You've heard that story before, right? I'm told it gets around. In fact, I'm told it's going to start making the rounds with a greater frequency once the Hierarchy falls, and it's okay to talk about the walking dead again.

(And if that hasn't happened by the time you're hearing this... well... don't worry, it will. Time gets a little out of joint on the way down to where we're going, and you get to see a little ahead of the curve...)

But suffice it to say that you know what I'm talking about - the two Risen who wound up on opposite missions across the Shroud? The bloody mess that followed? And what happened next?

Of course you have. I'm the one who made sure you did. In fact, I'm the one who arranged the whole damn thing.

You're quite welcome. But I'm sure you probably heard the wrong version. Those spectres are good for some things, but when it comes to passing information along... Well, I'm sure you know how the 'telephone' game works, too.

So, because this tale's too useful to leave up to the Labyrinth to tell - and because I need to have the credit I'm due - I'm telling this story for myself. Just one last message in a bottle, all bundled up for the right people - that's you - to learn something from before it's all erased from what's left of our mind.

Pull up a chair and sit a spell. This one's a real hoot.