Destroy One Head, Two More shall Take its Place. ️
[LOCKE & KEYE - RUMOR]

With the recent dispatching of Harrison Bellefuelle finally beginning to settle, it seems as if a few members of the spire still remain restless in the face of such nerve-ending news. One resident, Caleb Citranitas, sent off rambling and aloof... But another has fared much worse. 

The mutant Misty was seen upon the bridge leading out of the Spire's square acting... irregularly. Seemingly, the woman had lost control: clashing steel against other residents of the spire, including some of her closest allies. Rasmus, Perilla, Hazel, Coronis, Tayde and Magnolia were seen fending the mutant off. 

All of the carnage seemed to make sense as a new face had appeared, the alleged Boogeyman himself heard in nothing but whispers and echoes: Franklin Keye, accompanied by his right hand man, Dorian Locke. 

After an intense outing and a fruitful study session for Keye, he was overheard speaking to the masses: comparing himself to a God and taking time to ridicule the thoughts and traditions commonly held by spiregoers.

It would appear things are once more shaking up... as Locke & Keye begin to show their true hand...

One Night... Four Strikes.

[LOCKE & KEYE - RUMORS]

In the span of one night, a dozens of denizens of the spire were violently attacked in a series of coordinated strikes. 

The Fairegrounds

Two companions found themselves enjoying a peaceful evening amidst the empty Fairegrounds... In the midst of their conversation, however, they were descended upon by a small figure. Blades tore firm and quick through their flesh, leading one party to have to rush for help: In the ensuing rescue attempt, Azuran was found beaten and half-dead upon the stoop of the faireground's main stage... Blood oozing with thick and noxious poison. In the ensuing hours, Azuran's recovery in the hospital would be riddled with paranoia: the man hardly able to discern reality from fiction...

The Cabin.

Within a small secluded cabin, Lillium Mal'arn was approached by a redheaded woman regarding developments on the Mutant Infection... Lillium, an active researcher in curing the infection, was then found dragging herself to the prison cell to demand self-isolation. Her wounds darkened, mutation sent haywire... The red headed woman would be nowhere to be found following subsequent investigation, in fact, she had already departed to meet her next victim. 

The Library

Having recently re-emerged in the spire, Gideon Gibraltar was enjoying a study session in the library when he was approached by the jingling bells of a familiar Jester... Things went awry, however, as the man revealed himself to be none other than Franklin Keye in disguise. With an equinox-blessed, Myra, nearby, as well as with the assistance of Atal, the library-goers worked to fend off Franklin Keye's attack on the mutant mage. In the process of this attack, all three parties were left brutally poisoned and collapsed upon the ground, with Gideon himself having had his blood stolen by the sadistic man... 

The Path

On the winding path leading towards the undercity, Ignis was found in an odd state of Stasis following a brutal attack done in the early-morning sunrise... For those who were nearby the scene: they would have witnessed, in a terrible display, the very sky itself splitting itself between night and day... 

The Beach & The Tavern

At the tavern, the helper of the Noctis Estate: Rico Mathys IV, would be approached by a red-haired woman... Rico would not return to the Noctis Estate that night, having been seen limping half-dead into the woods. Not but an hour later, the Spire's resident reporter would, too, be approached... But the nature of their conversation remains a mystery, with both parties having left undamaged...

It is unclear how many more individuals might have been attacked on this night... But one message is made deadly clear:

Locke & Keye are here, and they do not intend to play Idly.

They Strike in Light and Shadow...
Is Anywhere Truly Safe...?
[LOCKE & KEYE - RUMORS]

Strike at the Sacred Grounds 

Two figures were seen fleeing from the direction of a familiar pathway towards a shrine: injured, broken, battered and bruised both women would be heard bickering as they depart from the scene of the crime... The trail of blood left in their wake burns the very plant-life around them before vanishing off into directions unseen: It's unclear whom exactly they struck just yet... but given their demeanor it seems that they were not the only ones left brutalized that night... 

Infectious Whispers...

Paranoia seems to tug at the minds of some denizens of the Spire as dots begin to connect... Whispers tell that there's a connection between all of the recent attacks - one that goes beyond a simple targeting of Mutants. If rumor is to be believed, a denizen of the spire may be a Mole for Locke&Keye: whether this mole is willing or unwilling remains to be seen. That being said: suspicion seems to grow every day... There's just too many coincidences, aren't there?

Meetings in Shadow...

While attacks grow more rampant so, too, do meetings and whispers: in the depths of night, spiregoers have found themselves visited by a red-haired woman offering them a proposition. Its unclear how many of the spire's denizen has taken her up on the offer... But whispers say that there's a plan in motion. Interestingly enough: the path to the Vampire Tree has seen a lot of foot traffic of late--but when people arrive at the tree... there's nobody to be found.

Bumps in the Night...!

After being previously attacked at the hands of Locke&Keye, the Mal'arn family has been focusing on their recovery at home: with one member infected and another left in shock; they were a perfect mark once more. Those who live near the house would have heard a CRASH through the window as Azuran Mal'arn tumbled from the upstairs window, hardly catching his fall with his wings before falling unconscious. Oddly enough, Azuran had no visible injuries, but regardless could hardly bring himself to stand... Two figures were seen departing the scene, a tall man hunched over, grunting, whimpering and heaving as he rushed a small green-goggled woman through the spire and off towards paths unknown... 

Mutants gone Mad...!

It seems like everywhere you look mutants have begun to act erratically: corporeal weapons drawn without second notice, rage springing forth without control... One thing is for certain: something is very wrong with the mutants of the spire.... Some choose to self-isolate, but it is only a matter of time before the spread breaches its contained incidents. Some folk begin to try and observe the mutation in hopes of a cure, whilst others merely try to figure out who needs to be killed to stop it from spreading. Lillium Mal'arn and Vittorio Noctis both work on their own to try and find their own semblance of answers for a cure... But its a race against the clock: it seems like a new mutant is infected every day.

Locke&Keye are relentless, and the next phase of their experiment seems set to begin... 

Hope and Horror Intertwined.
[LOCKE & KEYE - RUMORS]

THE DRAGON'S FIRE SNUFFED...

It is no mystery to the Spire that Drenmir was found dead. Those at the scene found evidence of two combatants having fought the mutant all down to their last legs: it was, sadly, the Spire's chosen of the Dragon that was the first to fall... Acid blood raced off into the distance, alongside another trail of redness. Icarus, Meridy and Gideon were able to track the Acid Blood down to the sight of a small scorpion-esc figure... But she escaped before she could be interrogated further. Argonaut, a spectator of the scene, seems to have noted something that nobody else did: that Franklin Keye had been watching the aftermath... One thing is certain: Drenmir's blood is on Locke&Keye's hands. 

LISIANTHUS

In the early AMs, in the walk between the guardhouse and the hospital, a trail of blood could be found leading off the main pathway of the spire... Some crossbow bolts have been fires, slams in the gravel from meteor hammers and small scorched handprints are found upon the ground with holes in the middle of each palm. The trail of runs cold not long after... But a single jingle bell can be spotted in the main crossways leading past the full cask... Crows suddenly begin to flock and swarm from the path off the fairgrounds... where the strange tree lies. Embers, too, raise up in small crackling bursts.

A group of adventurers found themselves following the familiar patterns, leading them to the Vampire Tree where they were to be met with a gruesome sight... Screaming, howling, explosions all rang out from the old Big Top's grounds - soon after, the group were seen returning to the hospital littered in injuries: most injured of all being Caleb Citranitas and Ignis Lucciacolo - two mutants. 

Both mutants had been damaged beyond belief, bruised and beaten from the inside-out... Those who may go to investigate the tree in the following hours would see the remains of a gruesome struggle: acidic bloodstains and all manners of blackened gore across the landscape. Locke&Keye have struck again... However, it seems a shift has been made in the process, a rumor:

Caleb Citranitas fought off the infection. 

Its unclear if this was a fluke or not... But one thing is for certain: Locke&Keye are unlikely to take this revolt lightly. Their next strikes will prove to be devastating: its now a question if the hope of the spire can outweigh the horrors of Franklin Keye...