(From the recorded journal of Lady Aulos of Ordo Rimore)

Personal Log Entry #44

We are arrived on Prometheon; the Gloom voyage was most pleasant, spending time in the comfort aboard the Alcyone I practiced the art of playing the instrument of olde, the aulos; the story of the magnificent pipe was recount to me by my own Mentor: the stories tell of a great gathering of people of all nations under a great, searing sun, who sent their foremost athletes to compete in strange and ancient games. To cheer their own countrymen to victory and eternal glory, the people would play their auloses, and the low, droning sound pleased the heretic gods so much the dual-pipe was made into a legend. My personal skill with the pipe is humble, but in the dark depths of the Alcyone I am interrupted by no-one, save for the delightful monkies, in my practice. There was even a spot of excitement when some vessels attacked us, a minor event occurred and that was that. I have taken upon myself the duty of looking after the girl Lumen; something seems to be afoot, for she never fails to avoid looking at Elder Liam when Elder Liam, on her part, is emitting an aura like that of a great feline beast rested upon a branch. I shan't concern myself with the intricacies of the situation as long as it requires no interruption.

But, ah, Prometheon. Such scenery, such environment as man should never have set foot on it, never have left his handprint on the sulphur-yellow soil, the roiling iron-grey sky which rarely shines down with the light of the Sun of Arius, the black-striped mountainhills of the country-side, and the strange fields that softly sway in the eternal dusk of the land. The Prometheonians, a short, grey-skinned and beady-eyed native folk, live in abject apartheid, the ruling class being Amerachoan, the occupiers until very recently. It seems Prometheon will follow the lead of Red Moon, recently declared independent of Ameracho, and become independent as well. We encountered some trouble during our trip, as there is to be a siege of the realm by the Amerachoan fleet in the near future. Such mundane politics are not the chief concern of a Techmancer.

The chapter house in the capitol, Port Abymael, was our destination; It soon became clear the previous party had only paid cursorial courtesy to the locality; Such manners I shudder to imagine, were they in a hurry to move forward, or in a hurry to cover what they were doing? Nevertheless we managed to recover the name of their vessel and the names of the main crew. The chapter house itself was suffering from an irregular shortage of staff (a Nuntius position left unfilled for well over a year! How the inner realms keep themselves close to their hearts!). The resident Rimore, a Corpus, was unfortunately absent, and therefore we were not afforded the pleasure of greeting him. He had, however, left a miniature data-bullion for us to inspect. We enthusiastically saw to opening the files within; and indeed they were of interest to us. They were maintained by the resident Rimore, and concerned the staff of the chapter house. Some was of lesser interest; the chapter house Head and the resident Hospetaler have a child, the resident Mechanicus Adept - this does not arouse excessive suspicion as the child was begotten at Arx Machinus. However, such activity must always be regarded with at least some question: There are no borderline cases, every situation is either completely acceptable or completely reprehensible, and true wisdom is knowing between them. The chiefest judgement is of course weighed in the metallic scales of Solus Mekanimus. What was more interesting was that the resident Voluptas is a traitor to the Merchant League, for whatever reason, such mundane politics should be beneath any Techmancer, and Rimore Corpus has fed him with disinformation; he has accepted all.

Siria Liam has, once again, proven to be an exceptional information procuress. The business back in Golden Dome was, indeed, a sharp pity, as she had to be let from the service of the Esteemed Ordo Rimore, we could use a mind like hers, if only she could transcend her mundane shortcomings, as befitting a true Techmancer. However, the information she uncovered is grave indeed: Prometheon, in the infancy of its independence is soon to be sieged by Ameracho. But Golden Dome and Denkhatar are secretly in league, and their aim is twofold: to aid Prometheon against the Amerachoan fleet, and take Red Moon, which is also only recently become independent of Ameracho; this is all mundane, naturally, but it has a more sinister hue: the Eserhaus. It is no secret there is strong Eserhausian influence present in both Golden Dome and Denkhatar, they have become so bold as to operate a fully open, though far from legitimate, chapter house of their own in both. The Eserhausians face two problems, as they as heretics should: they lack Omnium and proper facilities for mass-production of Techmantic goods. However, increased presence in Golden Dome and Denkhatar would grant these since Golden Dome is a place of many facets, and Denkhatar has the largest functional Omnium mines. This is all highly suspicious, not to say serious. Rimore should take immediate and unfailing action. Furthermore, there are also rumours about Eserhausians having close connections to the Pratibha family of Golden Dome, and heretic action having taken place. Such should be taken very seriously. I shall write my Superior an official memo on the matter.

As grave as the situation with the Eserhausians appears to develop into, and this is grave news indeed, it seems our good Keinon has also gotten himself into a pinch. We managed to salvage some information regarding his current whereabouts, though we were hindered by some local religious disputes, some prometheonians being hanged and a local law house or somesuch being burned e.t.c: the Keyholder party seems to have searched for the grave of Penumbra the Wrong-minded, a famed prometheonian navigator of the recess of Gloom, why, we cannot know. More information is held by the Red Seer, a holy man of Dantalos, whom we shall venture to meet, much to the delight and respite of Su-Mi, who appears to be suffering from a crisis of faith or a similar affliction of the heart. Ah, youngsters these days!