your indecisive actions have left two lost souls who have wandered their way home, festered and weakened and now they serve the deceiver
if only they were dead, if only they were dead.

A bleak day, Curnow thought, it was a bleak day that would bring a storm upon its end. Not that the weather brought him much concern; he'd be home by the time the rain fell, warmed by the whale-oil powered heater he'd purchased before he went out on his trip east.

The trip had proved fruitless. He'd gone east towards Whitecliff to visit a distant relative of a deceased cousin's deceased cousin, who also turned out to be deceased. A shame, that the man had died; Callista had gotten her hopes up about there being one last relative remaining. Geoff didn't relish eventually breaking the news to her.

After such a disappoint trip, one could imagine Geoff Curnow's surprise when he discovered the entire place had gone to bedlam, militaristic, religious bedlam. Upon his return, Overseers stopped him at the city gates and thoroughly searched his person and belongings, claiming to be searching for heretical artifacts. Only after nearly fifteen minutes of rummaging through his belongings and patting him down did they let him through.

The blokes behind him in line looked a little worse for wear, though, dressed in tattered clothes that must've been rather exquisite when they'd been new. Their already unpleasant features were obscured by layers of grim and soot. The Overseer demanded their names, which they both answered by glaring and opening their mouths to reveal that neither of them had their tongues. One of them scrambled around in his pockets and pulled out a ring, showing it to the Overseer.

The two looked almost painfully familiar. Curnow approached just as the Overseer began accusing them of thievery. "Hold, friend, may I provide a second opinion?" Curnow offered.

With a moment's hesitation, the Overseer stepped aside and allowed Curnow a look at the bauble.

The twin holding it seemed a bit indignant, straightening and roughly jerking the ring in Curnow's face.

Curnow got a closer look, examining the familiar emblem on the signet ring. "Outsider's eyes…!" he hissed, his gaze snapping to the two before him. An old case returned to him, the mysterious disappearance of the twins Pendleton had never been resolved, and they'd eventually forgotten about the noblemen altogether. "Lords Morgan and Custis Pendleton?"

They nodded eagerly, the desperation and relief in their eyes apparent.

Geoff looked to the Overseer. "I'll be taking these two with me, if that's all right." The Overseer nodded in response and Geoff returned his attention to the twins. "I'll escort the two of you to the Abbey, where you can get cleaned up and we can explain the situation to the High Overseer. She could arrange a place for the two of you to stay until they can determine if you're really who you say you are."

Lifting a hand, the Overseer interrupted him. "You'll have to hurry if you wish to catch the High Overseer while she's still in Holger's Square before she departs for Dunwall Tower this evening, sir."

Any reason why the High Overseer would be spending evenings in Dunwall Tower was beyond him, but Lagunov had always seemed like an incomprehensible person. "Thanks for the heads up, Overseer," Curnow thanked, and turned back to the Pendletons. "Follow me, sirs."

They proceeded into the city, and almost the moment the three of them entered the main street, all mysteries were answered by the posters that littered every wall and guard station. Curnow ripped the thing down to more closely examine it.

EMPRESS EMILY KALDWIN

AND

LORD PROTECTOR CORVO ATTANO

FOUND GUILY OF POSSESSION OF HERETICAL ARTIFACTS

AND UNLAWFUL INTIMATE ASSOCIATION WITH THE OUTSIDER.

BY DECREE OF HIGH OVERSEER YELENA LAGUNOV, INSPECTIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED REGULARLY BY THE OVERSEERS TO HELP REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF HERESY IN OUR FAIR CITY.

IF YOU KNOW OF SOMEONE IN POSSESSION OF A HERETIC ARTIFACT, REPORT THEM TO EITHER AN OVERSEER OR A MEMBER OF THE CITY WATCH FOR A 50 COIN REWARD

PLEASE HELP US IN THIS TRYING TIME OF DARKNESS

A photograph showing a box full of charms spilled over the floor of what seemed to be the Empress's bedroom and an image clearing showing the Lord Protector with some sort of strange, abstract mark on his hand provided further proof of this ridiculous claim. Corvo, a practicing heretic? And stranger yet, Emily Kaldwin, a budding witch?

One of the twins snatched the poster out of his hands with a calloused hand, and the two of them huddled read it before letting out a wretched sound that might be laughter. They gave him back the poster, pleased smiles still on their faces.

… Huh. Well, they definitely were who they claimed to be, at least. Curnow folded up the poster and tucked it into his pocket. He had a few words for High Overseer Lagunov.

As the three of them proceeded towards Holger's Square, Curnow overheard a conversation between two Overseers.

"Hey, do you know what's always had me wondering?"

"Not really, but you're going to tell me anyways."

"Why is the High Overseer a woman? I mean, why is she in the Overseers rather than the Oracular Order?"

"… I've seen other female Overseers, back in Whitecliff. They just rarely make it high enough to get transferred to Dunwall."

"That may be so, but Lagunov never really struck me as being High Overseer material. What do you think got her into the seat?"

Surely the conversation continued as the three continued out of earshot, but Curnow didn't have any particular interest in the inner workings of the Overseers. They entered the High Overseer's office building, several Overseers giving the filthy Pendleton twins the side-eye.

Curnow knocked on the door to Lagunov's office before entering to see the sickly woman examining a rune, running her fingers over the carving.

She looked up briefly before smiling and returning her attention to the artifact. "Isn't it glorious, Officer Curnow?" Lagunov cooed.

Her words made him raise an eyebrow in question. "… Ma'am?"

Lagunov picked it up gently, almost with love. "Look at it… it glows so bright, so powerfully… It is irrevocably a genuine Outsider rune," a pleased grin spread across her thin face, "We found it in Dunwall Tower after I managed to get the Lord Protector to tell me where his secret room was. It's proof, solid, glorious proof of their heresy." Lagunov gingerly set the rune inside an open drawer and locked it in.

Curnow stiffened. The High Overseer seemed different, a little more unhinged than she'd been the last time he spoke with her.

The second thing he noticed was a distinctive mask, mounted elegantly on a stand to be used as a paperweight on her desk. The twins noticed it to, and immediately pointed at it forcefully, as if demanding where it had come from.

Lagunov tilted her head, perhaps having not really noticed their presence before they'd made it known. "The mask? It was found in Corvo Attano's quarters…" The High Overseer adjusted her spectacles, leaning forward. "Pardon me, but do I know these two… mutes? They seem familiar to me."

Curnow nodded. "Yes, I believe them to be the missing Lords Pendleton. I was hoping that you'd provide them with a place to stay until we could confirm their identities and figure out what to do with them."

The High Overseer stared at him a moment, baffled and wide-eyed, before she stared at the twins until something seemed to click, a piece in her head falling into place. Lagunov smiled softly, "Thank you, Officer Curnow, I'll see to it that things are sorted out," she said, standing. "You're free to return to your home, Officer, I'm sure you're tired from your journey. I'll handle things from here."

Geoff saluted and left promptly, thanking her.

Morgan and Custis watched as the City Watch Officer left. He seemed like such an unpleasantly dull man. It felt good to be rid of him, but when they looked back to the High Overseer, they shared the thought that maybe having him with them would've been better…

Yelena Lagunov's eyes were hidden by the glare of the fireplace on her glasses, hands folded beneath her chin as she smiled devilishly. "Morgan, Custis…" she clicked her tongue, emphasizing its presence and watched them stiffen. "It's been quite some time," she said, gesturing for them to sit.

Morgan thought the woman looked familiar and considered the possibility that he'd fucked her sometime in the past. Custis had a similar observation, but his main line of thought was raging about why this sickly hag was High Overseer. They sat, as she said.

Lagunov pushed a sheet of paper towards them along with a pen. "Now, I've listened to several of your younger brother Treavor's auto-biographical audiographs. Tell me, what did you put in his cradle while he was small?"

Ah, so she doubted who they were, after all. The dumb bitch was smarter than she immediately seemed. Morgan picked up the pen and wrote her answer.

Snakes. Custis snatched the pen from Morgan's hand with a scoff and added: Vipers.

The woman's grin widened and she lifted her head, the firelight no longer obscuring her green eyes. "Welcome home, Lords Pendleton."

Emily wouldn't speak. That had been the first matter that he had to deal with. Emily. Would. Not. Speak. His mind thought up horrible things. Had they cut out her tongue? Had they injured her head and made her dumb? No matter what he called over to her, she refused to speak.

Their hands were still connected through the prison bars. Corvo's arm had begun to ache from the awkward position of his arm, but he didn't care. A storm raged outside, rain falling and thunder crashing and with how cold Emily's hand felt, she could be dead for all he knew, if not for the pulse he just barely felt. That painful silence as night dragged on, only the sound of his breathing in the cellblock, it would remain in his mind forever. This, this was the worst thing that had happened, not Jessamine's death, not his allies' betrayal. What stood above all the rest, the worst moment of his life, was being unable to stop Emily's pain.

The whale oil lights, for the most parts, had been put out. How easy, Corvo thought, would it be to sneak out of here in this darkness?

The moment he realized this, a knocked came at the bars. No, not the bars in from of him, but the ones high above him, the ones facing outside towards the ocean.

"Hey, anyone in there?" came a gruff voice.

"What is it?" Corvo answered just loud enough to be heard over the storm.

"Hey buddy, you the Lord Protector?" the voice asked. "Is the little empress with ya?"

Corvo blinked. "Who are you?"

"Bottle Street Gang, buddy! A guy by the name o' Samuel came 'round asking ol' Slackjaw for a favor, and apparently since ya saved Slackjaw's bum from ol' Granny, he figured he owed ya one!" the man informed him cheerfully. "We got a few explosives. We're gon bust ya out!"

Yes. This was very good. Corvo almost smiled. "Have you dealt with the nearby guards, or are we going to have to make a run for it?"

"Errr… we don't like to mess with Overseers, yeeh know?" he said nervously, but then continued equally as quick. "That Samuel guy is waitin' for ya with a boat down by the shore and e's gonna take ya to a friend's place where you can lay low, apparently. I don't know much more than that. They've got this whole scheme put together. Anyways, I'm gonna let these babies blow. Make sure yer all the way against the opposite side when it explodes."

The gangster stepped away and Corvo hissed over to Emily, "Curl up in a ball and cover your face."

Her hand slipped out of his and he could assume she had done as he'd told.

Corvo heard a man outside shout, and the explosives went off, his ears ringing from the detonation as debris flew and smoke choked the cell. A beat of silence after the explosion, and an alarm sounded.

Instinct taking over, Corvo leaped out the hole made by the Bottle Street Gang's bomb and turned back into Emily's cell, scooping the young Empress up in his arms and cradling her against his chest as he ran for the boat they'd told him about. He didn't particularly care what happened to these men after this, and he figured that if they'd had the sheer gall to plan this sort of prison break, they'd have an escape plan that didn't hinge on him.

Corvo spotted Samuel's boat almost immediately and bounded across the rocks towards the boatman, who sat waiting with a tarp for them to hide. Reaching the boat, he slid beneath the tarp with Emily.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Samuel nodded with a little grin on his face as he started up the boat. "Lovely night for a prison break, don't you agree, Corvo?"

He almost laughed. Corvo remembered, holding out his left hand. "Do you have a knife?"

Digging through his pockets, he pulled on out as the boat started off into the waves and sliced the rope that bound Corvo's hands. "Better?"

"Significantly." Corvo flexed his hand a few times, and made motions as if he wanted to Blink, making sure everything still worked. "Where are we going?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Samuel accelerated when the searchlights got a bit too close. "Well, it took some time to find someone willing to harbor the two most wanted heretics in Gristol. We found plenty actually, just couldn't find someone whose home wasn't regularly searched by Overseers. So, ah…" Samuel hesitated, "Lord Mace Brimsley said he wanted to meet you, outside of a formal environment, so… well, you know how it is."

Ah, the Brimsleys. Suspected heretics, but wealthy enough that they can get away with it.

Corvo held Emily a bit closer. She still hadn't said a word.

Samuel must've noticed. "How's the little lady doing? I haven't seen her since she was ten."

"Lagunov had her tortured," Corvo told him, "She hasn't said a word since."

The boatman swore. "If the public only knew how the High Overseer was treating you two… there'd be riots in the streets! Everyone thinks she's just got you under house arrest, but she seems to hate you in particular, Corvo, each broadcasted speech is mostly her cursing your name and calling you the Outsider's right hand man."

Corvo remained silent, just as Emily did as she stared ahead blankly.

Something beckoned him to put a hand to his chest, the second heart the beat in his jacket. He pressed a hand against the horrid, familiar flesh and Jessamine spoke to him.

"To her, nothing she could possibly say would be worth saying, but at least she feels glad to be out of that place. Take her away from here, Corvo. She needs to heal, more than anything else."

He gave the Heart a mental vow, a promise that Emily Kaldwin would never, ever suffer from his faults, again.