Palimpsest: work in progress, public for review. The reasons on the Tower pages are an invented test fixture. The reasons on the Pyrewood pages are the plans and summaries Project 2 wrote for that story. Where a version shows “Rationale unrecorded”, no reason was written down.
For Deliah
Version 8 of 11 · first seen 2026-10-08 14:06
- Version 12026-10-07 22:46
first version - Version 22026-10-07 22:57
rationale unrecorded - Version 32026-10-07 23:10
rationale unrecorded - Version 42026-10-07 23:21
rationale unrecorded - Version 52026-10-07 23:37
rationale unrecorded - Version 62026-10-08 00:32
rationale unrecorded - Version 72026-10-08 09:28
rationale unrecorded - Version 82026-10-08 14:06
rationale unrecorded - Version 92026-10-08 14:43
rationale unrecorded - Version 102026-10-08 14:52
rationale unrecorded - Version 112026-10-08 18:04
rationale unrecorded
Types of change in this version
118 marked passages in the text, none with a recorded reason.
Rationale unrecorded.
What changed and why
Rationale unrecorded.
unlisted v8-u1 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: 22:23.
now: 22:24.
unlisted v8-u2 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: came back
now: returned
unlisted v8-u3 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: say. A crypt, a ring of old stones, a forge, stables where the bats are kept,
now: say: a crypt, a forge, stables for the bats, and
unlisted v8-u4 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: do not drink.
now: are spared the pretence of eating.
unlisted v8-u5 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: here
now: in it
unlisted v8-u6 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: that crosses
now: through
unlisted v8-u7 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: and made it
now: as
unlisted v8-u8 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: is still one of the few places in the zone where a Horde traveller can rest without a hand on a weapon. It has an inn, stables, a forge, a bat handler and trainers. Apothecary Renferrel works here for the Royal Apothecar…
now: remains one of the only places of safety for Horde travellers in the zone.
unlisted v8-u9 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: High Executor
unlisted v8-u10 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: the place
now: it
unlisted v8-u11 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: speak to
now: address
unlisted v8-u12 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: soldier. I do not mind, since I am not sure
now: soldier, and I do not object, being unsure
unlisted v8-u13 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: says Silverpine is
now: remarks that Silverpine is
unlisted v8-u14 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: the way other men say good morning,
now: as another man might remark upon the rain,
unlisted v8-u15 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: happens once they have been driven back.
now: is to happen once the enemies have been driven out. I find I do not mind the saturation. The living perspire at one another and call it conversation, and I should be glad to see the forest drained of them.
unlisted v8-u16 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: him.
now: Hadrec.
unlisted v8-u17 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: to the Decrepit Ferry that evening. A boat was tied up
now: that evening to the Decrepit Ferry. A boat lay
unlisted v8-u18 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: rows. Someone
now: rows, and someone
unlisted v8-u19 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: before.
now: before;
unlisted v8-u20 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: them
now: these
unlisted v8-u21 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
now: Afterwards
unlisted v8-u22 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: afterwards,
unlisted v8-u23 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: worn one. It
now: ever worn one, and it
unlisted v8-u24 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: thought
now: supposed
unlisted v8-u25 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: were carrying
now: must be ferrying
unlisted v8-u26 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: may be able to say who she was. His instructions suggested that whoever gave
now: might say who she had been. It was implied that whoever had given
unlisted v8-u27 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: probably
now: most likely
unlisted v8-u28 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: probably
now: most likely
unlisted v8-u29 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: dead had come
now: bodies came
unlisted v8-u30 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: gnolls, and a banshee called Nightlash had been feeding them with her magic until Percy ended her.
now: gnolls.
unlisted v8-u31 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Lake. Before the Third War a Lordaeron outpost, Fenris Keep, stood on it. After the Scourge came the keep was abandoned, and the Rot Hide took it, under a necromancer named Thule Ravenclaw who also held the Decrepit Ferr…
now: Lake, and after the Scourging of Lordaeron the necromancer Thule Ravenclaw settled in the old keep there among them, and made the ichor that gives them life.
unlisted v8-u32 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: bag,
now: bag
unlisted v8-u33 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: gets a name, and then the name has a life, and then somebody has to be told what happened to the body. I have a ring. ## Sunday 4 October, 22:25. Dalar
now: acquires a name, and the name acquires a life, and somebody must then be told what became of the body. At present I have a ring, which is a manageable quantity.
unlisted v8-u34 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: a man
now: someone
unlisted v8-u35 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: a man
now: one
unlisted v8-u36 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: He says he was named for the tower. Or rather, that the tower was
now: He says the tower is
unlisted v8-u37 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: argue. Mages
now: argue; mages
unlisted v8-u38 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: saying things that makes arguing feel like a mistake.
now: speaking that makes argument feel like a lapse in manners.
unlisted v8-u39 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
now: trouble to
unlisted v8-u40 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: accepted into
now: admitted to
unlisted v8-u41 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: So the tower I want,
now: So
unlisted v8-u42 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: pines, is a
now: pines is the
unlisted v8-u43 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Dalar
now: he
unlisted v8-u44 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Dalar Dawnweaver was an archmage of the Kirin Tor. He was killed when the Scourge fell on Dalaran, rose in the Lich King's service, and was freed when Sylvanas gathered the free undead. He holds that the Kirin Tor ignore…
unlisted v8-u45 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: vial. Eight of them. The brutes give it up
now: vial, and the brutes surrender it
unlisted v8-u46 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: the brutes
now: they
unlisted v8-u47 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: the way a lamp goes down,
now: as of a lamp being turned low,
unlisted v8-u48 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: around
now: about
unlisted v8-u49 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: sure
now: certain
unlisted v8-u50 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: water was the only thing that morning I could feel.
now: walk back is the part nobody mentions.
unlisted v8-u51 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
now: I had reached for shadow first, since shadow has never asked me to be better than I am, and I reached for fel only the second time, with the door shut. Mezzlos did not comment. He does not. There is a spell of mine by wh…
unlisted v8-u52 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: It said,
unlisted v8-u53 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: hope. Its name was Alaric. It
now: hope, it said. Its name was Alaric, and it
unlisted v8-u54 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: which it says was hastily done.
now: dug badly.
unlisted v8-u55 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
now: that
unlisted v8-u56 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: head servant and bodyguard. Thule used a spell to protect
now: chief attendant and protector. Thule cast a spell to shield
unlisted v8-u57 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: the spell
now: it
unlisted v8-u58 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: leave. When Thule
now: escape. When Thule had
unlisted v8-u59 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: toy. The Rot Hide buried the body
now: plaything. The body lies
unlisted v8-u60 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: of
now: at
unlisted v8-u61 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: got me again at 12:28. After
now: put me down again at twenty-eight minutes past, and after
unlisted v8-u62 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: 12:37 I took
now: twenty-three minutes to one I carried
unlisted v8-u63 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: while. His findings were not conclusive, he said,
now: while, and his findings, he said, were not conclusive,
unlisted v8-u64 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: either time.
now: on either occasion.
unlisted v8-u65 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: The Royal Apothecary Society was founded by Sylvanas Windrunner to turn the Plague of Undeath against the Scourge. Its head is the Grand Apothecary, Putress, and its alchemists keep their laboratories in the Apothecarium…
unlisted v8-u66 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: allowed
now: permitted
unlisted v8-u67 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: here.
now: there.
unlisted v8-u68 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Iceshard
unlisted v8-u69 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
now: that
unlisted v8-u70 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Bethor,
now: Bethor had
unlisted v8-u71 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
now: and
unlisted v8-u72 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: all. The
now: all; the
unlisted v8-u73 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Renferrel could
now: that Renferrel might
unlisted v8-u74 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: At 12:54 I handed it over. At 12:56
now: When I had delivered it
unlisted v8-u75 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: had
unlisted v8-u76 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: and he
unlisted v8-u77 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: arsenal and sent me to bring back
now: arsenal, and sent me for
unlisted v8-u78 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: bag too.
now: bag.
unlisted v8-u79 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: The head of Thule
now: Thule's
unlisted v8-u80 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
now: that
unlisted v8-u81 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Dalaran. They bound their wands into one wand to mark
now: Dalaran, and made a single wand from their three apprentice wands as a symbol of
unlisted v8-u82 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: chose to give
now: gave
unlisted v8-u83 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: wand,
now: wand
unlisted v8-u84 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: this. He speaks of freedom as a constant struggle, and says that survival depends on shrewd politics, research and the brutal exploitation of an enemy's weaknesses. ## Monday 5 October, 13:20. The Skittering Dark
now: this to Percy.
unlisted v8-u85 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: spiders. Six samples of Skittering Blood,
now: spiders: six samples of Skittering Blood
unlisted v8-u86 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: been carrying for three days. I took Moss Stalkers and Mist Creepers in the Skittering Dark one after another, and at 13:21
now: carried since Friday. At 13:21, in the Skittering Dark,
unlisted v8-u87 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: dark
now: gloom
unlisted v8-u88 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: four. I minded. I took that as news. The Skittering Dark is the spider country at the edge of the Lordamere shore, and the bears of the forest and the spiders of the dark were the two ingredients that Faranell had asked…
now: four, and I minded, which I took as news.
unlisted v8-u89 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: 17:36.
now: 17:37.
unlisted v8-u90 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: The man on the left had work for me.
now: Three paces, by my count afterwards.
unlisted v8-u91 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: three paces away,
now: near enough to be spoken to,
unlisted v8-u92 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: to.
now: otherwise.
unlisted v8-u93 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: he
unlisted v8-u94 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: fallen. He
now: fallen; he
unlisted v8-u95 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: own
unlisted v8-u96 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: meant to.
now: had intended, and about the left one in particular.
unlisted v8-u97 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Lightbane's errand has a plain
now: Lightbane gives his
unlisted v8-u98 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: limbs are replacements, to be sewn onto the wounded. The Forsaken do not heal as the living do. A risen body is a thing to be maintained, and when a part fails, the only remedy is another part.
now: Scourge still roam above the Undercity in great numbers, and the Forsaken are few. The limbs are meant to mend their own kin.
unlisted v8-u99 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
now: I counted the hooks, as I count everything, and then I stopped, because the number was not the interesting part. The interesting part was Mezzlos's, and he had given it to me for nothing. A hall is not hung with spare ho…
unlisted v8-u100 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: me at 17:41, which is
now: me, which was
unlisted v8-u101 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: five silver and
now: modestly and with
unlisted v8-u102 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: you like a man interrupted at a very good dinner,
now: one as a host receives a late guest, with great warmth and a pointed look at the clock,
unlisted v8-u103 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: it in the tone of a man proposing a picnic.
now: so with the brisk cheer of a seating plan. I weighed the second half for longer than I should have, and found that I could bear it.
unlisted v8-u104 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: second half,
now: rest of the errand:
unlisted v8-u105 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: is now a mindless servant
now: now stands, mindless,
unlisted v8-u106 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: by a bookshelf,
unlisted v8-u107 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Strain,
now: Strain
unlisted v8-u108 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: wants to know
now: wishes to learn
unlisted v8-u109 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: me. Griffs, by his bookshelf, wanting to know what the poison does to us. [Picture description: Percy at the foot of a stair in a workshop of hanging weights and shelves; at the far right a man called Theodore Griffs sta…
now: me, and I find that I do not resent it. It is the most respectful interest anyone has taken in my condition.
unlisted v8-u110 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: Undercity. It is where the Society brews plagues and poisons, builds stronger abominations for the armies, trains its alchemists and teaches the science of tissue and organ transplants. Faranell, who leads it, studied in…
now: Undercity, the home of the Royal Apothecary Society. Plagues and poisons are brewed there, stronger abominations are made for the armies, and it is the main school of Forsaken alchemy.
unlisted v8-u111 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: the Apothecarium
now: it
unlisted v8-u112 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: out
unlisted v8-u113 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: blood.
now: blood, and it has more hooks than it has bodies.
unlisted v8-u114 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: book,
now: book and
unlisted v8-u115 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: stop me
now: prevent my
unlisted v8-u116 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: is common to them. Bethor, Thule, Dalar, Faranell and Arugal all studied at Dalaran, in the tower he wants to see. It
now: they share. Bethor and Thule learned their craft in Dalaran, and Dalar and Arugal were both of the Kirin Tor, which keeps it. Dalaran is in the history of every one of them, and it is the tower that Percy wants to see. I…
unlisted v8-u117 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: bag. The head is in the bag,
now: bag, and the head of Alaric,
unlisted v8-u118 jump to the passage ↓
Rationale unrecorded.
was: list. Eight vials, one recipe handed in, and a head still owed. I underlined the head.
now: list, and I underlined it.
The text
Preview
Sunday 4 October, 22:23.22:24. The Sepulcher
22:23.
22:24.
I came backreturned to the Sepulcher at the end of Sunday with a boat on my mind.
came back
returned
It is a graveyard that has been given a purpose, which is more than most of us can say. A crypt, a ring of old stones, a forge, stables where the bats are kept,say: a crypt, a forge, stables for the bats, and an inn where the Forsaken sit and do not drink.are spared the pretence of eating. A gibbet stands over the path. I feel at home herein it in the way a coffin might.
say. A crypt, a ring of old stones, a forge, stables where the bats are kept,
say: a crypt, a forge, stables for the bats, and
do not drink.
are spared the pretence of eating.
here
in it
The Sepulcher began as a graveyard beside the road that crossesthrough Silverpine Forest. After the Third War the Forsaken took the old crypt and made itas their keep in the region, and it is still one of the few places in the zone where a Horde traveller can rest without a hand on a weapon. It has an inn, stables, a forge, a bat handler and trainers. Apothecary Renferrel works here for the Royal Apothecary Society, and so do a shadow priest, a guard of the Deathguard, and a mage who once held a high seat in the Kirin Tor.remains one of the only places of safety for Horde travellers in the zone.
that crosses
through
and made it
as
is still one of the few places in the zone where a Horde traveller can rest without a hand on a weapon. It has an inn, stables, a forge, a bat handler and trainers. Apothecary Renferrel works here for the Royal Apothecar…
remains one of the only places of safety for Horde travellers in the zone.
High Executor Hadrec stands in the middle of it and gives the impression that the placeit was built around him. He is the first of the Forsaken to speak toaddress me as though I were already a soldier. I do not mind, since I am not suresoldier, and I do not object, being unsure what else I am. He says Silverpine isremarks that Silverpine is saturated with our enemies the way other men say good morning,as another man might remark upon the rain, and I have noticed that he never says what happens once they have been driven back.is to happen once the enemies have been driven out. I find I do not mind the saturation. The living perspire at one another and call it conversation, and I should be glad to see the forest drained of them. I do not dislike him.Hadrec. I do not think he would notice if I did.
High Executor
the place
it
speak to
address
soldier. I do not mind, since I am not sure
soldier, and I do not object, being unsure
says Silverpine is
remarks that Silverpine is
the way other men say good morning,
as another man might remark upon the rain,
happens once they have been driven back.
is to happen once the enemies have been driven out. I find I do not mind the saturation. The living perspire at one another and call it conversation, and I should be glad to see the forest drained of them.
him.
Hadrec.
He had sent me to the Decrepit Ferry that evening. A boat was tied upthat evening to the Decrepit Ferry. A boat lay there, low in the water, and the boat was full of the dead. They lay in rows. Someonerows, and someone had been patient with them. I have stood among the dead before.before; I am one. This was different, because nobody had asked themthese anything.
to the Decrepit Ferry that evening. A boat was tied up
that evening to the Decrepit Ferry. A boat lay
rows. Someone
rows, and someone
before.
before;
them
these
One was a woman with a ring on her hand, and inside the band someone had cut For Deliah. I took it. Afterwards I looked at my own hand afterwards, to see whether I had worn one. Itever worn one, and it told me nothing.
Afterwards
afterwards,
worn one. It
ever worn one, and it
Hadrec turned the ring over and said where he thoughtsupposed the dead had come from, and that the Rot Hide were carryingmust be ferrying them across the water to Fenris Isle. He said very probably in the voice the Forsaken keep for certainly, and please do not ask. Then he sent me to Brill with the ring, to Magistrate Sevren, who keeps the records of the recently dead and may be able to say who she was. His instructions suggested that whoever gavemight say who she had been. It was implied that whoever had given her the ring was probablymost likely dead as well, and that if not, he probablymost likely no longer cared.
thought
supposed
were carrying
must be ferrying
may be able to say who she was. His instructions suggested that whoever gave
might say who she had been. It was implied that whoever had given
probably
most likely
probably
most likely
Hadrec’s guess was that the dead had comebodies came from the mass graves in Tirisfal. The Rot Hide are undead gnolls, and a banshee called Nightlash had been feeding them with her magic until Percy ended her.gnolls. Fenris Isle lies in the middle of Lordamere Lake. Before the Third War a Lordaeron outpost, Fenris Keep, stood on it. After the Scourge came the keep was abandoned, and the Rot Hide took it, under a necromancer named Thule Ravenclaw who also held the Decrepit Ferry.Lake, and after the Scourging of Lordaeron the necromancer Thule Ravenclaw settled in the old keep there among them, and made the ichor that gives them life.
dead had come
bodies came
gnolls, and a banshee called Nightlash had been feeding them with her magic until Percy ended her.
gnolls.
Lake. Before the Third War a Lordaeron outpost, Fenris Keep, stood on it. After the Scourge came the keep was abandoned, and the Rot Hide took it, under a necromancer named Thule Ravenclaw who also held the Decrepit Ferr…
Lake, and after the Scourging of Lordaeron the necromancer Thule Ravenclaw settled in the old keep there among them, and made the ichor that gives them life.
The ring is in my bag,bag beside two catfish. I have not gone to Brill. If I take it there the ring gets a name, and then the name has a life, and then somebody has to be told what happened to the body. I have a ring.
bag,
bag
gets a name, and then the name has a life, and then somebody has to be told what happened to the body. I have a ring. ## Sunday 4 October, 22:25. Dalar
acquires a name, and the name acquires a life, and somebody must then be told what became of the body. At present I have a ring, which is a manageable quantity.
## Sunday 4 October, 22:25. Dalaracquires a name, and the name acquires a life, and somebody must then be told what became of the body. At present I have a ring, which is a manageable quantity.
Dalar Dawnweaver was at the wall of the Sepulcher with the look of a mansomeone who has been right too often to be liked. He wears the robes of a mage and the face of a manone who has been dead a long time and resents the delay.
a man
someone
a man
one
He says he was named for the tower. Or rather, that the tower was He says the tower is named for him. I did not argue. Magesargue; mages have a way of saying things that makes arguing feel like a mistake.speaking that makes argument feel like a lapse in manners. What he does not trouble to hide is his temper about Arugal, who was accepted intoadmitted to the Kirin Tor, and whose casting, Dalar says, was as transparent as a blown glass bauble. The Kirin Tor did not heed my warnings, he told me. Arugal is a wreckless fool.
He says he was named for the tower. Or rather, that the tower was
He says the tower is
argue. Mages
argue; mages
saying things that makes arguing feel like a mistake.
speaking that makes argument feel like a lapse in manners.
trouble to
accepted into
admitted to
So the tower I want, So the thin spire of Dalaran that I keep seeing between the pines, is apines is the place that made Dalar, and made Arugal, and Dalarhe will not discuss which was the mistake.
So the tower I want,
So
pines, is a
pines is the
Dalar
he
Dalar Dawnweaver was an archmage of the Kirin Tor. He was killed when the Scourge fell on Dalaran, rose in the Lich King’s service, and was freed when Sylvanas gathered the free undead. He holds that the Kirin Tor ignored him, and he serves the Dark Lady in the hope of seeing Arugal’s magic turned against Arugal.
Dalar Dawnweaver was an archmage of the Kirin Tor. He was killed when the Scourge fell on Dalaran, rose in the Lich King's service, and was freed when Sylvanas gathered the free undead. He holds that the Kirin Tor ignore…
Monday 5 October, 12:14. Fenris Isle
On Monday Apothecary Renferrel wanted ichor, the black stuff that runs in the Rot Hide, by the vial. Eight of them. The brutes give it upvial, and the brutes surrender it one at a time, which is the only way the brutesthey do anything.
vial. Eight of them. The brutes give it up
vial, and the brutes surrender it
the brutes
they
They put me down at fourteen minutes past twelve. I do not feel pain as I am told I once did. It is a dimming, the way a lamp goes down,as of a lamp being turned low, and then I am standing on the wrong side of my own body with the water of Lordamere Lake cold aroundabout my knees. The cold I feel. I am not surecertain what that says about me.
the way a lamp goes down,
as of a lamp being turned low,
around
about
sure
certain
The water was the only thing that morning I could feel.walk back is the part nobody mentions. [Picture description: A pale ghost wades through grey water toward a wooden jetty, with pines and the stone shape of a keep fading into mist beyond.]
water was the only thing that morning I could feel.
walk back is the part nobody mentions.
those rothides got me on fenris isle
I had reached for shadow first, since shadow has never asked me to be better than I am, and I reached for fel only the second time, with the door shut. Mezzlos did not comment. He does not. There is a spell of mine by which I borrow a little of what another creature has left, and I am fond of it as one is fond of a good knife. I will leave the rest of that sentence where it is.
I had reached for shadow first, since shadow has never asked me to be better than I am, and I reached for fel only the second time, with the door shut. Mezzlos did not comment. He does not. There is a spell of mine by wh…
At 12:21 something spoke to me from the undergrowth. It was a head. It said, You don’t look like a rot hide. Good. I had lost hope. Its name was Alaric. Ithope, it said. Its name was Alaric, and it asked me to take it to its grave, which it believes the gnolls dug by the stable at the keep, and which it says was hastily done.dug badly. I put it in my bag with the ring and the fish. It has not spoken since. I find that I listen for it.
It said,
hope. Its name was Alaric. It
hope, it said. Its name was Alaric, and it
which it says was hastily done.
dug badly.
that
Alaric was Thule Ravenclaw’s head servant and bodyguard. Thule used a spell to protectchief attendant and protector. Thule cast a spell to shield him from the Plague of Undeath, and the spellit left him in an unlife he could not leave. When Thuleescape. When Thule had made the Rot Hide, he beheaded Alaric and gave the head to the gnolls as a toy. The Rot Hide buried the bodyplaything. The body lies in an unmarked grave near the stable ofat Fenris Keep.
head servant and bodyguard. Thule used a spell to protect
chief attendant and protector. Thule cast a spell to shield
the spell
it
leave. When Thule
escape. When Thule had
toy. The Rot Hide buried the body
plaything. The body lies
of
at
They got me again at 12:28. Afterput me down again at twenty-eight minutes past, and after that I had my eighth vial, and at 12:37 I tooktwenty-three minutes to one I carried the lot to Renferrel at the Sepulcher. He is a pale and careful member of the Royal Apothecary Society who says Now it is up to the Society to develop a new plague the way other men say grace. He tipped the ichor into something and studied it for a long while. His findings were not conclusive, he said,while, and his findings, he said, were not conclusive, which in an apothecary means the opposite. He thought it had been made with warlock work and necromancy. He said warlock twice and did not look at me either time.on either occasion. I have learned what a pause is for.
got me again at 12:28. After
put me down again at twenty-eight minutes past, and after
12:37 I took
twenty-three minutes to one I carried
while. His findings were not conclusive, he said,
while, and his findings, he said, were not conclusive,
either time.
on either occasion.
The Royal Apothecary Society was founded by Sylvanas Windrunner to turn the Plague of Undeath against the Scourge. Its head is the Grand Apothecary, Putress, and its alchemists keep their laboratories in the Apothecarium in the Undercity. The Forsaken are feared by the living for it, and watched by their own allies.
The Royal Apothecary Society was founded by Sylvanas Windrunner to turn the Plague of Undeath against the Scourge. Its head is the Grand Apothecary, Putress, and its alchemists keep their laboratories in the Apothecarium…
Monday 5 October, 12:49. The Temple of the Damned
Renferrel is no mage, so he sent a sample to the Undercity, to the Temple of the Damned in the Magic Quarter, where my own trainer, Richard Kerwin, teaches me what I am allowedpermitted to cast. Bethor Iceshard is said to rule the mages and warlocks here.there. I had passed him twice and never spoken to him.
allowed
permitted
here.
there.
“This is where the mages are,” said Mezzlos. He kept a pillar between himself and the whole temple. “I will wait here.”
Bethor Iceshard held the vial to the light and said that some of the spells in it he had not seen for a long, long time. Then he cast something over it, and a name came out: Thule Ravenclaw. A man who had once worked beside Bethor,Bethor had gone over to the Scourge, and made the ichor, and made the gnolls with it. Bethor said colleague with no heat in it at all. Theall; the Forsaken are good at that. I practised it on the way up, Thule Ravenclaw, and it came out sounding like a man ordering bread.
Iceshard
that
Bethor,
Bethor had
and
all. The
all; the
He gave me a scroll to carry back, so Renferrel couldthat Renferrel might brew something against Thule’s stronger spells. At 12:54 I handed it over. At 12:56When I had delivered it I went to Hadrec, who had agreed that Thule must be stopped, and he fitted me from the arsenal and sent me to bring backarsenal, and sent me for Thule’s head. The potion is in my bag too.bag. So is the head of Alaric. The head of ThuleThule’s is the only line in the book that I cannot yet cross out.
Renferrel could
that Renferrel might
At 12:54 I handed it over. At 12:56
When I had delivered it
had
and he
arsenal and sent me to bring back
arsenal, and sent me for
bag too.
bag.
The head of Thule
Thule's
that
Bethor Iceshard, Thule Ravenclaw and a man named Gunther Arcanus were apprentices together in Dalaran. They bound their wands into one wand to markDalaran, and made a single wand from their three apprentice wands as a symbol of their friendship. When the Scourge came, Thule chose to givegave his soul to the Lich King, stole the wand,wand and hid it in Fenris Keep. Bethor does not speak of this. He speaks of freedom as a constant struggle, and says that survival depends on shrewd politics, research and the brutal exploitation of an enemy’s weaknesses.
Dalaran. They bound their wands into one wand to mark
Dalaran, and made a single wand from their three apprentice wands as a symbol of
chose to give
gave
wand,
wand
this. He speaks of freedom as a constant struggle, and says that survival depends on shrewd politics, research and the brutal exploitation of an enemy's weaknesses. ## Monday 5 October, 13:20. The Skittering Dark
this to Percy.
That afternoon I finished the spiders. Six samples of Skittering Blood,spiders: six samples of Skittering Blood for a recipe I had been carrying for three days. I took Moss Stalkers and Mist Creepers in the Skittering Dark one after another, and at 13:21carried since Friday. At 13:21, in the Skittering Dark, a Son of Arugal came out of the darkgloom and held me at a fifth of my health for forty-seven seconds. I counted. A body should not mind losing a fifth of itself when it cannot feel the other four. I minded. I took that as news.
spiders. Six samples of Skittering Blood,
spiders: six samples of Skittering Blood
been carrying for three days. I took Moss Stalkers and Mist Creepers in the Skittering Dark one after another, and at 13:21
carried since Friday. At 13:21, in the Skittering Dark,
dark
gloom
four. I minded. I took that as news. The Skittering Dark is the spider country at the edge of the Lordamere shore, and the bears of the forest and the spiders of the dark were the two ingredients that Faranell had asked…
four, and I minded, which I took as news.
The Skittering Dark is the spider country at the edge of the Lordamere shore, and the bears of the forest and the spiders of the dark were the two ingredients that Faranell had asked for. The Sons of Arugal are the cursed men of Pyrewood Village, turned into worgen by Arugal’s magic, who roam the forest at night.four, and I minded, which I took as news.
Wednesday 7 October, 17:36.17:37. The Royal Quarter
17:36.
17:37.
On Wednesday I went to see the queen. I told the little stone so: off to meet the queen
The man on the left had work for me.Three paces, by my count afterwards. [Picture description: Percy, Mezzlos and the Banshee Queen stand in a dim green-lit chamber of the Undercity; a man called Morbin Lightbane waits at the left with a quest mark above his head.]
The man on the left had work for me.
Three paces, by my count afterwards.
I had expected to feel something. The Dark Lady, who gathered us when the Lich King let go, stood three paces away,near enough to be spoken to, and I felt what I feel for most things, which is a small, courteous distance. I noticed that, and I noticed that I had expected to.otherwise.
three paces away,
near enough to be spoken to,
to.
otherwise.
At 17:38 Morbin Lightbane asked me for twenty-five limbs, and he was particular that they be intact. I am to find them in the Ruins of Lordaeron, among the fallen. Hefallen; he did not say whose. I looked at my own hands again. They were intact. I thought about that for longer than I meant to.had intended, and about the left one in particular.
he
fallen. He
fallen; he
own
meant to.
had intended, and about the left one in particular.
Morbin Lightbane’s errand has a plainLightbane gives his reason in his own words: decaying flesh cannot be reknit, not without replacements. The limbs are replacements, to be sewn onto the wounded. The Forsaken do not heal as the living do. A risen body is a thing to be maintained, and when a part fails, the only remedy is another part.Scourge still roam above the Undercity in great numbers, and the Forsaken are few. The limbs are meant to mend their own kin.
Lightbane's errand has a plain
Lightbane gives his
limbs are replacements, to be sewn onto the wounded. The Forsaken do not heal as the living do. A risen body is a thing to be maintained, and when a part fails, the only remedy is another part.
Scourge still roam above the Undercity in great numbers, and the Forsaken are few. The limbs are meant to mend their own kin.
Wednesday 7 October, 17:41. The Apothecarium
Then I went down to the Apothecarium. gruesome part of undercity, my favourite place
It is not quite a joke. It is the one room in the city where nobody looks away from what we are.
Zinge, at the bench, working. Nobody else looked up. [Picture description: Chains and hooks hang from a high ceiling in a dim vaulted hall, with bodies hung from some of them; Percy in a purple robe stands below beside the blue shape of Mezzlos, an apothecary at work behind them.]
“I do not like the hooks,” said Mezzlos. “There are more hooks than bodies.”
I counted the hooks, as I count everything, and then I stopped, because the number was not the interesting part. The interesting part was Mezzlos’s, and he had given it to me for nothing. A hall is not hung with spare hooks unless it is expecting something.
I counted the hooks, as I count everything, and then I stopped, because the number was not the interesting part. The interesting part was Mezzlos's, and he had given it to me for nothing. A hall is not hung with spare ho…
Master Apothecary Faranell took six bear hearts and six samples of spider blood from me at 17:41, which isme, which was what he had been waiting on, and paid me five silver andmodestly and with a good deal of conversation. He receives you like a man interrupted at a very good dinner,one as a host receives a late guest, with great warmth and a pointed look at the clock, and he has a taste for the long word. The recipe, he said, was for a plague that would take the Scourge and the living alike, and the paper said it in the tone of a man proposing a picnic.so with the brisk cheer of a seating plan. I weighed the second half for longer than I should have, and found that I could bear it. Then he gave me the second half,rest of the errand: the journal of an apothecary named Berard, who was cursed by Arugal’s magic and is now a mindless servantnow stands, mindless, in the inn at Pyrewood Village, guarding the study where he left his notes.
me at 17:41, which is
me, which was
five silver and
modestly and with
you like a man interrupted at a very good dinner,
one as a host receives a late guest, with great warmth and a pointed look at the clock,
it in the tone of a man proposing a picnic.
so with the brisk cheer of a seating plan. I weighed the second half for longer than I should have, and found that I could bear it.
second half,
rest of the errand:
is now a mindless servant
now stands, mindless,
At 17:42 I met Theodore Griffs at the end of the bench, by a bookshelf, in the inner room. He wants a sample of something called a Highly Toxic Strain,Strain from a beast named Witherfang in the Ruins of Lordaeron, because its toxins are said to eat through even undead flesh. I wish, he said, to validate these claims. I have been sent to fetch a poison for a man who wants to knowwishes to learn what it does to the likes of me.
by a bookshelf,
Strain,
Strain
wants to know
wishes to learn
me. Griffs, by his bookshelf, wanting to know what the poison does to us. [Picture description: Percy at the foot of a stair in a workshop of hanging weights and shelves; at the far right a man called Theodore Griffs sta…
me, and I find that I do not resent it. It is the most respectful interest anyone has taken in my condition.
Griffs, by his bookshelf, wanting to know what the poison does to us. [Picture description: Percy at the foot of a stair in a workshop of hanging weights and shelves; at the far right a man called Theodore Griffs stands with a quest mark above him.]me, and I find that I do not resent it. It is the most respectful interest anyone has taken in my condition.
The Apothecarium stands in the south-west corner of the Undercity. It is where the Society brews plagues and poisons, builds stronger abominations for the armies, trains its alchemists and teaches the science of tissue and organ transplants. Faranell, who leads it, studied in Dalaran among the wizards before he died, and has been called eccentric and sardonic, with a preference for taking his subjects alive.Undercity, the home of the Royal Apothecary Society. Plagues and poisons are brewed there, stronger abominations are made for the armies, and it is the main school of Forsaken alchemy. The records say what the Apothecariumit is for. They do not mention hooks.
Undercity. It is where the Society brews plagues and poisons, builds stronger abominations for the armies, trains its alchemists and teaches the science of tissue and organ transplants. Faranell, who leads it, studied in…
Undercity, the home of the Royal Apothecary Society. Plagues and poisons are brewed there, stronger abominations are made for the armies, and it is the main school of Forsaken alchemy.
the Apothecarium
it
Wednesday 7 October, 19:27. The book
A boat of the dead goes to an isle where a man makes ichor out of them. A hall of hooks hangs under a city where a man mixes bear heart with spider blood.blood, and it has more hooks than it has bodies. I have a theory that this is one business with two ends. I wrote it in the book,book and underlined it, and have so far found nothing to stop meprevent my believing it.
out
blood.
blood, and it has more hooks than it has bodies.
book,
book and
stop me
prevent my
Nobody has told Percy that his two businesses are one. Nobody has told him that they are not. He has not noticed what else is common to them. Bethor, Thule, Dalar, Faranell and Arugal all studied at Dalaran, in the tower he wants to see. Itthey share. Bethor and Thule learned their craft in Dalaran, and Dalar and Arugal were both of the Kirin Tor, which keeps it. Dalaran is in the history of every one of them, and it is the tower that Percy wants to see. In The Before it stands in the Hillsbrad foothills, and it is still there.
is common to them. Bethor, Thule, Dalar, Faranell and Arugal all studied at Dalaran, in the tower he wants to see. It
they share. Bethor and Thule learned their craft in Dalaran, and Dalar and Arugal were both of the Kirin Tor, which keeps it. Dalaran is in the history of every one of them, and it is the tower that Percy wants to see. I…
I notice, reading the page back, that I have ruled the columns. I do not remember learning to. Somebody kept a ledger once, and he had a very steady hand. I should like to know what he was counting.
The ring is in the bag. The head is in the bag,bag, and the head of Alaric, and the potion. Thule’s head is on the list. Eight vials, one recipe handed in, and a head still owed. I underlined the head.list, and I underlined it. Below it, smaller, I wrote Deliah, and did not underline that.
bag. The head is in the bag,
bag, and the head of Alaric,
list. Eight vials, one recipe handed in, and a head still owed. I underlined the head.
list, and I underlined it.
Set down in the Undercity, Wednesday 7 October 2026, 19:27.
Pictures
2 caption changed, 1 picture removed; 1 unchanged.
Pictures are matched by file name. A caption or description change keeps the same picture; a different file is a different picture.