A lonely mirror
You see it every night when you dream. You can see the Fingerkings. Sometimes in thousands, in hundreds, or even alone. It does not matter the number of messengers, only their message. They speak of what Hell took from you. Your friends. Your lover. How grievously they wounded you. They speak of what Hell has done to them. They leverage their existence against them. They robbed a tithe from them, just because the Kings want to see a world of wonders.

They do not lie. They need only the truth, and the pain that underlies it. From there, comes the deal. A pious army will march on Hell. The Fingerkings will aid them. There is only a small cost...

As the man in front of the glass agrees, you finally see his face. It is the Bishop of Southwark. He covers his burned arms, and walks away from the mirror.

Your dreams turn to the things you have seen, and what you will do when the Prudent Confessor calls upon you.

The Fingerkings want you to take the Confessor’s candle, presumably her only line of defense, or the mirror, the only way she can complete her plan. And perhaps, they may reward you.

Madame Poecilia and the Sable Panther want to help her, though they are not sure when.

A creature that lives in the darkness where the Earth hides what shames her wants you to break the mirror, and stop the scheming.

And the Confessor simply wants to end this.

The day finally comes when you hear a knock at the door. It is the Keen Midnighter. “The Confessor is waiting for you.” She hands you the seal of St. Cyriac, and leads you down the streets. When the crowd vanishes, she speaks to you. “The Fingerkings cost me someone I loved, too. Would have costed me, more correctly. The Bishop helped me save him, only to, without my knowledge, serve his killers. Hell can be punished without their aid.”

She stops a street away from the Illuminated College. “You may never see the results of the Confessor’s actions. She could affect our world as it is, or the world of another.” She looks ahead, to the College. “It would be best if they, and the Bishop, don’t know of my involvement. Use the seal to enter.” She teaches you the method of entry.

You circle to the back of the College, where their cedar door awaits. You knock, and listen for the echo. There are seven knocks in return.
You pass the seal you have been given into the baptismal font by the entrance. The stone crumbles and dissolves, until you see the true metal seal under it, with the outline of St. Joshua inscribed in irrigo ink. You pass this into the circular hole in the door. The door slides open.

You pass the guard, and walk into a foyer. The Prudent Confessor is there, praying softly to the statue of Saint Joshua. He watches over spies and intriguers. But some also know he protects secret bearers. While the statue eyes are stone, its gaze makes you feel watched, and judged. There is a cat there, who watches calmly, but arches upright when it sees you.

She leads you downstairs. "At night, the clerical workers leave the front offices, and spies and saints leave their tithes here, in the back. Our objective lies ahead, in between both." She slides open the door, where a lonely mirror waits. “This is the one that they whispered to the Bishop through. And it will be the one from which they take him.”

You can see it is incomplete. It has been chipped at the left corner. As the Confessor slides in the shards you winnowed from dreams, you mull over what you will do. London stands at the precipice of war with Hell, and your actions today may reverberate through time, to even a place that is not constrained by it. The Fingerkings already brought war and death to the Fourth City, but London may have a chance with their aid to win against Hell.

At last, you see the mirror ripple, and the room fills with sunlight. The Confessor turns to you, one last time, as you act.
A sunlit beginning
A sunlit beginning
You clasp her shoulder, and bid her good luck. The Confessor nods, and puts on Cosmogone spectacles. She removes her jacket, revealing armor and quite a few weapons. She lights her candle. “I go to battle to prevent a war.” As she enters the mirror one last time, she nods at you.

She begins walking through the sunlit forest. You hear hissing, and a Fingerking rises from the underbrush. The Confessor raises her candle, and the mirror explodes into white light. When it is done, you see no more of Parabola in its glass, leaving only you, alone.

You leave this place of secrets. At your lodgings, as you look out over the streets, you mull over your choice. Despite the plots underlying the situation, in the end, the Confessor’s destiny is her own. Perhaps war may be prevented between the Fifth City and Hell.
No longer alone
More accurately, you have already acted. When you saw that cat in the foyer, you left her a scrap of paper with instructions to find Madame Poecilia. You walk to the door of the room, and open it. There is a small, black cat, three glassmen, and Madame Poecilia.

Poecilia looks at the Confessor. “If you think it is time.” She draws closer, and wraps the Confessor in an embrace. “I hoped you would turn back. I don’t want to lose you. But this is your choice, and your chance. Save the Bishop.” The Glassmen secure their weapons, and march into the mirror.

The cat moves up to the mirror. In this world, it is normal. But in the mirror, it is the Sable Panther. The Confessor and the Panther look at you together, and the Confessor smiles. “Thank you. I hoped wouldn’t have to make this journey alone.”

As they all walk deeper into the underbrush, Madame Poecilia sighs. “I hope it will be enough. For my daughter, and for us all.” She removes a hammer and a chisel, and carefully cuts a single shard from the mirror. “Thank you, whatever your reasons may be. The Shroud helps those who protect our world.” She presses a jug of airag into your hands.

You both leave this place of secrets.
A sunlit end
You slip the candle from its holster, and hide it under your jacket. You push the Confessor into the mirror before she can put on her Cosmogone Spectacles. She stumbles, and whirls to look at you, derringer in hand.

Hissing rises from the underbrush, and several Fingerkings rise from the underbrush. The Purveyor of Night swiftly shoots an irrigo lined spine at the Confessor's hand, and she drops her pistol. She moves to run, but the Resplendent Quetzal moves, and encircles her.

"We have no need to kill you." The Purveyor says. "You may still serve us."

You see the Crimson Serpent slither forward. The Confessor stills as she meets its gaze. She turns, her body jerking unnaturally, and meets your eyes.

Her smile is cold, and her eyes shine green. "We reward those who serve us."

You leave this place of secrets.

The next night, you see a serpent meet you. Its voice is small, but cold. "Come to the Castle of Forests, and be rewarded."

The way seems shorter than it should be, but as you walk into the Castle, you see a flash of red, and you look down at your crimson stained hands. It lasts for only a second. You push it down, as the great briar doors open.

Some nights, when you dream, you hear the Confessor's distant screams, of anger, and of fear. Sometimes you see her in the Flit, eyes blank as she moves through the crowd.

Whether for necessity or for reward, you have done the Fingerkings' work.
A war begins
You look at your hand, and draw the mirror shard the Purveyor gave you. The Confessor looks at it, before you swiftly sink it into her shoulder. Blood wells around her wound, and the Confessor sinks to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

You are not concerned with her at the moment. You hold up the mirror, and begin to walk. The mirror whispers to you in a hissing voice, guiding you through the streets.

You bring it to the Bishop of Southwark, who sees you personally. You tell him of what has happened, and the Confessor's plan. He covers the mirror, before looking at you.

"One of my own friends tried to stop me? She knows I would sacrifice myself against Hell. What of my choice in this?" He looks sadly into your eyes. "And what happened to her?"

Whether you speak truth or lies, you dream again. You stand on the desolate wastes near Hell. Corpses lie in front of you, both devil and human together. The Purveyor rises next to you, and stares at the pile. "Look at us. You have seen how ferociously we, as the Rosers, fought the Bazaar. But now, this will be our future. To fight amongst ourselves." It looks up at the stars. "We will never be free."
An obscure end
You shield the Confessor with your body, and fire at the mirror. A spider web crack spreads along it. You swing your elbow, and topple the mirror. The glass shatters, and you stomp on it till it is pulverized to dust.

The Confessor looks at you, her face horrified. You have ended her chance to save the Bishop.

She draws her derringer, and points it at your head. "If I ever see you again, I will not hesitate to end you."

You leave this place of secrets. You have a new enemy.

But you also have a new ally. You bring some of the glass with it.

You dream of a dark cave. You can feel the massiveness of the cave, and the soft breathing in front of you.

"I see you have done as I have asked. Very good. You will be rewarded." It rests a hand on your shoulder, and then points behind you. "But I will give you a greater reward. If Hell takes London..." You look at where it points, and see the Bazaar rising from the darkness, profiled in orange light. "We will give you refuge."
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