Lore:Architects Notebook
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As I feared, Sordahon again rejected the design of the tower.
“Rejected”... what an understatement! But, I suppose it's better to use that word than quote what he actually said: “You will do bi better this time, bricklayer, or your femur will be the tower's flagstaff!”
Yikes! But... Bricklayer... really? I should have told him, right there: “My ancestors were renowned architects when yours were still herding cows. And THEY never wore antlers on their head!” Of, yes! The fire brims on the tip of my tongue. But, alas. My balls are not made of steel, and I bit back my words.
What's a man to do, anyway? I foolishly accepted his invitation, impressed by him, when fe came to my workshop in Vernaetia. Such power! “Pay no attention to the cost, architect. Think only of your reward. The Emperor, surveying all from a tower of your design - and your weight in gold, if you can build it.”
His mood didn't change until I arrived. Sordahon’s threats were subtle, at first - too late did I understand the meaning of his words: “Everyone is an equal guest here, from the dungeons up” - then,“You were not ordered to build a privy tower! Redesign, or Ill have you whipped tonight!”
Do you have any idea how long it takes to engineer a tower?
I was little more than a prisoner. And, since then, it's been nothing but threats. Every day is the same. Yesterday Sordahon rejected my third design proposal. Unnervingly, he Keeps leaving bizarre instructions (Trapdoors? Hidden switches? Concealed chambers?) and interfering even with my basic sketches.I still have yet to see the Emperor. In fact, I began to wonder... Could it be that he does not even know I’m here? Could it be that he has not even seen my designs? But then, why would Sordahon act in such a bewildering way? To what end?
No matter. I will complete their wretched tower. The fourth design — with which I began today’s entry — will be the one. I can feel it.
But, once I return to Vernaetia, not a single architect worth his salt will come to work in this castle when I’m done telling how I’ve been treated. And they may yet see that it does not pay to mistreat the man who built their secret passages and designed their escapeways!
Notepad obtained during a routine search of the former quarters of the architect Alistair of vernaetia. Since the contents of the notepad were in breach of the confidentiality clause of the agreement (paragraph 14), as per Lord Sordahon's instructions, the contract and the contractor were annulled. Construction of the tower continues as planned, in accordance with the designs recovered from the ex-contractor’s archives.
-T. C. Mihailoff, Captain