From a higher vantage, the view is much improved.
Marcus: Reporter of New Free Press, editor-in-chief of the Pan ... The founder of The Torch ...
Marcus: Oh, that's Egon Erwin Kisch! The reporter who uncovered the scandal surrounding Colonel Alfred Redl ... I had investigated this before ...
Marcus: Adolf Loos, the architect! He designed the Steiner House, as I recall. That's Major Maximilian Ronge and his wife ... who knew that celebrities like them would visit this exhibition.
Marcus: But they look different from the pictures in the papers ... They were younger, and less chubby. Has my memory failed me? Or is it because photography is also an art of beautification?
Marcus: Mr. Karl was right. People are flocking to the Secession Building to get a glimpse of the new art.
Hofmann: … I can't appreciate these things at all.
Hofmann comments from her typical cold objectivity.
Hofmann: I've informed the Field Agent Squad, as soon as Heinrich shows up, we'll get him under control.
Hofmann: Ideally, we will take him away for "illegal use of arcane skills." It is the best reason and the least risk. It also complies with the laws of this time. If Manus Vindictae is behind all this, they'll show themselves for sure.
Hofmann: The squad will assist us from the perimeter by then.
Hofmann: Marcus, your mission is to watch everything closely. Heinrich could be disguised and hiding in the crowd. Also keep an eye on the Manus and their rituals—that's what we were originally here for.
Marcus: Leave it to me! I won't miss a thing.
Marcus takes a deep breath, seeking a clear moment before diving.
A starburst of information floods into Marcus's eyes, reeling across her mind with a thousand pages at once.
The world has always been a book to her.
Marcus: Mr. Thomas, the representative, is talking to the ladies about expressionism. His parents did not foresee the success of Impressionism—the works that made no sense but became priceless on the market.
Marcus: That's why his generation over-corrects their aesthetic standards and pays compliments to any art they don't understand.
Marcus: The reporter for the New Free Press and that major are discussing the frequent suicides in Vienna ...
Marcus: They've written articles about it, and many of them attribute it to the publication of The Sorrows of Young Werther.
Marcus: Kakania is describing the founding idea of "The Circle." "This is the first magic circle drawn by the primitive man!" Hmm, quite the strong woman ...
Marcus: The military exercise in Bosnia and Herzegovina this spring ... General Conrad to lose power ... A low pressure trough on the Atlantic Ocean ... Ivory-colored paper for official use only ...
Marcus: The general ... Wife of a cabinet member ... Quartz sand ... Is arcanum a bacterial infection ... Is psychoanalysis a new type of mental illness ...
Marcus: Mr. Heinrich is not here.
Marcus: Nothing useful on this page.
Isolde: ...
Marcus: Ah, Ms. Isolde again. She's the host of the exhibition.
Marcus: She seems ... healthier than the last time we met.
Marcus: I don't know why, but I'm happy for her.
Marcus: She's about to make a speech.
Isolde: It is my honor to host this exhibition.
Isolde: Before we begin, I'd like to express my gratitude for Mr. Heinrich, who is Theophil's friend and the curator of this exhibition.
Marcus: Heinrich still hasn't shown up. Did he notice something?
Isolde: And also a friend of mine, the founder of "The Circle"—Ms. Klara!
Isolde: Without her tireless work behind the scenes, we wouldn't be here today. Born into a rising arcane family of the middle class, Ms. Klara is a devoted doctor and an art connoisseur with impeccable taste.
Isolde makes for a dramatic introduction, reaching out towards the audience below.
Kakania: Ugh!
Marcus: Dr. Kakania is standing up, greeting the guests. That's an awkward smile. Looks like she didn't see this coming.
Marcus: Hmm, Ms. Isolde is giving her an encouraging look. She wants to introduce her friend to the celebrities?
Marcus: So they're actually very close ...
Kakania: sigh I told her not to mention my name ...
Marcus: Ms. Kakania is lowering her hat. Does she not like the spotlight? No, that's not it. Is it because of Ms. Dittarsdorf's gaze?
Marcus observes the woman in green intently.
Isolde lifts the curtain.
Isolde: This is the debut of The Salvation—the only painting Theophil left behind.
Marcus: This is it!
Isolde: In his last moments, Theophil became obsessed with the Golden Isle. He envisioned it as a realm of art and culture, a utopia for arcanists.
Isolde: There, the primal vitality and passion of arcanists would be preserved and never tainted by the outside world.
Isolde: He wrote, "That island holds the hope of salvation."
Marcus: Hmm, is this so? This is above my clearance ...
Marcus: Sounds like everyone in Vienna has their own interpretation of the island.
Isolde: Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please! We are forming a committee to petition the Empire to cease its attacks on the island!
Isolde: The arcanists there are not lunatics, they're simply living free!
Marcus: Erm?!
Familiar words interrupt Marcus's thoughts, her eyes widening in bewilderment.
But beneath the spotlight, the speech continues.
Isolde: Their existence is a revelation to us. To help them is to help ourselves.
Isolde: Our society is sick. Treating the individual is only treating a symptom. It needs a radical surgery, a revolution that will let us rediscover our repressed nature, and reinvent ourselves in this world ...
Marcus: Something's wrong. Her speech is ...
Marcus's intuition hammers out a warning. A loud clear klaxon in her mind.
Before she can act, Isolde raises her hand as if holding out some drawn sword, reaching the climax of her speech.
Isolde: I wish for the arcanists to unite ...
Isolde: And establish an independent kingdom of freedom, free from repression and oppression!
Marcus: —!
Hofmann: It's an emergency. Seal the exits. Add Isolde to our targets.
Hofmann delivers her orders coldly and without a moment of hesitation.
Hofmann: Marcus, now.
Guest I: What?
Guest I: Am I hearing things, or did Ms. Dittarsdorf really say that?
At first, the crowd stirs like a ripple over a deep and swift current.
Guest I: Forgive her! Perhaps Ms. Dittarsdorf hasn't fully recovered from her illness ...
Guest III: I think so too!
Kakania rises up from her seat, her hat sliding off her knee, stunned hands failing to catch it.
Kakania: What, how? I did not tell her to ...
Heinrich: Ladies and gentlemen! Dear friends! Calm down!
A man's voice booms from the other end of the exhibition hall.
Heinrich: Do not panic, for I have found salvation for you!
Kakania: Heinrich? What is that behind you ...
Communicator: Hofmann, the targets showed up! But golems are attacking us!
Hofmann: I see it too.
Hofmann: The arcane skill of object enchantment? Marcus, give it a read.
Armored statues surround Heinrich, reaching a motionless still that creates an odd, if dramatic, tableau.
Heinrich: Please do not ignore what Ms. Dattersdorf is saying! This is a proving ground of a world-ending experiment!
Heinrich: A catastrophe is coming. The clouds of war are filling up the sky.
Heinrich: Open your eyes and look at all we have now. The music, the art, the ambitions of progress ...
Heinrich: Man's gunfire will destroy them all!
Kakania: ... What?
Kakania: What ... are you all talking about?
Isolde: Not to worry, doctor. You simply don't know yet.
The woman, now so strange in the doctor's eyes, reaches out her hand.
Isolde: Follow me, and I'll show you everything, where your dream has taken root.
The appearance of the golems agitates the crowd, and the ripple becomes a chaotic crash of waves.
Guest III: This is ridiculous! An independent kingdom? It is treason!
Guest III: We are Viennese! Why would we want to leave our own country?
Guest IV: Are these golems works of art too? They look expensive, I'd like one in my collection.
Guest I: Open the door and let us go! This travesty is a disgrace!
The glow of arcane skill strikes against the golem but leaves no trace of damage.
Team Member: D**n, are these golems immune to arcanum? We can't get to Heinrich!
Marcus: Madam Hofmann, I read them! Object enchantment strokes, the same ones we found at the Foundation branch!
Hofmann: Any signs of the Manus's rituals?
Marcus: No, nothing yet.
Hofmann nods, pressing the communicator again.
Hofmann: Golems can only be broken from within. Marcus, tell everyone the method. Olla, evacuate everyone and use the mute spell. Don't let more people hear about the "era"!
The mentor, now agent, draws her sidearm, pushing through the panicked crowd.
Hofmann: ...
Through the gaps between the golems, she keenly spots a pink dress disappearing behind a painting.
Hofmann: Heinrich's escaped with Isolde. There's an opening behind the painting.
Hofmann: After them!
