On a Sin-Eater Safari!!!

During my conversations with my old buddy Death (a.k.a. The Pale Brother), I learned of an ancient Contract that the True Fae have with the Underworld. This contract is responsible for granting the Gentry their seeming immortality, and as with all Contracts forged by the True Fae, we changelings have an intrinsic claim to its benefits, albeit in a diminished capacity. As it applies to the Lost, the Contract with the Underworld is known as The Death Clause. Apparently, any changeling who steps foot into the Underworld automatically has access to The Death Clause. What this means is that said changeling is bestowed with a second life. Should he somehow get killed, he'll be resurrected somewhere in the Underworld. He won't be a ghost; he'll be truly brought back to life.

The Boon of the White Twins has irrevocably bound my life to Poincaré's. Should I die, so shall he (and vice versa). Consequently, The Death Clause represents a safety net for us. As much as I respect Poincaré for his selfless agreement to the Boon in order to save me, I don't wish to have my fate permanently tied to another. If we are bestowed with second lives, then neither of us must remain dead - we get to return anew in the Underworld, free of the Boon forever. Some might call this cheating fate; I prefer to call it "creative re-interpretation." I'd like to think that the Wyrd appreciates my attention to loopholes. It's very much in the spirit of being "fae."



After the whole mess with Cadir was resolved, I paid a visit to the Miami Freehold. It took some time, but I located a member of a noble order called The Lord Sages of The Unknown Reaches. The changelings of this entitlement are dedicated to studying and collecting information about other supernatural factions in this big world of ours - everything from vampires and werewolves, to even weirder things. I've heard a lot of rumors about these men and women over the years. Though the Lord Sages are viewed with varying combinations of respect and wariness by other changelings, I must admit that I've always wanted to meet one. Who knows what secrets are out there? Maybe the key to defeating the Gentry for good is in the hands of another supernatural race. Some think they're kooks, but all I know is that they are damn hard to find.

Poor Will Nightingale

Still, Poincaré and I managed to track down one of the Lord Sages with the help of some contacts in Miami. We hobos are nothing, if not tenacious. The Lord Sage was a Beast of the Cleareyes kith who went by the name of Poor Will Nightingale. He was kind of a nervous but polite fellow. When I introduced myself, I got the feeling he'd heard of me. I asked him if he could tell me everything he knew about the Underworld and how to get there. Since the Underworld isn't really the purview of most changelings, I needed his expert advice. The guy seemed hesitant to provide me with information, so I offered to give him all the firsthand knowledge I have about vampires. I'd accumulated a lot of information about vampires (or "Kindred," as they like to call themselves) from my frequent conversations with an old vamp comrade of mine, Samuel. Samuel used to hang out with my first motley, The Hedge Trimmers (feels like ages ago). Don't really know what happened to him except that he's now dead - not undead, but actually dead.

Poor Will became very intrigued when I mentioned that I had inside information about vampires, and so we agreed, upon a pledge, to trade our respective knowledge. We spent several hours exchanging notes and stories. In short, I learned that there are three known ways for a changeling to enter the Underworld. Firstly, one can master the Contracts of Shade and Spirit, though this would take too much time for me. Secondly, one can try and find a naturally occurring gateway into the Underworld from the Hedge; such "black gates," however, are difficult to locate and are only one-way. The third and best method of accessing the Underworld is in the company of "Sin-Eaters."

Poor Will couldn't tell me much about Sin-Eaters, except that they are humans who've bonded with some kind of death spirits, and that they deal in matters involving death, ghosts, and the Underworld. Essentially, Sin Eater "krewes" act as ghost hunters and psychopomps, and take care of hauntings, possessions, and other ghost-related phenomena. According to Poor Will, it is also said that Sin-Eaters can come and go from the Underworld as they please.

Armed with this knowledge, I decided to find myself a krewe of Sin-Eaters, befriend them, and form a pledge with them. In return for the usual benefits of a pledge, the Sin-Eaters will be required to take me and Poincaré on a trip into the Underworld, where we'll enter into The Death Clause. Furthermore, should Poincaré and I die at a future date, the Sin-Eaters will be responsible for retrieving us from the Underworld. This part is key, since without an extraction by Sin-Eaters, me and Poincaré would be forever trapped in the Underworld. It's a plan that's not without its risks, but it's our best option at the moment.

Currently, we are searching for a Sin-Eater krewe. It's difficult, considering that they don't exactly advertise in the Yellow Pages. I'll probably employ some Talecrafting and see what happens...