The Story So Far
(through Episode 16)
An aetheric disaster has sent a wave of death rolling around the world. Many died in the first wave. All aether-powered technology has been severely affected. In some cases it has been destroyed, in others it has been rendered extremely unstable, causing more deaths. In the middle of this, the Loyale traveling circus docked in Boston. Because they were at sea when the disaster struck, they are mostly undamaged. But what are they to do now? Complicating things is the murder at sea of their ringmaster and owner. They survive the turmoil and even manage to perform in Boston, but decide to continue on their tour.
In Connecticut, midway between Boston and New York, they are attacked by bandits going after their supply wagon. Dr. Janzen autopsies the bandits and discovers disturbing signs that they may have been suffering from aether sickness, a malady not seen since the War Between the States. Long after the corpses are once more bundled up in canvas, the implications keep Dr. Janzen from his rest.
The circus camps on the outskirts of New York City, planning to approach the city the next day.
Martin Smythe, a half-English, half-Indian spy for the Maharana of Udaipur, has been traveling with the circus disguised as Rajesh, the Indian mahout. He tends to the giant brass-and-bone aether-powered elephant. He believes that the skeleton man stole secret papers from the dead ringmaster's cabin that might reveal that he is a spy. The night that the circus camps near New York, Martin interrogates the skeleton man until he gives up the papers. Then he cuts his throat. Dead men tell no tales. It is only after Martin has killed the skeleton man that he discovers the tell-tale signs that someone was spying on them and may have seen the murder.
Tonya Wershow, fortune teller extrordinaire and traveling spy, witnessed the skeleton man arguing with someone and overheard enough to realize that she is in danger. Her role in the spy ring concealed within the circus is simple: if there is treachery, she is to escape and report to an outside contact. Fear and the sounds of wild animals moving around outside her caravan keep her awake all night, but in the morning, as soon as she can do so inconspicuously, she slips away and heads for New York. She is about to report to her contact when someone strikes her from behind, and she falls into darkness.
The next morning, Christopher Knall, new ringmaster and clown-in-training, searches the trees surrounding the caravan camp to find signs of where Tonya may have gone. Upon his return, he learns that Doom, one of Isaac the animal handler's monkey troupe, is also missing.
Lacey the equestrienne, Ginger the clown, Christopher the clown-in-training, and Isaac the animal handler approach New York City to scout it before the whole circus visits. What they find is grim. Order has been imposed under the shadow of a noose. Food is strictly rationed, and citizens are prohibited from gathering in large groups or going out after curfew. The circus folk split up, Lacey and Ginger to look for the mayor, and Christopher and Isaac to search for the missing circus members.
Lacey and Ginger meet with the Commissioner of New York after seeing the old mayor's corpse dangling from the flagpole in front of City Hall. The commissioner initially says that his cityfolk don't have time or resources for "fripperies" like a circus, but he changes his mind when he realizes that he can send them to the docks. He has not seen anyone resembling the missing circus member.
Meanwhile, Isaac and Christopher go to the docks to look for the missing monkey--and maybe get an outsider's view on how the city's running. They find a hostile reception, and when they board Captain Angie's ship uninvited to search for the monkey, she shoots Isaac. Upon realizing that he wasn't threatening her, Captain Angie uses some of her limited store of untainted bone aether to heal Isaac. The circusfolk learn that most of the ships have seen terrible things at other ports, and that aether-powered ships--the only kind that could undertake a long sea voyage--cannot travel because they don't have the aether to fuel them for a long trip. They also learn that the ships at port are in a hostile stand-off with the Commissioner of New York City. The ships have food and other supplies that the city needs, but the city is offering nothing in return. In passing, Captain Angie mentions a zoo in New York, and Isaac insists on going there immediately in hopes of finding his monkey, Doom. Upon reaching the zoo, they discover that the monkey is in fact there, but that he may not want to return to the circus.
When the circusfolk return from their preliminary scouting of New York, the circus as a whole quickly decides that they want to travel to the debatable safety of the city. Strange noises in the night and butchered wildlife make them eager to leave.
As they cross the bridge, they are attacked by horribly mutated, nearly impossible to kill deer-monsters that have been driven into an insane, ravenous rage by aether-sickness. Lacey the equestrienne executes a daring rescue to save a little girl trapped on the bridge, but Genevieve the sharpshooter is killed during the rescue. The circus is only saved by the intervention of Rajesh, the Indian mahout, when he reveals that his bone-and-brass elephant is actually a war machine with fearsome capabilities.
The victorious circus members are fêted by the town. When the circus doctor drinks too much, he confides in Lacey that he has seen such mutations before, during the War Between the States, and he fears that many of the sick people who have been coming to his snake oil show have also been stricken by aether-sickness and will soon suffer the same transformation that the deer did.
A group of circus folk are summoned to the New York commissioner's office. Far from being praised for their bravery, he blames them for disrupting his town and demands to know how they will contribute. He says that the circus can begin by handing over their horses, a prospect that throws Lacey into a panic. Without her horses, she is nothing.
Ginger finesses Lacey out of the commissioner's office. Then he returns on the pretext of retrieving a dropped item. At first, the commissioner refuses Ginger's offer of a pair of circus tickets, but Ginger reminds him of how much his wife would enjoy the show, and he takes them, though he emphasizes that he will make no exceptions for the circus. Once they return to the docks, Ginger persuades three sailors to bring their trade goods and visit the Sasse family's zoo with him. During the visit, Ginger discusses the future of the zoo with Papa Sasse. He tells him of the aether sickness and warns him about the dangers to come. Papa Sasse agrees to let Ginger take his pick of the sailors' trade goods as his "fee" for guiding them to the zoo, and Ginger takes a small bag of cacao beans. When Ginger returns to the circus, he finds a long line of people waiting for tickets, including the commissioner's aide, Mr. Akrill.
