1.9 Far from the Tree, Part 3

When last we met...

Our team of investigators were treated to Russian-style hospitality in the home of John's biological parents in the mysterious Sunken City. They also discovered the shocking origin of Sergei – he is a clone of John, augmented by Daedalus, Sergei's creator. In a bid to secure a way back home to the surface, all but Sergei traveled to the central dome of the Sunken City on a reconnaissance mission. Their goal was to assess how, and if, it's possible to help Catherine, John's mother, to take control of the Tower of Judgment – and through the Tower, rule the Sunken City itself.

Tower Gift Shop

Clerk: "Do not shop from that wall over there. Those things will all turn to dust when you go home. Shop from this wall over here. And remember... we are fiction!"

Having found no way through the brass door in the library, the crew regroups in the lobby to try the gift shop – the only place left on this floor to search. It contains exactly what a gift shop should contain: golem figurines. Golem socks. The tower on kitchen towels and oven mitts. Jigsaw puzzles and art prints of the lighthouse from four different angles, and a turtle on everything that isn't a golem or the tower.

Wren uses the bathroom outside the shop on the off chance that she can find some sign of a golem within; but if they're the cleaning crew, they're a tidy one, because there's no trace of any kind of flakes, dust, leavings, anything crystalline she could scrape into a pocket and hand to Sergei. There's also no vent or maintenance hatch that might get them into the tower walls.

Maeve digs through the bin of golem keychains. Somewhere around the third handful, she notices that one of the little golems is wrong — the weight is wrong, the texture is wrong, the sheen is wrong. She spots the feel of crystal immediately, and goes to buy her treasure from the clerk.

Wren picks up an art book that talks about the tower, its construction, and its role in City life. She flips through it and doesn't make out much that's useful – history, architecture, the kind of thing sold in a gift shop. It isn't going to give away anything on purpose. London skims it. Nothing jumps out at him. Hands it to John. Nothing. Maeve takes a turn, flipping through the oversized glossy pages, and lets the pictures do the work. The crystals that decorate the tower are called Orichalcum, and it is the same substance the golems and columns are made of. Orichalcum comes in two forms, crystalline and metallic, and they repel one another. They purchase the book as well, in case it provides Sergei with useful information.

Chatting up the clerk, Maeve asks about customs, paperwork, anything required for getting a souvenir topside. Turns out... this is considered part of the same city. The clerk just cheerfully reminds them that the Sunken City is fictional. Getting out is the harder question, and the clerk has only heard stories.

There are two ways out that the clerk knows of. There are tunnels — the kind that connect to other tunnels that come up on the surface. And there is a ghost ship. The ship has no schedule. It could be here in an hour or next month.

"It sinks, and most people die, but then it returns to the surface."

Not exactly reassuring, even if ghosts are your Thing.

The chatty clerk also tells them other colorful rumors about the Sunken City – that it's the Elders, not just the tower, that are necessary to keep it functional. And also that while the golems we see around the city all look the same, there are rumors of other types of golems kept in waiting, hidden somewhere, that nobody has ever seen.

Wren asks how they can find the famous "Amazing Lock" that nobody can open, and the clerk points the group in the right direction.

The Locked Door

Maeve: "So they have no staff and no assistants that come and go? They're all just up there by themselves? Seems very lonely to me."
Guard: "When you're several thousand years old, you have different priorities."

The famous locked door is down a short side hallway, away from the main traffic. There's a guard here who looks like a tall, broad human until the light hits him just so and you realize there's an impression of solid stone.

The lock itself is dizzyingly complicated. It takes up the entire surface of the door. Trying to examine it with a mythos viewpoint just makes it more complicated, not less; it becomes clear that you can't even start working on the door until you provide some kind of external physical substance to reveal the first stage of the lock. The group is pretty sure that's Orichalcum, but... then what?

The guard is content to let people touch the door, as long as they don't appear to be actively trying to manipulate the lock. Wren asks the guard all about the lock, and when she asks if anyone's ever tried to break in, he tells her that the last time it happened was about three years ago. The lock, of course, has its own defenses. It takes care of threats before anyone can intervene.

He doesn't know the way in, and none of them have keys. Nobody does. Nobody goes up, and nobody comes down. No maintenance, no staff, no deliveries, no nothing. Just a hundred stories of silence, and the assumption that the Elders live at the top, doing whatever it is Elders do.

After exploring this last public location in the tower, they decided to return to Rasputin's dome to meet with Sergei, rather than staying the night here in the central dome.

Daedalus's Laboratory

Daedalus: "Oh, your lizard is wonderful! Tuatara. They are fascinating creatures. Old. Very old."
Kevin: "You can scratch him. He's friendly."

It is late in the evening by the time the weary travelers get back to the palace. Sergei has reinstalled himself in Maeve's room, and they meet up there before Kevin and Sergei head down to Daedalus's lab. Daedalus is enchanted by Ariki, though he's overwhelmed when the rest of the group arrives (it took them a moment to get organized). He becomes more comfortable as he realizes these are Sergei's friends, who are kind to him and interested in what he has to say.

Daedalus says he will organize a meeting with the cloning guy from the surface the next morning, though it is clear he has little respect for him.

The two men then show off the ray gun they have been working on. All they need now is a crystal to test it on. This leads to a discussion of Orichalcum, and Daedalus explains the interaction between the crystalline and metallic forms. As a quick test, he takes Maeve's keychain. He holds it next to the ray gun's housing, and it leaps out of his hand, hanging in the air for a second before he catches it. Definitely real crystal. Not typical for a keychain golem, but it's lucky for them. They can use this to finish their calibration. Sergei shows the metal from Wren's radio to Daedalus, and he confirms that it is the other form of Orichalcum. This one is used to hold magic, essentially, and apply it to uses outside of the host of a Rift.

One notable person who does this work extensively is Dr. Florentine. She is known for creating magical body modifications. Daedalus has considered asking her for an arm before, but is scared to do it. If you want wings, or a prosthetic magical arm, or a third eye like Ariki, she's the one to call. Since it requires a Rift with the magic available to transfer to the orichalcum, Dr. Florentine usually takes magic from the dead to power her creations. If you use the living, well, they typically end up dead afterwards. So... it's much better to start there. He really doesn't recommend meeting her.

Telling Daedalus more about their trip to the central dome, they ask him if he knows anything about the locked door, and show him Wren's photos. He is familiar, though he's never seen it in person. It's pretty well known that many have tried to open it and none have succeeded.

When they tell him about the other door, the blank one, and the fact that Maeve was able to pass through it, his expression changes. His interest is piqued, and he asks her to describe the process she used. He asks if she's willing to do an experiment, and she nods. He hands her a small round pebble of orichalcum – the metallic kind. It's soft and malleable, like 24 karat gold.

As Maeve holds it in her hand, the stone is uncomfortably cold, and she can feel it drawing some important essence out of her. Just a bit, but she wouldn't want to keep holding it for a long time. Daedalus takes it back from her with tongs and fashions it into a thin, flat sheet.

He then takes the sheet and passes it straight through the top of his table several times, back and forth, before the magic eventually gives out.

Daedalus: "Orichalcum absorbs magic, and then you can use it from that item in something else a limited number of times. A limited number of times the way I did it. If I took it from you in the way that is the most extractive — the items can last years and years and years and years. But I do not want to hurt you. Sergei is my friend, and you are his friend."

He warns them that it's best not to tell Catherine about Maeve's abilities, just in case. She might decide Maeve is useful, and you don't really want to be useful to Catherine in pursuit of her goals. He also warns her to stay far, far away from Dr. Florentine.

Daedalus's concerns lead to a discussion about Catherine, Rasputin, and their motivations. Deep down Daedalus is not comfortable with the cloning work. He was secretly glad when John ran. Ultimately, the group reaches a consensus that letting Catherine rule the whole Sunken City is not a good idea.

Daedalus: "I thought if I make a bad clone-work, then maybe they would stop. They did stop. Because source material ran away."

They circle back to Sergei and John's memory loss, and the fact that Daedalus implied that Rasputin might be responsible. He is quick to clarify that it wouldn't be mind control – Raz can't order someone to do something and they'll just do it unthinkingly. But he can be very... persuasive. It's not impossible that he could convince someone that a different truth happened.

Daedalus: "I would not spend a long time in conversation with him. Because the longer you spend in conversation with him, the more times you will find yourself saying yes than maybe you would have. It's like alcohol."

Decision made, they ask Daedalus about other things. Wren talks to him about the automaton servants she's seen throughout the palace. He is delighted to discuss them at length, and show her the ones he has in progress.

Daedalus: "They are very fun to make. I am working on different personalities so that you can choose personality of your personal assistant. If you want them to not talk, or if you want them to talk. Or if you want them to have suggestions. Or if you want them to always say nice things to you, or if you want them to be rude to you. I have costumes for that that I have been told to make. They are very strange."
John: "Oh. Costumes."

Their next step will be getting out of here, so they ask about the tunnels they heard about from the gift shop clerk. Daedalus has heard of these tunnels, though he's never seen them firsthand. They are tunnels that connect to the upper city, and are part of a place called "Undertrash" that is ruled by a woman known as the "Queen of the Night." London puts together that these are probably the same tunnels that got them out of Tlālōcān, the watery pocket location where they pursued Rogelio. The sewer they exited was an illogical distance from La Colonia.

Knowing that at least some of them need to make a public appearance, the crew says their farewells to Daedalus and goes to their rooms to clean up before heading for a very late dinner in the dining hall.

Dinner

Catherine: "It is not expected in one day that you have solved a problem that has been plaguing us for hundreds, if not thousands of years. So I understand the need for another day. But eventually patience will run out."

It's late enough that a cuddle pile of cultists are asleep on the floor, but the kitchen staff is accommodating and gets the group whatever they want to eat. When the pavlova shows up for dessert, so does Catherine, immaculate despite the late hour.

She asks them for an update on what they found. Unfortunately, it is nothing she didn't already know, beyond a certainty that both forms of orichalcum are necessary for the first step in the puzzle of the locked door. She tells them a few "entertaining" stories about how the locked door fights back. Everything from turning people into squirrels to spraying them with acid to making them permanently invisible in an inconvenient kind of way.

She was already familiar with the blank brass door in the library as well. They say nothing about Maeve's experience phasing through it.

They share an update on Sergei's ray gun, though they don't reveal that it's complete. Just that it's a work in progress for golem suppression.

London acknowledges they'll have to go back to the city and probably stay for a few days in order to make real progress, and they'll need to take Sergei along to do it. A more exhaustive exploration of the city and its major structures is warranted, as a place like the lighthouse may give a different vantage point on the tower. Catherine is understanding, but does warn him that her patience is not infinite.

The group returns to the guest floor and congregates in Maeve's room. They use the opportunity for a quick final conference to restate their planned excursion to the central dome in "private," as they know this room is still bugged.

Then they scatter for the night.

Cillian's room

Maeve: "Where did you get this map, London?"
London: "Well... that is not very important. Is there anything here that is useful?"
Cillian: "Just answer the question. I don't think that would be a hard one to answer."

Resigned to being the moment's least favorite person, London knocks on Cillian's door. Cillian answers, pulling his shirt back on over his head. Reluctantly, he lets London into the room, where a rumpled-looking Maeve sits on the bed.

London pulls out the map that Catherine gave him the previous night and shows it to the pair. He asks if it might be possible to learn something that the map wasn't intended to reveal – finding possible hidden passages or other irregularities based on the structure of the palace. He scanned it, but this isn't his thing.

He tries to deflect questions on how and where he got the map, though Cillian is unwilling to let it go. Maeve studies the drawing and realizes there are definitely hidden spaces. Many of them. And noting the starred location, she tells London she already knows that Catherine must have given it to him.

Cillian looks over her shoulder, studying the alignment of the first and second floors.

Cillian: "Do you mind if I tear this?"
London: "I don't think I'm using it again."
Cillian: "That bad, huh?"

He tears the map in half and aligns the two pieces on top of each other for a more 3D visualization. The location of the stairways now jumps out at them all.

Knowing that Cillian is much better at sweeping for bugs than the rest of them, and pretty confident this room is as safe as they can get, the three discuss an exit strategy. Maeve agrees to draw a marked up copy of the map that they can give to John so he can find ways out of the palace in secret if necessary. He's the most likely to be detained or isolated in the event Catherine realizes they're trying to run.

But that is a tomorrow problem.

In the Walls

GalleryWren: "Ooh, are y'all like watching people? Are y'all Eyes Wide Shutting?"

Still restless, London decides to explore some of these passages within the walls himself. Finding an entrance from his bathroom, he takes stairs down to the first floor passage. Covered peepholes adorn the walls looking into most of the rooms. Servants' quarters, ballrooms... John's room. No cameras, so it isn't security; it's personal entertainment.

A footfall sounds from around the corner ahead, and London tries to retreat. He trips on a stair, and decides to act confident instead of guilty. Turning to face whoever is coming, he slides his hands in his pockets and steps out of the stairwell.

It's Rasputin.

He starts walking slowly down the passage, straight for London. "You would like to come see some things that are interesting? How many very interesting things have you been able to see, my friend?"

London hedges. "I do not take your meaning."

Rasputin scoffs. "Of course you take my meaning." He gestures to the peepholes in the wall, sliding aside a few of the covers. "Some are more interesting than others. You like to see?"

"Ah. Yes. I did notice those. But no, gracias. I have no interest in other people's stories."

He looks London up and down. "You don't like to see? Well, then you are different than the impression I received last night from what I saw. What are you looking for tonight?" He continues to approach and London takes a small step backwards.

Rasputin continues. "And that is not what I heard. I have heard you are great at finding other people's things and selling them for good price. Well, maybe there are things I am willing to buy."

Looking for any kind of leverage, London takes a hard, mythos-powered look at what drives this man. The answer is unsettling.

Experience. He wants the most decadent, most sensuous, most exotic experience. It is a void that he cannot fill, no matter how hard he tries. He is an Epicurean, but worse. To the point that you worry someday it will drive him to do something very different. Just to have a different experience. It's a maw of hunger.

Rasputin takes another step. "Señor Zepeda. Acquisitive of many things."

He pauses, and London takes the opportunity to start up the stairs. Then Rasputin presses forward again. "I could use someone with your... talents... on my payroll. And I pay well."

London looks back over his shoulder. "You of all people, señor, do not require my services."

Escaping to his room, London takes a deep breath, covers every peephole into his quarters that he can find, and exits the palace, making for the stables.

Daedalus's Laboratory

Daedalus: "You are all kinds of bad person, and now you pay for it by doing what they want you to do."

The next morning, anticipation is high as the group gathers in the laboratory to meet the mysterious cloning expert from the surface, Agent Dire. Daedalus's contempt for the man is obvious.

Daedalus: "He make clones. He make clones of people who don't want to be clones. I should not be making judgments, but I make judgments anyway. He make clones of smart, nice people."

Sergei: "So tell me, are Niners clones?"

Sergei starts the conversation on the offensive, asking immediately about the Niners. He goes on to explain that he is a clone of John, so obviously, they know cloning. Dire proceeds to give him a series of orders: Sit. Stand. Do a chicken dance. At the chicken dance, Sergei stops and regards him, asking him why instead of doing as he's told, despite Kevin's musical accompaniment.

Dire: "I know what— I know what they are. worked in the program."

Dire is shocked that a clone doesn't have to follow orders unthinkingly. He keeps glancing at Daedalus, who keeps glaring at him.

During all this, London studies the man, saying nothing, trying to assess what makes him tick. Dire is extremely guarded because he has a lot to hide. It isn't reticence or shyness. It is "I am terrified for my life and very carefully watching what I say."

London: "Señor, we are not here to cause you trouble. We do not need all of your secrets. We only have a couple of questions."

London asks Dire about the stitching. The metaphysical stitching they've seen on Inez and on Denver. Dire confirms their hunch: that the stitching is the excising – or exorcism – of a Rift. And yes, it is a specialty of Shrouders.

Dire is one of the Men in Gray, and he was part of the team responsible for cloning the Niners, but he’s not a Shrouder. He can perform the operation they were asking about in a pinch but it isn’t his main focus. A little more convincing and he tells them he’s a Rupturer. Not a terribly popular specialization for an operative.

Maeve doesn’t feel like it makes any sense for Dire to live here among the very “monsters” he hates so much. She tries to convince Dire to come back to the surface with them, telling him about Saints Within, the organization that can remove rifts. Maybe he could get back to some semblance of normal.

He appreciates her bleeding heart naïveté, but she has no idea how impossible that is for him. He’s the only one of his team left, his Rift would endanger many more vulnerable people outside of the Sunken City, and even topside, he would be in hiding for the rest of his so-called life.

Dire and his team came down to the Sunken City on a suppression incursion through the tunnels. The mission went sideways, and he can’t recall exactly what happened. He blacked out. What he does know is that now he’s the only one of his team still alive, and he's developed a real Rift – a dangerous one. The blackouts are a recurring “feature.”

Dire: "They say it's too dangerous to use, and then you do anyway. Maybe they were right all along."
London: "You are fighting fire with fire. There's nothing wrong with that."
Dire: "It is when the fire consumes you. Maybe you get what you deserve."

His mention of the tunnels leads to that line of questioning. Dire confirms that the Undertrash connects The City to the Sunken City. He agrees to take them to the tunnel entrance he knows in exchange for Maeve delivering a letter to his wife and daughter. He gives her a sealed envelope with something rigid and bulky inside.

Dire: "I will take you to the exit, and you will take this to my wife and child. They deserve to know what happened."

They agree to meet Dire at the beach at a specific time later that morning. They have already laid groundwork with Catherine that they intend to return to the main dome today, so there's a cover story already in place.

Next they tackle the logistics of getting out. They decide it will be the most convincing setup if John "stays" at the palace. London hands him a map marked with secret entrances and exits, as well as servant staircases, that will help him get out of the family wing unseen. He warns John that he ran into Rasputin in those hallways, but he does not think that what Rasputin sees from them is as interesting during the day. So it should be empty. Probably.

Cillian: "London, are you gonna tell them where you got this map?"
London: "No, I am not going to tell them where I got it. I mean... it is a story for another day."
Cillian: "Guess where he got that map? There's a big X in one of the bedrooms."
Maeve: "Um, Cillian? I didn't actually draw the X on this copy. But way to out him."
Cillian: "Oh. This isn't the original?"
Maeve: "This... isn't the original. You tore that one in half, remember?"

So much for London's attempt to afford Catherine some small amount of discretion.

The plan is for the rest of the group to go out the front door, telling Catherine that John is staying behind; while John sneaks out the back, dressed vaguely like London, gets the horse from the stable, and rides for the beach. Hopefully at a casual glance, nobody will notice he's... like twice as big as London and wearing sunglasses. It'll be fine.

It is time to part ways with Daedalus for the last time. Sergei hugs him, which he wasn't expecting; he returns it awkwardly. He hands Sergei a very strange, clunky looking phone covered with dials and gauges and other strange additions. He tells Sergei that the phone will reach him here, but if he does not answer, not to leave a message. He's in the lab most of the time, but just to be safe. Sergei promises to stay in touch and that he will share lab notes, and they can talk about their experiments. Sergei is also keeping notes about what's happened here in his pockets, so that he's prepared if something happens to their memories again.

Daedalus then turns and wishes the others well.

Daedalus (to John): "All right. You are not my son, but good luck."
Wren: "It was really fun meeting you, Daedalus. You're a really cool guy."
Daedalus: "I am not cool guy, but thank you. You are very pretty lady to say I am cool man. I will not forget that."

The Escape

The group makes a show of packing their very few things and heading downstairs. Meanwhile, in the family wing, John leaves his room and makes for the passage. He's almost made when he passes Catherine on her way down to see the others off, but there's a handy distraction: one of the women he spent the night with the first night here. He grabs her and kisses her, causing Catherine to smile at the fact that he is staying as she passes by. Ivan is being Ivan.

Once Catherine is out of view, John backs the girl into the servant stairway, winks, and tells her to wait right here. Then he disappears down the stairs, makes for the stable, grabs London's horse, and rides for the beach.

At the front door, the larger group says goodbye to Catherine, who sees them off with packed lunches and a bag of the cowrie shell currency typical of the Sunken City.

Catherine: "My son is not going with you?"
London: "We gave him the five-minute warning. I don't think it was heeded. But with Sergei in attendance this time, we will have what we need to take our next steps."
Catherine: "Well, this is fine. Ivan was very... distracted when last I saw him. This is what he likes, Ivan."

She also thanks Sergei for doing this, as she knows he would prefer to remain in the lab with Daedalus, who will no doubt miss him while he is away. She looks at London a long moment; she can tell something is off with him, but not quite what. She doesn't completely trust him, but she's taking what he says at face value. For now.

Catherine: "Good luck. Thank you. Come back with answers, and I am looking forward to seeing you again."

Maeve's expressive face almost gives up the game, as Catherine meets her eyes. But in that moment...

Flashback

Maeve and Cillian wander the wintry gardens of the palace, and Maeve tries to show him how interacting with ghosts works. She meets the ghost of a young girl who is delighted to have someone to talk to. They play hide and seek, and for the rest of their stay, the girl follows Maeve around, chatting away at her and touching her hair. The sensation is like a cool breeze.

... there is a sudden crash behind Catherine as a little ghost only visible to Maeve shoves over a ceramic planter with all her strength. Catherine whirls around to see what happened, and it distracts her just long enough for Maeve to school her expression and turn away from Catherine's too-intelligent gaze. They depart, taking the road towards the main artery that leads to the central dome.

Once they're far away from the palace, they veer off the main road and take a smaller path that leads towards the beach. They meet up with John and Dire at the edge of the tangled jungle. Dire leads the way to a jagged cliff, with a small track zigzagging up its face. He explains that the cliff face at a certain point is an illusion, and they can walk right through. Having pointed them to their destination, Dire disappears into the dense foliage.

Starting up the path, they hear sounds behind them. Looking back they see Catherine, Rasputin, and a contingent of guards coming their way. They didn't sell the story as well as they hoped, or someone saw them leave the main road.

Maeve ushers everyone past her, turning back to the approaching group. In the Sunken City, everyone's mythos are a bit closer to the surface. Maeve closes her eyes, opens them, and plunges Catherine and Rasputin into a nightmare, planting seeds of madness in the turmoil. In the hallucination she crafts for them, the Elders, having discovered Catherine's plan, arrive in the flesh with an army of twelve-foot crystal golems, all bathed in a glaring, blinding pure white light. She commands the ghosts in the area to add to the effect with cold winds and grasping hands.

She plunges into the tunnel behind her as the screaming starts. But the light was so bright that in the darkness, she is completely blinded as spots dance before her eyes. John gets off the horse, grabs Maeve with his inhumanly strong arms, and starts hauling her forward. London grabs the reins and remounts. Kevin tears down the tunnel, clipping a corner and cutting his arm open in the process.

Wren turns back to the opening, takes a deep breath, and breathes fire out into the woods. She incinerates the brush and foliage around the entrance to the tunnel, causing it to burn and create a barrier between the fleeing group and the guards beyond.

The horse guides them in the right direction through near-total darkness until it hits the barrier edge where the Mist changes. Both the horse and Ariki pop out of existence; London whispers goodbye to the horse before it disappears and he hits the ground.

The smell hits them even before their eyes adjust to the emergent, weak light. The tunnels transition to a more industrial material, leaving the rough cavern walls behind.

They have arrived in the Undertrash, domain of the Queen of the Night.