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(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

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“Greetings.”<br />

The creature turned <strong>to</strong> face me and a series <strong>of</strong> symbols <strong>appear</strong>ed around its<br />

head. The symbols had a slight glow about them, and they just... hovered<br />

there.<br />

“Oh, for the Powers’ sake! Piking dabus,” Morte clicked his <strong>to</strong>ngue with<br />

annoyance.<br />

“What’s wrong?”<br />

“He’s a dabus. They ‘speak’ in rebuses, these annoying word puzzles. If you<br />

<strong>do</strong>n't know what he's saying, then we <strong>be</strong>tter find a native or some other way<br />

<strong>to</strong> communicate with him... if we want <strong>to</strong>. An annoying bunch. My <strong>be</strong>t? They<br />

can speak, they just would rather piss everyone else <strong>of</strong>f by trying <strong>to</strong> puzzle<br />

out what they’re saying.”<br />

“What’s a ‘dabus?’” I had gotten used <strong>to</strong> asking questions, and Morte<br />

seemed perfectly happy <strong>to</strong> answer. Funny how he was perfectly patient with<br />

me but would lose it at a few word puzzles.<br />

“Chant is they’re jani<strong>to</strong>rs for the Lady <strong>of</strong> Pain. They float around breaking,<br />

fixing and patching up Sigil according <strong>to</strong> her whims. They’re worse than<br />

corpse flies.” Morte sighed. “You can’t swat ‘em though, or the Lady’ll get...<br />

upset.”<br />

“And... who’s the Lady <strong>of</strong> Pain?”<br />

Morte suddenly looked nervous, “Eh... she runs this city. You’ll know if you<br />

see her: She’s got these blades around her face, she’s about the size <strong>of</strong> a<br />

giant, and she floats <strong>of</strong>f the ground, just like these guys.” Morte nodded at<br />

the dabus, who was looking at us both. “Nobody knows much about her...<br />

she <strong>do</strong>esn’t speak much. All you need <strong>to</strong> know is that you <strong>do</strong>n't want <strong>to</strong><br />

make her angry. If you see her, my advice: run.”<br />

The dabus waited patiently, its hands tucked in<strong>to</strong> its sleeves. A series <strong>of</strong><br />

symbols materialized above its head, then they vanished and a question<br />

mark <strong>appear</strong>ed.<br />

I asked the dabus several questions, trying <strong>to</strong> get a feel for the rebuses that<br />

<strong>appear</strong>ed above its head. It was extremely patient throughout our<br />

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