Ghost Widow's Journal - July 7, 2005

Ghost Widow's Journal - July 7, 2005

July 7th , 2005

My Lord Recluse had occasion to send me to Port Oakes to look into the matter of these so-called Red Hands. I admit that I found the task somewhat disconcerting. Although I suppose there is a certain resonance in sending a spirit to parley with spirits.

I began my travail by speaking to Veluta Lunata's ethereal paramour, Marco. I am certain she still blames me for his demise. I do hope dear Veluta recalls that she had a choice in the matter...she could have joined him. Though I asked her to kill Marco to prove her loyalty, I did not force her hand. Indeed, by rewarding her with the power to bind his soul to her forever, I may have fulfilled her every fantasy. I'm afraid her bond with Marco has given her a bit more strength than I intended, but in this instance I found his presence rather convenient. I was able to convince the boy that assisting me would be in his and his lady's best interest.

Marco steered me to one of the Night Haunts that frequent the area around Fort Hades. These ghostly servants were apparently once pirates who ran afoul of the Red Hands. The Night Haunt took me to his superior, Charles Vane the Night Terror. Vane related his tale to me, one that is apparently echoed by all the Night Haunts and Night Terrors. They were all pirates, plying their bloody trade along the coast of America when they encountered a foe they could not defeat...ghosts. The spectral Red Hands killed every last one of them. I asked Vane to introduce me to one of these Red Hands but he refused at first, quite rudely. I described to him the manner in which I draw the power to perform my Soul Storm and the effects it has on those taken for fuel. He found his manners.

The apparition he took me to introduced himself as Jean Leroux. He wore the garb of a pirate captain. Unlike his subordinate, he was quite loquacious. The Red Hands were once the most feared band of pirates to sail the Atlantic. They were so successful that all their pirate brethren turned against them. They were caught in an ambush and killed to a man. That was not the end of it, however. The Red Hands rose in anger and began a bloody killing spree. Any ship flying the Jolly Roger that came near the Rogue Isles was turned into a slaughterhouse on the sea. All those butchered became their servants and they all haunt the island to this day.

I asked Captain Leroux why his men fought with my Lord's servants. His answer was so simple; I am not sure why I did not guess it. Fort Hades is built upon the place where the Red Hands were killed and buried by their brothers. It took me some time to decide what to report to Lord Recluse. For now I believe I will simply inform him that Arachnos and the Red Hands have irreconcilable differences.