To complete the ideals set forth by the Guvners, the final month of Sigil's Spring has been given over to the Red Death. Naturally, the tone of Retributus very closely aligns itself with the goals of the faction - justice to all. And, since the faction also serves as the final step in the legal process of the Cage, the Mercykillers are quite satisfied to be able to help bring the philosophical season to a fitting - and final - close.
Fact is, the wheels of the Red Death's justice turn much faster during Retributus. It's said that in the Prison a berk's body has barely cleared the gallows before the next poor sod's strung up. While no factioneer will verify this, it is obvious that the number of events in Petitioner's Square increases during this month. The rulings of the City Courts seem more harsh for this period of time - rumors say that it is an intentional act, done at the request of the Red Death. (Perhaps the factol is in need of more berks to keep up with the increased demand caused by the faster rate of execution.) Often, the Mercykillers will skip the Harmonium and the Fraternity of Order entirely in the enforcement of Sigil's laws and take sods guilty of trespass directly to the Prison for the punishment their crime is "certain" to warrant. In addition to these roving gangs of fanatical Mercykillers, the faction's Justicars are present in much stronger numbers than at any other time of the year. Despite what the paranoid might think, this is not directly related to the increased zeal of the faction - rather, Retributus is simply a convenient time to promote and replace these official bounty hunters.
In spite of the heavy hand of Justice hovering over the City of Doors, the denizens are not very restrained. After being forced to behave in a civilized manner for two months, patience has worn very thin and tempers flare very easily. Fights erupt over smaller and smaller perceived wrongs. For while the faction of the Red Death is busy extolling the virtues of Justice, the Cage is busying itself with the other side of the coin - Revenge. Those who have a reputation for "removing problems" can quite often make enough jink during Retributus to fade from sight for the rest of the year. The Justicars who remain in Sigil usually spend their time hunting such mercenary vigilantes. And even though many good-aligned bashers condemn the actions of the assassins, they are often forced to admit that it is only during Retributus that a long-time villain finally receives his comeuppance. And that is the lesson the Mercykillers try to teach - no one gets away with it forever.
Events[]
The tone of Retributus is set immediately with Factol's Day. Rather than allowing the Prison's occupants visitors as is normally done, the new factol of the Mercykillers "treats" any who care to come to the Prison to an open viewing of one of the daily hangings. And, just in case there are those who missed this visible display of the consequences of breaking the Law, three public executions are also held in Petitioner's Square. Members of the Red Death use this day to renew their vows to their Tenets of Justice - both before the factol and publicly on many street corners in the Cage. The Mercykillers attempt to ensure that everyone acknowledges the fact that Justice does exist, and that the errors of Spring do not go unpunished.
On the last day of the month, the Red Death sponsors a rather surprising celebration. This holiday, known in the Cage as The Day of Indulgous, is unique in that tries to embody the first part of the faction's name - the quality of Mercy. There is only one execution held on this day, and it is a public one in Petitioner's Square. Throughout the day, members of the faction can be found in the Square, selling pardons - or rather, potential pardons - to anyone with the jink to afford one. The amount of money paid to the faction determines the amount of leniency the paper will grant to the donor should he be convicted of a crime in the future. Of course, these pardons are good only for one year or one crime, which ever comes first. It is interesting to note that while the factol denounces this practice - calling it the work of the weaker members of the Red Death - the activity continues unabated. One can only conclude that the funds generated by the sales are used to fund some vital effort of the faction. The Day of Indulgous is marked by a single execution at Peak. The victim - who's always fed to the Wyrm - is unique in that he is a Mercykiller who's volunteered to shoulder the blame for both the sins of the faction and the sins of everyone in the Cage. This symbolic execution of the month - and the faction - serves to show that the Mercykillers really do care about the people they punish, as well as to show that not even they are exempt from the chains of Justice. Of course, it's a poorly kept secret that the Mercykiller volunteer is neither - he's either someone the faction couldn't normally execute without causing a riot, or else a factioneer who's turned stag and was recaptured.
In addition to the Day of Indulgous, there are other celebrations inside the Cage. As one would expect, most of them are sponsored by the various powers of Justice and Vengeance. Also, theater attendance is way up during Retributus. This is, after all, the only time and place can one safely, and legally, see their fantasies of Revenge acted out without the Mercykillers taking all the credit - or the fun.