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Emily posted:

I rescued Sokolov. The man spent years serving my family. Educating me in both intellectual subjects and bawdy humor. And now a small part of what I owe him has been repaid. I'm just sorry I can't offer him more comfortable accommodations. The Dreadful Wale, dank and cramped as it is, is our home for now. He's been living here with Meagan for years, but in his current condition, I wish we could make him more comfortable.

I was able to stop Kirin Jindosh. His weaponized mind won't be a threat now, his thoughts scattered and his memories destroyed. By his own device no less. When Sokolov is feeling better, maybe he'll have an opinion on whether I did the right thing or not by not killing Jindosh outright.

Anyway it's a relief to know the last Clockwork Soldiers remaining in the Empire are the only ones there will ever be.

Delilah in the Void

I dreamed of Delilah Copperspoon. No, this was more than a dream. I was in the Void. Somehow Delilah brought me there. I don't know if she was showing me the true past, or a fabrication. She spoke of my grandfather, Emperor Euhorn Jacob Kaldwin. History says he was a man of honor, who served his people, but Delilah showed me all his promises unfulfilled, all those easy lies. And she showed me my mother, Jessamine, as I never imagined her. Spoiled and petty. Entitled. And finally a great injustice. Delilah's mother dying in a debtor's prison. I have so many questions, but how do I sort the truth from the lies?
Breanna Ashworth is my next target.

Breanna Ashworth. I only know her by reputation. Born to the Dunwall aristocracy, she's a sculptor, and the Curator of the Royal Conservatory in Karnaca. One of Delilah's lieutenants, maybe her closest confidant. They share a taste for the occult. While being held, Sokolov overheard conversations about a strange device being constructed under Ashworth's supervision. The Oraculum, something more convoluted than clockwork killing machines, but every bit as dangerous, no doubt. I think an after-hours visit to the Conservatory will give me the answers I need.

Corvo posted:

I killed Kirin Jindosh, the greatest mind in the Empire. He worked for Delilah and Duke Abele. His killing machines were part of the conspiracy that took my Emily, and stole her throne. Now there will be no more Clockwork Soldiers. I hope that gets the Duke's attention.

And there's more good news. I was able to rescue Anton Sokolov. I hope his mental capacities are better than his physical state. He can barely walk. I wonder if the old man has much time left. Enough time to help me take back Dunwall? I hope so.

Delilah in the Void

I was in the Void, only this time it wasn't the Outsider who met me there. It was Delilah Copperspoon. She's grown in power somehow, and wanted me to see things through her eyes. She showed me her mother, left to die in a debtor's prison. And Jessamine, her half-sister, pampered in the luxury of her palace, Dunwall Tower. Silks, fine tutors, grand feasts, while Delilah hid in the kitchen. Their shared father, Emperor Euhorn Kaldwin, with his empty promises. Telling Delilah she'd be a princess too, and soon. This was the past as she wanted me to see it. I wish I knew if it were all lies. Some of it has the ring of truth.
Breanna Ashworth is my next target.

Breanna Ashworth, curator at the Royal Conservatory. I don't think she's from Karnaca originally. I've seen evidence of her visits to Jindosh's mansion, and Sokolov confirmed that she's one of Delilah's lieutenants. I wonder if she keeps the same sort of surprises up her sleeves. Sokolov heard conversations about a device being built under Ashworth's supervision, the Oraculum. Something tells me it has nothing to do with the artistic enlightenment of the masses. An after-hours visit to the Royal Conservatory will give me the answers I need.

Thank You posted:

It's something I should say to your face, but that's hard for me. Thank you for what you did, bringing Anton back. What would I have done without him puttering around the ship, mumbling and stroking his greasy beard?

I wanted to find him on my own, but hearing what you went through, I'm impressed. Anyway, enjoy this bottle from the Captain's Reserve. Good stuff, I got from an aristocrat, wanting quick passage out of Karnaca a while back. You'll need it now that Anton is back, if you want to sleep. His snoring cuts straight through the bulkhead.

- Meagan

Letter from Lucia Pastor posted:

Dear Dr. Hypatia,
I couldn't be happier about the news you gave me. The people here in Dust District desperately need someone like you.

I understand that you cannot see patients at Addermire anymore, and that it's too dangerous to go back to your apartment. I'll arrange something, we'll find you a safe place to hide and give free consultations, as you suggested.

I'll send word about it via the Miners Family Committee and some friends I have at the Silver Spike newspaper.

Welcome back to the city.

Lucia Pastor

Temporary Closure of the Conservatory posted:

Dear Patrons,
Due to an alarming increase in the mite population, and with the full knowledge and approval of Duke Abele himself, the Royal Conservatory will remain closed for the foreseeable future. Our apologies.

B. Ashworth, Curator

Anton Sokolov's Diary - Started painting again posted:

My thoughts dart here and there. I am at the whim of my aging brain. I smell an orange and it triggers a memory! All at once I am a boy back in school, suffering under the cruelty of Professor Olliphant! Her horrible wigs and the smell of old wool. The wool reminds me that I was once a man of position. And then I am thinking of my own cruelties, terrible deeds, performed in the name of science, progress, or profit. And then I am flooded with regrets and guilt. Then just as suddenly I am hungry or thinking about my knees or a nap.

And if I could quiet my mind, and apply myself to a task - say painting - like today - it is of little use. I find it odd that a time when I thought I might enjoy some rest and expand on my paintings, that my eyes are not as sharp as they need be, and my hands quiver unexpectedly. The smell of the paints assaults my nose, and muddles my thoughts. Did they always smell so?

Still, I have begun work on a canvas. I have no name for it yet.

Bloodfly Infestation posted:

Dear passengers,
I'd like to offer my apologies for being such a grumpy captain.

First, to Anton, who I called a senile old goat when he decided to bring live bloodflies aboard for study. Not a single day passes without me staring in delight at those little marvels of nature.

Second, my apologies to [Lord Corvo, who/Lady Emily, who/whoever] broke the bloodfly tank, allowing them to flutter down to the engine room, bringing joy to this sad boat of mine, with the gentle humming of their soft wings. I deeply regret calling you a clumsy sack of guano.

But now that we've all had time to enjoy their charming company, can someone please exterminate every last bloodfly on my ship?

- Meagan

A Reflection on My Journey to the Pandyssian Continent (4) posted:

By Anton Sokolov
Chapter 16

Two dead on our first day on the Continent, but the new world was not sated and would have one more! None other than the captain himself! His group had found a cluster of small rodents, much like rabbits or prairie moles. The lure of fresh meat proved too much a temptation for our good captain, who had dined on scant fish and the same rations as the crew all these dreary months. He was able to grab one of the creatures with his bare hands! But the docile beasts were not so tame after all.

Having allowed the captain to pick it up, the creature had become enraged and delivered several stings from a gland hidden in its tail. The Captain complained of "heat and itching" where the stings had penetrated, but insisted they press on. He died of asphyxiation within a quarter hour.

It was suddenly obvious to me that at this rate of attrition we would not only fail to sufficiently research the continent, but we might soon lack enough crew to make the return voyage! Something had to be done to save the venture! And so I immediately declared myself Captain. On my orders the remaining crew kept to the relative safety of the beach for the duration of the week.

Though I sent two young Academy students armed with nets and cages to fetch a live sample of the "prairie mole" that had so swiftly killed the Captain. As first and foremost, ours was a research expedition.

Trip to the Markets posted:

Meagan,
I've thought of a few things I need when you go into Karnaca. I'd get them myself, but you know it's like for these old bones to walk so far.

I need a smaller shirt. Seems everything I own falls off me now. And you're right, I suppose I need some soap. And a good hair tonic, for my beard and what's left around the sides of my skull.

You liked the Tyvian stew I made last week, so if you'd like to have again, get lamb if we can afford it. If not, don't worry. My appetite isn't what is used to be. A bit of bread and a few shrimp will get me through most days. But don't forget the wine.

If that's not too much, I could use more paints. I'm out of Cerulean, Ochre, and Ultramarine.

Anton

Meagan Foster's Notebook posted:

I've seen mean storm clouds gathering, only to disperse in an hour's time. I've seen monstrous waves in the distance, towering like high hills, that were only a ripple by the time they reached the boat.

Things aren't right. They never have been, but at least everything's held at the center for a long while. Now I worry all the time. For me, for Anton, for everything. I should quit. Disappear again. Anyone else would, I think. Self preservation is only natural. I could take my boat and go anywhere. Be anybody. Be nobody. Nobody again. I'd like that.

I've had many different lives. Could I start a new one now? How many more do I have left? I'm so tired. I wish I could sleep, and wake up as somebody else.

THE SILVER SPIKE – Palaces Don't Make Kings! posted:

Read further at your own peril my friends, for the truth is a dangerous thing. Any in-bred highborn or even the luckiest commoner can wind up living in a might tower with a fancy title before their name! Those we consider to be made of finer material are in fact just as rough-cut as the rest of us, guided by irrational terror and petty grievance.

Did Jessamine Kaldwin deserve our respect, or did she deserve the knife? Was the former Duke Theodanis Abele a fine ruler, as some say? Well, good readers, that depends on your perspective. Are you the craftsman struggling to profit on your fine cabinets? Or are you the woodsman selling your lumber at the highest price? Maybe again you're the local law-keeper, applying a tax to the woodcutting or the sale of the furniture. "Truth" is a variable.

Consider Emily Kaldwin or her infamous father, Royal Protector Corvo Attano. How did the Empire fare beneath them, good or ill? And now it's Delilah, painter and some say occult figure. What will her time as Empress bring you and me, down on the streets?

None of the snots living in a palace know anything about the Dust District, even Lord Corvo Attano, despite him being born here. Would he recognize the place now? And would we recognize him?

Conservatory Closure Extended posted:

A representative from the Royal Conservatory confirmed today that the site's closure has been extended once again, with no promise of when it might reopen. Curator Breanna Ashworth could not be reached for comment.

Readers will remember that an "infestation of mites" in the Roseburrow exhibit forced the closure nearly six months ago, though there have been rumors that no exterminators have been hired.

The Roseburrow exhibit was to be a prestigious event, sponsored by the Academy of Natural Philosophy, with the hopes of attracting numerous experts and guest lectures from across the Isles. This important exhibition is now on hold indefinitely due to the extended closure. For hopeful visitors, there is nothing to do but wait for further word.

Windmill Operation posted:

Section 21 - Regular Maintenance

1) Check wind speed. Windmill will only turn with sufficient wind.

2) Danger! High wind may overcharge security systems. (See Appendix, Wall of Light.)

3) Ensure gear works are free of debris.

4) Oil mechanism in accordance with schedule. (See Section 30.)

5) Remove nesting animals or vermin, such as birds, rats or bloodflies.

6) During emergency, disengage windmill using lever, located on "maintenance platform".

7) With windmill disengaged, check wooden blades for cracking or loose supports.

8) Wax wooden blades in accordance with schedule. (See Section 30.)

9) Periodically, gears, blades, and other parts must be repaired or replaced, as specified in Section 10.

Note to the Overseer posted:

Overseer Ogburn,
I should be back within a few days. Continue to compile information on Breanna Ashworth's activities, despite the odd letter we received from our Oracular Sisters in Cullero. It's not like them to issue a proclamation without certainty, but I know I'm right about Ashworth. My gut tells me she's a threat.

That said, the Howlers are my priority. This conflict with Paolo could affect our influence in Karnaca for years to come.

Yours in the Strictures,
Vice Overseer Liam Byrne

Leave Karnaca posted:

Rapollo,
low chaos
/When you receive my letter, I want you to pack a bag promptly. Leave within the hour of reading this, and stop worrying about all that terrible business in Karnaca.

Stay with me in Saggunto for a month or two, and I’ll feed you until you’re fat. We’ll have an excuse to shop once a week to get you nice things in larger sizes.
You know I bought a dozen of those fancy rugs from the weavers’ market. If you’ll join me at my tiny manor, we’ll put them to good use./

high chaos
/When you receive my letter, I want you to pack a bag promptly. Leave within the hour of reading this, and save yourself from jail or execution in Karnaca.

Stay with me in Saggunto for a month or two, and we'll drink until we cannot remember what happened to your dear sister when she insulted Duke Abele. The news that she faced a firing squad broke my heart, but hearing that she did it just after having both her hands removed fills me with rage to the point of madness./

Kristo

More Woes Afflict "Dust District" Residents posted:

The situation inside the Batista District continues to deteriorate at a rapid pace. Not long ago the great area prospered under the watchful eyes of mining operations owner Aramis Stilton. But the well-liked worker's advocate disappeared three years ago under suspicious circumstances, and since then the entire district has been afflicted by increasingly foul air and gang violence.

A functionary from the Grand Serkonan Guard admitted that the group has essentially abandoned the area. "It's simply too dangerous," he said of the crime inside what is now commonly called the Dust District. "The Overseers and the damn Howlers fighting for control in the streets, with skirmishes every day, assassinations, torture, and so forth. After a while we just decided to withdraw and let the two have it out," he said. "Sealed it all up behind a few well placed Walls of Light."

Howlers Don't Play posted:

Winnow,
You wanna know what happened to the owner before you? When he says "no more pay outs and that's that," we says "all right, you got us" and left him alone. Then we paid one of his friends to take him fishin' a week later.

They were out on the water all day. Real good day, caught a lot of fish. Comin' back, his friend gave him a letter from us and ran off. In it, I spelled out how the bait they was usin' all day was bits of his mother.

Howlers don't play, you piece of shit. You got three days.

- Bluejaw Jake

Traditional Serkonan Songs (3) posted:

The King in the Month of Ice

After sparrows three times call,
After gull does three times fall,
Come maiden, mistress, mouse and hen,
Come fisher, farmer, frog and wren.

Once a king dressed in red,
Warmed by flames on feather bed,
While all the town starving cried,
Chilled by winds, the Month of Ice.

Eat them of frost, eat them of snow,
The monarch decreed to them below,
Upon a spike they perched his head,
Cursed his name, burned his stead.

Hush-a-bye, and don't be affright,
Mama will sing through all the night,
Many an hour before morning sun,
Don't dream of horror yet to come

Pilfered Safe Combination posted:

I'm certain I saw one of the students at my lecture writing down the combination for my safe. That silver spoon dilettante who wants to make a career as a newspaper journalist. Sneaky fuck; he's chosen a fitting career. And his snobby cousin operates the black market shop nearby, so it must run in their well-heeled family. Now I need to ask Margarete to change the combination to my safe.

Traditional Serkonan Songs (4) posted:

The Calling of the Endless Sea

On the furthest reaching pier, I was abandoned
As the vessel fled the port
Leaving me with only warm winds
Looking upon the foamy wake of regret

The undulating dancers
And the taste of Tyvian wine
Couldn't overcome my recollection of the Ocean
And its swaying whispers

Even now the excited cries of my homecoming children
Leave me unmoved and weary
Longing for the lament of the deep ones
And their inscrutable mysteries

I carve through the umberwood forests
And I bleed the mountain's silver veins
Yet no purse overflowing with coins
Pays enough to slake my thirst for the salty depths

I'm no aristocrat or Lord,
No Overseer or well-versed scholar
But I'd burn all their tomes
And melt down their precious crowns
To be young again and back on the endless sea

Opportunity posted:

I have a new assignment for one with your unique talents.

I'd like you to retrieve the old Roseburrow Prototype on display at the Royal Conservatory. It's likely well-protected, but I'll double the finder's fee.

M.V.

Breaking and Entering Job posted:

- Use cliffside outside office window to get over fence
- Drop down and enter basement through delivery door
- Special display is on second floor
- Enter through security room
- Grab Roseburrow Prototype (Don't forget to disable alarm!)

Easy money.

Reminder posted:

The key to the Archive is in the Quartermaster Office.

The Foreign Curse, Written and Researched by Tabitha Alba posted:

The Great Rat Plague. The Spreading Death. The Foreign Curse. These are names we give to the disease that bloomed briefly, taking tens of thousands of lives as it spread across Gristol from home to home, town to town, preferring neither rich nor poor. The capital city of Dunwall suffered the most, settled so thickly by both people and rats.

Many feared the plague would spread to Serkonos, but even beyond the naval blockade effected at the time, several factors kept the sickness from reaching our shores.

First, in Serkonos, the population of disease-carrying rats was kept in check by bloodflies. Natural enemies, rats are known to feed on bloodfly larvae, and fully mature bloodflies lay their eggs in rats. Second, it is simply true that Serkonans are healthier than most. With the best foods, morning constitutionals, and a strong work ethic, we have some immunity to diseases that afflict less vibrant folk. Lastly, mining dust was found in trace amounts in Serkonans even during the time of Dunwall's great crisis, and that dust played a critical role. It's true that the plague was spread by rats, but some natural philosophers now believe that it was also carried on wind currents. As such, we can be thankful that in addition to bringing us wealth from the silver, the mines also protected us from the greatest plague in living memory.

Black Bonecharm Notes posted:

5th
I've set out to craft a new bonecharm, and I hope to have it blacken, in keeping with those of greater power. It will complement the one I've carried since finding it within a mausoleum in Alba. Though it's rare to meet others touched by the Void, summoners beware, for as long as I carry that bonecharm, their rats and vermin will turn against them. And the new charm, if it works, will shield me against assassins.

11th
I am still working on my protective charm. I've taken the Tyvian Grey Bone recipe and altered it, using much more burdock root. The instructions were vague and the safeguards it offers are weak.

18th
Neither chamomile nor nasturtiums added to the mix give me the right effect. Though they perfume the air quite nicely. I feel well protected from unpleasant smells, but not much else.

23rd
I've finally got it! Hellebore of course, fermented and reduced over a low flame. It's rare to achieve this effect, where the bonecharm turns darkest black. As I wanted, I'm warded against the first bullet or bolt from an assassin's weapon. The initial shot that would fell me instead change to bloodflies in an instant!

Breanna Ashworth's Notes posted:

The original lenses Jindosh and I devised for the Oraculum were horribly flawed. Rather than focusing the energies of the Void, the faulty lenses scattered them. My head was filled with noise and the spiritual channel linking me to Delilah's magic was nearly extinguished.

I will not cease my efforts until our Coven controls the Sisters of the Oracular Order. But I know now that I proceed at a grave risk. The old lenses could have been my ruin. They are stored in my workshop for now, but must be destroyed.

My Effigies of the Oracular Sisters posted:

4th Day
It's been difficult to create effigies of the Oracular Sisters. They keep to themselves, rarely venturing outside. Impossible to get the hair and nail clippings I need.

But I have an idea. If the Sisters are linked even beyond death, then I can use the bones of their dead, dug from an Abbey graveyard, to attune the Oraculum to the minds of living Sisters.

12th Day
It's done. Adolfina and several others brought back a wagon full of coffins. I'll start on new effigies at once.

19th Day
Still only faint voices. Nothing near the connection required to give them dreams. I must adjust the lenses, refine the effigies, sleep with their skulls beneath my blankets for a few nights more. Perhaps integrate the scarves they use to cover their eyes.

21st Day
Delilah is anxious about my progress, and yet there's not much to tell. I was able to interrupt several Oracular Sisters in conversation, leaving them momentarily at a loss for words. I'm confident that soon enough I'll be able to make them say whatever I wish. Then I'll have news for my Empress in Dunwall.

23rd Day
At last! I held one of the Sisters in a trance-like state for an hour. Delilah was ecstatic. Soon we will control the Oracular Order.

Warning from Breanna Ashworth posted:

All of you, if you share my loyalty to Delilah and to our Coven, heed my words. Again, I was haunted by nightmares about the Oraculum. The original lenses Jindosh used in the device nearly ruined me. I felt Delilah's magic flicker, and the flame she rekindled in me almost went dark, like it did after Brigmore, fifteen years ago.

I fear another accident like that will cost me everything: my connection to the Void, to magic itself. We cannot afford any more mistakes. I will study the discarded lenses in my workshop, then have them destroyed.

Remember that Delilah is relying on my efforts, and the Oraculum is attuned to me alone. Do not interfere with the device. Only I have a chance to control the Oracular Sisters.

– Breanna

Unfinished Letter to Delilah posted:

Delilah,

When we can't talk, I write. There are things only you will understand. Daily, I feel my connection to the Void growing. And through me, your power calls out to those who would join our Coven. New faces, new voices.

Our bond is stronger than it was at Brigmore, yet you feel so far away. If we were together, I could say more! It is as if I can see beyond the air, into another time or place. You have parted a curtain I never knew was there.

Oh, Delilah, strange and beautiful whispers are carried on the breeze. I am forever grateful of being your instrument.

Done Straightening Up posted:

Mistress Breanna,

Like you asked, I stored your audiograph recordings in the Archive, down there in the basement. And I tidied up around the Oraculum, just as you asked.

Some of the others were talking about the old lenses you took out of that Oraculum device after the accident. Saying they were going to "bury them lenses forever at the bottom of the ocean." Well, that didn't sound right to me, so I just stored them in the effigies workshop in case you find them some use.

All my other chores are done, so I'll go prepare your leche thistle tea.

I'm grateful for the second chance you given me. I'm sure over time I'll feel Delilah's presence and learn the magic, like my Coven sisters. Please don't cast me out. I'll make you and Empress Delilah proud, I promise.

Carina

Mine Collapses - Numerous Casualties posted:

A representative from the Miners' Family Committee reports that another silver mine has partially collapsed, leaving eight miners injured, and killing twelve. The Committee maintains that the Duke's unrealistic production goals were the true culprit, citing the overlong shifts that have been in practice since mine owner Aramis Stilton disappeared.

The mines are now managed directly by the Grand Palace until such a time as Stilton returns, or until a new director can be found. However, the Grand Palace's official statement blamed the collapse on human error and threatened to arrest anyone found guilty of "demoralizing the people of Karnaca."

We, at the Karnaca Gazette, certainly support the effort to maintain Serkonos unity. Our thoughts go to the families of those injured or killed.