Kael allowed the clouds around their section of the pillar to dissipate fully, leaving Scithio unblemished once again.

He had lost awareness of most of the rain by the time the immaculate man arrived anyway, thanks to the thief who had blocked his perception with some bizarre facet. Hopefully the effect was temporary, or localized to the area, as Kael didn't want to be without that extra awareness for too long.

Either way, he trusted the man who had saved them to keep their health in mind, given his apparent priorities. Though he did need to know, "What is your name, by the way? I can't keep calling you the immaculate man in my head."

Now that the aforementioned man was moving at a more reasonable pace, they could see that he didn't take steps at all, instead gliding across the ground, as if he were skating - though his shoes had no wheels to speak of.

He replied, "You may call me Royce. I am the head butler of Mr. Jacoby." Which neatly explained his outfit: a black jacket, partially unbuttoned to reveal the white shirt and deep blue tie beneath, black pants, and those white gloves. His silver hair was slicked back, and his hands remained folded behind his back as he slid ahead of them.

Their group continued through the streets, not needing to twist through alleyways to avoid pursuers at the moment.

They came upon an intersection, where crossing traffic took turns behind timed barriers of transparent blue flames, which arose to block those whose turn it was to wait.

Most passersby continued going about their day, as if nothing at all was happening a few streets over. Or they couldn't be bothered to adjust their routines for a minor scuffle, so long as it didn't hinder them directly.

Though, Kael now realized that the area immediately around the warehouse had been suspiciously free of any bystanders, or a heavier set of protection for what were apparently valuable ingots.

He could also occasionally hear a crash in the background, indicating the fighting was still going on.

Shaela actually raised the latter point to Royce. "Should we maybe help the people fighting the thieves? Or - not to be judgy or anything - couldn't you help? You're strong. We all saw it." She rushed to get the words out. "And we could lay low for a while, maybe even go back to the recruitment office-"

"That will not be necessary. As I said before, bringing you three to Mr. Jacoby takes higher priority, and the forces present have the situation handled." A larger crash followed his statement, along with a plume of dust in the distance - free to rise above its surroundings without the rain to keep it close to the pillar.

However, he did seem to be right, as that crash was followed by an extended silence, besides the bustle of traffic around them.

As they continued, their group encountered a squadron of the armored fellows who had been cordoning off the initial incident. That same cordon, which only encompassed one side of the incident while they ran, now seemed to extend all the way around the original scene, out to a radius of several blocks.

The outfit of the guardsmen wasn't quite the full plate that Kael had initially assumed. They each wore half-plate over a yellow gambeson. An insignia was engraved on each of their chestplates, of two claws encircling a coin. At least, Kael assumed it was a coin, due to the side-profile of a human head in its center.

Although the guards eyed the three of them, trailing behind Royce, the butler's presence deterred any attempts at stopping them. It seemed his visage - or method of travel - was well known around these parts.

Shortly after skirting by the edges of the cordon, they arrived at a vehicle, themselves. Calling it a vehicle may have been a misnomer, however. Royce stepped onto a disk resting upon the sidewalk, given a wide berth by the surrounding pedestrians.

He began to fiddle with a narrow plinth in the center, which Shaela eagerly approached to question how it worked, while Gus and Kael more reluctantly stepped aboard.

"Is this one of those flying machines from the Dragon of Artifice? Made without any facets?"

Royce was slightly taken aback by her knowledge, but answered after a slight pause to finish the start-up sequence. "No, this one runs on enchantments, I'm afraid."

Railing rose up along the edges of the disk, leaving enough space for perhaps six people to stand around the center. Following this, the disk itself rose into the air, and began carrying them above the land-bound traffic.

The direction they now headed was actually down the pillar. While they weaved between the taller buildings, or simply flew over shorter ones, the entire "sky" before them was the grassland at the base of the city, with the actual sky solidly behind them.

Gus and Kael gripped the railing tightly, not enjoying the free fall-esque journey any more than they had Travel's own carriage.

Shaela continued questioning Royce on the vehicle's mechanics while she peered at the surrounding city from 'above.'

Eventually, they realized their destination was one of the landing strips for aircraft, sticking out of Scithio's main pillar for nearly a mile. It was, in fact, the same one that Kael and Gus had witnessed the zeppelin's launch and subsquent crash take place. Looking past the mega-structure, they could still see the scraps of the balloon on the distant ground, though it was in the process of being moved, or possibly scavenged.

As they approached the large landing strip, their sense of gravity transitioned from the pillar's horizontal pull back to the planet's standard tug downward, and the sky was above them once again, to Kael and Gus' relief.

They traveled midway down the path, passing by various aircraft on the way. Some were similar to the hot air balloon they had seen before, while others were shaped closer to a bird in flight - or a Dragon, Kael supposed.

Others possessed more unique shapes. One was just a large rectangular pillar, hovering in its dock with a small tether to keep it in place. Another hurt Kael's eyes to look at, being a mess of geometric shapes seemingly smashed together. Turning his eyes away, he noticed a group of crafts which looked to be modeled after dragonflies in shape, one actually in the process of lifting off as it jettisoned flames out of its tail.

And one flying vehicle was actually a just a large mansion, floating to the side of the strip.

Which... we just stopped in front of.

Their stop also helped Kael realize what being on this strip meant. "More flying. wonderful..." he muttered under his breath. At least being in the house meant he wouldn't have much of a view of the outside world while they defied the natural order of things.

----------------------------------------

Royce continued guiding them as they entered Jacoby's mansion, allowing a pair of younger butlers to hold open the double doors for them, as their group stepped into the foyer.

Although there weren't many decorations on display, preventing the mansion from feeling gaudy, the majority of the flooring and wall paneling seemed to be made from wood, which was a statement of wealth on its own, for this region.

What decorations they could see mostly seemed to be various artifacts in display cases. Though they couldn't read the plaques from where they stood, Shaela suspected they were from different regions of the world, given the varied craftsmanship.

Ahead of them was a grand staircase, while hallways to their left and right led to other wings of the mansion. Several other servants and employees walked through the space, including several non-humans, which the three youths were not used to seeing.

A blue-skinned Atlantean carried trays of food through a door adjacent to the base of the stairs, while a dwarf and a pixie - the dwarf half the height of anyone else, and the pixie half the height of him - seemingly argued over the contents of a piece of parchment down the hall to their right. Others intermixed with the humans around the place, briefly visible as they went about their business. Gus even glimpsed a set of tentacles in the rafters far above the floor, though he failed to spot them a second time...

"Mr. Jacoby employs all types. He finds discrimination to be a waste of time, and abhors slavery. I trust this will not be an issue?" Shaela nodded along decisively the entire time Royce spoke, with Kael and Gus only lagging behind by a moment, distracted as they were.

"Excellent. He awaits your arrival in his office on the second floor. Follow along." Royce resumed his glide across the plush rug laid out from the entrance of the house to the base of the stairs.

The man finally lifted his feet to ascend the stairway, though he surely could have ridden the railing to the top if he wanted to.

He instead ran his hand along the wood railing as he walked, leaving it brightly polished in his wake, while Kael, Gus, and Shaela followed along behind him, careful not to touch anything they didn't have to.

The top of the stairway contained the other major decoration visible from the entrance - a large painting of the city of Scithio, in all it's glory.

The pillar stood tall above the green surroundings, with scattered hamlets and farmland spreading like roots from its base. Narrow lines, like veins, represented the roads traveling up, down, and around the pillar, while taller buildings could be seen adding texture to the sides of the city. The great landing strips, and several obscenely tall spires stuck out far further, acting as branches to Scithio's metaphorical tree.

Two major details stood out to the trio, though.

First, the top of the pillar seemed to hold a literal crown, which was a feature of the city they had been unaware of.

Second, the entire painting appeared to be upside down, with the "ground" at the top of the painting, and Scithio dangling down from the planet.

"There's a crown at the top of the city?" Asked Kael, when they neared the top of the stairs.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"The dragon's aerie." Confirmed Royce with a nod. "For when he visits, and wishes to look down on rest of the populace."

"But it's upside down." Shaela interjected.

Royce did not respond to that point, instead turning down the hall and resuming his glide, expecting them to follow along behind him - which they did, after a final glance at the odd painting.

When they reached Jacoby's office, Royce knocked first, entering as he requested the trio wait just a moment. As he promised, he re-emerged a short time later, holding the door for their entry, before he closed it behind him on his way out.

Before even noticing Jacoby or his desk, the trio was distracted by the surrounding walls and ceiling. They stared, as the boundaries of the room appeared to be almost nothing but vast windows, displaying the outside world. Currently, the ceiling seemed to be facing the rest of Scithio, while the right wall faced the ground below. The large windows were only broken up at the edges and corners, separated by logs - seemingly the only thing holding the room together.

Kael tensed, before forcing himself to relax and pay attention to the man they had come here to meet. Shaela and Gus had already turned to Jacoby by the time Kael managed to re-focus on the contents of the room rather than the thin glass separating them from a long drop.

Jacoby, however, waved his arm, causing the windows to fade into their true form - merely wooden walls, with arcing runes around the edges. The lighting in the room remained bright, at least. "My sincere apologies. Normally the reactions to the room's key features are more positive than that. I suppose that comes from being more accustomed to the uniqueness of Scithio."

Kael found it easier to focus on the man without his impending doom staring him in the face.

Jacoby was a lean man, sat behind his desk on a level with the three chairs positioned on their side. His hair flared out at the sides beneath his stereotypical top hat, with bits of gray showing through the black. His face was nearing the descriptor of gaunt, though it was hard to tell through the magnificent black mustache above his lip.

The mustache clearly experienced a deep level of care, which put it almost on the level of Royce's own hair. It possessed depth and breadth, extending out just past his lips, and ending in slight curls. The 'stache nearly seemed to wiggle with a life of its own as Jacoby spoke, though Kael tried not to get distracted once again. Maybe it's his facet?

While the three of them hesitated to reply, Jacoby sighed and rubbed beneath his nose, deciding to start over. The mustache concurred with a flex.

He raised his hands, palms out, before beckoning them to their seats. "Hello! Hello! It is wonderful to see you three. When I heard how you were brought into the city, I knew I simply had to meet you in person."

They approached the chairs on their side of the desk, finding them to be quite comfortable as they relaxed at Jacoby's genuinely exuberant tone.

"And to think, you were the same three who caused the recent border incident! Good thing the Aspect of Travel was there to bail you out, hmm?" That statement threw them off, the revelations coming like a one-two punch.

Jacoby leaned back, resting his chin in one palm, while his other arm crossed his chest to prop up his elbow. "Fortuitous indeed..."

Gus bounced back first, as per usual. "The... Aspect of Travel, you said?"

Jacoby nodded along in confirmation, his smile brightening a fraction at the first words they had given since entering his office. "Quite so, young man. He's rather well known to gallivant about, aiding others on their extended journeys." The hand supporting his chin briefly left it to wave in the air as he described old man Travel's habits.

When Jacoby seemed content to let the silence settle, Shaela spoke up, wishing to move the conversation along.

"Why are we here?"

His grin grew once again. "To find a place for you under my employ, of course! Is that not why you came here in the first place?"

Kael glanced to Gus and Shaela before joining the conversation. "What about the attack earlier, and the theft?"

Jacoby nodded sagely. "Ah, yes, I am quite appreciative of the initiative you showed in disrupting the attack, even if - in doing so - you managed to call down a guard captain, and alerted nearly a quarter of the city to illicit happenings on my territory."

Kael cringed. "I am sorry about that, even if it's what alerted us to the issue. It's our first time in such a busy place, so I wanted to get a clearer picture of everything going on in the area. Force of habit."

Gus jumped back in, before Jacoby could respond one way or the other to Kael's excuses. "Do you know who was attacking you?"

Jacoby's smile never dimmed as he turned toward Gus. "Not as of yet. For all we know, they were agents of the Aspect of Theft." He waved off the notion.

Shaela contemplated the idea. "Aspect of Theft? In the cities run by the Dragon of Wealth? That sounds... bold."

His smile turned a touch amused at her serious response. "It's something of a running joke amongst business moguls in Scithio, and I imagine other cities as well. Blaming the Aspect of Theft for various incidents to deflect fault. Some of my peers could lose their left shoe and blame the Aspect of Theft. Their existence is more of a myth, than anything. No one has ever actually confirmed their presence in the nation, as far as I'm aware. And I'm aware of quite a lot, in this city." He gave a self-satisfied smile, not appearing concerned that the attackers were apparently unknown.

"The group that attacked is fairly new, besides the cannonball fellow. He is renowned for widespread property damage, including the destruction of a mid-level spire."

"The massive towers?"

"The very same, though the ones you're thinking of are likely far larger than what he managed to destroy."

Ah, so they can end up falling over. Great. Kael suffered another blow to his sanity.

Thinking of destruction, however, and the associated collateral damage, Kael was reminded of an earlier observation he had noted on their way here. Namely, that there were surprisingly few other people in the area where the attack took place.

"Why wasn't the shipment being better protected?" Kael alluded to the absence of guards, and witnesses.

"Ah... It should have been." Jacoby briefly grimaced, before his smile turned self-deprecating.

"I'm not immune to a bit of corporate espionage, myself, I'm afraid.

"Some of my competitors... don't have the same standards in their conduct. Not only are they willing to resort to underhanded means - threats, bribery, murder..." He shook his head. "They also aren't as considerate toward their workers. Slavery is still fairly common in Scithio, despite my best efforts."

He began to lecture, sounding genuine despite the likely rehearsed nature of the speech. "I am of the belief that quality comes from quality. If your producers aren't enjoying their work, and are, in fact, struggling to put food on the table, so to speak, then you're not going to yield the best product."

Shaela nodded along, strongly agreeing with the principle.

Jacoby continued, though, switching topics as his eyes found Shaela. "And, speaking of product, I believe you may have found something of mine?"

Her nodding paused, though she picked it back up to provide confirmation as she deposited a reddish ingot - nearly the color of rust, though that appeared to be its default state - from her pocketspace onto his desk.

"We picked up a bit, but the thieves got away with most of it. I have a few more ingots in my pocketspace."

He leaned in slightly and clasped his hands on the desk, glancing at the ingot before returning his gaze to Shaela. "Was it simply a limit of carrying capacity?"

She crossed her arms. "No, like I said, they had already taken most of it by the time we got there."

He nodded happily, though his eyes barely left Shaela. "Splendid, simply splendid. I think we can certainly find a place for you in our operations."

He began gesticulating once again, "We'll have to get you some enchanted weaponry, so you can better defend yourself, but your facet seems tailor made for transport. Perhaps you'd be interested in making deliveries to the less fortunate? As an introduction to the courier business."

Shaela perked right back up at the offer, eagerly agreeing.

Jacoby turned toward the boys. "And how about you two? What can you do?"

Kael and Gus glanced between each other, though at Kael's slight shrug, Gus volunteered to go first.

"I can absorb material into my skin, shifting between a few different states." He raised an arm in demonstration, changing its texture to his usual barkskin.

"I usually prefer wood, as it works well for healing, though I've not had the opportunity to try many unique materials yet." He briefly glanced toward the ingot on the table.

Jacoby considered for a short time. "Hmm... with the blacksmiths, I think."

"You have blacksmiths?" Kael questioned.

"Certainly. You'll find I have my fingers in some of everything."

Shaela interjected. "He's dealing in ingots, of course he'd have blacksmiths."

"Quite so." Jacoby nodded with a smile, not at all perturbed at being interrupted.

"And you, young man?" He turned to Kael.

Kael began, having given this some thought. His eyes flicked to the side of the room as he spoke. "It's a mid-range facet of telekinesis, restricted to small bodies of water..."

It was apparently the wrong kind of thought, as Jacoby raised a hand to stop him and shook his head sadly. "No, no, no... I'm going to be honest with you, Kael. You need to get better at lying, like your friend Shaela over here." He motioned to Shaela, who froze in place.

All three of them grew nervous at his statement, both because they hadn't actually given him their names, and out of concern at the idea of being caught stealing from the man before them.

Jacoby continued in the same relaxed cadence he had maintained for most of the conversation. "She was stone cold when she delivered her lines, and her claim was far less verifiable than yours."

He raised a finger. "Recall, I was aware of the earlier border incident, in which you pierced the boundary separating the Dome from Wealth's lands. Something generally only possible for an Aspect." A second finger joined the first. "And your 'facet' is incredibly wide-reaching for how young you are. After today's demonstration, I don't think you can claim to have such a limited 'facet' at all. Short-sighted of you to try."

His hand flipped over in a half-shrug. "However, Shaela's efforts were impressive enough that I'll allow you to keep most of what you've salvaged. Consider it something of a signing bonus." Jacoby surprised the trio for the umpteenth time this conversation. "Hand over whatever amount you had already planned to, assuming the topic of your spoils came up at all. Royce will take it after this meeting."

His hands found each other on the table once again, as he continued with a bit less levity. "I merely ask that you do not bother lying in my presence. It can be forgiven, this once, but you'll find that there are few things I am unaware of around my city.

"Now, the Aspect of Rain... I believe you'd fit in best with our alchemists. Do you take any issue with that?"

Kael sat up straight at being addressed so directly, still reeling from the previous revelation. "Uhh... no, sir. That's fairly close to what I was hoping for anyway."

"Good. Should you change your mind, merely put in the request through the official channels."

Jacoby leaned back, placing his hands flat on the desk. "As I said before, I take the satisfaction of my employees seriously."

He began tapping at the desk, in idle thought. "You should also know, the good captain may stop by to have a word with you sometime in the near future. You'll not be in trouble for today's incident, I assure you, but you should tell him as much as you feel comfortable with."

He turned to Kael once more. "In your case, I'd highly suggest avoiding topics that pertain to any criminal activity you yourself have engaged in."

He gave one final tap on the desk with his hands, before he handed the red ingot back to Shaela as he stood up. "Now, I hope to speak to you all again once you've had some time to get used to the city and its opportunities, and once you've developed your abilities further.

"Royce will direct you to your lodgings, and to your places of employ."

Jacoby turned toward the wall behind his desk, waving his hand and causing it to return to its window-like state. The glass revealed that the house had changed orientation once again, now facing toward the crown of the city through the back wall, while the sun had dipped further toward the horizon.

"It's already rather late. Good luck; I'm sure you'll all do wonderfully in this city."