AEHU/Plot/Plot Sketch Chapter 18
"Devil's Sleight"
- Beck brings Schala & co. to the surface and they find Grishe's children. Schala informs the Eartbound elder - Grishe's father - of the situation and he promises to care for Masa, Mune, and Doreen as best he can with his meager resources. Masa and Mune's curiosity leads them into some predicament again and Schala & co. track them down after they get lost amidst an imp-infested portion of Algetty's steelworks. Schala & co. are surprised to meet Derben there and find that he's with the security detail of the Blackbird, which has also docked on the surface to pick up some material cargo. Beck asks Derben why he's been missing from the bio lab's security detail, and Derben informs him that he's resigned out of disgust for Beck's biological weapons program.
- Following Derben closer to the docked blackbird during their conversation, Schala & co. find that Dalton is orchestrating the collection of metals and dreamstone. Once again, Dalton's behavior is not quite right and Earthbound workers note how odd it is that such cargo is bound for Shikar, where settlements are typically built of much more flimsy material (wood, plaster, etc). Demeria suspects something's up and Schala agrees to approach Queen Zeal later.
- Schala & co. bring Masa and Mune back to Doreen and the Earthbound Elder, and everyone can't help but be endeared to Grishe's younglings. Surprisingly, Beck asks the twins what their "dreams" are; Schala translates as usual. Masa doesn't really know, and Mune just wants to "be the wind." Despite the nonsensicality of Mune's dream, Beck assures him that he will achieve it some day. The prospect of the younglings growing up in such a harsh world depresses Melchior.
- At Zeal Palace, Queen Zeal says that she has signed no orders to bring material to Shikar and Seith reports that he hasn't been able to get in touch with Dalton all day. He contacts Dalton via radio now that he knows Dalton is on the Blackbird, and Dalton informs Seith that he received the order from an industrialist overseeing Earthbound mining activities on the surface. Seith gives his go-ahead for the material transfer after dispatching an aide to look into this strange order. Queen Zeal enters the radio room and observes that her order, and not Seith's, should be required in questionable instances like this, raising intra-family tension.
- With the odd situation adequately looked into for now, Schala, Demeria and Melchior discuss Grishe's execution. Noting that Beck shared their affinity for the younglings, Schala wants to approach Beck and talk him out of performing the execution.
- Schala & co. hop aboard the Blackbird for a trip to Beck's sky island laboratory. Janus and Alfador manage to tag along. Dalton is irked that this will add another stop but acceeds to Schala's request; Demeria ponders how easily he agreed.
- Schala & co. head for Beck's office but the facility's lighting cuts off suddenly. They find Assistant Valna in an empty hall outside the laboratory and she tells them to leave. When they refuse and want to know what's going on, Alfador hisses at Valna and she shapeshifts into a monster! Schala and Demeria fight it until it dissolves into a blob and retreats into a ventilation duct. They find a wounded but still-breathing Valna, and then Beck, who reasons that the monster must be his missing Aethyrmorph.
- Derben enters to help Schala and Demeria track down the Aethyrmorph. After fighting the Aethyrmorph's varying guises but unable to finish it off decisively, Schala & co. meet up with the others and try to figure out why all these monsters are escapeing from the laboratory Beck has inherited. Demeria gets Derben to admit that he's been behind it, and that releasing the Aethyrmorph constituted an attempt on Beck's life. Schala is horrified by the lengths Derben has gone to, but Derben justifies himself by showing just what it is Beck has been asked to produce -- against Beck's wishes, Derben leads them to Pengalaan's chamber below the main laboratory. Beck explains that Pengalaan is composed of various alien creatures that came into being during Lavos Spawn/Mammon Machine connection experiments. When completed, Pengalaan should be able to provide for Zeal's absolute security. The Aethyrmorph appears again, giving Beck an opportunity to change the subject. The Aethyrmorph takes on Dalton's shape and heads outside, boarding the Blackbird faster than they can follow. Beck points out the Aethyrmorph's qualities and reveals that Dalton could potentially be dead if the creature is masquerading as him. The party is in an awkward situation, because they have to rely on Beck and the Ganymede to follow the Aethyrmorph.
- Schala & co. follow the Blackbird to Shikar, where the Dalton-disguised Aethyrmorph directs the unloading of materials in cooperation with Governor General Lakshya. The Aethyrmorph surrounds itself with Dalton's Lasher and Basher guards, forcing Schala & co. to search the Blackbird until they find Dalton tied up in the cargo hold. Suffering from an apparent blackout, Dalton has no idea what happened after he toured Beck's lab earlier that day.
- Dalton confronts his double, ordering his guards to make way for a final attack on the creature. The Aethyrmorph begs for its life, frightened now that Derben has "betrayed" it after it's only been following his orders; the Aethyrmorph thought it was helping to usher in a better world, as Derben told it after learning it could communicate. Derben explains to the Aethyrmorph that attacking Schala and Janus was not part of the plan and that it has to be put down if it's going to act so erratically. The Aethyrmorph absorbs a few confused Lasher guards surrounding it, making use of their matter to transform itself into a formidable beast. It gulps Governor General Lakshya into its transparent belly, keeping him alive for now as insurance. Schala & co. nevertheless defeat the transformed Aethyrmorph without harming Lakshya.
- Derben seizes the wounded Aethyrmorph and tosses it into the Ganymede, stealing Beck's skyship key and piloting it himself with the aim of crashing it to ensure the Aethyrmorph's destruction. Schala and Demeria fail to talk him out of it over the Blackbird's radio equipment; he merely apologizes for putting them in danger before the connection cuts out.
- Dalton contacts Seith while Schala & co. stand around completely stunned. Dalton explains the situation and Seith tasks him with finding Po'hjol and ensuring that Derben made good on his promise to crash the Ganymede. Then Seith calls to speak with Lakshya, who is extremely nervous until Seith congratulates him for finally agreeing to a building modernization initiative Seith had been pushing for in Shikar for months; although the transport didn't clear all the appropriate channels thanks to Derben's interruption for the day, its purpose appears to be legitimate. Lakshya mysteriously breathes a sigh of relief and says he's happy to oblige.
- Although still in shock over Derben's act of sacrifice, Schala has the wherewithal to approach Beck and try to talk him out of Grishe's execution. She reminds him of what he asked her after the dance they shared during the Midnight Waltz and the repercussions of the execution on Zeal/Algetty relations, but Beck says that he simply cannot accede to her request. She leaves frustrated. Beck suffers Melchior's insults as well.
- The next morning the royal family has to watch Grishe's execution via video feed. Oddly enough whatever horrific procedure Beck has in mind requires the Mammon Machine; Beck forces Grishe's hands onto the Object housed within, and Grishe undergoes horrific convulsions as if being electrocuted. Seith is enjoying the show until he sees that Beck's scientific team still detects vital signs as Grishe lays unconscious. Seith calls for Grishe to be finished off by security in the execution chamber, but Grishe uses Ice magic to ward the guards off. When Seith asks what just happened, Beck explains coolly that the Earthbound, Grishe, has been executed -- and replaced with Grishe the Enlightened One. Everyone heads for the execution chamber where the wounded security detail and Grishe are likewise mystified. Seith asks Dalton to off Grishe, but Beck reminds Dalton of royal law prohibiting one Earthbound from killing another. Seith suspects that he's been seriously duped. Schala speaks with Grishe and asks Beck if he knew this would happen, and Beck explains the Object's ability to flip whatever genetic switch controls magic capability; he believes it is Zeal's long-lost Frozen Flame. Beck apologizes for the brief misery Grishe endured, but says that anything coming into being requires pain. Dreams especially.