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Interlude: Mallus Offers Some Exposition <Aboard the Wretched Excess, off St. Tarte's Island > Mallus clears his throat, catching Burne’s eye. "Seeing as we might not get a chance to speak after we embark on our collective suicide, let's chat...." He turns to face away from the island...

Interlude: Sociology and Tactics <Aboard the Wretched Excess, just off the coast of St. Tarte's Island, in the Straits of Narayan> A skeleton crew is left aboard the Excess, with the rest of its able seaman aboard the derelict MCSDF Windsprint. Ahead, the St. Tarte's Lighthouse --the Lamp of...

Of Why the Sea is Boiling Hot I shall be honest: I don’t entirely like this Mallus fellow. Far too flippant for my liking, and doesn’t show a man of my learning the proper respect. OH, YES HE DOES. Additionally, with the amount of oil he uses in his hair, he’s likely more than usually...

Mallus, Aforethought The inexplicably detailed instructions on the back of the business card, which Burne swore was blank when Erebus handed it over reads: Café Limbo, 101 South Spider St., Saltbend, Eris:CITY. Table in the NW corner. 8:05 PM, Eris Standard Time... As his eyes scan the card...

Dinner with Erebus I was, I must admit, rather surprised that they allowed us all to enter the Palm d’Whorl. It should be understood that I, a man of obvious breeding and distinction, am entirely accustomed to dining in such establishments. My companions, however, are the sort of people who...

An Unusual Sort of Ink-Pot Having claimed yet another building as part of our spoils of war, we set about ransacking the place with a clear conscience. I took charge of the Yu Sword, in hopes of analyzing it and discovering the origin of its powers. One of the others discovered a locked...

Interlude: What the Mad-Man Found After the "Rumble in the Dojo", NE7 runs into the back hallway and then upstairs, still filled with homeless rage. He returns --a few moments later- calmed and carrying a large wooden box, which he presents to Burne. Burne sets the box down atop a...

Enter: The Yu-Tang Clan! By this time, after the way in which we had so handily dispatched the Room Rouge Players, we had made something of a name for ourselves. THAT NAME BEING "THOSE FOUR CRAZY BASTARDS". Not everyone had learned to properly fear us, however. Not yet. And King Daikon was...

A Good Walk, Made Better We were walking down the Street of Costs, hoping to find someone from whom to purchase a magical hat. After my successful performance as Lucky, Kenji had decided that we needed some way to reliable disguise ourselves, should the need arise. And who was I to argue? It...

Burne’s Heremetic Destructive Engine Heretofore, my Art had saved the lives of myself and my companions on more occasions that I cared to remember. A casual observer would perceive no flaws in my workings, and could only marvel at what I had accomplished. HE’S GONE THIS LONG WITHOUT KILLING...

Urbane Outfitters, Indeed Dispensing justice is all well and good, but there are practical considerations that the popular novelists rarely address. What, for example, is one to do with the remains of those to whom justice has been dispensed? For the most part, this was unlikely to be a grave...

Phillipe Takes a Swim Xian and Savur Phillipe, we discovered, had made a deal. Xian would sell his lucky scarves, reaping a nice profit thereby, and in return for a percentage of the profits Phillipe would not "recruit" those he saw wearing them. Thus making them, I suppose, authentically...

A Complex Oedipus I regained the top of the tower just in time to rescue my compatriots from their attackers. Rackhir was having great difficulty with the chain-wielding man, who kept striking at him from a distance, the madman was also being held at bay, and Kenji was quite unconscious...

Burne and the Art of War I considered, for a moment, the idea of a direct assault. A single working would be enough to shatter the doors of the courtyard, and no number of thugs would suffice to keep me from Xian's throat. But alas, there was Delphine's welfare to consider. It would be all...

The Mysterious Han Oi Xian So. The situation before us was as follows. Delphine had been kidnapped, by person or persons unknown. Only a few days earlier, a previous kidnapping attempt had been made, directed by a man riding in a sedan chair, which we had foiled. The missing greengrocer...

The Importance of Being Burne Not everyone, I realize, is familiar with the Great Art. Their lives are poorer for this lack, and I feel pity for their loss, rather than scorn for their shameful ignorance. Alchemy, you see, is the art or transcendence. The ultimate goal of alchemy, and of...

You Can’t Trust an Ajikhani to do an Erisian’s Job Of course, things went badly wrong. My fault entirely, I'm afraid: I made a classic blunder, and actually trusted a foreigner to do something both simple and important. One task. Just one. Keep the Lady Delphine safe from any further...

I, Burne I was, of course, correct in my fears. I generally am. This was the famed Asymmetric Recruitment Squad, about their vital business. The ignorant might call them a "Press Gang", but as a veteran myself I understood the importance of their work. Their leader, alas, was an odious...

Burne and the Maiden Another dose of Mop Mop Bow's tea served to revive the woman once more, and she launched unprompted into a tale of woe. Trite stuff; she'd fallen for a man of the lower classes, her father disapproved, and now he was missing. The sort of thing that Arabia Wainright writes...

Interlude: Interior, Tea-Shop, Continued. The samurai speaks. "In the meantime, I should introduce myself. I am Yamamoto Kenji, you may call me Kenji. My companion is Dr. Wujuyama, a sage and expert in matters of the Wu. Now, please introduce yourselves as we wait for the tea." The man who...