You stand surreptitiously on a balcony, watching the guests arrive.

Herr Baumgarten arrives precisely on time. He is dressed as Pluto, complete with dark helmet and bident. Comrade Pyatnitsa is the next to appear. She is Demeter, her costume of patched and frayed peasant garb suggesting the goddess's search for her daughter is akin to the plight of the proletariat. Abu Aziz comes last. Daringly, he has chosen to ignore the theme and come as, of all things, a pirate. His gold earrings are clearly costume jewelry, his eye patch is absurd, but the cutlass in his belt looks quite, quite real.

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The three circle each other, like sharks.

Miss Abernathy appears at your side. Her silver mask gleams like the waxing moon.

"The Sultan's police are hidden among the servants," she says. "The moment they make a move, we'll have them.

"The world will not change, but I will know its secrets. I will know the mysteries of the Aether wind, I will know what makes the airships fly."