19. Ghosts of Fogport Hospital, Part 1

I’m lucky to be alive. Deerin… not so lucky.

I was hoping I could prevent a war, but I failed. Two men are dead already, one barely older than a kid. And there’s no doubt the Cannon Knights are looking for me, ready to add me to the death toll. I can only hope they haven’t told Catherine yet… only Deputy Chief Langstrom actually recognized me, and he’s dead, so I can hope my cover remains for now.

I had known this goes deeper than just Elliott for a while. But it goes deeper even than the Mysticet. Deeper than Catherine and the Cannon Knights. Powerful forces swirl in Fogport, I can feel it, and soon they will clash for the future of this city and the entire Misty Sea. I can only hope I can prevent it. Deerin sacrificed his life to save me and stop Langstrom… I have to make his sacrifice worthwhile.

My escape from Brumehold Prison was a shitshow, but thanks to Deerin I got what I came for. I’m sitting now in Fogport Hospital, where the Mysticet nurses are treating my burns. But I have a second objective here: Issa Ta’ryn, High Priestess of the Mysticet Church, is in this Hospital. With Elliott’s girlfriend’s help, I can convince Catherine to choose peace. And maybe, together, we can stop this city from

“What are you writing Miss?”

Rosalyn looked up from her cot at a nurse standing over her, peering at her Journal. “AH!” she gasped, quickly shutting the tome and stowing it back in her bag beside her hospital bed. “Nothing, nothing…”

“Sorry!” the nurse said, apologetically. “I-I didn’t mean to scare you Miss, just making conversation. How are your burns feeling? They should be all better by now.”

The woman was wearing a necklace, similar to the one that belonged to Issa Ta’ryn, only smaller and less extravagant. Her robes resembled the others worn by Mysticet Faithful, only with an added headdress that Rosalyn guessed doubled as a hairnet. Along with a unique sigil that Rosalyn didn’t recognize. “They, uh, they feel alright.” Rosalyn grunted as she twisted around a bit in her bed - the sharp burning sensation had left much of her skin, and she felt now like she could finally talk normally again. “Gotta be careful next time I cook Lampfish - those things can really explode.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’m sorry we couldn’t get you a room in the basement like you requested, but it looks like you turned out fine regardless.” the nurse said.

“Yeah, well, my body just heals better in dark basements. Where exactly did you say the basement was, again?” Rosalyn asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

“Oh, well it’s locked off to most patients. We just house old stuff in there, and… uh… that’s it.” the nurse giggled, trying to seem nonchalant herself. After a bit more conversing, the nurse started to leave the pale white hospital room Rosalyn was sitting in - but as she turned around, Rosalyn caught a glimpse of a keyring hanging from her side. And with a deft cast of Black Tendril, the collection of keys was stealthily brought into Rosalyn’s hands.

After changing out of her hospital gown and into her ebony cloak and signature cap, Rosalyn quietly exited into the main hall of Fogport Hospital, and made her way down the stairs. On her exit, she passed fleets of Doctors and patients - including the lifeless body of Deputy Chief Langstrom, being carted down one of the hallways, and a handful of Cannon Knights whose blue cysts hadn’t completely faded yet. But the Detective quietly vanished into the background, and darted past.

She was surprised at how impressively modern Fogport Hospital was. Like all the buildings in Fogport, it was tall, thin, and carved from stone that was a decaying gray hue. And there was still a depressing air to the entire place - the halls were sparsely populated with cheap cots and curtains, and there was always the constant haze of mist in the air. But it felt far more like part of the City than the Mysticet Chapel did. I’m guessing Goldpearl Co. built this place first and then, with no healers to run it, turned to the Mysticet for help.

As Rosalyn made her way down to the main floor, she saw the waiting room filled with Goldpearl dockworkers. Some with broken arms and legs, others looking like they had been bitten by some creature of the Misty sea, and one with a plank of wood from a splintered barrel speared through his foot. As she watched the Mysticet nurses and clerics tend to them - loading them onto carts, carrying them up stairs, and singing softly to them to magickally heal their wounds - Rosalyn was reminded of just how bad civil war would be for this city.

At the back of the triage area, Rosalyn saw a steel door. While the others were made of soft wood, this one glistened in the light of the lanterns that hung from the ceiling. Bingo. Rosalyn thought as she stared at the door to the basement, trying to seem inconspicuous as she looked it up and down. But the longer she looked, the more puzzled she became - there were no locks or handles on the door, and no clear ways to even open it. Just a small Mysticet sigil, forged into the iron.

They must teleport through the door. Fuck. Rosalyn cursed silently. If only Deerin were still here.

As she looked around for some other way into the basement, Rosalyn couldn’t get the image of Deerin Azary’s bloodsoaked, mangled body out of her head. It was both terrifying and motivating at the same time - she wanted to give Deerin’s sacrifice meaning, but she shuddered at the thought of all the blood that could be spilled if she continued. But when Rosalyn came to a small grate in the floor, which she could just barely fit through with Blood of the Squid… she knew she had no choice.

Darkness fell through the Hospital main floor, and as the patients around her shouted and chaos fell, Rosalyn transformed herself and softly slid through the grate, down into the basement.

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It was dark down here. And humid. Quickly, Rosalyn returned to her normal form and lit up her rapier with glowing green ink… but it did little. All Rosalyn could see was fog. It was even hazier down here, deep in the basement of Fogport Hospital, than right on the coast of the Misty Sea. Like a torch, Rosalyn kept her rapier aloft as she slowly crept through the mist, trying to get a sense of where she was.

It was like stepping into a new world. She couldn’t hear anything above her. It was only silence and fog, deep in the recesses of the Hospital, which she was slowly creeping through. Right before she tripped on it, Rosalyn was able to illuminate an old, broken cot thrown door in front of her. Waving her sword around, she could see that there were a few other old hospital beds strewn about, and likely more in the mist. Old storage… Rosalyn thought. How am I going to find Issa down here?

Then, barely audible over the oppressive stillness, Rosalyn could hear a quiet singing in the distance. But not like the discordant chanting she had heard in the depths of the Mysticet Chapel… this was harmonic, and somberly beautiful. It sounded like a woman, singing a soothing song. Could that be her? Rosalyn thought. Or is it just another trick?

Carefully, Rosalyn passed through a doorway out of the storage room and into what she assumed to be a long hallway - with the lullaby emanating from far off in the distance. As she turned towards the singing, she heard something else - the sound of something wooshing past her. Then, swimming in front of her, she saw a small, ghostly minnow with a single bulbous eye. Like the ones she had seen when she swam to Brumehold Prison… now, one was levitating in front of her.

And the singing stopped.

A bluster of wind ripped through the fog, pushing Rosalyn backwards and clearing a bit of the mist. Revealing a whole swarm of one-eyed minnows, floating in the dark. Watching.

Awaken Ghost: School of Eyes

Spell Class: Ghost Whale Miracles (Advanced)

The caster calls upon a ghost of the Misty Sea: a swarm of small one-eyed fish controlled by the caster. Anything one of these fish sees is also seen by the caster, allowing them to easily spy on foes or guard passageways. While not too dangerous in a fight, if the School of Eyes swarms an enemy, their little bites can be a serious nuisance for them.

Eye Minnows are small, odd creatures that inhabit the Misty Sea. Since the fog that floats above the water stops sunlight from entering the Ocean, even surface-level sea creatures have been forced to adapt to the darkness. These minnows, with their single bulbous eye, are perfect for such an environment. It’s also thought that Eye Minnows have a psychic link to one another, allowing them to share visual information with one another, and swarm into massive schools of eyes, which can be quite intimidating for any predator with stage fright.

“Detective.” a haunting voice called out. It was soft and feminine, but stern and commanding at the same time. It sounded like it was coming from all around her, like the fog itself was speaking. “I knew you’d come. I’ve been watching you… ransacking my Chapel… breaking into Brumehold. You have guts, coming here.”

Rosalyn was stunned. “H-High Priestess?”

“You don’t need to speak, Detective. Our conversation is already over. You are to return the way you came. If you travel deeper into my sanctuary, then it will become your tomb. Do I make myself clear?” the voice rang out again.

“Issa, wait! Please, Fogport needs your help! I’m not here to hurt you, I want-”

“I know what you want. I’ve been watching, remember? Chief Ahab seeks to exterminate the Mysticet, and then war will erupt on this island. You want me to speak to her… tell her about my Elliott. And hope that a common ground will save this city?” then, a caustic laugh erupted from the fog. “Understand this, Detective: I want nothing to do with that woman. I see little reason to halt her death wish. And if war breaks out on Fogport, then the casualties will not be wearing Mysticet robes.”

Rosalyn stood in the mist, stunned. “How… how could you say that? Don’t you want peace?”

“Peace cannot be forced, Detective. If Catherine and her Cannon Knights wish to dye red the Misty Sea, then I will not beg for their mercy. I will not stoop this Church so low as to kiss their iron boots - rather, I will use the last of my strength to eradicate them from the face of Blackwater.” Issa boomed. “It will bring me no pleasure. But it will bring me no shame, either. And if you do not leave, then I will start my retaliation with you.”

“You’re just going to let this war happen? You’re just-”

“DON’T LECTURE ME ON POLITICS, CHILD.” the scream was deafening now. It made Rosalyn, and the whole basement, shake. “I HAVE SEEN THEIR HATRED OF THIS WORLD AND ITS BEAUTY. I HAVE SEEN THEIR WEAPONS. I HAVE SEEN THEIR AMBITION. To supplant the natural world, and in its place, build only a battlefield. But it is not my responsibility to save their souls, Rosalyn.”

The Detective was quiet. “So you’re going to kill his sister, Issa? Is this what Elliott would have wanted?”

No response. The basement returned to its state of deafening silence. Then, after a few moments of stillness, the School of Eyes retreated into the fog, leaving Rosalyn alone in the empty hallway. “Issa? Can we… can we keep chatting?” she whispered nervously as the fog began to swirl around her.

And then, illuminated in the tip of her rapier, Rosalyn saw something dart out from the mist… and snatch her in its jaws. “AAAAHHH!” Rosalyn screamed as she was suddenly lifted off the ground and carried down the hallway by something sharp. She could feel its teeth, serrated and dagger-like, press into her ribs and begin to bleed her dry. Her skin transformed into rocky shell before it could split her in half, but it still had her in its jaws, and was rocketing further and further away.

“GAH!” Rosalyn screamed as she plunged her rapier into the thing’s side, causing it to snap open its jaws and release both Rosalyn’s body and a horrid, ear-piercing scream. Rosalyn clattered to the floor and rose to her feet, feeling the shallow wounds in her sides pulse with pain as she looked out at her attacker. Her glowing rapier illuminating its awful body.