TSC - Chapter 2: Gravitas (3) - Desiccation

Ausuapr's history only goes as far back, from the time of settlement by an Aeon priest in defence of Jyrek; the seat of power for the Warrior King Landon.  For the people of this stead this is the only history they need, the only history that burdens them. They have built higher and higher, in austerity and self gratification. The ground beneath their feat disappeared under the waste of the city as it grew. With each broken bottle or shattered synth the ground faded from memory, the caldera deepened. As children in Auspar, regardless of the floor you are on, there is one unifying tale. Creatures made from what they have thrown away, an echo or shadow of their lives, one for every citizen. The rich are told to blame the poor, the merchants always ensure everything is used and the poor, on occasion, die. Those that slip under are presumed dead and lost, or caught on a point, or a rope if they become untethered. For Eryn and Chloe the first was a fleeting fate. Their bodies slipped through, right through what was beneath them. A clawing, oppressive sensation, in one thick heavy band passed through them in the dark. Their legs felt free and dangled for a moment, before they both collapsed down to the floor in a wave of rubbish.

The air was dry, but all that could be smelt was the decay of rubbish. Eryn's vision adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to see Chloe fumbling in the dark. They had most likely fallen from the ceiling but from his view he could see only flat weathered rock, stalagmites fused with rubbish. The entire cavern ceiling was similar, with patches of fused rock and waste. Neither of them had brought glow globes or torches, a fact only now being realised by Chloe as she tripped and fell for the third time. Eryn could at least find his way. He noticed the walls of the cave, not rounded, but straight, meeting at almost identical angle on the other side. The walls were cold, and dusty. Nubs of rock crumbled under Eryn's fingers. He reached down to steady himself, to only feel the bridge of a nose and curled lips and exposed teeth at his fingertips. Eryn, in sudden shock bolted backwards and into the legs of Chloe who now sat dazed on the floor with him. He peered more closely and saw a figure of a sleeping man, in an aged bedroll. He approached with caution, while trying to wake the man up. He did not respond. He slowly glanced over at the man's face. His skin was leathery and sunken, the shadows in the darkness made the man seem hollow in parts. He was preserved almost perfectly, this was the work of time at its best. To Eryn though, there was something recognisable. Their fashions, dried and dirtied feathers, motifs of the sky embroidered on his mantle. According to those working the Undercroft, a fashion only around a one cycle ago.   He had been redressed well past his death, or he had died quicker than the common laws prescribe.

Eryn glanced left and right, to see if the man had any belongings. There were some, an old lamp, some rusted tools even an dried inkwell and quill. There were spaces missing, a place set for a book, a broken chain. There were no potions or medications, no rations, even his weapon was apparently missing from its hilt. In fact, he did not seem prepared for any engagement. There were no signs of a struggle so Eryn moved his search a little wider, Chloe meanwhile examining for herself the body, as much as her curiosity and constitution would let her. He found another bedroll, another body, and another, and another. The desiccated party now reached four. Each seemed perfectly at peace when they died, yet they were missing deliberate objects. Chloe searched the body she was next to and found a short scrap of metal from one of his inside pockets. The rubbed her finger over it, it warmed to her touch then without warning jolted from her hand to the floor. It span for a few seconds, now emitting a singular narrow beam of golden light. The light began to cone out from the metal shard and within showed a picture of a man, his wife, presumably his son, and a metallic canine carrying exploring equipment; now murdered above.

The sound of a wooden crank was followed by a single bolt smashing into the stone above Eryn's head. He wheeled around, frantically searching for his would be killer. From the shadows across the room, a woman stepped forward bearing a glow globe. Her black hair had knotted itself over her marred complexion. Days, perhaps weeks of muck and dust had settled into every pore of her clothing. If she had not illuminated herself, her figure would have blended easily. She carried with her a sack, jute, tied with a simple rope knot. It had been so tightly packed that even when she  placed it on the ground it retained its shape. There were faint impressions of right angles, perhaps a stolen book or two. She was immediately accused of the other party's murder, and Eryn and Chloe's current entrapment. The woman's speech was defensive, curt, and needle sharp. She answered with the tiniest of simple answers. It became more and more apparent that she either knew nothing or too much but she was the only person to blame. Her defence finally culminated in the form of one of the dead. The man that Chloe had been closely examining, touching his skin as if her eyes betrayed her senses, his eyes flashed now open and dust was coughed up from his lungs. The black haired woman asked if she had caused their death. He exhaled an empty 'no' before his head hit the stone beneath and his body crumbled into bone and then dust. There  was no refuting a dead man's confession, especially if you are in his tomb. The woman, now satisfied of her proof, introduced herself as Lily.

TSC - Chapter 2: Gravitas (2) - The Argument

Shroud in his undeniable charismatic manor broached the twins and wadded in as a third party on their conversation. They were not dressed in the cloaks of the Guldspar or of the Order of Truth. Their fashion closely resembled that of a religious follower but of no particular denomination The twins were dressed a little differently, the woman had a longer robe with a more ornate design, while the man had a hood and a fur trim. The materials used were the same however, each the same hue of byzantium and spun from the wool of one of the heard animals outside the caldera. From their looks Shroud presumed these were Purple Order Monks from Jyrek. They were polytheistic of sorts, each member holding their own belief in a god or gods, but all believed in the same end to existence. The Eyren in Jyrek will crack open and a monster will devour the world. United in this belief they had sought ways to save themselves and anyone else they can convince or convert. Some have moved to Auspar to recruit but most have come to study the glass. They are convinced the patterns and colours in the glass of Auspar, in their vials, equipment, and windows all convey a message, or messages from another plane of existence; a way to survive the end of days.  Those that studied in this Atrium believe the messages direct them to look towards the untethering process. Most did not believe the god Guldspar could save them, some even doubt his existence, but he could at the very least empower them.

The argument at hand involved a small piece of jewellery, earrings to be precise. Copper in colour with liquid gemstones and quite visible, hasty soldered wires.  They gave off a faint smell of static and iron. The woman wished to follow after a fellow monk Geirik. Had had an idea on a source of the intense object untethering a few spires from here. He had been missing for a over a week before his body had been  fished from a washing line three floors up, this was only days ago. His body however, showed no signs of untethering, rather he was bloodied and wounded. The woman had been working closely with one of the elder ladies from House Narrkonis. A woman with luxurious white hair, sparking golden eyes, and a Numenera interface that coursed over her skin. The earrings could, theoretically, protect against the radiation and if Geirik interpretation of the messages were right, and he was attacked for it, then she must find out what he knew. Her brother on the other hand refuted Geirik's belief as an impatient conclusion, and that she shouldn't risk herself for what was probably due murderers, thieves or something more unexplainable and more dangerous. This was Shrouds moment. He solved both their problems by offering his services instead. Of course he was not volunteering himself, but rather that of Chloe, but they were not to know. The woman initially refused because she was not the one to go but eventually agreed after pressure from her brother. Shroud palmed the earrings and asked if there were lodgings. In most situations this would have been refused, Atriums are closed to the public after dark but in light of Chloe's condition, all three were given supper, mulled wine and makeshift bedding. Chloe had trouble sleeping that night, in part due to her condition, but also  by the quality of rug and the uncomfortable mattress she had been given

.

The next morning was served with a local tea, picked that morning and bread. Shroud looked all over for Cairn but to no avail, she had well and truly gone. This was something he didn't want to admit, although he already knew she would not return. He had left the earrings beside Chloe in one of the brief periods she did sleep. Her excitement at the new jewellery woke up Eryn, who half awake, nearly set his bed on fire as he tried to bat away the sound. She instantly put them on and leapt out of bed, forgetting the weights she had been given the previous day and fell straight to the floor. Eryn felt a little happier, at least his day started off with a smile.  Shroud asked the twins for directions, with the most important detail being that the rubbish in the area, along with any debris, or plant matter, perpetually rose and fell two floors but the aura of the area was certainly not strong enough to lift a human but could cause the chain reaction of the untethering process. In Chloe's excitement, her behaviour was distracted her travelling companions, to the point where Eryn had forgotten all about his personal artefact that had been 'fixed' by the Order of Truth and all left perfectly content.

As they passed spire after spire, things that were destined to fall, fell so slowly it was as if they were to freeze in place. In others, detritus from the city above would violently explode upwards, an eruption of rubbish and waste. Even the plants that usually knew at least the direction to grow in were trailing downwards, and across the open spaces, some catching debris in a web of vines.  Eventually all these converged on the point of a mound between three walkways. Its contents constantly rising and falling. Chloe immediately waded in, more determined to live life, or perhaps end it quickly. Her actions stirred the rubbish around her and synthetic yelps and snarls circled her. Shroud and Eryn waded in hoping to pull her out. They were in the perfect position for an ambush.

However this was to be not by any natural creature but constructed. There were in the form of hounds, seemingly half repaired from the rubbish around them; their teeth sharpened on  metal, their tails clasping pipes and serrated blades. Three against four was not the worst of odds. These creatures tore at Chloe, as she was weighed down in her escape. Their attacks left them with scorch marks after pouching on Eryn and their power was eventually drained in their weekend state by Shroud. These creatures had been here for some time, and without maintenance, they were half the beast they were when first constructed. In their efforts to rebuild themselves they had gathered parts of working Numenera, trying to augment their functions to survive. There were similar shaped parts strewn across the area, too heavy to be lifted by the aura, a chiselled construct made from stone each bearing teeth marks. Eryn tried to piece together  the smaller fragments but his movement stirred something underneath. The rubbish was falling beneath him, pulling him down like the sands in the Crystal Skyfields. Chloe tried to reach over but also fell victim to the sinkhole of debris. Shroud momentarily hesitated before he attempted to rescue them. He was instantly held back by two Order of Truth priests, who had appeared out of nowhere.  They  insisted he was not allowed to follow. Shroud  continuously  struggled as he watched Eryn and Chloe drown in the leftovers of society. His only consolation, after their muffled cries had stopped, was the mention of Cairn and of Neave's location by the priests. This confirmed he was being watched, and they obviously only cared for his safety.  

TSC - Chapter 2: Gravitas (1) - Old Flames

The journey was quite quick due to the Guldspar monks. They, like their brothers, have access to most restricted or private crossings or lifts; so he journey in the dank assailed two floors without  much effort and across what seemed like a third of the city across with ease. They arrived at a cluster of towers , to which they were brought through a crudely welded metal port caulis into the courtyard of the Narrkonis Atrium. On all sides the collection of outer spires were all adored with sturdy metal pipes, some only a fingernail in size, all the way up to double a man's girth. Alongside these rusted metal pipes were also thin, string like pipes adorned with dirty silks and other cloths. These led up towards the rooftops, to which one, stooping down from the third floor, showed the array of metal plates, wires, metallic poles and various inlaid crystals and mirrors.  Shroud  felt a sense of familiarity with this engineering. It felt homely, if that was any capable distinction. As he wandered off he traced his fingers along the cloths, along the intricate designs lovingly printed or embroidered.  He could feel a sense of energy tingling in his fingers. He was lost thought.

Chloe was immediately taken off by a non-descript, middle aged couple. She was still unconscious when they laid her on their bench. They neatened her clothes, and placed metallic rings, the widths of quills on her ankles. They brought out candles, and incense. They wiped her brow and her nose of blood and combed her hair. After a few minutes of chanting they sat themselves in the bare, windowless room, clutching their arms together with their heads held low. Outside Eryn waited patiently, still unsure whether if she died, the bracelet they shared would kill him as well. He was also accosted by an Aeon priest while waiting. He offered to fix the broken  Eryn had on him and if permitted, to see the medical applications of the fire resistant mist spray he also had. Of course Eryn not knowing better agreed. He would have lost the fire retardant spray either way, any Numenera with medical applications were seized under the authority of the Amber Pope, well at least in this city.

Slowly coming around,the girl felt sick and groggy from the intensity of the incense the couple had used. She screamed, then apologised for her outburst and she noticed something in the woman's eyes. Sadness, not for herself. Within minutes Chloe could be heard wailing, her fate laid bare by the woman. The un-tethering  is permanent, the god Guldspar has deemed those afflicted unfit for this world and so he will until them from the earth. There are legends of a tower in the city which holds an ancient Calova; who has control over fist sized metallic arachnids that spin webs of metal. He or she lays incredibly, at the top of the tower. It's spire has bare windowless floors, each with a hatch in the middle. It is said that the men, women and children, those who are to be un-tethered, or already dead, are floated or eventually directed up through the hatches. Once they have reached the top their weightless bodies are caught in metallic webbing and a casket of sorts is slowly spun around them. As time passes the bodies eventually, with the weight of the webbing, fall back down after some time on one of the many floors and is given back to the people of Auspar. Legends give hope, and for Chloe, the tale of a spider helping her cross into another life sent crawling shivers over her skin.  She tried to move off the bed but found the anklets she was wearing to be impossibly heavy. The woman apologised, her wrinkles balling under  her brow. She had felt sorry for the girl and had given her these as a way to tie her to the earth as long as the god deemed it.  It was a supplication of mercy.  She was reintroduced to Eryn, her hug intense and longer than he had expected. He could tell from the couple's faces and Chloe's reaction that it wasn't good. He let her take as long as she wanted.

Shroud's absence from the world, wasn't pierced by Chloe's scream, or her cry. He had to be physically jolted out by one of the servants. This wasn't just a dutiful enquiry as to how they could help, it was in fact just a message. Cairn wishes to speak with you. His peaked his interest. She had been a long lost lover, many, many years ago. They did not leave on amicable terms, nor in fact did she know he had left until after he had gone. The servant brought him over to a group of Aeon priests. The young men, one browbeating the other over the history of the Steadfast while a greying old woman sat in a chair, reading a leather bound book.  He approached the old woman. Her eyes, under her hair were deep blue, almost unfathomable, but the rest of her was fading, her clothes were dusty, her hair curled tightly, yet still frizzing. She was hunched and wrinkled with her bony fingers curled around her tome. Shroud looked at her in the eyes and kissed her. The two other Aeon priest, noticing this young, dashing vagrant assaulting their fellow guild member, poised themselves to jump on him. The kiss was quick, a peck, and the old woman waved her hand and they went back to arguing, however now giving the occasional glance over.  

She held his hand and told him of how youthful he looked, and how time had betrayed her. How she regretted him leaving, and the reasons why. Shroud could only watch and listen, she still had that captivating charm, that way with words that held you on her breath. He though all the while that if she revealed herself to him there was a reason, something that she needed him for. It was after the pleasantries were dispatched that she pointed over at a young man and woman, obviously twins, dressed luxuriously in metal accessories, a hoodless cape and fur lined trims. Both of them clean and well kept. They were however arguing to the point of distraction. Cairn asked Shroud to fix their argument, so that she could continue reading, and perhaps their conversation. He kissed her on her hand and she smiled an old smile and he leapt up to the couple. He turned back, one last glimpse, but she had gone.  His heart sank, but it left a sickly taste in the back of his throat. If she knew he was here, then everyone else did, if the friendly reaper of time and circumstance hadn't claimed them first.      

TSC - Chapter 1: Cause and Effect (10) - The Lute

The moustached man almost as swiftly as Shroud had been put into his confinement, ordered the removal of him with urgent barking orders. The Guldspar priests deftly opened the heavy metal plate from the floor and lifted Shroud up and into the storeroom. There was a distinct and somewhat overpowering smell of incense and honey and citrus with the metallic tang of iron or copper. Shroud uncomfortably swallowed, almost taking no notice of the syringe darting for his forearm how held in a tight grip. He had forgotten to even take control of his own arms back, there was something amiss. The golden swarming liquid was injected into his arm with clinical precision, there was even a downy cloth applied to the point of entry. There were two quick and sudden reactions, his blood ran cold while his joints ran hot, he contorted; not knowing whether to shiver or tear his clothes off. It subsidised, not as quickly as Shroud would have liked.   He was escorted out, rather than brought in. Lord Shroud had almost a narcissistic grin on his face. He was ready to accept their apology.

In a veiled way the moustache man conferred his regrets and apologies. Although not a satisfactory to Shroud, he did not understand his new condition, and as such at a disadvantage accepted it.  In a disgruntled tone he also introduced himself, Stroms Dehart, a once important leader, or so he claimed to be. Mentioning scar and injury as a tangible map from his rise and fall from importance. He insisted he was still a great leader. Hence why  Matriarch Cairn kept him, even down here. He boasted about not being cast aside like so many others but his tone was bitter. A tone Shroud did not appreciate. So with Shrouds introduction it followed a bladed remark about his contacts and history, his immediate and personal association with the Matriarch herself, even though many years have passed. The man nodded and bowed his head. He apologised again. By now whatever concoction the priests had made was wearing off and the pain from the injection vibrantly shot back into Shrouds consciousness. It was worse than the highest proof liquor he had the unfortunate and unavoidable pleasure of tasting before. Dehart apologised again, it was now becoming more of a way to punctuate his speech rather than any way meaningful. Dehart was quick was an explanation. What was now coursing through Shrouds veins was known as judgement. It allowed anyone who had mastered the use of the liquid could ascertain senses and emotions from anyone effected, if within range. Most in Auspar believe this to be the same liquid as the Gate to Forking Paths but in fact the two liquids look nothing alike. The latter being pearlescent vermillion, that shimmered and swirled without giving it motion.  Some have tried to even spy on the Guldspar, trying to ascertain how they make this concoction, although no-one has ever seen anything, well anyone still living, that it's tapped from some sort of reservoir below ground under one of their towers.

This was an outrage, and Shroud was ready to vent his displeasure at the gentleman, that was until a brash voice was heard from down one of the alleyways. A brash voice with a hint of crystal belonging to Chloe. She was surrounded by six or so guards although none were making any advances. One was coughing and violently vomiting out a purple liquid that crystallised one the ground.  Dehart mentioned to Shroud of House Thanosa, to which he nodded. He then proceeded to explain the vial he and his group used to combat the apparently permanent, non-biological entity or entities within the human body as is actively rejected by the body regardless of how the liquid is applied. From Chloe's ever maddening screaming she certainly wasn't expecting her uniqueness to be quelled by a stranger, especially a criminal and a poor one at that. This made Shroud smile. Over by one of the shadowed alleyway entrances to the quadrangle outside the shop, two guards stood with another man. In the reflection of lamplight on the third man's fingertips, Shroud could make out the  his hand gestures.  That alone was enough to identify him as Eryn. Shroud pardoned himself and approached him.

The guards turned around swiftly in their boots, their fingertips flexing over the pommel of their swords. Some half muffled cry came out from Stroms and the guards stood down and resumed their conversation with Eryn. They had been discussing how that, from at least here, it would seem Eryn was in the least amount of trouble with the guild. It was an offhand comment made by Eryn to which the guards vocally agreed. This at once changed the tone of their encounter, in stark contrast to Chloe's introduction. She had bounded in and of course met with resistance. "You have no business here unless you can grace my palm with silver." A line the guards repeated at her, regardless of her questioning. Eryn for a brief moment had considered if she was frustrated by either their lack of response and regard to her, how ineffectual her own attempts were, or the repetition of the same phrase. Perhaps it was all three. She had attempted to plate the throat and lungs of a man she had brought to his knees by a swift kick but after being foiled she had retreated off to a platform disused and weather-beaten a floor above and was now playing her lute. It was pure wood, rare of course, but rarer still due to its telescopic nature. If the pattern on the back of the lute was twisted in the right fashion the entire instrument would unlock its bindings and would turn into perfectly formed wooden segments, that could fold up into the neck so that it was no bigger than a flute. Her performance fell on jeering ears. She could only cover herself with the lute or with the crate behind her but regardless of her defence she was being pelted by the guards with pebbles and rubbish. The temptation was too great for either Eryn or Shroud to pass up so both attempted to stop the screeching she was making.  Eryn proved to be a poor shot, much the enjoyment of the guards. Shroud however was a straight aim and managed to break one of the ears clean off so that the wood was sheared off from the head and twanged against the neck, the ear still attached to the wire.

Chloe burst into anger and attempted to pack the instrument away. It was now broken, and its abilities only repairable by a skilled and knowledgeable artisan, something she was not. She burst into a crystal leap to the ground and charged at Shroud; but before she could reach him her head seared with white pain, her eyes were blinded, her whole body felt weightless and she fell to the floor. Shroud and Eryn ran to her, followed by Dehart and the Guldspar priests. They wrapped her up in cloth and Dehart questioned about her condition. He pressed upon them that she was, if they wanted to her to live, to go to the nearest Narrkonis Atrium. The Guldspar, Purple Order Monks, Aeon Priests and members and servants of House Narrkonis have expertise in this type of illness, a sickness caused the unfettering of the body to the earth. Dehart raised the question of age, and although both confessed they did not know, their comparative guesses made her to be around the age of fifteen to sixteen and from what Eryn had remembered, she had in passing mentioned her arrest of five years to the month, or something similar. Stroms nodded, she had had sufficient time in the cells down in the lower levels to be untied from the earth and easily exposed at such a young age. He mentioned to Shroud about the offer of being welcomed at the Ascension ceremony for house Ethis later this afternoon if he find his way up the upper merchant district. There was one thing on Shrouds mind however that plagued him that minute. The thought of the Televaraen and his obsession with the plated fork. He presented his own to Stroms, who passed a quick appraisal and offered his own shins for the oddity. This convinced Shroud enough that the girl should go under his watch. Eryn picked up a few loose stones, smooth and flat on at least one side. He touched his fingers together and held the rocks for a few seconds as Chloe was put onto the back on top of one of the half empty floating synth plates and was nestled in between them. The rocks had warmed up to a hopefully comforting temperature and were placed around the cloak that now also bundled Chloe. Nobody but the Guldspar accompanied them, and it was they to Shroud's surprise, who pulled the girl along.