When we entered the hall, it was already bustling with people. We pushed our way through the crowd until we found Basil, standing off to one side. Neptilia was with him, her expression exasperated as she eyed our approach.

“What is this exactly?” I asked, looking around the massive room.

At the opposite end was a raised platform, where a number of people who looked like nobility were seated. There were display monitors up on several of the walls, including behind the platform, whilst the rest of the hall was filled with seats. It had a high, vaulted ceiling like many of the other rooms in the palace, and the chrome coloured walls reflected the cold light from the fluorescents above. Above the platform there hung an emblem bearing a dragon.

“To my understanding the nobility of the Silver Palace hold their ‘open court sessions’ here,” Scarlett said. “Despite having a king, there are other people with power here. The aristocracy gathers regularly to discuss important issues.”

“Indeed,” Basil said, concurring with her explanation. “I am not sure what will be discussed today, but I thought you might find it more interesting than watching the trees outside.”

The proceedings were, perhaps, more interesting than that, but the they still weren’t especially fascinating. Political and financial lingo was tossed about, and I couldn’t really follow the majority of what was being said. If Scarlett was lost, she didn’t show it, simply observing with a neutral expression, whilst Basil appeared to be thoroughly engrossed. Neptilia, on the other hand, looked openly as bored as I did.

“You following any of this?” I said, leaning towards her.

“I could if I wanted to. Don’t see much reason though.” She picked at her nails as she spoke, not even so much as looking me in the eye.

“Hmm.” I still felt unsettled from my nightmarish sleep, though more than that I just felt tired now.

Just then, someone caught my attention. He had a powerfully commanding tone as he spoke, as though some spirit were compelling me to open my ears to what he said. Even Neptilia looked up to where he stood on the platform. I suppose he was a bit older than me, though he looked youthful for his age. His hair was blonde and combed flat, and he had a full beard, neatly trimmed. His left eye was covered by a black patch, and he wore a cream-coloured, ruffled shirt with dark brown breeches.

He was arguing with a robed man, seemingly a priest about some political matter.

“From what I’ve heard, the Jupiterian cultists have the king under their thumb,” Basil whispered to me.

“Jupiterian?” I replied.

“Their god, Marduk, usually called simply ‘Bel’, is of Jupiter. The gardens are a sacred place to him, it’s said, and the fork-tongued dragon is his symbol.”

Besides the dragon emblem in this room, I’d seen some dragon designs carved into the silver walls of the palace in a number of other places. I hadn’t given them much thought at the time, however.

“And who is he?” I asked, indicating to the man with the eyepatch.

“Hmm, I’m not sure, though if I were to guess I’d say he were one of the nobles with more than a little sway around here.”

It seemed odd to me that such dealings were done in a public space, but I supposed it made the people – or at least, the nobility – feel as though they had more say in the legislation than they really did. It all looked rather put on, honestly. Like some well-rehearsed scene you might see in a stage play.

“Isn’t he the Marquis of Blood?” said Neptilia.

“Oh? I didn’t know you kept up with gossip, Vixen,” Basil replied with an amused look.

“I don’t,” she said, with a scorn. “And don’t call me that.”

“What does the gossip say about this person?” I asked.

Basil turned to me. “I heard something about a nobleman who often requested that his servants bring him fresh blood bags. Probably nonsense, really.”

The eye-patched man didn’t look especially bloodthirsty. I supposed it was another baseless rumour. Then, a commotion from behind broke my train of thought. I turned and saw a man rushing into the hall, several guards following just behind him.

“Plague, in Kur!” he shouted.

He looked crazed – his eyes wide and his hair a sweaty mess. The words which left his mouth were seeped in the heavy haze of his panting breathes. Plague, he’d said. I felt a knot forming in my stomach. A terrible suspicion grew in me that I knew I’d have to follow up on. As the man continued to rave and shout that the palace had to do something about this outbreak, he was seized and dragged away.

As his voice disappeared down the outside passage, the hall was left in silence. All heads were turned to the door, and the argument atop the platform had been halted in its tracks. Moments later, however, the nobility seemed to forget about the incident, and returned to their political bickering.

“I have to follow him,” I said.

Scarlett eyed me doubtfully. My thoughts were still pretty murky, but this was one thing I felt sure of.

“I’ll come with you,” Basil said, cheerfully. “Come on, Neptilia.”

The ginger knight looked displeased, but she resigned herself to the demand. He was her charge, I supposed. Without another moment’s hesitation, I made off after the man, Basil and Neptilia following close behind me.

***

When we caught up to the guards leading the man away, they eyed us up and down suspiciously, but after Basil showed them his identification, they allowed us “a few minutes with the man, and then we’re sending him back where he belongs”. I noticed, now close up to him, that he had a cybernetic arm.

“Do you know Leo, by any chance?”

The man looked surprised. “I do. Who are you?”

“My name’s Sander, though that isn’t too important. You said something about a plague, in Kur?”

He nodded, eyes downcast. “It struck in the last few days, and it’s been spreading rapidly ever since.”

“What are the symptoms?” I asked, the panic evident in my voice.

“The most notable is the rash.”

“Rash? What kind of rash?” I grabbed the man by the shoulders. He gazed up at me with a terrified expression. Basil and Neptilia simply watched from one side.

“A black rash! A black rash that spreads all across your torso. After that you start coughing blood and…”

I stopped listening. My mind was ticking over. Undoubtedly, the Chaos Sickness had made its way to Babel.