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

they use engines for different purposes here." He shuddered.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to Curst because I'd heard there was a deva trapped here, and since
I have some archon friends back in Mount Celestia, I thought I could be of
assistance. This town, though... this place is a cesspool and I can't trust
anyone! How can people live like this? I need to get out of here!"
A long way for a man to go, from the heights of Mount Celestia to the fetid
hole that was Curst. I recalled casual conversations of the plane with Ebb
Creakknees: a realm where all things have their place, and all things are
beautiful. It's a realm where winged archons wheel in the skies in exquisite
patterns that could break your heart. The fruit grows larger, the game
bigger, and all homes are open in Celestia. The poor sod was close to
breaking down... he wasn't made for the treachery of Curst.
"You'd best go then. The entire city is on lockdown, but you might be able to
find a place to hide properly when it's lifted."
He looked at me with disbelief in his eyes. "Thank you! You'll not see me
again!" He scampered away.
~~~~~
"Chief, there's a corpse outside of our room."
"Looks fresh," I said with a nod.
"It's kind of bumming me out."
"We'll drag it off later, I guess." At that moment I missed the Hive. The air
was foul and you could also get murdered without a second glance, but at
least bodies would've been dragged off in a blink by a Collector.
I will admit, I was half-surprised to find there wasn't a dead prostitute lying
in my bed. A dry, musty smell hung in the air and dust patterned the edges
of the carpet in thick layers. A screen was set up in one corner of the room
for changing, and the ramshackle furniture looked to be on its last legs. I
ignored the rust-brown smears and streaks on the walls. At least the bed
was nice and big.
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