Grim Tidings
Steve Crow
Reverend Ezekiah Grimme scanned the city of Lost Angels from his vantage point atop the cathedral's
balcony. From here, Grimme could look out from the Golden Circle, across the five other rings that made
up the city, all the way to Prosperity Bay. Local ordinances demanded that every building must be within
line of sight to the Cathedral… which in turn assured that Grimme could see every building that fell
under his control.
And the sight was very good indeed.
Grimme heard the door open behind him, but chose to let his petitioners approach him. Typically, the
very fact that he permitted a visitor into his personal chambers - much less the room's
opulence - left newcomers in awe.
But the man who had arrived today was less then paralyzed by Grimme's aura of command. "Brother Grimme!"
he boomed out. "Bless the Lord that I come safe and sound into your presence!"
Sighing, Grimme turned. So much effort, and yet occasionally it was wasted.
The newcomer was tall and thin with flowing gray hair framing his face. The unbleached robe that he
wore may have been clean at one time, but was now besmirched with smoke and burns. Ironically,
the man had somehow acquired a pair of scars criss-crossing the top of his head, one running back
from the forehead and the other running from left to right. This gave the prophet a crude cross
stitched upon his brow.
A casual bystander might have mistaken the newcomer for a vagrant off the streets - except for his
eyes. Grimme had rarely seen such zeal, even in his most devoted followers
Unfortunately, that zeal did not burn for Grimme himself.
But it would. Some day. Or it would be extinguished completely.
Behind the newcomer were two of his Guardian Angels. One was a tall burly man beaming with a cherubic
smile. The other, shorter Angel had a lean and hungry look about him, and even here he scrutinized
every corner of the room, as if suspecting an ambush.
"Brothers Cain and Abel!" Grimme called out. "I trust your journey was an uneventful one?"
Before either could respond, Grimme's visitor interjected. "The enemies of the Lord tried to stop us
every step of the way! My Flock… my beautiful Flock… were stricken down in Gomorra!"
Good riddance, Grimme thought to himself. Grotesque lunatics, one and all. "Then your
plans have been laid to waste, Brother Elijah?" Grimme couldn't say he was disappointed. Elijah's
twisted visions had initially intrigued him, and his own dark masters had signaled their approval.
But now that Elijah had failed… well, Lost Angels could always use the extra rations.
Elijah stepped eagerly forward, and Grimme was mildly surprised to note that his visitor had
managed to lose his right hand since his last visit. My my, he did have a busy time of it in
Gomorra.
"Not at all, Brother Grimme!" Elijah replied. "Indeed, your Guardian Angels and I were witness
to a great event! Our forced alliance with the Whateleys gained us their Bible, but it was
corrupted."
"Where is this Bible now?" Grimme asked gently. Anyone who knew him would have heard the tone of
menace in his voice.
Brother Cain stepped forward. "As per your orders, Lord, we brought Brother Elijah directly here.
Alastor and the others seek the Bible."
"Very well. Brother Elijah, please, do go on."
"Yea! Once the corrupted Bible was used, a great demon - Lucifer himself, the Prince of Lies - did
rise from the earth! He and his unholy minions did smite my Flock! Though they fought valiantly,
they were outnumbered."
"And then, there was a great conflagration! The Lord himself reached down and cast Satan into a
lake of eternal fire, banishing him for a thousand years, just as the prophecies foretold…"
I truly think he's making this up as he goes along, Grimme observed wryly. "It seems as if
the Lord God Almighty granted you victory, then. What with the Satan-casting and all."
"Alas, no, Brother Grimme. For He looked upon Gomorra, as He once did upon its namesake many
centuries ago, and saw the many who had given themselves over to Satan. In His infinite wisdom
he turned his face from the town. For now."
"For now?" Grimme echoed. "Our Lord has abandoned you, the Seven Sins that you needed to
complete the prophecy are destroyed. You'll forgive me, but this seems to cast some doubt upon
the success of your strategy."
"I thought so too, at first, and I despaired. But it came to me in a dream as I traveled here…"
Oh this will be good… Grimme thought.
". . .the Seven Sins are embodied by the very factions that vie for control of Gomorra.
"Does not the Collegium promote Idleness, by causing Man to depend upon machinery? And the outlaws
commanded by the man calling himself 'Black Jack'… their Wrath is great indeed. And the Union and
Confederacy are filled with Pride, just as their Lord and Master was when he rebelled against
our Lord so long ago. Sweetrock is nothing less than Avarice itself, and so on, and so on."
Grimme finished. "So the seven individuals that you brought together, your 'Seven Sins'…?"
". . .were sacrifices that the Lord required - but ultimately, unnecessary to our plans, which can
still proceed."
"Is this not great news, Brother Grimme?"
"Oh yes," Grimme sighed. Inwardly, he wondered what his own Masters would think of the situation.
Still, best not to kill Elijah out of hand in case they still had a use for him. For that matter,
Grimme might have a use for the mad prophet himself. The rail barons were moving towards Gomorra,
and he had his own reasons for thwarting them…
Grimme stepped forward and clapped Elijah's shoulders. Hard. "This is indeed great news, Brother
Elijah. I do wish to hear more of your plans for the future, but unfortunately, Lost Angels is a
rather… consuming responsibility."
"I look forward to your assistance in this great endeavor, Brother Grimme. I know that I must look a
mess, standing before you, but I still have resources that I may draw upon. People and… other beings
have come to me in the past, offering their assistance. I did not think that I needed these allies in
Gomorra. But now I know the strengths of those arrayed against our holy cause, and shall call all
the fires of eternal damnation upon them."
Elijah glanced slyly at Grimme. "Of course, if you might send a few of your people to support me as
well…? Brothers Cain and Abel, for example, were of some small assistance."
Grimme nodded. "Certainly, certainly." Elijah's mad quest would provide his own people with cover
as they established a foothold in Gomorra Valley. Excellent…
Grimme reached into the jacket of his suit and pulled out a watch. "Ah, almost lunch. I have
matters to attend to at the prison. Please, stay here as my guest and make yourself comfortable.
Rest assured we shall talk more of this in the months to come."
"Months?!? But… I thought I would return immediately!"
"Nonsense. I am sure it will take some time to complete a full report about these… allies you
mentioned. And remember that I am but a humble preacher. I cannot simply snap my fingers and have
my… assistants drop everything and come running to your aid. You mentioned that Satan had been cast
into a fiery lake for a thousand years. I'm sure we can spare a little of that time to make sure
that our plans proceed smoothly."
Elijah considered Grimme's words, then nodded. "You speak reason as always, Brother Grimme. And I
must admit, my recent efforts on the Lord's behalf have taken their toll upon me."
"Good, good." Grimme took Elijah by the elbow and led him to the door. "Down the hallway, second
door on the right. The sisters have prepared a hot bath for you, and clean clothing. Later you
shall tell me more of what happened in Gomorra. But for now, rest."
Stifling a yawn, Elijah nodded and headed off down the corridor.
"Both of you!" Grimme snarled, spinning upon Cain and Abel. "Back to Gomorra!"
Grimme's eyes literally blazed red with fury. "Understand me clearly: I WANT THAT BIBLE!"
"Uh, yes sir," Abel stuttered out, practically running for the door. Cain was right behind
him, but paused. "And are we to assist Elijah when you send him back to Gomorra?"
Grimme's rage was already subsiding, but his eyes still had the look of cooling embers. "You
always were the clever one, Cain. Yes, you and Brother Abel will be staying in Gomorra for the
foreseeable future. It seems, for now, that Elijah still serves my plans, and that we must tolerate
his presence a bit longer. I will send others to you as the need arises. Meanwhile, report to me all
that happens there. And keep an eye out for these 'allies' that Elijah spoke of.
"Now go!"
As the two Guardian Angels left the chamber, Grimme returned to the balcony and looked west
toward the Rock. It was time for his weekly visit to the prison. He did so love 'reforming'
prisoners. Their agony as they were … 'converted' was only the first step, of course, in his
plans to bridge the Gulfs. Soon, he would know what the Masters had in store for Gomorra – and
the world…
© Alderac Entertainment Group, 2001