eastbound | [video] un: a civil serpent. private network.

( Wrath has learned a lot of shit recently after months of trying to understand and exploring many different avenues, the most important being Wen Qing's inspections of Vannozza and his own investigations. He knows he has to inform the rest of the group before he makes his next move. That is the difference between living on this mortal plane instead of within Hell itself where he has far more power. There is a group to take into consideration.

At first, the video opens with nothing but a visual of the locked, hidden room. The video lingers on the altar beds, the potions and goblets of opiates, and then the piles of servant clothing and bird feathers in the corner. )

I'm in a secret, locked room within Bonaccorso's library. The Attaryl have been lengthening the lives of the Doxe for some time. Now they work on transferring a spirit from one body to the next without killing the original body and destroying one spirit in the process, which is the current result of their experimentation.

( He is quiet, serious, jaw locked though the camera is not on him. This is an affront to Death itself - his other name. )

Their efforts have come with a clear cost. ( He keeps the video pointed toward the pile of clothing and bird feathers, and it does not change course for the remainder of the video- let them see the cost. ) Many have died in this room.

I believe they mean to transfer Bonaccorso's spirit into Vannozza's body. Her spirit feels as if it is peeling from her body. The question is what to do with this truth.

( Ultimately, Wrath is ancient and powerful, and he will go with what he feels is best because mortals are fallible, but he wants to know what the group thinks. )

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[ In all honesty, the Merchant is tailor made for Five's paranoia. His personality is disturbingly similar to his father, but it was a mistake to think that gave him insight into his motives.

He's of the same mind that nothing he says over the network is private. Five only continues because he thinks his suspicion is already assumed. ]

I made a deal with him that was shortsighted in retrospect. We need his resources, but it's obvious he's using us for his own means while we're here.

There's something more than his network informing him. He knows too much. Things that no one was around to witness, and what he'd previously pretended to be ignorant of. He's never hidden that he's out for his own interests, but I'm starting to think I might have been wrong about his goals.

Maybe revenge is what he has in mind.

( Wrath uses deals and bargains quite frequently himself. He has done so out of necessity at times. )

What did the deal involve? More of his resources? Yes, the group cannot break away from him. It would not be smart to do so. I would hope no one here trusts him, but we may want to use even more caution going forward. ( And try to look into who the Merchant actually is and what his goals are to get ahead of him, but Wrath does not write any of that.

He knows Five is competent enough to be thinking it himself. )

It is likely he has multiple goals throughout the world, and now he has the means to wield a powerful group in the direction of following through with what he wants. Perhaps revenge was his goal here in Taravast.

It involved what he knew I was experienced in. We've had limited contact since then. I got the impression that he was disappointed when the city was invaded, but maybe it just happened quicker than he anticipated.

[ He's purposely vague, but if the Merchant is reading along, he isn't exactly talking in code. ]

It's hard to say. He went out of his way to warn me about who to trust, and he's made it clear he doesn't like everyone he's made arrangements with. I used to think there was some lingering respect there, but now I don't know. He's getting more directly involved lately, so he might be revealing more of his hand.

Edited 2021-11-27 13:01 (UTC)

He cannot be too disappointed in what the group is doing if he continues to support it and encourage it to act in certain ways. But as you said, perhaps it simply happened sooner than expected but still gave him the ultimate results he wanted.

It'll be important to keep an eye on exactly what he reveals. ( Though he has doubts the individual will reveal anything he does not mean to. If he is as good at playing the game as he appears to be, he will be too careful for that, and he must know them well enough to not underestimate them. )

[ That goes without saying. But for whatever reason, the reminder stands out more coming from Wrath. ]

That would be my guess. As long as he's not publicly linked to anything that might damage his reputation, he's been surprisingly flexible. Otherwise he could have stepped in at any moment to prevent half of the damage we've caused here.

[ After a moment, he adds: ]

You could always try getting some insight out of Karsa. She's one of his favorites. [ aka Five tried to throw her under the bus and the Merchant was only more impressed with her. He's burned that bridge, but Wrath might be able get further than he can. ]

So his reputation matters to him then?

( Well, that reminds Wrath very much of his brother, Pride, but it is always good to know what could harm those around them. Of course, it may also be he simply does not want to suffer the consequences of his own actions, but if he is powerful enough to move them around like game pieces... )

It would explain why he has given her the difficult task of being more directly involved with the group. She seems difficult to speak to, but it is a good option. ( of course, any good and true officer will know better than to reveal anything about the one they follow. )

He's a businessman who tries not to appear that he favors one side or the other. I don't think he'd hesitate to cut ties with anyone who made him seem biased and threatened his prospects.

[ As far as Karsa goes, Five can't stand her, but she's remarkably loyal to the Merchant. He'd just like it if he knew what her motivations are. — It's still a little bit vindicating that Wrath finds her hard to talk to. But he read Five quicker than anyone he's known, so it's worth a shot. ]

He trusts her. And apparently he isn't paying her for her services. I don't understand their relationship, but it's probably not a coincidence that she's usually the first to find out when another one of us arrives.

Important information to file away.

( Wrath has to speak to the Merchant regardless if he means to take down the Huntress, and he does. He doesn't necessarily think the Merchant is their enemy, but he likes to know who is funding them, protecting them, ...leading them and nudging them in certain directions. He's yet to speak to Karsa either. Taravast has had him focusing on other matters, but that will change. )

If he is not paying her, she is getting something else out of the arrangement, and it is clearly not the enjoyment of the group's company or antics. With her magic, I imagine she can sense the arrivals potentially.

Do what you can with it.

[ It says something that Five is comfortable offering what he knows, but he's been around Wrath long enough to believe that he's not wasting his time telling him. Of course, he has more opinions, but he's still deciding how betrayed he feels after that note he got. ]

Let me know if you get anywhere with that. If I knew how she did it, I'd beat her to them.

I will let you know though I likely will not pursue it further until this whole mess has been sorted.

You are hoping to find your family before she does?

( it's a question but not. wrath did see five during the whole undead mess, and five was a mess, and then abruptly not as much of a mess any longer when wrath saw him afterward to be sure he had not manipulated time.

...he still has no idea why that is. )

[ He's not expecting the mess to get sorted so much as blow up in their faces, but he hasn't figured out a way around that yet. But apparently he's calmed down some since the world didn't end when he thought it would.

That question should be obvious. It's just a matter of time before he finds the rest of his siblings, and it's frustrating that he's actively looking and she still beats him to the chase. ]

It'd be a nice change. Who knows what version of events she'll be telling them now.

[video] un: a civil serpent. private network.

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