To sabotage a machine as complex as the Aetherium Regulator, Valerius needed more than just his corruption power. He needed specific tools and knowledge. He needed to understand the changes Corvus had made to his original designs. And for that, he needed help from someone who understood the world of high-level artifice. Elara, with her network of contacts in the city's hidden corners, knew just the person.
"His name is Kaelen," she explained as they traveled down to the mid-levels of the city. "He used to be a brilliant Artificer, a specialist in Aetheric resonance. But he made a mistake. A big one. An experiment exploded and embarrassed a member of the Council. They didn't send him to the Undercity, but they took away his lab and his title. Now he runs a small repair shop, a forgotten man."
They found Kaelen's shop in a crowded, noisy market street. It was a small, cluttered place filled with the smell of ozone and strange chemicals. Kaelen was an old man with wild white hair and hands stained with a dozen different colors. He looked at them with suspicious eyes.
"We need your help," Valerius began. He explained that they needed to understand the schematics of a new Aetherium device. He was careful not to mention Corvus or his plan for revenge.
Kaelen scoffed. "The Council's secrets? You're asking me to commit treason. Go away."
Valerius knew that words would not convince him. He needed to show him something. Valerius looked around the workshop and saw a small, broken music box on a table. It was a complex device that was supposed to play a tune using small, resonating crystals. "This music box," Valerius said, picking it up. "You can't fix it, can you? The crystal matrix is shattered."
Kaelen sighed. "It's impossible. The damage is too great."
Valerius held the box in his hands. He couldn't fix it with creation, but maybe he could do something else. He focused, not with the dark energy of his corruption power, but with the memory of his old talent. He gently touched the shattered crystals. He could not make them whole, but he could feel their broken song. He began to hum a low, single note. The note resonated with the broken pieces. He then sent a tiny, controlled pulse of chaotic energy into the box, not enough to destroy it, but just enough to shake the broken pieces into a new, strange alignment.
The box whirred to life. It did not play the sweet melody it was made for. Instead, it played a haunting, sad, but beautiful new tune. Kaelen stared, his mouth open in shock. Valerius had not fixed the box, but he had given its brokenness a new voice. He had created something new from decay.
Kaelen looked at Valerius with new eyes, a mix of fear and wonder. "Who are you?" he whispered.
"I'm the man who is going to give you a chance to get back at the Council that threw you away," Valerius said. Kaelen looked at the impossible music box, then back at Valerius. He nodded slowly. "Tell me what you need." They had found their expert.