Personal Log. Stardate …
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
I was right. The identity of the Cyber-Lady sorceress was significant. Highly. Just not in the way I had imagined. We’re no closer to defeating her, but since our given mission is reconnaissance we’re moving forward. The only trick now will be reporting it.
After resting up for a bit we had rejoined the others and got everyone up to speed on everything, whereupon Cyra teleported the entire group back to Morholt’s Domain to do some brainstorming.
Nobody could come up with any information on the Cyber-Lady’s identity, so we decided to go ahead and report in to Baudemagus with what we had. He didn’t answer. This in itself was, and still is, a worrisome development as he had been willing to accept a call before even while taking a shower. We contented ourselves with searching Morholt’s mansion while waiting before trying to contact Baudemagus again.
The search of the mansion turned up some experimental eyeware with embedded icons. All other potentially useful information had been data-wiped, probably remotely. The icons had a physical presence not subject to remote deletion. The apparent speed of his departure, not stopping to pick up items in which he had clearly invested a great deal of time and effort, make me thing he is going to be significantly reinforced when he makes his return. I just hope our efforts with the Door postpone that return for a long time.
Cyra managed to project the images of the Icons for the rest of us to see. There were seven of them. I recognized Bastiano and Mordecai, the Commander of the Black Raven company. The ape butler helped us apply names to most of the rest, but the names didn’t mean anything to me. The remaining unidentified Icon was of a Dwimmerlaik. I’m still not sure what to make of that.
A second attempt to contact Baudemagus failed.
While debating how much independence of will the Cyber-Lady might be operating under I sensed the severing of the Door to the Grand Stair through which we had entered this world. An immediate attempt to contact Baudemagus failed. This, then, seemed to be Drake’s response to Baudemagus’ attempt to reinforce Soto-sama. The big question was whether or not Baudemagus was still alive. It’s still a big unknown.
We bounced ideas around for a while, but ultimately it all came back to our lack of knowledge. Until we knew better what we were up against, and any potential weaknesses, we could not make any rational decision about how to proceed.
We finally decided to infiltrate the Hive and see if a search of the Cyber-Lady’s quarters would provide us anything useful. A room with two doors was created, small enough for the dragon to carry. Jane and Cyra rode the dragon out over the Pacific, whereupon Jane linked the two doors in the room together. This was the bait for the Cyber-Lady, to draw her out of the Hive. Cyra then teleported the two of them back to Morholt’s Domain.
The distraction worked, and wayfinding soon revealed that the Cyber-Lady was on the move. The infiltration force then set out. This force consisted of all of us save Jane and myself. Jane and I were the only two who could unseal the door and unleash the cyber-naki on the Grand Stair. We were the ones who Could Not Be Captured in the event that disaster befell our operation. We were also the ones who could sever the final link to the Grand Stair should the cyber-naki become aware of Morholt’s Domain and decide to take possession of it.
The plan went off without a hitch. Entrance was effected through the underground loading dock, then went up the interior of the elevator shaft, all without raising an alarm. The Cyber-Lady’s quarters were searched and several interesting items appropriated. The security office was accessed through air shafts perfected to allow people to move through them stealthily. Cyra downloaded all the security footage, then deleted everything from the last several hours. On the way out they rescued the prisoner we had found out about shortly after our arrival, removing his embedded transmitter before everyone returned to Morholt’s Domain. The tracking chip was teleported to the flooded nightclub, a nice touch I thought.
The prisoner had nothing relevant to tell us. Although under sentence of death for his renegade actions, Soto-sama found she had no heart for executing renegades. Considering our own probable status none of us felt like arguing.
The items taken from the Cyber-Lady’s proved far more intriguing. First was an action figure in the likeness of Drake, Lord of the Falling Wall, containing an Icon for him. Our first thought was concern that Drake might actually be behind the activity on Fierce, but Soto-sama admitted the Icon had in fact been hers, having been lost well after the initial creation of the cyber-naki. It could, however, explain in part Drake’s adamant insistence that the link to Fierce be severed if this Icon had been used to attack him directly.
Three other, more traditional Icons were also found. These were of Dwimmerlaik. Mena thought one resembled descriptions she had read of Mobray the Pale Heirophant, quite ancient and considered primarch of the Dwimmerlaik religion. I’m guessing the Pale Heirophant is probably of a rank and power comparable to our Gossamer Lords, and if the other two Icons are of Dwimmerlaik of equal prominence then it’s not surprising our Cyber-Lady is a force to be reckoned with. It makes me worry about how much effort they might go to to find her and if they they can cross shadow to penetrate a sealed world.
The final bit of plunder were several documents in an undecipherable language. As a last resort William consulted The Book. The writing was an account of the Cyber-Lady’s experiences written in Dwimmerlaik. The writer was a disciple of Mobray, a self proclaimed gifted sorceress, channeler, and artificer. She had been captured by Morholt who, in a last ditch effort to retain control of the Artifact had converted her to a cyber-naki.
She had also written about all of us.
It appeared to me that Morholt’s control of the Cyber-Lady was minimal at best, and the army of cyber-naki was her doing. She certainly expressed delight at her command of the cyber-naki. What mischief the Dwimmerlaik might accomplish should eight billion cyber-naki be released onto the Grand Stair is beyond comprehension.
These revelations have, in my opinion at least, changed the nature of the threat to the Grand Stair considerably. Drake needs to be made aware of what we’ve found. Probably others as well. Preferably in a way which doesn’t expose us, since we could be made to reveal the location of our Door to Morholt’s Domain allowing Drake to finish the job of setting Fierce adrift. I’m thinking of trying to enlist Ilsa as a courier, have her deliver a copy of the documents and the Icons to my uncle Cedric without attribution. He has numerous sources of information throughout the Grand Stair and the use of anonymous couriers is not unprecedented. While my choice of courier implies the sender, Cedric can legitimately tell Drake he was not told the source. The documents themselves contain enough information to identify Fierce as their origin. Of course, if I fully indulge my paranoia and duck back through the Door and seal it again we’ll only know if we were successful if the primary Door is re-linked, which Drake may well choose not to do. Hence the desirability of informing others as well; but others may have to take up that burden.
Barring intervention from the outside there is another avenue open to us to try to reduce the danger to the outside. I can try to extend my personal control to Fierce, not Morholt’s Domain but the rest of Fierce, making it my own personal Domain. The level of control over the world this would grant me would potentially interfere with the Cyber-Lady’s plans. It would also let me slow down time on this world, postponing any invasion of the Grand Stair by potentially decades or even centuries. Still, it’s not an option I’d like to take unless I see no other choice.
Written by Dave Nebiker