The Tempest

So much has happened, I can barely process it all.

My brother Ash has been kidnapped. To be precise, he was found collapsed from his desk at the Europan Consulate in Steeltopia. His soul chip has been removed from his body, leaving a hollow shell. There was no sign of struggle. He was deceived into accepting maintenance.

If he had gone to his next assignment as Steeltopian Guard Commander, he might have been able to protect the shipment of highly dangerous Omega particles that came under attack. The Guard was wiped out. The only clue to the identity of the attackers was a single shuriken.

Frau Lowey established a telepathic link with Ash's amorphous pet, Yoggy. The words we translated were "white...little...spinnyspinnyspinnyspinny". I can only assume it was a doll with a spinning turnkey.

Also stolen was the recently discovered Adventures of Jeremiah Mason, Gentleman Adventurer, which was recovered from the dust of Steeltopia's original library. Ash's attacker may have absconded with the journal itself, but she did not retrieve Ash's notes that he was compiling.

Either the journal is a hopeless mountain of lies, or...Jeremiah was indeed a hero once, who fell from grace. The text became increasingly disjointed and harder for Ash to piece together as he slipped from sanity, but he believes the tragedy begins when his wife Rachel...Darien's mother...refuses the Reanimation Serum which could have saved her from her fatal illness. She said "the price to [my] soul is too high".

Adding to the turmoil of the Steamlands, there has been an apparent coup d'etat in Steeltopia. Emperor Calamari has been usurped by one StormFront Aristocrat.

Now there is a rumor the Omega particles are hidden somewhere in Steelhead. Given the growing danger, I violated my own protocol and subversively conducted a search of Mr. Sawyer's workshop. This rumor that he is Jeremiah Mason may be horribly unfair, but it is not subsiding. There is no doubt he is a Spark. The portable plasma forge and robot parts on his table attest to that.

There was a passing resemblance to one assembled droid and the golems I encountered in the ruins of Jeremiah's laboratory. But it was a simple coal-fueled drone, almost a kit model. Not enough to prove a connection. Further, there was no evidence of Sorcery woven into his Science that is the Mason family's trademark. No visible stock of Reanimation Serum or ingredients thereof. And most importantly, no Omega particle energy signature.

Apparently the droid on his table was recording. That is why I am justifying my actions to you now, Dear Reader. Mr. Sawyer is justifiably upset. I will apologize to him in person, and hopefully dispel the mistrust in the air.