Cogwheel Coda

In the sprawling, smoke-shrouded metropolis of Veridia, a city powered by colossal steam engines and intricate clockwork mechanisms, Callen Vex, a reclusive but unparalleled artificer, makes his living repairing complex automatons and crafting wondrous, bespoke devices. He operates from a hidden workshop beneath the city's poorest district, avoiding the watchful eye of the Ministry of Progress, a powerful governmental body that controls all technological innovation. Callen lives a quiet life with his only companion, Kerro, a small, highly intelligent automaton he built himself.When a series of inexplicable malfunctions plagues the city's vital clockwork systems, leading to widespread chaos and accusations against "e;unlicensed"e; inventors, Callen finds himself drawn into the mystery. He crosses paths with Tessera Vale, a sharp-witted airship pilot and smuggler, and Brother Gannon, a grizzled priest who believes the malfunctions are a sign of a deeper, spiritual ailment. Together, they uncover evidence of sabotage, pointing to a shadowy cabal within the Ministry of Progress that seeks to centralize all power and eradicate independent thinkers.The Cogwheel Coda focuses on their initial investigations, daring escapes through steam-filled alleyways and over rooftops, and the assembly of their unlikely team. The climax involves Callen using his unique genius to repair a critical city mechanism under pressure, exposing the saboteurs but also making them a direct target of the Ministry and its ambitious leader, Minister Halric Dorne.