55 - Grafter Pt. 2 [Cherno]

“Hashem? You’re going after the Hashems now? What, am I to help you prepare to go into battle with a… A Dregsteamer belt and an idealistic anathemist?!” the grafter scolded, gesturing towards Krahe as if she were a barely-working hoverbike that would be used in a doomed bank robbery. Despite his scolding, though, the grafter continued in his work, pulling and replacing a total of seven muscle-bundles. “Alright, I untangled the powerline and secured it as best I could. I replaced the damaged bundles with fast-twitch F6-Sinistro cultured muscle, as you asked; the performance should be consistent for about two weeks, after that the F-sixes will have assimilated and will outperform the other bundles. I will replace the rest next time once I’ve cultured more F-six muscle bundles. Go on, give it a go.”

Casus didn’t hesitate a moment, getting up and taking on a loose, vaguely boxer-like stance. Right arm partly raised, with the fingers left relaxed. Then, a forward jab, lightning-fast; so fast Krahe could barely see the motion. One after the next, Casus threw a series of the exact same jab at a blistering speed which she was certain could break concrete. Grinning ear-to-ear, the Banisher clasped his hands together such that they formed a ring in front of him and gave a shallow bow.

“Thank you, your work never disappoints!” he said.

“Uh-huh. You next,” the grafter gestured to Krahe after patting Casus on the shoulder.

“I’ve no need for a checkup, nor do I have any ailments to cure,” she refused, raising her arm so that the seals on it could be clearly seen. It didn’t faze the grafter at all, who nonetheless gestured for her to approach.

“Come now, you are already here. Your acute anathema poisoning may be in remission, but there are many ailments which anathemists suffer for years before they make themselves known through symptoms, and by then it is too late to treat them. I shan’t perform any invasive procedures, nor shall I attempt to appraise you without your consent.”

Krahe knew this type of doctor. The good doctor. The doctor who cared. She disliked them, much as she disliked genuinely good-natured people. This of course went counter to her own nature, and she was well aware that she might be considered good-natured by some, but she was well aware of her own nature, including the parts she would consider flaws in someone else.

“Very well,” she sighed, getting up and seating herself in the medical chair. It was worn and smelled of strange smoke; a familiar feeling.

Unlike Razem, no paper talismans or bright lights were involved. The grafter simply shoved a monocle in front of his eye, springs popping out to hold it in place against the edges of his eye socket.

“Alright, let us take a look…”

He took a long drag of his cigarette. Strange sigils flashed across the glass of his monocle, followed by lines and lines of text. A raised eyebrow. Another test followed; a small dish.

“Spit into this.”

Much in the same way as he had done to her eyes, he examined her spit, proceeding to dip an elaborately carved silver stick into the liquid. It flashed an opaque-backed projection for a few seconds.

“No comorbidities typical of anathemism, it’s as if you haven’t been exposed to it at all. How curious. What is more, neither test signaled positive on anything. It’s as if you haven’t aged or suffered any disease in your life. The only markers I detected were toxins from a Purge Pill, Arrha, Cassia, and some type of heavily refined sleep enhancement agent, probably an incense. If I didn’t know better, I would take you for a synthoid in elaborate body paint.”

“Clean bill of health. Reassuring,” she said sarcastically.

“Unsettling is more like it. When was the last time you used Thaumic Fusion?”

“Yester- No, around six hours ago.”

The only reason she told the truth was that she knew Casus would’ve exposed a lie.

“You may possess a Hidden Boon similar to Casus’, then. That is the only explanation I can think of for your state. Nonetheless, you ought to know well that anathema is not to be toyed with even if you can tolerate it better than most.”

“Please, enough. I’ve gone through some version of this spiel six times since I arrived in this city.”

“Right, right, very well,” the grafter nodded, taking the sample and throwing it away. “I do not care where you plan to go after this, and I would rather not know, given that I am under sacred oath to share urgent church matters with the main local temple. If you don’t mind, I was in the mdidle of repairing-”

A horrid noise echoed from the other room, like an angry spirit trying to scream through a phonograph. He sighed, uttering: “-a certain Mamon Knight’s voicebox. Casus, I pray to Zavesh that your judgment for people is as good as you think it is. As for you, anathemist… I pray that Casus’ judgment for people is as good as he thinks it is.”

He waited until they had gone to actually attend to the screaming voicebox, by the sound of his footsteps. They were out of the shrine before long, and finally on the way to their true destination.

“Do we have any intel on the location?” Krahe questioned.

“I know the direction of my belt, and I have some guesses as to where Slaughterhouse Nine might be located. It is known to be in a particular area, but where exactly or what exactly it is remains unknown. After all, it would have already been destroyed if the church knew where it was.”

“The first guess that comes to mind would be a complex of several buildings conjoined into a compound, possibly with connected basements and entrances via the sewer or storm drain. Do you know of a section of the suspected district with drainage issues, spillage, generally shady goings-on on the surface?”

“Not in the obvious way one might expect, but... It is true that a disproportionate number of bounties have been claimed in a particular area of the north-eastern quarter, and some parts of that area have been functionally blocked off with rubble. There are no substantial landmarks, and all the streets are named after the oldest major building on that street. We may as well begin our search there."