Shadows over Sigil - The Eternal Boundary

Into the Hive

"Have you ever traveled the Great Road and seen all the madness out there, leatherhead? Try it, and then tell me there's a point to it all!"

caravan leader Phaal of the Bleakers

First Lady Day of Retributus, 126 HR

The Hive. It had been a while since Naghûl had last been here. Of course, he had come here for the concert whose consequences had inadvertently led him into Factol Sarin's service. Apart from that, however, he had not paid more than sporadic visits to the Hive for a long time. Just when it had been necessary for an assignment or a special experience. And yet he had by no means forgotten them, the sights, sounds and smells so typical of Sigil's slum. He looked around. He was still familiar with the chaotic jumble of dirty streets, crumbling houses and shanties nailed together from planks. Here and there, whole blocks of once magnificent buildings made of solid stone could be seen, but they too were run-down and dilapidated. Here was the heart of Sigil's decay, where a life sometimes counted for less than the next hot meal. Here, the razorvine, with its dark leaves and razor-sharp thorns, grew more often and more densely on the walls of houses and in damp corners than anywhere else in Sigil. The smells of filth, smoke, roasted rat meat, mangy dogs and always a pinch of sulfur hung oppressively over the dirty alleyways. Yes, it was still familiar, even after all these years. This was where he had been stranded back when he had arrived in Sigil alone and clueless, stumbling into the Cage. Like so many to whom the City of Doors offered nothing else, he had ended up in the Hive - and had stayed there for quite a while. Raralia and Morânia had picked him up there ... and the latter had even married him many years later. It seemed like an eternity ago and yet it was like yesterday. Together with Lereia, Sgillin and Kiyoshi, he had set off to meet Jana. They had indeed found her, sitting on a crate, at the meeting point, but completely exhausted, with deep circles under her eyes and her hair in disarray. Strangely enough, she still seemed cheerful and was eating an apple. She had asked around for Eliath, she reported, but had been unable to track him down. She hadn't even found a clue or a trace. The murders, however, were on everyone's lips, it seemed. According to Jana, the victims had all been either insane, drug addicts or bubbers. Some certainly all of the above. She suspected that Eliath might have had his gift for some time and that it could have driven him mad or made him addicted. In any case, all the victims had been strangled with a rope, if the chatter was to be believed. Sgillin thought it sounded as if someone was deliberately hunting the Chosen. Lereia, on the other hand, deemed Eliath more of a random victim. There had been a handful of murders in total, supposedly an Athar and a Sensate among the dead. At the very least, the pattern of both, the victims and the type of murder pointed to one and the same perpetrator. The Bleakers were said to be particularly affected, so Jana suggested speaking to them first. Naghûl was not enthusiastic, but had no better suggestion. The young woman praised the Bleakers' willingness to help, but the tiefling emphasized their depressiveness and warned the others not to get involved in discussions about the meaning of existence. Nevertheless, they hoped to learn more about the murders there and get a lead on Eliath. As they made their way to the Gatehouse, they caused quite a stir, especially Kiyoshi and Naghûl. The Hivers eyed them with suspicion, fear or even hostility. Only a ragged beggar and a skinny street urchin dared to ask them for money once. Naghûl had deliberately chosen the conspicuous appearance - his robe, the staff and a few eye-catching protective spells - to deter unpleasant fellows, but Jana insisted that he and Kiyoshi adapt themselves more to the conditions in the Hive. Otherwise, the sorceress feared, they would learn nothing at all in this part of Sigil, not even from the Bleakers. Lereia agreed with her, and Naghûl had to admit that Jana had a point here. When it came to keeping unwanted attention at bay, his appearance might be suitable. But less so for gathering information discreetly and unobtrusively. As they didn't want to change in the street, and Naghûl and Kiyoshi didn't have anything dark and inconspicuous to wear, they took a detour to Jana's house. The young woman lived alone in a tiny house in the Madhouse District, which was poorly furnished but very clean. A large desk was cluttered with books on artifact magic and drawings of pentagrams, arcane symbols and numerous notes. Jana had several robes made of a coarse and dark woolen fabric in a chest, which she distributed to Kiyoshi, Naghûl and Lereia. Only Sgillin's plain, black robes were suitable for the mission ahead of them. The tiefling discarded his robe and considered simply heading out in his undergarments. However, he had to admit to himself that even those looked too classy for the Hive if he wanted to remain inconspicuous. Jana advised the three primes who were new to Sigil to avoid puddles - not solely because they were particularly unappetizing in the Hive, but also because some puddles here could be portals to the Plane of Ooze - and the key was probably a foot stepping in. Perhaps one of the many quirky aspects of Sigil that people secretly deemed the Lady's difficult-to-see-through sense of humor. Now that they were suitably dressed, they continued on their way to the Gatehouse to learn about the murders and, ideally, Eliath. Kiyoshi emphasized with great seriousness that, according to the virtues of Bushido, he was not allowed to lie and therefore could not conduct an interrogation. In the end, everyone agreed to let Jana speak. As the Hive was huge and there was no transportation system of rickshaws or sedan chairs here, it took almost two hours before they arrived at the headquarters of the Bleakers. The building, very old even by planar standards, had an almost titanic entrance gate blocked by pillar-like bars. They were so large that even an ogre could easily pass through them. So it was fair to wonder who or what was originally supposed to be prevented from entering - or leaving. In front of the entrance was a huge mosaic depicting a helmet decorated with blades. This motif had become the faction symbol of the Bleak Cabal, but the exact meaning was unknown. Several long tables had been set up next to the entrance, and some faction members were loading them with wobbly stacked bowls and bent spoons. Jana approached one of them, a younger human woman with brown hair in a long braid.