Angelica's Secrets

As a learned courtesan, keeping a diary is natural to Angelica. However, she has a tendancy to record all the gossip and politics as well as crafting a simple chronicle. Naturally she keeps her diary very well hidden, as none of the others should know what she thinks of them, or what they really think of each other!

Journal Entries - Freiburg,

(First Adventure)

[7th Sea Diary Entry: 14 May 2006]

My Dear Sister,

I hope that all is well with you. Since our home was lost I have made my way to the city of Freiburg in Eisen with a Vodacce nobleman by the name of Lord Dante Caligari. He is a learned man who studies natural philosophy, the arts, mathematics, the mysteries of lines and shapes in paintings as well as many forms of music. He has taken me on as his companion, confidant and muse. Yes, sister dearest, I continue our family tradition and make my way in the manner that we have been educated towards since childhood namely that as a courtesan.

Before we parted you asked why I should see fit to leave our beloved Vodacce and pursue interests in the land of these uncouth savages. The answer that I gave satisfied you not and in truth it did not sit well with me either. All that I can say at this time is that I am well cared for, have a new city to explore - albeit a city without any law or order - and neighbours that are very noisy.

Lord Dante expressed his annoyance at the volume of noise produced by our erstwhile quiet neighbour. The disturbances seem to have settled down somewhat now, but he has decided that it would be best to investigate the matter and try to settle it once and for all. The house adjacent to ours is rented by another Caligari family by the name of Constanza and they, like us, rent their apartments from a Richard Airheart. I must confess to knowing little about the Constanza family despite coming from the same island. If you know more of them then please write to me off them in your next letter.

As I have mentioned, as you are well aware as expressed in your extreme displeasure in your last letter, the city of Freiburg has little in the way of city guards. It is a place in which those residing there make their own order. Some crimes are of such vulgarity that those witnessing or hearing of it will rise up to exact justice from the perpetrators, but since arriving in the city I have yet to observe such solidarity. In any case Lord Dante decided that it would be best to procure the services of a nearby knightly order in order to deal with the rowdy neighbours.

Imagine my surprise upon meeting these so called Knights of Music that they were a misbegotten assortment of ruffians and down-on-their-luck gentlemen. I had in my naivety imagined them to be something akin to the dashing Knights of the Rose and Cross or perhaps the glamorous Knights of Elaine. Word of the Knights of Music deeds in driving off a gang of bullies called the “Wild Wolves” initially guided us to the doorstep of the Drachenheim mansion where the Knights of Music were housed. But since this is Freiburg I should have realised that any knightly order would be below par, even if this one had been founded in fair Montaigne originally.

The head of the Knights of Music is Axel Von Wendal, an Eisen mercenary who has illusions of nobility. Perhaps he is a nobleman by Freiburg standards but that is not any great feat. When we met him he was drunk, not dressed as befitting a nobleman and to top it all off he even did not possess any weapons. Later I learnt that his lady wife had removed his weapons and that his sister-in-law appeared to be some kind of Jenny that had married an aging Eisen nobleman just in time to inherit his title and the Drachenheim mansion. The next gentleman to be introduced was Mikei, an Ussuran gentleman who dressed the part and whose manners did his country proud. Things were beginning to look up with at least one of the Knight of Music making a tolerable impression when a thing that the others referred to as “Kurt” was introduced. I’ll not sully this page by describing this rude, smelly little Eisen peasant in too much detail but I think that you can build an adequate image from this one sentence.

To avoid any complications it was decided not to inform the Knights of Music that we knew the identity of the residents in the house next to ours. I’m not even sure if we told them that we resided next door. For all I knew at the time these Knights of Music were simply more successful criminals that the Wild Wolves and hence our initial caution can easily be comprehended. My concerns about their criminal abilities were swiftly put to rest when it fell to me to unlock and open the door. In my mental tally of their deficiencies I struck off the word criminal and added the word incompetent. In any case, they would prove useful should we confront any dangers within the house.

The house showed signs of habitation, although some of the food laid out had gone stale. An infernal screeching sound that rent the air send Lord Dante and I hurrying back to the entrance. Sending out scouts ahead they reported some kind of green glowing clock device. It contained a green glowing stone that had golden filaments radiating outwards in to the clockwork. Exploration of the rest of the house revealed a locked room with the keyhole blocked, a gentleman’s sleeping quarters, a library with a statue of a gargoyle with large lantern eyes and claws huddled in the corner. The hat resting on the statue had a hole in the top and Axel managed to find a claw-like implement that he got his hand stuck in to.

So far the house looked to be filled with numerous strange and dangerous seeming items. Another that we located was an orange stone inside a birdcage and a metal cylinder that sparked alarmingly with arcs of lightning. Next to this device was a black outline of a gentleman on the floor, presumably this is what remained of the late Lord Constanza. Approaching the device cautiously Lord Dante attempted to retrieve the documents strewn around the close to where the black shadow and sparking device lay. Unfortunately the device struck out at him and he was forced to retreat.

Heading downstairs to look at the clock a sudden apparition materialised to block my way. My shock at this sudden event was lessened a little when I saw that it was the Kurt creature. He even went so far as to try to grab me, but a swift sharp stamp on his toes convinced him not to handle a lady in such a manner. I must ask Lord Dante to have Kurt whipped for his impertinence at a later date. Either that or I shall have to find a chink in this creatures moral armour and sully his “oh so righteous” demeanour, it made me feel sick to hear him ramble on - more so that his touch.

He had the gall to say to me: “As noxious as you are, I would not like to see you fried.” To which I responded: “Well that seems to be the only thing that we have in common.” A lesson in the Great Game may be in order for this peasant wretch, it works well with those who label themselves as righteous. There are few righteous men in Vodacce and often they are encountered floating down the canals of our great cities.

Axel had meanwhile taken the clock upstairs and then headed down to investigate the cellar. I located a few interesting books of Vodacce history including one on family trees and histories. That stroke of luck was enough to cheer me up immensely as I had hopes that the mystery of our true family name might come to light. However, before I could ponder the matter further Lord Dante was busy getting himself in to further trouble. He had lost his sight after amber light sprang forth from the blocks in the library. I discarded the glowing clock that I was trying to unravel and by sheer misfortune it landed close to the lightning cylinder. The net result was that the glowing stone cannoned out of the room, through the stone wall where it came to rest in the street outside. I must confess that had Mikei not had presence of mind to throw me to the floor I might have not survived the encounter.

That little incident along with Lord Dante’s lack of sight convinced me that the Constanza residence was no longer safe. It had revealed the mysteries that it would and they appeared to be beyond the means of Lord Dante, myself or the Knights of Music to decipher. I steered Lord Dante out of the house in time to see a beer-soaked Axel emerge from the cellar and thankfully he did not to notice us depart. Taking Lord Dante home in a carriage in a very round-about route we finished off the evening sharing a bottle of wine and a nicely warmed bed. His lack of sight made our evening that much more passionate and fiery as he had to rely on his sense of touch more so that usual. Yes, sister dearest, I do still enjoy my path in life as a courtesan especially on days such as this.

With love,

Angelica Belucci

[7th Sea Diary Entry: 28 May 2006]

My Dear Sister,

I trust that all is well with you. After our adventures in the Constanza residence I learnt that Madeleine du Bise, a humourless lady in charge of the local Explorer’s chapterhouse, arrived to deal with the situation. It was fortunate that we left when we did as the woman has a tongue as sharp as scourge made of saw grass.

During breakfast, by which time Lord Dante’s vision had returned, we discussed the merits or lack thereof regarding the various members of the Knight of Music that we had met so far. Of the three it appeared that the Ussuran gentleman by the name of Mikei would make a useful contact. Axel had not the sense to be of much use, especially in his weapon less state. Kurt, well he might only prove useful for clearing blocked sewers.

Later that morning, still feeling playful from the night before, Lord Dante and I made a bet as to who could locate Mikei first. I recruited the help of a local urchin girl by the name of Annabel, called Izzy by her friends, to help locate Mikei. Lord Dante went for the approach of pounding the streets of the city to locate his Ussuran quarry using scholastic wits to guide him. Whilst waiting for Izzy to return from her errand I decided to indulge in a little revenge. This is a serious matter for any Vodacce, especially a lady who feels herself to have been mistreated. For this to have been done at the hand of a peasant wretch such as Kurt, it had to be something done over a period of time - when the dish had cooled to a delectable level of vengeance.

So the morning was passed innocently teaching Kurt to play cards. I had worried that he might not be able to count to ten and master the basics of gambling, but he soon displayed a certain wit and a little aptitude at cards. It was an effort not to smirk whilst playing the innocent damsel looking for some simple companionship. His extreme caution made the endeavour that much more delicious; I felt the warmth rise up from my toes to my bosom.

Later on that day, Izzy having located Mikei, I was introduced to Axel’s sister-in-law. Her name is Francine Drachenheim, as mentioned in my previous letter. She stepped through a rent in the air that dripped with blood as if the world had suffered a wound. Though I had heard of the Montaigne sorcerous powers, this was the first time that I’d witnessed Porte being used in front of me. Later on we all ended up back at the Drachenheim house where Mikei revealed that an Eisen mercenary captain by the name of General Gruber would be making a parade in the city in the next few days. This Eisen mercenary captain had distinguished himself by plundering Ussura in the recent war fought by the Montaigne against the Ussurans. He was planning to present some of his ill-gotten gains to Wilma Prost, the secretary to the ruler of the city of Freiburg.

The reason that Mikei asked us to help in doing something about this is clear from the fact that he is Ussuran. As a good citizen of his land he had every reason to despise this Eisen mercenary leader and to me the idea of thwarting him appealed on some level that I could not quite explain. I would not be doing it to exact justice for the Ussurans slain or harmed by this man and his army, rather it would prove to be an interesting and hopefully exciting outing to cause him to lose face in the worst possible way.

I shall tell you more of how things turned out in my next letter. With love,

Angelica Belucci

7th Sea: Angelica Belucci Diary Entry Two

12 June 2006
7th Sea Diary Entry

My Dear Sister,

The city of Freiburg is much more than just a lawless, Theus-forsaken pit crawling with savage Eisen trying to eke out a living. It has movers, shakers, players and victims galore. The thing is that it did not take long for them to start rising to the surface when the Knights of Music passed by. Those poor saps attract danger and trouble the way a ripe mallenbury bush attracts spiders. Unfortunately for me I happen to be rather fond of one of the Knights.

It seems that after Lord Dante made good our exit from our neighbour’s house that things continued to go rather badly. I do not know the exact circumstances of what went on but at the end of it Mikei had a falling out with Axel and he ended up working as a doorman for the Gilded Lilly. Whilst I have no particular objections to the Ussuran working as a doorman to a rather down-market brothel, what does bother me is when the owner - a woman by the name of Catelina Concaratzia - used poison on Mikei to keep him under her control.

It took a little while for this little secret to come to the surface. As they say in Vodacce all Villanova sticks rise to the surface, some do so further downriver than others. By the way I have asked if there is a similar tradition to that of the Villanova family of seeing which of their victims passes underneath a bridge first and it seems that my questions so far have only drawn blank stares and exclamations of horror. In any case I am getting somewhat side-tracked about how all this came to be revealed.

After the Constanza family residence incident and Mikei revealing that General Gruber was coming to the city, the name Walden was mentioned on several occasions in reference to helping form a possible alliance between Fischler and Posen. Then having found out about Mikei being poisoned when he confessed to what had happened at the Gilded Lilly I began to formulate a plan. I took the Kurt-thing with me to the Walden residence and convinced him to climb down the chimney in order to break in to the house. Axel and Dante meanwhile were around the other side of the house distracting the residents.

At least that was the plan. Axle ended up refusing to draw a weapon when the butler rushed out and began to beat both him and Lord Dante. In the confusing melee Lord Dante was knocked unconscious and the cowardly Eisen gutter-arachnid scuttled off leaving Lord Dante to be taken in by the city guard. Meanwhile on the other side of the house, oblivious to what was going on at the front door side, I was busy trying not to laugh out loud as Kurt emerged from the chimney. That in itself was not the amusing part, what it was is that the smelly little Eisen man decided that he’d best not leave soot marks everywhere and so he stripped to his undergarments. I tell you sister dearest the sight of him standing there, face darkened with soot and his stripy undergarments is a kind of entertainment that coins simply cannot buy. Kurt did have a good look around after letting me in through the back door and we came away with some rather nice family silverware to replace the poisons that we have planted in the house.

Axel who later was interviewed by the city guard admitted to having been paid by another of the doormen at the Gilded Lilly to cause a distraction in the street in which the Walden residence is located. Mikei used subterfuge to misdirect Madame Concaratzia, the owner of the Gilded Lilly, long enough for Francine to go in and plant some of the silverware. The city guards raided the brothel, find a portion of the silverware and Madame Concaratzia was promptly arrested. Word gets around that Walden had poisons in his house that were used to discredit General Gruber and after an incident at his residence that implicated his guilt (Kurt’s poison having been found) the Walden household left the city under the cover of night.

I presume that by now you are asking yourself: What took place to discredit General Gruber? Well, as I mentioned at the end of my previous letter this Eisen mercenary captain had fought against the Ussurans in the recent war waged by the Montaigne. During the fighting General Gruber had earned a reputation as a particularly unpleasant individual who did unspeakable things to the Ussurans and brought the name of mercenaries everywhere in to disrepute. Alright I admit to embellishing a little but please allow me some artistic license, I am a muse after all.

So as not to spoil what preparations took place, of which Mikei was predominantly involved, I shall simply describe the victory parade in which General Gruber was to present a portion of his spoils to the city of Freiburg. Picture if you will the streets lined with townsmen and women. Children run up and down the sides waving flags and the air is suddenly rent with the crystal clarion call of trumpets. Marching in to view appears a column of well dressed soliders led by several officers on horseback. At the front rides General Gruber resplendent in his polished and starched military attire. In the midst of the column of troops is a wagon that has on it several lockboxes with numerous locks, strong iron bands and more soldiers standing guard, scanning the crowd with a hawk-eyed steely glare for any sign of attack or treachery.

However, the attack comes not from without. As the column makes its way towards the centre of the town one of the horse’s that an officer is riding suddenly begins to buck. Children, including Izzy, take their cue and the road is filled with hundreds of pieces of small gunshot that scatter across the road. In such treacherous footing the other horses also begin to shy and it all that General Gruber can do to stay on his mount. It is at that point that he notices that the exposed parts of his skin have turned red and he begins to scratch an every increasingly annoying inch from all the points where his armour touches his skin.

The soldiers in the column fare little better. Their neat marching stride is broken when approximately half of them lose their step due to passing wind in a most violent manner. Bowel control seems to be the last discipline that these men can exert and it is not long before the crowd is howling with laughter at the sight of the horses floundering and the men supporting each other in a hurried, awkward march that is marked by the passing of some very unpleasant aromas. General Gruber strips himself of his armour having already been unhorsed and huddles on the back of his victory parade cart dripping red liquid and scratching himself on his arms and legs.

The Eisen men do manage to present their gifts to the secretary of the ruler of the city. Perhaps not in the manner that they had envisaged but the money at least will go towards a good cause. All’s mostly well that endeth well. General Gruber became a laughing stock to his men and I do not think that his future career will be looking rosy. Rumours of stronger links between Fischler and Posen die with Walden family leaving the city. The Gilded Lilly returned to business when Madame Concaratzia was released from custody but at least Mikei has managed to escape her grasp.

I know what you are thinking sister dearest, itching powder and lotions to make sweat turn red? They are parlour tricks compared to how we do things in Vodacce. However, I am beginning to learn that this savage-run pit has more layers and a greater complexity that I’d previously imagined.

Twice now the Knights of Music have been a source of amusement and so I will recommend to Lord Dante Caligari that a continued association will provide further entertainment if nothing else. There is always the matter of properly thanking Axel for abandoning Lord Dante to the mercies of the frothing butler. Soon we are going to the theatre and so I must bring this letter to a close. Be well and I pray that mother does not think too badly of me still.

With love,

Angelica Belucci

7th Sea: Angelica Belucci Diary Entry Three

09 July 2006
7th Sea Diary Entry

My Dear Sister,

Why is it that men are so intent in throwing their lives away? I shan't name the reason why suffice it to say that however they dress it up as, it is none the less so infuriating as to drive me so far up the wall that I am practically clawing at the drapes. We birth them, raise them, nourish them, and they have the gall to almost die over a case of fake jewellery. Men!

It all started rather simply with a night of the theatre. Perhaps there is something about the magic of the stage that bleeds over in to our dull and mundane lives as I have found that there is never such a thing as a 'simple night at the theatre'. It's like simply strolling down the streets of Freiburg bedecked in expensive jewellery and expecting an uneventful trip. I should have known things would not go well based only on the play.

It was an Eisen comedy and despite the fact that I seemed to be one of the few in our group that fully comprehended the play, it was the ones who did not that laughed the loudest. Lady Drachenheim was particularly piercing with her laughter, it made the experience boring interspersed with moments of agony. I think that this comedy says a lot about Eisen culture. Understanding is not required, in some circumstances it can even be a hindrance. Obedience without question, that is the Eisen motto given to each babe from the day that are born.

After the play was over we were invited by Wilma Prost to an after-dinner party. Well, I say we were all invited but it seems she made a slight oversight in forgetting Lord Dante's and my names. I soon remedied that by inviting ourselves along, it's one of the first skills that we learn as courtesans. We move in places where others do not because we can and we can do so - by doing so. Anyway, at the party a Dame Gretchen is introduced who seems rather charming if a little naive. My suspicions were not unfounded when it was later revealed that the lovely necklace she was wearing was a fake. Apparently it was swapped only within the last six hours and could we not possibly be darling knights to the rescue by returning her necklace to her?

Well normally I'd say that reuniting a lady with her precious stones is one of the greatest acts a man or woman can ever do. Dame Gretchen on the other hand has such queer ideas such as putting up displaced peasants in her town house and living in the cottage on her grounds that I cannot help but wonder if she is not touched in the head. Surely there is something quite wrong with her faculties? She speaks in a normal manner and dresses as a lady should. Her ideas though of treating the peasants well and even accommodating them in rooms above their station are not only preposterous but nigh on dangerous. See what happened to the Montaigne? The peasants showed their true savage nature during the Revolution when the streets ran red with blood.

My arguments of Dame Gretchen having pawned the necklace having been turned aside, we agreed to help Wilma Porst or at least I agreed to humour her. Turning up a couple of leads from interviewing various servants of distinctly uncouth malodorous countenances we finally tracked the possible location of the necklace to a butcher's workshop called The Wounded Boar. It is at this point that I remind you dear sister of my little rant earlier.

Axel Von Wendel single-handedly charged in to the butchers to confront the villain and his men. He had rather a lot of men and they had more than two guns, quite a few more. By some miracle of Theus combined with Axel's uncanny ability to avoid being in the place where the sword would land or the bullet pierce, he was still standing when the volley of bullets tore away the door. The fight that ensued was both bloody, brutal and involved a lot of blood. Some of that was my blood and whilst Lord Dante and I were fighting alongside each other trying to keep alive and keep Axel alive the thought crossed my mind, oh about every heartbeat, why in the name of all the sweet mothers of the Three Prophets I should be fighting armed and very dangerous men for this necklace. The woman who owns it needs help and not the financial kind. She needs a priest to sort her out and some very extravagant and decadent parties to make her realise what being a noble is all about.

Unfortunately the story does not have a happy ending. She did get back her necklace after we finally found it in a boar's head hanging on the wall. For reasons I may never figure out there was a small monkey racing about the butcher's shop during the melee, probably trying to pilfer some sausages. You know how these flea-ridden tree vermin can be. All smiles and cuteness, with a vicious streak underneath as wide as the bone bridge in Freiburg. I'm wounded, bandaged and have received no satisfaction. Perhaps Theus is sending me a message to re-examine my life. I had thought to 'try to do some good' whilst associating with the Knights of Music. But you know what sister dearest... 'doing good' really does not make me feel good. I actually feel a little taken advantage off as I did not come out ahead. Does that make me an intrinsically evil person? I don't really know. The priest at our school said that I was damned but then again he said the same thing of all the girls. Personally I think that he was just bitter about Theus having removed his vigour. Oh do you remember how much fun we had teasing him? What a lecherous old goat he was. Secretly I think that he got more pleasure out of spanking us than he ever did in any woman's bed. But like all those on Caligari island that did not get off in time. They are all gone. May they rest in the arms of Theus for now and all eternity.

With love,

Angelica Belucci

7th Sea: Angelica Belucci Diary Entry Four

23 July 2006
7th Sea Diary Entry

My Dear Sister,

I trust that things are well with you my dear and I apologise for the manner in which this letter has arrived. Upon sending it I was assured that the undergarments of the various ladies in question that would secrete this letter on my behalf were all cleaned and perfumed. I did not question as to whether said ladies would be wearing the undergarments or if it was in reference to clothing in their travel bags. Needless to say I hope that you will find the subterfuge and perfumes tolerable to be rewarded with my witty little tale.

It all started when a gentleman came to call at the Drachenheim house about some unpaid bills at the Fox's Den. I had no idea what it meant at the time and I was rather distracted by the overly familiar manner in which Lord Dante was treating me, he was on the brink of taking me for granted. Just to get across my feelings on this matter I made sure to slap both Mikei and him. A woman of our training and standing lives within certain parameters and with certain expectations, if the men around her are too ignorant or uneducated to comprehend as much then confusion is what they will get more off.

Anyway, the two smelly Eisens explained later in the day that they had a plan to make some money off the Inquisition. Now I don't know which side Axel and Kurt fought on in the War of the Cross, nor do I care to ask. Eisen are so touchy about the subject that it feels like walking in the burnt out shell of a building and fearing that the scorched rafters will come crashing down should you make a wrong step. Actually that metaphor sums up Eisen quite well, just populate the burnt out house with starving peasants and mercenaries and the symmetry would make me cry. I'm sorry I got a little carried away. An Inquisition man by the name of Bishop Felix Desmund Del Riveria was coming to town to buy five artefacts lost during the War of the Cross and our fetid little Eisen friends had put the proposal on the table to abduct the man and ransom him back. Apparently they have some even more nefarious and unpleasant friends than themselves that were in possession of the five items and claimed to have a safe place to stash the bishop.

I know, I know, assaulting the clergy is a very dangerous and strictly forbidden by the scriptures. But Freiburg is a lawless place and ever since my time with Father Onesti for that one week I have never much cared for the more extreme elements of the church. Besides, a plan was already coming together in my mind and you know how it is when I get fixated on a plan. Alright, I know that I came last in our class on scheming but I was naive at the time and I did not realise that the teacher ran that scam every year. I got him back though when he was found naked in a cell in the convent in the next town. I never did figure out why it took them so long to find him. Care to shed some light on this sister dearest?

Well the five artefacts included two large candlesticks, two small candlesticks and a Vaticine cross. Axel's friends had arranged for a market stall with a man name Bonatio located near a side-street in the market next to a fruit seller's stall. Can you believe that Axel and Dante got so in to their market seller personas that they actually tried to sell some wares? They were both terrible salesmen of course. One a Vodacce nobleman, learned scholar somewhat out of touch with the world and the other an Eisen opportunist who thinks arithmetic is having your joints seize up with old age.

For the plan to work I needed several things including some smoke bombs. Of course even in a lawless city like Freiburg it does not do for a woman like me to move around alone or fraternize with certain elements. So I sent my pet Eisen, Kurt, to collect my purchase for me. The little gargoyle of a man came back looking rather smug with himself and I knew he’d let slip more than he should have done. He'd resorted to a bit of name dropping and when I revealed that he'd only been instrumental in elevating my position in the Freiburg underworld - I do believe he went away to wash. He mentioned something about feeling used and dirty. Oh it is ever so much fun corrupting these small-minded upright men. Especially peasants who think that they are better then those higher up the social ladder. I should dread to think what would happen if Kurt ever went to Montaigne, sweet Theus he may even breed and then the problem would be compounded. Better to corrupt him now and get him dancing to an organ-grinder.

Right, well I have rambled on for long enough and got side-tracked so often that I feel quite turned around. The bishop came to the stall once with five guards to examine the wares and with two guards hidden in the crowd. On his second visit to the stall his guards were set upon by mercenaries. The busy market street was suddenly filled with a dense cloud produced by two smoke bombs rolled in from a side street. Someone, not the little smelly one as had been planned, but instead a more reliable companion ethered the bishop in to the land of dreams and the bishop's spot was not vacated for too long. With the real bishop snug in a carpet and the cart on its way the smoke began to clear and mercenaries began their retreat. Facing the two stunned market sellers, Axel and Dante, the hooded figure pulled back the robe to reveal me surrounded protectively by the bishop's guards.

Of course I explained that it was a case of mistaken identity and that in the smoky haze they must have confused me with the figure of the bishop wearing a similar robe of a not dissimilar colour. I bid the guards a hasty farewell and left them rather lost and frustrated having their charge plucked away from under their noses. The mission was a brilliant success and I have Father Onesti to thank for teaching me the meaning of the word scheming.

Later that night Lord Dante took me on a gondola ride through the city. As we paused near a bridge in the moonlight a string quartet played my favourite melody. The kiss that I gave Lord Dante was perhaps one of the best and most honest kisses I have ever given a man. He is a rare man indeed, even if he does need a gentle reminder from time to time to pay attention to me instead of his studies. Remarkably I don't remember a thing about the dinner we had, but I am willing to bet all the money I own that he will never forget our night together after the dinner.

Considering the content it would be an insult to you my dear sister to advise you to burn this particular letter as I'm sure you are hovering this letter over a candle as you complete your reading of it. I'd be adding even more insult to you intelligence my dear sister if I should remind you to take the antidote after having handled this poisoned letter.

Father Onesti came to me in a dream and asked: "What is in the empty place of a church, blooms red in spring and black in summer?" He was in a state of spiritual ecstasy, thankfully in a winter nightgown. I wish you well sister dearest and hope my message got through.

With love,

Angelica Belucci

7th Sea: Angelica Belucci Diary Entry Five

29 October 2006 and
12 November 2006
7th Sea Diary Entry

My Dear Sister,

I trust that all is well with you and please send my love to Mother. It’s been an interesting time of late and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. Yes, it does involve a handsome Vodacce man, a fate witch, going to the opera but unlike the classic tales told about the Great Game this one also involves some missing scientists too. Since I am writing this some time after the facts, please excuse any lapses in my recollections.

It all started when the Inquisition was kicking up a bit of a storm in Freiburg over their missing bishop. Yes that one, dear sister, the one that disappeared in a puff of smoke. In any case they have been attacking random people or so it appears and the Knights of Music (an order for which Axel is the leader if you may recall) arranged a party.

I suspect that some form of sorcery is at play as I can recall next to nothing of the party and you know that we have both been trained to handle alcohol well. All that I can remember is that things did not go well. Suffice it to say that in the morning I found myself sitting at a table with a fate witch from the Bernoulli family called Fiora and a nobleman from the Villanova family called Pietro. They had travelled over from Avalon where they’d apparently been involved in all manner of strange and implausible adventures.

Anyway, needless to say the Strega and I did not hit it off. Perhaps I should not have been drawing so much attention to myself with a Villanova in the room after that last party on their island that I had to leave in a more hurried fashion than is polite. But since Dante has been almost oblivious to my existence since our last time together, I felt lacking in the appropriate attention. You might be asking if I’ve lost my reason at all trying to get the attention of a Villanova and you’d be right for asking that. Truth be told ‘though I was very tempted instead I took out my frustration on the Strega.

My first impressions were right when I found out some time after their arrival that the two were not married and that they shared some form of forbidden romance. From the description of their kiss, there’s definitely passion between them although you’d not think it to look at them over the breakfast table. Before that spider of a woman left I managed to get in a parting barb, whispering in her ear that I was sorry to see her go so soon and that I would keep her Vodacce gentleman friend nicely fired up for her. She was as you can well imagine none too pleased with having been seen kissing and I withdrew before the veiled bitch could lay one of her curses on me.

Another gentleman came with them from Avalon, he was called William and he spent quite some time talking to Axel about the wedding of a man called Richard. To tell you the truth I found the whole thing rather dull. However, I did learn that it appears that Axel may have a long lost brother. Of course I only caught snippets of a conversation that I should not have, but if a courtesan cannot use her training to pick up words from the lips of another across a noisy room then it would make life a lot more dull. Speaking of dull, I forced myself to apologise for kissing Axel. Apparently this is something that I did at the party (I think) and I even went to the trouble of writing an apology to his wife.

She promptly materialised out of a great big bloody gash in the room and proceeded to be surprisingly friendly. At least that is what I could understand from her rapid Montaigne accent, I think perhaps that I’ve misjudged her. In any case it’s given me food for thought for later on. At the time my mind was all ablaze with the prospect of increasing what I fondly refer to as the Little Game in Freiburg. With the appearance of a dashing (if possibly naïve) Villanova, a pretty and deadly Strega and a handsome Avalonian things were bound to get more exciting.

So later on after having sent Mikei out for Opera tickets we went for an evening’s worth of entertainment. I still cannot get over Mikei’s celebrity status. He has come a long way in to the light of civility from his bear cave of a country. I’m not sure which is worse, living in Vodacce with the Strega that think that they are the power that shapes the country. Or living in a harsh land ruled over by a mythical crone that you know can turn nature and the land itself against you at a moment’s notice. I think that I’d settle for the glamour, beauty and intrigue of Vodacce every time.

The evening involved quite a lot of attention focused on Mikei, by others I should point out. This cult of celebrity could run all out of control if you ask me. We made it home in one piece at the end of the night and in the morning I woke to find that Pietro had purchased a young boy’s costume and two practise fencing swords for his daughter Louisa.

Oh, did I not mention this earlier sister dear? Oh how I’d love to see your arched eyebrow and wait for your blistering witty retort followed up with a withering gaze. Yes I discovered that this particular Villanova has been away from home for awhile and hence we have thank Theus not crossed paths before. He’s fiery, dashingly handsome, wary enough to have survived the Great Game but certainly no skilled Player unless he hides it really well. His wife has apparently passed away recently and now this Villanova and his Strega spawn have set up home in Axel’s house, at least temporarily.

I cannot really say too many bad things about this little girl of six. She’s pretty in the manner of all children and has inherited her father’s angular personality. That her father is corrupting her with games of swordplay and dressing in the manner of boys only gives me hope for her future. I’d hate to see her grow in to the same manipulative veiled spider monstrosity that the others call Fiora. Please Theus spare the world one more strand-pulling illiterate would-be-despot in a black dress. Urgh, I think that I shall go and take another bath - how I am glad to be away from them all if only for awhile.

Do you know that having just re-read some of my letter it’s completely slipped my mind to mention the missing scientists. Well I shall detail that story more in my next letter. For the moment I shall only say that it was the head of the town guard, called something along the lines of Vassia Wilhelm or however they pronounce it in their barking tongue, to request our assistance in locating a scientist by the name of Bottenfeld. There are times that I feel as if we have a sign over the door that says: “Got a problem that you cannot fix and need someone gullible to do it? Then step right inside.” Perhaps I’m being too cynical, but that encounter with the Strega has shaken my nerves somewhat and unfortunately alcohol does nothing for me. Mayhap I shall purchase something new to wear but I doubt that Dante would notice.

Anyway, my apologies if I have gone on for longer than normal and with more venom. You know how I feel about Fate Witches though and some day I will actually tell you what happened at the party of that lesser Villanova nobleman. It will have to wait though until I hear news of a few untimely deaths and then it will be safer to repeat. May this letter find you in good health and fortunes.

With love,

Angelica Belucci

7th Sea: Angelica Belucci Diary Entry Six

26 November 2006
7th Sea Diary Entry

My Dear Sister,

I hope that this letter finds you well and in living in stupendous luxury. Since my last letter aided by small shopping excursion my nerves have untangled a little and I now feel more like my usual self. Since the newcomers had come across from Avalon I had a feeling that things would get interesting rather quickly and I was not wrong.

As I mentioned in my last letter the head of the town guard turned up to ask our help with some missing scientists. He stated that he considered it compensation for holding an impromptu party that affected a significant portion of the city as the party spilled out on to the streets nearby and almost the whole neighbourhood. Dante expressed quite a bit of interest in the case of the missing scientists. I put this down to him considering them to be his fellow eccentrics and it was only later that I realised that he might be concerned about the Inquisition taking their vengeance against the Freiburg flask, pestle and mortar brigade (in other words his fellow inventors).

The names of the three missing scientists were (and please excuse my misspellings but you know how I am with names): Sebastian Delaron, a Castilian specializing in clockwork horrors; Ernst Bottenfeld, an Eisen man studying the nature of light with unfortunate consequences; and Erika Mondass, an amorous Eisen chemist that William took personal responsibility for guarding.

Mikei and Dante went to see what had happened to Ernst. They found the deceased scientist with graffiti indicating Inquisition involvement although curiously Dante spotted that the Inquisition’s standards of spelling must be slipping. This gave him pause but he soon rallied when he learnt that Ernst had been working on some fantastical way to harness light. Unfortunately there was no sign of the device that Ernst had been working on.

Meanwhile Pietro and William spent their time trying in vain to warn Sebastian that his life was in danger. I do not know the details of what went on at the house but I do know that neither returned particularly cheered. As soon as I heard the words ‘clockwork’ and ‘inventor’ I knew well enough to steer clear. It’s a pity that the scientist is still alive as I’d sleep a lot better if he was not. After that awful experience with the glowing green clock-thing in that Caligari’s house I’ve completely gone off all things mechanical, especially those involving a convolution of springs, gears and things that go ‘sproing’ when you move them in the wrong way.

Axel, Eponine and I went to see the chemist Erika. She was still in good health and blissfully unaware that anything was amiss. She was a rather eccentric woman who enjoyed smoking and when she caught a hint of the delightful scent that I was wearing, she turned a shade of pale and explained that it would not react well with some bottle that she had in the room. Eponine was none too taken with Erica and stormed out soon afterwards. It was left for Axel to strip and carry the bottle to safety and I strongly suspect that the attention starved chemist really just wanted to see this bold, stocky Eisen man get undressed and possibly sweaty.

After our visit to Erika we went to the Bottenfeld house to investigate further. William later hurried off to tell Erika about Ernst’s death and I suspect that he was somewhat influenced by our description of her and our curious visit. Obviously it was a match made in Heaven between two rather frustrated and eager people as I later found out that Erika and William had a passionate but brief affair. She soon afterwards found another man to take his place and William found… well that is another story. In any case during our search of the dead man’s house I found a strange black fragment of a claw.

When I held the claw fragment up to be examined under candlelight it dissolved and I should have realised then to steer well clear of the impending doom. The other very obvious sign of something unnatural being amiss was when William got lowered down a hole that we found under the floorboards of the house and was attacked by a flying shadow of some kind.

Perhaps it’s my dangerous sense of curiosity or Axel’s foolhardiness is rubbing off on me as I was determined to see this mystery solved. In retrospect I may have been trying to impress Dante by caring about what fate had befallen the poor light obsessed recluse in whose house we found the claw, body, graffiti and mystery hole-in-the-ground. I don’t really know, it’s just one of those things.

Another little thing that got mentioned over dinner afterwards was that Pietro had lost a Dracheneisen dagger earlier on. It was apparently some gift from Axel’s father and upon hearing this bit of news my mind of course went all a wondering through the alleyways of scheming, past the pitfalls of plotting and in to my own personal labyrinth of cunning Great Game playing. The outcome of that particular plan will have to wait for another time dear Sister as I am frightfully tired and long to curl up in a warm bed.

With love,

Angelica Belucci

7th Sea: Angelica Belucci Diary Entry Seven

Monday 10th December 2006
7th Sea diary entry .

Dear Sister,

I hope that this letter finds you in better spirits and health than I am currently. It as alas been one of those days that I’d quite happily pull a lever or turn some strange eldritch and ancient device to make the whole world disappear as if it was only bad dream.

As I am learning to my dismay charitable acts are often misinterpreted to such an extent that I despair of ever having considered being ‘nice’ or ‘kind’. It seems that no matter what I do - I am damned regardless. Anyway, before I bore you with my words please permit me to explain.

Having heard of a missing dagger over dinner last night, I asked one of the local urchin girls Izzy to see if she could find it. I gave her a hefty thirty five guilders finders fee to procure said item and I even remembered not to call her by her proper name Isobel. It’s a beautiful name and would be matched by a beautiful girl should she ever consent to have several layers of grime and dirt washed off. I suspect that this would cost more than the finders fee though.

True to her word she returned the item to me and when I saw the Von Vendel family crest on the Dracheneisen dagger I returned it to the family member with whom I was acquainted, namely Axel. During lunch William recounted how he’d woken up with the word ‘desist’ carved on to his headboard. Further speculation was voiced about what had been witnessed previously and Pietro referred to it as the ‘Night Bringer’. A suitably dramatic name for a living shard of darkness that had attempted to make off with William.

Having finished lunch we set off to procure supplies and it fell to me to see our chemist friend who kindly gave me some metal strips to burn as well as oil that would burn brighter and faster than normal. Since the sanity of most chemists should never be relied upon, the things that she gave me where handled with great care. Having got hold of the supplies that we required we set of to the Castilian scientist’s house. Descending down the hole we entered the Freiburg underworld.

Have I fallen so low as to be traipsing around Eisen sewers in search for missing scientists? It is certainly a valid way to look at this situation and were we back in Vodacce I would have laughed at ever considering such a preposterous idea. At the time these very thoughts were whirling around my head. But beneath all that was something struggling to rise to the surface that I’d not felt since we were little. I wanted to do something genuinely good. However, as I was soon to learn no good deed ever goes unpunished.

Wandering the pungent sewers we heard the words Dante and Caligari down a crudely fashioned tunnel. The words struck fear in to my heart not so much for recognizing the name, as the cold furious malice with which they echoed around the tunnel. Crossing a stream both William and I almost drowned as we slipped on the treacherous footing. William lost a dagger that was very dear to him and despite it ruining my dress, making my hair rancid, dirtying my nails and leaving me with a smell that would take the better part of two baths to remove I dove down and got it for him. William gratefully gave me a hug and a kiss at the time, but later he came to view the action with extreme suspicion.

Pietro located the Night Bringer first by the simple action of being attacked by it. The creature retreated and we fell instead to arguing about the Dracheneisen dagger that I had returned to Axel which it turns was a gift to Pietro. Well, not only was he not capable of taking better care of it, he chose that time to level all manner of hurtful accusations against me. I received no support from Axel and even William turned cold towards me. When will I learn to just play the game? When will I learn it’s only names and that they should not hurt as much as they do?

Upon exiting the sewer Pietro and Axel doused both William and myself in cold water to remove some of the smell and sewer stuff from our clothing. However they got rather carried away and both poor William and myself passed out from the cold. The last thing that I remember is that sharp pin pricks of cold lancing through my body until my bones felt numb. Wet, cold and exposed to the cold air my mind slipped away to escape the numbing pain.

Angelica Belucci

7th Sea: Angelica Belucci Diary Entry Eight

Monday 10th December 2006
7th Sea diary entry.

Dear Sister,

I trust that this letter finds you well. Thank you for your last letter, it was a great comfort to me and I must admit to being rather envious of your new dress. How fortunate you are to have found such a good gentleman and a generous one too. Rather than waking up to find such a beautiful dress laid out for, I instead woke up in a bath with William feeling rather delirious and glad to still be clothed.

The Caligari doctor was around somewhere, I could not so much hear or see him as notice the way that the other tip-toed around him and cringed whenever he berated them. I think that it was at that moment that I rather started to like the Caligari doctor’s company. He struck me as a very sensible man with years of knowledge and experience with which to wield his caustic wit.

I later found out whilst being nursed by Eponine that Pietro had collapsed on the stairs hauling water and the doctor had rushed to deal with him. What a stubborn, handsome and maddening Vodacce he is. If only he was not a Villanova but then if he wasn’t I doubt he’d quite have developed in to the man that he is. I think though that he would have looked good in those leather trousers regardless. If only he did not pine after that cold, prudish fate spider spinning her webs of lies and deceit in Castile. If only…Well, I’d best not waste any time on either of them. They deserve each other.

In the morning Axel found a sword stuck in to the ballroom floor. It was Dante’s rapier.

We rushed over to Dante’s place but there was no sign of him. His work place had been ransacked, papers torn and strewn around the place with great disregard and the Illuminator that he was working on had been removed from a locked room. Dante’s dinner plate was not cleaned away after trying to find some entrance way in to the sewers beneath his house, we could find no similar tunnels. I knew that Dante had been taken as he’d not employed his escape plan. This more than anything made me realise just how quickly he’d been taken and it worried me gravely.

With some chemicals procured from Erica the chemist, bottles labelled one and two, we set off once again to the sewers. Erica had been quite particular about not pouring the bottle labelled two in to one as this would have resulted in a rather excited reaction. We were instead supposed to pour the bottle labelled one in to two in order to produce a bright luminescence.

Down in the sewers, circumnavigating the fast moving streams, the local rat infestations, the crumbling ledges and other common sewer hazards we finally reached the uncommon hazard. This being the entrance to the lair of the Night Bringer. This took the form of a wall of darkness that appeared to bar out entrance and yet it yielded in an almost living manner when we crossed the boundary in to the darkness beyond.

This first thing that I remember is the cold. Having just been exposed to a deathly chill from water poured on to me repeatedly by my companions, I can only describe this cold as starting from inside and working its way out. It felt as if I had never been warm and now the coldness in me was finally able to displace the heat that had seeped in to my body by wandering around the world of light and sun in the streets above.

We heard weary groans in the darkness and lit the metal strips. This caused a bright light to surge forth that was followed shortly afterwards with piercing scream of pain. Human shapes began t appear out of the darkness. Humans covered with the white frost of ice and that had such a blue hue to them so as to indicate quite clearly that they were no longer of the living.

The creatures set upon us in their slow stumbling gait and we struck them down with swords and daggers. With only the first wave past of people whose clothing identified them from having come from all walks of life and possibly even different eras, others began to appear from out of the darkness. We needed to leave speedily and the way behind us had closed.

Using the chemicals that we had and burning metal strip we tore a hole of light within the darkness. It felt as though we had torn the side of some great beast as it writhed in agony. Pietro and William forged ahead and escaped in to the light. I was almost in just behind them when I found that Axel had not made it to the now rapidly shrinking wound. Not wishing to leave him alone in the cold, cold darkness I chose to stay with him. I cannot in any honesty tell you why I did so. It was certainly not an act of self-preservation or even one of charity as were surely both doomed to perish or become one of the shambling frozen folk.

Just when it seemed that all hope was lost another rent tore near us, this one dripping blood and we found the Eponine had come to our rescue. I remember her clearly saying “Now it’s my turn to do something stupid” and we found ourselves transported back to the place where we had entered. The creature in to whose body we had gone had been killed by the Illuminator used by William and Pietro. Dante who had also been trapped in the creature had been rescued but alas there was no sign of Eponine.

It’s the first time that anyone has ever made such a sacrifice for me. I was left feeling completely helpless, even humbled by it. I think that I will never quite be myself again.

Angelica Belucci