Auereliano was at the office. His desk was old plywood thrown over long cracked casks of dark lager, edges like mountain crags jutting from each side. He played Three Card Monte in an endless loop; the crowd that formed throughout the day wore a thousand faces. Yet the sound of the cards, folded slightly at the middle and sweeping over the untreated wood, remained the only constant. Auereliano watched the people with dark eyes hidden under a heavy brow, looking up in flitting moments, as if he mesmerized himself with the hopscotch of the hidden faces in his hands. All the while he peppered curious onlookers with his voice. “Find the Queen,” he would mumble, the babble of a vagrant, “she’s a saucy redhead, that queen.” A captured giggle from a watching town girl, more people joined and more people left; Auereliano tested the waters. “Two kings court her, save her from their lecherous advances. Pay a gold and earn her love.” Auereliano played their fickle pockets, left the wins and losses to fate, and earned more than the slippery handed hustlers that made their hidden ladies vanish from the field. There was no joy in that, to cheat the passing of luck, hidden in a thousand pockets and a million hearts. He was the carnival barker that made a side show of his audience; an even field promised them equal shares in each others joy and each others misery. This was church.

Noon slipped the horizon and Auereliano’s spot at the edge of the main square was starting to receive heavy traffic. Most of the townies knew his routine, they had seen him enough to enjoy the show and leave none of their earned metal in his possession. He’d flashed them sharp smiles that would curl his lips into a catfish grin, more bite than levity. They would gather their things and hurry away into their routines, trying to shake the chill from their spines. Profit today would come from traveling merchants, who toted eager apprentices in their wake, ready to spend their wages on flesh, fermentation and games of chance. Auereliano would hit them before the city swallowed them whole, and the glittering newness of an unfamiliar world became more attractive than the demon’s banter. Auere had his hooks in a fish, an apprentice scribe still stained with his master’s ink dug into his pocket even before he stopped at Auereliano’s table. If fortune favored him, the Rauko would sleep in a comfortable bed for a change, maybe even a fresh bath…ram’s blood whiskey; Auereliano mouth watered. He almost didn’t feel the tug on the back of his shirt.

“Wha,” Auereliano glanced over his shoulder and his face fell. “Trifecta, I told you, I don’t want to be seen with you.” The mute thief held up his left hand (uh, stump) and waved it in Auereliano’s face. Auere gripped the stub of skin shrouded bone and pushed it away. “I’m working, you fool, get back to the hotel. Have you finished making that damned pipe I asked for? I’m not paying you any more gold.”

Trifecta let out a shrill howl, frantically gesturing with his diminished right hand in what Auereliano was convinced was some hobbled form of sign language. With his crowd thinning, Auereliano bit hard on his bottom lip, trying not to show homicidal rage to the paying customers. “Trifecta,” Auereliano began through gritted teeth, “these people are here to win some money,” the slight thief made a slightly vulgar hand movement. “I’m sure that whatever you want from me,” again, he shoved the stump in Auereliano’s face; the Rauko swatted it away like a pesky insect, “can wait until later.” Trifecta let out a howl, pressing his stump into his only palm and falling to his knees. “Come now, boy, get outta here,” the few onlookers left decided to leave when the hustler began to thrash on the ground and drool. The Rauko watched them leave, his face falling into a mask of horrid rage in layers, like an eroding mountainside. Auereliano sent a whistling kick into the thief’s back, Trifecta’s air leaving in a wordless gasp.

“RAM’S BLOOD, YOU STUPID MONKEY,” Auereliano kicked him again, keeping the mute airborne for a good two seconds. “AND I HAVEN’T SLEPT IN A REAL BED IN WEEKS!”

Trifecta gripped him by the waist, using a significant amount of slobber to get Auereliano to pause in his beating. With the demon’s hands trying desperately to keep the thief away from him, rage going to disgust, Trifecta’s talented three fingers worked the loop of his money purse from his belt. Auereliano reached for the scurrying thief but it was too late, experienced legs pushed Trifecta into a run before Auereliano could gather his bearing. “You son of a…”

He chased him along the street for a while, but it was no use. Trifecta was much shorter than Auereliano, and his wiry frame slipped between the heavy pedestrian traffic much easier than he did. All the Rauko was doing was bringing him undue attention, pushing old women and cripples to the cobblestones was bad for business. He scanned the buildings around him; mostly one and two story businesses owned by low cost tanners and tailors, far from the main market square. Auereliano hoisted himself up to the roof of the nearest structure, picking out Trifecta in the crowd, still running. Auereliano followed from above, moving from building to building over planks of woods that connected the district like capillaries. Standing on a two story building, breathless and drenched in sweat, Auereliano saw the mute hustler stopped just outside the main market square, desperately searching the crowd for someone.

Auereliano jumped from two stories to one and then to the stone pathway just behind his thief assistant, grumbling in pain over multiple puncture wounds on his feet from exposed nails along his route. He hobbled closer, Trifecta turning, face ashen and bathed in sweat, holding the purse in front of him with a conciliatory look of agony on his face. The Rauko snatched the bag from him.

“You have ten seconds to explain to me what that was about before I rip out your heart and show it to you.”

Trifecta went into a long painful recitation in a series of moans, gargles and throat clicks. Auereliano could make out only fragments of the wild things he was spewing about, and after two minutes of the moist speech, he lost his desire to dislodge the pump from the man’s chest. Auereliano gripped the bridge of his nose with two fingers, eyes tightening shut as he waved off the rest of the sermon with an annoyed hand.

“Okay, okay, shut up, please.” Auereliano looked up, over the thief’s shoulder at the heavy market square. “Fine then, Trifecta, I’ll give you ten minutes. Show me this metal man you speak of.” He pointed to a moving patch of crowd in the market and Auereliano stalked off after the mewing thief.

Alacult walked casually down the street glancing around through the copper frame glasses he wore on his face a small yawn escaping his lips as he folded his arms behind his head standing in front of a merchant booth looking at some of the mans items he was peddling. Tilting his head to the side he noticed something that seemed to stand out to him, a small broken pocket watch made of silver with a touch of brass. Thinking for a moment about picking it up but then remembered that he didn’t have any coin left in the least, that normally was a problem for most people, but for Alacult it was something he knew all to well.

With a small sigh he turned from the merchants stand letting both of his arms fall quietly to his side as he shuffled past the crowds of people slowly, moving his body to the side each time someone passed him to avoid hitting them, then coming to a set of benches near the edge of the circle he shuffled over to them taking a seat hanging his head, his glasses falling a bit to the tip of his nose.

"..No one should have to feel hunger like this. Its just, so, wrong.."

Heaving a small sigh he sprawled both of his arms out over the benches tilting his head back against the back of the bench causing the frame of the glasses to fall back down against his face, his faded eyes watching all the activity around him. Moving out of his pocket the palm sized clockwork spider crawled out of his pocket and started climbing up his coat, then onto his tunic slowly, glancing down he just watched it in a sot of absent minded manner.

"..Hm? What in the world is that?.."

That’s when he noticed the small, crippled thief running amuck in the circle, just blowing past people stopping every now and then to look around with a confused look upon its face, that’s when Alacult noticed that the little man was missing quite a few body parts, a small frown played upon his face that soon shifted to a look of odd surprise as the little man let out a gasp and pointed the small nub at him.

Alacult pointing to him self in a sort of confused manner as the disfigured creature made its way towards him at a quickened pace, soon he was face to face with the thief who was babbling some sort of tongue he couldn’t understand for the life of him and waving a small nub of an arm in his face. slowly lifting his left eyebrow he watched the thief jump up and down, his clockwork spider rest on his shoulder now not moving much as if afraid of the jumping nub. Thinking for a moment alacult leaned forward towards him a bit.

"...Was, there something i can do for...you?.."

At this point Alacult was unsure of what to do at this point, a few people staring at him and the small man was rather un nerving but something he could handle none the less.

Auereliano lost the scrawny thief in the crowd almost instantly, as he tried to follow while retying his coin belt. The market was abuzz with life, vendors catcalling to stingy customers, caressing the wares with their eyes. As Auereliano rolled his shoulders in and out of groups of stationary window shoppers, pushed along the mayhem, slipping in between kiosks while scanning the crowd for the balding crown of Trifecta’s head. As the crowd began to thin, a bubble of space in a stream of human flesh, Auereliano caught a flash of movement that could have been Trifecta and he took off into the mob. By the time he crossed the market and reached the row of iron benches, a small group had begun to form, watching the mute card shark do his shuck and jive. His eyes were rheumy with tears when they caught Auereliano in the distance, and he intensified his act, pointing vigorously at a distinctly uncomfortable young man sitting quietly at a bench. The Rauko cursed in hushed armored tones as he shuffled up behind the bench where the ‘metal man’ was sitting. Auereliano walked up the three slats making up the bench’s back, plopping into the empty spot beside the quiet gentleman.

“Trifecta,” Auereliano wheezed, “heel.” The demon’s arms dropped between his legs as he caught his breath, not looking at the man beside him for a length of time. Finally, he leaned back, throwing his arm around the back of the bench and giving a beaming smile at the lookers on. They gave freckled glances to the unlikely meeting and made their way, more interested with the calculated windows, pieced together with baubles and trinkets. He rubbed the three days of stubble on his chin, grimacing in the early afternoon sun.

“Terrible day, isn’t it?” Auereliano watched a group of young women, hidden daintily behind parasols and manicured tresses, offering them a smile that promised a feral admiration. “First you get harassed by a foul smelling thief and now some stranger is imposing his company on you.” He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “I must say, this is most unlike me, I usually don’t allow him too long off his leash.”

Auereliano removed his arm from the back of the bench and turned fully to face the man in the emerald shaded lenses. Trained eyes danced over the details, the ridges of the face that promised a secret only the pit could whisper. The strange tinker toy caught his attention; a metal spider that rose and fell on steam work hinges, watching the demon gambler with eight spindle eyes. They were only brief glimpses until he saw the man’s hand, and he suddenly understood why Trifecta acted the way he did. It wasn’t a glove, the details were too exact and it became clear that, at the very least, this man had a metal hand. The thief wasn’t lying.

Trifecta waved his stump around pitifully; Auereliano looked at him and grimaced. “Oh good lord, is this about your…” He growled and stood up. “I’m sure, sir, that’s I’ve wasted enough of your time.” Auereliano grabbed Trifecta firmly by the earlobe, pulling him to the tips of his toes. “I’m not buying you a new hand, monkey, no matter how well made his is.” Trifecta bleated and Auereliano tugged harder. “And I won’t steal it either, you rotten piece of tripe.”

He tried to drag the man away, but the thief risked adding an ear to his list a missing parts, tugging desperately against the demon’s grip. Auereliano let go when he bit him, and as he pulled his hand back to smack him, Trifecta cried out a word both he and the green spectacled man could understand.

“Password.”

Auereliano froze in place, offering the man another tentative smile before rejoining him at the bench. He kicked Trifecta hard in the shin. “Don’t just stand there, get us coffee.”

Auereliano ran his hand over his mouth. The man was apparently a studious individual, education apparent from the shrewd tilt of his head and the calm sheen of his features. It would be delicate, but if what Trifecta was desperately trying to communicate had anything to do with the extinct thief guild he once belonged to, it meant profit.

“I seem to have been mistaken, sir.” Auereliano frowned, thoughtful. “It seems like my associate wasn’t exactly interested in your…” Auereliano flicked at the man’s shoulder, getting the reverberating contact of metal. He whistled between his teeth. “I suppose I should have given the boy more credit. My name is Auereliano, his name is Trifecta.”

“And we were wondering if you knew how to make a metal tongue.”

Alacult simple smiled at the thief as he jumped and jived around him in an attempt for something he was soon to understand hopefully, but as of now he was lost in the wind so speak. with a small tilt of his jaw followed by a ".Hm?" that he mumbled under his breath he smiled a bit more noticing someone behind him, tilting his head back he looked this man in the face his emerald shaded lens reflecting the sunlight off of them in a sort of ominous way, his head followed the movements of the man as he sat next to him with a soft thud on the bench.

Watching silently as the worn looking man, now sitting next to him commanded the hyper active, very excited thief, to simply stop with one short word. At this point a small smile escaped Alacults lips dancing upon the edges of his mouth; to him this was rather entertaining. Noticing that the man had yet to make eye contact with him he wondered what he was staring at, turning his head he saw the group of rather attractive women and smiled a bit more leaning forward letting his clockwork arm rest on his left leg while his right arm hung gently between his two legs in a lazy manner. Watching the ladies he offered them a wave to them, not even detouring his gaze as Auereliano spoke to him he simply replied.

"..Well my dear friend, as for the smelly thief, I have yet to get a good smell of him and i don't intend to any time soon, and your not imposing on my company in the least id have to say I am very happy to have it, and how is it possible to have a terrible day with women like them walking the streets eh?.."

With a soft chuckle after his remark he turned his gaze back to Aureliando, noticing him watching his little steam powered construct he smiled letting it crawl around him, skittering about the edges of his clothing in a random manner. As Aureliando's gaze met that of his hand he glanced down for a moment smiling, proud of his own craftsman ship, his gaze was suddenly lifted as he noticed the thief jumping about waving the stump that was once his proud arm. Hearing Aureliando's remarks to the thief followed by a the man swiping the thief’s earlobe trying to drag him away, yet he didn’t speak as of yet and was glad he didn’t when the thief’s empty mouth suddenly latched onto the poor man's hand causing him to release the thief, Alacult simply started laughing he just couldn’t help it anymore, then suddenly hearing the only word he was able to understand thus far from the thief "Password" he leaned a bit closer to the thief, tilting his head to the side a bit.

"..Password eh? You might prove to be useful after all my friend.."

Watching as Aureliando commanded the thief with a sharp kick to get them something to drink, and Alacult did have to admit to him self that a cup of coffee did sound quite nice right about now, it might even hit the spot for him. Pulling off his glasses his faded red eyes watching the thief skitter away to go get their drinks he returned his gaze back to the man that had taken a seat back next to him.

Watching the man study him and look him over, Alacult squinted his eyes a bit as the sunlight met them, he pulled his head back a bit trying to let his eyes adjust to the sudden change. Feeling a sharp vibration go through his metal arm he turned his attention back to Aureliando.

"..Its good to meet you my friend, and oddly enough good to meet your thief friend as well.."

Then hearing the mans simple question he let another "..Hmm.." escape his lips then glanced up at him through half open red eyes.

"..A metal tongue huh?...Well it would take a little time, but I just might be able to help you, what about the rest of him? His arm or fingers was there anything I could do for him in that respect or are you just looking for a tongue? See ill offer my services for free, I’m not making the things I make for a profit but as for the supplies I might need some help their if your willing of course.."

And with that his gaze met that of Aureliando, simply waiting to see what he might have to say next.

"..Then of course their is the meaning of that Password he spoke of, care to enlighten me my friend?.."

Auereliano steepled his hands and rested them against dark lips; it was a margin call and the scientist had good reason. Lomedor was a beautiful city, robust and alive with the function of the day to day. Yet it had predator blood, the creases between every crack of mortar held eyes as old as the earth hidden underneath. Life begat life and the secrets such a large city grew privy too made stone sweat and steel hum with borrowed words. The gambler knew risk, well enough to hesitate in discussing every gathered detail, every hidden nook. Trifecta returned balancing two cups of coffee with acrobatic efficiency, handing it to the seated men with almost joyous reverence. Auereliano sipped the thick brew with a balmy sigh; he strained curds of heated milk through his teeth and slapped his lips with the rawness of the sugar. The young man Alacult was not easily distracted and Auereliano had figured early that it would be unwise to play a bluffing game so early in their fragile relationship. The demon had little luck with cantrip hopscotch; magic was more a biological function, a reaction of reflex. This unusual individual seemed attracted to the mechanics of the craft and that perspective may just slip the last tumbler to an extraordinary lock.

“Fair enough, I suppose,” Auereliano began, standing from the bench and stretching his legs. The forgotten punctures in his feet throbbed relentlessly and Auereliano bounced on his heels, forcing circulation to numb limbs. “But forgive me a bit of paranoia, while the city has been saved from most organized crime, powerful men retain ears in such places.” He emphasized his point with a slight wave of the hand to the crowd around them, buzzing with the centrifugal force of conversational motion. Auereliano returned the wide brimmed hat to his head, lowering it to protect his eyes from an unforgiving afternoon sun, and tilting his chin toward Trifecta to start their way. The thief’s demeanor changed, growing calm and nondescript. He adopted a common gait that blended with those that stepped with him, always remaining off the very extreme of the peripheral. Auereliano followed, keeping in time with Alacult as they traced the diminutive criminal through the crowd. He kept his pace to a stroll and his voice found rifts between the noises of the day.

“I must be honest,” Auereliano paused casually at a store front when a snub nosed city guard took interest in Trifecta’s wandering. “And frankly, honesty isn’t one of my strong points. But we all have our faults,” he continued after the thief when attentions waned. “Anyway, what I know is from bar stories, rumor mills churn out interesting fables. But I know a lie when I come across it, and this one smells too sharply of truth.” They left the square and passed through alleys at a quickstep, circling their route like vultures at the scent of carrion. “I will save you the patchy history and the more colorful folk lore and tell you what I know.”

Trifecta remained a dollop of motion at the very fringe of their sight, but Auereliano continued with his meandering pace. “There is a door, hidden under an abandoned building, that is sealed by magic I haven’t been able to identify. It opens with a password,” Auereliano smiled, recalling an inside joke. “A password that is trapped in a tongueless head.” Auereliano bowed to grab an empty bottle resting on its side against the alley wall. Trifecta had found an open window and had stopped forward progression to peek within the unsuspecting home with greedy eyes. The demon whipped the bottle into the wall just beside the thief’s skull, getting a garbled string of barely intelligible curses in response. “In the tongueless head of a greedy fool!” Trifecta genuflected rudely and continued down the alleyway.

“What it leads to,” Auereliano continued, brushing his hands against his cloak, “I have no idea at all. But such magic isn’t used to seal someone’s ale supply. This password is a gift, stolen from the dying lips of the last true defender of the secret.” Auereliano saw Trifecta stop ahead, circling a grate in the ground, like a dog fetching sleep. “Trifecta tells me there is a room, like an underground meeting hall, where his little group of fools chose to have their hideaway. None of them knew the value of what they held…”

Auereliano stopped at the grate, a sleepy mist drifting from the shadowy depths. Trifecta groaned and strained wordlessly, trying to release the metal screen from its place. Auereliano bent over, taking a firm grip with one hand and pulling the grate free. He set it against the wall, folding his arms over his chest, looking down the alley, searching for prying eyes. “I’ve heard it’s a gateway to a tunnel system under the city, I’ve also heard it’s the mother of all loot stashes.” Trifecta seemed to salivate at the very thought, staring down into the uncovered hole in the ground, gateway to a hidden sewer. “But all we know for sure is that there is a door that needs to be opened.” Auereliano had saved his widest smile, beaming ivory like fresh pearls. “Well, sir,” he waved a hand to the open grate, “after you.”

Stepping up behind Auereliano, taking each word he spoke into account, already trying to see a big picture behind all of this he just could not seem to put it together at the time, heaving a small sigh he closed his eyes thinking about all of the information he had just gathered from Auereliano, shaking his head every now and then dismissing most of his thoughts on the matter, to get more information in this intriguing matter he would have to simply go see this door, or gate him self to make an accurate analysis on the complicated subject at hand.

Moving next to the man placing his cold steam work arm atop the mans wide brimmed hat gently, he pressed down a bit a small smile playing on the very edges of his mouth. Eyeing the shifty and rather odd thief through his emerald shaded lenses he glanced over at the metal grate noticing first that it was not hand made, even from this distance he could tell that it was pressed together, the design of the grate was flawless meaning it couldn’t have been pieced together, no more like pressed together as a single piece from raw iron, and Alacult knew of nothing in this land that could do something like that, perhaps there was more to this tale after all, Alacults interest had officially been piqued.

”..Very well my friend, let us take a small look here shall we?..”

Bending his knees slowly and pulling off his glasses at the same time, his faded red eyes attempting to gaze down at the depths below him, but alas was unable to see anything past the first few feet where the sunlight ended and the endless darkness began. Heaving a sigh he glanced around him placing his glasses into a pocket securely on the inside of his patch riddled coat. Noticing a torch hanging by only a few steel straps against a wall he quickly pulled it out, not wanting to go into the unknown darkness without a source of light, stealing a torch was after all something he could care less about at this given time.

Shooting a quick look to Auereliano followed by a small nod he kneeled back down next to the hole, lighting the torch with a small spit of fire from his hand an air of magic about the fire as it blazed atop the torch, giving him light. Reaching inside the hole he shined a bit of dim light. Finding a small foot hold along the inside of the hole, he slowly lowered him self down, following the make shift ladder down to the bottom of what seemed like and endless ladder into the unknown darkness.

After only a few minutes the small hole opened up into a large hallway, dropping down a good five feet the thin metal plates on the bottom of his boots making a large clanking sound against the ground, again something Alacult found rather odd, the floor was not wood, or dirt but alas it seemed to be steel. Glancing around taking in his surroundings, making small mental notes about everything he saw trying to piece everything together, something was still amiss about this place but he couldn’t put his copper finger on it as of yet, he needed more time, more information. Taking in his surroundings, holding the torch up against the darkness he noticed some torches against the left wall, as he made his way down the hall way his clockwork hand rest inside of his pant pocket, his real hand using the torch he carried to light the ones in the wall, he glanced back at Auereliano after a moment, taking his hand from his pocket he made an observation, pointing to the ceiling that arched above them in a semi circle about twelve feet above them.

”..Take a look at the way this hallway was carved out, there’s a small pattern along the sides of the wall and the ceiling, each one the same as the last, its to precise, and repetitive to have been cut by human hands or any other hands for that matter, makes you sort of wonder what was used to carve this hallway we walk, see magic would have made it near perfect with no pattern, so if its not magic that was used to cut this hallway out, or done by hand for that matter then who or what did it my friend..”

Alacult paused for a moment, glancing at the ground as he walked after a few thoughts he glanced back at his friend and continued.

”..It’s the small details that people often over look, you should try to keep that in mind my friend..”

After a good five or six minutes he lit the last torch along the hallway, before it opened into a very large room, a large smile playing upon his lips as he took a step off of the steel floor and onto a wooden one, reaching over he lit a torch near the entrance, and like clockwork so to speak the other torches lining the walls in this room seemed to light up one by one.

”..Well, this is interesting to say the least, this must be the meeting room your little thief friend spoke of..”

The room was massive there was a large rug in the center with a long table upon it with candles some new some of them were burnt down to the ends of the wick, glancing around he started to take more mental notes of everything there, the first thing he noticed were several large banners hanging from the wall, there were only two kinds though, something he did notice after walking closer to the wall and taking a better look at them, was the fact that there were two different kinds of banners the ones hung across a wooden bar looked to be newer than the ones hung on a steel bar, as they seemed to be slightly rusted.

”..Hmmm, if I had to say I would think the thieves were not the only ones to use this room first..”

That fact was obvious of course but as Alacult walked around the room aimlessly he seemed to be not talking to Auereliano but him self more or less, calculating what he was seeing and trying to form a bigger picture in his mind as to why all of this was here, and what purpose did I serve other than a thieves din. Turning his gaze towards Auereliano, then back to the room he simply shook his head.

”..This is slightly annoying after all, I do not care for things I don’t understand because it makes me want them more you see, a lot like women I guess, you cant understand them but the hell if your going to try to live without them right?..”

Trying to lighten the mood for both of them he laughed a bit at his own remark, his clockwork hand stroking his chin gently, he spied a old wooden door, leading into a second room, tilting his head he paused for a moment then made his way over to the door his copper arm reaching out to pull the metal knob open, then the door simply fell off of his hinges, barely dodging out of the way as the door slammed into the ground, causing a large cloud of dust to bellow up to Alacults fact causing him to wave his hand in front of his face, taking a few steps back, He glanced over at Auereliano, a smile playing upon his face as he coughed again.

”..Well my friend, this place is falling apart as we speak! That can’t be good right?..”

With a soft laugh he made his way into the room, that’s when he saw it, the door. Walking up into the dimly lit room he tossed his torch into a large fire pit in the center of the room, slowly the fire began to build until it got strong enough to light the entire room. This room was a bit smaller than the one they were just in, a few old wooden bookshelves lined the left side of the wall, and a long table against the other wall, with various small tools, parts, and constructs a lot like Alacults mechanical arm and Clockwork Spider.

The door is what drew Alacults attention the most walking up towards it, the mighty door standing over six times his size, fit for a giant at least maybe even bigger than that. Crossing his arms across his chest, his copper fingers drummed against his side as he started taking in the massive door, speaking to Auereliano in a soft, quiet tone.

”..Well ill be dammed, this is the real deal here…”

Glancing back at him for a moment he soon returned his gaze back to the door, pacing back and fourth in front of it, his mind trying to fit all of this together, slipping another gaze back at the door he took it all in trying to remember as much about the door as he could. It seemed to be made of brass, copper, a few steel parts here and there as well as a bit of mythrill, there didn’t seem to be any designs that stood out to him, the door seemed to be sealed down the middle and opened from either side, not just one side opening so to speak, there didn’t seem to be any design flaws, parts of the plating on the front of the massive door had fallen off revealing all the gears and cogs under the outside of the door, the door had inner workings it seemed that were not to be seen by the naked eye, it was apparent that the door was made like the Clockwork items he frequently made himself, but their was something different about it, and it pissed him off that he couldn’t figure out what it was, looking up he noticed a massive eye symbol that was not painted on, no it was built into the door, but for what reason, raising an eyebrow he shook his head tilting his head back a bit to meet a half gaze with Auereliano.

”..This is going to take some time my friend, this, well this is amazing, from what I can tell the door not only has a magical lock upon it, see I don’t think the door just has a magic lock or it would be open from the thieves and all their looting, I don’t think they can open it, something’s missing, something else is required to open this door, and yet, I’m not sure what it is yet, I need time, time to make the tongue for your friend there and time to, honestly figure some of this out..”

Auereliano sat with legs strewn over a table top an era old, it creaked when he stretched and threw tendrils of mossy sawdust when his weight threatened it to topple. With supple lips, moistened by auburn tongue, he drew tobacco paper across his middle finger, wrapped like swaddling clothes. His ignorant hand worked dewy brown leaves until they were crisp like wax paper, crumbling between thumb and forefinger. He made a trench in the paper and divvied the mild stimulant evenly, catching Alacult’s profile from under a shade of midnight shadows. The scientist was lost in the miracle of discovery, undone by the mystery, attention weaning from his host long enough for Auereliano to add a pinch of that elusive dragon. Auereliano drew a piton from inside his boot and, running a black nail against its rough contours, created enough of a spark to allow the first welcome bellow of smoke, like salvation. He propped the brim of his hat up and gave a lazy look around the room, and for the millionth time, he doubted the veracity of the rumors.

It was a hovel, a broken down cross section of life existent hundreds of years ago, the frail backbone of a forgotten culture. The walls were limestone, still heavy with the faded adornment of forgotten masters, pictograms and the tendrils of moth eaten silk hanging in the smoky half light. Most of the furniture had been reduced to slivers, piled in corners to be used as kindling or simply to kick up thick clouds of termite filth. Fungus left woolen carpets in disfigured heaps, its delicate thread count now the thistle pits of rat nests. Smith work was rusted and unkempt, candelabras like metal cacti, pointing stoically to the rotted rafters overhead. Halfway through his smoke, Auereliano cast thick slate circles from his lips to wrap around the dead iron frames of masterwork chairs. They were set around the room like vulture roosts, still clinging to scraps of the ornate wood that adorned them in the past. Auereliano allowed his mind to fade to numb sterility, thoughts passing through grated sieves, as he watched Trifecta pawing around the trash. As Alacult eyed the escapable details of the door, the muted thief seemed intent on functioning as some surrogate assistant. He dragged the remains of an old grandfather clock to the middle of the room, preening in joy when he found the gear work intact. With diminished limbs, he dug through piles of old tablecloths to salvage a single piece of silverware or the thin wire insulation from broken lanterns. Auereliano sighed in a plume of smoke.

“What we need,” Auereliano began, words slurring, “is a pig.” He cracked the knuckles of his left hand one by one, popping like knots in moist kindling. “We may be here for a while and the meat will keep us fresh…plus…”Auereliano paused. He realized he had no idea how Alacult was planning on building his thieving friend’s new tongue. He wasn’t one for technical know how, it was enough that he rolled his own cigarettes and could shuffle a deck of cards. But the concept of clockwork, which he only learned of in the mumbling monologue spilling from the young man’s lips, was a foreign language. He didn’t like giving a stranger such advantage, but this one was more than just a mortal seeking the fringes of his existence. Alacult was demon, of that he was almost sure, perhaps not bred from the pit but one of the unsaved. Auereliano’s impudence implied an unspoken kinship between the two, one that the scientist might have been spared developing. But one that existed.

“So what do you say, friend?” Auereliano flicked the dying butt into the darkness, a symphonious smile creeping to the edges of his lips, quickening the frailty of alabaster hues shading crimson eyes. “Is it possible that something, anything, lay beyond that door? And if so, is it worth our time?”

Auereliano knew the answer to the question in the studious absence on the young man’s face, the beginnings of thought finding seams in reason. He had to admit, it was exciting, like cracking open the last of your meager oysters to find a pearl. Auereliano rubbed his palms together and glowed like cave lichen, incandescent and eerie, quickened with the thought. “Tell me what you need of me, good sir, and let us waste no more time seeking out the root of this mystery.”