What do you do when you are told someone you trust may be lying to you? It has been a while since Zac told me his suspicions about Moses. Somehow I think he was shocked that I hadn't been more surprised. I still remember the day that Nell took me aside and said "Jed, I know you're not going to believe this..." and I laughed. Poor thing seemed genuinely upset that I wasn't amazed when she told me her story...but come on. Everyone in Babbage has a story, someone they are hiding from or looking for, or a strange past, or skeletons in the closet. The only really normal person in town is Book Hienrichs, and Lord knows sometimes I even doubt that. In the two years I've lived here, we've had vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, alien robots, pirates, Martians, local robots, villains, mysterious devices, Elder Gods, merfolk, plots, plans, coups, arcane magic, murders, thefts, and a swath of other things that I can't readily recall. With this in mind, telling me that you are a fugitive member of a noble house from another dimension may not raise too many eyebrows or seem very shocking...

What does bother me is telling me someone I fought beside, someone I trust with my life is actually an evil despot with an armed battle fleet poised to invade my city and that this same person has spies all over town. I also know that for all his training, Zac is still young and green, prone to those reactions borne of youthful enthusiasm. I don't have that luxury anymore. It was at that point that I decided to do something that I swore I wouldn’t do…investigate a friend.