New Avalon

[Hammer Sister]

"Indeed," Rob agrees. "And that's the other reason I'm here. But before we get to that, I think it's best to get business out of the way."

Rob pulls up a chair and settles down with his notebook and pen at the ready.

"What do you know about the assailants?"

[CalamityJade]

Mordrianna gave a plesant smile. "Unfortunatly, not much in the mundane sense. I didn't recognize any of the people that attacked me, or the dirigible that tried to meet them. I know who they are connected to, but that would not help you much either. You must now realize you are dealing with very peculiar criminals at this point, correct?"

[Hammer Sister]

"That's just the start," Rob sighs. "You say it may not help me much, but for completeness sake, who are the assailants connected to?"

[CalamityJade]

"A group calling themselves 'The Architects'. I believe you should have already heard of something similar by now?" Mordrianna gave a slight nod. "Some point after you met the two women, yes?"

[Hammer Sister]

"Yes... how do you know so much of what I've been up to?"

[CalamityJade]

Mordrianna gave something of a smile. "I take it you do not believe in my profession, then. That is something that I've become accustomed to. I will admit that I suspected you would be more receptive to the possibility by now.

[Hammer Sister]

"To be honest, with what I've seen recently, I'm not sure what to believe anymore..."

[CalamityJade]

"What you've seen, obviously." Mordrianna kept her rather patient smile. "You make your living by solving mysteries of men. If there is anything you can trust, it is your observations." She cleared her throat. "Of course, where all of this goes may simply confuse you more, but you must continue. This is one mystery you cannot afford to leave unsolved."

[Hammer Sister]

"I'd be more willing to believe my observations if I could understand them... like, for instance, how someone can power a Pulse engine without hooking it up to a power supply, or how they can see the mechanism will jam when experts say it won't."

[CalamityJade]

"That depends on the 'experts' and on what you are wondering. If you mean to ask how your young friend was able to, she is actually rather exceptional. And experts are always easy to fool. You simply have to not look like an expert or someone that they should look down on."

[Hammer Sister]

Rob sits silent a moment, wondering if he should continue; inevitably, curiosity exerts an unstoppable force on him.

"Powering a Pulse engine isn't the only thing I've seen her do; she's also shown me a... ghost, for want of a better word. She used this crystal to somehow show me what would normally be invisible. At the time, I thought it was just a trick, a fancy light show; now though... I guess what I'm really wondering is just how deep the rabbit hole goes."

[CalamityJade]

"Dreadfully far. One might even be swallowed by the knowledge they would gain...however you seem rather resilient in your sense of self." Mordrianna gave a smile to Rob as she sat up a little in her bed. "Powering the engine is easier to explain, but much more has to be taken as truth. While Knowing ,as Erika did, is something more...personal to her. The engine is moved by moving pulse through it. The same thing is what causes those 'engines' to work in the first place. Why would the model be different."

[Hammer Sister]

I do hope you're right about my resilience...

"It is true that a model of an engine can itself be an engine, but that doesn't really explain how someone can manipulate Pulse through it without any form of cabling. Unless Pulse is all around us, all of the time... but then why can't more people feel it? Why can't I feel it? And what does it have to do with the Lost?"

[CalamityJade]

"You are correct. Pulse IS all around us. It's in this room, in the air outside. All across the city. You DO feel it, but as Pulse actually comes from the people's connection to the City, it would feel no different than you already do. The Lost is...admittedly much more complicated of an issue, since the Lost should be something that never occurs."

[Hammer Sister]

"And yet the Lost exist. The question is, why?"