The Final Testament of a Broken Man

Around midnight Glorius ran off. He didn't say anything. He just disappeared.

Lexi didn't want to look for him. She was shivering. I don't think she's seen much death. Especially by the standards of Master's servants. Acedia had shaken her.

I left her in a safehouse and went to find Glorius.

I found him in a mall.

Spike had a rifle with him, and I could see Scarneck behind him. She seemed... I don't know. Lost? Glorius had his own weapons and was firing at the two from across the hallway.

Spike took aim. And he fired.

Glorius went down.

Scarneck turned around and a Door appeared before her. She said something to Spike (I was too far away to hear it) and the two of them stepped through it. I rushed out of my hiding place to Glorius' side.

"Steward?" he asked, when I got there. His voice was barely above a whisper. "That you?"

"Hang on," I said. "I'll get you out of here."

He shook his head. "No... no... I'm going to go see Dana...."

It took me a second to realize who he was talking about. Dana. Acedia's real name.

"It was all so easy when she was with me. They gave us memories. I can remember losing my parents in the 9/11 attack... I can remember the Tall One finding me. I remember meeting her there.... but I remember meeting her three years ago too. I remember introducing her to my parents. Meeting hers. I remember we were walking down the street one day when He showed up..."

I was quiet.

"It was easier to just pretend that the fake memories were true... It was easier with her.... Dana...."

"Just hold on, Glorius. We're gonna get help."

"Gerald. My name is Gerald."

And then his breathing stopped.

I left him there. It was a quiet walk out of the mall. I tried to ignore the Eye's gaze upon my back.

Attack

Acedia is dead.

Spike found us. He had a gun. We didn't even know he was there until the window shattered and Acedia crumpled to the ground, leaving a cloud of pink mist in the air.

Glorius screamed. It was... it was a raw, primal thing. A howl of rage and of morning.

And then we heard Spike's laughter coming from the outside. And we heard him shouting "all you proxy fuckers need to die!"

Lexi and me had to drag Glorius through the Path. He was struggling to go find Spike. To kill him. To...

Oh God. I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Wolves

Remember that Camper I met some time ago?

He showed up in my room last night.

I just turned around, and there he was. Same pale face. Same blank expression. Same damp black hair. Same fake smile.

"Hello, Joseph Steward," he said. "It has been a while."

"It has. Mind telling me what the fuck you're doing in my room?"

"You are indebted to us. We are simply interested in your continued health."

I nodded. I'd forgotten that part.

"How goes your search? Have you learned your foe's identity?"

"Not exactly, but I have my suspicions."

"Do tell."

I hesitated a moment. "The Wooden Girl."

That fake smile got bigger, though his eyes remained the same. "What are your reasons for suspecting her?"

"Her betrayal," I said. "She used the death of her Dolls as an excuse to betray Master. It's flimsy. And I know that she's never cared for those in her service."

"You have concluded that she purposely murdered her Dolls as part of some grand plan?"

I nodded.

The Camper was silent for a moment, and then spoke again. "Wolves."

"Excuse me?"

"It has been said that if you see a lone wolf in front of you, the rest of the pack is behind you. They are animals. Similar to dogs. But they are cunning. They hunt with finesse. They hunt intelligently. Do you know what apes, rats, and certain birds have in common?"

"...Warm blood?"

"Correct. But there is also evidence of the capability of metacognition. Thought about thought. Self-awareness. They are more intelligent than one would assume. Just like wolves."

This was getting annoying. "Is there a point to all this?"

A real smile this time. "There is." And then he was simply... gone. Back to wherever the Ichor needed him.

-STEWARD

GOD DAMNIT!

There was a massacre at the local police station last night. Everyone there was torn to pieces. I'm not even exaggerating. I used the Path to go see for myself, and after I threw up I went back through the Path, trying to push the images out of my head.

...And Spike's missing.

So I guess my mysterious foe has decided to make use of him? This is very bad....

-STEWARD

I'm Back

I don't know where I was. There was a woman who took me. She was African, had curly hair down to her shoulders, kind of slanted eyes... and there was what looked like a burn scar on the left side of her neck. She's the one who took me and stuck me in that cabin. Let's call her Miss Scarneck.

I can't remember much of my captivity. Mostly it just blurred by up until I woke up with Lexi, Glorius, and Acedia standing over me, and then I had to order them to tie me up and lock me in a room, since I upon waking I was suddenly overcome with an urge-- no, a need-- to kill them all.

That's how I spent the last few days. Tied up in a room, with no one to keep me company. Well, the eye thingy showed up once. It grew out of the wood on the door and stared for hours until I fell asleep, then it was gone.

So what have we learned? The Compulsion has a time limit. Within a few days, it fades away, which means that whatever causes it has to re-administer its orders every now and then. Interesting.

After I was free from it, I did a bit of research and also learned this: Spike, or "Sheldon Butters" (I'd change my name to "Spike" too...) has been in police custody for the last five days. Turns out that he was really bad at covering his tracks and left a trail for police to follow. Dumbass.

I also learned that a few of his murders don't match up. A number of the killings left no evidence. They were carried out the same way that Sleight's killings were carried out. I didn't pay much attention to them, because they weren't ours. Turns out they were the Wooden Girl's. That would explain why she's so mad (or at least, it provided her with a good excuse to turn against Master).

My guess is that Scarneck was using Spike to her advantage to cover up her own activities. Looks like we found Sleight's successor.

Pieces are beginning to fall into place.

Let's see what else we can learn, hmm?

-STEWARD

Rescue

We got Steward back.

Acedia tracked the girl next time she showed up, and we followed her through some kind of portal.

On the other side there was... a forest. It wasn't the Path of Black Leaves. The trees were all normal seeming. I'm not sure where we were. There was no sign of the girl anywhere.

We found a cabin nearby. It was sort of old-timey. It sat on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Steward was inside. He was tied up and unconscious.

We took him and we went through the Empty City to get out of wherever we were. It wasn't long before the Dolls found us, but we left the City as soon as they did. The rest of our traveling was done with the Path.

He's still out, but he seems fine.

Please wake up soon.

~=Lexi=~

Possible Suspect

Glorius noticed that some girl has been following us. He didn't get a good look at her.

We found a note this morning saying that Steward would be returned to us alive and unharmed if stopped looking for Spike.

I... I don't know what I should do. Steward wouldn't want us to stop our investigation, but then again he probably wouldn't want to be hurt either. And for all his faults and emotional issues, he's a pretty nice guy when you get to know him. I don't want to abandon him.

But if we abandon the mission, what would the Tall One do to us?

~=Lexi=~

Betrayal

The Tall One sent us word: the puppet thing, the "Wooden Girl", betrayed Him. Those people that attacked us in the City were hers.

So did they take Steward? Or did he... no. No, he wouldn't do that. He'd never do that.

Bad thoughts.

~=Lexi=~

Enemies

We still haven't had any luck finding Steward OR Spike.

We tried to open a Door to the Empty City (I still cannot get over that that thing is real), thinking we might find him there... somewhere. Next thing we know there are these people attacking us. They moved really weirdly (is that a word?) and one of them had this freaky clown-looking mask.

So we can't use the City anymore. Those people are there waiting for us. Glorius was almost stabbed by the masked guy.

I don't know what's going on. When I joined, I thought my job with the Tall One would be simple. I didn't ask for all this crap with these other "Entities" or "Fears" or "PREs" or "Aspects" or whatever the fuck they are. That was Steward's area of expertise. None of us know what we're supposed to do.

~=Lexi=~

Steward's Missing

We all woke up this morning and he was no where to be found.

I don't think he would leave without telling us, but there's no sign of forced entry or anything.

I'll keep you guys posted.

~=Lexi=~

Events

This Spike guy from the comment section appears to be taking credit for these killings. He also seems to be profoundly annoying and close-minded, even by the rather low standards most of you set.

I just have one thing to say to you, Spike: Seriously? Out of all the screen names you could have chosen, you chose "Spike"? Not a very creative one are you? Word of advice, the cool kids don't have to try to seem cool.

Little to report aside from the fact that it's very easy to follow a trail of bodies, even if few of them were actually Servants in life (bit paranoid, are we, Spikey?)

So let's see how the rest of the net is faring....

Sweetrobin has dropped off the radar, and furthermore his blog has been inherited by a woman whose name is one letter away from being racially insensitive.

That chick who is obsessed with the stuff in thermometers is back. I have no idea how she escaped the Empty City, but it appears she has now gone, to be blunt, cookoo-bananas, so there's that.

A certain woman's new doll is a headcase, but then again, when are her dolls NOT?

Mystery has FINALLY cut ties with her ghastly family. (Honestly I'm almost tempted to hunt down her sister and let the two lovebirds have their way with her; Executor's promises don't bind me at all. Of course, I have my own problems and frankly someone as arrogant as that woman is going to run afoul of an Entity sooner or later) And now she's got a mysterious protector with a bird fetish. How lovely.

And finally, the crazy Blind Man cultist chick is back! And she's some sort of chosen one or something.

My, that's a lot of crazy women.

Oh, and apparently Peter Rivers-- remember him?-- is some sort of spokesman for the Entities? I don't fucking know. Probably a few of them are up to something and using him as a convenient pawn.

I should probably stop typing now. Lexi heard something about another killing and that eye is outside my window again.

-STEWARD

Copycat

Five deaths so far.

It seems our new serial killer friend lacks Sleight's grace. Sleight could get to his targets through a Door, making his progress untraceable. This new copycat killer apparently doesn't have that luxury. He breaks into their homes and slits their throats there.

Oh, and two of the victims weren't Servants. One was being followed. The other had no connection to Master whatsoever.

Sloppy. Very sloppy. We should catch this guy soon.

-STEWARD

Vacation Terminated

Hey all, Lexi here! <3

Urk. I nearly barfed typing that stupid little heart thing...

Steward was busy packing so he asked me to update you all on whats going down. Theres been more killings like the ones that Sleight guy was doing, so this new team of mine is off to investigate. Steward seems kind of mad. I don't think hes happy to hear about a copycat.

No more vacation. Sad now. I was having fun.

Looking forward to working with my new team, AND looking forward to talking with all of you! Hopefully it won't be an exercise in SOUL CRUSHING BOREDOM like these blogies usually are.

~=Lexi=~

Lexi

I was at a Dairy Queen down at the beach, sitting at one of those outdoor tables, eating an ice cream cone, when she sat down next to me.

"I wasn't aware that the Tall One's steward enjoyed ice cream."

I eyed the girl. She seemed about my age, so 20, plus or minus a few years. She had straight black hair that came down her shoulders, and a pair of glasses sat in the middle of her round, pale face, guarding a pair of green eyes that put me in mind of pine trees. She wore a white tank top and khaki shorts, and she was regarding me with the air of a scientist observing a particularly fascinating animal.

"We all have our weaknesses," I told her. "Lexi, I presume?"

"You presume correctly. Mint chocolate chip?"

"Indeed."

She smiled. "I prefer Oreo."

I found myself smiling back. "Oreo is all well and good, but it can hardly stand up to mint chocolate chip's might."

"You must be insane if you think that."

I shrugged. "People tell me that all the time. It has long since ceased to lose meaning."

Lexi laughed. It wasn't a chuckle or a giggle or big belly laugh. Just a laugh. A simple "ha". Her eyes suddenly darted back and forth, examining everyone around else. "Where's the rest of the team?" she asked. "I was told I'd be working with Revenants as well."

I took another lick of ice cream before I answered her. "Knowing them, they're either taking a long walk on the beach, listening to sappy love songs, or boning in their hotel room. They do little else."

She shook her head. "Doesn't that hurt them? Isn't it too much sensation?"

"That's what I've always wondered, but apparently they don't seem to notice their imaginary hypersensitivity." Another lick. "You haven't read my blog then?"

"Oh, no, I have. Both of them. I make it a point to learn a thing or two about everyone I work with."

"So what did you think?"

"I think you are a very delusional person who sees monsters around every corner. I mean, seriously? Undead gas mask wearing serial killers? Living cities? A bunch of rejects from that one Hitchcock movie? I can only assume that the Tall One messed you up pretty badly when you were converted."

I felt my smile broaden. "Glorius and Acedia felt the same way when we started working together. You should have seen their faces when I first took them into the Empty City. Oh wait, I'll just bring a mirror next time we go. Your expression will probably be the same."

She laughed again. "Yeah, bullshit. Your magic city doesn't scare me. Any more than your imaginary creepily sexualized preteen."

"Alas," I said. "I wish I was making Charlotte up. I really do. But she really is that creepy."

Another laugh. "Well, it's not like I haven't worked with madmen before. They're usually not as funny as you though." She held out her hand. I wiped some melted drops of ice cream of my own hand and shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Steward," Lexi told me. "I look forward to working with you."

That happened on Tuesday.

Since then, we've both been enjoying ourselves. Chatting with each other. I introduced her to the dumb-as-a-doorbell duo, and despite their insistence that I have made no Entities up, she still refuses to believe.

Oh well. She'll see soon enough. And I have no doubt that she'll accept it all readily. She seems to be a very bright, witty, charming young woman.

-STEWARD