003.

[champions]

FORM: crystal
SENDER: Kostos, Nikos, Marisol
RECIPIENT: everyone
WHAT: don’t feed the zombie
WHEN: current
WHERE: Kirkwallerino
NOTES: Zombies, man. Related to the Nevarra diplomacy effort.

Beloved Inquisition. Charming, benevolent, remarkably good looking, delightful Inquisition.

(Here there is a quiet snort of sarcasm that belongs to Nikos.

Off to a great start. Marisol sighs wistfully. ) You will be happy to know that we are making headway in repairing our relationship with Nevarra. There is much to do, still, but the team I attended with did excellent work, and I am thankful to all of them.

Marisol. ( Quiet chiding, not really meant for anyone else but her. The point, Marisol, the point. )

Ah! ( A moment of enlightenment. Bless you, dear cousin. ) Another of my wondrous Nevarran relatives has descended upon the Inquisition. She is residing in the Gallows, but I would ask all of you to treat her with the utmost respect, and maintain a safe and healthy distance.

( c: )

She— ( wait, no, Kostos isn’t playing along with that ridiculousness ) —It is in a locked room in the central tower. You should not be at risk of encountering it unless you make an effort.

Don’t make the effort. Unless you want your eyeballs speared by long fingernails and the state of your cloak slyly disrespected. The former more likely than the latter. I think her tongue is rotted. (wait…. In a Kostos voice that actually sounds pretty much like his own voice, slightly different accent, slightly more sullen? Less sullen? Hard to say.) It has a rotted tongue. All dust.

(And he sounds way too darkly amused about that. Meanwhile, Marisol sounds as chill and entertained as always, the faint note of reproof entirely playful. )

Great Great Great Aunt Berenike is a woman of considerable reputation, but presently also of considerable temper. She has very graciously acquiesced to participate in our efforts to cure the revered dead of the Necropolis of their current ill-humour, but she is not not one to suffer fools.

Except for dinner. She will gladly suffer fools for dinner.

Comments

[champions]

I love it, you must recommend it to Kostos. A Spirit of Dance!

[exequy]

No.

[ Not to the general idea. Just the dance part. ]

[champions]

Yes!

[exequy]

[champions]

[foundmyselfagain]

I stick with my original suggestion. I don’t need to see your poor aunt break a hip trying to shake her withered tail feathers.

...Is it possible, though? Surely there isn’t some kind of limit on how many spirits can possess a corpse, if the first one is removed. Of course, that might end up with an angry demon amok instead of an angry aunt.

[exequy]

It is possible, but not as a first step. We need to know what happened. If it is something physical, in the body, replacing the spirit will only infect it as well. If it is a corruption of the spirit, altering it might lose us our chance to determine how it happened. And—what you said.

[foundmyselfagain]

Well, if we do it, and it turns out to be a physical thing, that helps narrow down what’s going on, won’t it? And we’ll be right back where we started in terms of angry corpses. Except the whole possible demon thing. But I’ll protect you, Kostos.

[ ur hero, kostos. ]

I guess the ideal scenario would be experimenting on multiple bodies, but I’m guessing Nevarra wouldn’t be down with exporting a few more of them.

[exequy]

We were lucky to acquire this one, even taking into account how little anyone cares about our family anymore. But if we first make some progress to justify the request, perhaps we could ask for more.

[private]

[foundmyselfagain]

[ He quickly switches to private, before cheerfully suggesting: ]

I could steal more. I won't even let them know the Inquisition did it.

∞

[exequy]

You want to break into the Grand Necropolis and steal the enraged, unruly corpses of my ancestors from the Motalitasi. Alone.

[foundmyselfagain]

I can steal someone else's ancestors. Are there any families in Nevarra City you have a particular grudge against?

[ That is the important problem to address here. ]

[exequy]

The Pentaghasts threw us out.

[ Do not steal corpses from the Pentaghasts. ]

You could steal King Caspar the Magnificent.

[ Do not steal King Caspar the Magnificent. ]

[foundmyselfagain]

[ It is causing me physical pain that Gareth can't make a joke about Caspar the Not-So-Friendly Ghost. ]

That sounds like a great idea that in no way could go horribly wrong. I'll make sure to take the crown, it might be important. Or I might just want to wear it.

Hey--I'm taking a wild guess and assuming people have died since that incident. Have Nevarrans kept up with the whole Mortalitasi thing for new corpses? Have those ones tried to kill anyone?

[exequy]

No, they haven’t. Not even all of the dead who were present at the time are affected. Those that are have been separated from the remainder.

[foundmyselfagain]

Is there something that differentiates those affected by those who aren't? Maybe it's like those blood sharks, but. Not blood. But things similar to them, too small to see normally.

[ And on this day, Gareth almost discovered germs. ]

[exequy]

Something to look into. But we only have Berenike, for now.

[foundmyselfagain]

Well, I'm sure we have plenty of regular corpses we can examine and compare her to. If you need any, I can go find one.

[ Or make one. ]