Locations (Codex entries)

Due to the entries in the codex being written by Cicero, there are occasionally spoilers mentioned in them. In these cases, \*SPOILERS\* will be written next to when it is found. It is highly recommended to go through your first play-through blind. Also beside when, will be a number indicating what order they were found in.

The Locations section of the Codex is located under the Lore tab, and has 45 entries. To see other sections, see Codex.

Entries:

#### 4. The Astiguary

 Located in the Shore of Shadows (the border between the light of the sun and the shadow of the mountain, that moves across the Citte as the day progresses), the Astiguary is an establishment that belongs to a good friend of mine, Leventhos Merimbus. I’d never seen it before my return to Ombre – I am more familiar with the Leaping Lion, Leventhos’ previous inn – but I must say that the Astiguary’s facade is appropriately reflective of its owner’s personality. Despite being in the centre of a dark city, the Astiguary remains beautiful and warm. Levanthos is very much the same – though he lives in a city of shadows and deception, he has let none of them into his heart.

#### 5. The Bleeding Beetle

 Taverns such as the Bleeding Beetle are not uncommon in Ombre. These are found closer to the docks than they are to the shadows under the mountain, and are favourite haunts of Contadani and those simply visiting from the other nations.

The lack of Masquerada that come by is easily explained – taverns such as this are poor and rowdy, and few Masquerada would deign to associate themselves too closely with such common folk.

#### 8. The Conoscenza

 Home to the Citte’s second-largest collection of written histories, the Conoscenza is the pride of the Vegilus, and contains volume upon volume of information on topics that range from botany to Dimenticate history.

#### 9. The Docks of Ombre

 There might be no other landmark in Ombre more significant than its docks which, most days of the year, are occupied by trading vessels and merchant watercraft. Popularly referred to as the Jewel of the Midnight Belt, Ombre has, over the years since its birth, turned into the busiest port in the whole Belt. As the nexus of hundreds of trade routes, Ombre’s docks see men and woman of all nations on its wharfs and serves as a prime platform for people of myriad cultures to mingle while their vessels are serviced and refuelled – the Citte’s beautifully colourful demographic is just one effect of this mixing.

The fortune of having such a capable harbour, as well as such a fine location, has allowed trade to become Ombre’s primary form of economic sustenance, and has afforded its reputation reach far beyond the waters.

#### 14. The Golden Canvas

 The golden Canvas may not be the Principal Ward of the Dieci Sovrani, but it is among its most prominent. The legacy of the Therald family lives on most evidently in this ward, with its high, colourful glasshouses and beautiful vistas.

Making most of their revenue from trading artisanal goods, the Dieci have the most skilled and creative of Artigiani and Fabbra and it is under the marvelous drapery of the Golden Canvas and between its billowing clouds of coloured smoke that they are found practicing their crafts.

#### 15. The Hall of Bearings

 After the Registry began recognising the guilds of Ombre and established the rules of their relationship, its collection of Mascherines grew steadily. For a long time, these Mascherines that had been paid to the Registry as tribute from the guilds had been stored in various caches all over the Citte. When the Pale Isle was claimed and the White Spire built, these Mascherines were transported to a hall that the Registry had constructed specifically for storage of these Mascherines: the Hall of Bearings.

#### 16. The Hall of Songstresses

 Shortly after the clearing out the Black Crib, the Vegilus who were to become songstresses of the Citte decided to construct a monument to protect the tree that had been unearthed, and to provide a sanctuary of a sort for the troubled citizens of the country. Thus, the Hall of Songs was constructed, and today it serves as the house of the nation’s Legacies and a favourite place for uneasy souls to find solace.

#### 17. Illisia

 The land of the greatest philosophers, Illisia was the first country from across the Belt to trade with Ombre. It was Illisia’s influence over the early settlers of Ombre that nourished the sect within the Registry known as the Vegilus – the scholars of the Citte. Illisians pride themselves on their philosophical pursuits, though that seems to have distanced them none from the avarice that Ombre tends to inspire. Whatever the case, the Citte is – and will continue to be – welcoming of the Illisian’s interest in the Citte, for Illisia is the one country that provides Ombre with Bloodpoppy, a flower that yields a brilliant crimson dye with a richness found nowhere else.

#### 21. Ombre

 Ombre, the Jewel of the Midnight Belt, acclaimed by all the nations for its wealth and its exotic magic.

This is the place that I’ve called home, the country that banished me in exile. Now I have returned, to find little has changed. It is still bustling and alive, and it still rests in shadow. Whether I am stepping back onto its wharfs facing open arms or hidden knives, only time will tell.

#### 23. The Pindrop

 So much greenery. Never before have I laid my eyes upon such unfettered growth; here in Ombre, the flora is subjected mercilessly to trimming and manicuring – this is remarkable.

It is both a wonder and a pity I’d never heard of this place before, this Pindrop. Its location has likely played a large part in securing its anonymity – tucked away in a forgotten corner of a labyrinthine ward, almost impossible to find.

Then there are the holes.

The very grounds upon which the ruins are found are pockmarked with treacherous holes, hidden from plain sight by weaves of vines and roots, which provide not any more stable a foothold than the basin of air that sits beneath. Yes, there is a cavern of a sort beneath the ground – an inviting one, considering the vast number of deadly entrances. I however, would like not to risk venturing below. Who knows what waits beneath, or how safe journeying down is.

#### 25. The Quite Order

 Named after the disposition of its residents, the Quiet Order has, since its inception, been home to those of the Registry who work from cloistered corridors and sequestered rooms. These men and women principally work in the fields of academia or deal with the nation’s trade or international relations and tend to prefer keeping away from the busy world of the Citte.

#### 28. Ruins: The Cleaver

 Few ruins in Ombre are as mysterious as the Cleaver – the jagged protrusions from the soil that form its earthen canopy are clearly unnatural. Considering the availability of Mascherines, it would be sensible to assume that the outcrop was constructed with an intention in mind, and by a wielder of a Mascherine, but geologists and Earthbrands alike have ascertained after years of scrutiny that the formations that compose the Cleaver were not brought into existence with the aid of magic.

How then, did the monument that shelters ruins beneath come into being and what could have the ability to wrench the innards of the earth so violently to summon it?

These questions had once been at the forefront of the minds of the Vegilus – researchers of the Registry – until the ward that the ruins belonged to, the Shattered Stone, was handed over to the care of the Cacciatore. Since then, few expeditions to the Cleaver have been conducted for the benefit of academia.

#### 29. Ruins: The Pindrop

Venturing further into the cavern beneath the surface, however, brought us face to face with yet another one of the Dimenticate’s many marvels. A huge spire that stretched from the base of the cavern all the way to its ceiling, protruding out beyond it, even, or so I suspect.

What more secrets lay in store for us, I can only begin to guess, but my first priority here is finding a way back to the surface.

#### 33. The Sailheart

 Orphanages in Ombre are uncommon, and I’d personally never stepped into one prior to entering the Sailheart. In the Citte, it is hard enough to take care of oneself; taking care of children that aren’t even related by blood seems almost masochistic. I have one part admiration and one part pity for those who would willingly subject themselves to caring for such an establishment – they should be respected for the warmth of their hearts, but I cannot bring myself to say that such a choice is a wise one in the Citte.

#### 35. Sierra Vede

 The mountain Sierra Vede has watched over Ombre since its inception and sheltered it from harsh weather. None have been ale to explain the strange wound in the mountain in which the Citte nestles cosily, ar how the mountain is still able to stand despite the gash in its base. In fact little is known about the mountain at all – it has been around since the time of the Dimenticate (some extant records mention it) and the primary rock called Ombrite, cannot be branded – but that is close to all the knowledge we have on it. How the mountain came to be and what relationship it had – and perhaps still has – with the lands around it remain mysteries.

#### 37. The Singing Tree

 The Singing Tree was unearthed during the clearing of a set of ruins known as the Black Crib. Its branches were the first parts the adventurers saw that hinted at its presence, and which prompted further excavation. When the tree was fully unearthed, what surprised the Vegilus wasn’t the sheer size of the tree (though that was indeed impressive) but rather the fact that it was still alive. How long it had been there, none can say for sure, but for the tree to have reached the size that it has... The Vegilus suspect it could perhaps have been around since the time of the Dimenicate. In the half-century or so since it has been uncovered, the answers to the questions of its longevity still remain shrouded in mystery.

#### 40. The Tesoro

 “You’re not serious,” Cyrus said, as a smile began to blossom upon his lips. “You can’t be serious. Are you serious?”

I held up the paperwork. “Everything’s been signed for. You can read it if you want.”

“You’re serious! By the Ages, you’re serious!” He laughed as he turned his gaze away from me, the blue light of the Tesoro bathing his features. He took a step towards it, his eyes darting up and down as he admired the relic’s beauty. “How?”

Must I remind you that I’m not just a simple Portieri, anymore?” I asked, as I pinched the corner of my cape and waved it about. The fabric still grated against my shoulder as I brandished it. I was told that I’d break into it eventually, and it’d soon feel like a second skin.

“Besides, Ivantino’s getting old and the Registry was looking for a replacement,” I said, turning to face the Custodian. “Isn’t that right?”

His older face was framed in the blue light of the Tesoro as well, but his eyes weren’t filled with the same wonderment i saw in Cyrus’. The azure wash didn’t bring tho the surface any measure of awe – reasonably so, for he’d been the Custodian for over a decade, now. Instead, it highlighted the shadows under his eyes, the crispness in the line of his lips.

“Sure is,” Ivantino replied as he stared at the pillar of light. I frowned slightly – there was something in his voice, something hollow. I couldn’t quite put a finger on it’s nature, though I heard both sorrow and anger in the space between his words. “Anyway, there’s one last thing that we need to do, your brother and I,” he said as he walked over to Cyrus, the perplexing tension in his voice disappearing as quickly as it had come. He held out a little contraption – a bloomer. “You know how this works?” he asked Cyrus.

“Well, I will soon, won’t I?” he replied.

“I suppose so,” the old man said, sighing. “I’d best get the materials we need then.”

“Materials?” Cyrus said, a note of worry in his voice,

“What, you thought it was going to be this simple? No, my young friend,” Ivantino chuckled. “The bloomer is a complicated piece of equipment. You must be precise and well versed in its mechanisms before I fully hand it over to your care.”

Cyrus shot me a glare. *I thought I was done with studying!*

I shrugged.

“Give me just a moment, I’ll be back with the books.” Ivantino said as he walked away to fetch the materials, leaving my brother and I under the quiet watch of the Tesoro.

I stepped up beside him. “Excited?”

“Apart from the prospect of burying my nose in pages again,” he said, pausing as the mood shifted. “Yes.” He sniffed and dropped his voice a notch. “Thank you, Cicero, for this.”

“It pays better,” I said, and was surprised at the edge and forcefulness in my tone.

Cyrus did not miss the insinuations. “I-” he choked a little. He swallowed. “I’ll do you proud, I promise.”

A twinge of guilt twisted my heart. Was I so mistrusting of my brother that my first reaction to his promotion was not to congratulate him, but instead to dull the moment with a warning?

Yet how could I not feel this reservation about his motivations?

He seemed genuinely enthusiastic, yet all I could think of was how he might seek to use his new position to somehow further his cause for the Contadani. After all, that seemed to be the only thing on his mind nowadays – constantly, he’d be complaining about how poorly the Contadani were treated in the Citte, and how someone should do something. But what was he really saying? That *we* were that someone? That it was *our* responsibility to-

“Brother?” he said quietly, snapping me out of my thoughts. “What’s the matter?”

I felt the muscles in my forehead and around my lips suddenly relax – I had been frowning, scowling.

I sighed, pushing away the worry. I shouldn’t be harbouring such thoughts at a moment like this. This was a joyful occasion. *Be joyful.*

“Nothing,” I replied with a smile, and put my hand on his shoulder. “I was just thinking about how much less I’ll be seeing you around.”

“That’s not true,” he replied, a broad smile crossing his face. “Now you’ll know exactly where to find me. No more patrols, no more wandering around the Conoscenza. Now I’ll be here! And now the onus will be on you to come visit,” he said, as Ivantino returned, arms cradling a stack of books and parchments. “So come visit, all right?”

I laughed and nodded. Of course I would visit.

Time proved me wrong; in the years to come, I visited my brother in the Hall of Bearings twice, at most.
Maybe things would have turned out differently if I hadn’t left him so alone. Maybe not.

--

The Tesoro sits at the heart of the Hall of Bearings, and is one of the few pieces of Dimenticate technology that still work.

The Vegilus suspect that the Tesoro was an organisational tool that the Dimenticate used to catalogue and compartmentalise their Mascherines. When the expeditions further into the shadow of the mountain were carried out and the rubble above the Tesoro cleared, the bright beam of light that was the Tesoro shot up and pierced the canopy of darkness above them. The discovery hadn’t needed to be announced to the Citte – each individual could see the beam, wherever they were.

A contraption known as a bloomer was discovered close to the Tesoro and the Vegilus have surmised that it is linked to it; adjusting and rotating sections of the bloomer and bringing it close to the Tesoro results in the beam of light retrieving and releasing one of the Mascherines that float around it.

#### 41. The Vene de Vida

 The Vene de Vita refers collectively to the four sources of Ombre’s fresh water – Prima Sorgente, Fiume Grande, the Collara and the Cascata. The first two supply water mainly to the Randagia – Ombra’s settlements in the Echoing Plains that surround the Citte – while the last two quench the thirst of those within the Citte itself.

#### 43. The White Spire

 Sitting at the highest point of the Citte, the White Spire has a view that covers all of its charge. It is the pinnacle of the Registry’s authority, the embodiment of its role as guardian and caretaker of Ombre. Certainly there are many in this day that dispute their efficacy, but the fact remains that the Registry stands to watch over us all.

Built upon the ancient ruins of some long-forgotten tower, the White Spire was constructed in a matter of days – record time, even with the help of Earthbrands. The construction of the Spire served not only to establish quickly a base of operations for the Registry, but to remind the citizens that it governed and that it had the capability and power – and was willing to use it – to perform such a feat.

#### 41. The Vene de Vida

 The Vene de Vita refers collectively to the four sources of Ombre’s fresh water – Prima Sorgente, Fiume Grande, the Collara and the Cascata. The first two supply water mainly to the Randagia – Ombra’s settlements in the Echoing Plains that surround the Citte – while the last two quench the thirst of those within the Citte itself.

#### 44. The Withering Mast

 The Withering Mast is known for being a place of kindness and generosity, a shelter for single mothers and their children. It has come to my knowledge, unfortunately, that the Matron in charge of it has a Contract on her head. Now it is time to see if that Contract will indeed lead us to dark secrets behind these blue walls.