Chapter Eight - Surface Level

Social class in Ulgotha was denoted in a literal sense--one's placement along the River Leshrac. Though Ulgotha stood at the intersection between the Leshrac and Magginoth, the banks of the Magginoth were primarily occupied by commerce and government, with very little residential areas to speak of. The Leshrac, however, teemed with life. The upper class neighborhoods were furthest upstream, where the water was fresh in its long descent from the Worldspawn Mountains in the east. Centuries ago, Ulgotha had been divided into the Upper Barrens, Malachi Village, and the Lower Barrens, but by this time a number of small towns had been enveloped by the city's sprawl, forging the city into nine boroughs, most of which were named for their original villages.

The very last borough was the Gray Knell, so named because of what the River Leshrac looked like after passing through the industrial districts upstream. The Gray Knell's most famous neighborhood was Spectre's Barrow.

Savant Viggo Helmsman stepped off the carriage and gave Troy Powell the signal to move along. The stagehand drove away without hesitation--even during the daytime, Spectre's Barrow was nowhere a living man wanted to be. The Savant set his shoulders and strolled down Crypt Street to the main office of the Sardipan Alliance of Extended Humanity.

The secretary behind the main desk would have been attractive if not for the line of heavy stitches running the left side of her face. In his line of work, Helmsman was injured frequently, but had found discovered that his biomancers could heal dead flesh just as accurately as living, albeit a bit more slowly. The Savant decided to keep his native curiousity at bay and not ask about the stitches.

"Can I help you?" asked the ghoulish secretary.

"Yes, I'm Savant Helmsman. I have an appointment with Mister Talon."

"I'll go and get him for you, Savant." The secretary went through a door behind her.

Helmsman took stock of the office. It was nice enough, not even the slightest bit reminiscent of a tomb. He noticed that the large front window had a heavy leather curtain tied up above it--he'd heard that some Wights were photosensitive. The other strange thing was that there were no lamps in the place--instead, magical lights were embedded in the ceiling. Using magic when there was a mundane alternative was a very un-Sardipan thing to do.

"Savant, please come in." said a male voice. Helmsman looked up to see Talon beckoning him into his office.

After Helmsman had been seated, Talon asked the Savant what his purpose was today.

"Ever since I became a Revenant, I've been doing research on the undead in general." said Helmsman. "By my own assessment, I'm a Taxim. The thing is, I personally killed the man who took my life, and the man who ordered him to do it, yet here I stand."

Talon steepled his fingers. "Savant, I'm well acquainted with Taxims, and frankly, you don't fit the description. While it's true that you came back to life after being murdered, you lack many of the other characteristics of a Taxim. First, Taxims must return to their graves during the day. Your presence hear illustrates that you are not bound by such a stricture. Next, you show the capacity for rational thought. Taxims think only of revenge--it is the purpose of their resistance. Last, you have, as you noted, obtained your vengeance, and it has not altered your state.

"It would seem that a fate has befallen you that plagues many of us. We know that we have died, we know that we have returned, but we do not know why."

"I came here for answers, not mysticism. Where do I find out what's going to happen to me?"

Talon answered without hesitation. "I would suggest the Abyss."

"The Abyss? It's full of horrors of freaks!" said Helmsman. "There's no way I'm going into that death trap."

"I really think you should. Most of the denizens are completely amiable towards other undead, and even if you can't find the answers you're looking for, you'll certainly learn a lot about what it means to be a Revenant."

"That's not what I'm looking for."

"It's the best option I can give you. In fact, I'll accompany you, if you like; my agenda is clear for the rest of the day. As you can imagine, we don't get too much traffic through here."

Helmsman turned the idea over in his mind.

"Dammit, what choice do I have?"