As Envoy walks out to the fliers' landing where she has been regularly "abducted" by the Yodhblakat for the past several days, sure enough, even though she's quite late, three female bats in mismatched robes and armor, with hair dyed brilliant red, leap off from a ledge on a nearby tower and descend upon the walkway.

It's a fine day, if it weren't for the threat of death hanging over Envoy's head. Even though winter is reluctant to loosen its grip upon Babel, the sun shines down warmly, and the snow on the buildings only remains in those pockets where it can escape even the noonday sun in shadow, and trickles of water leak from cracks in gutters, or spew forth from spouts positioned at the corners of buildings. (Those on the Mages' Guild Hall tower itself are a bit more fanciful, taking on gargoyle-like shapes, and spewing trickles of water from their stone mouths.)

Envoy waves to her three escorts, and apologizes, "Sorry I'm late; was busy getting into trouble."

The three bats alight upon the platform – Yodhblakat, of course. There is Undara, the one who always seems to be playing the yes-woman and fool to Razardela; Tievas, always jockeying for a position to one-up her fellow Yodhblakat; and Madrai, who seems to care not the least bit about prospects of promotion, but only in personal acquisition of the most petty of things that strike her fancy at any given moment. Madrai looks Envoy over, to see if she has anything worth swiping before she's dubbed an honorary Yodhblakat for the day. Tievas seems more distant, gazing over toward a balcony garden of a nearby noble's tower estate – There are plenty of things worth snatching, but a Yodhblakat would be hard pressed to seriously take on the noble's guardsmen to claim the prize.

"Has everyone been practicing this morning?" the Aeolun asks Undara. "I'm afraid I still can't fly on my own yet."

Undara nods. "Yes, and as boring as your suggestions were, it looks like High Priestess Razardela is following them. We're down to just two teams at a time in the real competitions, but we can bend things for practice, of course. Oh yes, and she added a new rule: If you have the ball, intentionally drop it and quit, you are awarded a capitol penalty."

Envoy smiles nervously. "Heh … I doubt that's likely to happen again. If you find Blakatball too boring, maybe you could … err … take part in something called 'half-time' that I was going to show you all. Can you play a musical instrument?"

Madrai raises an eyebrow. "What sort of musical instrument? Do you have any?"

Turning to the other Yodhblakat, Envoy says, "Err, no, I don't have any. I think you might find drums or guitars to your liking though. Don't suppose you've ever heard the Cobalt Lance of the Knights Templar perform?"

All three of the bats cringe. Madrai puts her hands up over her ears. "Don't mention them! Augh!"

"Well, I guess forming a rock-and-roll band from the Yodhblakat won't work then," Envoy says. "The music just seemed to fit you so well is all. Anyway, are you ready to kidnap me to the stadium now?"

"What do you mean rock and roll band won't work? Are you implying something?" Madrai thrusts her face in front of Envoy's. Her tone implies she hasn't the slightest idea what "rock and roll" means, but she's the sort to seem to be looking for an excuse to be offended now and then.

Just then, before Envoy has so much as a chance to explain rock and roll or calm the situation … there's a whistling noise … and then Madrai's neck sprouts a sharp barb that points accusingly downward toward Envoy's chest. Madrai's eyes go wide and she lets out a choked, bloody gurgle.

Envoy leans back away from the Eeee, and her eyes go wide. "Oh drat! They're trying to kill me already?!" She looks over Madrai's shoulder to try and spot the sniper.

There are plenty of shadows where the sniper might be hiding. Tievas reaches for her belt and pulls out her bone dagger, while Undara spins about, barely comprehending what has just transpired. As Madrai falls forward, grasping toward Envoy for support, but only catching air … another bolt whips by Envoy's head! A tendril of smoke rises from the bolt sticking through Undara's neck, and there is a crackling, sizzling sound, and a foul odor seeping into the air.

Envoy quickly covers her nose and mouth with the sleeve of her robe. "Poison?! Everyone get inside!" She grabs Madrai's arm with her free hand and crouches down, trying to drag the fallen Eeee back towards the door. "Help me with her!"

Undara seems to act out of confusion and reacting to the first word of direction, rather than any actual concern for Madrai, as she reaches over to help pull the bat, and to try to help drag her toward the long bridge leading back to the door. Another bolt flies by, again narrowly missing Envoy, and there's no telling whether the attacker's aim has improved or not. She can feel the breeze from it and smell some foul concoction it is coated with. Tievas utters a curse … and then spins about and lunges for Envoy with her dagger!

Envoy yeeps and lets go of Madrai, rolling onto her back so she can try and get her legs in place to hold Tievas back!

The Aeolun manages to let go, and she falls onto her back, but the maneuver of putting her legs in position to hold Tievas back just doesn't quite work. It looks as if Tievas was about to strike a deadly blow against Envoy … when Undara, unbalanced by Envoy suddenly dropping the load, stumbles sidelong into Tievas, then lets out a pained squeak, as the blade digs into her instead!

Deciding things are not looking good for getting the Yodhblakat inside, Envoy rolls onto her belly, and tries to crouch-run across the bridge while cupping her wings to shield her back and sides.

Another bolt whizzes past Envoy, landing ahead of her and shattering against the tiles, sizzling and burning. Tievas snaps out her wings, pulling free of Undara, and takes to the air to pursue the Exile.

The door looks to be so much further ahead than it seemed when Envoy first walked out here. She might be able to make it … or she might not.

Envoy tries dodging left and right as she zigzags towards the door, using her wings to feint in different directions in an attempt to throw off the sniper (of which she hopes there is only one). She can't think of anything to do about the pursuing priestess though, other than hope she intercepts some of the missiles. The edge of the bridge tempts her. She can glide after all, but that won't let her escape Tievas.

A shadow whips past Envoy. The bat zooms overhead, even as another bolt whips past, striking the ground where Envoy would have been, had she just flat out run straight for the door. The priestess, smug with the satisfaction that Envoy has nowhere to run, alights upon the bridge again, putting herself between Envoy and the door, with several paces of clearance, giving the sniper ample room to continue shooting at Envoy until she can make it that far.

Looking past Tievas, Envoy points and shouts, "Razardela, thank goodness you showed up!" in an attempt to distract the Yodhblakat, then dashes sideways to jump over the side of the bridge!

Even though it's about as tactically clever as "Look, your shoelaces are untied!" Tievas is still caught off guard enough to give at least a moment's glance off that way. Envoy manages to make it off the bridge without being shot …

Envoy lets herself drop a ways before opening her wings, needing all the head-start and velocity she can get, and then begins searching for any other entries into the Guild buildings.

The Exile's ears catch the momentary shriek of anger, then a laugh, as it seems Tievas expects Envoy to plummet to her doom. After all, Tievas hasn't actually seen Envoy glide under her own power. When Envoy opens her wings, however, Tievas lets out another shout of anger, and a shadow cast on one of the long and mostly smooth walls warns Envoy that Tievas has joined the chase, even though Envoy now has a considerable head-start … vertically, at least. Rakhtor cries also reach Envoy's ears, and she spots more shadows, less focused … suggesting fliers much larger than an Eeee, but also more distant.

It does not appear that there are any more entries into the Guild building here – Too many doorways invite uninvited guests, after all, especially at the lower, more easily concealed levels.

Mind racing, Envoy tries to come up with a strategy that doesn't involve getting back inside. She heads for the more shadowed areas, knowing that it won't matter much to Tievas, but doubting the sniper would be able to retarget her via echo-location.

Plazas rush past, and the further down Envoy goes, the less sunlight comes past all of the overhangs. One of the balcony gardens of the noble's tower lies to one side, but the guards there spy the chase, and ready their weapons, making it very clear that they have no intent of receiving anyone on their grounds. Several other fliers abruptly scatter, not wanting to be involved in someone else's affairs, and not about to let Envoy use them for cover.

Envoy lets off one of her banshee-shrieks towards everynearby wall, hoping the sonic back-scatter and echoes will confuse Tievas' sonar. It will also announce her presence to anyone with ears, unfortunately, but she needs to grasp at any advantage she can.

Shadows twist this way and that, and, as frustrating as it may be, Envoy cannot get a good grasp of how effective her strategy is – or not – except that it has been some time since any bolts have whipped by anywhere in her vicinity … or, at the very least, anything Envoy is able to notice. A couple of bats scramble away, one of them calling out, "Stay away from me, or I'll knife you!" Ah, but Babelite brotherhood is so heart-warming. Just like a red-hot stake through the chest.

Envoy risks a banking turn so that she can see back along her route, searching for Tievas.

Envoy banks to the side, slipping all the more downward in the process, since she hasn't the strength to bring up her altitude again. An overhanging buttress provides her a moment's cover, and then she can see three rakhtors with riders of unknown species upon them, and the distinct and garishly colored (owing to her scavenged gear) Tievas, scanning the shadows for Envoy.

If I land, what are my chances of finding the old stadium on foot? Envoy thinks. But at least on the groundshe'll be more likely to find non-Eeee who might be better inclined to help her. She starts looking for a spot to landthat will also negate Tievas' air advantage, such as a covered walkway or underneath a low balcony.

The bottommost reaches of the city are lost to the sun, so Envoy's eyesight can only penetrate so far, but she spies an avenue of descent that may well buy her some more time, perhaps even losing her pursuers entirely. A tight flight between a mass of buttresses – which are all the more tightly packed at the lower levels – would at the very least hinder the pursuit from the rakhtor riders.

"No turning back now," Envoy mutters, and dives for the maze of buttresses, while also trying to bleed off some speed so that she's less likely to run into any in the darkness.

The Exile's wings snap out, and she manages to whip through a tight space in the buttresses. Her descent slows … but, perhaps a little too late. She briefly catches sight of a shadow whipping toward her, but before she can avoid it … she glances off of it, pain searing through her left shoulder and ribs, and she finds herself spinning in an uncontrolled tumble, the shock causing her to lose sense of which way is up.

Fighting the tumble, she tries to cup her wings into a parachute, giving up on trying to remain airborne at this point.

The tumble continues for a bit longer, despite Envoy's best attempt, and a whoosh of an errant breeze hints that she has just barely missed another solid obstacle. At last, it seems that she has attained some semblance of control … and then she descends … slows … and crashes into a wet, squishy, crunchy pile of what most assuredly is an amassed pile of refuse. It is said that no one has actually seen the ground of Babel for centuries, not even those who walk the lowest levels.

Trying not to groan, Envoy probes her left shoulder with her right hand, checking it for bone fractures or breaks. Whatever cuts or bruises she may have gotten from her landing aren't something she has time to worry about yet.

No, it doesn't feel like anything is broken this time around, but she finds that her left shoulder has been dislocated. This discovery is quite painful.

Taking a firm grip on her left bicep, Envoy tries to jam her shoulder back into place, and hopes she doesn't pass out from the pain.

*KRAK* Envoy nearly swoons as the pain rushes through her, but at least she's already seated. The experience leaves her feeling quite weak. A rakhtor cry sounds out, but it sounds very distant, echoing off the unseen walls. A few dim points of light can be made out far above, allowing Envoy a better sense again of which way is up.

After taking several deep breaths to clear her head, Envoy takes stock of her situation. She doubts the searchers will come this low, unless they're under strict orders to recover her body. There isn't any way for her to tell where she is, so at least she can conserve her energy by staying put and hoping her wings finish their recovery while she still has strength to fly out of here.

*plip plip plip* Droplets of water spatter wetly somewhere nearby. It's deadly silent at first … but then Envoy can make out the chittering of vermites and … other things down here.

Moments pass, without another sound of the rakhtor. Perhaps they have given up the search? Or perhaps they simply haven't found Envoy yet.

What if I try to surrender? she thinks, weighing the odds that the High Princess would want her alive. The sniper attack biases things towards the 'get rid of her' side more than does Tievas' attack, so Envoy thinks it would be best to not be found at the moment. If there are vermites here … well, then maybe she won't starve at least. She keeps blinking her eyes in the hope that they'll eventually adjust to the gloom.

Her eyes eventually can pick out dim patches of light … ambient reflections off of filth-spattered walls. The sources of light are not coming directly from above after all, however. There are a few low-burning fires here and there, peeking through windows. Some of the lights are sufficient to cast the faintest of glows that give Envoy a rough impression of a street of sorts that winds its way through piles of trash heaped down from the levels above, and areas where the refuse has been packed down enough that it looks like it may offer purchase to walk upon.

Envoy decides to investigate the closest of the lights, and slides and stumbles her way down to the apparent path. This must be the Undercity she's heard about, where the Yodhgorphat occasionally conduct their purges.

The path is disconcertingly soft, and Envoy notices that she is without footwear. Fortunately, her feet have so far not come into contact with any sharp broken bones, chitin shells or broken glass, but a few solid crunches underfoot suggest that the risk is definitely there. Half-hidden in what looks to have once been a window sill, but which now serves as a doorway, a bat's silhouette can be seen, eyes glittering in the faint firelight. "Hssst!" the lean and hungry bat squeaks, motioning a wing to Envoy. "Over here!"

Envoy pauses to consider the invitation. She doesn't have anything to steal other than what's left of her robes, and she thinks she's in better condition than the Eeee … but doesn't know what's behind it. Still, she makes her way towards the ancient window, but keeps out of easy reach. "Who are you?" she whispers.

"Begheta," the bat whispers. "I can help you. For a price." The bat's eyes appraise Envoy and her scant possessions.

"Help me how?" Envoy asks suspiciously. "What could you have to offer me?"

"Food, shelter," the bat says, "somewhere to hide from what you're fleeing from. You are fleeing, aren't you? No one dressed like you makes a mistake like this and turns up down here unless they're fleeing."

Envoy crosses her arms across her chest (wincing slightly as her left shoulder complains) and asks, "And what is the price for this sanctuary?"

The Exile's ears pick up some rustling in the debris. It may just be an echo, but it sounds like it's both off to her right and her left. "Well," the bat half-drawls, "I imagine someone dressed nice like you can pay a pretty shekel for some help. How about a copper? That's modest enough, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid I don't have any money," Envoy says, perking her ears. "But you probably don't believe that, and if the two others trying to sneak up on me now are friends of yours then you had better call them off now, unless you want me to call down the ones I'm fleeing from on top of your little nest."

The bat's brows quickly furrow, and he calls out, "GET HER!" as he leaps forward, his hidden hand coming forward to reveal a thin cudgel with several spikes driven into it … or perhaps it's just the jaw of a large and thin-muzzled-beast.

Envoy starts backing up quickly, and makes good on her threat by letting loose one of her ear-splitting screams.

The bat staggers back, apparently not expecting a shriek rivaling that of an Eeee coming from the winged Exile. "GEH!" It seems, however, that the other bats haven't been caught by the full blast of her assault, and though she can't immediately see them, she can hear their movements as they pick up their pace to close in on her. It remains to be seen whether her cry has alerted her pursuers.

Envoy abruptly changes direction, and now charges towards the momentarily stunned Begheta in the hopes that her weight advantage will bowl him over so she can get to the window.

*SMACK* Begheta slips and falls backward, slapping wetly in the debris. Envoy manages to keep her footing, however, as she dives into the window. Inside, it is quite dark, but she can make out some flickering torch-light, far down a corridor.

It looks like there are other doorways leading into other chambers or passages, but they are lost in shadow.

Turning around, she quickly searches for some way to close off the window, assuming anyone living down here would certainly have a way to keep people out of their respites.

Yes, as a matter of fact, there is a large round wooden table to one side of the window that looks like it could be rolled into place, and some boards that could be used to brace it. Envoy is at a handicap due to her recently relocated shoulder … but she's still stronger than the average Eeee, and it's doubtful that these represent the hardiest bats Babel has to offer.

Envoy goes to work getting the table into position, moving as quickly as she can to avoid being overrun by the other two that were flanking her.

Pain shoots through Envoy's shoulder, but desperation and imminent threat against her life help her to overcome that enough to roll it into place. She can feel a weight pushing against it on the other side, but she is able to get one of the braces in place before the table can be budged far at all.

Taking a moment to catch her breath and nurse her shoulder, the Aeolun takes another look at her surroundings, and keeps her ears perked for any sounds of movement from the darkened doorways.

Fists pound ineffectually on the other side of the table, and Envoy hears muffled curses spat out. Inside, however, it is eerily quiet, save that Envoy can hear the faintest hint of … music? If that's indeed what it is, it must be coming from the direction of the light, down the corridor, but not anywhere within her line of sight.

Envoy begins to make her way down the corridor, trying to keep as quiet as possible. As long as she hears the Eeees pounding outside, she doesn't worry about them coming in through some other entrance and ambushing her.

As Envoy moves along, she catches out of the corner of her eye … an Eeee! But … no, it's just a statue of one, standing in an alcove. It's obviously female, perhaps one of the Seven Sisters, or some other Babelite goddess. A duplicate of it stands in the alcove directly on the other side of the hallway.

Envoy pauses before crossing between the statues. Certainly, having one statue would seem normal … but two of the samegoddess facing each other? Fearing some sort of trap, she takes the time to search for tripwires or loose floor sections.

One of the tiles does indeed seem a bit loose. As she prods it … *fwip* Something small darts across the corridor, right in front of Envoy. A small projectile.

"I wonder if this is a standard feature in Babel households," Envoy mutters, and makes sure there aren't any other triggers to avoid before moving past the statues.

Envoy finds two more triggers, but they're easily enough stepped over. She's past, and she doesn't get hit by any darts for her trouble.

Listening for the music, Envoy continues her way cautiously towards the firelight.

The way down the corridor is longer than Envoy expected … and she finds that around the corner is a candle burning low in its holder, perched in an alcove. Off in one of the doorways, Envoy sees the faint outline of a slumped bat – a guard? A squatter? – lurking in the shadows, but it doesn't seem to respond to her presence at all, perhaps because she has managed to be very, very quiet. The corridor continues onward, and she can still barely make out faint bits of music.

Envoy takes a few cautious steps around the corner, keeping her attention focussed on the slumped form. Holding her breath, she tries to hear if the Eeee is breathing or not itself.

Yes, it's breathing lightly, as evidenced by the movement of its body. It's not clear whether it might be asleep, however.

Envoy takes a deep breath, knowing that in such close quarters her double-barreled screech can be pretty nasty, and reaches out with her right wingtip to brush the Eeee with a feather.

The Eeee jerks, and its eyelids pop open, revealing glowing red orbs. It shrieks loudly, hurting Envoy's ears, what with the close quarters and the acoustics!

Envoy jerks her hands up to cover her own ears and screams back at the Eeee, the pain from raising her left arm so quickly adding a touch more volume.

While Envoy screams back, the Eeee produces a sharp spike of bone, and appears to also possess some very sharp fangs and razor-like claws!

Vampire?! thinks Envoy, as she throws a right-handedpunch at the Eeee's nose and brings her left wing around to try and intercept any attacks, since it's easier to sacrifice feathers than skin.

Envoy's swing goes wild. Perhaps she should take lessons in personal defense sometime, assuming she survives this. The bat, however, stabs Envoy's arm on the follow-through. Ouch.

Envoy hisses in pain, but twists her arm in an attempt to pull the weapon out of her attacker's hand. She thrusts her wing forward to try and obscure the Eeee's vision, and kicks out with her right foot toward the creature's midsection.

The bone spike doesn't have a good grip for Envoy's attacker, so it comes lose from the bat's hand once Envoy wrenches it this way, though it does Envoy no better in terms of pain. She is feeling lightheaded, and there's no telling when all this adrenaline might give way to pure exhaustion and shock. As it is, Envoy somehow manages to unbalance the Eeee, and send the vampire bat staggering back into the room, while Envoy's own back slams against the opposite wall of the corridor.

Envoy pulls the spike from her arm and turns to run back up the corridor she came down, intent on recovering the darts from the statue trap.

As Envoy starts running down the corridor, she can hear the sounds of … more bats? It sounds like the bats must have somehow gotten around that table barricade … or perhaps there was another means of entry. Nonetheless, the two statues are not far ahead.

A wave of dizziness flashes over Envoy as she kneels down to find the darts at the bases of the statues. I can't fight off more Eeee, she thinks. But will they chase me if I get outside again?

The darts are most certainly poisoned, though it's not clear just what they're poisoned with. Nonetheless, she's able to find the butt ends to safely pick them up by. The bats at the entrance appear to be systematically searching the darkened rooms, rather than going straight down the corridor first. However, Envoy's vampire bat pursuer seems to know well enough where to go, as she comes around the corner behind Envoy, a stone's throw away.

Envoy turns back towards the vampire, and gets back to her feet with one dart held in her left hand with the bone shank, and the other two in her right. She doesn't try to throw any though, figuring her chances are better if she uses them in close combat. She starts to lurch her way towards the red-eyed bat.

The red-eyed bat runs toward Envoy, mouth open, fangs bared, claws held out and wide, wings swept behind her. She pulls one hand back, preparing to rake Envoy with her claws.

Envoy stops and drops to her knees, trying to get under the other's strike, and jabs forward with the tips of the darts.

It's not so much a matter of a smooth move as it is overconfidence on the attacker's part, thinking Envoy unarmed, that allows Envoy a chance to stick the darts into her attacker. Envoy is still struck with a raking blow, knocking her to the side and slamming her head against a wall. She feels her consciousness leaking away, as she hears the screams of the bat as she falls and convulses violently. The other bats come into the corridor, only to see the vampire bat's dance of death, whereupon they turn to flee, shouting curses as they go.

"They ran away," Envoy mutters before she passes out.

Envoy groggily awakens to the sounds of chanting and eerie, wavering and discordant music. Scents of blood, filth and incense intermingle in her nostrils. Light flickers from torches and braziers, and she is dimly aware that she is chained down upon a slab of stone, limbs splayed as if she has been laid out for sacrifice. The presence of a large stone statue of a female bat with actual blood stained on her fanged mouth, and of a red-eyed, white-furred female Eeee in tattered robes standing over Envoy with an outstretched knife doesn't help things.

Envoy blinks several times to focus her eyes, and says, "Errr … stop?" to the knife-wielding Eeee.

The knife-wielding Eeee cackles in response to Envoy, then says to those gathered, "The sacrifice is awake! Behold, Diphath has blessed us all tonight. Let us drink of the blood of those who might otherwise have become our enemies! Diphath knows, if we did not, they would do the same to us!"

Envoy tries turning her head, to see what else there is to see here. "You don't want to drink my blood, do you?" she asks.

There are several bats there, some of them with red glowing eyes, many with distinct fangs, some of them looking like fairly normal (if gangly and filthy) Eeee, in ragged "robes" with the sign of Diphath roughly painted upon them. The bat – presumably the high priestess here – looks down on Envoy. "Oh, but of course we do!" she says in a faux-sweet voice, then laughs loudly.

"It will probably make you sick," Envoy says, although she doesn't really know how palatable her blood really is. "I've been tainted by Inala and Blakat."

The priestess laughs again, something she seems to enjoy doing, almost as much as hearing the sound of her own voice and drinking the blood of others. "Oh, really? Prove it!" She looks to the others. "She is tainted by Inala and Blakat!" She laughs, and the others raggedly echo her laughter.

Envoy wonders how to do that herself, so falls back to the only thing she really can do now. She starts to sing, using both voices to weave a somewhat melancholy alien song.

This elicits several gasps from the bats. The priestess furrows her brow. "You sing with two voices. Have you swallowed another singer?"

"It is a blessing from the gods," Envoy claims, making her voice echo and attempting to put in the same sorts of inflections that she remembers Inala's voice having.

This causes more gasps. The high priestess grins. "We shall drink the blood of gods! Diphath has truly blessed us!"

This prompts several cheers from the assembled cultists.

Thinking quickly, Envoy adds, in a darker, more primal voice, "Then you will be burned, and your souls will join the many in my collection."

The cheers break off. Suddenly, one of the bats points to Envoy's arm. "L-look! The wound! It's … it's GONE!"

Sure enough, the wound in Envoy's arm where the bone spike had penetrated it has healed. Evidently some time has passed since she sustained it.

"Yes, join us in the Sea of Souls!" Envoy calls out, using Cyprian's voice. She repeats the chorus of "Join us!" over and over, running through the voices of just about every Eeee she's ever met, and using her second voice to overlap and echo the first.

The priestess staggers back, and several of the less brave cultists take to the air and flutter off into shadowy recesses of the central chamber.

Envoy lets the cries fade away, and whispers to the Priestess, "Aid me, and I will bless you and curse your enemies. I fight those who exiled Diphath."

The priestess gives pause at this, then looks about the room. She quickly adopts a more assured demeanor for the benefit of her followers. "Yes, Diphath has granted us a great blessing!" She pauses, then looks to the bats at her side. "Well? RELEASE her!" The bats look uncertain, them move forward and loosen Envoy's bindings. They fall free, and, for the moment, Envoy is free from the altar. She feels rather sore from being stretched out here, but enough time has passed for her previous injuries to have healed. It's unclear whether this is even the same day anymore, except that she doesn't observe any flaking on her own skin, at least, from lack of sunlight just yet.

Envoy sits up on the side of the altar, and announces, "Soon Diphath will retake her place of prominence! All but Inala and Sunala have already fallen."

The hall resounds with the cheers and squeaks of the remaining cultists!

"But a new threat rises from their ashes!" Envoy warns. "The High Princess herself seeks godhood, and will crush all competitors if she succeeds."

This prompts several gasps. One of the bats squeaks, "Who's the High Princess?"

"That doesn't matter!" the priestess proclaims. "Whoever she is, she will die!" At this, the cultists break out in cheers.

"She who dwells in the great Tower!" Envoy explains, hoping that even down here people will know of the Tower of Babel. "Her blood will make Diphath greater than all other gods, and Her people will rule Babel forever!"

More cheers erupt from the cultists.

Envoy whispers aside to the Priestess, "How many stand against you in this realm, and how many support you?"

"Thousands!" the priestess responds, eyes wild with bloodlust.

It'll have to do, Envoy thinks. "Muster the believers. They will sweep aside all who oppose them and take the Tower from below, under your divine leadership. Time grows short, and the enemies of Diphath are wary. They tried to keep me from reaching you here."

"Muster the believers!" the priestess echoes, and the bats take to the air, fluttering about the chamber, repeating the admonition to each other.

Envoy quietly flexes her wing muscles, testing their strength, and hopes the priestess knows the way to the Tower's base. And I didn't even have to really lie to them, she thinks. After all, anyone who doesn't worship Diphath is by definition Her enemy.

The bats begin to shoot out of various openings in the chamber, while the priestess looks after them, pleased and smug.

Envoy stands up atop the altar and contemplates the bloody-mouthed idol behind it. "Will your followers fight against mages?" she whispers to it, then blinks and wonders if she's been exposed to too much Eeee religion lately.

The idol doesn't respond to Envoy. For the moment, at least, the priestess seems to be distracted, for all the good it does Envoy.

While she has the chance, Envoy tries a few experimental wing flaps to gauge if she'll be able to fly again soon. Itwouldn't be very impressive to the Diphathites if she had to walk after all.

She might be able to do a lift herself off the ground in a pinch, but it's doubtful she could maintain serious, sustained flight, to her full capacity. She may well have to walk after all, as unimpressive as that may be.

Envoy turns her attention back to the hovering Priestess, watching for any signs of dangerous rationality interfering with her blood-lust. She also wonders how many of the followers will have the vampire mutation, or just the glowing eyes. She decides to request that they be in the front ranks for the best psychological effect on any defenders they run into.

Soon, bats start flying back in, several more than before, though "thousands" don't seem to be in attendance – more like "scores". "Let us assemble and fall upon the High Princess! The servant of Diphath shall lead us to her!"

Oh great, they think I know the way? Envoy thinks, frowning. I don't even know where I am now! She tries to get the priestess's attention.

The priestess looks expectantly to Envoy.

Envoy beckons the Eeee to come back down to the altar.

The priestess flutters back over, alighting before the altar. "Well?"

"I'm just the messenger," Envoy whispers. "I don't know the way from here to base of the Tower of Babel, or to the great pit next to it. Do you or any of the faithful know the way? It is important that you lead them, since you are their priestess."

The priestess frowns, looking supremely disappointed. Then, she smiles. "To the Tower of Babel!" she shrieks, and leads the way, flying to one of the exits. The bats all shriek and flutter after her.

Envoy blinks after them. Well, maybe they don't need her along anyway. She climbs down from the altar and tries to find a ground level exit from the chamber.

It requires stepping over a couple of dead bodies, but, yes, there is actually a floor-level exit. Even Eeee walk on occasion. The corridor leads outward, and the architecture looks similar to the one where she ran into the statue trap earlier.

Figuring there must be stairs leading up somewhere, Envoy begins searching for them (as well as any handy, portable light sources she might come across).

Actually, there are a few torches on sconces, and an occasional candle (the candles having the look of being made from several different colors of wax mixed together, perhaps scavenged from expired candles dumped with the trash). At last, she finds a staircase. It looks like a long, long climb up.

After procuring a few candles to light her ascent, Envoy begins the long climb, and ponders what she'll do if she actually reaches daylight. "This will be the second time I've unleashed a bunch of bloodthirsty religious nuts on another group of bloodthirsty but better-dressed nuts. I'm beginning to wonder how Babel ever managed to last as long as it has."