“Citizens of Doskvol, hear me!”.
Isla hid, scared of being caught. She’d accepted a dare from some of the older children to sneak up and take a look inside the Spirit Warden’s carriage.
“Please rest assured we will fulfill our Imperial oath and deal with your dead as has always been our sacred duty. We will keep your streets safe from ghosts.”.
Not only could Isla hear the man talking to the crowd, but she could also hear quite a different conversation taking place inside the carriage.
“Have there been any more reports of strange deaths?”, asked the lady.
“The soul-less? Unfortunately yes.”, replied the gentleman sitting beside her. ” I know, it’s a bit dramatic,”, he said laughing, “but it seems to appeal to these peasants. The more ridiculous we can make it seem, the easier it is to convince them it isn’t true.”.
“It is true then? There have been deaths we have missed?”.
“One or two I’m afraid. Luckily last night we managed to find a couple before anyone had chance to disturb things. Most unnatural deaths in this city are the result of feuding gangs so it’s almost impossible to get reliable information. We dealt with the bodies, but we also found something strange.”. The gentleman fished something out of his coat pocket and handed it to the lady, a small drawstring purse. There was a slight jingle as he passed it over.
The lady opened the pouch and tipped the contents into her gloved hand, any emotion she felt hidden by the ornate metal mask she wore. “The Dimmer Sisters?”, she asked quietly.
“Possibly.”, he replied, “They’re the only ones we know of with this kind of power.”.
“Unless they came from outside of the city!”.
Isla strained but couldn’t see what they were discussing without giving away her presence. Judging by the tone of the lady’s voice she knew it must be important.
The man atop the carriage continued, “Regarding these rumours. Reports of the so called ‘soul-less’. Let me say this. There have been no deaths in Doskvol that have slipped by the spirit wardens!”.
“Keep the population ignorant for as long as possible.”, the lady continued, “We don’t want them thinking we can’t do our job. I’ll smooth things over with the Lord Governor.”.
“Shall I send someone to look into the Dimmer Sisters my lady?”.
“Yes, but be discreet, and make sure they can’t be traced back to us. And for the Emperor’s sake, don’t let anyone know about these!”. She said as she handed back the purse.
Isla quietly slipped away. She was young, but you found out early on the streets of Doskvol how to survive, and this information may well keep her fed for a few days if she could find an interested buyer.
She headed off to speak with Bazso…