The Tainted Cup

Din finds it uncomfortable to ride with Fayazi to the Haza house, disliking the seemingly forced attraction he feels for her. Fayazi has a strange zeal for discussing how her ancestor fought leviathans before the sea wall. She is less interested in talking about the present, including her father’s movements before his death. She is dismissive of the Legionnaires and the Iudex, as only Apothetiks and Engineers make the world, echoing Topirak’s language in Chapter 14.

After the party, Kaygi took a steam bath. Fayazi claims that nothing untoward happened during the party, but her Engraver reminds her of a small fire. The poisoner could have planted the poison during the hour it took to put out the fire and confirm the guests were all safe. Din is uneasy that Fayazi knows of his prowess in the recent fight.

Din admires the beautiful Haza estate, which includes an elaborate sculpture with an enormous claw from a Leviathan. He inspects the dappleglass that killed Kaygi. Fayazi notes sadly that her father, when dying, summoned servants, but not her. Kaygi’s bathing room is constructed entirely of unmarred fernpaper. When Din notes the seam between two panels is new, Fayazi denies the panels being replaced recently. When Fayazi shows him the tanks where Kaygi’s bathwater was heated, Din finds a small piece of dappleglass.

Fayazi grows distraught at the knowledge that the contagion is still present in her home. They find a rarely used servant door broken, which the poisoner used to access the water tank. At the site of the fire, Din smells something “acrid and unpleasant” that makes him conclude it was intentional (343). Din posits that the contagion had been hidden on the estate prior to the party. He tries to lie convincingly that he suspects the rookery as an entry point—an excuse to access the location of Haza correspondence, as Ana ordered. A suspicious servant tells him they burned Kaygi’s correspondence. Din still insists on seeing the rookery.

Din’s questions about Kaygi’s correspondence receive vague answers, as the Haza Engraver lies about sending or receiving messages since Kaygi’s death. The birds’ destinations are written in another language, which means Din can’t read them aloud to engrave them in his memory. He traces the words with his fingers so he can re-draw them, even as Fayazi urges him to hurry. He worries that if he fails to re-draw them correctly, Ana will know about his reading difficulty and fire him. When Fayazi leads him across the grounds, Din realizes she is “frightened of something” (356).

On the Haza estate’s walls, Din finds a gate that raises and falls when needed to let floodwaters out. A guard is vague about when it has been opened. On the eastern side of the estate, Din finds a patch of dying grass atop a hole that had once hidden something.

Then, Fayazi wants to speak to him again. As he approaches, he overhears her arguing with someone, though he cannot linger long enough to get context. He finds his meeting with Fayazi unsettling; she insists he stay to eat, even after he demurs.

She muses on the nature of the leviathans, which are all different, though some have human faces. She wonders if their attacks are inevitable, as they grow larger with each wet season. If Din tells her about Ana’s investigation, Fayazi offers him a safer place in the inner Empire if the sea walls are permanently breached. She summons a dancer who has been enhanced to ensure attraction.

Din struggles against the intense sexual attraction he feels and insists he wishes to return home. He realizes that the dancer smells the same as Jilki’s scarf and Blas’s oil. When he tells Fayazi he thus knows that Jilki and Blas were present, despite Fayazi’s insistence to the contrary, she demands he be sent away immediately. Two altered guards manhandle Din into the carriage, injuring his elbow.

Din reports everything to Ana and Miljin, who praise him for keeping his head despite Fayazi’s blandishments. Ana posits that Fayazi does not have more information than they do, but is a pawn for the rest of the Haza clan. Ana explains that “low officers” like the ten Engineers were receiving Kaygi’s “patronage” in exchange for “favors” (377-78). Din wonders if Blas, though older and more prominent, received similar patronage.

Ana asks about the rookery. Din awkwardly explains his finger-tracing method for the Sazi language; Ana reassures him, asking him to trace them again, in ink, so that he is precisely replicating his movements. Ana then reads the resulting addresses: Engineering and Apothetikal Headquarters of various cantons—the same cantons that Aristan visited. The only recently received message was from the Hazas’ central house in the inner Empire, indicating that Kaygi’s secret was significant enough to warrant attention from the heads of the family.

Ana theorizes that Jolgalgan hid inside the hole Din found for several days prior to the party. Jolgalgan may, like Nusis, have alternations that let her see in the dark, which would let her navigate the party without a lantern. They do not yet know how Jolgalgan entered the Haza grounds; Ana asks Miljin to secure a list of Talagray Legionnaires augmented for strength. Din adds that Fayazi seemed to be concealing bruises on her arms, as if she had been gripped forcefully.

That night, Din falls asleep realizing that Ana did not “[comment] at all upon [his] issues with text. Not once” (386).

Ana interrogates Kalista, who went to the Hazas’ opulent party. Kalista saw Uhad and Nusis there only briefly. She did not see Jolgalgan. She heard of but did not witness the fire, and knows of no special connection between Blas, Kaygi, and Oypat.

Uhad warns Ana that “the Hazas will find a way to attack [her]” (393). Uhad, as an engraver, gives a highly detailed report of the party. Din finds the engraver’s magical memory unnerving to witness and dislikes that he looks the same when recalling events. When asked about Blas, Kaygi, and Oypat, Uhad draws a contrast: Blas and Kaygi were murdered, while Oypat Canton died on its own. Uhad then asks if Din has felt any of the side effects that afflict Engravers—sensory inputs pulling forth memories so forcefully that it feels like “the memory describing itself” (395). He advises Din to “begin living ascetically” when this happens (395), as this will instigate fewer triggers.

Nusis reports no progress with the complex reagents key, which has not responded to common tests. The fire, based on how witnesses described its odor, may have been started by blackperch mushrooms, no longer used as fire starters because their flames were too unpredictable. Nusis adds that during the Oypat crisis, Apoths attempted to create a cure for dappleglass, as the contagion rapidly spread. The Apoths succeeded in creating a cure but could not get it approved before Oypat was too contaminated to save. Years later, the cure was tested, with inconclusive results. The cantons who protested the potential environmental impacts of the cure were the same ones that Aristan visited and the Hazas messaged.

Ana concludes that they are investigating three disparate crimes: the dappleglass murders, likely committed by Jolgalgan; some crime that Kaygi committed, involving Blas and Oypat; and the murders of Suberek and Aristan. She is confident the Hazas did not introduce the contagion to Oypat; the accident that led to the dappleglass epidemic is well-documented. She and Miljin both know who killed Suberek and Aristan, but need to “test out a theory” before explaining (403).

Miljin hands Din his sword, which is curiously light, as it is made from a titan’s bone. It has a complex hilt lock mechanism that took Miljin a long time to learn; however, when he shows the movements to Din only once, Din can release the blade easily. Miljin explains that Din has “memory in the muscles” (405)—something very uncommon, as Engravers can normally capture only sights, sounds, and smells. Ana explains this was not part of his Iyalet testing because “it’s rare as all hell” (407). Ana urges Miljin to quickly teach Din as much as possible, as his life is at risk.

Miljin explains to an alarmed Din: A Twitch is a soldier altered for extreme speed. The military stopped using such augmented soldiers, as their speed injured them too quickly and healing grafts were prone to contagion. The Hazas, however, are rumored to have Twitch assassins, though this has not been proven. Though Din would be unable to defeat a Twitch, their limited energy resources means that Din could perhaps outlast one in combat, and therefore survive. Ana believes the heads of the Haza clan sent the Twitch to tie up loose ends after Fayazi replaced the fernpaper in her father’s bathhouse and thus created evidence. This cleanup effort led to Suberek’s death.

Ana recalls that one of the dead Engineers had reported being followed by a crackler, or person augmented with extreme strength, with yellow hair—signifying that this person was Oypati, like Jolgalgan. This person likely helped Jolgalgan get in through the heavy floodgates on the Haza estate. Anna intends to use the reports of augmented Legionnaires to find the Oypati Crackler, who will lead them to Jolgalgan. They will take a “contagion crew” to help protect them against any “graft trips” Jolgalgan may deploy (414). Ana plucks hairs from Din’s head, enigmatically commenting that she needs “black hairs” to protect her from poisoning.

Miljin teaches Din some self-defense movements. Din worries that he won’t be able to fight if asked to move any other way than the exact way he practiced. Miljin adds that Din’s muscle memory is also a weakness—one that apparently only affects engravers who struggle to remember other things. Din does not comment on his reading struggles.

The next day, Miljin and Din meet the contagion crew, led by Signum Kitlan. The team seems unperturbed by the prospect of facing weaponized dappleglass. They head to an outpost near the sea walls to find a crackler named Drools Ditelus, the only Oypati crackler in Talagray. At the Legion outpost, they find that Ditelus is missing; he may be at a nearby destroyed Legion fortress.

Kitlan warns them to avoid any movement, as “the Plains are rife with contagion” (422). Miljin claims seeking warning flares is pointless; given their proximity to the wall, they will be dead before they can react. The Apoths smell blood, and the group follows the trail to Ditelus, who moves strangely in the distance. The contagion crew distributes “warding helms” to protect against contagion. Ditelus ignores their orders to stop and threats of immolation if they can’t confirm he is uncontaminated. He plods ahead, claiming he is going home, and describes Oypat, weeping. He claims that “they […] made it die” (427). Suddenly, the dappleglass bursts from him, killing him violently. Part of the team heads to the abandoned fortress, where they find Jolgalgan, long dead and surrounded by dappleglass.

Kitlan assesses the scene and determines that Jolgalgan had the equipment to create the modified dappleglass in the abandoned fortress; Jolgalgan’s death was an accident, as was Ditelus’ exposure. Miljin comments that this doesn’t feel right.