Hinterlands, part IV - Elysium

There is only one thing to note before this set of entries, Paxius seems to have been her brother.Lady's Grace,Marcus

3rd Hive of SacreligionI've spent the last few days in Sigil, recuperating. Not physically, as that vamp had nary the muscle power over me, but rather emotionally. I never have qualms about killing mindless bodies like her, but something in me clicked. Leaving for Ecstasy today. Its not as I have a choice, it will be better if I finish early.

3rd Void Of Sacreligion"Peace Sod!" The phrase has been echoing in my head all day, I've heard it so SODDING much. I've stored the halberd [After having it analyzed, I found it is intelligent, and neutral evil. Enhancing it magically increased its ego to the point where it could affect me] so it cannot influence me. Free of the notion that I was going barmy, I've had a good uneventful trip to Ecstasy, except for meeting a barmy right before the portal who insisted on speaking contradictory. Annoying berk. It took me a very short time to reach a settlement, reflecting the nature of Elysium, that good deeds make you travel fast. No good deeds were carried out by me, and that's confusing. The people here are very friendly and for once seem genuine. They are like they took a draft from the blue pool of the Fountain of Solid Dreams. Endlessly jumping around, gleeful barmies, with not a care in the world. I first received greetings from a man, who was wearing a smile as large as his clothing was sparse. "Peace, Sod," he exclaimed.

"Welcome to Tunia!" came from a woman of about thirty years. "Our land is pure happiness! We are not like those poor bodies in that overpopulated slum, Sigil I think you call it."

I immediately hardened at the insult to my city.

"We live how we want," she continued. "We do what we want, yet we still have order, elections, a council to make decisions. We are perfect. Some days I sleep in a house, some days in a field. It does not matter, everything is so plentiful here. What you would need to cook grows on our beautiful trees."

This was true, as they pointed to a roast turkey that was simmering on a nearby branch. It did not seem weighed down, although the turkey looked to be at least 20 pounds.

The man continued, as if picking up her thoughts. "A visitor from a prime world brought us some of our favorite traditions. Each visitor influences us, and makes us happier, or perfection more perfect."

So this went, on and on, and although it was very interesting at first, it began to sound like repetitious drivel about the glory and perfection of their town and their people.

I've decided to take up kip in a basement of a small, but cozy house with three other bloods. I chose those who seemed the most stable.

4th Lady of SacreligionWith more time to observe the physical characteristics of Tunia, I can say with utmost certainty that the current residents could not have built it. Pastels dominate the settlement, with houses ranging in color from pink to green, blue to lavender. Everything these capable bashers do is done together. The farm produce and the animals are cared for by everyone, and everything belongs to everyone. I read about this kind of system being used on a prime world, only then it turned into an evil Harmonium-style thing, with total dictatorship. It's handled quite differently here. They never cease rattling their bone-boxes about how well their system works and how successful and happy they are.

4th Clerk of SacreligionAnother place I've had to run away from! These are the soddin upper planes, too! What's going to happen to me when I reach the lower planes? I'm most scared of the Waste. I'm back in Ecstasy, being cared for by a friendly cleric of Bragi. The day after my last entry, they invited me to a once-a-week "Luale" they had. I was flattered and accepted. The first thing that roused my suspicion was the refusal to tell me where the "Luale" was talking place, only that I would see when I got there.

About an hour later, one of the friendly bashers who greeted me when I first came, insisted that I put on a blindfold, and accompany him. A quick detect lie confirmed his intentions were not malevolent. I felt a whisking sound about a minute later and I was allowed to see. The ground seemed to be made out of fog. I was then fed the story that they had cast magic on a willing mortai to make him solid, and this was the private place where some of the townsfolk met, to be away from the more clueless or malevolent ones. Sounds coming from another room prompted an invite to "See what we do!"

I sat down at an equally fog like table, and was handed a plate. It had seeds, some powdery looking stuff, and a drink. Questions prompted "Its our sustenance."

It was opium. An evil concoction that took over able bloods and made them crying leatherheads, ever hungering for more. The people of the town were stuffing it down their throats like hungry animals. Some fell on their flower-patterned clothes, and their finger medallions, spilling all over the floor in a deluge of narcotic abundance. I resisted, I had seen the evil drug destroy Paxius, and I was not about to let it have me. Slightly remembering the location where I'd first arrived in the "Mortai" I rushed though the compound. The people, intoxicated with the powder, paid no attention to me as I scrambled through the halls in a terrified flutter. Eventually, I saw a ten inch diameter pad with two marks on it. I stomped on it twice, and miraculously, I was back in Tunia.

The town was deserted, and appeared to have been so for at least several hundred years. The once beautiful houses were in various states of decay. I took the time to look in each one. Perfectly preserved, each was in the same state it was when I "left" it. Personal items, clothes, books, in fact the entire collection of the towns inanimate objects was covered in a hundred year dust. It took me only half a day to come back to Ecstasy, but I was looking back all the way. When I got back, I was told by a young girl assigned to watch my things that I had only been gone 8 hours, and that it was still the 3rd Void of Sacreligion. Time to adjust the calendar.