1/14/973
I'm scared to death of what is about to happen to me. But I'm also resigned. It's over. Dull thuds came from the bottom of the stairs. I fear that Vendrion and Jestulah are… oh, my Goddess! I told them I didn't need their protection! That they couldn't help me! Oh, Viryl, I don't think there's any hope of you reading these words, but if they should reach you, please forgive me... I don't ––
27/13/973
Time is running out now. I can feel it, my time will come soon. Ever since they kidnapped Coronice, disturbing knights of the Order of Libertas have begun to stake out my palace. When I go out to shop or go to the club, they look at me with empty eyes, like a hunter looks at a fawn mortally wounded by his arrow. Has ##### managed to get to them too? There is no doubt, he must have paid them handsomely. Vendrion and Jestulah, seeing my concern, offered to be my bodyguards. Silly men, infatuated with an old slut! As if they could stand up to a group of cold-hearted knights. But there was no way to make them give up.
Finally I'm sure: it was a mistake not to confide in Viryl when he came looking for me. If I had entrusted myself to him…
No, Darlah! A little pride! I've already given that man enough trouble for a lifetime. I could never take all my problems out on him again.
Oh, who am I kidding… I'm still the same selfish fool! Protect him? Give him trouble? I could only have helped him by telling him what I knew! I avoided it only because I hoped that by doing so I would be saved from my fate. Now all I have left is the regret of not having even said goodbye to him. Stupid, stupid Darlah.
X 26/13/973
What a macabre Christmas awaits us... I managed to find out where they took Coronice. Neltunia responded to me without hesitation, and this is worrying. They took her to the Brotherhood of the Crawling Worm. I hope those squalid and abominable pigs don't do her any harm, but no one is ever safe in the clutches of ######. He certainly has no remorse in repaying you with this coin, even after years of absolute loyalty.
Poor little girl, she makes me so tender. We had our disagreements, but she didn't deserve such a cruel fate. I used to be young and foolish too, after all.
13/25/973
They took Coronice while I was gone. The girls told me that some men from the ###### ##### wearing black capes arrived and started making noise in the lobby. They knew we were hiding her. And so as not to create problems for us, she handed herself over of her own free will.
I have to find out where they took her, but I certainly can't go to ###### in person like I did in the past, it would be suicide. I have to be clever. The Rat King made me understand that he can no longer help me. Maybe I could ask Neltunia to investigate, even though I know I can't trust her. She has become ######'s new pet, and my influence on her as her old teacher is worth very little. But what are my alternatives?
13/23/973
Today Coronice knocked on the club's door. She was seriously injured, she had numerous cuts and holes on her back and legs. I treated her with Redelot lotus and Venemesta lily compresses, she'll be fine. Apparently, her battle against Viryl didn't have the outcome she hoped for. How relieved I am!
But this is a problem for her now. ###### will not forgive her for this second failure, and that is why she sought my help. But how long will I be able to hide her?
22/13/973
Still no news, and it doesn't stop snowing. The anguish is eating away at my liver.
13/21/973
Coronice stopped by this morning. That sadist brat wanted to let me know that today is the day. How her eyes shone! Viryl has discovered Veltagia and is heading there with the boy who accompanies him. ######'s men spotted them while they were renting two horses at the stables outside the city. He never liked horses.
How foolish I was to not talk to him when I had the chance. I couldn't keep him safe.
Ah! Damn, miserable little whore. Does she really not realize that ###### is just exploiting her? How long will he have to abuse her before she opens her eyes?
It is now night, and the storm is raging outside. I haven't received any new news.
Oh, my good goddess Malsenial, hear the prayer of your devotee and protect him!
20/13/973
I've been thinking about it and now I think I was wrong. Maybe it was a mistake not to meet Viryl when I had the chance. He should know what risks he is taking, and what kind of devil is plotting against him. What if the death the premonition spoke of was Viryl's?
If he comes back, he'll find me this time. But yesterday he didn't show up. Let's hope it's not too late…
19/13/973
Yesterday Viryl came back again. He seeks me so insistently that today I couldn't resist. I went to ######'s residence, well aware that this could spell the end for me. But I didn't care, I had to know what that monster is planning to do to him.
# ###### # ### ### ####### ### ######## ## ### ###########. ### ###### #### ## ## ### ######.
As was to be expected, the visit of this rebellious prostitute was not at all welcome. He evaded my questions, but I still managed to glean some information from him. Apparently Viryl had put his hands on something that did not belong to him, and so ###### sent Coronice to take it from him in turn. And now Viryl is here to take it back. ###### will have him killed by Coronice and he will make sure that the blame for the theft falls on him. He will have no way to defend himself, since the dead do not speak.
###### also made it clear to me that I will never be welcome in his house any more. If I try to knock on his door again, he will make me disappear.
Viryl, what trouble have you gotten yourself into?
18/13/973
I can not believe it! Last night he actually came! As I suspected, he fell into the trap I had set for him: he slept with Remelia. What a rascal. I knew he would like her, when it comes to women she still has the tastes of the past. He's gone bald, but he still has the same piercing eyes, the same broad shoulders, and I bet he still has the same untamed, wild smell.
He was accompanied by a handsome boy, dead drunk. I had to expose myself to prevent him from vomiting in the hall. I wanted to give him a blessing, but I instinctively sensed that Malsenial wouldn't like it. Therefore I wet his forehead with a lotion of green ginger and thorny juniper, in order to offer him only temporary relief. At least this way, since the hangover hasn't gone away, he won't remember anything today.
Was he his son? He didn't look much like him, and there's nothing oriental about his features.
I'm very happy to have seen Viryl again, but this, unfortunately, confirms the premonition. My life is in danger.
|…|
2/13/973
I duly instructed Tamalla. If in the next few days an elderly man with a Ferlonian accent were to stop by the club to ask questions about me, I told her to deny my presence and, if he really didn't give in, to let him meet Remelia. If I know him at all, he'll lose his mind. I hope this is enough to keep me safe.
1/13/973
Since today is the first day of Siliphicus, as usual I questioned the goddess Malsenial with the Senlukian tarot to get an idea of what awaits me in the coming month. The prophecy was terrible, the most ominous that the Goddess has ever revealed to me.
I drew in order: the dead man, the paladin, the abyss.
The first card, which answers the “what” question, is fairly self-explanatory. Of course, the meaning could also be symbolic. A mental condition of helplessness, a limitation of my freedom, or the end of a period of my life. However, usually the explanation is the most literal and concrete one. The goddess invites me to make wise use of the time I have left, because it isn't much.
The second card, which answers the question “who”, as far as I'm concerned, can refer to only one person. The paladin is the one we perceive as our savior. A doctor, a parent, a gendarme. I believe I was saved only once, by Viryl from Zelfiria. And it's a disturbing coincidence that a couple of months ago ###### mentioned his name to me. Is Viryl coming to Meridania?
The third card is the most difficult to interpret. It usually refers to the first card drawn, the second or both, and gives contextual information. Will I drown? Will I die in the darkest hour of the night? Will my death open a chasm that will make those who come to my aid fall into oblivion? Is Viryl's mind clouded by deep feelings of hatred? Will Viryl come from the sea? Will I try to escape my fate, but will I end up sinking anyway? There are way too many things I don’t know to answer these questions.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
In summary though, I'm pretty sure of this: I will die, and it will be because of Viryl from Zelfiria. This is crazy: Viryl has never hurt me, and he never would.
I have to be brave. Malsenial's premonitions have always come true, but I certainly cannot surrender to my fate.
|…|
8/12/973
I feel like a prisoner in my own city. No one can take credit for my accomplishments, I refuse to let myself be uprooted like a weed. Yet, this impotence is painful. That man, crumb by crumb, has taken away everything I have painstakingly built in more than twenty years. My allies, my position, my reputation, my students.
No one calls me High Priestess of Malsenial anymore, beyond the few acolytes who have remained loyal to the club. That title now belongs to Neltunia, and the pilgrims who once sought me for my thaumaturgical powers now seek her.
Oh, my Goddess, I feel so miserable! How can you continue to bestow your blessings on that wretched traitor, responsible for a schism in your own Church?
|…|
16/11/973
The visit that ###### paid me yesterday, asking me all those questions about Viryl, left me with a great deal of anxiety. I needed to know more, so today I went to the Rat King assuming that he might be better informed than I about his master's plans.
After all, in this city when you are in need of information the first door you knock on is a manhole cover, and I don’t think ###### could have done without the help of one of his most illustrious subordinates.
I found myself facing an insurmountable wall. The Rat King told me that the matter is none of my business and that I would do better to give up my research. My safety and his are at stake. He will never tell me anything about the secrets that bind him to ######, because his revenge would be merciless.
15/11/973
Viryl from Zelfiria. I hadn’t heard that name in decades, and I never expected to hear it from the lips of ######.
He wanted me to tell him everything I know about him. “Revealing the secrets of an old lover. I’m asking for very little, considering that you must have had a lot of them in your days as a whore. At least I hope you can help me with this without making a fuss,” that’s what the coward told me.
Lots of lovers, of course. Work is one thing, love is another. But what could a narrow-minded man like him know?
In any case, on the few occasions I spoke to Tolomer in recent years, I never asked him about his cousin. Since I learned that he got married, I’ve avoided getting involved in matters where I would be just a nuisance. I’ve always wanted his happiness, and since I was never able to give it to him, I realized it was better to just stay away.
All this is very disturbing, anyway. Sure, we both come from Zelfiria and are about the same age, but how did he know about our relationship? I thought it was a private matter, as well as an old one. To be able to dig that deep, that man must have made powerful connections in Ferlonia too.
|…|
10/10/973
Today ###### tried again, and sent the ungrateful little bitch to try to convince me. What nerve! As if I didn't know, that a church without a priestesses is nothing but a splendidly ornate facade that leads to no nave. I told her to go back where she came from. She is no longer welcome here.
|…|
3/9/973
I finally understood what ###### was aiming for by seducing Neltunia. Unable to obtain the original, he decided to build his own Church of Malsenial. And to lead it, he chose the most capable priestess his filthy paws could grab.
But that doesn't change the substance. His is a fake cult. He can even erect a dazzling temple, crowded with statues and incense burners, but Neltunia is not ready yet. She has not been instructed in the most hidden secrets of the liturgy.
And yet, I must grant this: on paper ###### has completed his project. Now all the esoteric cults of Meridania are under his control.
The ###### #####, which has always had deep roots in the elites of Meridania, administers and conducts the affairs of the organization with an efficiency never experienced before, pursuing an exquisitely capitalistic and structured model. The Brotherhood of the Crawling Worm fattens Vorxellon with the corpses obtained from their contract assassinations. The Rats emerge from the sewers, steal goods and information requested, and return to their home, to protect themselves from the light of the sun. The members of the sect of Axazeloth have disappeared: probably now they conduct their experiments elsewhere, far from the abandoned pavilion of the Civil Asylum of Meridania where they used to meet. Neltunia, with miracles and second-rate blessings, keeps up a pantomime convincing enough.
The organization of ###### is in great ferment from every point of view. And yet an ###### ######### could not have done all this alone, without external funding. I wonder where the huge capitals in his disposal came from.
|…|
6/7/973
Neltunia has really left. ###### managed to seduce her. Not promising her the world as usual, this time he just ensnared her with his bourgeois charm. Miserable bastard, fake like the elegant clothes he wears.
But the fault is mainly mine, I do not deny it. As a teacher I have been a failure. If I have not been able to teach a prostitute to look with disenchantment at the flattery of men who seek her, I have failed in the basics, however exhaustive I may have been in the doctrine of Malsenial.
1/7/973
Another bad omen from the Goddess. The arcana of this month were: the dagger, the maiden, the dead man. I will be betrayed by my favorite daughter. What could possibly drive Neltunia to such an action?
|…|
22/16/972
I am of a certain age now, and I think the time has come to designate a successor to lead the Church when I decide to retire permanently. And, I am sorry to say, that day is not far off. Recent events have totally worn me out.
I am not leaving the girls the legacy I would have hoped for, I realize that. But some devotees still seek us, and as long as the brothel remains in business, they will certainly have plenty to eat.
Of my thirteen deaconesses, I have chosen Neltunia, the most promising. In her eyes I see an ardor and a passion that the others lack. These are essential qualities to be appreciated by the goddess Malsenial. It is no coincidence that the miracles that the Goddess bestows through the intercession of Neltunia are already extremely powerful, almost on par with mine.
Her special apprenticeship will last three years, and then she will be ready to take over the reins of the Church.
|…|
23/15/972
Finally even the Rat King, holding his nose, bowed his head to the empire of ######. We have lost our last ally.
I can hardly blame him. I spoke to him and he explained that the services offered by the sewer dwellers were no longer met with adequate demand since the Fingers fell. It was our network that provided the intermediation that allowed them to stay afloat. What gentleman would ever venture into the fetid, overflowing sewer channels without the reassurance of a reliable guarantor?
At least, that is the version he gave me. Yet I am sure he did not tell me the whole truth. Their sect is the oldest in Meridania and I don't think they've ever had financial problems, even before the founding of the Five Occult Fingers. Can it be just a matter of greed, if we're talking about a cult that makes pauperism its cornerstone?
|…|
5/5/972
In the end it happened. The Three Fingers fell. It was a bolt from the blue. Last night, the Doctor Maximus of the Axazeloth sect was the first to speak at the monthly meeting of the Three Occult Fingers, and announced that he was resigning his place in the organization. Obviously, both the Rat King and I wanted to know what prompted his decision.
###### bought him as well.
We asked him what offer could be so precious to make him give up his dignity.
The Doctor Maximus laughed at our shortsightedness. With the restrictions we subject ourselves to in order to keep our rites within the limits of decorum that contemporaneity imposes on us, we have lost sight of what should be our goal.
The Rat King and I vocally disagreed: at the dawn of the age of reason, ancient rituals cannot be followed to the letter, in the barbaric way in which they were formulated. The Inquisition is still around the corner, and wicked behavior can only lead to a resurgence of repression, even if we feel safe in the League of Free Communes.
Shaking his head, the Doctor Maximus abandoned his seat. Everything has a price, both human life and freedom, he said as he left. What a fool. He does not know the horror. He does not know what it means to see his comrades brutally murdered during a fanatical witch hunt.
|…|
3/11/971
###### tried again. He came to the club to tell me that it is useless to resist. After the Brotherhood of the Crawling Worm, we will all fall under its yoke: what is the point of postponing the inevitable? I told him not to gloat and to hold on to his victory, because it will also be the last. He will keep his organization and we will keep ours. Those pig slaughterers are certainly not a great loss for us.
|…|
X 10/7/971
Today I went to the Old Quarter Slaughterhouse. The stench of putrefaction that can be felt in that filthy shed always makes me sick to my stomach. And for that matter, the view is even worse. The nomads of the eastern deserts who worshipped Vorxellon certainly couldn't have been weak-stomached.
When I reached his office, when I asked for an explanation, the Slimy Glory simply leafed through his newspaper soaked in disgusting porcine humors, not deigning to look at me. He limited himself to this pathetic answer: he appreciates devil’s dung as much as the devil. I wished him a good rest of his life as #####'s henchman: after all, having one more worm to worship won't make a difference to him.
Based on the provisions of the statute, the Slimy Glory and the Grand Master have both been expelled from our association: subordination is not allowed. In a single day, the Hand lost two of its fingers: now we are three.
10/6/971
This cannot be true! The Brotherhood of the Crawling Worm has fallen for the temptations of that filthy criminal! Yet I thought our line had been accepted by mutual agreement. I must see clearly through this. Tomorrow I will go to meet the Slimy Glory.
|…|
7/13/971
I have discovered the identity of the Grand Master. Today he came in person to meet me at the club, bringing his new pet on a leash.
He had a proposal, in his opinion a grandiose one. He intends to unite the Five Occult Fingers of Meridania into a single organization, crowning himself arbitrarily as its absolute leader. What good would that do us? He believes that with our “heterogeneous skills” we could become the eminence grise of Meridania, and even go as far as manipulating the internal politics of nations beyond our borders, profiting from it. What a fine entrepreneurial mindset our little megalomaniac has.
At first I played along. I pretended to take his vision seriously, adding however that I would find it difficult to leave my Church in the hands of an individual whose face I do not even know. Thinking he almost had me in his grasp, the fool lowered his mask and introduced himself. His name is ###### ## ##### ####### ## #######, ####### ######### ## ### ########## ## #########. My outburst of laughter when I saw ### #########, ####### ######### left him speechless. Oh, what a face he made! Priceless!
I told him very clearly, addressing him with derision. The Church of Malsenial has enough income, and will never bend to the will of a nobody who appeared from nowhere, even if he boasts the title of Grand Master. And the same goes for the other Fingers. Ours are esoteric circles, not aspiring mafia organizations. If he wants to persist in this repulsive mindset, he should go back to ########, where he will surely have better luck.
Incredibly, he was very composed in his response. My insults slid off him, and he simply stated that he was sure I would reconsider his offer. Then he left with Coronice in tow. Sure, my dear, just wait and hope!
|…|
5/6/971
The new Grand Master has already pulled off a pretty good coup. He managed to track down the last Son of Velthan, who we thought was gone forever. Perhaps it would be better to say Daughter, since she identifies as female.
He introduced us to her at the meeting of the Five Occult Fingers of Meridania that took place yesterday. We were all stunned, except for the Rat King, who remained seated in his chair throughout the meeting with an annoyed expression painted on his face. I fear that his dislike for the arrogance of the new Grand Master has not yet softened.
The daughter of Velthan is a wild and shy little girl, displayed as a naturalist would display a rare specimen captured on an expedition to the continent of Austrica. She says that in her village they never gave her a name, and so she chose to be called Coronice.
The Grand Master won her over with little. All he had to do was offer her food and a warm bed and he made her his. Poor little girl, she must have had a difficult time.
|…|
5/4/971
After the untimely death of Grand Master Bronwald of Meridania, the ###### ##### has elected a new Grand Master. He is a young ########## #########, who has risen through the ranks of the Masonic circle in the last four years or so.
He has kept his identity secret, and has refused to reveal his face to me. What a shameless young man, to disrespect the High Priestess of the goddess Malsenial in this way! Not that he has been more forthcoming in private with the other three Occult Fingers of Meridania. The Rat King seemed the most indisposed by this attitude, but I urged him to calm down.
Despite the dire preconditions, in order to keep relations with the ###### ##### I offered him my sincere best wishes.
Now the arcana I have revealed this month are clearer to me: the astrologer, the merchant, the plague. I believe that the merchant is precisely this Grand Master: a Homo Novus, driven by great ambitions, who aims for the stars. But the plague is certainly not a good sign, it could bring the ###### ##### to ruin. We will come to terms with it: a hand works well even with four fingers.