Journal 7 - Day 4 in Beaumont

I woke feeling rested, but a little unsettled hearing that poor Xhoya had a rather terrifying nightmare. Her nightmare wasn't what was unsettling though. She was warning Gidge that she shouldn't be sleeping near any more windows because sharp shadowy fingers were prodding and playing with her in the night, like a cat with its prey and she was fully awake. For me this is the answer I feared for Xhoya. I truly believe she is being followed or perhaps she, at the very least, is being closely watched.
The relaxation I thought we would ease into was short lived as the day unfolded. Xhoya's dream only beginning the ocean of shit we would be finding ourselves willingly diving into. Where to even begin. We didn't pry to hard into the little bug and her foretelling dream right away but the events that made up the day begged for her to reveal more. While Silas gave us a speech of trust while my new favorite little guy B- Yu gave us great service. Treating us to coffee and tea. Something I'll have to keep in mind for my little bug, she said tea helped once to fight off her night
time evils. I'll have to look for the right kind when I can... but I'm off topic.
 
A knock on the door interrupted our very straight forward induction into the BAC by Mr. Kitty Man, one visitor I think we were better off answering. Alas, Silas had more to say regarding watches and the new safety protocol we were needing to follow. (Between Mat and B-Yu we were covered!) All for the good but what that knock brought is
what created the shit stew we are swimming in. (If only you could hear my sighs)
How do I begin this info dump. How do you unravel, war? Lets start by addressing the un-addressed package that was
dropped off by a rather inconspicuous elven youth with silver hair and dressed in snappy street clothes only adding to the confusing puzzle that was the plain package. When I was given the okay and my poor beautiful wings were stuck back into their prison, I swooped both it and the newspaper up and in. The front page bellowed loudly in all capitals; "WAR!'
Untrusting of the Artemis Post, I read aloud carefully for all to absorb. It read:
Once believed to be a malfunction within the design of the Starfall itself, The Black axel revealed fowl Play after further investigation was recovered from the ships recording black box. It was clear to them that the BRN was responsible for the sabotage and in response to the blatant disregard of treaties, the BAC has declared war against them.
It continued to state that the Vox Ultima Would be working swiftly on the clean up and recovery of Shipments that went down with the ship. Cleverly not mentioning the countless lives lost I saw first hand. Is this to avoid panic or was it for some other reason, I'm not fully sure. Last, one iota of relief they offered, an outrageous amount of, in outrageous amounts for, the main culprits capture. The very same made-up brute Agent Dodson fed the world.
 
But. Why not show the Gazelle himself though? The public should be aware of the true danger. And, he is.
 
This led to questions and speculations from all of us. Especially after Silas got the package opened... Inside, an ornate decor box with the only piece of writing attached;
 
"You left this aboard. -G"
 
A bold taunt from the Gazelle to prove just how in charge he is of this entire situation. There inside was the black box the Post claimed to be in the possession of the BAC. Meaning, he is at least five steps ahead of everyone. Silas took no time at all to get that box plugged into this houses inner workings pulling up the contents within. Unfortunately way above my pay grade of understanding, but watching Mr. Kitty Man work through the towers of code was impressive. I say towers not only because they looked like towers but also, I have a new theory about not only Xhoya but what the significance of them being towers really meant. More on that later though.
I may not be good with tech but I hope an inquisitive mind will prove me to be a good honorary BAC member. It took them hours to sort through and hone in on the exact timing from when the Gazelle escaped from Silas and when the Starfall went down. It may have taken another half a day if it wasn't for our little wild card. I swear, I am for more normal past my wings then this little bug yet I'm the scrutinized one! Oh well. She claimed she isn't tech savvy but she saw the hidden path inside the code, claiming it was like artwork. Pointing this out brought together Silas' thoughts and there hidden within the code, a cube. It had intricate details on each face of it. Something in particular about these markings stood out to little bug. It took all the wind out of her sails, sending her recoiling away from the image. A crescent moon shape she recognized from her dream. This is when Xhoya told us the details of her nightmare.
This poor girl. It is no wonder she's so on edge if she is plagued with a telling sight and especially if this sight only shows her horror. She explained seeing that crescent moon shape in the ground surrounded by nothing, a colorless void. Yet, what pushed and clawed from the ground out of the crescent were pained faces calling out in anguish. She looked physically ill with fear while she told us. Then tie in the shadows she is seeing... It felt like a confirmation to my earlier question. She's being followed. She referenced "the bad people" and told us she knows them as "the choir." But that begs the question, who is this choir and what really happened to the others who were with her? Were they the last ones to protect her? Who is she and why do they want her? I know they others may only see her as a child, but from the moment I watched her reading the stars I knew there is something more special to this child. I really hope I can help her. Not that a rich mans daughter will be of much help, but I will try my best. She went on to say that this cube was much more dangerous than we could have guessed and she suspected its power could reach as far as even to control souls, including those who had past. She explained her thoughts that the people she saw in her nightmare were being lulled forcefully through this shape. She was also convinced these souls were being tortured. I believe her. I know she has something more to everything, I can feel it. You'd be blind not to see the signs.
 
Silas said he knew of this box and that there were only three like it. What we had here was the blueprint. He said that he had helped in a case that tracked down illegal arms dealers, that they had been following a magical relic but it was never recovered. After taking a look at the security system, the courier only created more confusion to the puzzle. A elven youth with silver hair wearing not uniform but just normal, stylish, clothing. He came alone, he left alone and only knocked once. Five knocks. Then left. He had nothing else with him, no one with him, and only his own two feet to travel. Suspicious doesn't cut it. Why would a young boy have anything to do with the Gazelle or any of these things related to war? Needless to say, we are feeling under attack and with this little taunt of a box we are feeling watched. We have Mat and B-Yu here to alert us and we were setting up watches to make sure that anything that was watching us couldn't get a leg up when Silas received new orders...
 
Turns out, headquarters and the higher-ups in the BAC have been compromised but somehow he still had one last order? Why is that he trusts this order knowing that his superiors have been jeopardized? Regardless of my hesitations, I do want to trust Mr. Kitty Man. And, we are swimming in the shit all together. He did well to answer my questions without giving up all his loyalty to the cartel. I can appreciate this. I am convinced he isn't necessarily being targeted because he is Silas but simply because he was the agent placed in this position. He explained that they had been on a months long sting operation to catch the Gazelle and when they finally caught him... he said, it felt to easy. Like the Gazelle had given himself up on purpose, making it look like they had him against a wall. I think his instincts are right on the money as we see what this Cretan is capable of. I know he said the reason they had him on the civilian ship in the first place was not to raise panic but I call bullshit on this. It all falls under the thought that the Gazelle planned this all. A civilian ship filled with a very important shipment of advanced arms? I think Silas is putting a little to much trust in his agency with this excuse but I do not blame him or believe he has anything to do with it. At least I pray he doesn't.
He let us know we should be expecting a group of people and that they would be coming within a day or two. He didn't know these people and let us know they were not apart of the BAC. In fact one was supposed to be an unaffiliated holder of a prototype of the cube itself. The other, a BRN member. Why not right? What sort of shit storm would this be if we didn't add the spice of the enemy in there? Right? Enemy is a strong word though if I have a say. This doesn't sit well at all and I firmly believe that the BRN isn't the real bad guys, but that doesn't mean who ever started this didn't seed the mistrust. I suppose we will see how things go when said guest arrive.
 
Now here is where things continue to get worse. As if everything I wrote wasn't enough. This next tragedy was what sparked little bug to start carrying a shotgun as big as her thigh. I don't want her to have to use it but Mr. Kitty Man was right to do so. The entire house is under lockdown and here we are now sitting ducks behind metal walls while the world around us is getting attacked. My sweet, sweet B-Yu and his soft little alerts led us to the TV. So many lives have been lost. An attack on Alcyon in Cambrial taking down three skyscrapers. One hotel chain building and two business buildings. Lost in an attack like a planned demolition. Xhoya saw him first and before she could express I caught him too. The Gazelle. He was soaring through the air, barely touching the strategic spots of each building and under each touch the crumbled like a sandcastle to a wave. Three towers... just like in the code. Xhoya confirmed that he was a Choir member. I will have to see why she refers to them as such... but I do think she had foresight of this event. She saw the souls that were lost in that moon shape. Does that mean he has one of these cubes? Does that mean that he is taking souls? What sort of horrible object has the power and ability to steal souls like this? All I could think to do, was pray.... I can't keep writing, I need to work off some of this energy. I'm going for a swim. I will write once I have new news, once we are no longer stuck... ugh always stuck lately.