Winterheart

Chapter 4

Artifacts and Schemes and Delicious Fish

20 years ago

A dark cloaked figure strode through the Hive in broad daylight. Though his intricately embroidered robes and numerous jewels bespoke a man of wealth, none of the Hives less savory individuals dared accost him. Passersby nervously gave him a wide berth, recognizing a master of magic when the saw one.

For his part, Ristarius really wished this day would end. Or rather, that it had never begun. He so rarely left his library, that he sometimes wondered why he didn't go out more, and then days like this would remind him. The the entire Hive was filthy. It's people were filthy, uneducated, worthless louts who would probably be better off dead. The buildings were filthy, run down and probably could only be improved by fire. The streets were strewn with the contents of chamberpots, trash, and corpses. The very air was rotten and disgusting, and Ristarius was grateful for the air filtering spells in his hood.

He rounded a corner, and came upon a series of squat, dilapidated, shacks. Sitting on a bench at the side of the road was the person who had summoned him here. A tall humanoid creature in robes, and with the head of a jackal. He sipped tea from a cup, while a pot floated in the air next to him. Several residents of the hive stared at the Arcanaloth in curiousity, though the quickly dispersed when Ristarius shot them a glare.

"Your reason for calling me out here better be good, Alcain." Ristarius snarled, and then sighed. Being angry was so much effort he didn't feel like maintaining it. Better to just get this day over with so he could go back to reading in his library. And probably enjoy some spiced wine while he was at it. While stitting in his favorite chair...

"Ah you made it." Alcain Fem'Att said.

Ristarius said nothing, waiting for Alcain to continue.

"So I take it your journey was uneventful?"

"Let's just get this over with. What is it you want me to do?" Ristarius asked.

Alcain indicated a house. "Not much really. The first task is a simple debt collection. Follow me."

Alcain drained his teacup, and then stowed both the pot and cup up his sleeve, before heading towards the house.

There was no door, simply a hole filled curtain covering the entrance. When Ristarius pushed it aside he heard a clinking sound. He looked down to see a numerous empty bottles of heavy liquor all over the floor. There wasn't much else to the house, a torn sofa and a cracked table. There was another curtain concealing the back side of the house, though it soon parted.

A man burst from behind the curtain wielding a crossbow. "There ain't nothing here to steal, leatherheads! So get out or else I'll..."

He paused as he saw the two figures standing before him. The crossbow dropped to the ground, as he realized the weapon would be useless.

"No no no..."

"Ah, mister... er..." Alcain reached into his sleeve and drew forth a scroll. Unfurling it he read. "Holcomb, Human, Male, Resident of Sigil."

"No no no..."

"We have come to collect on our dues. The purchase: The powers of a Warlock and the lifelong concubinehood of one Eroloth, desgination Lekhonsu. The price: The recipients immortal soul, and any other one demand, to be decided upon at a later date. We have come to collect upon the second payment."

Holcomb collapsed to his knees. "Look around! I have nothing left to give. Lekhonsu was slain by a planewalking paladin and now I have nothing left! You tricked me, you bastards!"

"A pity, but..." Alcain was interupted by the sound of wailing coming from behind the curtain. Holcomb went pale. Alcain gestured to the curtain. Sighing Ristarius walked across the room and pulled it aside, revealing a blonde haired infant lying in a cradle. She had wings and a tail, indicating she was a half-fiend.

"Hmm... interesting." Alcain said. "What's her name?"

"Emma." Holcomb said.

"A lovely name. She'll do nicely. Consider that part of your debt to us repaid."

"What?" Holcomb shouted, and then realization came over him. "No! No! You won't take her from me!"

The dark powers of a Warlock, buried for ages beneath depression and alcoholism, surged up within Holcomb. He held out his hand and a blast of dark energy burst forth, streaking straight for Alcain. With an offhand gesture he disappated the attack, leaving him completely unharmed.

"I suppose we could collect on the first part of the debt as well." Alcain mused.

With a gesture of his own, Arcane power gathered in Ristarius' hand. A bolt of lighting streaked out, blasting a hole straight through Holcomb's chest. The man's eyes went wide. He dropped to his knees and then fell over to his side, the hole smouldering.

Ristarius turned away from Holcomb in obvious disgust. He could already sense the life fading away from him. He turned back to Alcain, who hadn't turned away from the child. For her part, the half-demon child was still crying loudly. Ristarius gave serious consideration towards casting Deafness on himself. Alcain seemed unbothered by the wails, and instead looked down upon Emma with that customary smirk of his.

"If the half-breed is what you're after, then just grab her and go!"

"It's not so simple as that." Alcain said.

Ristarius patience was beginning to wear thin. "Not so simple? Not so simple? Everything about this day has been nothing but simplicity! You came to obtain this child and the immortal soul of her father. What did you even need me for?"

"To take care of the child." Alcain said without missing a beat.

Ristarius paused, and did a mental double-take. "W-what?"

"I want you to raise her, and train her."

"Why me?! What's so important about this child?"

Alcain lifted the child out of the bed, holding her gently in his furry hands. He presented her to Ristarius.

"Look at her."

Ristarius looked at the child, mayhaps only a year old. He looked at the tiny horns, the cloven feet, the clawed hands, the fanged teeth and the tiny wings. Such traits would grow more pronounced as she matured, as half-fiends like her tended to do. At the same time, he couldn't find anything that was special about her.

"I see nothing of importance."

"No, don't look, Look."

Ristarius got his meaning. He sighed, and focused on the girl. He ceased looking at her, and looked more into her, around her, beyond her. He gazed into the swirling threads of destiny, peering into this childs future.

His Sight presented him with many visions. He saw an enormous black pyramid with runes carved into every stone block, situated in a desert beneath a green sky. He saw a forest, each tree, bush and blade of grass withering and dying. He saw blades clash in the shadow of a great ziggurat, the entire area in the midst of a massive blizzard. He saw a horned woman, presumibly Emma, and a black cloaked figure, presumably himself stride into a throne room. They were confronted by an angelic woman. The child raised a glowing axe while Ristarius saw the future him lift his hand, which glowed with magical energy.

Ristarius took a step back, as the Sight faded.

He then sighed, truly realizing why Alcain had wanted him here.

"No." He finally said.

"Really?" Alcain said. "Considering all you must have seen..."

"It's not enough to form any definite answers. The future is always in motion. None of these visions may even come to pass." Ristarius explained.

"That's never stopped you before." Alcain commented. "Remember the Prison of Gallrock?"

"I just have no interest in raising children." Ristarius admitted.

"But such a thing would do you good. All you ever do is spend all day cooped up in that dreary library of yours. I mean look at you! You've grown listless and slothful, filling your days with spiced wine and old tomes. You're even losing your edge! The Ristarius I knew wouldn't have even let... what was his name? Ah, doesn't matter. The Ristarius I knew wouldn't have let the client even get off an attack! Don't you want more excitement in your life?"

"Don't you try to tempt me, Alcain." Ristarius said, his demeanor growing darker. "If that's all, then I'm leaving."

"Fine, I didn't want to do this, but I'm calling in my favor. The one you owe me for the Palace of Gears."

Ristarius froze, remembering that dreadful day. He paused, considering simply walking away. However, breaking a promise to a yugoloth like Alcain would be more trouble than it was worth.

Ristarius sighed and took the child into his arms. The wailing was even more annoying up close.

"I'm not a parent. I've never even given consideration to such things." Ristarius said.

"Don't worry. You're smart. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Alcain answered. "Now, I'm sure you'll be wanting to get home, there's not much else we need to do here. You can clean up right?"

Ristarius sighed. As the two of the left the house, Ristarius conjured flames within his hands and then dropped it on the floor, where it quickly spread...

Present Day

"So then I simply told the thugs to rob the cart. I honestly can't believe how easy it was. It was like- Are you even listening to me?"

Ristarius didn't bother to look up from the book he was reading. "No, I stopped caring before you started talking."

The woman gave a frustrated groan. "This is important."

Ristarius heard footsteps and then smelled the warm scent of perfume, as she approached him, forcing him to look up.

If he had to pick a word to describe her, it would definately be red. She dressed in red, her eyes were red, her hair was red, and many a time he had seen her soaked in red as well. Her dress was long and elegant, and Ristarius could sense the magical power contained within it. It was cut extremely low, showing off her cleavage. Cleavage she seemed determined for him to notice as she all but made sure it was the focus of his vision. Ristarius sighed internally. He couldn't stand people who were ruled by such base desires.

"Vishaka, how about we simply cut to the chase. Instead of bragging about how you obtained it, just show me what it is."

Vishaka frowned briefly, before pulling an object out of her sleeve. It was a light brown colored orb about the size of her hand. Sparkling specks were suspended inside it.

"The Mineral Shard." Vishaka said proudly. "And Kyreth said that taking a break from my work on that backwater desert wasn't going to bring anything of value."

Ristarius looked over the shard. Now that he could see it in plain sight, he could sense the massive amount of magical energy within the artifact.

"A Shard of the Star?" Ristarius said, genuinely impressed.

"A what?" A voice asked.

Ristarius turned to see another woman walking into the lounge, bearing a bottle of spiced wine. Like Vishaka, she was a half-fiend, though her traits were much more pronounced than the demon mage's. Cloven hooves from digitigrade legs, a long thin tail ending in a triangle point, similar to Vishaka's, sharp claws, and large horns from the forehead.

"Ah." Vishaka looked at Emma with an expression of intrigue, and something else that Ristarius couldn't place, but somewhat unnerved him. For her part, his adopted daughter didn't seem to notice.

"A Shard of the Star of Fate." Ristarius said. "If you were to keep up with your studies, you would know what that is, or was."

"Well, all those history texts are so boring and mind-numbing to read." Emma said.

Ristarius sighed, slightly amused. He gestured, and a chair moved over next to his. Emma poured the wine into a glass and handed it to Ristarius.

"Well, it's actually a fairly short description."

"Dad, whenever you say that, you really don't mean it." Emma said, as she took a seat.

Ignoring this, Ristarius launched into his explanation. "It's not truly known where the artifacts known as the Shards of the Star come from. According to some theories, they actually predate the multiverse itself. Meaning I will have to refresh your memory on the history of our multiverse to satisfactorily explain this. In the beginning all was Chaos, disorder, possibility, nothingness, void. Chaos, through it's utter randomness accidentally spawned Order, which came in the form of a being known as the Creator. Through sheer will, this Creator entity imposed it's order upon the chaotic Void Beyond Worlds, using it to create the multiverse. There's a larger history of primordial entities that come into being at this time as well, though we won't bother with that, as though fascinating, it's not really that relevant. What's important is the tool by which the creator forged the multiverse, an embodiment of it's will and might, known as the Star of Fate. As each plane was formed, the Creator broke off a piece of the Star, using it to maintain the plane's nature and essence. Thus there is one Shard for every plane in the Great Wheel."

"Okay, so these Shard things are like, extremely powerful artifacts, right?"

"The strongest." Vishaka said, with pride.

Ristarius frowned at the interruption, but continued his lecture. "It's not known for sure what the full extend of the Shards powers are. Some legends state that one who gathers all of them will attain omnipotence, others state that the shards inherently repel each one another. Although, through my readings of records of and studies by people who have possessed various shards, and comparing them against other such histories, I can deduce some powers that they all share. For one, the bearer of a shard is given dominion over the residents of that Shard's respective plane, though the records conflict as to the actual extent of this dominance, some state a minor inclination towards cooperation with you, while other records state a full blown ability to summon or call residents from their plane at will. The shard will also protect you from the hostile effects of the plane as well as allowing you to travel to the plane in question. Each shard also contains unique powers relating to that plane of existence, though going into a list of the known powers would be exhaustive considering my point has already been explained."

"And now we have one of them." Vishaka said.

"So where are the others?" Emma asked.

"Well, that's some matter of debate." Ristarius said. "It's said that the Shards call out to each other, though how to actually get them to actually do that is unknown."

"Unknown?"

"Well, if you would let me examine the Mineral Shard, I'm sure I could find a way to deduce how to make such a function work." Ristarius explained.

Vishaka paused as if in thought, her smug expression fading. "No... I'll do it myself."

Without another word, Vishaka left the room, leaving just Ristarius and Emma. Ristarius looked down the hallway, as Vishaka headed towards her private quarters (a place he wasn't allowed in under threat of death). Ristarius sighed.

"Do we go after her?" Emma asked.

Ristarius sipped his wine, absently thinking.

"No, it honestly wouldn't lead us anywhere. If she's made up her mind, then changing it is more trouble than it's worth. Let's just hope she can figure out the Shard on her own."

"Kyreth seems to have faith in her." Emma noted.

"Kyreth is unpredictable, even for an arch-demon. I do wonder what she wants with the Shards."

"Absolute power. You said this Star of Fate can grant absolute power." Emma said.

"That remains to be seen. I've heard many such claims, and so far they've all turned out to be false."

"Kyreth certainly thinks so." Emma countered.

"Again, unpredictable. As a demon lord, she certainly knows more about this than we do, so I question her true motives. Certainly, gathering the Shards is bound to draw unwanted attention."

"So what do we do?" his daughter asked.

There was a long silence as he drained his glass of wine. Emma knew to wait in instances such as these.

"Well, there's this restaurant in the Market Ward that has the best baked fish I've ever tasted.""

Emma looked like she was going to say something, but then smiled, standing up. "Fine, but your buying!"

The darkness was total. Stanth could neither see nor hear, though he did feel the sensation of movement. His assailants had ambushed him in the middle of the night, seeming to ooze right out of the shadows. Before he could even draw his weapon, a hand had been clasped over his mouth, and then darkness spread over his head, and his world went dark. Eventually, he felt that he was coming to a stop, though he knew not where.

Suddenly the darkness that engulfed his head dissipated, though it was still dark where he was. He attempted to stand up, only to find that shadowy chains encased him. He struggled, but to no avail. With escape out of the option, he took stock of the room. He was in a warehouse of some sort. There were several other people chained up around the room, some he recognized, some he didn't. He heard a radio playing... smooth jazz?

The other captives began coming to. One of them, a huge, hairy, muscular man began snarling.

"Who would dare kidnap me? Don't you fucking know who I am?! I'm Garsethimus!"

Another captive, this one a Steam Genasi, Stanth guessed from the blue-green skin and constant release of steam from her mouth and nose.

"I would like to know that as well." She said. "I'm very well connected, you won't like the consequences of keeping me here."

"Actually, that's exactly why I've brought you all here." The lights in the warehouse were switched on, revealing their captors.

Sitting in a relaxed position on what appeared to be a very comfortable chair was a slender woman. She wore an extremely skintight bodysuit that left virtually nothing to the imagination. She wore glasses, and had black hair coming just past her shoulders. A sort of intrigued grin was on her face, as if she just found her captives fascinating.

Sitting on a pile of crates next to her was a much more buxom woman dressed in a similar bodysuit. Her hair was a dark and almost waist length. Standing at attention on the leaders other side was a woman in all concealing black armor. Behind her was a woman who was clearly a magician of some sort, with a broad brimmed witches hat, blonde hair, and a veil over the bottom part of her face.

"Who are you?" Stanth asked.

"My real name is unimportant." Said the woman who was clearly the leader. She stood up, and slowly walked over to them, her heels clicking on the concrete floor of the warehouse. She paced around her captives, her eyes looking them over in. Stanth could clearly tell she was sizing them up. Her movements were fluid and almost sensual in a way.

She lingered around Garsethimus. Circling him several times. She said nothing as she examined him. Gar for his part was becoming more and more enraged. He snarled, that sounded more like a animals growl than a humans.

"What is it? What do you want bitch?!" Gar demanded. The enigmatic woman said nothing, and continued circling around him. Then she smiled again, this time a slightly condescending smile.. Gar growled deeper. The woman continued circling him.

Finally it appeared Gar had had it. "Alright. You're dead!"

His body began warping and twisting. He began to grow even more hairy. His face lengthened and his hands and feet transformed into claws. His clothes melded into his form as he grew larger and larger. The shadowy chains encasing him broke apart, individual links being scattered across the room before breaking apart into wisps of shadow that quickly faded. Garsethimus grew larger and larger, his muscles bulging and his teeth lengthening into sharp fangs. He roared as his transformation into a werebear was complete.

The enigmatic woman didn't seem to react with any sort of alarm, and instead easily dodged out of the way of Gar's claw strikes, her movements still fluid and graceful. Thus began a sort of dance.

Gar furiously attempted to strike her, though the woman always remained just out of reach, easily dodging every swipe of the claws or attempt at biting. As Stanth watched, he likened the fight to trying to strike at shadows with a torch. Each swing just readjusted the position of the darkness, always maintaining the same distance from the light as they danced in the flickering flames. The womans body bent and twisted in ways that should have been impossible for a human, always staying close to Gar, but avoiding each attack with seeming ease.

The fight went on for some time, before the woman seemed to grow bored with the exchange and swept her leg, tripping Gar and sending him falling face down. She then leaped onto his back, holding his head down. Gar struggled, but to no avail. Despite her seeming slight build, this woman was strong.

Gar snarled again. "If you're going to kill me, then just kill me!"

The woman smiled. "If I'd wanted you dead, you would have never been brought before me."

Then what do you want?" The steam genasi asked.

"To offer you a job of course."

"W-what?" Gar seemed so shocked by that answer that he reverted back to his human form.

The woman paused, before standing up, releasing the werebear. Gar looked at her like he was considering attack again, but seemed to think better of it.

"You want to employ us?" Stanth asked.

"Of course." said the woman. "That was the whole reason I sought each of you out."

She resumed her pacing around.

"Garsethimus, Werebear, and leader of the Vengeful Pack, the Hives notorious gang of lycanthropes. You are most knowledgable about the underside of Sigil."

"Am'Wij'Ah, Steam Genasi, and the most powerful drug cartel in the Hive, having earned the title after disemboweling much of your competition, and leaving their... remains... in the center square." The woman began pacing around the genasi. Am'Wij'Ah, for her part didn't seem too concerned. "And who could escape her bonds at any time, but chooses to remain here... why?"

Am'Wij'Ah's eyes widened, though only briefly, her composure quickly regained. Her entire body then sublimated into a cloud of steam. The shadowy chains fell to the ground, and disappated like Garsethimus'. The steam cloud hovered in place for a time, before reforming back into Am'Wij'Ah's normal form.

"Once again, I'm intrigued. Why stay?"

"I'm curious." The steam genasi replied.

"Good a reason as any." The strange woman then turned to Stanth.

"Stanth, Zenythri, and skilled leader and organizer. You have connections, influence, and the means and methods to enforce their loyalty..."

She then turned to the last captive.

"Sathala, Tiefling, enigmatic and ambigious assassin. Known for never letting anyone know your true identity, not client, not target. Skilled in shapeshifting magic and illusions. I'm willing to bet I'm not even looking at your true form. Something I can truly respect."

The woman returned to her seat, adjusted her glasses, and crossed her arms. With an offhand gesture the shadowy chains binding Stanth and Sathala vanished. Stanth stood up, rubbing his arms. Sathala remained where she knelt. She had been silent ever since she arrived, and didn't appear interested in changing that.

"All four of you are highly influentual and valuable residents of the Sigil, whether you realize it or not. Now, as I've said, I've called you here to well... hire you, to but it bluntly. You all possess resources and skills that are valuable, and also, something I can enhance."

"And why should we work for you?" Stanth asked.

"Because I want what you want." The woman said. "Control of the Hive."

"So what? You fancy yourself some sort of sodding conquerer?" Stanth asked.

"Oh no, nothing of the sort. I prefer to think of myself as a businesswoman." She gestured to the other bodysuited woman sitting next to her. The woman stood up and lifted up one of the crates effortlessly. She carried it over into the middle of the group, and dropped it down with a loud whump! The thing was apparently very heavy, making Stanth even more wary of these strange women.

The bodysuited woman lifted the top of the crate off, and everyone gasped as she revealed the riches inside. Stanth considered himself a wealthy man (by the standards of the Hive) and but he had never seen such a concentration of wealth before. The crate was packed to the brim with gold coins and precious gems.

The strange woman with glasses gestured to the other crates. "Consider that first one to be incentive. We can work together into a mutually beneficial relationship."

"What is it you wish us to do?" Am'Wij'Ah asked.

"What you've always been doing, but with aid from my resources." The strange woman said.

"Garsethimus. You know the underside of Sigil like the back of your hands and/or paws. With the aid of Midnight..." The woman gestured towards the armored woman standing next to her. "you could take over the important sections of the Underside, clearing out rival gangs."

"And speaking of rival gangs." She turned to Stanth. "Thanks to the completely unexpected but oddly beneficial rampage of an Efreet, the Chameleons are all but finished. Your associates are already absorbing those assets that they can, and disposing of the rest. All I ask of you now is that you continue these efforts."

Still struggling to take some of this in, Stanth nodded.

She turned to Am'Wij'Ah. "You, will actually be working with Stanth in some capacity. The territory he captures will become prime place to sell, as rival dealers are assimilated or killed. Also, I can help augment your inventory. I know that in the past you've had difficult acquiring sources of rare and valuable merchandise."

If the Steam Genasi had any shock at the strange woman knowing such details, she didn't show it this time. "What are you implying?"

"What would you say if I could give you access to a steady supply of such things as liquid pain, dreammist and luhix."

"I would say things that doubted you're claim."

"To which I would reply, check your storehouses." The strange woman said.

Am'Wij'Ah said nothing in response.

"As to you, Sathala. Well, I'll have things for you to do as well. We'll talk later." The woman then turned to address the group. "So, are we all in agreement then?"

"I'm in." Garsethimus said.

"As am I." Am'Wij'Ah followed.

"I'll have to throw in my lot as well." Stanth said, barely able to tear his eyes away from the gold.

Sathala merely nodded.

"Then we are now partners."

"Hold on." Stanth asked. "If were going to be working together, what should we call you? And what should we call us?"

The woman smiled. "I suppose it might be cliche, but it does fit my purposes. You can refer to me for now as Shadow, and I suppose we can call this syndicate of ours the Shadow Collective."

"Seems as good as any." Stanth said.

Now, I shall return you to where you were before. I'll contact you for updates when the time is right. Shadow gestured, and strange masked figures began emerging from the shadows. Stanth barely had time to register them before all went dark.

Good god this chapter wouldn't end. At least I finished my goal of getting this thing finished before the end of the year. Funny story. I actually started working on Chapter 5 by accident, before I remembered that this needed to go up first. So yeah, chapter 5 is already partially done (not that that seems to affect update time any...) Anyways, we have set up for yet more villains. The bits with "Shadow" were especially fun to write, as were Ristarius' scenes. Really, this whole thing was fun. And yes, there are radios and lightbulbs and televisions and electrical power in my version of Sigil. It's just that power is somewhat unreliable in the Hive. That's about all I have to say right now. If I think of anything else I'll edit it in later or add it to the next chapters notes. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!

~Dragonexx