Intis, Trier.
Fresh from Above the Gray Fog, Abner lay on the sofa in his mansion, toying with a necklace strung with five brilliant gems. After a while, he set it aside.
The necklace was clearly the long-lost Fallen Morning Star. After a year, Mr. Fool had finally recovered it and solemnly returned it to Mr. Tower before the smaller gathering following the Tarot Club meeting began.
To be honest, Abner had little use for the necklace now. It would make a good gift for a friend, though—Fanny, for instance, whose options were relatively limited.
Hmm, I'm meeting Klein and the Pale Admiral, Maria, at midnight. There's still plenty of time. I might as well visit the Saintess of Toulon.
With that thought, Abner picked up the Fallen Morning Star again. Rather than teleporting, he had the butler arrange a carriage and headed for the Sari family's villa.
Meanwhile, at a railway station in a city in East Balam, a monstrous steam locomotive billowed smoke as it hauled its long train into the platform and gradually slowed.
A man with dark-brown skin, soft features, and a red, swollen lump on the side of his face boarded shortly after the train stopped.
Head lowered and one hand holding his top hat in place, he hurried through the carriages toward the locomotive.
He knocked on the connecting door, slipped into the cab, and told the train conductor:
"All the train attendants have been replaced with our people. The bridge ahead is where we'll hold the sacrifice."
The conductor, who wore a thick beard, nodded.
"May the god be pleased with this trainload of offerings.
"May we gain eternal life in His kingdom."
Just then, a voice sounded eerily behind them. "I'll send you to meet your god right now."
"Who's there?!"