Chapter III
Chapter III
As Sylvie is working the counter at the Astraviya House of Wonders & Curiosities, she meets a young Boggart woman who has come about a curious notebook that had allegedly belonged to Argo the Bureaucrat. The Boggart is revealed to be Gwendolyn Gilmore when her big brother Earnest strides into the shop with Litha and Octavio. Talk briefly turns to the plight of Malakai and what the latest news from The Basement - a massive breakout from the notorious Deepdown Prison- might mean for him.
Although Gwen is somewhat distracted by the instant sparks flying between her and Litha, with Octavio's help she is able to determine that the newly purchased notebook may be a key that can unlock hidden messages in a book of Argo's known to be at the Imperial Conservatory in Mont Guignol (which is, coincidentally, the exact place Octavio is headed with a confidential letter from Caliph Laio to Marquis Tristan des Larmes). Meanwhile, Earnest's trip to see his paramour Hannah Blaum takes a shocking turn when it is revealed that the reason she has not written him in so long is because she has not received any of his letters for nearly a year. Furthermore, under duress from her family, she has actually become engaged to another man. She promises to reconsider her romance with Earnest, but asks for time.
With Gwen in tow, the party heads off for Mont Guignol. While waiting for an audience with the Marquis, they make a stop at the library of the Imperial Conservatory. A daring plan that involved Sylvie pickpocketing some keys off a guard and, after some unsuccessful stealthiness by Gwen and Octavio, Sylvie conking a different guard over the head was soon put into action, resulting in the acquisition of Argo's book plus a very interesting collection of correspondence by Colonel Jules Des Larmes, the father of the Marquis.
The next day, in the rather bacchanalian environs of Tournoire, Octavio presents his letter to the Marquis. Mingled in with the crowd is, somewhat surprisingly, Gunther Lichtmann (a/k/a Walter Rivler). Eager to see this malefactor shut out of polite society, Octavio engages with him in a very public battle of words, which results in Lichtmann fleeing in embarrassment, but not before Sylvie can lift some very interesting letters from his pocket.
Returning finally to Astraviya, Earnest is met with happy news when Hannah informs him that she has broken off her engagement and will, in fact, marry him.