The library was a good a place as any to begin his search for answers. It was just as he had left it: tables burdened with stacks of paper and musty volumes decaying on shelves. He glanced at the titles of some of the books: History of the Order of the Hammer — A Revisionist Perspective, Ancient Myths and Lore: The Truth Behind the Trickster, The Comprehensive Encyclopædia of Pagan Rituals, The Essential Guide to Alchemy and Clockwork, and The State of Politics in the City. Hmm. Interesting reading material.
He sidled over to one of the tables and picked up the letter that he had abandoned before.
Baroness Markham,
I am pleased to inform your ladyship that preparations are nearly complete. The first copy of the book is ready and, per orders, will be delivered immediately for safekeeping. I am confident it will serve your ladyship's purposes more than adequately. If I may take the liberty, it is an inspired and ingenious piece of craftsmanship. The pure steel cover was an excellent choice.
In keeping with instructions, I have ordered twenty barrels of high-quality kerosene. The supplier assures me that they shall be delivered as expediently as possible.
I have taken care of the minor financial dispute with the guild leader. Have no concerns; he will cooperate as expected.
My men are, as always, at your ladyship's disposal. We await further instructions.
Forever your humble servant,
Arthur Dilley of the Eastern Dayport Mechanist Society
Garrett was stunned. Baroness Markham? But that wasn't what it had said on the envelope. He looked again. No, there it was, in plain black ink: Markham. Not Berkham. How could he have made such a mistake? Was he that stressed out? Or worse, were his senses starting to betray him? What good was a thief with failing abilities?
Markham. He would never forget that name after his adventure on the island of the Mechanists and the Cetus Amicus.
And the Mechanists still existed? He had hoped that, without a leader, they would dissolve and bother him no more.
It seemed that Miss Markham left out quite a lot when she tried to recruit him. Her "political enemies" were probably the Hammerites, or even the Pagans. She had been a Mechanist all this time, one of his greatest enemies. And she had the nerve to try and hide it from him, confident that he would not discover the truth. What a grand joke that would have been, Garrett working for his nemesis and not even knowing it.
He felt a deep surge of anger. That sorceress made a fool of him and killed the kid. If she weren't already dead, he would kill her right now.
His reading abilities seemed to be on the fritz, but at least his critical thinking skills were intact. From her own words and Dilley's submissive attitude, it was easy enough to see that Markham had been the new leader of the Mechanists.
The rest of the letter was more of a puzzle. Like the kerosene, now why would anyone need that much? You wouldn't, unless you wanted to make some pretty big fireworks.
Oh. It appeared the sorceress had anticipated destroying the third floor of her castle. Her words came back to him: "Are you too blind to see that I have been pulling your strings all along?" She had been pulling a considerable number of strings, it seemed.
But what was the deal with the book? The only book he knew of that related to the Mechanists was the New Scripture of the Master Builder. And that didn't exist anymore…right? He wasn't so sure anymore. These Mechanists were full of surprises. In any case, the letter said that the book was going to be delivered soon. And the letter itself was a couple of weeks old. So the book must have been delivered to the castle by now.
It was worth a look. Garrett abandoned the letter and turned his attention to finding the mysterious steel-covered book. He searched the rest of the library but found nothing. Except for the letter, it was undeniably boring.
He wandered the second-floor corridors and thought about what to do next. He barely knew more than he did before. He still didn't know who had destroyed the Hammerite temples, what the bloody prophecy meant, and what the Mechanists were concocting this time.
He remembered a study that had held no interest for him when he thought he was still in a thieving contest. The book just might be there.
* * *
The book wasn't there. On the desk, near a candle stub and a crystal paperweight, lay three sheets of parchment. Garrett read through them.
Revised Edition of the New Scripture of The Master Builder (draft, page 52)
The Necrotic Mutox was meant to wipe the City clean, but the loyal Servants were deceived by human treachery. With swift action, the sacred Children of the Builder were struck to the floor of His Cathedral. Karras, atop his throne, saw that he had failed. He fell upon his knees and cried out, "Oh, Master Builder! Thy divine plans have been foiled!" The Builder came unto Karras and expressed His supreme displeasure. Karras had not made The Builder's Paradise, and so The Builder, as was His right, declared him unworthy of His glorious salvation. Leaving the weak and broken pride of humanity and bane of machinery to turn to Holy Rust, the Builder returned to His haven of unadulterated perfection, where
Revised Edition of the New Scripture of The Master Builder (draft, page 57)
The Builder's loyal followers maintained their faith but were deprived of leadership. They knew not what to do to please Him. They searched for guidance in these Holy Texts. In them, they found the Builder's words, as transcribed by Karras. "He shall make a new leader forged in fire and as unbreakable as a tempered blade. The leader shall usher in a new era by destroying three monuments of the old ways."
Revised Edition of the New Scripture of The Master Builder (draft, page 59)
"The leader shall prove to be worthy by destroying the Builder's enemy, the treacherous Shadow-walker responsible for Karras's death and the prevention of His Paradise coming into being. The leader shall free the Earth from a great scourge by killing the mirror of the Shadow-walker and, in turn, the Shadow-walker himself. This act shall have results three-fold. First, it shall bring the Shadow-walker unto his demise. Second, it shall atone for Karras's miserable failure. Third, it shall disgrace the unholy heathens for all time. All this shall be accomplished, as is the Builder's will, with the simple but profound act of the sacrifice of an innocent. The leader shall perform this act under a new moon"
That was it. Three simple pieces of parchment. Garrett reread them. He felt numb. If he was interpreting them correctly, the sorceress was still alive. Her "death" had been just another part of the plot to take control of the Mechanists. She had planned all of it: the destruction of her castle, the ruination of three Hammerite temples, the elimination of the Shadow-walker. There was no doubt the latter referred to him. The mirror of the Shadow-walker must be the kid, then.
If that sorceress thought she could lead Garrett into a trap, she was sadly mistaken. He'd been through enough by the hands of this woman. It was time to pay some of it back. Pay her back for deceiving him. For interfering with his life. For making him run around in circles. He'd stop her, oh yes. Slowly and deliberately, he ripped the pieces of parchment into bits.
There would be a new moon tonight.