactly the same (something we had already ascertained), and that the healers had declared Albo fully recovered and ready to go home and asking that we pick her up as soon as possible as she was eating through their pastries budget.

Inquiring of the watch scribes we learned that the warehouse belonged to a Carzalan noble who owns a number of properties around Seagate and who is currently away. We suspect that the cultists may have been simply using an occupied building.

Some of us took the opportunity for additional sleep while Celeste showed Karmul the way to the tailor's shop to have him measured up for our disguise outfits. Kharmul discovered that the effect of the bad Myrrh from his new enchantment gave him a morbid reflection; he appears dead when viewed in reflective surfaces and can potentially scare viewers.

That evening we returned to the Guild and picked up Albo and inquired of her what she may had heard while kidnapped. Unfortunately, she provided little new information being primarily concerned with being uncomfortable, scared, and hungry – though not perhaps in that priority order. She had overheard certain comments about fires to make metal, one of the cultists claiming that his "luck was on fire", and a fair amount of chanting.

Albo had appreciated her time at the Guild and complimented its facilities (and abundance of cream buns) and I attempted to be helpful in suggesting there might be employment opportunities for her, but she demurred. We escorted Albo back to Fairtown and I chatted with her about jobs, adventuring, family and other inconsequentialities on the way. Albo asked that I meet her tomorrow at the Dancing Apple, but I let her know that we would be on patrol and unable to meet. I did suggest that we should check on her in a few days to see if she had remembered anything new. We let both Albo and her father know that we considered it unwise for halflings to be out alone and that she and her friends should consider staying in a group, and we asked her father to let other halfling families know.

Only after departing Fairtown did my companions indicate with rough humour that Albo's preoccupation with me may have stemmed from something other than her hope that I might facilitate finding her an occupation.

On reflection, Albo did seem less than inspired by any of the careers I suggested, being rather more interested in finding a handsome and wealthy benefactor that would support her in a life of leisure and provide her with expensive goods. While it doesn't seem that worthy a goal to me, I do wish her well in her endeavour.

After delivering Albo to her family, we proceeded out onto the common where we determined that the fire bonus was still in effect. On something of a hunch, we returned to the New Seagate bridge and discovered that the bonus did not extend over the river to Southshore. Further experiments after outfitting the party with wings showed that the bonus area extends around the inhabited Seagate environs extending further where there are people, falls off and is not felt beyond this area. A quick check at the Guild revealed that "Bob" was still alive and incarcerated.

Frysday 4 Meadow - Evening Patrol

Next day before our shift we inquired about missing persons and discovered that what data exists is of poor quality though missing halflings have been given priority in the last year. We also discussed ways that we could find cultists. Suggestions included putting up flyers for a fire cult annual general meeting, using wide area extinguishes around the city and seeing where we do not get complaints, and a bake sale to attract halflings. I believe a Miss Hot Halfling competition was previously suggested. Celeste is considering talking to her dads, and Molly has suggested talking to "Sizzle" though he doubts he will get any information.

Our watch today was Old Seagate, particularly the smaller, dirtier, and considerably smellier North End where the tanneries and other unpleasant trades dominate.

About the time we were considering lunch (or dinner) a great crash had us running to a building in Harlot's Way where observed a portion of the building to have crashed into the street and a general affray of some twenty persons to be in progress. Most of the combatants were human, with a handful of halflings attempting to vacate the area and a single ogre dealing hefty blows. Kharmul immediately recognized both the ogre and building as it appears this is an establishment he frequents.

Celeste and Molly moved towards the centre of the fighting, Kharmul and I exercised certain skills and saps dissuade those on the edges of the combat from continuing to disturb the Duke's peace and Hrothgar whistled for additional guards. Employees of the emporium, observing and commenting on the disturbance from the first floor, attempted to quench the ardour of the brawlers by dousing them with buckets of what we might generously refer to as "water". One also addressed Kharmul by name and noted that it was not yet Reapsday, but that she did have an opening.

I thought I knew the back streets of Seagate well, but it appears that Kharmul has a truly intimate knowledge of the area.

As guard reinforcements arrived the ogre, known locally as "Brian the Bouncer", suddenly collapsed, clearly stabbed and with the knife still embedded, and four of the humans began to move away most purposefully in a group. Kharmul, who has some small healing ability, stayed with the downed ogre, while Celeste and Molly pursued. I attempted to also follow, but was delayed, being both further away and less able to push through the albeit diminished crowd.

By means of her unusual agility Celeste managed to get in front of the group and suddenly became enormously tall, blocking their exit. One of the thugs stabbed her, incapacitating an arm, while another threw a dagger that lodged in her other arm.

Despite these grievous wounds Celeste unlimbered her great mace much to the dismay of the thugs while at that moment Molly barrelled into them from behind smashing two of them down. The remaining two attempted to flee past Celeste and also downed by her and Molly. Arriving on scene I determined that the knives were coated with a poison designed to slow and sedate, and potentially kill. I sapped the stunned thugs while Celeste and Molly made their way back to Kharmul.

A Waters of Healing was forced down Brian's throat and his breathing immediately became more even and normal. Hrothgar examined the daggers and declared they were of decent quality, specifically designed to retain a coating of venom, and from a known bladesmith in Sanctuary. We secured the would-be murderers and piled the various semi-conscious fighters onto a wagon will take the brawlers to a soup kitchen and the bravos to watch headquarters.

The proprietor of the "Hole in the Wall" (Renee, age indeterminate, human, probably male) explained the trick wall, through which overly frisky patrons may be thrown.

Kharmul (regarding Renee): "He's flexible".

Renee revealed that the fight had initially broken out in the lobby and escalated onto the street. Rather suspiciously and concerning the bravos had arrived separately but clearly fought together and attempted to escape together. We despatched Celeste to the Guild to see to the grievous injuries to her arms, also sending Brian, who required some specialist services, and to keep him safe from further harm.

After spending an infuriating interlude repeatedly explaining the same things to senior guards, evidence if ever there was of the value of written reports, we were finally released from the scene and went in search of food. Eschewing the culinary delights of the Dock and Red Lights districts we wandered South into a more salubrious part of Old Seagate and found somewhere acceptable to take our belated dinner.

It was during this break that matters took a rather odd turn as Kharmul's bat-like ears picked up a conversation between two unremarkable coves who could have passed as merchants, wherein they discussed the four bravos that we had arrested, if they might be broken out, that the target still lived, and their need to consult someone for further instructions.

Having overheard this, we made to follow these fine fellows as they left the tavern. Kharmul made a fair fist of following them on foot solo - an undertaking of which non-professionals probably underestimate the difficulty - while I ascended to the roofs, and Hrothgar and Molly clanked along behind. The suspects made enough effort to check for tails to suggest that they had training in field craft, and eventually entered a messaging service shop, a business that sends urgent messages by carrier pigeon. When they departed Kharmul followed them to their lodgings, while Molly attempted to as ascertain Hrothgar's street value; which it appears does not rise to 50,000 silver despite his luxurious red beard. I waited on the roof and when the messaging service employee appeared relieved him of his missive, confirmed that the message was being sent to Sanctuary, and left him unharmed.

Returning to guard HQ I met up with the others and we informed the duty Sergeant that the prisoners should be considered dangerous, and that an attempt to break them out may occur. In response to this the bravos were stripped and shackled in their cell. We examined their clothes and gear, all of reasonable quality, and remarked on the signet rings they bore engraved with four crossed lines that matched tattoos they sported on their wrists or neck.

The wax sealed message we had lifted was encoded and it took several hours to decipher its full meaning. In essence the message read: strike failed, four captured, send instructions.

After some dissuasion on how we might turn this to our advantage we decided to create a false response instructing a meet with a corrupt watchman who could get the four out of guard HQ on the pretext of a prisoner transfer, and that we would tell the watch only after we had done this. I spent some of the night creating and encoding a false response to the message and then got some sleep.

Reapsday 5 Meadow - Night Patrol (Excused)

In the morning we returned to the Guild, where the Guild healers were singularly unhelpful, and allowed us only the briefest conference with Celeste before heading back to the messaging service.

I waited on the roof for a pigeon to arrive, as when this occurred I was then able to determine into which coop inbound birds flew. The arrival triggered a bell, and it was a matter of a moment to replace the message on the newly alighted bird with the false response before it was collected by an employee. I took the other message with me and delivered it to do its intended recipient in the guise of a scruffy child such as might be employed to run errands for the service, so that no questions regarding missing messages would arise.

At guard HQ we informed senior Sergeant Albrecht that there was likely to be an attempt made this evening to rescue the prisoners using a prisoner transfer as a pretence, and that the criminals had an inside man, Sergeant Xavier Mimbleberry. I must admit taking some satisfaction from the Sergeant's discomfiture and exasperation as we explained the plan, and his rather peevish complaint that Black Watch always creates trouble.

The day was spent in preparation, and we picked up our guard "disguises" from the Dwarven clothier, bringing Celeste's outfit with us back to HQ to await her return.

I took the opportunity to drop off another letter and recipe to "Aunt Ermintrude", keeping the Agency abreast of recent events.

Regardless of his misgiving with Back Watch, Albrecht nonetheless arranged other guards to cover our shift, and, in the evening, we took up positions in the Duke's Head and waited.

The guards covering our absence were not well pleased with this as there would be no additional pay for an extra shift which we all felt was quite unfair, and that we should raise with them the value of forming a Watchmen's Guild for collective bargaining.

Around 9:00 PM one of the unremarkable men arrived and I spoke with him in the guise of fat old corrupt Sergeant Mimbleberry. We came to an agreement whereby he would pick up his companions around midnight, and I would put through false paperwork for 4000 silver pennies in the form of a cash bearer bond on a Sanctuary money lender. The man also made allusions to PIRATE that may bear following up, and in hindsight, one of his other comments could be taken to mean that he knew Ducal guards that could be bribed or who were amenable to employment by the gang.

Unfortunately, best laid plans and all that. Our suspect hired some unsuspecting merchant guards for the job and were, we believe, watching Guard HQ. The watch did make an attempt to capture them at their inn but by then they had left.

Knowing that Celeste would be released from the healers soon we made our way to the new Seagate bridge and waited. Celeste arrived explaining Black Watch to Brian, who greeted Kharmul.

Brian, it appears has a recent dark past, as before the last year that he spent in Seagate, he was a debt collector for the "Chopsticks", the Sanctuary gang whose members tried to murder him. Brian had broken with his former companions and the attempt on his life appears to have been in retribution. Brian stated a plan to leave Seagate on the next outbound ship and while we suggested some alternatives, he took his leave and headed towards the docks.

Heading back towards Guild HQ with Celeste, Hrothgar happened to notice a burglar exiting a second story window with a suspiciously bulging sack. Kharmul and I began to race for the roofs to cut off the burglar's escape when from behind us a loud twanging signalled Hrothgar's lack of desire to engage in another chase.

The slug from Hrothgar's weapon struck the thief full on, stunning him and causing him to roll off the roof and plummet twenty feet onto cobbles and accumulated rubbish, some item of which skewered one of his arms. It took some time before he was able to confirm his name or age. When we arrested Rafe Lighthand, 18, human male, he protested that it was all a mistake and that "it wasn't him". We took our burglar to guard HQ and handed him over before heading to the barracks for much needed sleep before the festival of lights.

Sunday 6 Meadow (Special Duties)

It turns out that "Special duties" actually means that you should be having the day off but because something exciting is happening all leave is cancelled and you are on call as a rapid reaction force.

Rather than spend our time sitting in the mess playing cards as the other "off duty" guards are doing we decided to wander around new Seagate in the vain hope that we might spot something germane to our primary mission. We took more weapons with us than authorised, but the hand and a half swords are still proving a challenge.

Mid-morning we were summoned by whistles to a traffic incident involving the wheels falling off an ox cart leading to an injured carter, a distressed ox, and boxes of produce being gleefully looted by the good citizens of New Seagate. Investigating the overturned cart, we discovered a badly injured person trapped who we were able to free after levering the cart up. The rescued party was recognised as Gilbert Appleton, 43, known hoodlum for hire, who it appears had caused the accident. As more guards arrived, drawn from the ready reaction group, I feared that this could be a ruse to reduce the guards at HQ as a prelude to a gaolbreak. We raced back to HQ but discovered that all was quiet.

The desk Sergeant asked that we deal with a particularly noisome and malodourous citizen who wished to lodge a complaint, namely the theft of his "almost empty" night soil hand cart call, having been mugged in a lane near the docks.

Desirous of fresh air we headed to the location but were unable to determine anything. Thinking that perhaps another fire sigil could be revealed Celeste created smoke in the alleyway, but nothing appeared. We were forced to return to the area a few minutes later to reassure arriving guards that there was no fire and that the smoke would disappear shortly. Hrothgar advanced the idea of using element binding to create "smoke goggles" that might allow one to spot a fire sigil without smoking out neighbourhoods - which may work if viewing through smoke is required, rather than being in smoke.

We stopped for lunch and once again Kharmul's exceptional hearing got us into trouble. He overheard a conversation involving smuggling through Southport and more worryingly people being transferred between ships out at sea (something common in the illegal shipping of indentured servants, and tantamount to slavery). We arrested the two on suspicion of fraud and took them to HQ. One immediately began complaining that as he was a "Union member" we had no right to arrest him. At HQ we placed both in cells and spoke to the quiet member of the pair who immediately broke down and told us what little he knew. He was a sailor with some gambling debts and the union man was suggesting ways that he could earn additional money. We had him sign a statement and plan to release him.

Outside we could hear shouting as Overwatch Commander Lotho Lightfoot took the desk Sergeant to task for not informing him that a Union sailor had been arrested. On a hunch that the man would be shortly released we black bagged him and took him by waggon over the bridge to Southside and thence the Guild. As we hurried from HQ we could hear Lotho shouting for someone to stop us, but there was no pursuit. On the way we crossed paths with a rich merchant type accompanied by a number of upmarket guards heading for HQ, and south of the bridge we passed the new South Guard HQ that is not part of the Seagate watch.

At the Guild, and unsure of exactly what to do, we spoke with Ozbert Pennywise, Guild accountant, and sought his counsel regarding the Union and potential incidents of slavery. Ozbert advised that for the "Independent Merchants Union of Southport" the old and established Seagate Merchants Guild would likely have opinions and information, and that if we had hard evidence of slavery, we should take it to the duke's Chamberlain Martin Danlaw. Ozbert also noted that the duke has a standing order to stamp out slavery in Carzala, and has strong views on the practice.

The standing order would not normally apply to Adventurers Guild members as we are not in the Ducal chain of command, however as we are currently employed as Black Watch we are operating as members of the Seagate Guard and are thus subject to the anti-slavery order. Isn't that convenient.

We made use of the services of the mind college (expenses 2000 silver pennies put on Kharmul's account) who interrogated our prisoner mentally. The sorcerer confirmed trans-shipping of persons in indentured servitude from south-bound ships to Union vessels, back to Southport, and then later onto ships bound for the Five Sisters where slavery is legal. We retrieved names of ships, captains, and some merchants within the Union involved in this trade.

Leaving our prisoner at the Guild we made use of wings to head to castle Chilton, landing in the park mostly without incident, though Hrothgar scored a few picnics.

We eventually got to see the Chamberlain who took the matter of slavery seriously creating an order to the Guild to handle it. We agreed that the prisoner will have his memories modified to omit the time he spent at the Guild. This rearrangement will not last for long but should be enough that he continues with his plan to go out on a shipping excursion tomorrow. The Chamberlain did not however allow us the opportunity to deal with the slavers stating that we were needed to combat the fires in Seagate.

Apparently stopping slaving is less important than dealing with traffic accidents and stolen night soil handcarts. I am beginning to wonder if there is a deeper motive here and that we are being deliberately sidelined.

He did however authorise funds for the anti-slavery mission; we should get the Mind interrogation charged against this as it provided the basis for the job.

Heading back to HQ we were informed by the gate guard that Commander Lotho had put out orders for our immediate return and I was directed upstairs to his office. Oddly enough, on seeing me Lotho's attitude softened considerably, and he suggested that we have dinner together. I in turn told him that we had already released the union man.

There is something worryingly familiar about Lotho Lightfoot, but I am unable so far to put my finger on it. I must remember to make use of our aura detection capabilities.

At dinner Lotho spoke at length of his plans and how he was enacting the mayor's desire for equal and fair treatment of haflings. Probing him on this it became clear that he is a racial supremacist and feels that as halflings have been treated poorly in the past no amount of preferential treatment is too much. This may perhaps not be Mayor Roderigo's intent. Lotho is also unsurprisingly on the take and getting kickbacks from the Union for keeping the Seagate Guard out of their business.

The rest of the squad spent the remainder of the fire festival stamping out fires but not finding any that were set deliberately, a timely reminder that one should never ascribe to malice what can be explained by sheer bloody stupidity.

Remainder Of Meadow

Despite our desire to pursue our primary mission leads proved elusive for quite some time and general guard duties consumed the next few weeks. In the interests of brevity and the sanity of you dear reader I will confine myself to summarized highlights (if they can be styled as such).

Information

Kharmul and I put the word out though our various contacts to the street gangs to keep an eye out for strangers on their patches that might be connected with fire cults.
Hrothgar made enquiries with alchemists regarding bulk chemical purchases.
The Fire magic affinity detected by Celeste and Moly is increasing in strength every Sunday.
The Seagate Merchants Guild is less than happy about the Union and the rise of the Southport Docks, created in part to handle the grain trade from the Sweet Riding.
Weather Control not operating as expected. The several parties who grudgingly cooperate on Carzalan weather control each claim they are not the cause, but the fact remains that Seagate weather has been warmer and drier than expected, and the night rains that usually wash the streets have not be falling.

Justice

The four Sanctuary bravos were brought up before the beak, got as fair a trial as they deserved, and were despatched by the New Seagate hangman.
Rafe Lighthand, the would-be burglar, was branded and exiled from Seagate.

Crime

Fights & Assaults
- Too many to detail, but we did discover that these may be used as distractions to cover for other activities.
Abduction
- A halfling couple, later found sleeping it off in a barn.
- A human couple, grabbed from their inn and taken aboard a ship bound for the Five Sisters and the slave markets. The ship and master’s descriptions recorded and circulated.
Murder
- A dwarven prospector strangled in an apparent crime of passion. There was also a large amount owing to interests in Sanctuary, so the passions may have involved money.
- The body of a junior Western Church knight recovered from the river after it had been in the sewers for several days. It appeared that he had died of wounds from a vicious assault that included burns to his face and hands. We were unable to resolve this and left it with the Church to investigate.
Smuggling
- Saffron worth over 40,000 silvers in an attempt to avoid taxes.
- A large number of military grade Greek Fire grenadoes produced in MMHS for a private collector. We substituted rocks for the devices and set a watch on the delivery warehouse and while the crates were later shifted to a second warehouse no one has so far come to claim their collection.
Vandalism
- Cartwheels being destroyed led us to uncover a power struggle between two nascent Teamster Guilds who are involving in their dispute gangs of youths, both the Seagate Irregulars and a group calling themselves the Row Boys who have ties to the mayor.
- Dirt being dumped outside the doors of various businesses, preventing them from operating until cleared. Sightings of a night soil handcart in the area. Truly mysterious and honestly just bloody weird. As Karmul insisted on putting it, until we forced him to stop, it was "all as clear a mud".
- Chalked fire demon symbols of various but not high quality in both Old and New Seagate suggesting multiple artists. Interestingly symbols of both the Duke of Fire and the King of Fire have been found.

Social & Political

We are pressed into special duties service as security for:

Castellan Borderers Ball, social and political with nary a soldier in sight.
Seagate Crafters Ball, a celebration of mostly younger guilds and independent masters.
Seagate Guild Masters Ball, the mayor and much established money.

Rumours

Various unresurrectable (and unconfirmed) deaths at the hands of agents of the mayor.
Gangs being offered patches in Seagate where they control crime to approved limits for a fee.

I finally placed Lotho after more meetings with him. He was once a mid-low-level merchant and fence, no more or less dishonest than most of that breed, but one who believed he was rather cleverer than evidence would support. It seems likely that he is someone that Roderigo was familiar with in a professional capacity, though what possessed him to install Lotho as Overwatch Commander is unclear.

Second week of Heat

We finally got an actionable lead. A copper farthing, found near one of the graffiti sites was discovered to have the symbol of the Fire Duke expertly engraved and to possess a faint magical aura that held a slight demonic taint and affinity for elemental fire.

The coin when divined by Hrothgar revealed that it had been the subject of fire-type ritual magic some four weeks ago, that had imbued it with fire-aligned demonic magic and had linked it with other coins created by the same ritual.

Experiments showed that the magic could be supressed by greater amounts of water but would regain its aura once dried off.

A terrible suspicion gripped us and the next day we examined copper coins at an evening market under the pretence of looking for clipping. A quarter or more of Carzalan farthings were found to have the same demonic markings, obscured by a reddish clay worked into the incisions. It became clear that both the demonic taint and fire effect increased when the coins were in proximity, and Celeste and Moly reported that holding more than a few would provide them a greater facility with fire magics. We traded silver to the merchants for their defaced coins, keeping them under water at guard HQ.

While we do not know whether the coins are the sole cause of the fire effect area, their influence cannot be discounted, and they need to be removed from circulation. While I will freely admit this is only a hunch, I cannot but worry that the rapidly approaching Summer Solstice would be the most auspicious date for a fiery catastrophe, giving us no more than a week to resolve this.

On the 7th we heard that a group of Urielite Witch-Smellers had arrived in town, and agreed that on the 8th, a day with no duty we would send representatives to discuss the situation with them while the remainder of us approached the Chamberlain to get the farthings recalled.

Thr’sday 8 Heat

Western Church

Celeste and Hrothgar headed to the cathedral dressed in uniform (after some discussion around whether an approach as the watch or adventurers was least problematic) and sought an audience with the Urielite contingent. Unfortunately, Hrothgar’s additional finger caught the attention of the Urielites and he would have been spirited away into the dungeons had not Celeste objected. (It appears that the Church have sufficient knowledge of Celeste that they took her remonstrations seriously.)

In the end Hrothgar was subjected to three hours of repetitive chanting and unnecessary incense before being released. Little was gained; the Urielites appear to be the worst kind impetuous backwoods bumpkins that I usually associate with the followers of Michael.

A Gabrielite provided Celeste with some helpful information about family friction that she followed up at the temple of Chantress.

Castle Chilton

Heading to Castle Chilton, the soft-footed Khamul, Moly and I had a semi-useful meeting with the Chamberlain. Though he treated our coin concerns contemplatively he stated that a full recall and recirculation of copper farthings would take more than the week before Solstice.

We also apprised him of our concerns with the sheer amount of corruption in the Watch, and of the tax evasion occurring through Southport, though we agreed that current issues were more pressing. I am to provide him with a written report which I am sure will feature Lotho prominently.

The Chamberlain mentioned the out-of-towner Urielites and we noted that members of our group were engaging with them, though we didn’t know of Hrothgar’s trials at the time.

Chamberlain Danlaw then revealed that the Church had been bringing increasing pressure on his office for a greater role in civil law enforcement, and I could not help but suggest that perhaps Southport could benefit from their sober oversight.

Guard HQ

Coming back together we discussed options for getting as much tainted copper out of circulation as fast as possible. The plan settled upon requires the cooperation of (the saner elements of) the Church and ideally some fiduciary support from the Chamberlain. We will get broadsheets printed and posted that claim a need for Cathedral roof repairs along with a copper shortage, and the offer of one silver penny for every three farthings handed in at one of the designated collection sites (on consecrated ground) where the tainted coins will be suppressed under water, and the untainted returned to circulation quickly via moneychangers and merchants.

It could be that this will immediately trigger whatever nefarious scheme is planned for the coins, but it is hoped that doing so before the Solstice may draw its fangs.

Buffs & Mil Sci & Misc

To Follow Up

Messages to Guild and Duke re. Fire Cult.
- Need ability to operate at capability.
- Light disguise / obfuscation? Brown livery surcoats over armour, brown hats, correct insignia for heavier weapons.
  - Surcoats being crafter by dwarven tailors at InStitchu.
Cultist Warehouse
- Is there evidence of people living there? Or was this only a ritual site?
  - No sign of living quarters.
- Anything distinctive about this particular warehouse? It became fully "involved" quickly - was this something they had set up, or was the building vulnerable for some other reason?
  - Appears to be result of accelerant in ceramic pots.
- Why symbol? Needed for kidnappers to identify door? Knew which alley but not which door? Implies compartmentalized knowledge / division between those snatching and those setting up ritual site? Suggestion of cell structure?
  - Other groups / cells?
  - Other areas of smokey residue?
- What did the cultist Celeste tackled die of? Physical injuries or something else?
Cultist Gear
- Source? Age?
  - One year, approx, plus two ritual upgrades.
  - Two swords with initial imbue only, no upgrades. Initiates?
  - Three with symbols, two without.
- DA/Divination on sword and finger remains.
  - Devil - then dissolved.
- Alchemist source of the volatile liquid? glassblower source for the globes?
  - Too general / generic.
Fire mages getting a bonus this Summer.
- That doesn't usually happen, does it?
- Message to Fire College at Guild. Have they observed this? How widespread? Has this been reported outside Seagate? Outside Carzala?
Agni vs. usual Duke of Fire?
- What's that you say Hrothgar? You checked the Guild notes?
- "Since 809, cults of Agni... sacrifice of female halflings..."
- What the hell happened in 809? Oh, A Civilised Ending... Mortimer?
- Auntie Amelia?? She punched him where??? In the Dakhini?! Oh, my!
Missing persons
- Other female halflings gone missing?
Fire Protection
- Sufficient resources in-party or get extras from Guild?

Lesser Odd Issues

Mayoral election.
- Everyone agrees that Seagate Mayors are appointed by the Duke.
- But this one was elected, and the election was clearly fixed.
- Trying to get people to discuss this seems to put their brains into a loop.
Strange tax breaks for sausages.
- Something no doubt involving Mayor Roderigo the sausage maker.
Non-hobbits being forced out of the bakery business in Seagate?
- Expect the Agency might want to know about this...
Halfling thieves being dismissed with just a warning?!
- Question from thief about my patch? Halfling criminals in the City Watch?
- I understand that there were occasional incidents of racially based abuse against halflings pre-Mayor Roderigo, but if what we're seeing is the result of him trying to redress this then matters may have progressed rather too far in the other direction.

Weirdness due to bad Myrrh

Hrothgar - extra left finger
Moly - compulsion to apologize on causing harm
Celeste - cat-like water aversion
Zardoz - lactose intolerance
Kharmul - morbid reflection

Long Term (assumed always on)

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Duration	Ce	Za	Kh	Mo	HB
Spell (?)	?	?	?

Short Term

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Dur	Ce	Za	Kh	Mo	HB
Spell (?)	?	?	?

Watch Order

Hour:	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
	P1				P2				P3
	P4				P5				P6

Marching Order

Skirmish Formations (Front)
Default	Single File

Astrology

Lucky Numbers
Celeste	Zardoz	Kharmul	Moly	Hrothgar
48	72	15	11	99

Not at all disturbing astrology reading

I touch the fire and it freezes me.
I look into it and it's black.
Why can't I feel,
My skin should crack and peel.
We want the fire back.
Now through the smoke they call to me.
To make our way across the flame.
To save the day,
Or maybe burn away.
So we will walk through the fire.

The torch I bear is scorching me,
And the heroes are laughing I've no doubt.
Our hope it fries.
Our salvation, it dies.

We'll see it through
It's what we're always here to do.
So we will walk through the fire.

One by one they turn from us.
I guess our friends can't face the cold 
But why they froze not one among them knows 
And never can be told

So one by one they come to me.
The distant redness as their guide.
But what they'll find.
Ain't what they have in mind.
It's what they have inside.

What's it gonna take to strike a spark.
These endless days, 
Are finally ending in a blaze.

And we are caught in the fire.
The point of no return.
So we will walk through the fire,
And let it burn.

Calendar

Summer: Meadow 824 WK
	Moonday		Duesday		W'ansday		Th'rsday		Frysday		Reapsday		Sunday
		Beltane Full Moon	1	Guild Meeting	2	0600 Basic Training	3	0600 Day Patrol	4	1400 Evening Patrol	5	White Lotus 2200 Night Patrol	6	Seagate Light Festival Special Duties
	7	0600 Day Patrol	8	1400 Evening Patrol	9	2200 Night Patrol	10	Off Duty	11	0600 Day Patrol	12	1400 Evening Patrol	13	2200 Night Patrol
	14	Off Duty	15	0600 Day Patrol	16	1400 Evening Patrol	17	2200 Night Patrol	18	Off Duty	19	The Castellan Borderers Ball 0600 Day Patrol	20	1400 Evening Patrol
	21	2200 Night Patrol	22	Off Duty	23	0600 Day Patrol	24	1400 Evening Patrol	25	2200 Night Patrol	26	Seagate Crafters Ball Special Duties	27	0600 Day Patrol
	28	Full Moon 1400 Evening Patrol	29	2200 Night Patrol	30	Off Duty	1	0600 Day Patrol	2	1400 Evening Patrol	3	2200 Night Patrol	4	Seagate Guild masters Ball Special Duties
Summer: Heat 824 WK
	Moonday		Duesday		W'ansday		Th'rsday		Frysday		Reapsday		Sunday
	5	0600 Day Patrol	6	1400 Evening Patrol	7	2200 Night Patrol	8	Off Duty	9	0600 Day Patrol	10	Seagate Races 1400 Evening Patrol	11	The Duke's Summer Ball 2200 Night Patrol
	12	Off Duty	13	0600 Day Patrol	14	Midsummers Eve (Faerie Day) 1400 Evening Patrol	15	Solstice 2200 Night Patrol	16	Off Duty	17	Seagate Summer Fair 0600 Day Patrol	18	Seagate Summer Fair 1400 Evening Patrol
	19	2200 Night Patrol	20	Off Duty	21	0600 Day Patrol	22	1400 Evening Patrol	23	2200 Night Patrol	24	The Castellan's Brastor Summer Ball Special Duties	25	0600 Day Patrol
	26	Full Moon 1400 Evening Patrol	27	2200 Night Patrol	28	Off Duty	29	0600 Day Patrol	30	1400 Evening Patrol	1	2200 Night Patrol	2	Off Duty
Summer: Breeze 824 WK
	Moonday		Duesday		W'ansday		Th'rsday		Frysday		Reapsday		Sunday
	3	Day of Death 0600 Day Patrol	4	1400 Evening Patrol	5	2200 Night Patrol	6	Off Duty	7	0600 Day Patrol	8	1400 Evening Patrol	9
	10	Off Duty	11	0600 Day Patrol	12	1400 Evening Patrol	13	2200 Night Patrol	14	Off Duty	15	0600 Day Patrol	16	1400 Evening Patrol
	17	2200 Night Patrol	18	Off Duty	19	0600 Day Patrol	20	1400 Evening Patrol	21	2200 Night Patrol	22		23
	24	Full Moon	25		26		27		28		29		30