As nerve-wracking as the flight aboard The Wandering Sylph was, it managed to make it to the Gateway port in the middle of the Sea of Sand without running out of magic – barely. There was a brief moment where it seemed that the ship would plunge right into the dark, permanent hurricane that separated the docks from the inner area of the island where the Gateway Tower itself sits, but the captain managed to get the demonic engines to reverse thrust in time, and everyone made it back to solid ground.

There was also a point were everyone seemed to be packed together inside the access tunnel that ran under the storm wall, as something held up the front of the line for a few minutes. This was hardest on the Lapis, as the echoing of the tunnel plus the wail of the storm made for extra discomfort. But finally, they made it through to Gateway Town.

Gateway Town
This town is split by the dark veil of the ring around the Forbidden Zone of the Himaat, one part of it devoted to landing sites for airships and docks for sand-triremes, and the other located inside the Zone, built around the marvelous, broken Gateway Tower that provides portals to ten new worlds (eleven if one counts a plunge into the sun as a trip to "another world"). Many are those who set up camp around the Gateway Tower, in a jumble of tents and more permanent structures. There are warehouses and merchants' tents, embassies and missions, armed fortifications and workers' housing, and even a long covered roadway across the sand that traverses the "Black Wall" to the other half of Gateway.

Layth has fished out a pair of gloves from his bag and stuffed them into his ears. "This place is too noisy," he complains, "It would also be more interesting with less people; too much general clutter."

"Abaddonian cloaks!" hawks a Zerda merchant. "Stay warm! Stay cool! Repels insects smaller than your hand!"

"Can't do anything about the people," Aaron commiserates. Calligenia eyes the merchants with a critical eye, while Aisha's attention is drawn to the fabulous tower ahead.

"This place is much more odd than I expected," Tasha remarks as she runs a hand through her hair and looks back and forth between tunnel and town. "Oi, an' why is everythin' so loud? Anyway … " She shakes her head out, giving her hair that wild and tousled appearance that is more common to her, and turns to face the massive broken tower. "Well tha's it; wha' do you make o' it, docs? Did your ship ever know anythin' like this was 'ere?"

"Don't wander! And don't buy anything!" Latania calls out. "We can get what we need on the other side."

"You don't want it," Layth remarks to Calligenia, "I'm sure it has fleas."

"No idea," Dr. Zerachiel comments. "That… that tower is a Sifran artifact! It's huge!"

"Excuse my asking, but you didn't learn anything more about the Sifran than we have, did you?" Layth asks Zerachial.

"Hmmm, some sort of miniature warp gate, maybe," Akkers mutters, eyeing the tower.

"I be' tha' crystal stick coul' make rooms go dark an' lights flash, better no' get it wet," kids Tasha. "From wha' I un'erstan', it opens up some kind o' door to another place, like tha' gate you tol' me about Gabriel."

"What? Well, our expedition only had a few years," Eli notes. "You folks have been here for thousands of years. But I suppose whatever has been learned is not common knowledge."

"No one tol' me abou' anythin' like this. I didn' even know abou' Sifras an' artifacts until I foun' you all," admits Tasha. "No' tha' my education was the bes', bu' even the mages were surprised, so it's a mystery to everyone."

"We suspected the Sifras used some sort of hyperspace for traveling," Akkers notes. "At least, that's our reasoning on how the Titanians manage to pop in and out of nowhere for their raids."

"You thin' they foun' Sifran bits like this an' used them, Gabriel?" Tasha inquires, glancing at the man.

"Yeah, well, that's great," Aaron says, not paying much attention to the technical jargon. "All I know is that you can expect to be sick your first time through."

"Has there ever been any evidence that the Sifras still exist?" Layth asks, "How could such a race just vanish, after all? Perhaps they just moved?"

"Well," Zerachiel says, tugging at his collar, "the general notion is that they simply transcended into some higher form. Which is a good way of saying, 'we have no idea'. We don't even know what they looked like, honestly. Only the crystal seems to have survived the march of ages."

"Perhaps it has a purpose yet unanswered?" Layth asks, "For why leave it behind lest it has more work to do?"

Akkers nods. "The Titanians' technology looks like it was scavenged and cobbled together, so it's not unlikely they stumbled across something and managed to duplicate it. Not much is really known about them."

"'Ow odd, since they're so big an' loud," the Vartan comments. She scratches at an ear again, the shakes her head. "Too bad we didn' find anythin' like tha', we coul' 'ave saved ourselves a few trips. Do you know anythin' abou' Vartans, maybe? Are there any Jupani-Vartans aroun' the other side?" "The Expedition and the Coalition groups were not on the best of terms when we left Abaddon," Akkers notes. "We didn't exactly mingle."

"Well, that's what we were hoping to discover in the Primus system," Zerachiel notes. "This is the center of Sifran Space, but travel here is… problematical. When a window of opportunity opened, the various spacefaring peoples jumped at the chance to check it out. We didn't think we'd be trapped here when the window closed so suddenly."

"When you're runnin' from the law or don' need somethin' anymore, no' a lot o' reason to take it with you. 'Ell, maybe couldn' take it with them – maybe where they wen' 'ad a 'no crystals,' law," Tasha suggests. She frowns at the lack of mingling, then tugs Gabriel's arm. "You'll tell 'em I'm okay righ'?"

"Honeypot," Calligenia offers. "Perhaps the 'window' you speak of opened in order to lure others here, and then trap them?"

"Perhaps it was a trap to lure you here," Layth comments, echoing Calli, "Open a door, invite you in, then snap it shut. The spider luring its prey into its den. Perhaps they wanted something from you."

"If it was a trap, they're awful late abou' springin' it. All these years later an' nothin', no Sifras jumpin' ou', no big plan, jus' all o' us walkin' aroun' and takin' their stuff apart," the Vartan woman tells Calligenia and Layth.

"Maybe it was all done so that Lapis could arise," Aisha states.

"Does everyone still have their airsick bags?" Aaron asks, injecting some immediate concern into the conversation.

Tasha's ears flick at that. "Didn' the Expedition make Lapis, doc," she asks. "It was tha' 'upliftin'' or somethin'? From the library tha' the Terrans gave the Celestials?"

"I have a few. They were artistic in a childish way and fairly durable," Layth remarks to Aaron.

The closer they get to the tower, the more the nature of the people around them change. The merchant area ends, and humans armed with strange weapons and stranger masks stand between the Caroban expedition and several other unhappy looking groups.

"Well, yes, I suspect that the Lapis were created by the Expedition," Zerachiel tells Tasha. "We may learn more on Abaddon about that."

"I've never been through the gateway," Aaron notes to Layth. "It's probably going to be like… feeling drunk."

Along the way, Tasha points at various items: weapons, people, uniforms, masks, and inquires to the Karnors as to what they are and what purpose they serve. She seems to take it all in with an attention span unusual to the Vartan, suggesting she's taking the whole matter seriously, if somewhat youthfully. When Zerachiel gets back to her, she nods to him. "Think they were jus' lonely? I keep my Lapi aroun' for company too," she admits with a grin.

Layth offers Aaron a bag, then. "Do you need your kind airsickness friend to tend to your discomfort, then?" the buck asks with a completely straight face. He offers bags to the others as well.

"I don't know, Tasha," Zerachiel notes. He looks a bit perplexed by the human guards, too.

"The Kampfen… Kampzen… Anyway, this is the group that controls the Gateway on Abaddon, and started the Offworld Legion," Aaron says of the odd men. "They believe in human superiority or something… Don't get into an argument with one. They shoot to kill."

Tasha pats Zerachiel's arm consolingly, following his gaze to the humans. "I've never seen so many 'umans before," she admits. "Even in Rephidim they were sort 'o rare, 'cept in the Temple, an' the Captain Astromancer. They always looked li' they ought an' be cold all the time. An' … I think tha' one's a spotty," she says, pointing at a masked person with a spotted tail.

"Wow, must be a Silent-One," Aaron says. Gabriel nods, saying, "They don't seem to have changed any. The armor looks the same to me."

"Delightful people then," Layth remarks dryly. "I have no intention of starting a fight with anyone."

"So, so far the Abaddonians we've met are people o' don' wan' to show their face an' 'umans 'o don' like non-'umans," Tasha observes, shaking her head. "I 'ope the Expedition an' … Wait. Wait." Tasha suddenly pauses, eyeing the Silent-One.

Spring Meadow runs back from the front of the line, and tells them that they're about to go through. "They commandeered the Gateway for Caroban – it must have cost another fortune," she notes. "All of those people were hoping to go through themselves I guess, but have to wait now."

The armored feline may or may not even be looking towards them, as it seems to just be standing there at attention.

Tasha takes a few steps towards the Silent-One and waves a hand to try and get it's attention, then lifts her hand, making a sign.

"Then perhaps we had best hurry before the unhappy group turns into an unhappy mob and takes out their frustrations on us," Layth suggests, "given that we are the cause of their frustrations."

The Silent-One looks at Tasha, and then finally just signs an affirmative back to her. "What did you sign to him?" Aisha asks the Vartan.

The line starts moving towards the tower now, and its gaping crystal-lined entrance.

Tasha signs back again, then bows a little and hurries back to the others. "I asked 'im if 'e un'erstood me, an' 'e said – well 'anded – yes. The MOTHER computer, which is li' a big crystal tha' thinks on its own – some'ow taught me Sign. I wan'ed to see if MOTHER's Sign an' Silen' One Sign are the same, an' it looks li' they are, so MOTHER was one of theirs, li' Gabriel tol' me once," she explains to Aisha.

"Ooookay," is the doe's reply, as she clutches Layth's hand before going into the tower.

"Hopefully they are more agreeable than MOTHER was," Layth comments as he draws the worried Aisha close, "Otherwise we may be in for an unpleasant trip."

"Aisha never believes any o' wha' I say abou' the ship," Tasha asides to Gabriel as she falls in line with him. She then nods to Layth, adding, "This time I'm swingin' a 'ammer firs' and talkin' secon', if there's another MOTHER li' tha' one." Her heavy slips into her accent broadcast her nervousness and excitement; the Vartan hasn't had this strong of an accent for some time.

Inside the base of the tower are eleven giant windows, the twelfth being the one they entered through. All of them are dark save for one showing a red landscape. Above, a miniature model of the Primus system floats, with a glowing line connecting Sinai and Abaddon. The Karnors seem stunned by it all, along with the crystal walls. "It's working Sifras technology," Zerachiel says, sounding on the verge of tears.

Layth nods to Tasha in complete agreement regarding how to deal with an unpleasant crystalline brain. "You have never seen their technology working before?" Layth asks the doctor, "Not even on a smaller scale?"

"Workin' in a way tha' we un'erstan', even. Well, un'erstan' a bi'," Tasha remarks as she watches the celestial map. She shakes her head, partially in amazement, partially out of being overwhelmed by it all. "You ever feel li' everythin' is a dream an' you're goin' to wake up any momen' Layth? I'm feelin' tha' way now." She then pinches herself, which is followed by an "ow."

"There are structures all over known space, but… they just sit there and glow. We don't know what they do, or are supposed to do," the Sifras Scholar says. "There are huge ones, like the Caltrop, that… well, they're still working after a billion years."

"Single file, hold onto your luggage," Latania calls from the head of the line, and then steps through the 'window' to Abaddon and vanishes!

"Wa's a Caltrop? Did you jus' name it tha' because it looks like a big caltrop?" inquires Tasha, who's ears swivel to face the scholar just as her head does. She blinks when Latania calls out, glancing at her just in time to see her vanish! "Oi! Lookie tha'!" "I intend to hold my breath!" Aisha notes, holding tight to Layth's hand. A few more mages vanish into the portal. Aaron takes hold of Meadow's hand, and turns to the others. "Seeya on the other side!" he says, then gets sucked through. Meadow gives out a squeak, but it's cut off in the middle when she vanishes.

Tasha blinks at Layth a moment, then nudges him back, elbowing into him. "You're my calm control bunny, you are. I thin' maybe the Expedition made your kind to 'elp them cope. I'm breathin', I'm breathin'." The woman makes a big show of breathing, a rising and falling of her chest, possibly to the distraction of Gabriel.

Akkers offers his hand to Tasha. "Shall we?" he asks.

"I'd follow you anywhere," Tasha replies. She takes his hand and a big step back, nods to the Karnor, then runs at the gateway!

Layth hangs onto Aisha in one hand, and Calligenia in the other. "Now breathe deep. On the count of three, we step through. One … " the buck says, than without warning steps through and takes the two does with him! They don't even have time to scream.

SHOOP! Aaron's prediction that the effect would feel like being drunk turns out to be half true: it actually feels like being drunk through a straw. Bodies feel stretched to an unbelievable degree, as the sky and space rush past until the red disk of Abaddon grows large. In an instant, they're in the Gateway Tower of Abaddon, knowing what a rubber band feels like when it's snapped.

"Well, that was mildly unpleasant," Layth remarks in that ever infuriating calm way of his. He's even polite enough to not be screaming at the two does that have an absolute deathgrip on his hands. "Are you intact? Are you remembering to breathe?" he asks them. He pauses there and then adds, "And I wonder if my ears are longer. That … it felt like I was in a taffy puller. Hm."

Having entered at a run, Tasha hits the far side with a clatter of hooves, skidding to a stop with a mutter of, "Oooooogh." After checking to make sure Gabriel is intact, she looks herself over, then shakes her head. "The view as grea' – I never saw so many sparklies in tha' sky – bu' the ride remin'ed me o' the time I tried the Double Twis'er an' the Rahktor Puke in a row."

The chamber is full of the sounds of mages in distress. Most are moaning, and a few seem passed out. Even Latania is a little wobbly. Aisha hangs on to Layth with all her strength just to stay upright. The Karnors do not seem overly affected though, and for some reason neither does Calli. Spring Meadow and Aaron are clutching airsick bags though.

The windows here are clear, showing twelve views of the surrounding Gateway Town.

Gateway Town – Abaddon
The beginnings of a small town have sprung up around the Abaddon Gateway tower. Wide crevices in the ground have been spanned by bridges, and something like a paved road leads into the distance. Tents and a few more permanent looking structures dot the area, along with what looks to be a raised aqueduct under construction. Great metal ribs rise upwards and inwards, forming the frame off a half-finished hemisphere that will eventually enclose the tower itself and most of the town.

Despite her remark, Tasha doesn't look much worse for the wear. A veteran of the sort of drunken nights only an airship sailor can boast of, coming around wobble-headed is nothing new to her. She shakes it off, then pats Gabriel's arm. "See, this is the sort 'o endurance o' non-sailors li' us show," she tells him, waving around at the suffering mages. Her hand pauses mid-gesture as she catches sight of the land beyond the window, and soon she's tugging the Karnor captain to the view. "Oi, it's so red! The 'ole planet! It really is another worl'!" She waves the others over to join her, adding, "A 'ole plane' tha' matches my fur!"

There are other subtle differences. The air smells very different, almost burnt, and the gravity is slightly off as well, but nothing that can't just be ignored.

"Fresh air," Aisha mutters. "Could use some… "

"Mages need to spend more time exercising their bodies along with their minds. It was not so bad as they make it out to be," Layth comments with regard to the horde of barfing mages that surround them. As for Tasha's comment, Layth is compelled to add, "Indeed. A world bathed in the color of blood and a scent of ash. Let us hope that its color does not indicate he soul of its people are bloodthirsty, no?"

"I suspect they just each too much rich food," Calligenia comments on the sick mages.

"Pfah, I'm no' bloodthirsty," Tasha insists. "They wouln' even give me a sword. I was the 'Erald o' war." Her nose then twitches, and she tugs Gabriel on towards the exit. "It does smell li' mum tryin' to cook after a 'ard nigh' though. S'makin' me nose itch." And thus, she rubs at her nose.

The majority of the people around the tower are Nagai, many of them carrying large bundles and clustered in groups. They don't seem too interested in the new arrivals. There are the ubiquitous masked humans, and a contingent of more familiar races wearing the dark uniforms of the Offworld Legion engaged in various tasks.

"It's the iron in the air," Remiel notes. "It makes for spectacular lightning storms."

"I'm lookin' forwar' to those," Tasha remarks back.

"To think this was just sitting here all this time," Gabriel murmurs. "We could have walked to Sinai."

"I wonder if the Nagai are refugees that Latania spoke of," Layth comments as he looks out the window at the goings-on below. "And I hope we are not in over our heads."

Aaron nods to Layth. "They have that look."

"Alright, if you're all recovered, let's get going," Latania calls out. "Does anyone need any medical attention?"

"So, then what is the first task? Do we head to the Expedition directly, or do we linger and aid whom we can?" Layth calls out to Latania.

There are a few groans from the assembled mages, but nobody seems incapable of picking up their goods and moving along.

"From wha' I 'eard it was our side tha' started goin' through firs', so don' feel bad Gabriel. Maybe it only works from tha' one tower back on Sinai." The Vartan nods to the mages, proceeding after her at a brisk trot. "Oi, did I jus' say back on Sinai? This is goin' to take some gettin' used to."

"We head for Camp Caroban and get a status report," Latania notes. "And there may be some yelling, so be warned."

"Yelling at who?" Layth asks, "And why?"

"Because… why does it matter to you?" the Cervani suddenly asks Layth. "I'm here to replace the one currently in so-called authority. At least for the time being."

"Sounds li' mage-'ate," Tasha asides to Layth in a mock-whisper.

"Because I have people to keep safe. I like to know what I am walking into," Layth answers. "I take my job very seriously."

"Politics," Aaron notes. "May affect Meadow, but not us. Hopefully."

The tall white Life Mage gives Layth a frustrated look. "Why is it that everyone has to question me? Just once, can't someone trust that I know what I'm doing? Is that too much to ask!" she yells at the sky. After calming down, she says to Layth, "There is not going to be any violence, I assure you."

"I'm more worried people we'll mistake me for bein' o' the wrong camp. No one's goin' to think me a mage. Layth!" She tugs on the Lapi's arm. "I'm makin' you 'security chief,' it's a rank I saw on one o' the doors on the Fenris, an' tha' sounds like you."

"Firearms work on Abaddon," Aaron notes.

"The snakes are starting to make me nervous," Aisha whispers. "They look hungry."

"Security chief o' the Fenris Expedition," Tasha adds, looking pleased. "Tha'll lend us some look o' bein' more than a band o' misfits, an' 'elp us identity ourselves from the mages, if anyone asks."

"I never said I didn't trust you. I wanted to know what to expect. You have provided that and you have my thanks," Layth says, "And … truly, you should find calmness in your heart. If you answer anger with anger, you will appear less in control." The tugging on his arm gets hiss attention and he tells Tasha with a bemused expression, "You too. Calm. If you look nervous you'll stand out. Just act like everything is so ordinary around you and you will blend in better."

There are several bridges to cross over steaming (and sometimes flaming) chasms, and a slight detour to get around a group of Titanians having some sort of altercation with some scared looked Legionnaires, but eventually the reach the edge of the lifedome-in-progress.

The flaming pits do little to keep Aisha 'calm' and acting as if things were ordinary. It doesn't help that a Khatta Chaos Mage nearly jumps into the arms of a Rhian Earth Mage when the ground belches.

Camp Caroban
Set just beyond the edge of the Gateway Lifedome is a collection of tents and other temporary structures marked with the Spheres of Magic diagram. This is where visiting mages stay and work while on Abaddon for the time being, as the local governments prefer the magic users keep to one place for now. There are accommodations for perhaps a dozen people, along with one large tent with symbol for the Sphere of Life on it.

Tasha gives Layth a look, then sighs and turns to Gabriel. "'E's no fun sometimes," she complains. "Ruinin' my attempts at organization an' leadership."

"That is what Security Chiefs are for, Tasha," Akkers notes.

As the group approaches the camp, a startled Light Mage sees them and runs into the big central tent.

"Really? Well … I guess 'e's doin' 'is job then. See wha' a good leader I am? I picked a good security chief," a mollified Tasha says proudly.

"And thus the yelling will start," Layth remarks at the disappearing mage, "Fenris expedition, everyone take five steps to the right to give the mages space." Wow, the buck is actually fighting back a amused smile.

"Here we are," Latania announces. "Rocksmith, if you can get your group started now… " the woman says to a big Rhian Earth Mage. Nearly half of the group splits away – Earth Mages and a Water Mage – to begin drawing some sort of perimeter around the camp.

The flaps of the central tent fly open, and a Zerda stubbornly garbed in Himaatian clothes despite the chillier air storms up. "Where is my Master Scryer? Where are my reinforcements!" he yaps.

"There has been a reevaluation of your mission, Ra," Latania tells the small, if angry, Zerda. "I have the documentation here. You are being recalled to Abu Dhabi to make a report in person, and your mages here are being relieved… "

Tasha sits herself down on a large red rock, taking five as directed. "Well it certainly is busy 'ere. 'Ostile too," she observes, looking around. When the Zerda rushes out, she turns and watches him with a raised brow, ears perked. "'E looks li' a crazy mage tha' coul' ruin things," she asides to Gabriel. "I think tha' may be the pain in our doe's bottom."

"Zerdas are too high strung," Aisha notes.

"It's never pleasant to be demoted," Gabriel notes, as Latania and the Zerda argue a bit. "But I have proof!" the small man suddenly barks, and points back towards the big tent.

With a sigh, Latania turns and says, "Spring Meadow, come with me please. And anyone else who doesn't want to stand out here and get a chill… "

"You're co-captain o' the Fenris Expedition," Tasha assures Gabriel, patting his hand and showing he didn't get demoted.

At the mention of Meadow's name, the Zerda's eyes go wide and he starts protesting, jabbering about a 'watch list'.

"That Zerda acts as if he has a burr stuck in his backside," Layth comments and waves toward the arguing mages, "And I think I'll see what they are up to." So … he follows.

Tasha hops to her feet and follows after Latania, stating, "It's time to look official!"

The does follow along as well, but Spring Meadow pulls her ears down to hide a blush at being singled out. The Karnors follow along with everyone who didn't have an immediate assignment to follow. The tent looks big enough, after all.

Something like an operating theater has been set up inside the big tent, with several medical tables (of local make, clearly, since they have a lot of metal in them) scattered about with… half-dissected Nagas on them! "See? It's right out of the files!"

The one Naga Chaos Mage that's with the group looks a bit ill at the sight.

"What are you babbling about, Ra?" Latania demands. "Explain these bodies!"

Tasha's hand immediately goes to her nose, which she plugs. "Oi, it's li' the … " She glances at the Karnors beside her, and decides not to say what she was thinking, proving she does, in fact, have some tact.

Layth's brow arches a bit. "I do not think even the Caroban has the right to go about dissecting people," he mutters.

"They aren't real!" the Zerda claims, going over to the nearest subject and yanking something out of the open chest cavity. It looks like a rib, but it's made out of … wood?

"Wood?" Tasha echoes nasally. She wanders over to have a look, fingers still plugging nose.

"The growth that has taken over the Imperial Lifedome made these!" the Zerda asserts. "Copies of real people! But they're plants! This proves the Exile's influence!"

"Do Zerdas drink a lot?" Layth asks Aisha.

The doe shrugs. "Not enough it seems."

"Well, he most likely has been indulging in wood grain alcohol," Layth suggests to Aisha, "It tends to cause insanity or blindness. Plants growing people … that's absurd."

"I don't see the connection," Latania notes. "You can make your report to the Guild Hall in Abu Dhabi and they will decide. We'll study these vegetable-golems though, before sending anyone to investigate the new structure at the former Lifedome."

"I know you're trying to find her yourself!" the Zerda accuses. "Why else would you bring her roommate along! I'll protest this, Mage Latania!"

"You go right ahead, Ra," Latania says coolly. "In the meantime, I will clean up your mess. Oh… don't forget to turn in your scarab amulet at the Guild. You may not have gotten the memo, but all artifacts relating to the Sphere of Dream have been recalled for study, to make sure they haven't been contaminated by the Babelite ritual or fallen under the influence of Morpheus."

"Perhaps Caroban simply thought you needed a rest," Layth suggests to the Zerda, "You appear as if you have been working tirelessly here. No one can continue such indefinitely. Stepping away often brings clarity of mind and a calmer heart."

"I need that to do my job!" the Zerda argues, which only makes Latania smirk. "A shame. Too bad you aren't a real mage. Perhaps one without your handicap will take over and make some actual progress." This makes the Zerda look like he's about to explode, but he silently marches out of the tent without another word.

"I hope he isn't replaced," Spring Meadow whispers to Layth.

"He has been, by Latania," Layth suggests.

Risking a sniff, Tasha removes her fingers and snuffs over one of the bodies. "Oi, odd. It doesn' smell li' a dead body. Maybe it was all the iron in me nose, bu' now tha' I'm up 'ere, … Naga salad. Li' someone made a salad out o' Amazonian lunch an' a Naga."

"She's not here to hunt for my friend, just to fix everything and make good with the locals," the Earth Mage notes. "Better a fool like Ra chasing her than someone competent." The doe's eyes are fixed on the veggie-golem the whole time.

"Go examine it if you want," Layth tells Meadow and nudges her towards the golem.

Tasha reaches over and puts a finger on a wooden rib bone, wiggling it. "This is really odd," she states, quite scientifically. "Oi, Remy! C'mere an' look at this."

"From the reports, there are plants within the Imperial 'jungle' that take blood samples from people and grow these duplicates in giant pods," Latania explains. "They should have some actual Naga tissue in there."

Caravelli starts digging into the body with gusto (and not even with gloves on). Meadow is a bit more circumspect, chanting some sort of cantrip.

"This… is this magic?" Zerachiel asks. "An unrooted plant, no matter what shape it takes, surely couldn't survive for long. Look for some sort of fatty tissue or chemical reserve, Remiel."

Calligenia asks, "Are they edible?"

"And here I feel like I should be preparing dinner with them," Layth remarks dryly. Wit a glance to Latania, he asks, "How dangerous is this … exile that Ra was seeking? Was he right? Is this her work?"

"If it is her work, then frankly there is no point in chasing her," Latania notes. "As for dangerous… in my experience she has been nothing but trouble, even before she was a mage. But the notion that she actually made it to Abaddon without being noticed is absurd."

Tasha steps back, letting the Karnors work and returning to Latania. "Exiles aside, when will the reps' from the Expedition be arrivin'? An', wha' ought an' we know before they do," she inquires of the mage.

"She wouldn't hurt anyone," Meadow counters, having finished her spell after a few minutes of chanting. "Not intentionally," she adds under her breath. "This thing doesn't seem to have any lingering traces of magic that would indicate a true golem."

"Then how do you explain these creatures?" Layth asks as he waves his hand towards the 'bodies'. "It seems there are several mysteries at work here."

"Hmmm, you can send a messenger, or wait for one of there airships, or just take the train," Latania notes. "I would suggest the train, as it is safe and direct."

"I don't explain them," the Life Mage tells Layth. "I'll do my own examination later. They may be creations of Earth and Life magic, and have simply lost the trace of it. Or they could simply be motile plants. Abaddon has many dangerous predatory plants."

"Train sounds li' fun. Why don' we sen' a few people an' let the others res' 'ere, Layth, an' go meet the Expedition," offers Tasha to the buck. "Unless you wan' an' stay 'ere to look at the injured? Remy and Zach mi' need to come with me, though."

"They can be killed," Calligenia notes, finding a few projectile wounds on some of the other bodies.

"If you wish to stay a while, please help in… disposing of the extraneous golems," Latania replies, gesturing to the various bodies. "I want to turn this into a proper clinic, so we can see if magic works against some of the otherwise uncurable afflictions of this world."

"I should ensure that you are safe, Tasha, before we split apart. That means at least seeing how the Expedition reacts to you and the Karnors," Layth points out. "Or as Latania suggested, perhaps we should send a message and have their representatives come here while we tend to the refugees."

"I can compose a message to be sent on the next train," Gabriel offers. "If the protocols haven't changed in the last five-thousand years – and knowing military bureaucracy they shouldn't have – it will get to where it needs to."

"Mm, nothing like bureaucracy," Layth remarks. "I recommend that approach, if for nothing else that it is safer to meet here than in the middle of their territory. But, the ultimate decision is Tasha's."

"Let's discuss it o'er 'ere, so everyone can 'ear us," Tasha says, taking Layth's arm and directing him closer to where the Karnors are working. Whispering as they walk, Tasha explains, "If we meet 'em, then Latania won' be aroun' to in'erfere, an' we can get the other side o' the story from the Expedition." Louder, she nods to Gabriel and says, "Maybe I can go an' deliver it personally. You migh' be safer 'ere, an' I can get a feel for 'em an' they for me, while seein' where tha' letter leads. If they jus' think me a messenger, they migh' just ignore me."

"That puts you in danger, though," Layth notes with a frown. "Forgive me, but that makes me uncomfortable."

"We don't know what the situation here is regarding the Expedition and Coalition relations," Gabriel notes. "They may not listen to a hybrid if there are still tensions."

"Aww," says Tasha, smiling at Layth. "You can always come with me too! Then we'll know wha' they think o' Lapis withou' endangerin' anyone else. I don' fully trus' Caroban, bu' I still think they're safer than an unknown li' the Expeditio-" She frowns, and nods to Gabriel. "Tha's true. Hmm, wha' do you suggest? Jus' send the letter? I 'ad 'oped to talk with them withou' Caroban standin' next to us li' this was all their idea an' we answer to them."

"I would suggest requesting a representative come here," Calligenia offers. "It is the safest for us strategically, and their response will be telling. It also costs us nothing."

Aaron adds, "Not here specifically, but Gateway Town. No sense telling them we're with the Caroban expedition yet."

"Negotiate from a position of power, as it were. Or at the very least, neutrality," Layth adds.

"Wellllll, alrigh'. Don' le' anyone tell you I don' listen to good advice," the Vartan says after a moment of chewing her lip. "We'll send a message then meet with the rep' somewhere 'ere. We should try an' find some neutral groun' 'ere while we wait for a response. Layth, Zach, Remy: you can see to the wounded as you feel up to, an' the res' o' us will 'elp where we can."

"Can someone get me a saw?" Spring Meadow calls out. "I need to get this skull open!"

"Ugh," Aisha grunts. "I'm for whatever gets us to someplace warm and not full of sand."

"That is one thing you do not expect to hear from a Lapi," Layth comments and sighs with a smile. "Come, let us all do what we can. There is no end to work to tend to. Time to develop some callous, Aisha.

"I 'ave wha' sailors call 'tavern nose,'" Tasha tells everyone, tapping her olfactory factory, "Leave i' to me to find us a place to res', eat an' drink."

"I can help translate a little," Aisha notes. "I understand a good bit of Imperial."

"An' I speak Silent-One," adds Tasha, lowering her finger. "I'll hit up the spotties for ideas, while lookin' for a place."

"I want each of you to teach me a bit of those languages so that I can function," Layth suggests, "In-between working, of course."

Aaron says, "They aren't known for being that friendly to outsiders. All of the Abaddonian groups seem a bit paranoid."

"I'll do wha' I can. This language jus' go' crammed in me brain li' … " Tasha points at Spring Meadow's hand, "Li' Spring Meadow's 'and jus' crammed into tha' brain."

One of the Rhian mages is already trying to drag out a mock-Naga. "They taste terrible," she comments to the others clustered near the tent flap. "Start bringing in the medical supplies," Latania instructs. "And get me an Earth Mage who can compress the floor a bit. I don't want dirt getting into wounds or our supplies. And didn't we bring an Air Mage? Find … what's his name… to warm up this place."

"Well, start simple … such as 'Don't kill me'," Layth suggests and grins.

"Calli, get out your blade and start cutting up these… uh… golems," Aaron suggests. "It'll be easier to haul them out in chunks."

"I'll ge' a bi' o' practice an' then share wha' I know. The las' thing I talked spotty at tried to kill us with a metal gian'," admits Tasha. "Anyway, let's all get to i', an' we'll gather up again in a few hours an' see 'ow it's goin'. I'm goin' to look aroun' town with Gabriel while Layth an' the docs see abou' the injured, Calli does wha' Calli does bes', an' Aisha looks into trade an' no' getting dust in 'er ears. Alrigh'? 'Ave at it!"

"And it will be easier to build a bonfire out of them as well. I never thought I would spend an evening burning Naga-trees. But then life is never quite what you expect it to be," Layth comments. "No rest for the weary; lets go."