TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (7) - Shockwave (2)

The Hawk-Eye tower was surrounded by people not knowing what to do. They were a sea of fearful faces, fleeing centre of the city. All of them had been abandoned by the Guldspar and the Grapnel Guard, neither would help rescue anyone in the Foundations. A voice came from the back with authority but not much clout, for the crowd to disperse and flee. Some, already in a panicked state left but most stayed.  Moments later however the sea of terrified faces parted, as the voice was revealed to be Eryn's. He again, not in full view of the crowd convinced them all to leave, much to the delight of Silas who was being crushed but the sheer volume.  The exodus had revealed that the tower had shifted, or the ground, in any respect the floor was one story further down than the entrance.  Eryn glided up carrying a rope with him, which both Xera and Chloe used. Chloe, however snagged her arm on a nail and ripped the entire sleeve of her dress off. The crystal infection had finally returned her hand, although she could not feel it, and her shoulder was now converted.

In a panic she screamed and let go only to be grabbed onto by Eryn and hauled up. He commented on how heavy her arm was now compared to the rest of her body and asked if she could feel it, to which she replied no. Silas was making noises down below as he was physically unable to climb a vertical rope. Eryn mumbled down to him about being burned the last time he helped and conjured up a fiery hand. He quickly pulled Silas up but he again, suffered from singed patches, to which he could Eryn smirk a little as they were inspected. Silas was also the first person to enter the tower. Xera did not as he was still a little confused, Eryn did not want to invoke the wrath of the Hawk-Eyes and Chloe was preoccupied with her arm becoming crystal. They were immediately greeted by a golden haired twelve year old girl, in full Hawk-Eye battle armour.  Each piece fitted, a designed set,  for a growing child this was extravagant. As the girl greeted them individually by name, she only bowed to Eryn, which made him more nervous

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The stairs up were long and steep. Silas immediately feel to the back of the group while Chloe had sped up, ignoring most of what was going on and studying her own arm, unable to read anything off of it. When they had finally reached the top it opened out into out in to an open-air awning. The tower roof was supported by struts at the four corners, allowing unrestricted views. In front of them was an old couple, a middle aged man, a teenage boy, the twelve year old girl and from the back, the Televaraen from The Pale Spine.  When Chloe's eyes rested upon it, Eryn could see her tense up and he put an arm on her crystal shoulder. He told her that what had happened down there was probably because the Televaraen was working, the boy that she had plated in the crotch and his gang were up for a small bounty.  Eryn prayed that it wasn't the creature who he thought might have been stalking him, keeping reports and sending them to the Hawk-Eyes of his worthiness. Silas bowed to group they had met and revealed Chloe's arm to them forcefully.

As he showed them her arm, they were all taken aback. The old man mentioned to Silas that the king had been removed from the city and that Chancellor Pheylor was ruling in his stead. Pheylor had the trust of the people, and more importantly the Grapnel Guard. Pheylor had already organised the guard to start protecting the Steadfast by setting up encampments and checkpoints. The alarm bells began to toll when he increased the Shadow Tax created by the King. Many under the old rule rebuked the tax, but now with the Grapnel in charge, it was officially enforced.  As Chloe began to feel more and more violated, the ground shook ever so slightly. A piecing ringing noise filled Chloe's head, flooding it with pain. In the background she could hear shouts, messages being passed from one to another.  All female voices in a cacophony of sound. She tried to distance herself more and more from the examination. The more she did the more clearly should could hear. There were whispers that the King's daughter had been replaced, the 'External Network' and something known as 'Phase Two' was ready. She screamed in her own head to gain attention. To which hundreds of voices asked her 'Who are you?' The voices culminated in the searing pain in her head and then into white noise. She quickly relayed the information to Eryn and the group.

Silas immediately took charge. He asked the teenage boy if he could read what was on her arm. Silas had known he had been faking his abilities to run from his family but to his dismay, the boy could also read it too. His face, like the rest of those who observed Chloe's arm, had turned pale. Silas recounted the phrase 'The Vessel shatters, The Heretic laughs and the Herald calls fourth war.' He repeated this till all of gathered group said the hallowed words. Silas, with anger, told Chloe that the Vessel and the Herald have always been needed after someone first read her crystals. The Heretic will eventually pay but she was needed to be kept safe, intact, and out of the harm of the city. Chloe screamed in frustration. She pleaded with the voices in her head for help, for something, for anything. She asked Melch for help, she wanted to know what she could next. His reply was for her to die quietly. From her ankle she could feel a searing heat flow through her veins as her skin around it started to necrotiz. The crystal voice repeated over and over that the vessel must be protected. Chloe could feel the crystals of her arm being almost pulled across her flesh as her entire body was converted. The pain was stopped in its tracks where met the gemstone. Her flesh had been sacrificed to stop the spread of the poison but in turn she was no longer human, unable to move and questionably alive.

Silas swore, a sound that bellowed birds of the roofs.  She still needed to be studied but she couldn't be moved. He told the girl to take the others out of the Steadfast and onto Darkperch. There was another rumble, the tower lurched slightly and Chloe wobbled. Silas and the others dashed forward to stop her form from falling over. Silas waved the girl off as she looked towards him unsure. She turned and hurried out the door, making sure Eryn and Xera were following. Both were in shock, with a small part of Eryn wanting to stay. The girl told Xera that the information he now had on him was needed to be taken to specialists, the House of Morianna. They would be given the service of a Hawk-Eye by the name of Keito, a name Eryn did not recognise. She also asked in a lower tone, that if they could find out any information on a man named Zarik. She mentioned that it was not official but Silas had been looking for his son for all the time she had known him. Eryn remembered the name, and the bloodied corpse that turned to dust.

She had taken them to the Landline. A small outcrop to the side of the main building that had only one purpose. It served as a zip line. The young girl made sure both Eryn and Xera were attached to the line before taking off down it herself. She was quickly followed by Xera, who had put on a pair of finned gloves to hold onto the rope. Eryn then started his decent. The outside of the caldera was much higher now. As Eryn slid down he noticed that the city had sunk almost eight stories into the ground. As he passed over the outside of the caldera his manacle stopped him in mid air. The rest of his body wishing to fall while his arm remained locked in one position. He tried to yank it free and as he did so he could hear the voice of Melch, his laughing echoing inside Eryn's head. The catch on it was unexpectedly undone and Eryn lost his grasp. He managed to save himself by quickly grabbing on making sure he was stable. He now, however was in the perfect vantage point. The Obsidian Spire slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave that blasted all glass as it passed. The wall of sound hurtled towards Chloe, shattering her into sparkling dust in the setting light. The cable wobbled, as Eryn saw the anchor of their zip line fall away from the tower. All three then plummeted in mid air, two screams and one laugh.

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (7) - Shockwave (1)

Silas froze and then backed into a corner. He apologised for his cowardice, blaming a lack of an education on combat as to his reluctance to fight. He also quickly apologised for their situation because they were mostly likely after him. Eryn shot him a look that made even Silas back further into the corner. Eryn reached into his halo and summoned forth the fiery hand and used it to shield Silas. The Neaves across from them had seen better days, they had most likely been injured during the fall of were already living in the Undercroft. Eryn shouted over to Xera , who was moving over to a barrel to get a better line of sight, that they were not human. He cautioned him on their strength and speed and told him to stay away from their reach. Chloe was the first to attack however, in her repositioning she had fired off a large amethyst shard embedding it into the wood beneath. She briefly sighed as she put her back up against the cover and prayed that the floor would not break.

The Neaves were deft in their movements; dodging falling debris and the shattering planks beneath.  Chloe on the other hand had rested for  moment too long. A deafening crack was heard from above as a section of the tower to their left crashed down through the square. It broke through an inch way from Chloe. She had managed to dodge out of the way but had dodged into the clutches of the enemy. Xera grabbed the sleeping poison from his satchel and doused his arrow heads. He struck one in the shoulder, the skin turning a bright yellow from the toxin. The arm was markedly slower than the rest of her body but it made little difference. Eryn glanced over at Silas, then pulled out a fistful of fire and threw it in the direction of the group of Neaves. The orb burned into the flesh of the Neave blocked by the new hole and the amethyst wall. Chloe pulled out her whip, after gaining her footing from the tumble and latched onto the leg of the burning Neave, pulling her to her knees as Chloe dodged the grasp from a clone next to her.   Xera was taken aback by the poison not working and fired off again into the other shoulder. Another clean hit but it had allowed another copy to slip past him and up to Silas.

Chloe turned her head to notice one had slipped past the ranks but it was too late to unleash. With a horse hiss she flicked the whip in a powerful stroke and the whip relinquished its grasp of one of the Neaves, directly into the void.  As she turned on her heels there was creek from under the platform, a metallic chink, and the floor slipped. The group had survived the tilt however one of the Neaves had been knocked into the hole by a crate with scorch marks. Silas cheered for a moment before the Neave that had gotten past Xera lunged at him. Chloe reacted as if nothing had happened, she grabbed the tips of the arrows and turned them into diamond and forced the bundle back to Xera. Unsure if the new properties would affect the flight dynamics, he fired. There was a recoil he handed expected and the bolt had missed its mark. Xera had aimed for the chest but instead had pinned part of her brain to the stone wall behind her. Silas backed away as the body dropped, burning his elbow on the hand that was protecting his position.

Another Neave had made it into position to jump on Eryn. Chloe tried to whip the legs out from under her but instead grabbed the arm of another and pulled her to the floor instead.  Xera took another shot at the Neave attacking Eryn but he had over compensated and the other arrow streamed straight past right next to Silas' head. He didn't know where Xera was intentionally aiming at him or just was just plain lucky. Eryn however managed to bat away the attack with the flaming hand and had in return managed to grab hold of her. Chloe ran with her whip to behind the amethyst shard on the opposite side and used it as a an anchor point to pull the Neave she had captive into the hole. With Xera's assistance of a shot to the knee, the Neave then stumbled and fell headfirst into the chasm.  Eryn followed with his offering to the void. However he made sure his hand dove straight to the bottom of the pit. The fire ignited a methane gas pocket and the explosion was forced upwards, blasting a far bigger hole into the floor. Silas' heart nearly stopped, he was now panicking that his weight wasn't going to be supported for much longer and so shouted for them to finish off the last one.  Chloe had now worked on her dodging technique against the clones and managed to take the legs from under her. Xera fired off another arrow but again the aiming was off. Eryn meanwhile, noting he had caused more damage to the city had started to spray what little was left that hadn't been burned or damaged. This Neave had brought a weapon to the fight, and even though her arms had been slowed by Xera's poison she was able to cut the leather to free herself. Eryn immediately hurled another fistful of flame. This knocked her into the path of Xera's bad aiming. The arrow pierced the top of the spine, the force of the blow propelling her forward into the gaping hole.

Silas was shaking, although had already made his way over to the other side to escape by the time the last Neave had fallen.  He didn't want to risk any further delay and if the group had questions then answering before they were asked would make things quicker. He demanded that that the Hawk-Eye take them to the tower. They were far closer now and it would seem that the outer part of the city hadn't been affected as much as the centre. Eryn could see however, that the Obsidian Spire at the centre of the city was sparking with gold, with similarly coloured veins glowing in patterns on its surface. It was moving up and down in perpetual movement. On occasion the downward movement would cause a quack of varying strengths. There was something odd however which Eryn noticed, the floors on the outer parts of the city, were connected to floors lower in the centre. The city was sinking from its core.

Silas explained as quickly as he could before there was a dagger in his back. He told them that the spire that connected the emotions of the Guldspar, is also now believed to facilitate communications  with the Neave constructs. Lily had tried to gain access to the information in one of the decapitated Neaves by trying to resurrect her brain functions but instead received a defence reaction. Both Eryn and Xera remembered what they had witnessed in the storage cupboard. He continued explaining that his underlings had tried to disable it but unfortunately managed to set something else into motion.  The reaction was that pillar then began to exhibit what they could all now see as well as feel.  Neave's that they believed had been deactivated, had started heading for the tower, and melting onto the side as they came into contact with it. This however didn't reveal why Silas was so interested in Chloe, or any more about the Heretic. 

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (6) - The Ascent

The first thing the group could hear were shouts and a child crying, then Silas swearing out loud in frustration. This was apparently not where he wanted to end up. They were in the Foundation Narrkonis Atrium. The Purple Order seemed to have taken over the evacuation proceedings. Parts of the building were now only held by the wires that ran on the outside. A large dish crashed into the room, taking down with it a crystal chandelier that splashed into water upon hitting the floor. Silas grabbed the attention of a fellow monk. Xera  and Eryn recognised her as the female twin. Eryn had realised they had not returned since Chloe had been here. In the back of his mind thought they had forgotten something and didn't want to risk getting caught. He tried to disguise his presence by following the orders of another monk who was helping the last of the occupants out. Xera on the other hand recognised the opportunity and seized it. He presented Chloe to the twin. Chloe to Xera's luck, was still wearing the earrings she had been given at the time she had visited. The woman coughed and shook her head. She questioned why he was wanting to be so selfish at a time like this. Chloe protested that she was still conducting research which was instantly shot down by a single glance. The woman told Eryn if they wished to discuss this, they would have    

Silas by now had gathered his bearings a little, grabbed Chloe and dragged her to Eryn. He again was intrusive with his analysis of her arm to the point where she felt on the borderline of being violated. He had pulled up the sleeve of her dress and found that the crystals had started moving up her arm, converting her at an alarming rate. This fact however seemed to please Silas, although the vocabulary used was less positive bordering on apocalyptic. He wiped the sweat from his brow with his chubby hand  and traced his finger over one line. He then apologised to her; not for his behaviour but for the letter the Aeon Priest had sent him. She had been ready to attack but again she was disarmed by an unexpected phrase. He then asked her how long had it been since she had been in contact with the Heretic. She had no clue what he was referring to, so he said the name again more slowly, with a clenched fist this time. He kept demanding to talk to the Heretic yet Chloe knew nothing of it. For a split second her concentration waned and she hissed at Silas. She immediately covered up her mouth but Silas wasn't offended, no, he was pleased. He told the Herertic that it would pay for the sons and daughters it had stole from his family before returning to analysing the arm.

Silas asked the Eryn, now referring to him as the Hawk-Eye, where the Needlepoint Rook was. Eryn swallowed through gritted teeth. He knew his bearings, and finding his way wouldn't be difficult but traversing the city which was under mortar fire from rock gardens as well as instability from the ground, it was almost as bad as the prospect of facing the Hawk-Eyes themselves. In his eyes, he had not proven himself accredited to the fame he had been given and would immediately be rejected as a fraud. He had tried, in his own ways, to act befitting the Hawk-Eyes name their ethics mirroring some from his home Stead. He however remembered the things he had done, the things he had had to do to survive in the city. It had warped him and his sense of self and he did not feel worthy. Regardless of his worries he plotted a course forward. He had lead the group in one direction basing his navigation on the now crumbling towers, however his usual waypoints had dropped from the sky, or had crumbled down. Another shockwave brought down another boulder, smashing into the walkway they had just crossed. Chloe quickly dashed around the outside of the tower they were left next to, but there was no escape off of the walkway around it. There was however two buildings over twenty feet away, one with an open window, the other with a viable walkway. They had no choice but to leave as quickly as they could, or the tower and the platform might collapse.

The open window was possible but there was no way for Chloe to see the floor so that she could land, so the group hastily decided to go for the other option. There was a problem that they had not taken into consideration, Silas. His plump figure made even the boardwalk groan under his feat, and there was little possibility that he would be agile enough to rope swing like Xera had elected to do. Eryn had been playing with his halo of flame as he tried to figure out a possibility when he felt his fingers stiffen, as though being pulled by strings into the fire. He tried to tear his hand away from the halo but it kept drawing his hand back in. With an almighty grunt he freed his hand and with it, a flame construct of a hand, big enough for him to stand upon.  As he scratched his head with the freed hand, its actions were mirrored by the entity in front of him. He thought to himself that this was a possibility, although he would have to keep away from anything flammable.  He brought the hand over to the edge of the walkway and simply stepped on. The hand floated across the open air, with Eryn refusing to look down into the abyss below.

He quickly returned back onto the platform where he immediately took out the gray canister that had been retrieved by Xera earlier and covered Silas' back with a thin coating of foam. Eryn then picked Silas up with the hand on the back of his clothing by the collar and tossed the plump man into a barrel on the other side.  Unfortunately for Silas this wasn't the only injury suffered as he had noticed the back of his head had had the hair singed off. Chloe took a length of rope given to her by Xera and jumped with crystal heels over to the other side. She tied to the rope off and the end was called for by Xera for Chloe to bring it over. However, the end of the rope perked up like a charmed snake and slid through the air over to his hand. This had never happened before but something about it felt right, almost natural. Xera hid his smile, this ability would be highly beneficial when it would come to larceny later on. Eryn floated across supported by his hand, spraying where he would land with his cannister so that the wood would not catch fire.  The ground started to shake again as all had arrived of the other side. The vibrations was slowing loosening the walkway away from its couplings with the tower. The group dashed for cover around the corner away from the now collapsing building only to be confronted with a broken piazza, blocked by the torn and bloodied figures of facsimiles of Neave.

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Eryn was stunned into silence and was only temporarily brought around by Xera trying to stand. He had been badly shaken and was covered in dirt and part of a evergreen bush. What had careered down the staircase was a rock garden that presumably, given by the hole it left in the roof of the stairwell, had floated above not moments ago. Unfazed, Silas asked Chloe to pass him the skull, to which she did at arm's length. He snatched it from her grasp and gave to the creature. It started to analyse and dissect, while one of its tentacles draw Silas closer as their voices dropped to a whisper. Chloe wanted to know what was going on, and demanded and answer, he told her that the girl should keep quiet. Her stubborn line of questioning was met by the same response and fanned the flames frustration and anger. By the staircase, Eryn had asked Xera to see how much damage the boulder had done.  As he looked up he was doused in the face by a deluge of water. Eryn trying to keep his amusement to himself but it was as predicted. He turned around to notice Silas finishing discussing with the creature.

He told the group that he had only come down here to check on the head of the remaining Neave specimen but was glad he had found Chloe. A thinly veiled lie. He told her that she and long with the head was important to him, to everyone. He asked her how much she remembered being with the Aeon Priests, to which she replied she had little knowledge. He told her, while striding up to her wrist stump, that she was the vessel and that she needed to be made water tight and to be moved out of the city as quickly as possible. He held out a syringe and her head was filled with the chime she had heard when leaving the priests. It was the same chime that the crystal voice recognised and took control of her pleading request. She turned her head away as the tip was thrust into the stump. Within seconds the same purple crystal that had adorned her hair, eyes, nails, clothes and jewellery was now part of her skin. It was growing very slowly, the hand she used to have, free from the manacle. As the crystal started to expand, Silas invaded her personal space at every angle. He was studying the crystal as it grew, mouthing words under his breath as if reading. Soon those words were louder and cursing. There was panic in his voice. From out of a tiny gold threaded purse he pulled out a almost tent sized cloak to cover him. It was the same recognisable colour as the twins in the Narrkonis Atrium, the Purple Order. Eryn tried to force out a few questions but hardly any of them made sense. Confusion descended upon the group as Silas asked Xera to hand over his wooden box. He also confirmed with Xera about the Loquella he had 'acquired' from his last trip to the Lyathran storehouse

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Xera hung his head, he had been sure he hadn't been caught in he act but a family such as he was discovering probably were hiding in the shadows watching him, or more simply, the stock takes. He pulled out a small flat wooden frame with an embossed metal feather with a faux quill top made of a black metal, presumably onyx. Xera had discovered this object had similar properties used in the printing of tomes and had managed to manipulate the wooden device to be able to use standard parchment. Silas told him to put the notes under the creature but Xera refused, only handing him the box. Silas sighed, picked up one of the fallen stones from the ground and threw it at the Ncythemeron. It shimmered as the rock passed straight through and clattered against the floor. He shook his head and knelt down to a small glowing orb  that was in the centre of the creature of the floor. He opened out the wooden struts and put the parchment scraps Xera had been saving from the rooms below. Silas told Xera to be a good employee and to take all the notes when the creature had finished its analysis. Although the parchment that went into the small machine had already been scrawled on, the metallic quill had managed not only to wipe it clean but also to write its own script. Reams and reams of the code were pouring out onto the page, but the creature was still talking in their language. Xera presumed the creature must be psychic on some level, and powerful if it did not even need to be in the same room.  

With a swift flick of the thumbs and a few taps on the box, a draw fell open from the side. Inlaid into the purple velvet lining of the drawer was a dried flower, a small thin tube of opaque pale blue liquid, and what looked like a pumice stone. As he picked up the tube the ground started to shake violently again. Upstairs the start of the building collapsing in on itself could be heard. His movements accidentally cracked the vial but the liquid was quickly poured onto the flower. It was instantly revitalised, and placed on top of the pumice stone.  Roots sprouted like worms, wriggling around the stone until they had completely encircled it. The flower by this point had not opened but after the roots had settled the flower opened and there was a corresponding light in the ball of roots. Xera was amazed at what had just happened. The formula for the liquid he remembered from Melvile's research had been mass produced. A little distracted he was knocked back to his senses as the boxes owned by all four of them mentioned to connect. The ground was starting to fracture along with the walls. The pressure from the rubbish outside started to force its way in. The group all connected and vanished from the room as the image of the Ncythemeron  was swallowed up by debris 

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (5) - The Heist (4)

Eryn tensed for a moment before Chloe returned to a normal chatter. The unusual thing was not her but what was lying next to the body of Lily; the corpse of a Neave clone although decapitated. Eryn's reaction to Lily's death may have been cold to most but he, like Xera, knew the dangers of working with the Whisper Network. Something had always felt off after he discovered that he was being followed by a Whisper Network spy and had the fact that that spy had been unusually hasty is divulging who he had worked for. One day Lily was a pawn, and the then after a nights sleep she had power. He knew that it couldn't have been right, she had obviously died because she abused her position without thinking though the consequences. He had been content in deriving this conclusion of her demise all the while ignoring Valma. She had suddenly awaked and jumped form his belt and had extended her aura around an object on the shelf . It was a pale gold, one that Eryn associated with Neave and suddenly noticed the object on the shelf was a talking Neave head. Valma seemed to be responding to it as if taking down a list of sorts. Xera, not knowing any better had let this continue while he had been lighting the room and in Eryn's eyes now partially to blame for whatever the consequences were to be.

Eryn quickly forced Xera out of the room while he lit up his halo. He grabbed fistfuls of fire and hurled them at the head of the shelf. Bottles smashed and liquid hissed. The wooden shelving cracked and splintered leaving the head to tumble down onto the floor. Eryn freely pummelled it with fire. The searing flesh and burning hair made Xera's and Xera's alone, eyes water. After a few moments of the assault the head had finally stopped moving. The flesh around its face had melted off, leaving only a few clumps of hair on the scalp. The metallic skeleton was partially covered in the now fused metal webbing. Valma had somehow been able to retain her aura connection to the head until it had stopped moving. As it was silenced, Valma sparked all over, spinning faster and faster on its point until it tumbled over and crashed into a bookshelf which then collapsed on top of it. Eryn quickly set about setting Valma free but was hindered a little by Xera's interest in what he was being passed rather than actually helping.

Downstairs Chloe had discovered a vast chamber a with few statues and a similar number braziers. There was just enough light to show that the room was far bigger than what she could see. It was silent down here, much how like her thoughts used to be. It was almost peaceful, until she discovered the Nychthemeron floating in the dark. Her scream as it floated out of the shadows seemed to wake the creature. The size of it reduced to her to feeling like she had in prison, insignificant and small. Xera had forgotten to show the creature's depiction to Chloe and was poised to send a bolt of amethyst into its direction until it stopped her and started asking her questions. This action disarmed her, and with now the familiarity of trying to relate on some level with unique voices, tried to answer it. Every question was followed by another, it never replied to any of her enquiries. It knew nothing of her family and of why she was called 'the shattered child'. Chloe was becoming frustrated and neither the two voices inside her head would answer her. After the creature had seemed to exhaust its line of enquiry it asked for more data.  It, at this point, refused to even ask any more questions unless it received further data. Chloe yelled for Eryn.

He had been examining the metal skull while Chloe had been discussing with the creature. He had noticed that the metal was scratched with thin lines and punctured with almost invisible holes.  This didn't feel right to Eryn and as he was called brought the head with him. Xera volunteered to stay up with the research. It was only after a few steps that the initial impression of the creature could be seen from the staircase. Eryn looked on in disbelief as Chloe was happily conversing with the creature he now saw. He shouted in low tones to Xera, who took a few repetitions of his name to arouse him from the pages he was reading. He then quickly moved over to the staircase. As they both walked down they both felt a little unsteady, as if the ground had moved beneath them. Neither man wished to acknowledge their minor slip and didn't mention it each other. Xera decided to stay next to the open arch of the staircase while Eryn cautiously approached Chloe and the creature.

The Ncythemeron asked if he was working for Silas, which made his hand freeze as he passed over the skull to Chloe. Now as a statue in shock, Chloe had kept gesturing to hand him over the skull. A few awkward moments passed before she yanked it from his grasp. He was then seemingly able to reply to the creature. He tried to cover up their existence here by saying they were the precursor to his arrival. The creature rebuked this fact, mentioning that Silas was already in the room. As the creature mentioned this fact Chloe sensed something behind her, an actual physical presence and with instinctive reflexes dropped to her knees and swiped her leg at the dark behind her. It was indeed Silas, he groaned as he tried to reposition his stout body on the stone floor. Chloe was taken aback. Her luck had never proven to be as much as she had hoped it to be but this, to her at least, showed signs of better things to come.  He grumbled to his feet, rubbing his back and neck. He straightened down his jacket while Eryn bombarded questions at him. After he had composed himself, Silas tried to hush Eryn but he would not cease. Silas resorted to having to shout at the top of his lungs, the words echoed in the chamber. We do not have time for this! Eryn scoffed, there was no way Silas was going to be in control. As a few seconds of silence passed after Silas' declaration, the ground started to shake, this time far more violently. There was the sound of smashing wood and stone from above.  A split second of cacophony. Then something huge crashed down in the stairwell.  Xera was sent flying across the room,  and hit his head on the stone brick wall in a cloud of brown dust.

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (5) - The Heist (3)

The room above was filled with more of the same coding. This time however more of the equation was encrypted, with highlighted segments on chalkboards around the room. There was also a map of the steadfast, with twine linked pins on varying locations. The notes beside, detailed the last movements of a nomadic family, Morianna. Self exiled, their contact was described as brief with society, if at all. The tracking denoted that although they had left the steadfast a few times, they were mainly seen in their own holdings,  The Stylidium Expanse. There were no details as to why they had left their home. Every family member had departed the seat of their House's power at the same time, leaving a non blood relative in charge.  The  tracking marks had notes from as far back as thirty years or more.  Besides this was a book written by Mitra Morianna, a small selection of essays written on the translation of the code Xera had seen everywhere. Somehow the creature, the poison and this family were all tied together but again this was not the information he needed. There had to be something to help them. This was the top floor, nothing but roof beams and slate above. With two tables, a chalkboard and a seven foot high vase and flowers.

Valma squealed. The men from downstairs were most likely coming up. Eryn again couldn't risk using his fire in here so he had to use his last resort. He told Valma that their secret  he was telling her involved the Nycthemeron and they were going to find where it was hiding. He told it, that this was their secret and a new game for them to play. If anyone mentioned what he had told it, they lost the game. Valma enquired as to if they were to permanently loose, to which he bowed his head and agreed. Xera shook his hands violently in frustration, realising nothing could be said here on about their situation. Chloe pointed downwards to the floors below to Valma. As it descended the staircase, the men below complemented the cook on the bread he had been baking, forgetting they did not have one employed. A few moments passed before the screaming began. Chloe quickly followed when it had stopped and grabbed their money. When Valma reached the top she shrieked triumphantly that they had lost and Eryn told it that the game was over, to which Valma in confusion and disappointment, shut down. He quickly attached it to his belt before casting a suspicious eye over every little detail in the room.  

The one item in the room that was questionable in the end was the vase. Although there was nothing discernible about why it was out of place, the height of it intimidated Eryn. He was taller than nearly everyone he had ever met and yet this was taller than him. He reached above the top and grabbed onto the stem of a similar proportioned flower stem. It took two hands to pull it down but with it tipped the vase. It smashed onto the floor, the force of it vibrated the building. Xera collapsed to his knees, holding his head in frustration.  That was the final nail in their collective coffin, they were never going to get out in his eyes. The base of the vase had cracked open, revealing a cage around a shining orb around which the roots of the flowers had become entangled. Eryn discretely pulled the fire from his halo to try to melt the cage. The metal was surprisingly yielding under the heat. The soil below filled the room with sizzled peat and dead leaves as the molten metal dripped onto it.

With the cage removed the group all received a message via the wooden box. The request to connect was on all three.  The plant however had no recognisable flower to the connection. In fact the notes detailed this was more of plant that was a stem made up of flowers. The details left something to be desired as more of the information about the flower was encrypted in the same coded language used for the equations. Valma, disliking the silence the searching had produced, perked up again and was ready to yell when it stopped suddenly. Out shot two twine lengths and ceramic needles from its panel, that lodged themselves into a stem further down than the group had initially thought possible. The creature berated the group for not being quicker, if they were going to play another game. Eryn was now slowly weighing up the consequences of what he was telling Valma while all three of them connected. The room faded into shapes, into grey and then into nothing.

The room they were transported to was in a bloodied disarray. Research notes were splattered with red ink, the floor decorated with crimson jewels. It was far larger than the tower they were previously in, and from their voices; Eryn could make out that the space was large enough for an echo. Inlaid into the cobbled floor were four cages, one with a gnawed skeleton. Xera peered into one of the four locked corner rooms, the one directly to his right on the opposite side. His pick broke once or twice but the door opened eventually. There were body parts in jars, with the recognisable metallic bone and webbing in the flesh. There were also puncture marks on the skin and charts with illegibly scrawled information. The room closest to the flower they had arrived from  was next on his list. Eryn all the while was trying to convince Valma to stay as quiet as possible to much rebuke, while Chloe ventured down into  the room below.

There was a stench coming through the keyhole of this door which put Xera off slightly. Perhaps, he thought to himself, that whatever was being used as specimens had either broken free from its confinement or its container had smashed. The room was pitch black and so Eryn passed him a hastily crafted torch. Xera wafted the light in the dark, trying to gauge the size of it and any obstructions. The fire was reflected in some of the jars along with the glint of metal but there was also the hint of eyes looking back at him. He moved his torch over to where the smell was coming from. Laying slumped in a heap was Lily. She was paler than she had ever been. Her blood had all been drained from a slit in her throat and had soaked into her clothes. As Xera's eyes met Lily' lifeless ones s a terrifying scream from  Chloe echoed around the stone chamber from below.

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (5) - The Heist (2)

Chloe reacted instinctively, there was something about the way she moved that seemed confident. She pulled her hood over her head and in a deep, crackled voiced alarm and anger.  The words she spoke rang two more guards out from the room although a little more alert but not by much. The threat of Silas smacked them into sobriety as they questioned their arrival. She convinced them that the bucking footstool was an animation of an intruder they were attacked by and in failing to protect them they have failed Silas. The footstool careered down the staircase; stumpy limbs flailing. The two guards grabbed their hilts and dashed for the staircase pleading with them to take their friend upstairs to rest and not  pleading not to report them. Xera rubbed his eyes in disbelief. There was to him, no possible way for her to sound as she did. It was then that he noticed that she had her hand around her neck as she had taken off her hood. The necklace that she was wearing had become a choker around her neck. All the while she was slowing rubbing the crystal and by her reaction, now seemed to loosen.

He didn't know whether to be concerned or astonished, if Eryn and Chloe hadn't realised they were all on timer, they did now. Eryn took it upon himself to bring the other guard up the stairs. He had by now, stopped speaking gibberish the corner drooling and had now passed out cold slumped over Eryn's shoulder. Upstairs was a small storage room and what appeared to be the leftover meal of the night before.   Xera spotted a chest large enough to dump the guard's body into and picked the lock and left Eryn to sort out the rest. Inside, was mostly silk sheets and pillows, however there was a polished silver lightning bolt that had hardly any weight yet was leaving a heavy imprint in the fabrics.  He placed it to one side, banging on the wooden floor.

 Xera jumped mid-way through skimming over some of the journals that were spread out across the room. If Dehart's information was correct then somewhere in this tower there was a clue to its location. The manuscript he had now returned to laid out a small part of the power structure of House Lyathra. Through the use of a device that only worked on blood relatives of House Lyathra, members could master the art of insubstantial  transmutation of the body. However such mastery came with a price, permanently un-phasing with this reality, and therefore unable to be seen or communicate. The book detailed that if a family member was to go through this, and was somehow able to show a manifestation, then they would be considered the master of the house. If there is no one able to fit this description then it falls onto the corporeal elders.

 The pages onwards from this were torn out, although there was the inking of the letter 'm' scrawled over the top. Xera ran his thumb over the bindings of the book, a small detail he appreciated in fine craftsmanship. It was as expensive as the paper felt and he could only presume the gold on the leather cover was real. In fact, upon closer inspection, the gold banding around the edges of the book were very familiar. He shivered for a moment, they were the same symbols that the men who attacked him and Saifu. He tossed the book over to Eryn and with a few moments of looking over the bindings, he to agreed on the conclusion; The Rings of Melch. It was plausible that the reason Zarik had a Whisper Network wooden box was that the family had splintered while sharing the same supplies. If the tome was to be believed however, and Melch was indeed a true leader of the house, then his form naturally would be human. Eryn realised that that only he Chloe and Lily had seen was could have possibly been Melch; a writhing mass of bloodied flesh with a singular, enlarged amber eye.

The Rings of Melch would never have seen that, only the 'shadow' seen with the king. The fact that the Whisper Network and the Rings of Melch were one and the same was an unsettling conclusion. They had to press on, time was running short. Chloe  bundled up the bolt and the book while the Eryn and Xera scouted upstairs. To Eryn's horror the room was  a floor full of books with parchment strewn all over and a thick layer of all pervading dust.  One false move from him and the entire room and anyone in it could go up in flames. He stayed situated in the stone stairwell while he let the other two carry out the research. Chloe could not understand half of what she was looking at, even the drawings confused her. Xera on the other hand was finding out a companion to his own research and that of Melvile's.  There was mention of a resource known as Nychthemeron along with more equations. Some were more rudimentary workings, while others were far more complex.

They were all parts of the same equations he had been working on but parts of it were in code of some sorts. A circle with a dot in the middle and a vertical line with two diagonal lines in the middle going from left and up to the right.   He remembered that this was the ingredient Dehart had transported into the city but he had given no clear definition of what it was. Panic set in as he turned the page. Someone had sketched a picture of it. A bulbous creature with tentacles at one end, floating tail up while its tendrils web over a metallic orb that punctured, in glowing spikes, the end it was attached to. The tips of the limbs were needles and syringes. The metal was the same kind as the orb, as well the barnacle mechanical nodules that adorned the higher floating top half. There was also a helpful image of a researcher standing next to it. Not only did it dwarf the man but floated entirely off the floor. It was going to be impossible to get it out secretly, let alone staying alive. A fact driven home by more documents detailing about project Harvest and numerous 'failed' test subjects.

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (5) - The Heist (1)

The three of them had returned back to where Eryn and Xera had been gathering the bodies of Neave for Dehart and successfully barrelled enough of them to to Warren them a few items that the Silver Palm had 'scavenged' over the past few days. However just to make sure, these were only going to be offered on their return. Eryn had also secured them a place to sleep for the night; the barman of The Pale spine had been told he was to accommodated them and Eryn knew that the fear of displeasing him would guarantee a room for the night.

The next day, as Dehart had organised, the three were taken to the point that his 'associates' could no longer follow. The Untethered that he had assignment to them were very capable, although all had a sullen expression and a pessimistic attitude which didn't help the planning phase as they travelled. This resulted in no real plan at all, causing Xera a distinct degree of anxiety and apprehension .  Dehart had gotten word from the Metricious that the accompaniments needed for the ingredient was not in fact housed in the Lyathran Tower. Instead, it was being held in a unnamed satellite tower near the edge of the city. The property had been a recent acquisition, owned by the Lyathra family but not on the formal documents. The tower itself was unassuming like all of House Lythra's properties, the new build had darker stone however from the recently excavated quarries at Darkperch but surprisingly, barred windows. Floor five was not known for its valuables so it was unusual that they had restricted entry. It was through one of these, after a gelatinous solvent dissolved the bars away, that Eryn, Xera and Chloe were thrown through before their help disappeared.

The room itself, much like the tower, did not raise any suspicions. In fact it was so thread bare that it didn't seem like anyone had been there in quite a while.  There was a broken bed near the window and an empty chest at its foot. A crumbling bookshelf, crushed under the weight of dusty tomes leaned against the archway out. Xera immediately scouted the opening and the hallway outside. It was a dimly lit circular room with a central stone spiral staircase leading off into seven more rooms. He was expecting to hear voices, guards or servants but the only thing he could hear was snoring. He moved over to the door to his left and peered through. The room was dark and silent.  He wanted to get into that room, if anyone was to come in their direction, the door at least would block their view. With deft hands from years of breaking into 'suppliers', the door was swiftly opened. Eryn took the torch form the side of the room and lit it on his halo. Again, the room like the first, was gloomy and unloved. A broken table and chairs lay in the centre of the room.

Chloe had gotten the idea from her time with the Aeon Priests that she needed protection. It had gone so far that she had asked Dehart about the problem. He had suggested sarcastically, that with her abilities, it may be possible for her to fashion a golem of sorts. She had then spent the night trying to turn the rubbish around her into working constructs. To Dehart's surprise they worked but they ended up falling apart within an hour. His men spent as little time as possible with her after that. The broken table and chairs was just more fodder for her ability and so, regardless of the danger of being discovered, set to work. Xera was annoyed at this fact, from his experiences, staying still in the property of your mark was never the best idea and this heist of sorts was already starting to slow down.

Unfortunately Eryn too had become obsessed, although his was more to do with the nature of Lyathra. They were famed for their secrets and perhaps the room had some sort of secret passage way. He had taken, much to Chloe's protest, a shard of wood and had set it smouldering. He had hoped, much like in the books he had read, that any air flow would draw the smoke through and reveal a hidden door. The smoke from his hand poured into the room for a second before being drawn through the stone brick wall in front of him. However due to the lax craftsmanship of the building, the smoke was drawn in between nearly the all the cracks in the wall. His frustrations were putting Chloe off from her construct and in hopes to silence him, transmuted one of the stone bricks into amethyst.  He could clearly see a man snoring on the table in the other room and he hoped the man was a heavy sleeper. Xera tried to dissuade him from going into the room but was unsuccessful. Eryn spent the next couple of minutes slowly trying to melt the lock out of the door, as to not alert the sleeping guard. Xera stood back in dismay, this was only the first floor and both Eryn and Chloe had become far too preoccupied. He also felt a little insulted, he could have opened the door quickly and quietly but Eryn hadn't even asked. He rubbed his forheard, it was as if the sands of time were slowly sliping through his fingers.

Eryn slowly pushed the door ajar and slipped in. The man was still sleeping but he was dressed a little odd for a guard. There was the obvious protective plating over the more sensitive spots and the mark of House Lyathra was stamped into the metalwork but he was wearing a purple robe underneath, although barely visible. With the wooden fragment from the previous room, Eryn started to smoulder it again next to the mouth and nose of the man. He was awake for a split second  only to cough, and then fell into unconsciousness. The body slumped to the floor with a thud. Xera cringed and then to his dismay, Eryn proceeded to get changed into the guard's uniform. Between this and Chloe, Xera's chest started to constrict and his head started to pound.

Xera, trying to keep the plan on track, kept a look out into the stairwell, praying that nobody would appear. He could hear Chloe in the next room giggle in excitement as something was galloping in the wooden floor. He swore it was like a horse and sighed when she appeared out the room with what looked like a footstool  with two planks on the topsides,  fashioned into crude arms. Its galloping had, to no surprise to Xera, attracted attention. From across the stairwell in an opposing room a guard stumbled out, smashing what looked like a full tankard of ale as he steadied himself on the railing to the staircase.

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (4) - Confusion

The balcony she now found herself on overlooked the city. The spires were starting to cast their shadows as the sun began to set. She had hoped there was nobody out here but unfortunately for her, one of the cooks was outside smoking. It was the same woman who had brought in the guards food earlier but seemed utterly disinterested in Chloe. She, on the other hand was more than interested in this woman, who in-between the puffs of smoke was humming the same song Chloe had heard a little earlier.  The woman's face was so familiar yet out of place, her voice comforted her yet the words scorned her. In no uncertain terms the woman told Chloe to leave before she would get caught. The said that there was a staircase that would lead her out around the bend of the balcony. Chloe wanted more answers but footsteps coming from inside and heated arguing, stopped her from asking. She ran as quick as she could, the woman's face still in her mind. Why had she helped her? what reason did she have?As she turned the corner, a confusing realisation dawned on her. The moments before Chloe was imprisoned, she had been attacked by an unknown man, and was saved by her handmaiden. Both died in the process and Chloe was blamed for their deaths. The woman was her handmaiden, she had to be. She had cooked her meal, hummed her song and made sure she escaped. Chloe looked back, desperately hoping the woman would be there to embrace her but she had gone. Chloe dried her eyes and left.

The searing pain inside Chloe's head, that of the crystal voice reappeared. It questioned why Chloe was now able to transmute more than just amethyst. Her explanation pained her, her emotions still raw but it pleased the voice. It told her that it could fix her broken physical form, if she so desired. She hastily agreed. It told her to follow the chiming noise that it could hear, and slowly through the dissipating evening crowds she could hear it to. However the sound was marred by that of Valma to the point she no longer heard the chime and instead followed its voice down to the bottom of the city.

***

Night had fallen. Chloe's search for Valma had lead her back down near the Undercroft. It was dim down here now, only the market had had any real light. Valma's voice was not carried on the wind, it was almost as if it was a vibration within her, a recording only she could play. Chloe stopped for a moment to gather herself. The rubbish pit she stood over at bottom of the city could overpower the senses and being this close to it, was making her nauseous. She steadied herself on a wall only to be knocked into by a man running. As she and the man collided, he dropped what he was carrying, a severed head of a Neave clone. His grumbled apology was in a familiar tone, Styenbeck. It was possible he had given her over to the Aeon Priests. Confused and angry, she tried  to stop him. She fired a bolt of amethyst at the ground in front of him, causing the platform to give way. Instead of stopping, he stumbled and fell into the refuse. Styenbeck shouted for help but it fell on deaf ears. His garbled screams were the last things he would ever say. Chloe peered into the hole she had made and where Styenbeck had been pulled under. It wasn't what she had intended but she had never fully trusted him, and what he was carrying to her, gave him a death sentence regardless of the truth.

She picked up the head and walked back in the direction Styenbeck had come from. He had been running for a reason and she wanted to know why. The way he had come from was a dead end, jutting out into the debris. Just below the wooden walkway was presumably the body to go with the severed head of the Neave she was holding. It was at that point she saw two men in the distance shouting at her. Their voices and words were not clear but they seemed angry and in the dark she couldn't tell who they were. There was the distinct possibility they were Aeon Priests coming to get her  and so she ran.

She passed a few drunks applauding a contortionist who was putting on an elaborate display, utilising all she could in the now empty market place. Chloe's blind running had taken her to the Pale Spine and she didn't hesitate to run through. As she made her way out the back, she was hemmed in by the patrons observing a fight that had spilled out into the back alley. There were shouts from the inside, whoever was after he was getting close. Panicked, she looked around but her small stature made it impossible in the crowd. The only thing she could easily make out was a crate on the floor above and without hesitation jumped up in hope of landing on it.  In her panic, the jump was clumsy  and, as she lost her footing, she crashed into crate she had wanted to get to.

She had torn the Priest's robe as she landed but to her relief a roll of material that had been on top of the crate had now masked her escape. She lay as still as possible, listening to the unhappy shouts of the revellers below. She could hear a grappling hook whistle in the air as it latched onto the floor above her. Her breaths became shallow as she scrunched her eyes. As she waited for her fate, she could hear Valma but not in her head. It's voice was coming from below her, not only Valma's but also Xera's. She let out a sigh of relief, she peered down to see Xera and Valma aside from the crowd. She jumped down with haste and to Xera's surprise, she thanked him for finding her. She asked if they had chased the Aeon Priests off and asked if they too had been captured by whatever had taken her. Xera was a little confused and looked towards Eryn who had descended  from above.  Both were out of breath, with Eryn hunched with his hands on his thighs. She asked again if the Aeon Priests were gone and Eryn gestured to Xera to nod, while putting a finger to his lips.

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (3) - Let's Pretend

Her immediate thoughts were to run as nothing good had come from her upbringing, especially the years in prison. The only way to run was to pass the guards and the thauman but how? She hoped there was some way for her to disguise herself in some fashion to get past, as dressed the way she was, the amethyst would more than likely land her back in the cell. She tiptoed back into the room with the guard and removed his priestly robes. She was thankful that he was already dead Although they didn't fit her the way she would have wanted, the bulk of the fabric covered the amethyst parts of her. She had no idea if this plan would work but anything was better than waiting for her brain to be removed from her body. As she entered the room, the guards were still playing cards although the painting had now changed its tune. The thauman perked up and wagged its tail but all became distracted when a maid burst into the room. Chloe could see the food she had brought in very similar to the food she had as a child and for a split second wanted sit down and eat but there was something about the maid that swayed her. She reminded her of someone, someone she had long forgot and still could not remember. Chloe swore she could see the woman wink at her and with a sly gesture, urged her out the room on the other side.

With the guards and the thauman now tucking into the food and talking to the maid, Chloe excited by the door opposite her. There was no sign of the symbol on the stairwell she had now found herself in but there was a way up. There was no going back now and no way down from here so she hoped that this would get her out. The top of the stairs was lit by dying candles which cast shadows on the heavy wooden door that barred her way. There were mumblings from behind it, what seemed to be an older gentleman but what he was saying was not entirely clear. She looked through the keyhole in hopes of seeing daylight but instead she saw what might become of her. An Aeon Priest paced the room, eyeing over what decorated it. Behind him were two giant glass cylinders filled with bubbling liquid, large enough to fit a human inside. A pale light was cast from the bottom, changing hues from white to cyan and back again. On what she could see of the desk, there was a statue of a bald head with markings and scripture on it, as though it was a map. There were also a variety of glass slides and and vials with contents she couldn't clearly see. To the left on the priest she could see a man with his back to the door but nothing more. Only his armed moved and she was not sure if he was wearing a hat of sorts, of if shadowers were cast over him but she couldn't make out the top of his head. This Priest was more animated, which surprised her for his apparent age. He seemed important, possibly a leader, and therefore had keys of some sort in the room to get her out. All she needed to do was to get him away.

She knocked politely and the door swung open. Although he did not look at her, her made sure he barred the view from the door to the other man in the room. The priest addressed her as if talking to a servant and it took all her willpower not to prove him wrong. She apologised for the intrusion and told the priest that the girl they had captured had escaped from her cell somehow. His demeanour changed instantly. For a man of greying stature, he seemed perfectly capable of a young man's fighting spirit and ordered her to get the guards that were meant to be looking after her cell, to find her immediately. This was not what she wanted but obeyed to keep her cover. Now she had to try and persuade the guards that not only was she one of them but of their master's intent. She gingerly went back down and readied herself. The order she gave was believed in an instant to her disbelief. She did not know whether it was her ability to deceive, or if it was the order from the priest upstairs that compelled them. She went back to report but the man had gone, although he had not passed her.

The other gentleman, the one that had faced away from the door seemed ignorant of her presence. She gingerly walked over to him and tried to get his attention. What she had mistaken for a shadow when she had peered in from the keyhole was in fact something far worse.  The man was missing the crown of his head and it had been replaced by a flat metal plate. His eyes had glazed over, his breathing shallow, and his face expressionless . In his hands was a quill and letter. He seemed to be a scribe of some sorts but incapable of any other action. She scanned the note, We have the child, although from the reports of her initial capture her mental state may be more shattered than we first thought. She may prove to be a valuable but dangerous specimen. Due to her mental state and her current crystalline mutations, she will be therefore known to us as the Shattered Child. I hope the joke pleases you. In her mind she was a child no more and certainly not a joke. She would not be experimented on, in fact the 'mutations' they referred to made no reference to her heritage at all. She was proud of her crystals to some degree and hated the fact they believed she was not in control of them regardless of how true it was. She tried to grab the letter from the scribe's hand but his grip would not loosen. She tried to reason with him, to which she got no response. She could not let the letter fall into anyone else's hands and so her blade caressed the scribes neck till his own ink spilled on the page.

She quickly searched the room for either a way out or keys to locks that would possibly bar her exit but she could find neither. In retaliation for the indignity of calling her anything less than who she was, she stole what she could. A few specimen slides of what she presumed to be slices of brain, a vial or two and some notes were stuffed in her robe before she returned to the empty guard room downstairs. The painting had stopped singing which allowed her to hear the grumbling voices and clattering pots and pans of the room next to her . She knew the servants would never be allowed to use exits deemed for their employers so they must have a separate way out. She crouched down low, holding her robes an inch from the floor. The room she entered was a kitchen of sorts, cramped into two short galley ways with a handful of cooks arguing and absorbed in their work with another door on the other side. She needed a distraction. Although untested on heat, she believed the plating process would not react well so covered the bottom of one of the pots  that was over a fire in amethyst. It started to rumble before it crashed to the floor, spilling its contents and burning the left foot of one of the cooks.  Chloe smiled. His pained screams were only matched by the shouts of concern for the food that had been wasted. They rushed over to salvage what they could leaving little room for the man to recover from his injury.The distraction left one of the gangways open and Chloe bolted to  the door on the other side and out. 

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (2) - Childhood

Chloe awoke disorientated and angry. She had no idea how she had gotten from Mezzo's to where she was now but in all likelihood she was either betrayed or stolen. Her frustrations were taken out on the room she was in. Shards of amethyst became embedded in the yielding metal of her cell. The stamping of her feet left a soft indent and then returned to its original form, even the doors had the same quality. No matter what she did, no matter how angry she got, the room she was in would not break, only bend. Her outbursts garnered no reaction from anyone outside, in fact all she could hear were the cries of men and women, tortured and desperate. There was only one place she had feared in Auspar, the Asylum of the Aeon Priests. She shouted for attention, for someone to recognise her nobility and birthright in a desperate attempt to escape. She was met with the heavy footsteps of what sounded like man, he grunted at her while he passed gruel through the slot in the bottom of the door. She tried to reason with him, tried to get him to let her go but he refused to talk to any madmen and refused to lose a possible cure to the King. He told her his solemn duty was to create peace throughout  the Steadfast and for that to happen in Thaemor, the King needed to be cured.

She poked at the dish she had been served as his echoed footsteps fell  into silence. Whatever she had been given was lukewarm and  in a wooden bowl. In frustration she transmuted it so she could see it shatter but a searing pain flowed from the stump of her wrist to the hand she was holding the bowl. It did not turn into amethyst as she had hoped but another crystal altogether. She had heard stories told to her by her handmaiden when she was young, about her family being able to do more than just a singular substance but they had to know not only vein of the material they could initially transmute to, but also variations of the same matter, metal for metal, ceramic for ceramic. A chain transmuted into gold could also be changed into iron, or copper. The bowl now entirely clear with a hint of yellow, was unrecognisable to her and therefore to her, an impossibility. This fact only proved the bowl to be more mysterious as it became unstable and then shattered onto the floor as she held it.

The transmutation had distracted her from the light footsteps on the approach outside her cell. She needed to think fast. To her surprise another bowl of gruel was given to her. She quickly blocked the closing door and tried to argue her point. The only voice she heard was from the cell next to hers, crying out that the food was poisoned and he was to be assassinated when the candle was to be lit. The slot door rammed against her foot multiple times before a pommel slammed into her foot. In anger she turned to the new bowl and ready to throw it against the wall, noticed its contents was turning a pale green. She thought that perhaps the madman next door was right and threw it against the wall. The chink of metal on metal alerted her that there was something more. She fished out a key from the puddle and opened her cell door.

In her mind she did not question what had just happened, the fact that she was free was enough for her. The man in the next cell refused her help, yelling at her to get away from his door. The opposite cell on the other side was filled with silence. The hallway had no windows, only dripping candles that cast a pitiful light. As she ventured down the passage the screams became more varied and louder while the gates that should have barred her way were already open. The last gate opened out into a small chamber big enough for two doors and a desk. A guard was slumped face down in his bowl of gruel. She checked if he was still alive, not because she was concerned, but because she wanted to take his dagger and he had no keys to help her escape. She appraised the blade, an in her opinion could be improved so she tested her ability. The handle turned to emerald while the blade became   diamond. From here there were two doors both near duplicates, both leading to a similar hallway. Unsure of where to go now she looked down at the open window, seeing the sheer drop below her, but no city. Jumping out was not a possibility. She turned back to the doors and looked down at them more carefully, opening the wrong door at the end of either one could result in what she had seen at Neave's. The handle on the right door was uncomfortable in her hand and she didn't know why. 

Perhaps it was the fact that she normally used the now dismembered hand . She looked down at the brass handle, there was an almost indistinguishable indent. The shape, although worn, was the symbol of her house. She didn't know whether to trust her own eyes, she was, for all intents and purposes insane, and to her this might actually be proof she was imagining things. She pressed onwards through that corridor into another open room. This one however as noisy, five guards and a thauman set around a table drinking and playing cards while a painting on the wall sang some of the more smuttier tavern songs. She dared not approach for the thauman's nose started to twitch, its eyebrows furrowed and its lips curled inwards and she had only moved a few steps closer. There was no way down, and no way out back the way she came, she had to cross this room without getting caught. From one of the rooms adjacent she could smell something familiar. The initial smell of freshly baked bread through the open window was replaced with something from her childhood. This brought up uncomfortable memories of her past, especially as she could now start to hear something or someone singing a song that reminded her of home underneath that of the painting. 

TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (1) - Acquisitions

The conversation was abruptly cut short as Dehart was called for from the floor above. Eryn was a little confused by what Xera had meant by growing another laboratory but he had heard of far stranger things and was still recovering from the encounter with the violent flower beasts. He grabbed Xera and walked off without looking back, pushing his way through the now swelling crowd. The market was quiet now, only those that were on the other side when the fire broke out were still trying to hawk their wares to the few shoppers still left. To Eryn, the easiest way of collecting the hopefully deceased copies of Neave , was to barrel them under the cover of night, giving them a few hours in-between. The only problem was that Eryn had neither the barrels in question to put the bodies in, nor a way to transport them once they had been sealed for safety. The only point of reference he had apart from both sites he had incinerated and the Market was the place where he had been when he was ejected from his own execution: The Pale Spine. Although Dehart now had all of his coins it was possible the barkeep could be reasoned with, especially now as Eryn was officiated with the Palm and in turn, the proprietor. He offered for Xera to accompany him but he was declined. He was told that although most of the equipment could be grown a few things needed to be sourced as well as needing a way to create a sleeping draught for his darts. Xera asked Eryn if he know of any Narrkonis Atriums in the local area. His laboratory had be previously furnished by what he could take from his official position within Lyathra but knew that most of the equipment was designed and sold by house Narrkonis.

The memory of what lay underneath the city made Eryn shudder a little. He tried to point Xera in the right direction of the one he had visited when Chloe had begun the process of Untethering. Xera thanked him before parting ways. The walk back to the Pale Spine was littered with dead ends and whispers. He wished he had never had to come back down here. The window Maw had been thrown out of had been boarded up and by the looks of it, seen a few more caught swindlers. He entered as confidently as he could, lighting a cigarette as he braced himself for the almost choking atmosphere. His reception this time was a marked change from the first. The air was still thick with smoke and liquor but the patrons parted ways and scattered. They were as scared as they had been when Televaraen had extended a single claw. The men that had tried to proposition Chloe were back, drinking comfortably, well apart from one. They retreated back into the smoke by the fireplace as far away from the bar as possible. 

Before Eryn could sit down he was offered a drink with a request not to cause trouble. This threw many possibilities at Eryn but only one turned out to be the reason why. The barkeep presented a large parchment poster noting that Eryn was now part of the Hawk-Eyes. Eryn recognised the artistry and the signature, Arden. The poster itself however gave no real context as to why everyone seemed so afraid. The barkeep quickly qualified his terms, that for the free drink, nobody on the Hawk-Eyes bounty list was to be taken. Eryn's ears perked up a little, the Hawk-Eyes were not just big game hunters, they were also apparently bounty hunters. Another drink was followed by another clarification, his patrons had done nothing wrong that last time he was here and the Hawk-Eyes jurisdiction was out in the Steadfast and not the city. They didn't fear the Grapnel coming down here but the Hawk-Eyes did not care for the trappings of wealth. The fear of the Hawk-Eyes was self evident. Eryn had only mentioned in passing about barrels and transporting them, when moments later the three men by the fireplace had dashed out the back and returned with thankfully blank, casks and two trolleys that compacted themselves into small pocket sized cubes.  He walked out with his offerings without looking back. As long as they belived he was in the Hawk-Eyes, he could use it to his advantage.

Xera had kept to himself on the way to the Atrium, the people around him made him a little uncomfortable. He was worried for his safety and with good reason. If someone  was to even mention what he was he doing, the words would most likely fall upon someone with a connection to Lyathra and his life would be in danger on two fronts. He had been using Styenbeck as a sort of shield against what Lyathra could do to him but now they had parted ways, he was  unnerved and unsure. As he caught the first glimpses of the Atrium, the glow of the city was caught on  the thick cables and reflective dishes that adorned the sides and the roof of the building. Inside was no different, a palace of scientific endeavours. As he took in his surroundings he bumped into  a set of twins, one male, one female, dressed what Xera presumed to be religious robes but could not place the denomination. 

They were arguing about a set of experimental earrings that had been stolen by a girl with purple eyes and two men. The woman blamed herself while the man blamed himself for letting them leave with it. Xera enquired as to their distress but they shrugged him off as not important. He asked if he could get supplies but they refused him as it was a trivial matter. The thought then occurred to him that perhaps a gentle nudge using Silas' name could way them. Their eyes widened in panic before they shouted his name out so everyone could hear. Within what seemed to Xera to be a few moments he was nearly laden down with masks, equipment, even the sleeping draught he had casually mentioned. The last item they gave as a present to Uncle Silas, a matt grey cylinder that sprayed a coating of something they couldn't identify. It's supposed rarity and incomprehensible use would prove more than an adequate gift. Although the items he requested and more were given he thought that perhaps purple eyed girl may be Chloe. If they wanted those earrings back desperately, perhaps the jewellery could be used as leverage, if they could be prised off Chloe first.

TSC - Chapter 6: Reactions (8) - Up in Smoke

Betrayal became the last thing on Eryn's mind as Xera's panicked shout brought him back from his concentric thoughts. One of the lifeless bodies had now grabbed onto Xera's ankle and refused to let go. Eryn remembered how Shroud referred to Neave's strength as disconcerting and indomitable. He knew that her grip would not be loosened by conventional means. Without thinking his actions through, he told Xera to brace himself while he flung a fiery orb at the Neave on the floor. His attack was successful, her hand withdrew but only due to the fact that her body and the wooden floor beneath her were now on fire. In a moment of panic Eryn reached for his fireproofing spray he had been given as a terrified gift in the wake of another accidental incineration years before his incarceration . However his grasp fell through the open air, he had never recovered it from the Narrkonis Atrium.  He realised now that the spread of the fire could not be stopped by his command. The damage that had already been done by the flaming of the Jesanthum spores  had created more kindling for the flames to take hold of.  It's intensity was superseded by its speed, consuming everything in its path towards the open door of Xera's laboratory. The loss of knowledge, the time spent, the money invested spurred Xera into questionable action.

 Eryn tried to stop him from running  into the fire but the flames that burned in front of him, were not under his control.  They were a result of his actions and burnt him before he could grab hold of Xera.  Xera could see the fire starting to lick at the storage for the Black Sunshine and could see the glass vials that contained it were slowly cracking and warping under the heat. He grabbed what little he could, a few vials of the drug, some research notes and few seedlings to replant his lab at a later date. The unmarked vials used to create the drug  started to explode;  showering glass into the flames that burnt in brilliant hues. Liquids hissed and  floorboards groaned as Xera only now realised that the floor above him was occupied, and most likely now also on fire. There were shouts and screams from above as the dripping of doused flames reached his forehead. Hopefully whoever lived above him would survive the fire while the vast majority of Black Sunshine would not. He ran out and fell to his knees, coughing and spluttering. He turned his head back to see his work consumed. The remaining  vials of Black Sunshine finally broke and exploded violently into  a pale blue cloud that drifted with the black  that now curled around the spire and drifted off across the city.

Xera lay defeated in a heap, clutching the only remaining vials of Black Sunshine . He watched as a few inquisitive merchants and shoppers from the Undercroft splintered from their daily routines to either gawp or try to help put out the fire. One of those that tried to help collared Eryn and pushed him to one side. Dehart stood with intent, his shoulders broad and his brows furrowed. A tirade of abuse and  anger streamed from his bristled features. His eyes widening and narrowing, as though he was having an ocular heart attack. Eryn tried to calm Dehart down but he refused, blaming him for the loss of both the area outside Neave's in the poorest part of the city, and now the brazen destruction so close to the Market.  Eryn gingerly offered his help but Dehart wanted nothing more than to watch Eryn burn with his disaster, although he had been demoted to this part of the city he refused to let it fall under his watch. That was, until Eryn produced a small bag he had supposedly acquired in amicable circumstances. Eryn jostled the bag and the clink of coin dropped Dehart's shoulders and stung him behind his right temple. He forced a mild pleasantry from gritted teeth and waited for Eryn's request.

He looked down at Xera and back towards the now smouldering ruins and asked Dehart what it would take to replace what had been lost. Xera's ears perked up and shot Eryn down. The loss of his lab and his research was of little importance. He knew most of it and, after producing the seeds, told Eryn the lab could be grown again. Xera showed Dehart the list of ingredients that had been used to create the poison that had now become dangerous to even know about.  His reaction was what Xera expected. Cautious, paranoid but easily bought. With a smirk now curling Dehart's lips, he opened his palm towards Eryn and gestured for him to place a coin onto it. He complied but Dehart was not satisfied and continued the gesture in smiling silence. In total five coins were handed over emptying the bag. Eryn couldn't tell if the information they were about to receive was worth these five coins, but he knew Dehart had pleasure in taking them from him.

Dehart turned to face Xera, the smell of smoke and of freshly baked bread twitched his nose and upper lip. He told him in a whisper, purposefully leaving Eryn out of the conversation, that although most of the ingredients on here were common, there were a couple that they were procuring. The most valuable, and the most dangerous to transport was given to two clients. One was to the Aeon Priests and the other, were Xera's employers,  House Lyathra. With the amount of coins he had been given there was certainly more he could do but he had other concerns, nodding to what Eryn had done. He mentioned that there were people under his command that had nothing to live for, mainly those suffering from the initial stages of Untethering. They would be willing to assist on the suicide mission, if Xera wished to get the ingredient. He nodded, the weight of what was to happen lay heavy on his chest. If he was to die it would be by his hand, not by the Rings of Melch.  Dehart's attention then turned to Eryn. With a wicked grin and an almost delighted tone he suggested that if Eryn wanted any of the coins back, he would have to start collecting the bodies that were now littering his domain.