TSW - Chapter 1: The Feldspar Maw (5) - The Void (1)

The legs and navel of Gur found themselves on solid ground before the rest of the group. The light had cauterised the dissection  that was the total separation of his upper torso. When the group appeared out of the light on the other side, it was in fact green paint they had found slippery underfoot. They had landed, well nearly all, on a large metallic white disk. It was already travelling away from where they had entered. That had been a intricate silver ring around a fading spot of light hanging in the void around them. There was no light, no sound, no wind. Eryn took a brief moment to look for Gur and had assumed he had not arrived with them, but as he looked down he soon realised the situation and tried to turn the attention away from what else joined Gur's legs on the platform. There were chunks of flesh, torn clothing mixed in with bone and green paint.

Eryn directed them to the void around them, and to the metal beam the disk was slowly travelling on. He asked Xera if he had a spare nut or bolt from his experimentations, to which he Xera handed one over. Eryn threw it as hard as he could into the void. It flew as if it had sprouted wings until it crawled to a halt and hung in mid air. It did not fall but very slowly rotated on the spot. Although Jarvi could not see what was going on, he could feel the platform slowing at an unperceptive rate to most . He was about to comment when Danton spotted something out in the dark. It was two cowering shapes in the distance, over three hundred feet away. They were illuminated b a flickering light, one sitting over the edge of the platform, another on their back behind.

Eryn's eyes quickly adjusted to the platform and was able to judge a distance. He summoned up his flaming hand and requested more ammunition. He used his ability to try and catch the attention of the person on the other disk, in a hail of tiny metal objects that may also possibility be dangerously hot. A fact he only thought about after they were in mid flight. They too followed the same pattern as the first, however the extra power behind the throw forced them to shoot over the target and disappear into the dark. Frustrated, he decided the next thing to was go over himself. The lack of gravity, wherever they were, would possibility allow him to navigate over. Gravity seemed to only apply to the disk which was fine at first, allowing Eryn to gain a good distance on the other but the lack of it between caused his flame hand to stutter and drift. He focused what strength he could and tried and tried again until at last he landed with a thud on the other side.

The figure with their legs over the edge of the platform did not seem to notice Eryn, it was as if he was in a trance. Eryn looked down at the other figure and tried to hold back his stomach. An elderly woman lay with her innards spilling onto the disk, there were numerous cuts, some fresh, some healing and some scarred and a ring of purple circled her neck. Eryn instantly reconsidered where he was but this person, despite being a likely murderer, was the only living thing they had seen so far.

The man was still unresponsive until Eryn brought up the woman. Almost like an instinctual reaction he told Eryn that his wife was tired and sleeping and should be left alone. Eryn noticed the man was of a similar age and crouched down to get a better idea of who he was talking to. The man, like the dead woman was scarred, although he had covered up most of his body with a tattered and bloodied purple robe. No matter what Eryn tried to say to the man there was no coherent response. He was adamant he and his wife would escape Hell, it's madness and it's bloodlust. He looked down to the man's scarred hand a ring on finger. It was definitely, at least from this distance, the ring of the fiancée from the girl in the tavern. As he tried to take it from him the man ignited in strength, using everything he had to hold on. For all he had, he still lost to Eryn. He sank into sadness and tears before quickly turning back to incoherent babble. Eryn now started to believe this place not only changed how space worked, but also time.

On the other platform Xera wanted to take a sample, or at least investigate what Eryn was seeing as they were too far to communicate properly. As he too jumped into the void, Jarvi had been left with no information. He had fumbled around asking the darkness around for a stick but to no avail. He did however, find the metal beam and assumed they were all ready to follow and left.

To Danton things could not have been worse. His eyes were stinging and his gums felt as if they were on fire. It was a familiar feeling but each time it was still a struggle to find the cure. His hand tremored while reaching into a pocket and pulled out a small stained glass vial. The shaking of his hands rattled the pills inside. He slowly poured out two pearlescent green tablets and swallowed, pressing his hand to his mouth until the shaking had stopped. The dark was soon a playground of fuzzy colours ,dancing with neon trails. Left alone on the platform ; he watched his own personal light show. From a distance the sun burst into view and started to bear down on Danton, he backed up, crawling over the remains of those before. There were fierce terrifying echoes in his ears like green wood and vipers on fire. The sun smashed down on top of him and pooled into a puddle of flame next to him. He crawled over on his hands and knees, hearing the whispers of his name from a child's voice. He stared into the pool, only to see Eryn's face with serpentine eyes, flashing. His vision blurred, the child started to scream and laugh. He backed away desperately form them flames of Eryn's face as it hissed at him with a flaming forked tongue. There was nowhere to run but to hurl himself into the void.  

TSW - Chapter 1: The Feldspar Maw (4) - Tooth and Claw

The shadows descended upon the group, bringing them into the party's light. They were three feet monstrosities of brown fur with grey gemlike growths on their upper torso, shoulders, arms and head. Thick, almost tendril like whiskers flanked the folds of skin that comprised their necks, with bright blue bioluminescent orbs at the tip. The pointed ears were in fact the wing and wrist bones of the creatures. They were chatting to each other in high pitched screeches that was just different enough from the buzzing noise to be interpreted as intelligent chatter. They too, like Jarvi, were suffering from the effects of the alarm and had turned violent.

Xera reacted as quickly as possible, revealing a device he had been long since working on before he had met Eryn. He had named it the Shatter Stone after the fragment of rock from which it was created from. It was essentially a rough pebble with a pointed end covered with wires and sockets and a singular tiny black button. He fired into the air above him hoping to hit one of enraged creatures with almost unnatural accuracy. The bolt of shattering light fired from the tip of the stone and clipped the creature's wings instantly turning them stone. And with that the creature dropped to a platform below the group. The other two were circling each other with Jarvi's bird flitting in-between but unable to land an attack, much like the rest of the group.

 Danton quickly acquired a small vial from his butler and tipped his darts in the substance. There was something familiar about the liquid to Eryn but he just couldn't place his finger on it. With a well timed blow, the dark penetrated the leathery hide of one of the remaining two. It's body started to drop in the air and its eyes started to close before it started foaming at the mouth, it's eyes brightening and widening, a piercing white circle around a deep pit of black. It dove for its incapacitated comrade and tore into its flesh with its teeth and claws, devouring it in a torrent or ripped skin and purple blood. As the creature finished it's meal the other looked on almost frightened now, the grey hues of the crystals on the cannibal creature were now as purple as its own blood.

The last creature dived for Jarvi in an attempt to grapple him off the cliff face but mistook the light to be just that. As it made contact with the light, it's neck instantly snapped as it's body crumpled into a broken and bleeding mess. The creature howled and screeched as it died before it slowly fell through the block of light and thudded with an echo onto the cavern floor. Eryn now realising these creatures liked to dive bomb their victims he readied his flaming hand to bat away the crazed monstrosity. It did as was predicted and the hand swiped it away, forcing it onto the wall while singing it at the same time.

Gur, who had been keeping by Eryn's side found an opportunity to move around over to where the creature had been forced to without being seen. He unfurled his whip and with a solemn breath, let forth his whip. It snatched at the monsters wings, pulling them behind the creature. With one heavy tug the whip had dug into the wings themselves, slashing them to ribbons and drawing fourth more of the thick purple liquid. The hawk soon dove in for the kill on the creature, tearing its own claws into the flesh of the deranged predator and then letting it bleed out before tearing beak sized chunks out of it.

All three were now dead but the group were still apprehensive, not only for what would wait for them in the dark, but also for each other. Apart from Eryn and Xera, and Danton and his servant, the group were strangers to each other and neither really knew how to help one another. Danton took it upon himself to try and instruct the rest on how to climb down, as the group had deemed the scaffolding far too dangerous. and had ignored the possibilities that the light had presented.

The bottom of the cavern lead to a few thinly carved ladders that lead up to the walkway with the torch and cave. They all approached with caution. The pillars were down here two, the light and the noise flooding the air. At the end of the shaft there was a cave entrance. It was angled at around sixty degrees to the floor, with dark metallic crystal stalagmites and stalactites adoring the opening, crowning it with teeth. There were clothes discarded here, along with many robes from the Purple Order. There were also more grisly human remains as well as offerings and trinkets, flowers and incense. Danton remembered a file which he had read when he bluffed his way in to his families offices in Darkperch. Not only did it provide him information on the families activities in the city but also details of the mining operation they had run before abandoning it for the sake of image and legality. This is what the miners and the local Purple Order referred to as the Feldspar Maw which had only recently been discovered only eight days ago. 

There had been loud buzzing noise and the gush of stale wind that followed the discovery that went away after the first twenty-eight hours. However the oscillating golden light in the dark down in the tunnel beyond the mouth was far too tempting to the Order.  They had claimed it as an escape from being eaten by the Great Devourer. They would throw themselves willingly into its mouth as supplication.  There was also a side note to the document, about how there were many incidents of the Purple Order taking up these actions in different parts of the Steadfast for hundreds of years. Valma jumped from Eryn's belt and reformed herself to its original size. The buzzing that was infecting the ear of everyone down here was intoxicating to it. Valma span in dizzying circles, squealing in joy before tipping over and tumbling into the void towards the light. Eryn on instinct followed suit with Gur in toe.

For Danton, his butler, Xera and Jarvi, they witnessed Valma disappear into the light but not fall beyond it, the same was said for Eryn. For Gur however, he had hit the side of the walls of the decent and only a portion of himself from his hips downwards had disappeared into the light. Danton held his hand to his mouth and turned away to compose himself. From a pocket he brought out a pot of green paint and emptied it into the void. A barley visible green outline was left around the edges of the light. Jarvan remained out of the next conversation as each man tried to convince the other to jump first. Danton mentioned that Valma, who Jarvi had interpreted as a little girl inside his mind's eye, had disappeared down where they needed to go and his slowly sobering sense of purpose kicked in and leapt through the light. Xera followed suit while Danton turned to his butler, handed over his most expensive items, bowed, and jumped.

TSW - Chapter 1: The Feldspar Maw (3) - First Steps

For all of Jarvi's attitude and bravado he was still subject to his own inabilities. The blindness he had suffered from his previous employers had scarred more than just his sight. Without the use of his eyes he relied mainly on touch or a bladed cane and the lengthy honing of his other senses. His familiarity with Darkperch lead him straight up to the mines. He whistled for his pet, a hawk like creature with four wings whose body was about as large as a man's head, and in they both went. His bird of prey rested on his shoulder in the dark, it's head constantly scanning the environment.

After a few moments in, he had realised he had forgotten his cane and reverted to his hands and feet. His hooves connected with the damp stone and he preceded, trying his best to keep in a straight of a line as possible, to wherever he believed he needed to go. The fact that he had left without direction, had actually settled in his mind and he stopped in his tracks. He leaned back against the mine wall and tipped his hipflask clumsily towards his mouth, only for a drop to fall. He dropped it to the side in disappointment. The only thing to do now was wait. He knew whoever the city-hawk was, he would eventually turn up. Mavis had in fact told him of Eryn's arrival with Lina, but physical descriptions were meaningless and Jarvi had not identified Eryn's voice yet.

Eryn, who had quickly followed Jarvi, was now debating whether he should go in himself. He had been confined to a dark and dank space for years, and didn't want a cave in to leave him to the same fate. He breathed calmly and then stepped forward. Within a moment he was interrupted by a patron of The Drunken Talon he had seen before but never spoke to. He introduced himself as Gur Tallan a researcher for House Morianna. He had a slightly rugged look about him and the clothes he was wearing were certainly however not city clothes. Gur told Eryn that he was one of the people Eryn helped evacuate out of the Foundation's Atrium and was now honour bound to repay his service. Eryn tried to plae the man, but could only remember fleeting moments from his escape. It was entirely possible this was true.

 Eryn was at least relived that Gur was not in fact a fan but rather thankful for his help.  This made the situation a little less clear cut for this motives Eryn didn't want to be accompanied and had purposefully left Xera asleep in their room; adding another companion would only complicate matters. However there was a look in Gur's eyes that Eryn recognised from when he was younger, the determination brought about by a creed or code. With a sigh he accepted Gur on but only until he had fulfilled his debt. Gur agreed and they both headed inside , with Eryn lighting his halo to illuminate the dark passages.

The old gentleman in the black suit and his company had kept themselves at a safe distance away from Eryn while still being able to observe. The younger man, in his mid twenties, was browsing over the notebook of the older man. They both kept in hushed tones but to Xera who was behind them and observing their movements with a keen eye, there was another clear distinction. Xera noticed the way the older gentleman behaved compared to that of his companion. His movements were purposeful but graceful and his tone was polite and respectful. On the other hand, the younger man was more outlandish, which included his gestures and speech. It was clear the older man was a servant, and the younger man was most likely from an important family, one with possibly a mass of wealth.

The two treaded in silence into the cave. There was a pinprick of light in front of them and the brief echo of distant words. Eryn, at the moment the pair had joined them in the mines, turned around and peered into the dark. His eyes had adjusted to the dark and he could clearly down the passageway and out but the footsteps he had heard were mostly likely, to him, an echo of his own. The caves under the city did not echo like the mines and there was something about the echo itself that seemed hollow. The two men that had just entered, had successfully kept their cover at the cave sides and they too had not noticed themselves being followed by Xera. Unfortunately for all involved, the cover of secrecy  was soon lifted.

Eryn and Gur and had  finally met up with Jarvi, although they first mistook him for a grotesque creature or a threatening jumble of shadows, to which Jarvi had heard both of these comments. As Jarvi was asking for more details about his surroundings, he stopped speaking mid sentence, feeling a rattling inside his brain. There was a faint buzzing noise inside his head before suddenly all along the shaft that they had walked down was peppered with metallic poles that had risen from the ground. The poles themselves were made of smooth metal, although warm to the touch.  On the top of each was small divot that filled with a red liquid. This liquid then started to glow to a point where it projected light up to the cavern ceiling. The liquid then gathered itself into a ball shape on the divot and rolled to the edge of  top of the pole. The liquid light  then started to roll around the edge like a marble, illuminating the area around it in warning hues.  The buzzing noise soon reached the ears of Eryn and the others and as they clasped their hands to their ears they noticed each other and gathered up front. Xera joined Eryn, Gur and Jarvi, sidestepping the servant and his employer who kept themselves at a reserved distance.  

The black suited  man introduced himself as Jarvan, the valet of Danton Scalar of Qi, to which the younger man bowed while carefully pressing his hand on the top of his chest as he bent forward. Gur was so enthralled with the metal poles that had appeared, that he had prized off the top of one to see if the light would go with it, to which it did, although the light was now chained to the balance it held. A few feet away the sound of the buzzing had intensified. The mineshaft gave way to a cavern which held the mining ravine, with rickety scaffolding down each side for access and transportation. However, just as the metal poles appeared so too did a large rectangular block of light on their side of the ravine which dropped  down to the other, nearly reaching a still lit torch next to a remote cave entrance near the bottom. The supports around and in the way of the light had been destroyed as though the light had forced its way through. Jarvi, without much support from the group decided to take it upon himself to scale down the side using his sense of touch, his bird and a rope the Eryn had attached to a large stalagmite.

 After a few rappels the buzzing noise pierced his mind, causing intense pain. He thought that he could hear screaming, as if the pain was shrieking at him. The sound however, was not from him but from three, pointy eared,  broad shadows that fluttered in the cavern roof before dive-bombing the group with claws outstretched.

TSW - Chapter 1: The Feldspar Maw (2) - The Drunken Tallon

The next day, Xera had managed to set up his lab in a building on the far reaches of town on the path to the mines. Although he had initially wanted to pick one of the more odd shaped buildings such as the spherical building made out of tessellating metal plates but none of the other buildings had enough light for him to grow without being seen. He had spent most of his time tucked away there away from the rest of the villagers. Eryn on the other hand had already started to become bored within a couple of hours on the first day. He had taken it upon himself to make sure  every house that had been abandoned or whose doors had been left wide open, was empty.  This not only passed the time but allowed him to see how many villagers were left and what the rumours were around.  

Most of these were the same, the people that were left were unsettled and did not look too kindly on the Purple Order. There was unrest with a few individuals slowly turning towards confronting the Order. They, on  the other hand, were completing their final packing tasks and finishing up checklists. Eryn had thought about going over to the Hawk-Eye building but the gate up to the entrance was locked and he was tentative about giving them the wrong impression, given his current circumstances. Apart from the walk around the village he kept mainly to himself in his room, ready for when Lina would be in need.

Three days passed by since Eryn and Xera's arrival, and the mysterious affliction of Lina had not left her. Similarly neither did the old man and his son, who Eryn now considered them to be family, or at least part of an extended one to her.  The father was called Begron Jenor, and his son of the same name.  From the fleeting conversations they had, Eryn had found out that they were previously slaves working in the mines. The owner had since vanished and nearly everyone returned home, he and his son and few others remained and continued with the settlement. and it was his voice that woke Eryn from his sleep around four o'clock in the morning. His voice was angry and assertive, interspersed with a similar fire from his son. Both of them were backed to the sound of a young girl crying and the soft mumbles of Mavis
.

Eryn looked over towards Xera, who had finally gone to bed, and dressed then tiptoed out of the room as not to wake him. As he reached the stairs down, he saw another bedroom opening, a bedraggled and weary man stumbled out. He seemed to be in his early twenties , but Eryn was unsure in the light and hoped for the same when he glanced the man's fingers that were reaching down to his knees with  hoof-like nails. Eryn quickly recognised the stench of the aftertaste of the local ale and shook his head and headed down.

In the centre of the bar the young girl from the corner of the room was crying in a collapsed heap. Mavis was by her side, periodically fetching more cloth to wipe the girls tears. It was however the Jenors who had Eryn's attention. They both seemed ready to tear into each other and Eryn knew he had to stop them before things escalated. He leapt over to them and placed himself in between as quickly as he could. They both protested, continuing to fight over and around him. That was until the man with unnatural hands stumbled down the stair case and also tried to separate the fight.

The distraction provided by the new arrival caused the Jenors a momentary pause and allowed Eryn to force Begron Sr into a seat. Eryn went to talk to the man's son. Begron Jr, without even noticing what had happened, waved towards the new figure shouting his greetings to the man called Jarvi. 

Eryn turned around and noticed that Jarvi had gone over to Begron's father and had set himself beside his chair. Eryn shook his head and turned back to Begron Jr. He asked what their fight was about. Begron replied that he needed to go into the mines to rescue the villagers but his father wouldn't let him. He was countered with the argument that he didn't need to be reminded of the disappearances that had happened after they had questioned the Order. The young girl wailed out again. Xera by now had awoke with bloodshot eyes and kept to the back of the room while he was passed on the stairs down by an elderly gentleman in fine black tailored garments. Xera could just about see the man put on white gloves before withdrawing a note book and a thin black tube and started to write notes. He was not looking at the girl, Xera noted, but at Eryn instead. He didn't recognise this man, or the man with the mutated fingers.

Eryn quickly shifted his focus to the young girl who was now sobbing over her hand, twiddling her ring with her fingers. Eryn breathed slowly, lowing his tone to a more empathetic level. This was impeded by Jarvi who was now bartering his Hawk-Eye services with Begron Sr. Eryn turned around and glared over the man. Eryn hoped this wasn't his contact. What bothered him more was that the mutant was also blind, with brilliant white eyes scarred with red.  He hoped even more that this blind drunk wasn't official, that the Hawk-Eyes could employ such a man. He turned back to the girl who had continued telling her story without Eryn's attention. The latter part he could only catch a few important pieces of information. Her fiancé had argued with the Purple Order that morning and had only just disappeared while they both slept. The timing was also apparently similar to that over a week ago when a young girl with a sparkling dress accompanied by four women was taken to the mines.

Jarvi  at hearing the distress of a young child bounded out of the inn towards the mines. As he left Mavis shouted to him that it had been over a week but even she knew it was a lost cause, commenting on his mental capacity. Eryn had noticed the slowly dwindling numbers but he had put that down to villagers being members  of the vacating Purple Order, not the ones who had questioned them.  He decided he too had to head for the mines, partly to stop the fool in front from hurting himself, and partly to prove himself. Xera and the black suited man returned upstairs. He started to fumble around in the dark for a machine he had been working, but realised he had left it in the lab. He grabbed his coat and headed towards the lab and the mines, quickly realising the suited man was with another, slightly shorter but more richly dressed young man.  Xera realised there was something not right and after grabbing what he needed from his lab, kept a careful watch from the shadows. 

TSW - Chapter 1: The Feldspar Maw (1) - Darkperch

Eryn, Xera and the twelve year old Hawk-Eye were now falling to the ground. They were still over fifty feet above the ground and a fall from this could be fatal. Out of the three, Eryn was the one laughing. He had managed to summon his flaming hand to assist him on the decent. Xera on the other hand, panicked for a moment, waving his hands and arms in the air as if he was drowning. After a brief moment of clarity, he realised he wasn't actually falling but the gloves he was wearing allowed him to swim through the air. He swiftly dive-bombed after the Hawk-Eye child and managed to catch her in time before she passed into unconsciousness. Although they were now with no guide, they were still left with a trail to follow in the form of the cable that had now dropped to the floor.

Eryn found the little girl to be quite light and easy to lift, so he offered to carry her with them. Eryn had yet to tell Xera about Chloe's death but as he mulled it over on their travels, he decided against the notion. There was no real reason per say, Eryn just thought that it was reasonable to assume Xera didn't need any more bad news and he and Chloe were not exactly close. Small talk peppered the two hour journey from where they had landed to Darkperch, and all the while thankfully quiet. The little girl seemed to be in worsening pain, although she did not fall onto anything. Xera blamed himself a little, perhaps there was something he could have done, in the way he caught her, or the speed, or the angle? He looked upon her, with her eyes scrunching as she slept and guilt twanged within him.

Darkperch was not what Eryn had expected. In its heyday it may have been considered a busy mining village but that had all changed. The walk down towards the central road revealed the extent of the decline.  The road they had been on was presumably the road from Auspar as tracks for carts had been worn into the edges but they were full of weeds and stone. The cable line from the city stopped at a small grey and green tower, about three stories tall, although from behind the discolouration it was originally white. The tower was nestled in-between abandoned shacks and broken windows much like most of the town. There was the sound of unseen farm animals and the bark of Seskii's from a ranch over to the left. Doors had been left open and the wind whistled through the empty rooms.  From the far right they could both hear a few men discussing about relocating. Eryn noticed as they got closer, that they were part of the Purple Order and immediately turned around and away from them as quick as he could.

Xera pointed out  a local tavern where the girl might be able to rest and be treated for whatever affliction she had. The Drunken Talon reflected much of the village it was in. Patrons inside were far and few between  and the large ground floor only emphasised the empty space. The villagers looked worn, gaunt and tired. Not a single person was smiling or seemed to have any energy at all. This changed however when Mavis, the tavern owner in her late forties, spotted the girl and shouted her name, Lina. It was obvious that the girl was a regular here as five patrons plus Mavis rushed to her side. They quickly bundled her up in warm linen and a father and son team carried her upstairs with a bag from behind the bar.

Across from where Eryn and Xera now sat,  a young woman was with man of similar age in the corner of the room at a dimly lit table. The only smile they offered to each other were the quick glances down to a ring on their respective hands. They only had eyes for one another and Xera wondered why they had not noticed them or the young girl. Mavis soon came over with an ample tray of libations as a thank you. The food had seen better days but the ale was crisp and overflowing. Although she tried to remain positive, the cracks in her veneer were obvious to Eryn. He asked her what was wrong and through a forced smile, she tried to explain.

The evacuation of Auspar had happened a fair few hours ago. Eryn complimented Silas on his speed but then remembered the man he was praising was not an ally, at least not to Eryn. She told them that everything had gone to plan, well the Purple Order's plan. They had somehow taken control of the evacuation with no representation from the Hawk-Eyes. Jarvi, their town guard and official Hawk-Eye representative of Darkperch, was already in the city.  In the confusion the Purple Order managed to gain control of the situation, directing everyone into the mines. One or two who had been part of the evacuation and also Purple Order members had stayed behind to help but most were forced into helping within the mines. Eventually nearly everyone had gone in, including some of the villagers to help settle the evacuees down. This was all under the promise that the Order had found a haven for them to stay in the caves, while the city was being rebuilt.

The problem now, according to Mavis was that when some of the Order were questioned by the villagers about the sanctuary that they had not heard of, the Order refused to give them a straightforward answer.  In fact the Order was so against a reply that they started to make plans to leave, regardless of their 'duty' to the evacuees.  They were slowly starting to pack everything up from their Oraea in preparation and had completely refused to speak to anyone.  Mavis trailed off into her own musing about what was down in the mines.  She was worried, that was for sure, but the order was known was its non-committal  to its own causes, and there was most likely enough people down there to look after themselves. Both and Eryn and Xera agreed they needed time before they would consider going into the caves, especially as nothing had actually happened yet.

It was at that point a music box sprang into life on the bar much to Mavis' delight. In response, everyone in the room stood up, apart from Xera and Eryn. As the music played the furniture; the tables, the chairs, even the paintings and the light fixtures all began to move with an almost animalistic motion. Tables bucked and jumped, chairs were herded into a corner by a service trolley. It would seem that anything that could have given a semblance of comfort, also the capacity to live under the influence of the music box. Mavis tried to calm down Eryn and Xera, who had been left on the floor after being dumped by their chairs. Mavis smiled and giggled, the only time she had done since the evacuation.  Her concern for those in the caves paled for a moment in comparison to the comedic pain her two new patrons were feeling.

Xera left as quick as he could, not being able to stand the madness. He needed a place of solitude and in the hopeful absence of its occupant, went around the village trying to find the perfect place to grow his new lab. Eryn on the other hand was brought closer to Mavis. She asked him why he was with Lina and he gave her as much of truth as she needed. She mentioned she had no idea when Jarvi would be back but he, and Xera were welcome to stay here for as long as Lina was resting. Eryn was allowed to for free as a Hawk-Eye, although she pointed out he was not an official member until Lina had vouched for him, and Xera was to stay at half the price, apparently because he was 'easy on the eye'.

Season 1: Recap

Auspar by Jeff Brown

On the sixth day of the Ritual of the Winged Cascade, Eryn Thrax and Chloe Rue who were both slated for sacrificial execution, were set free by a serpentine voice in their head along with a manacle. This freedom was exchanged for them finding the Princess, which the Ritual of the Winged Cascade was meant to bring about. They were kicked out from the Grapnel Arena and dumped into the lower portion of the city called The Foundations, where the poor and the criminal reside. They came across Matthew Shroud and Meow in the Pale Spine, an unsavoury tavern. After a brief fight with some drug smugglers, Meow left the group with the drugs while Eryn and Chloe followed Shroud to the Undercroft Market. Shroud had gained information that would allow people to know him as a Lord, yet he needed to be perceived as one, including the trappings of wealth such as servants and finer clothes. The first came in the form of Neave, a downtrodden and out of work Seneschal who had a family to feed and provide for. She returned to her family to say her goodbyes.

On return from visiting Neave, Shroud encountered the Silver Palm guild-member, Dehart, and his companions looting a shop. Shroud was there at the time of the founding of the Silver Palm so walked over to introduce himself. Looking how he did, and speaking with such familiarity, Dehart had his Guldspar inject him with Judgement. This was swiftly apologised for after Shrouds credentials were verified. Eryn and Chloe stumbled upon this situation, with Chloe antagonising the Silver Palm and in return breaking her lute.

Chloe soon became ill under the effects of the Untethering and so the group visited a Narrkonis Atrium. They 'acquired' a set of earrings that were meant to combat the sickness, in return for exploring an area of the city where a body had been found floating. When the group arrived they were attacked by mechanical beasts. They fought them off, however after the struggle Shroud was separated from them by being detained by Aeon Priests who worked for Cairn. Eryn and Chloe found themselves under the city with a woman called Lily and a creature she had found called Valma. Investigating the rock found that it was perhaps originally a machine that had somehow fossilized. At the end of what was explorable, they discovered a cure for Chloe and found an exit. Before they left Chloe touched a crystal egg that transferred a consciousness to her mind. The voice was piercing like glass and was slowly using her power of transmutation to transmute her own body, eventually including hair, eyes and nails..

Chloe, Lily and Eryn returned to the Narrkonis Atrium in hopes of returning the earrings but did not. Instead Chloe managed to get into a fight with a Purple Order Monk over theology and Valma followed by attacking the woman. Lily is offered an assignment by her employer via a note handed to her by a monk. The group are then offered flowers to smell, after she accepts, and are transported to a stone room. They eventually escape the exit-less room and corridor by walking through the outer stone wall which had writhing hands out-stretched. They had left the Foundations and on to the Merchant floors.

The assignment Lily received was to interrogate the Grapnel Guard and Glaive Keeper Xivians Cairnin, who had been blamed by the public for Chloe and Eryn's acquittal. During the time Lily was trying to ascertain information on Xivians whereabouts, Chloe was slowly losing her mind to the two voices in her head and attacked a cook from the Beyond and her fellow patrons in a restaurant. Eryn found a fan of his called Arden, who had heard of his heroic deed of slaying the first born of the criminal Marish Clan in the city of Qi. Arden had told the Hawk-Eyes of his bravery and requested an invite to be sent to Eryn to join if he was to ever visit. Adren did not expect him to visit, nor for Eryn to deny the rumour Arden was left dejected by Eryn was summoned by the Hawk-Eyes.

When the group finally came together Lily had found out that a select few merchants would know of a way to get inside the Grapnel Academy, where Xivians was located. Eryn was tasked to find this merchant with a sleeping poison on a ring. Eryn found a cigarette salesman called Styenbeck. A freak accident caused Styenbeck to be poisoned and was taken to Mezzo Holdings. At Mezzo's Lily had found a man named Mephisto was living in the room she had rented. After a brief discussion they were interrupted by Eryn and Chloe's arrival as the receptionist Margaret would not let them in. They were allowed to pass but on returning to the room they found Zarik, Mephisto's brother, dying on the floor, to the indifference of Mephisto.

After Zarik died, Mephisto was offered by Lily to talk to his brother. The reason he had been killed was related to the Rings. Styenbeck revealed afterwards, although not knowing of Zarik's death, that he had heard Zarik had returned to the city and was working as Ring of Melch. The interrogation Lily had planned for Styenbeck failed due to Styenbeck's abilities and he demanded that they accompany him to the Tangent Bank to rectify the loss of his business, that of his stock and his peddle cart. The former had at the time of abduction, been taken by Chloe. She, during the interrogation had disappeared onto the rock garden.

She had found a device used by the Whisper Network and transported herself via the Flower Network to where a Professor Melvile was researching in captivity by House Lyathra and that specifically of Silas. He warned her not to have anything to do with the Network and quickly sent her away after noticing the bloody hand-prints on the device. These hand prints belonged to Zarik.

Outside the bank, Lily followed Styenbeck and discovered his links to the Whisper Network and eventual discovery of the eight versions of an old woman who was a gatekeeper to the Tangent Bank. Eryn and Lily found Neave and Shroud at a cafe, deciding how best it would be to steal from the bank. The group joined forces and found their way into the marbled and mirrored bank with Mephisto staying out the outside to keep guard. They eventually found the top floor where Styenbeck took off with a Silver Palm coin from Eryn. Neave was then attacked in the Mirrored Vault. Eryn, Lily and Shroud all hurried into the dimly lit vault. All the surfaces excluding the floor and ceiling were mirrored, and in this were visions of a monster. Chloe was discovered by Lily in a vault drawer.

The monster was a writhing mass of bloody flesh with a brilliant and terrifying golden eye at its centre. Although it was seemingly trapped behind the mirrored glass, it attempted to attacked the group forcing them back out of vault. Outside they quickly hid from approaching Grapnel Guard, who swiftly took Chloe Shroud and Lily into custody. Leaving Eryn and Neave. They both followed behind, with Eryn being interrupted by Arden trying to sell images of a Hawk-Eye version of Eryn. As Eryn tried to stop him he was introduced to Arden's fiancée, Rose, who was also Eryn's ex-girlfriend. This was interrupted by the introduction of Rose's sister, who turned out to be an exact copy of Neave. Eryn knew something was wrong and ran towards the Academy being chased by this clone.

Meanwhile at the Academy, Lily had been introduced to Ellin Darkspur, a plant from the Whisper Network and a member of the Metricious guild. He was there to facilitate her 'slow' progress. Xivians had died and was in the morgue. Lily was able to ascertain that Xivian's was attacked by Zarik before fending Zarik off. Xivians had already taken a slow acting poison due to his guilt and had been spending his time away from the public to repent before he left the earth. Lily, out of curiosity checked a few more corpses and found one of them similar to Neave. The corpse then awake and rampaged inside the academy. Outside, Chloe was with Shroud when Neave approached them, she asked them where Valma was but neither of them had it. The creature was with Lily but Neave was impatient, regardless of Shroud telling her otherwise. Within a few moments Eryn arrived and yelled at Shroud and Chloe to move away from Neave. The one that had given chase arrived as well as one from the morgue, who had thrown Lily's unconscious body out onto the walkway.

The Neave clones were defeated and another Neave, who they believed to be the one the group was associated with, arrived, decapitating one of the Neaves still left on the walkway. She then took Shroud and Valma with her a corner away from Lily, Eryn and Chloe. She opened up Valma, much to the groups on-looking dismay, and rearranged the internal structure. She then apologised for the situation. She explained that she was also a clone, but she had given birth inextricably to a family and she and her were under threat. She was to leave with Shroud for the top floors to get away from her pursuers but she asked if they could find her children. They had been taken into hiding but Neave had wiped the hiders memories clean remotely so needed the group to take them to a man named Braxx to restore their memories. She also explained that Valma had a vastly larger database than original thought and that it was the interface and firewalls that were blocking access. She explained that she had 'fixed' Valma, but during the rebuilding phase of the library, its behaviour would change from childlike to adult. During the adolescent phase she instructed Lily and Eryn to be careful with it, as its programming could become corrupted and may react violently. It was also at this point Valma gained the ability to shrink into a size that fitted onto an attachment onto belts or to a pocket size.

After a stopover at Areanna's,  Lily was made a full member of the Whisper Network and was tasked on relaying all information on Chloe to her Entwined Evaline. The next morning, Eryn left early to find a way to gain favour with the Silver Palm, remembering their smuggling business from when he first was released. This woke up Lily who quickly after Erny leaving, used her new connections to organise him to be followed. Eryn found that the Minotaur's, a rogue criminal faction against the Silver Palm, were slowly being 'cleansed' from the lower areas. Eryn decided to find the leader and hand them in. This turned out to be Rose. He placed her unconscious body in a barrel and transported her to Dehart. Dehart told him that Neave's house was currently being occupied by grunts with heavy machinery and medical equipment, although they had no insignias.

Erny arrived at the house, created a hole outside the house to trap a few grunts and then went inside. He found an elaborate autopsy set up amongst the humble property. He was attacked to a shadow and a man Eryn was unable to grab. He noticed after that there were multiple body parts of young children but no heads, spilled blood and mercury. He also found information by Melvile about a poison called Prosapiae. Chloe and Lily soon arrived, with Lily stopping Chloe from entering. Eryn handed Lily the research before she was abducted through the floor without Eryn's notice. He heard her Whisper Network box fall to the floor and used it on a flower and left.

Chloe was now on her own. The crystal voice and the serpent voice fought in her head. She received a vision of a gigantic spaceship crashing into earth. Valma heard the crystal voice crying to this and appeared to Chloe. Valma told Chloe of records it had of a 'transdimensional gramatrix drive' failure and an 'emergency shift to evacuate all personnel'. Chloe was convinced Valma, the voice and the ship crash were all linked. She tried to tell Eryn or Lily but both had disappeared She remembered the frequency of the Flower Network on the rock-garden outside Mezzo's and teleported.

Eryn was transported to the back of a shop where he met Xera and Eciton who were working on another part of Prosapiae. They were attacked by the Rings of Melch and managed to capture one member. They brought him back to Mezzo's where he revealed that Melch was believed to be real, confirmed by the serpentine voice in Eryn's head. Chloe arrived and in a fit of madness cut off her own arm in an attempt to remove Melch's voice. She passed out afterwards and during the confusion the manacle attacked itself to her leg without being seen. Eciton and his Ricora soon left suspiciously quick after Chloe's self infliction and the disappearance of her manacle and was blamed as a thief.

Xera offered Eryn to help work on Prosapiae at his lab in the Foundations. He accepted and so took both Eryn and Chloe with him. Eryn decided to contact Neave about the possibility of House Lyathra of the Whisper Network being involved with her childrens' capture. She snidely thanked him for being useful, ordered the removal of Shroud's memories and cut all communication. On the way down the group was cornered by Aeon Priests and Chloe was quickly handed over to them. She was subsequently taken and examined and imprisoned by the Aeon Priests. Eryn and Xera finally made it to Xera's lab only to encounter Xera's partner in his drug creation enterprise, Styenbeck. All too soon however they had to fight off one of Xera's ingredients, Jesanthums.

During this Lily had been taken by House Lyathra, specifically that of Silas. He warned her for using his property for frivolous and unsanctioned affairs, such as hiring someone to follow Eryn. He then made her apologize and forced her to take an assignment called 'The Harvest'. She was then transported via the Flower Network to Styenbeck during the middle of the fight. After the fight was over she and Styenbeck carried out the mission they had been assigned. Xera was attacked by a presumed dead body of a Neave clone, one of a number who had started falling to their deaths. It grabbed hold of Xera, Eryn tried to free him with a fireball, and accidentally set his lab on fire. Xera managed to rescue some ingredients, notes and lab equipment and some vials of the drug he had been working on called Black sunshine but most it was turned into a blue cloud that drifted up and around the city.

This fire sparked Deharts anger. Xera enquired as to where they might find the ingredients for the poison they were working on. Eryn handed over five Silver Palm coins. Dehart could not refuse, he told them that House Lyathra had one of the ingredients as they had delivered it themselves. He would offer his guild's full services Eryn and Xera collected all the bodies of Neave to which they agreed. Eryn decided to use barrels and so went to the Pale Spine. This lead him to find out that the Hawk-Eyes out of the city and t criminals were known as bounty hunters and was given everything he wanted. Xera on the other hand went to the local Narrkonis Atrium to gain supplies using Silas' name. This also allowed time to pass into night so that they could easily collect the bodies.

Chloe who had been captured slowly made her escape, aided mysteriously at each turn. She found her way up to the office of Egron Mar, the head of the Aeon Priests in Auspar, only to discover communications between him and another, talking about her. The letter jokingly referred to the amethyst that was showing on her would break if she was to lose anymore sanity, referring to her as the 'Shattered Child'. This was only offered as an alternate explanation to the reference. Chloe took the letter and escaped with the aid of a maid and cook, who Chloe realised too late, that she might have possibly been her murdered handmaiden. The crystal voice offered Chloe a new hand but she was distracted by the faint voice of Valma, who she followed to the bottom of the city.

When she arrived on the first floor, she bumped into Styenbeck. He was carrying the head of a Neave and instinctively Chloe tried to stop him. She had intended to remove the walkway in front of him, however he fell into this hole and was swallowed by the rubbish. She went over to where Styenbeck had been and found the body to go with the head. As she was discovering this she was shouted at by two indistinguishable men, who she believed were Aeon Priests. They were in fact Eryn and Xera but she managed to lead them on a chase through the Foundations.

The next day they were lead by Deharts contacts to the place where the ingredient was being held. They were transported half way up the tower by a few Untethered members of the Silver Palm. During their entry they managed to escape detection and make their way upstairs. On their way up they discovered more details about Prosapiae, most of which were in a kind of binary format as well as details on types of shadows being considered the true rules of House Lyathra. At the top of the tower they discovered more research notes as well as a seven foot tall vase with similarly large flowers. The group were prompted to connect to the flower and were transported to what looked like an underground cellar.

Inside this cellar were more gruesome aspects of the research into Prosapaie. In one of the locked rooms, Eryn and Xera found the body of Lily with a Neave head. This head started talking to Valma in another language before Eryn permanently put a stop to it by melting the flesh off the metal bones. Chloe meanwhile was downstairs. She had encountered the creature known as a Nychthemeron, a monstrous creature who only spoke in questions. After Eryn and Xera joined him her they discovered they were being watched by Silas. There was a sudden earthquake and Silas offered Chloe, Eryn and Xera safe passage out of the city .As the cellar was collapsinging they noticed that the creature was just a holographic projection, even though their interactions with it had been visceral. Silas also told Xera to use a Cypher to convert the words of the creature into its own language.

They agreed hastily and they were transported to the Narrkonis Atrium. From there Eryn directed the group to the Hawk-Eye tower. Silas explained, that as a member of the Purple Order, he had noticed that Chloe had a prophesy on her amethyst transmutations and needed to see the rest so she must be saved. He then revealed that the cause for the earthquakes, the Obsidian Spire in the city gyrating up and down, was caused by the Whisper Networks interference with the Neaves. It had triggered an alarm which seemingly cause the earthquakes.

Silas offered Chloe a serum that would re-grow her hand, she agreed. This not only allowed Silas to read her hand for prophecies but had the intentional benefit of converting her own flesh into amethyst. The group eventually reached to top Needle-Point summit where Silas revealed the extent of the prophecy and Chloe's conversion to a group of Purple Order Monks and Hawk-Eye guild members. They all agreed that the three should be evacuated. However Melch had other ideas and used the manacle to poison Chloe. The crystal voice sped up the conversion, stopping the organic poison from harming the body. However as this process was sped up, it resulted in solid rather than organic crystalline structures, eventually converting Chloe completely into amethyst.

Silas told Eryn and Xera to take the notes Xera had gathered from the creature and to find the House of Morianna. They were the only ones capable of translating. He told them they would look after Chloe and sent Lina Rennis with them. She instructed them on a man named Jarvi being their guide outside of the city. She also asked if they could find a man for her. His name was Zarik and he had gone missing after fighting with his father, Silas and she wanted Silas to be happy again. She took them to a zip line that lead far off into the distance to a village called Darkperch.

As they ventured down the line, Eryn's manacle was caught in an invisible barrier over the caldera edge. It had yanked him from the zip line and he was losing his grip. He could hear Melch laugh as the Obsidian Spire slammed for one last time, sending a shockwave through the city. This reached Chloe and shattered her into dust. A split second later the cable snapped, leaving the fates of Xera, Eryn and Lina in the balance

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

.

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.