Amelia exits the underground bunker into the torrential downpour. Thunder and lightning crackle overhead. All around the entrance are the dismembered and rotting remains of probably half a dozen or more zombies. A few of the Lapi town guard are standing wary, armed with crossbows. The others are prodding what is left of the zombies, making sure they're quite dead … again.

The Kadie readjust the unconscious Gunther over her shoulder, and calls out, "I need someone to take this boy to Isolde, right away!"

One of the nearby Lapis kicks the unattached head of what was probably another Skreek and turns his attention towards Amelia. "What happened?" he asks as he moves closer and extends his arms. "I'll take him, but I'll need to tell her what happened so she'll know how to treat, er, whatever."

"The puppet the Necromancer sent zapped him and read his mind somehow," Amelia says, handing over Gunther. "The monster is heading for the dam to finish of Zahnrad and anyone else in his way, and Natasha has gone on ahead as well, to confront him! I'm heading that way too."

"That would explain the Khatta who ran through here a few minutes ago. For an older woman, she can really move," the Lapi comments as he collects Gunther from Amelia. "I'll take him right now. Be careful. There might be more zombies about."

"I know," Amy says, and takes a few deep breaths. "Don't let any get into the town, okay?" she asks, then sprints off down the path towards the riverside road.

"Right. Well, at least they're easy to stop," the Lapi starts to say, then shrugs as Amelia runs off. "She never slows down," he comments to Gunther, "Come on, let's get you to the Gnarly Tree."

Onward Amelia goes. She notices more collapsed zombies along the trail she runs, these looking as if whatever was holding them together was suddenly ripped away. And … she notices something else. Many of the former zombies are wearing tattered uniforms.

Amy slows down just enough to get a better look at one of the uniforms, to see if it still retains any identifying insignia.

The uniforms are slightly similar to some of the clothing she's seen Erik wear. Also, Amelia can now make out that the corpses are decaying poodles; probably some company the Necromancer got to. Which means … there's no telling the number of helpers he might still have. A few of the bodies are still smoldering, as if struck by some sort of powerful blast.

"Natasha," Amy mutters, once she realizes why the zombies aren't moving anymore, and starts running again. The soldiers may have been from Gallis, or Rephidim, she figures, and hopes none were from Natasha's original escort, when she first encountered the necromancer.

A ways ahead, Amelia can just make out the shadowy form of someone running. She then hears a muffled shout and a crack of blue energy rips through the gloom. A dull thud can be heard a moment later.

Holding her weapon ready, the Kadie picks up her pace to try and catch up to the figure – which must be either Natasha or a pursuing zombie, she assumes.

Amelia closes on the figure … which she can finally make out is Natasha. Her ears are folded back, and from what little Amelia can see, her eyes are narrow and predatory looking. Faint blue glows encircle both her hands.

"Natasha!" Amy cries out. "Don't waste your strength," she urges, trying to get ahead of the aging Khatta.

"It's not much to remove these blights from my path," the Khatta hisses, her pace not slowing at all. "I've had enough of hiding in the shadows, pretending to be nothing. If that bastard wants a fight, he has one."

Amy pants for a bit to gather more breath, then says, "You have to be careful not to damage the dam." She pushes herself, trying to reach the dam and warn everyone before the magical duel can begin… and to get to Zahn!

And there, just twenty feet or so in front of the Khatta and Kadie, stand a group of seven rotting zombies. Each are armed with decaying swords and spears. Natasha brings herself to a complete stop.

Raising her weapon and spinning it over her head, Amelia does not stop – she just starts to zig and zag as she closes the distance, aiming to slice through the zombies' necks.

Alas, the rain, however, conspires to stop Amelia. She hits some extremely soft mud and her legs go right out from under her. She flips once, head over tail. Her halberd goes flying one way, and the Kadie goes skidding across the mud. In a moment, she finds her nose touching the slug encrusted foot of one of the zombies. It growls in a sickening bubbling way … and raises its weapon to strike.

Flat on her stomach, Amy does the only thing she can. The Kadie's water-soaked tail flips forward towards the zombie's face in an attempt to blind him.

And as the blade comes down, a bolt of blue energy flashes over Amelia's head. It connects with her tail, suddenly flipping the Kadie again! At least it didn't hurt. The bolt continues on, slamming into the zombie with a resounding crack. A moment later, Amelia finds herself sitting on her butt. All that's left in front of Amelia is a pair of smoldering feet. "Ger your weapon," Natasha hisses, then begins to chant, turning her attention to one of the other zombies.

Scrambling to her feet, Amy glances from side to side to locate her weapon, then makes a dash for it.

It's only a few feet to Amelia's right, fortunately. Natasha blasts another one, sending it to pieces. Unfortunately for the Khatta, she can't prepare another spell before one of the nearby zombies makes a swing for her.

Grabbing her long weapon, Amy braces her feet and makes a swing at the attacker's back.

The strike is weak, as Amelia is still recovering, but it's enough to knock off the aim of the zombie and he misses. Natasha stumbles backwards, increasing the distance … and the zombie turns to face Amelia with eyeless sockets.

Amy plants the weighted butt of her weapon into the mud between her feet, holding it an angle to impale a charging attacker. "Come on, you dead bag of maggots," she growls.

And in true brainless fashion, the zombie lurches forward … and impales itself right on the iron blade. Amelia finds herself nose to nose with a corpse, and it lets out a gasping, putrid, belch, and then is still. Crack! Another flash of blue, and another zombie falls away nearby. The remaining four close in.

Wrinkling her nose, and for once glad of the pouring rain. Amy tilts her weapon to the side and frees it of the zombie… then uses the axe-head on it to chop of its head, just to be safe. She turns around to see how many are left.

Four to go. They're close together, too. "I don't want to use my 'surprise' before we even get there," Natasha growls.

"Right," Amy says, and approaches the foursome with care. The footing just isn't solid enough for her to use her 'dance' attacks, so she tries to draw one of the creatures into rushing her. She does so by flicking her tail about at random, giving the impression that she's dodging back and forth while standing still.

The zombies look … well, confused by the rapid movement of her tail. They stumble forwards towards her. It could perhaps be called rushing … if it was an invasion of the elderly. They don't move that fast. In unison, they raise their weapons…

With her feet firmly planted now, Amelia sweeps the blade of her weapon in a horizontal arc, trying to disarm the zombies (literally) before they can get within striking range.

And off their arms go! The zombies bring down … useless stumps. They look at each other stupidly. "Destroy them, or go? They aren't much of a threat now," Natasha asks.

"Move on," Amelia says, and goes to run around the zombies. "Let the necromancer waste some of his resources keeping them animated!"

"Right," Natasha says, then starts off running again. In the far distance, through the rain and haze … the dam walkways can just be seen…

"I have to get something," Amelia says, heading towards the trees where the Wingnuts have their homes. "Can you sense the necromancer yet? I don't know where they're keeping Zahn yet."

Natasha pauses and closes her eyes. A moment later, they go wide. "He's close. Very close," she whispers. She then motions towards the dam walkways. "Up there."

"That could be where the attack on Zahn was," Amelia says, and then hurries towards the trees. "I have to talk to his mother! Don't die yet!"

Natasha watches Amelia run off, then shakes her head, saying something about the young. The Khatta continues on towards the dam, vanishing into the fog.

Amy rushes towards the Kettenrad cabins, keeping an eye out for anyone else nearby. I've got to keep them away from the fight, she thinks.

All the doors seem to be barred tightly and shutters closed against the rain. No one seems to be about.

Getting her bearings, Amy takes the elevator up and heads for the dining hall, then hammers on the doors with her fists. "Open up!" she calls out.

"What, what? Who would be out in this weather?" comes Elsa's voice from the other side. The door swings open and an angry Kadie is glaring back at Amelia. "What in the worlds are you doing out in this weather?"

"The music box!" Amy gasps. "Do you still have, or is it with Zahn? I have to get to him!"

"I have it," Elsa says as she gives Amelia a rather peculiar look. The Kadie disappears back inside, returning a minute later carrying the small box. "What do you need it for?" she asks, clutching it protectively.

"I have to get it to Zahn," Amy pleads. "The necromancer is here, he's come to finish him off! Please tell me everyone is holed up out of the storm now, and nobody is on the dam?"

"No, we shut down the dam this morning when the rain started," Elsa says slowly. "Everyone is home. Why do you need to take this to Zahn?"

"Because… because Stephen protects Zahn," Amy says, unsure of her own answer. "A necromancer is here to kill him, and knows where he's hidden. I have to get there!"

Elsa looks torn. "He's down in the old tunnels we used to use for maintenance," she admits, swallowing. "I … I can take it down to him. If someone is coming for him, they'll have to go through me too."

"The old tunnels?" Amy asks. "The ones that connect to the control room?"

"No, under the compound. We had a network there to manage some experimental stuff. It never worked right, so we just closed them off," Elsa says.

"Please show me," Amy says. "The necromancer is still on the dam itself."

Elsa still looks hesitant about it. "I … what … all right," she finally gives in and motions Amelia inside, then straight back and into the kitchen.

Amy hurries along, and tries to keep her drenched tail from dragging and ruining the floors.

Elsa wastes no time. She leads Amelia to one of the larger cabinets. There, she pulls on it and it swings away from the wall, opening up to a musty old ladder leading downward into an older still tunnel.

Securing her halberd to her back first, Amelia scoots down the ladder.

Elsa leads Amelia through a maze of tunnels full of cobwebs and dust. After several minutes, they come upon a re-enforced wooden door. She unlocks it and leads the two inside. And on the inside … is Zahnrad. He's sitting up in a makeshift bed, fiddling with something with his right arm. His left arm is in a sling, and he still has bandages on his head and around his chest.

"Zahn!" Amy squeals and rushes into the room, spinning around to check for zombies, and probably splashing plenty of water when her tail whips around.

"Gah!" Zahnrad calls out and leans over the device he was working on, shielding it from the spray … and splattering him instead. "Ow," he sputters, looking up slowly. "Nice to see you too, but did you have to bring water?"

"Never mind that!" Amy says. "Can you move? We need to get you out of here before he gets here!"

"Before who gets here?" Zahnrad asks, giving Amelia a flustered look. "He doesn't know," Elsa whispers, "and he doesn't remember what happened."

"Okay, short version," Amy chatters. "You were attacked by a possessed mutant Jupani on the dam that was controlled by a necromancer who has been following the gypsies and working on a terrible ritual now for years, and is here to finish you off because you survived the attack."

"Have you been drinking the otters booze?" Zahnrad asks, brow raised slightly. "It's true," Elsa says a moment later.

"Now, can you walk?" Amelia asks again. "He knows you're here! If he can't get here, he'll send his zombies!"

"I can walk, just not very fast. I get dizzy," Zahnrad says pushing off the blankets covering his legs. Slowly, he gets to his feet and wobbles.

"Elsa, where else can we take him down here?" Amy quickly asks, going to Zahn's side to steady him.

"This connects up with all of the other buildings, including the archives and most of the workshops," Elsa replies, her hands still wrapped around the music box.

"Which has the strongest door then?" Amy asks.

"Honestly? Zahn's shop. That stupid gear of his is a foot thick," Elsa says. "It's not stupid," Zahnrad insists.

"Okay, let's go there then," Amelia says, putting an around around Zahn's back and supporting him on one side.

The group moves out off the old chamber and back into the tunnels. It takes several minutes, and the group is underneath a trap door. A ladder is set in the side wall. "I hope I haven't left any junk on the door," Zahnrad comments.

Amy pauses at the ladder, and remembers that of Zahn's arms is still in a sling. "I'll have to carry you up," she tells him. "Think you can hold on with one arm?"

"Probably," Zahnrad notes. "I can climb with one arm too, you know. My feet still work."

"Wait here then," Amy says, letting go of Zahn to climb the ladder. At the trap door, she asks, "Are there any hidden locks or traps?"

"No. I just hope I didn't leave anything on it," Zahnrad says, leaning against the wall now for support. Fortunately for Amelia, she finds the door opens freely. Nothing was on it.

Poking her head up into the workshop, Amy looks around for any movement, and also sniffs the air for any hints of corruption.

Sawdust, grease, and leather. Smells about normal, really. As Amelia looks around, she can just see something through the window. She sees Axel flying off the dam in a hurry. And on the walkway, in the rain … are two people. One stands above the other. In its hand, it appears to be gripping a staff.

"Oh Dagh!" Amy curses, and heads down the ladder. "Elsa, can you get Zahn up there and cover the trapdoor with something heavy?" she asks the older Kadie woman.

"Yes, I can. Is something wrong?" Elsa calls back.

"Natasha is fighting the necromancer outside, and may be losing," Amy says. "I've got to go help her!" She pauses to give Zahn a kiss, then hurries back along the tunnel, intending to exit from the hidden panel in the kitchen to avoid drawing any attention to the workshop.

The tunnels fly by, and Amelia finds herself exiting the dining room in a hurry. A minute, maybe two, has passed by. Hopefully, it hasn't been enough time for anything worse to happen…

Runs out onto the walkways, back into the storm, and makes for the dam. She unlimbers her halberd as she goes, holding it firmly in both hands.