“Can you watch over Lucius tonight?” Virginia asks Inglorion during dinner. “You’ll need to give him fluids and medication, but I’ll write up a schedule for you. Sextus asked me to take the remaining fever cases tonight.” “Of course. Should I watch him through the night, or can I get a few hours of trance […]
The following day, there’s still no sign of the wagons that will be used to transport the remaining slaves to Liamelia. Inglorion has to start looking at contingencies, and planning for the possibility that help isn’t coming. It seems absurd. They’re a half-day’s ride from a major city, on a Gypsy migration route, but they […]
Inglorion wakes just before dawn. He finds himself calculating how soon he could possibly see Virginia, if she chooses to come. It will take the courier five hours to reach Liamelia. She’ll need a few hours to pack, and the return trip is another five hours if they travel cross-country without stopping. The soonest he […]
Inglorion wakes to a sense of sorrow and oppression, and to a very physical comfort in his son’s embrace. He lies there for a moment, remembering where he is, trying to come to grips with the day ahead. Lucius surfaces, blinking and yawning. Inglorion feels an almost painful sense of gratitude to see his son’s […]
Over the next several hours, Inglorion is interviewed by six different men. Two are openly hostile; one, disarmingly genial. The remaining three are neutral or non-committal. They all inquire into his weapons training and combat experience. One questions him extensively about his language studies, though he doesn’t speak Drow, Romany or French, and can’t give […]
Inglorion is reading yet another intelligence report that Ajax has brought from the Underdark. The news isn’t bad, precisely, but it’s ambiguous. He’s straining to understand its significance. It doesn’t help that there’s a migraine shimmering at the edges of his vision. He’s nauseated, too, and knows that he should try to eat something. He […]
The next morning Valentine wakes up feeling stale and weighed down, though he doesn’t remember why. He spends the morning reading correspondence from his estate agent and lawyers, and consulting with Ajax about household matters. Valentine is forcibly reminded of his sorrow when he meets Inglorion in the atrium, where they’ve marked out a boxing ring. […]
Soundtrack and Video: Skinny Puppy, “Spasmolytic,” 1980s concert footage The Drow line up. Tisiphone gives them their shots, and instructs them to pair up with the prisoners. Within minutes, a weird energy spreads among the soldiers. They’re twitching, their nostrils are flaring, their sweat smells sharp and pungent. One woman clenches and unclenches her fists, while […]
Soundtrack: Download, “Separate” Inglorion is standing in the anteroom just outside the throne room. Cabinet officials linger here and there, chatting in twos and threes, because the poor acoustics allow them to speak in relative privacy. Clytemnestra is trying to guide Philomela out of the throne room, past members of the Xyrec delegation, who are […]
Life in the Underdark as Marquis Theates sounds exotic, but at times it resembles the life of a mid-level manager in corporate America, seen through infrared vision. Over the next few days, Inglorion attends a lot of meetings and briefings, and holds some. He writes and reads reports, resumes his usual alliances and vendettas. All […]
