The sky seen between the tree branches high above is now a dull orange as evening advances. Most of the light in the amphitheater now comes from the dwindling fire that Zahn has been feeding for the last few hours from a shrinking pile of collected wood. He could easily search for more, or light some lanterns, but either would entail freeing himself of the sleeping Kadie girl curled up against his chest. At least their fur has dried out though.

Zahnran glances down at Amelia, considering how much longer he should let her sleep. A glance skyward tells him he shouldn't wait too much longer. So, Zahnrad starts lightly scratching her back again, then lowers his head slightly to nose her cheek. "Hey, time to wake up, sleepy," he says in an almost-whisper.

Amelia stirs slowly, chittering some sort of complaint. She finally blinks her eyes open, sits up and yawns while stretching her arms up out of the blanket. "How long was I asleep?" she asks, noticing the darkness.

"Three, maybe four hours," Zahnrad replies and stretches himself, his shoulders pop. "You fell asleep pretty quickly and I didn't have the heart to wake you. So, I just acted as a pillow."

"That's… sweet of you," Amy finally says, sounding as if she had never expected to say those words to anyone. She slips out of the blanket to get her clothes, trusting her own dark fur and the dimness to preserve her modesty. "I'll unpack dinner," she promises.

Zahnrad gets up and goes to his own clothing pile. "I kept watch while you slept. I figured it would be a good idea, since this is a fresh water spot, and who knows what might have come in," he says, then goes about getting dressed. "You're a very quiet sleeper," he comments, "And you don't move at all."

"Movement gives you away," Amy recites. She gathers some more wood for the fire, then begins removing some food from her pack. Roasted chestnuts, squash, cucumber, bread and cheese are set out, along with the last of the apples and big carrot.

"Ah. Heh, I learned to not move so I wouldn't fall out of my hammock. Or get my tail stuck in a gear, for that matter. Ow," Zahnrad says then and pulls his shirt on last. "If you're going to be a bit, I could run down to the flooded passage and mark the levels."

"Alright, I'll take the time to cook the veggies a bit," Amelia says. "Don't be too long though, okay?"

"I'll be back before you realize it," Zahnrad says and grabs one of the lanterns. He lights it, then heads out and down the underground road.

The overhead crystal panels are dim now, just bright enough to be made out against the darkness of the ceiling. Even the base of the heliostat tower glows weakly. The air along the road has the stillness of a tomb.

"Hm, so much for my thought that they may have stored some light, somehow, during the day," Zahnrad says to himself. Thankful he sees well in low light, he continues on quickly, not pausing to look in the heliostat tower. He sniffs the air, checking for the scent of swamp water.

The smell isn't hard to follow. About a hundred paces beyond the service passage leading to the pipe tunnels, the scent of stagnant water is overpowering, and the humidity of the giant hall even seems to go up a few notches.

Zahnrad ughs, "What a stench." He continues on, a bit slower. He looks at the walls and flooring as he goes, looking for water stains.

In the light of his lantern, Zahnrad can see the stone tiles of the floor beginning to crumble, until the edge of the water is reached. The nearby walls also show signs of damage from seeping water, and hanging mineral formations are dotted about the ceiling. The water goes on beyond the range of the light, like a flat mirror. Except at the very edge, where a series of small ripples appear, running from the shore to vanish a few feet out on the water.

Zahnrad moves close to the water's edge. He kneels down and takes out one of his small punches. He uses that to scratch a small mark on the floor near the water, then scratches a second one a foot or so back, then puts a line through it. "There, that should mark enough to tell if the water moves up," Zahnrad says to himself. "Time to get back."

On the way back to the amphitheater, Zahn begins to experience a discomforting sensation, almost as if his heart were beating irregularly. The closer he comes to the base of the heliostat tower, the more pronounced it becomes.

Zahnrad clutches his chest, trying to feel his heartbeat and see if it's his imagination.

With a bit of concentration, it's clear that his heart is beating normally. But the sense of discomfort still remains, growing stronger and starting to make him feel slightly nauseous.

Zahnrad continues on as best he can. He's worried about Amelia now. Something from that tower must be emitting some sort of … energy? That is doing this.

Back in the amphitheater, Zahn finds Amelia crouched over a leather bowl, her tail twitching in agitation.

"Amelia … are you all right?" Zahnrad asks nervously.

"No, I feel sick," the Kadie girl says. "Come and look at this, maybe it has something to do with it." She beckons him over to the bowl.

"You're not the only one," Zahnrad says and makes his way over to Amelia. He crouches down near her.

The leather bowl is half filled with water, and rests on a flat piece of stone. Nothing happens for several seconds, and then a series of ripples appear, spreading out from the center. This goes on for several seconds, the intensity of the ripples building up and then dying back down until the water is still again. Then the process repeats a few seconds later.

Zahnrad's brow goes up. He places his hand on the floor, and one lightly touching the bowl. "Low vibrations," Zahnrad says, "Hmm." He then goes quiet and sits there, feeling both floor and bowl to see if he can feel them move."

The same rhythmic wave can just barely be felt in the stone, mainly because Zahn has the ripples to watch for reference.

"Something is vibrating. I wonder if this is like when you get spun and feel sick afterward. Maybe it has the same effect on our bodies as spinning. It felt worse for me near the weird tower," Zahnrad tells Amelia and looks over at her. "I wonder what is making it."

"Maybe something big is moving underground?" Amelia suggests. "Or… it could be a storm. Can you have storms underground?"

"Underground? I don't think so. We could go back and look in the tower. Maybe it's moving," Zahnrad suggests. "It feels pretty bad near there, though."

Clutching her halberd, Amelia nods. "Better to know for sure."

Zahn gets up and dusts off his feet. He grabs a wrench from his pack and rests it on his shoulder. "Let's go," he says.

Amy picks up a second lantern, and follows Zahn back into the underground roadway. The effects of the low-frequency wave do seem to be stronger near the base of the tower. "It doesn't look like it's moving," Amy comments.

Zahnrad steps a few feet into the tower. "We should check the crystal," he says.

The further inside one goes, the more pronounced the sensation. The vibration is nearly audible near the central pillar.

"Maybe the walls focus more than just light," Amelia guesses, looking a bit woozy.

"Might be," Zahnrad says and nods. "You can wait down here if you want, I'll, uh, try to get up the stairs."

"Are you crazy?" Amelia asks, looking up at the spiraling stairs. "I'm getting dizzy standing still, imagine what it will be like trying to keep from falling off the edge!"

"I've got good balance," Zahnrad insists, then shrugs. "Maybe we should just camp in the wilderness, or go home, then."

Amelia starts backing out of the tower. "Whatever… but let's get out of this tower first," she says.

Zahnrad glares at the vibrating pillar, then follows Amelia out of the tower. "I can't think of a way to get it to stop vibrating. But … hmm. I wonder if they are substituting vibration for light at night somehow. You know, how Eee can 'hear' objects," he says.

"What good is it if it makes you feel sick though," Amy says, then pauses. "I don't feel sick anymore," she reports.

Zahnrad blinks. "You're right, I don't either," he says. He looks back toward the tower doorway.

Nothing appears different, but then the vibration was really only noticeable in the bowl of water anyway.

Zahnrad rubs his chin. "Hmmm. Maybe it vibrates when it's cooling down from being under that beam all right. Materials do change when heated and cooled," he offers.

"I don't remember the walls feeling hot before," Amy says.

"Did you feel the pedestal, though? Maybe the room is some sort of echo room. Like when you yell in an empty room. Sound echoes," Zahnrad suggests.

"I don't think I did," Amy says, but her voice is suddenly drowned out by a much louder sound; that of stone grinding against stone, as a section of the wall opposite the tower entrance begins to sink into the floor. A wash of warm, sulfurous air pours out of the growing opening.

Zahnrad jumps backward, brandishing his wrench like a club. "Uh, Amy, I'm not sure this place is abandoned," he says, then starts walking backwards towards the amphitheatre.

Amelia doesn't wait to find out, and runs back to the amphitheater! The bobbing light of her lantern shows that she's heading for the stand of rubber trees though, and not the camp area.

Zahnrad takes off after her. He's not about to be left back there! He does pause in the amphitheatre, though, to grab his back and Amelia's staff. He's not about to lose his tools and such!

Amy is already up into the branches of the clustered rubber trees, her lantern extinguished. "Hurry up," she urges as quietly as she can.

Zahnrad hands up Amelia's staff and says, "Grab it! I can climb with my pack, I think."

Grabbing the end of the staff, Amelia hauls it up and sets it next to her halberd.

Zahnrad hefts his pack onto his back, then makes an attempt to climb the tree … quickly!

Once he's close enough, Amelia grabs Zahn's pack to help haul him up into the branches.

Zahnrad whews as Amy grabs onto his pack and makes his way into the branches and settles down on one near her. "Thanks," he whispers to her.

Amelia holds a finger to her lips in a 'quiet now' gesture, and goes stock still as she watches the entrance to the amphitheater through the broad rubber leaves.

Zahnrad goes quiet and focuses his eyes on the entrance to the amphitheatre as well. He even holds his tail still, nervous and all.

A figure appears on the threshold of the underground road, lit by the light of the campfire. At first glance, it resembles a young Skeek, standing about two feet tall and having Skeek-like features. But the resemblance is only superficial. It stands hunched over, its long overdeveloped forearms hanging all the way to the ground. What fur it has is sparse, amounting to a few gray patches on wrinkled gray skin. Its eyes are huge, pale orbs that seem faintly luminous as it raises its head and sniffs the air.

Zahnrad's eyes go wide, as he recognizes the eyes from the weird picture they found at Pike's place. He squints, trying to get a look at its hands.

Several more of the creatures join the first, and then begin to move into the amphitheater. Their means of locomotion is an odd cross between hopping and knuckle-walking, with their naked tails just dragging along behind them. They keep their hands curled for this odd sort of walking, making them hard to see clearly. As they poke around the campsite, sniffing the food and the blankets, they make no attempt to use their hands for manipulating objects.

Zahnrad is having a hard time resisting his curiosity and wishing he was closer. The memory of those claws, though, is keeping him from giving in to his urges. He glances over at Amelia to try and get her take on the creatures from her expression.

Amelia's hand moves very slowly to grasp the handle of her halberd. Her face is surprisingly expressionless as her eyes track the movements of the creatures.

Zahn waves at her in a no! motion. He doesn't want her to attack!

Eventually, the deformed creatures grow bored with the campsite, and move to the edge of the pool to drink. While they do this, a clicking sound can be heard from the roadway, and soon a new creature appears. This one is similar to the others with a few differences. For one, it's at least twice as big. It's eyes glow dull red, and it's hands end in silvery metallic talons as it surveys the area.

Zahnrad chews his lip nervously.

The larger beast clacks its teeth loudly, and the smaller ones immediately stop what they were doing and hop-scuttle back into the roadway. As they leave, Amelia also relaxes a little, and stops reaching for her weapon.

The red-eyed creature moves further into the chamber then, heading straight for the campsite. This one does use its hands, poking the fire with an extended metallic talon, and picking up each piece of food that was left out to sniff and examine it before dropping it back to the picnic cloth. It spends a good deal more time smelling the blanket the two Kadies were wrapped up in as they dried off from swimming earlier.

Zahnrad leans forward, trying to get a better look at the creature. "Just what are you? Are you dangerous? Can you communicate?" he wonders.

Amelia's hackles rise up as the monster begins to go through her pack, emptying it and spreading the contents for study. It thoroughly sniffs all of the extra clothes, then methodically replaces each item into the pack.

Zahnrad wishes he had a rock to throw, or something. His curiosity keeps rising. Then, remembering the remains of the bat smeared on the walls, he reels that back in.

For several moments, the creature just sits there and looks into the fire. Then it shuffles and turns, looking towards the cluster of rubber trees. After another moment, it begins to approach them.

Zahnrad inhales quietly and looks towards Amelia again, thinking, "Don't attack! Don't attack!"

Still frozen, Amelia watches the thing approach, but doesn't reach for her weapons. At least… not yet.

Zahnrad goes back to watching the creature, trying to remain motionless.

As the taloned creature comes closer, there's a distinctly sulfurous smell to it that becomes apparent. It does not approach the tree housing the Kadies, however. Instead, it goes to the one that Amelia had tapped to fill the bucket of rubber. Broad nostrils flair as the creature sniffs the congealed sap clogging the tapping scar, and from above a ridge of spine-like protrusions can be seen along its back. It is completely furless, covered in a gray wrinkly skin that looks as tough as leather. Most of its tail has either fallen away or been cut, leaving a mole-like nub.

"So, are you a warrior … thing?" Zahnrad wonders, watching in facination now. "If you could smell us, why aren't you looking for us?"

Finished with its examination, the creature trundles off to the pool to suck up some water. It then returns to the campsite and picks up Amy's leather bowl, dumping the water out on the fire to extinguish it. In the sudden darkness, the creature's eyes are the brightest things in the amphitheater.

Hey, that was our fire, Zahnrad thinks. His fingertips tighten around the branches and he blinks a few more times, hoping his eyes will adjust to the increased darkness.

In the darkness, it isn't hard to keep track of the creature. Its glowing eyes show it moving back towards the road, where it then pauses on the threshold and turns to look back into the amphitheater. It almost seems to be looking directly at Zahn, when it opens its mouth and makes a nasty gnashing sound with its teeth. Then it turns and vanishes down the roadway.

A few moments after the creatures departure, the sound of moving stone echoes outward, ending in a heavy THUNK.

"Well, I think they're gone," Zahnrad says finally and relaxes. "They also knew where we were, I think. It looked right at me."

Amelia begins to shake and chitter as she releases her pent up tensions. "I'm not going back down there," she whispers. "This is a good tree. Kadies belong in trees."

"I will, then. Our dinner is in there and I'm hungry," Zahnrad replies. He then starts climbing down from the tree. "We should just get our stuff and head home after food."

Amelia makes a face at the thought of eating the food after monsters had handled it, but her own stomach feels awfully empty. "Yes… no need to stay until morning. We've got the rubber."

"Yeah, your place is closest right? I'll go with you back there, then head home from there," Zahnrad replies as he hits the ground again. "Pike would find this interesting, maybe we should tell her. I wonder if the passages under her castle also connect to here."

"That's a scary thought," Amelia says. "We know those things can be dangerous."

"Well, in the past one was. it was also chained up. We shouldn't jump to conclusions," Zahnrad says and glances back. "I'd love to get a chance to try and communicate with one."

"Isn't that what Dr. Pike's ancestor was trying to do?" Amelia points out. "Do we want to go back out through the tunnels, or try the woods?"

"This is Dr. Pike. Who knows what her ancestor was up to. I really need to fix the player so we can hear the rest of the recordings," Zahnrad says. "As for going home, either, or. The tunnels are probably safe enough now."

Cautiously, Amelia lowers the weapons to the ground and climbs out of the tree, stopping at the base to relight her lantern. "I hope so," she says.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Zahnrad replies, then slips back into the amphitheatre.

Amelia takes a few moments to quickly wash off the vegetables and nuts before handing some to Zahn and packing up the rest of the camp.

Zahnrad eats quietly for a moment, thinking. "I wonder if they're the ones who built this place," Zahnrad says between bites. "The walls of that tower, their claws. They have some sort of process to make a hard material. I wish I had some for my airship work. I wonder if I could sneak in… "

Amelia glares at Zahn. "Sneak in and what?" she asks. "Steal from them?"

"Of course not. Learn how they make it," Zahnrad replies.

"Or learn how to talk to them and trade," Zahnrad says as an afterthought.

"I don't know what you could trade," Amy says, biting the end off of a cucumber. "They don't wear any clothes that I could see, or carry anything made by craft. And they aren't interested in our food either."

"Yes, but they may have machinery. Look at the state of this place. It needs repair. Things like that," Zahnrad replies, then shrugs.

"Do you think machinery made that vibration then?" Amelia asks.

"The intensity of it? Yes. I now suspect a digging machine," Zahnrad says, then eats a chestnut. A large enough one, pounding away on rock, would make vibrations."

"They smelled like the hot springs sometimes do," Amelia notes. "Like rotten Creen eggs."

"Yes. They may work using natural steam vents, like what the springs are. It would be a useful form of power for steam engines. No furnace required," Zahnrad says with a nod.

Finishing her food, Amy says, "I don't think they want to talk or trade, Zahn. If they've been here for as long as these ruins, they've had plenty of chances to come to us."

"Maybe they had bad past experiences," Zahnrad says then finishes off his food quickly. He checks over his things and the camp to make sure he's gotten all his stuff together. "Or, maybe the chalks work with them. They both live underground and they have some secret alliance."

"I'll be sure to ask Clover next time I see her," Amy says drolly. "Oh, hi Clover! Hey, I don't suppose you party down with hunchbacked naked Skeek-monsters in the bowels of your warren, do you? What's that, you think I should have my head examined?"

"I never said you should ask them. Just possibilities. It's worth looking at all of them," Zahnrad replies and shrugs. He stands and picks up his things, then the bucket of rubber. "I guess we should go."

Amy secures her own pack, but holds the halberd assembled and ready all the same. "Okay, let's go."

The way back through the road and tunnels is thankfully without incident. The wall across from the tower base was once more solid, although now it was easier to see the seams indicating the hidden door. There was a brief moment of near panic when Amelia balked at crossing the plank bridge, afraid that some gray, taloned hand was going to reach out and tip them in as soon as they started to cross, but she managed to calm down with help from Zahn.

Once out in the open again, the lights of the Blacktail compound were easy enough to follow.

At the base of her tree, Amelia asks Zahn, "Are you sure you want to head back to the dam alone?"

"Oh, it should be safe enough, I suppose. Well, as long as one of your brothers doesn't tackle me," Zahnrad says and glances off into the distance briefly. "Or, I could stay here, if that wouldn't be a problem. I don't want to presume, or cause you any problems."

"Oh no, I'd feel better if you stayed," Amy says, and also watches the woods beyond the torches of the compound. "You aren't expected back yet, and your family might wonder why you came home early."

"I don't know if they'd really care," Zahnrad says and looks towards the woods. "I could just camp out in my workshop to hide, anyway." He then shrugs lightly and adds, "But since you want, I'll stay. I can empty my pack and make a makeshift pillow. Or if you have a guest cabin I can stay in."

"There's no way I'm staying by myself tonight," Amelia says, and starts up the ladder-stairs to her cabin. "You can sleep with me."

Zahnrad looks at Amelia for a bit, then just shrugs. It's safer to not argue. He holds his bucket of rubber in one hand and carefully scales the ladder.

Amelia sets her pack down near the door, but doesn't bother to unpack anything beyond setting her staff and pole-arm back in the rack over the bed. "I'll get the heater going," she tells Zahn once he enters.

Zahnrad follows suit and sets his pack and bucket near the door. "All right. I'll prep my pack to use as a pillow and such. Mind if I borrow the blanket we used earlier to lay on?" he asks.

Amy looks up from the little stove she's lighting, and twitches her tail. "Alright, if you don't want to use the bed," she answers.

"Oh, uh," Zahnrad says, looking a bit embarrassed. "I just didn't think you… I wouldn't mind using the bed. Sorry. I haven't ever stayed at anyone else's place before."

"It's alright," Amelia says, smiling as she closes the hatch on the little stove, which is quickly warming up the room. "I'll go change, and you can get into bed. Be careful with the pillow though."

"Right, watch the pillow," Zahn says and gives a thumbs up. He unhooks his tool belt and makes sure his pockets are empty. His prep for bed is pretty simple, he just removes his shirt and leaves his shorts on. He then goes over to the bed and tries to climb into it without damaging anything.

Amelia vanishes into the back storage area for a few moments, and finally emerges wearing a nightgown. It was obviously given to her as a child though, as it's embroidered with colorful, cartoonish Creens and is several sizes too small now. She has to keep tugging on it to keep it from riding up, and as it barely reaches her knees.

Zahnrad grins slightly. "I think you may want to ask Olivia to make you a gown that fits better," he says, then adds fast, "Not that you look bad like that or anything, you've just grown."

"I don't usually wear anything to bed," Amy admits, looking a bit embarrassed. "Scootch over by the wall," she asks, setting down the lantern on the headboard and checking under the pillow to make sure her emergency knife is still there.

Zahnrad moves over closer to the wall. "I don't either. It's not a problem usually, as it's just me, but, heh," Zahnrad replies and nods. "You are well armed," he remarks a moment later.

"Thank you!" Amelia says, pleased by the compliment. She curls her tail around to her front, and squeezes into the bed with her back to Zahn, then extinguishes the lantern.

Zahn shifts around a bit, trying to not take up too much room and get comfortable. "G'night, Amelia. Sorry the trip ended so quickly," he says. He shifts again, then just gives up and cuddles up against Amelia, as the pillow deformations just don't make much else comfortable. "I'll try not to move anymore," he adds quietly.

"That's okay," Amelia says. "I just hope the smell of sulfur goes away, unless I'm just imagining it."

Zahnrad sniffs his arm experimentally.

The tree creaks in the breeze, and looking up Zahn catches a glimpse of pale eyes looking through the skylight. But in an instant they're gone, probably just a trick of the light and imagination.

But there is just the faintest odor of sulfur…