As we headed out of the church of the Children of Ferrum, all the creepy people there gave us really weird looks, that I swear was somewhere between envy and anger. The Iron Father had said that no one else would be able to hear our conversation with him, so I’m not sure if the cultists thought we made him mad or what.
We rushed out of there, out of the musty air of the church and into the mustier air of the basement level alleys, and we tried to figure out our next move on our way to a pelican raft.
Assuming the Iron Father was speaking the truth about turning off the Aether Engine removing the marks, we didn’t really have a way to do that. Were we supposed to just go to the Architects and politely ask them to turn off the ley channels that are the lifeblood of Steev, so three folks can keep their magic toys?
98 brought up the “sins of the father” bit that the Iron Father had said, saying that maybe that could get the Architects to listen to us somehow, or at least give us some insight. Worth a shot, I guess, since Kali is the daughter of an Architect - though obviously she wasn’t really keen on sharing any sort of “sins” that might explain what’s going on.
We saw that the Iron Father is channeling an obscene amount of Ley energy, and while he says that it’s from the Engine, we don’t really have a way to know for sure. What if once the Engine is off he can send his minions to stop it from coming back on, while he himself taps directly into the line and takes hold of all the city’s power? The Children of Ferrum would have a monopoly on Ley power, and would basically be able to do whatever they want. They would be stronger than the Architects.
Kali brought up some sigil mumbo jumbo about how the Iron Father wouldn’t be able to tap into the Line directly, so if that happens the Children of Ferrum would be out of power too - but it’s not like the Iron Father’s Ley projection thing is a well documented phenomenon, right? He clearly has a few tricks up his sleeves, and we don’t really know what magic he’s capable of.
In the end we decided to leave that aside for the time being, since it was the only lead we had, so for now we’d play along with the Iron Father, even if he seems fishy as hex.
As we headed up, Kali said that she has a friend, an Architect called Ysaig Sayle, who might know some things and be willing to help, so we pelicanned up to his house and got ready to negotiate.
I’m not sure “house” is really the right word here, his mansion was bigger than our whole apartment complex and the one next door combined, and it even had a front lawn with real grass. Guess we solved the mystery of why the city is always running out of room and needs to expand upwards.
The inside of the mansion was even more over-the-top fancy. The door was answered by a clockwork automaton servant who let us into a “small” waiting room. This room was about the size of our shop plus my mothers’ room, with red leather sofas and a golden fur carpet, and a fireplace burning with illusory flames on the side. A different automaton servant brought out a tray with tea and biscuits as we took a seat, and a minute later a third automaton opened the door for the Architect.
He sat down in front of us, and after the bush was thoroughly yet politely beaten around, Kali asked Ysaig if he knew about AMO and the marks. Unsurprisingly, he said that he doesn’t - but surprisingly, he said that we aren’t the only ones who are marked. Turns out there are hundreds all across the city.
He said the Architects were discussing their possibilities, but when we asked him about turning the Engine off and on again he said that it was an idea they hadn’t considered, and he would bring it up to the council. However, he said it would be pretty unlikely to happen even if it could remove the marks, because it would leave all of Steev without power for a while, which would be really dangerous - like for people riding pelican rafts or undergoing surgery when the power is cut. Though they might be able to issue a bit of advance notice, since there were still over 48 hours until the deadline, right?
Anyway, that was the end of his knowledge and ability to help, so off we went to follow another one of the Iron Father’s insane clues, “where best can you learn knowledge of the past” - which Kali chose to answer with “where it happened”. So off we went to the Architects Tower.
We tried strolling into the tower as if we belong there, but as expected a security guard stopped us. I pulled the old “I’m a student” card, that I’ve been having trouble learning to control my fire magic, so maybe I could learn something about it if I went to a place where some fire went wild, and then we added on that Kali is my tutor and 98 is our servant, so we could all get in. The guard didn’t seem to care, or to even listen, so he simply let us in on the condition that we don’t get him in trouble. I really wonder how someone managed to sneak a bomb in here with this tight security.
Once inside Kali and 98 split up to ask around for witnesses, while I sat down in what looked like the epicenter of the explosion, closed my eyes, and tuned into the aether. I looked for traces of magic in my mind’s eye, but it didn’t seem like there were any to be found. Whatever caused the explosion, it was probably an alchemical process, not arcane. So I switched up my tactics.
I know the first rule of divination is not to go divining for death, and I had already accidentally done it twice yesterday, but how bad could it be? Even if I ended up getting myself cursed or a dark spirit tried latching on to me, it should anyway go away with my magic tomorrow, right? So might as well play it risky.
While there wasn’t any arcane residue in the area, the room was chock full of psychic imprints. There was one right next to the center, so I peeked into it on the off chance that it was the perpetrator setting off the bomb.
I found myself in an Architect’s memory, walking through the room on her way into the tower. She was talking to her husband over the net, apologizing for having to work late and missing dinner. A spark of light drew her attention upwards, and a small spark flew out of a grate in the ceiling. A second later, a flash of light engulfed her vision.
My stomach twisted as I was shunted back into my own body, and I forced myself not to gag. Taking a quick look around I saw Kali and 98 were still talking to people, and no no one seemed to be paying attention to me, so I took a deep breath and went back to the aether.
I filtered out the psychic imprints around me, and instead looked at the ceiling. There was a single glow far above me, almost like a lone star glowing through cracks in the roof. There was a memory up there, barely visible through the grate that used to be there.
Focusing on it, I found myself in a fancy suite near the top of the tower, with a big window overlooking the city and expensive-looking furniture. The person I was seeing through felt scared yet determined, as he opened a garbage chute and dropped something through. A bomb.
With a lit fuse.
I told Kali and 98 what I saw, and we all agreed that we need to get up there. We suspected that it might have been Niall Maderel, but we needed conclusive proof, and for that we would have to get into that suite.
I hate myself for coming up with the idea, but I suggested that we could go visit Kori, and have him arrange a visit to the Architects tower, so he can collect his dad’s stuff or something like that, and then maybe I could join him. For some reason they actually thought it was good and we should try it, so we headed out of the tower to find my boyfriend who I hadn’t seen in seven months, to get him to let us into a crime scene, so we could prove his father committed a mass murder-suicide and might also be involved with AMO, who are trying to take away the magic of hundreds of people.
This is gonna be a fun afternoon.
Do I have to do this?
Just as we were about to take off on a pelican raft to Kori’s home, another raft landed near the tower, and Kori climbed off it, alongside two Architects. He was wearing long, dark clothes, and his eyes were kept firmly on the ground while one of the Architects led him through the crowd.
Without thinking, I jumped off the raft and ran after him. The Architects accompanying him eyed me suspiciously and reached for their wands, but Kori told them to stop when he saw me. His good eye was bloodshot and teary, and even his aethercraft eye seemed to be crying. I felt so bad for even thinking to take advantage of him, to use him to get into the tower. But I had to do it eventually.
I gave him my condolences and asked how he’s holding up, then gave him a tight hug.
He hugged me back, and said that the Architects wanted him to go into the tower to take his father’s belongings. Before I could even ask if I could go along with him, he said that he didn’t want to be alone and asked if I wanted to join him.
I nodded, and we went into the tower.
The lift ride up was completely quiet. The Architects accompanying us barely even looked at us, and Kori didn’t say anything, he just held tightly onto my arm like he was afraid the ground would turn to quicksand under his feet and try to swallow him up.
The lift stopped at a luxurious penthouse, furnished with a fancy coffee table and sofas, a wide window overlooking the city… and a garbage hatch on one wall, and a messy tarp hung on another.
It was the same suite as in the vision.
I sent Kali a text that this was it, she responded that she and 98 had found a way in, and were about to head up.
Kori and I went to the suite’s bedroom to get his dad’s belongings, but all we found was a single suitcase filled with a few neatly folded pieces of clothing. Nothing in the laundry room either. We wanted to check the office, but the Architects told us to wait outside to make sure there’s nothing there that we aren’t supposed to see.
Amazing, even with everything that’s going on they’re still afraid of two kids seeing some secret Architect knowledge.
I wanted to say something, to talk to him after all this time, to tell him how much I miss him and love him and don’t want to be away from him ever again, to finally tell someone how a piece of me died that day when we were forced apart and all contact between us was blocked.
But I couldn’t do it. Not then. Kori was going through too much, I couldn’t do that to him.
So instead we just sat there on the sofa, holding hands, each one of us alone with his thoughts.
A few minutes later Kali and 98 came out of the lift, accompanied by two other Architects/guards/chaperones. Do Architects really not have anything better to do than to watch over tourists?
I played dumb and asked Kali and 98 who they are, and they just ignored me, instead going straight to Kori. 98 started interrogating him about his father, asking what he was like and if he acted strange in the days or weeks leading up to his death.
I tried to encourage Kori to answer, while stopping 98 from being too blunt and hurting him.
He told us that his dad was quite distant in the last few weeks, and especially in the three days since he was given the role of High Judge for the fair. He also said that three weeks ago he was given some schematics to give to a sigilmaker (that’s Nigel), and that he was given a bag of cash to pay in.
Hang on, since when do Architects use cash for anything? Where would Niall have gotten cash in the first place? Well, 98 asked about this, and Kori said that his dad complained that a guy called “Tal” wasn’t giving him enough money recently.
Kali was the first to piece it together - Tal, was probably short for Talbot Vhane, head of the Judea Arcanum. The head of AMO.
Kali explained everything to the Architects who were guarding us and got permission for 98 to look around Niall’s office, while I took Kori to the bedroom. He didn’t need to hear everything, it would be better if he wasn’t involved… right?
The Aether Engine that kept Steev running was draining the world’s life, destroying all of nature outside the city, and the Architects knew this. The Architects have always known this, but kept it secret even amongst themselves, only revealing it to the highest members of their organization.
Once Niall found out, he decided that the engine has to be shut down. So he worked with AMO to place the marks on people, knowing that the only way to remove them would be to shut off the engine - and if they weren’t removed, then they would show people that they can indeed live without magic.
He then planted the bomb to show the people how fallible and vulnerable the Architects are. And finally threw himself into the rainwater channels, martyring himself in the hopes of sparking a revolution, to awaken people to the truth about their city, their leaders, and their magic.
Fuck.
We rushed out of there, out of the musty air of the church and into the mustier air of the basement level alleys, and we tried to figure out our next move on our way to a pelican raft.
Assuming the Iron Father was speaking the truth about turning off the Aether Engine removing the marks, we didn’t really have a way to do that. Were we supposed to just go to the Architects and politely ask them to turn off the ley channels that are the lifeblood of Steev, so three folks can keep their magic toys?
98 brought up the “sins of the father” bit that the Iron Father had said, saying that maybe that could get the Architects to listen to us somehow, or at least give us some insight. Worth a shot, I guess, since Kali is the daughter of an Architect - though obviously she wasn’t really keen on sharing any sort of “sins” that might explain what’s going on.
Literally nobody knows anything
As we were getting onto the raft I raised the idea that maybe the Children of Ferrum were actually behind all of this and were somehow using us:We saw that the Iron Father is channeling an obscene amount of Ley energy, and while he says that it’s from the Engine, we don’t really have a way to know for sure. What if once the Engine is off he can send his minions to stop it from coming back on, while he himself taps directly into the line and takes hold of all the city’s power? The Children of Ferrum would have a monopoly on Ley power, and would basically be able to do whatever they want. They would be stronger than the Architects.
Kali brought up some sigil mumbo jumbo about how the Iron Father wouldn’t be able to tap into the Line directly, so if that happens the Children of Ferrum would be out of power too - but it’s not like the Iron Father’s Ley projection thing is a well documented phenomenon, right? He clearly has a few tricks up his sleeves, and we don’t really know what magic he’s capable of.
In the end we decided to leave that aside for the time being, since it was the only lead we had, so for now we’d play along with the Iron Father, even if he seems fishy as hex.
As we headed up, Kali said that she has a friend, an Architect called Ysaig Sayle, who might know some things and be willing to help, so we pelicanned up to his house and got ready to negotiate.
I’m not sure “house” is really the right word here, his mansion was bigger than our whole apartment complex and the one next door combined, and it even had a front lawn with real grass. Guess we solved the mystery of why the city is always running out of room and needs to expand upwards.
The inside of the mansion was even more over-the-top fancy. The door was answered by a clockwork automaton servant who let us into a “small” waiting room. This room was about the size of our shop plus my mothers’ room, with red leather sofas and a golden fur carpet, and a fireplace burning with illusory flames on the side. A different automaton servant brought out a tray with tea and biscuits as we took a seat, and a minute later a third automaton opened the door for the Architect.
He sat down in front of us, and after the bush was thoroughly yet politely beaten around, Kali asked Ysaig if he knew about AMO and the marks. Unsurprisingly, he said that he doesn’t - but surprisingly, he said that we aren’t the only ones who are marked. Turns out there are hundreds all across the city.
He said the Architects were discussing their possibilities, but when we asked him about turning the Engine off and on again he said that it was an idea they hadn’t considered, and he would bring it up to the council. However, he said it would be pretty unlikely to happen even if it could remove the marks, because it would leave all of Steev without power for a while, which would be really dangerous - like for people riding pelican rafts or undergoing surgery when the power is cut. Though they might be able to issue a bit of advance notice, since there were still over 48 hours until the deadline, right?
Anyway, that was the end of his knowledge and ability to help, so off we went to follow another one of the Iron Father’s insane clues, “where best can you learn knowledge of the past” - which Kali chose to answer with “where it happened”. So off we went to the Architects Tower.
Looking for clues part 1
The bottom of the tower looked way better than it did last night, and while there were still a few architects and mages working on repairs, they already covered the hole with a facade and most of the people were going on with their daily business. It’s honestly hard to believe that so many people can just continue going to work with all that’s going on. Don’t they care that 21 people died down here last night?We tried strolling into the tower as if we belong there, but as expected a security guard stopped us. I pulled the old “I’m a student” card, that I’ve been having trouble learning to control my fire magic, so maybe I could learn something about it if I went to a place where some fire went wild, and then we added on that Kali is my tutor and 98 is our servant, so we could all get in. The guard didn’t seem to care, or to even listen, so he simply let us in on the condition that we don’t get him in trouble. I really wonder how someone managed to sneak a bomb in here with this tight security.
Once inside Kali and 98 split up to ask around for witnesses, while I sat down in what looked like the epicenter of the explosion, closed my eyes, and tuned into the aether. I looked for traces of magic in my mind’s eye, but it didn’t seem like there were any to be found. Whatever caused the explosion, it was probably an alchemical process, not arcane. So I switched up my tactics.
I know the first rule of divination is not to go divining for death, and I had already accidentally done it twice yesterday, but how bad could it be? Even if I ended up getting myself cursed or a dark spirit tried latching on to me, it should anyway go away with my magic tomorrow, right? So might as well play it risky.
While there wasn’t any arcane residue in the area, the room was chock full of psychic imprints. There was one right next to the center, so I peeked into it on the off chance that it was the perpetrator setting off the bomb.
I found myself in an Architect’s memory, walking through the room on her way into the tower. She was talking to her husband over the net, apologizing for having to work late and missing dinner. A spark of light drew her attention upwards, and a small spark flew out of a grate in the ceiling. A second later, a flash of light engulfed her vision.
My stomach twisted as I was shunted back into my own body, and I forced myself not to gag. Taking a quick look around I saw Kali and 98 were still talking to people, and no no one seemed to be paying attention to me, so I took a deep breath and went back to the aether.
I filtered out the psychic imprints around me, and instead looked at the ceiling. There was a single glow far above me, almost like a lone star glowing through cracks in the roof. There was a memory up there, barely visible through the grate that used to be there.
Focusing on it, I found myself in a fancy suite near the top of the tower, with a big window overlooking the city and expensive-looking furniture. The person I was seeing through felt scared yet determined, as he opened a garbage chute and dropped something through. A bomb.
With a lit fuse.
I told Kali and 98 what I saw, and we all agreed that we need to get up there. We suspected that it might have been Niall Maderel, but we needed conclusive proof, and for that we would have to get into that suite.
I hate myself for coming up with the idea, but I suggested that we could go visit Kori, and have him arrange a visit to the Architects tower, so he can collect his dad’s stuff or something like that, and then maybe I could join him. For some reason they actually thought it was good and we should try it, so we headed out of the tower to find my boyfriend who I hadn’t seen in seven months, to get him to let us into a crime scene, so we could prove his father committed a mass murder-suicide and might also be involved with AMO, who are trying to take away the magic of hundreds of people.
This is gonna be a fun afternoon.
Do I have to do this?
Just as we were about to take off on a pelican raft to Kori’s home, another raft landed near the tower, and Kori climbed off it, alongside two Architects. He was wearing long, dark clothes, and his eyes were kept firmly on the ground while one of the Architects led him through the crowd.Without thinking, I jumped off the raft and ran after him. The Architects accompanying him eyed me suspiciously and reached for their wands, but Kori told them to stop when he saw me. His good eye was bloodshot and teary, and even his aethercraft eye seemed to be crying. I felt so bad for even thinking to take advantage of him, to use him to get into the tower. But I had to do it eventually.
I gave him my condolences and asked how he’s holding up, then gave him a tight hug.
He hugged me back, and said that the Architects wanted him to go into the tower to take his father’s belongings. Before I could even ask if I could go along with him, he said that he didn’t want to be alone and asked if I wanted to join him.
I nodded, and we went into the tower.
The lift ride up was completely quiet. The Architects accompanying us barely even looked at us, and Kori didn’t say anything, he just held tightly onto my arm like he was afraid the ground would turn to quicksand under his feet and try to swallow him up.
The lift stopped at a luxurious penthouse, furnished with a fancy coffee table and sofas, a wide window overlooking the city… and a garbage hatch on one wall, and a messy tarp hung on another.
It was the same suite as in the vision.
I sent Kali a text that this was it, she responded that she and 98 had found a way in, and were about to head up.
Kori and I went to the suite’s bedroom to get his dad’s belongings, but all we found was a single suitcase filled with a few neatly folded pieces of clothing. Nothing in the laundry room either. We wanted to check the office, but the Architects told us to wait outside to make sure there’s nothing there that we aren’t supposed to see.
Amazing, even with everything that’s going on they’re still afraid of two kids seeing some secret Architect knowledge.
Untangling the knot
While waiting for Kali and 98 to come up and for all the incriminating evidence in the office to be destroyed, Kori and I settled into the sofas in the living room.I wanted to say something, to talk to him after all this time, to tell him how much I miss him and love him and don’t want to be away from him ever again, to finally tell someone how a piece of me died that day when we were forced apart and all contact between us was blocked.
But I couldn’t do it. Not then. Kori was going through too much, I couldn’t do that to him.
So instead we just sat there on the sofa, holding hands, each one of us alone with his thoughts.
A few minutes later Kali and 98 came out of the lift, accompanied by two other Architects/guards/chaperones. Do Architects really not have anything better to do than to watch over tourists?
I played dumb and asked Kali and 98 who they are, and they just ignored me, instead going straight to Kori. 98 started interrogating him about his father, asking what he was like and if he acted strange in the days or weeks leading up to his death.
I tried to encourage Kori to answer, while stopping 98 from being too blunt and hurting him.
He told us that his dad was quite distant in the last few weeks, and especially in the three days since he was given the role of High Judge for the fair. He also said that three weeks ago he was given some schematics to give to a sigilmaker (that’s Nigel), and that he was given a bag of cash to pay in.
Hang on, since when do Architects use cash for anything? Where would Niall have gotten cash in the first place? Well, 98 asked about this, and Kori said that his dad complained that a guy called “Tal” wasn’t giving him enough money recently.
Kali was the first to piece it together - Tal, was probably short for Talbot Vhane, head of the Judea Arcanum. The head of AMO.
Kali explained everything to the Architects who were guarding us and got permission for 98 to look around Niall’s office, while I took Kori to the bedroom. He didn’t need to hear everything, it would be better if he wasn’t involved… right?
That hexin’ book
In the office, 98 found a small book in a hidden compartment under the desk. A journal. Flipping through it, we found that Niall had documented everything, and confessed everything:The Aether Engine that kept Steev running was draining the world’s life, destroying all of nature outside the city, and the Architects knew this. The Architects have always known this, but kept it secret even amongst themselves, only revealing it to the highest members of their organization.
Once Niall found out, he decided that the engine has to be shut down. So he worked with AMO to place the marks on people, knowing that the only way to remove them would be to shut off the engine - and if they weren’t removed, then they would show people that they can indeed live without magic.
He then planted the bomb to show the people how fallible and vulnerable the Architects are. And finally threw himself into the rainwater channels, martyring himself in the hopes of sparking a revolution, to awaken people to the truth about their city, their leaders, and their magic.
Fuck.