The Origami City
The fog in Ravenswood wasn't just weather. It was a curtain.
The moment the carriage crossed the rotting bridge into the town, the world turned grey. Sound was dampened. The air tasted of ozone and ozone... and paper?
"I don't like this," Luna whimpered, clutching Taylor's arm. "The fog... it's touching me. It feels like wet fingers."
"It's aerosolized water vapor, Luna," Taylor whispered, though her grip on her hidden dagger tightened. "Keep your gas masks ready. If the color changes to yellow, we hold our breath."
"Ren," Taylor called out. "Stay close."
"I am right here," Ren's voice said.
Taylor looked left. No Ren.
She looked right. No Ren.
She looked up.
Ren was walking on a rooftop three stories above them.
"How did you get up there?!" Taylor hissed.
"I saw a cat," Ren shouted down. "I followed it. Now I am on the high ground. The fog is thinner here. I see... birds. Many paper birds."
***
[The Paper Crane]
Taylor ignored the lost swordsman and marched toward the only building with a light on.
It wasn't a tavern. It was a shop with a sign that simply depicted a folded paper crane.
*Ding.*
They entered.
The shop was empty. No shelves. No counters. Just hundreds—thousands—of origami birds hanging from the ceiling on invisible strings. They swayed in the draft, creating a rustling sound like whispering ghosts.
In the center of the room sat a single desk. On it was a chessboard, a half-finished origami tower, and a pair of round, wire-rimmed glasses.
But no person.
"Hello?" Taylor called out.
"Welcome," a voice echoed.
It didn't come from a person. It came from a brass tube on the wall—a primitive speaking trumpet.
The voice was calm. Methodical. The voice of a man who had planned this conversation three days ago.
"You are early, Lady Taylor," the voice said. "I expected you at 8:05. It is 8:03."
"Who are you?" Taylor demanded, stepping toward the desk.
"You may call me... **The Professor**," the voice replied.
Taylor froze.
The Professor.
"I'm not here for games," Taylor said, placing the Blue Rose on the desk. "I want to know where this came from. And I want the chemical compound used to synthesize it."
"Direct," the Professor mused. "I like that. Efficiency is beautiful."
Suddenly, a mechanical drawer in the desk slid open.
Inside was a single glass vial containing a glowing, silver liquid. And a note.
> Phase 1: The Catalyst
"Take it," the voice said. "Consider it a donation to your... explosive endeavors."
"Why?" Taylor asked, narrowing her eyes. "What do you want?"
"I want to see if you can execute The Plan," the Professor said. "The world is a bank, Taylor. And we are about to make a withdrawal."
"I'm not a thief," Taylor snapped.
"Aren't you?" The voice chuckled darkly. "You stole a life, didn't you? When you woke up in that body?"
Taylor's blood ran cold.
He knew.
"Take the vial. Leave the town. Do not look for me. I am not in the shop. I am everywhere."
***
[The Decontamination]
"We're leaving," Taylor said, grabbing the vial. "Now."
She turned to the door. But as she reached for the handle, a nozzle above the doorframe hissed.
*PSSSHHHH.*
A cloud of warm, scented steam blasted down on them.
"Decontamination Protocol Initiated," the Professor's voice said politely.
"AHH!" Luna screamed as the steam hit them. "My hair! The frizz!"
"It's wet!" **Ria** moaned.
The steam wasn't just water. It was a heavy, clinging mist that soaked through their clothes instantly.
Taylor gasped. Her shirt, already thin, became transparent in seconds. The steam made the fabric cling to every curve of her corset, outlining her chest and waist with high-definition clarity.
"My Angel!" Ria cried, wiping steam from her eyes. She looked at Taylor and immediately got a nosebleed. "You look like a steamed bun! A delicious, soft bun!"
Ria lunged forward, trying to hug Taylor. "Let me dry you with my body heat!"
"Get off!" Taylor shouted, slipping on the wet floor.
She fell backward—right into **Violet's** arms.
Violet didn't let go. She held Taylor tight against her chest. Violet's own dress was soaked, sticking to her legs.
"You're slippery," Violet whispered, her hands sliding up Taylor's wet waist. She buried her face in Taylor's damp neck. "And you smell like rain."
"We are leaving!" Taylor shrieked, her face burning red. "Ren! Get down here!"
*CRASH.*
Ren fell through the ceiling, landing in a pile of paper cranes. He stood up, covered in origami birds.
"I found the exit," Ren said confidently. He pointed to a closet.
"That's a broom cupboard, Ren."
***
[The Aftermath]
They scrambled out of the shop, soaked, flustered, and clutching the mysterious vial.
Taylor looked back at the building.
In the window on the second floor, for just a second, she saw a figure.
A man in a suit. He was adjusting his glasses with his middle finger. He held a red telephone receiver to his ear.
He nodded once at her.
Then the fog rolled in, and the building vanished.
"He played us," Taylor whispered, shivering in her wet clothes. "He gave us exactly what we wanted, just to see what we'd do with it."
"He has good steam pressure," Ria noted, wringing out her chef's coat. "I give him three stars."
"He knows too much," Violet muttered, her eyes fixed on the fog. "I want to peel him."
"Let's go," Taylor said. "We have the chemical. Now we can build the flashbangs."
As the carriage rattled away, deep inside the shop, **The Professor** sat at his desk. He picked up a paper crane.
He unfolded it. Inside was a blueprint Taylor had dropped in the chaos.
"Gunpowder," he smiled, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Interesting variable. The Plan just got louder."
He picked up a red marker and drew a circle on a map of the Capital.
"Soon, Taylor. Soon we will rob the sky."
[Ding!]
[Quest Complete: The Town of Smoke]
[Item Acquired: Synthesized Moonlight (The Catalyst)]
[New Character Unlocked: The Professor (Role: Mastermind)]
[Mystery: UNSOLVED]