Inside the Kettenrad Workshop
The inside isn't any more normal by any stretch of the means. Gearing and axles crank and groan throughout the workshop. All are powered by a large central gear linkage connected to a feeder axle on one of the waterwheels. Aside from just the general din of the gears, odd puffs and hisses can be heard as seemingly random intervals as one of Zahn's latest grand inventions is probably finding its way to a grand parts pile as it rattles itself into oblivion. Belts also crisscross throughout the rafters, transferring power from one side of the shop to the other. Still, all things given, the workshop is in relatively decent order. No unruly piles of paper stacked in corners or puddles of goo to step in. In the corner sits a desk and drafting table, which currently has a small stack of detailed plans for some sort of new flying machine.

After leaving Amelia in the tender care of Gunther and some slugs, Zahnrad enters his workshop and notices something amiss: the lamp over his drafting table is lit, and he's always careful to extinguish it when leaving. The table itself is also not as he left it: instead of his usual small pile of blueprints, the drafting table is literally overflowing with the specially-made paper, as if someone had gotten into his supply and spent the entire night drawing.

Zahnrad's eye twitches. He tolerates many abuses, but mucking about with his paper, designs and tools bothers him at many levels. "Great," he grumbles and marches towards his now overflowing desk. "Not only do people not respect my things, they don't bother to put out the lamp when they leave. If that tipped over my entire shop would have burned down." As he reaches out towards the wick adjuster, he pauses and his eyes start darting around. "Or maybe they are still here… " he thinks.

There doesn't seem to be any obvious motion in the room – aside from the normally spinning and whirring parts, that is. The noise could easily cover the sounds of an intruder, however.

Zahn eases his hand back from the lamp. As he does so, he picks up one of the pages of paper so he can look at it. Slowly he then backs towards the gearing controls as he glances down at the sheet. The Kadie intends to shut down the shop so it'll be harder to sneak.

Whoever drew the designs is clearly unfamiliar with drafting, since everything has been done freehand. Perspective is off, and measurements seem to be scrawled in wherever they'd fit, along with scribbled notes. The designs at bottom of the pile are clearest, although their subjects seem to vary quite a bit. One set shows a fairly detailed depiction of a flying machine, albeit one that looks like a donut with airplane wings, tail and cockpit sticking out of it. Another group of plans are for simple yet powerful looking motors that run on compressed air – along with plans for the compressor and storage tanks (a system that should be immune to the quantum uncertainty that plagues steam and combustion technology near the surface). Closer to the top, the most recent drawings are barely legible, with lines turning into scrawls and letters into squiggles. On the very top, a half-drawn machine (possibly some sort of forge or kiln) is obscured by the words: Help me get the lines out of my head!

Reaching back with one foot, Zahn pulls the control lever and shuts down the workshop. "Okay, is someone here?" he calls out nervously, tail twitching. "Great, I've been invaded by a crazy person … who's smarter than me," he thinks, frowning.

In the sudden silence, Zahn can hear somewhat labored breathing come from… behind the scrap pile, where he usually naps himself.

Zahn sets aside the paper he picked up and replaces it with a rather large wrench. Slowly he creeps towards the scrap pile, wrench held up to clobber whatever it is if it jumps out at him.

Nothing jumps out, and the sound of breathing doesn't alter. Peeking around the pile, Zahn can see a figure in some sort of heavy, hooded bathrobe curled up on the floor and completely obscured by the fabric. Although the breathing hardly sounds like someone sleeping, the figure isn't otherwise moving at all.

Using the toothed end of the wrench, Zahn reaches waaaay down and tries to hook the robe and pull it back. "Okay, whomever you are … don't move," he warns.

The lifted up portion of robe exposes the tip of a furred, clawed foot. A Lapi foot, to be specific, although too dirty to get a good feel for the color.

"Watch this be Clover… " Zahnrad mutters, thinking back to how her head was shaved and who knows what was done to her. He keeps pulling the robe back inch by inch. "Just stay still and I won't hurt you… "

Further exposure uncovers a distinct clover-shaped birthmark on the rump, along with the various little scars and scrapes (some showing signs of having a poultice or other medication applied, from the staining of the fur). Under the hood is a bandaged head, and the blank staring eyes of Clover Chalk. The hood is soaked where she's been drooling on it.

"Scary how I called that," Zahn says with a shake of his head. He goes to kneel in front of the Lapi and wave his hand back and forth. "Clover?" he says gently, "Can you hear me?"

Big brown eyes try to focus on Zahn, and Clover's mouth moves silently. She does try to reach out and clumsily grab at his arm though.

Zahn assists the Lapi and actually takes her hand into his. With a free hand, he tries to help her sit up, too. "Can you speak at all?" he asks.

"Aaaahn," the Lapi moans, and seems to get dizzy from sitting up.

The Kadie leans her back against the stack of crates and wood. "You are probably dehydrated and dizzy," he reasons. Peering at her a bit more, he asks, "What happened to you? What is with all the drawings?"

"Head… hurts," Clover whispers, still looking and sounding groggy. "Get draw… get drawings out of head… too much."

"Do you want something to drink?" Zahn asks. With a sympathetic smile, he notes, "I can't get drawings out of your head. I'm not a user of magic."

"Drink," Clover slurs, and nods. She also starts to stare at Zahn's wrench.

Protective of his tools, Zahn lifts the wrench away and steps back. "Wait here and I'll be back with something," the Kadie says and darts off. Good thing a well is nearby; he's used it for years since he spends much of his time in the shop.

The dilapidated Lapi doesn't look like she can even stand on her own, much less wander off at this point.

Zahn returns in short order with a bucket and a ladle. He drops down beside the Lapi and dips the ladle into the water. Using one hand to steady her head and neck, he lifts the water to her lips. "Drink slowly," he instructs.

The Lapi's tongue darts in and out as she laps water from the ladle, and also licks at her dry lips.

"Good. Drink as much as you need. Just tell me when you're done," Zahn instructs. "I wonder if I should go find Amelia. I'm not sure what to do here. I don't think it would be a good idea to get Parsley right now… "

Eventually, Clover raises up her hands to cup the ladle and drinks normally. This results in a loud burp when she's finished.

"Dignified," Zahnrad comments as he sets the ladle back into the bucket. "So, what happened to you? And should I go get Amelia or your sister Parsley?" he asks.

"Uh-uh!" Clover says, and throws her arms around Zahn's shoulders to hug him.

"Ack!" Zahn says and tries to free himself from the hug. there's something inherently creepy about Clover hugging him A bald Clover makes it worse. "Okay … so … what do you want from me?" he asks.

"Use tools!" Clover pleads. "Open head. Get out lines!"

"Clover … " Zahnrad says slowly, "I can't use my tools on your head. It would kill you. And what do you mean about lines? I don't see any lines going into your head."

Clover pulls back and contorts her face into a big frown, then gestures with her hands (and Zahn can see how cramped they are now) as if drawing on the floor. "Lines!" she repeats.

"Drawings? Pictures?" Zahn asks for clarification. He even reaches down and takes the Lapi's hands … and even starts massaging them lightly to try and get the muscles to uncramp. He well knows what her hands must feel like right now.

"Draw… don't make sense," the Lapi complains.

"The drawings don't make sense?" Zahnrad asks the Lapi. He shakes his head, saying, "I wish I could see into your mind right now. And no, don't get any more ideas about my tools."

"Just… lines and numbers," Clover says, staring into Zahn's face with obvious hope that he understands her. "Blue! Lines on blue paper!"

"Blueprints," Zahnrad says, "Wait a moment." The Kadie gets up and goes to where he's keeping part of the plans the Titanian left him. He brings one of them back and lays in on the floor in front of her. "Like these?"

"Yes!" Clover says excitedly, even if the prints aren't on blue paper, but some kind of transparent material. "Lines and numbers and curves!"

"Those are diagrams on how to build things, then. Blue paper is sometimes used for it for architectural things; or so I've been told. We don't use that here, though. The numbers are usually to indicate dimensions and tolerances so things can be fit together," Zahn explains. "So, you saw some blueprints down in the caves?"

"In head!" Clover says, and puts the butt of her palm to her bandaged forehead. "Moving, sometimes. Lines move. I don't understand!"

"I wish I could see inside your head. I might understand," Zahnrad grumbles. "But I don't think there is any way you can show me, is there? The lines might be motion vectors, indications of how force distributes."

"Moving," Clover mutters again, and starts banging her head with her palm. "Make. It. STOP!"

Zahn grabs her hands. "Stop it," he says forcefully. "You are going to hurt yourself even more. What happened to you, your hair? Did you pull it out?"

"Hair?" the girl asks, looking confused. "Fire, and metal, and thunder and eyes eyes eyes!"

"With claws of metal and spikes going out of their backs?" Zahn asks next, suspecting what she was taken by.

"Cold… claws," Clover mutters, her eyes going unfocused. "So cold. And hot. It was hot… hotter than anything. And a storm… in my head. They put a storm in my head! Blood from a stone!" she babbles and cries, her breathing becoming labored again.

"Push it away, come back," Zahnrad says, shaking her and trying to look into her eyes. "I know what took you; I have seen them before too. Did anything say 'Overseer'?"

"Over what?" Clover asks, her head tilting and giving Zahn a look as if he were the crazy one.

"Writing on a wall from a long dead Skeek," Zahnrad says. "An Overseer is a ruler, a totalitarian one. Perhaps a ruler of slaves, I think." He sighs and shakes his head, "I should take you home."

"Slaves… slaves… blood from a stone," Clover whispers and nods. "Home? Where?"

"The warren, of course," Zahnrad says, "Where your sister lives. Where you used to care for Buffy. Yeah, I know about Buffy; she's the one who asked us to come look for you."

"Buffy? Warren?" Clover asks perplexedly. "I'm… sister? What… what will they do to me?" she asks next, in a terrified voice.

"You don't remember who you are?" Zahnrad asks, looking confused. "Then how do you remember me? Who do you think you are?"

"I know you. You carried me, you protect me," Clover says with conviction. "I'm… I'm Clo-" her face twists in sudden pain, and she pushes her hands up against her bandages again.

"You're Clover, a Lapi from the Stonebarrow warren. And to be honest, you hated me," Zahnrad says, "But yes, I carried you out of the caves along with Amelia."

"Amelia," Clover says, her eyes squinting. "Know her. Know her. Castle?"

"Amelia Blacktail. You and she were rivals," Zahnrad says. Feeling bad for Clover, he actually pulls the Lapi against him and rests her head on his shoulder. "We were both at the castle to check on you and learn from the doctor what happened to you. You should have stayed there. Igor might have been able to help you."

"Doctor? Help me?" Clover asks. "I want help. I want… not to be seen… "

"Why do you want not to be seen?" Zahn asks. "Someone will have to see you if they are to help you. I don't know how to fix people."

"Not… not… sister," Clover says, closing her eyes and putting one palm against Zahn's chest. "Just doctor. Just you. You can help me. Fix… something."

"But I'm not a doctor. I'm just someone who fixes machines and builds things," Zahnrad says worriedly. "I don't know what I could do. I don't even know what they did to you."

"Storm in my head," Clover says, and seems to be relaxing. "Lines and numbers. Hard to think around them. They want out. Out and… out and alive."

"Well, I don't know how to get them out! The way I get ideas out of my head is I build the idea; I make it real," Zahnrad says. "But … you don't know how to build things. You don't even know what it means."

"Make them go away then," Clover says, looking up at Zahn then. "Tell doctor… to make them go away."

"I'm not sure the doctor can," Zahn says, "And had you stayed at the castle, this would be easier. The doctor is at the castle." The Kadie reaches up and places his palm against the Lapi's forehead, adding, "If only I could see what you are."

"Take me to castle doctor," Clover says. "Had to come… here. Had to let lines out here."

"Why here?" Zahnrad asks. "What is special about here?"

"For you," Clover mumbles. "Lines are for you. They want to know… " But before she can complete the sentence, the Lapi is asleep from exhaustion.

"For me? Someone is trying to communicate with me?" Zahnrad asks, looking worried and frustrated as the Lapi loses consciousness again. He gets back to his feet and lifts Clover up again, trying to carry her gently. "I'd better get you back to the doctor. Just watch, someone will see me and think I have kidnapped you, or hurt you. But if you don't get treatment, you're going to die."

---

"I don't know how she got out," Dr. Pike apologizes for the third or fourth time. "I went flying to try and find her earlier, but I followed the river, thinking she'd be going towards town." Igor is silent as he tucks the Lapi back into her sickbed in the castle's guest room.

"Well, given with what she was babbling, who knows how much she actually knows now. From what she drew, she has a lot of technical knowledge in her head. And, she said it was for me," Zahnrad comments worriedly as he watches the Lapi in the bed. "Were there any signs that her head had been, well, opened up or punctured?"

"No, just some slight scorching," Pike explains, the rubs the thumb and forefinger of her left hand together. "A bit like electrical burns, maybe. Not from flame or friction, certainly."

"She also said 'blood from a stone'. Does that have any meaning to either of you?" Zahnrad muses and rubs his chin. "Doesn't the sky island temple have some sort of hat that is rumored to inject knowledge into your head?"

"Might be from hot metal," Igor offers. "Like a frying pan."

"I've heard of something like that," Pike admits. "They use it on Exiles to teach them Standard. But I have no idea how it might work."

"I doubt they beat on her head with a frying pan," Zahn tells Igor. He rubs the bridge of his nose, then says, "Is there anything you can do to get whatever it is out of her head? She's going insane. I'm worried she might die."

"Well, I don't know about getting it out," the Eeee says, rubbing her chin. "I mean, maybe a Mind Mage could do that. But I might be able to make her forget it all. Or… well, I'm not entirely sure what that Natasha person did to bring her friend Bravil back to thinking normal, but maybe she could somehow do it again for this girl. In the meantime, I can keep her sedated and feed her through a tube until she's healthier at least."

"Eh? What's this about Natasha? I wasn't aware of her doing something recently. But then, I don't have much dealings with her," Zahnrad says and rubs his chin in thought. "I would like to know what it is before we try to just remove it all. We need to know what they did to her. How could you make her forget it all?"

"I'll get the food mathther ready then, thall I?" Igor asks, once Clover is settled back into her bed. One of the heavy leather straps that held Bravil in place before has been added this time.

"Hold a moment, you are not going to beat on her head," Zahnrad warns Igor.

"Oh, a combination of things really," Pike says, and starts ticking things off on her fingers. "Psychoactive drugs, a bit of hypnosis, and the mind's own tendency to forget or suppress traumatic events. I'd think it would be easier for Lapi to forget stressful memories, given how stress can affect their health."

"But no head beating? Okay," Zahnrad says slowly. "She said the lines and numbers were meant for me. She nearly killed herself trying to get them to me. Perhaps we should try to find out what they are before they're destroyed. It may be important."

"She be real good wit' hypnosis!" comes another Eee voice from somewhere in the castle.

"Well, I suggest you talk to the gyp… ack!" Pike says, startled again by the arrival of the other Eeee. "Why must everyone in this castle sneak up on me!" she complains.

"Because it's a dark and spooky castle built for people to sneak up on others in," Zahnrad points out.

"But that's for me to take advantage of!" Pike complains.

"But I thought you liked to be takin' advantage of," comes the other Eee voice again and a grinning head peeks around the doorframe.

"That… " Pike starts to say, then glances at Zahn and readjusts her glasses. "That is hardly something to talk about in front of guests, Rey."

"All right, I guess I'll have to talk to the gypsies, then," Zahnrad says, then shakes his head at the Eee. "Not you." Looking back to the Lapi again, he says, "It's funny. She hated me … and now she looks to me as her protector."

"True, true," Rey says, "Plus, it will make tonight more fun. I gots a surprise set up, heheheh." The Eee then vanishes back into the castle.

"Hehn hehn hehn," Igor chuckles. "Ithn't that alwayth the cathe? The popular oneth alwayth thecretely lutht after the nerdy oneth, I thould know," the Skreek declares, causing Pike to look a bit ill.

"Be thankful Igor isn't popular," Zahn comments to Pike, "Or he might lust after you too."

"I could always go back into the tunnels and try to figure out what happened to her down there," Zahnrad muses. "I do know of a way into a darker, hotter, place. She mentioned heat."

"I… oh, you had to put that image into my head, didn't you?" the Eeee complains to Zahn. "And I don't believe any of your stories about romantic conquests either, Igor. And… surprise? What sort of surprise could he possibly… unless he got into that old locker… hmm." The bat's attention wanders, as she taps her nose in thought.

"What, haven't you wondered why he's always at your side?" Zahn asks and motions to Igor. He then snaps his fingers and adds, "Doctor Pike. Hurt Lapi. Remember?"

"Hurt Lapi remember what?" Pike asks, focusing on Zahn again. "Oh, right… Clover!" she says, turning to the bed. "Uh… okay, Igor, get the food masher cleaned up and I'll find the surgical tubing. We'll have to mix the sedative in with the food, but we'll still need to watch her closely. I'm not going to start with a full dose, not until she's regained some of her weight back… "

"Is the boat still downstairs?" Zahnrad asks, "I think I want to go check something quickly down in the waterways."

"Yeth, it'th thtill there," Igor says as he's heading for the door. "Are you thure you thould go alone? Your girlfriend might get upthet."

"She will get upset; but she's also busy. And it's probably nothing; I certainly don't intend to go far, anyway. I just want to check two places," Zahnrad says. Still, he frowns and rubs his chin, "Do you think Rey could go ask Amelia if she would like to come? Better to at least offer her the chance to go."

"Oh, I'm not sure you'd want Rey going to talk to Amelia unsupervised," Dr. Pike says from the head of the bed, where she's propping up Clover's head with more pillows. "She'd either kill him or be seduced… and either way, he probably wouldn't deliver the message in the way you'd want."

"Or are you worried he won't come back?" Zahnrad asks bluntly.

The Eeee pauses, and then pushes her glasses back up on her nose. "Hah… that's… of course he'd come… well, if Amelia doesn't kill him he'd come back. Unless, of course… ANYWAY, why don't you just go check out what you need to and hurry back, that way nobody has to be sent anywhere, hmmm?"

"Or I could just go ask Amelia myself," Zahnrad says with a resigned sigh. "She says I need to think more about others, anyway. Yeah, I'd better."

"Are you going to tell her about this whole 'this information is for you' aspect?" Pike asks Zahn.

"That … well, no. I mean, it's likely Clover was just rambling and confused. I mean, how could it be for me? That's just silly," Zahnrad reasons.

"And thee wouldn't agree to look into it if the thought you would be in danger," Igor adds.

"That's beside the point," Zahn argues.

Pike seems about to say something, then closes her mouth and goes about changing Clover's head dressing.

"What?" Zahn asks Pike.

Igor just winks at Zahn, and whispers, "They'd never let uth leave the houthe if they had their way."

"Hhmmm?" Pike asks. "I was just… yawning. We Eeee can yawn silently you know."

Zahnrad lets out a muffled snort. "Anyway, I should get this done quickly. I just want to compare Clover's drawings to some scraps of information we saw in the caverns below, is all. And get back before dark to talk to the gypsies about poking Clover in the head, or whatever it is they do."

"Very well then, young marthter," Igor says, and offers to escort Zahn to the castle door.

"Keep me informed on if anything changes or she says anything more," Zahnrad tells Pike before going with Igor to the castle door.

"Of course," Doctor Pike says… even though her stated intent was to make sure Clover stayed unconscious until her head could be fixed.

---

Zahnrad practically runs back to the Wingnut territory. "I can't believe I'm going to even ask her. she's going to yell, I just know it," he thinks. He checks by the dam and only finds Gunther. After a bit of prodding (and threats of bodily harm), the younger Kadie tells Zahn that Amelia went up into the compound to see their mother. So … off Zahn dashes again and makes his way up into the compound. He spots a familiar black tail disappearing up the old bridge to Stephan's former home. "Amelia!" he calls out, then has to lean on a nearby railing as he catches his breath.

"Ahh!" Amelia yells as Zahn calls her, and spins around clutching her hands to her chest. "I was just… why are you panting?" she asks.

"Clover … woke … up," Zahnrad wheezes out, then holds up a hand to try and gather his breath more. "She's … not right. In the head, that is."

"Oh!" the Kadie girl says. "Did you run all the way from the Castle then? And what do you mean about her head? Aside from having her hair burned off and stuff?"

"No. She … she broke into my workshop and drew a pile of plans for all sorts of machines! She says there are lines in her head trying to get out. She wanted me to open her head!" Zahnrad exclaims. "I took her back to the castle. Pike is sedating her. I have to go back down into the tunnels. I almost went, but … then I figured I should talk to you first."

Amy's tail twitches in agitation. "I can see how having something in her head for once would make Clover do weird things," she says. "What's in the tunnels?"

"I want to do two things. First talk to Buffy if possible. Maybe she'd send a bunny to the door so we can chat quickly. Second, I'm going back to that workshop we found. I want to compare her drawings to the machinery there." Zahnrad explains. "I need to find out where this information she had came from and what I can do about it."

"You think she was taken that far?" Amy asks, frowning. "Well… If we're just going to go look, I suppose we can be quick. What do you want to talk to Buffy about though?" The girl is already moving, away from Stephan's path towards the one leading to Zahn's cabin – and her weapons.

"If she knows anything at all about the monsters below and if there is any way she could see into Clover's mind to see what's in there," Zahnrad says as he follows after Amelia. "Why were you going to see my mother, by the way? Gunther wouldn't tell me."

"Oh… um, just to get my next chore," Amelia says quickly.

"And promise me you won't get mad if I tell you something," Zahnrad adds hesitantly.

"I don't like the sound of that, Amelia says, stopping in her tracks and turning to face Zahn. "Did Clover do something to you?" she demands.

"Not to me, no! She just … seems to think I'm her protector now. Because I carried her out of the tunnels," Zahn says quickly and holds up his hands.

"Well, are you going to protect her then?" Amelia asks calmly, although her arms are crossed.

"Well, I should, right? I mean, she is a member of the town. You were going to save her when we went into the tunnels," Zahn points out.

"Don't ask me," Amelia says. "It's my duty to protect her. If you're going to protect her, it's a choice that you make to do so."

"And it's a choice that would help my clan. Remember Gunther and Parsley," Zahnrad retorts. "But please don't make it sound like it's me somehow abandoning you; I'm not. I came here and told you didn't I? I could have just gone down."

Amelia frowns now. "Abandoning me? How is protecting Clover abandoning me?" she asks in a low voice.

"Well, you made it sound like that if I was to help her that it was somehow that I didn't care about you," Zahnrad say with an equal frown. "Or trying to hurt you. Or something! I just don't want you to think that she's somehow trying to steal me. Not with how you two have fought. She's really messed up, Amelia." And with a sigh, he adds, "And I may be the next target for whatever did that to her. I have to figure it out before it comes for me."

Looking hurt now, Amy asks, "Do you really think I'm that petty or insecure?" She turns away and starts back towards the cabin then.

"No, I'm scared and I'm insecure about losing you," Zahnrad admits as he follows after Amelia. "I don't want to do something stupid that would have made you mad at me, like going down into the caves or hiding something from you. Turns out I made you mad anyway."

"I'm not mad about Clover," Amelia says, as she stands by the door to the cabin. "I'm just… I thought you thought better of me, is all."

"I think the world of you. I'm just not … I'm not good at explaining," Zahn says, "You don't have to go down with me, if you don't want to. It's likely nothing anyway, just the ramblings of someone going crazy. I just need to know one way or another."

"Of course I'm going down with you!" Amelia snaps, coming out of her funk. "Now open the door so we can get our exploring stuff. I'm just a little shaken up by… slugs… to work the combination right now."

Zahn goes and fiddles with the door. "Pike mentioned something about Natasha doing something to Bravil's mind to fix him? Do you have any idea what she's talking about?" he asks.

"Oh yeah… we had just finished that when you came to bring me and the others to see Buffy again," Amelia notes. "She and Qing cast this magic spell that let us… go inside Bravil's memories and sort of change the way he remembered things. I don't really understand it. It's like you're dreaming in somebody else's head… or putting your head into someone else's dream. Anyway, it was magic."

"Oh, uh, okay. Anyway, Pike suggested maybe something like that would help. But … would you really want to go in her head? She's messed up. She doesn't remember Buffy, or her sister, or much of anything," Zahn says as he gets the cabin door open. He steps aside as he opens the door and offers that Amelia go in first.

Amy goes in and gets her halberd. "Okay, I'm ready," she states, and then adds, "I don't know about going into her head. I mean… she must have an image of me in there, or how she sees me or something. I wouldn't want to face that. Besides, if she's got machines in her mind, or whatever, it sounds like you'd know what was going on more than me."

"Yes, but I'm afraid to go into a Lapi's mind alone. You know how, uh, touchy-feely, they are," Zahnrad points out. Zahn puts an arm lightly around Amelia as the two exit the cabin and he locks the door. "And, do you need to see my mother before we go? I don't want you to get in trouble for not doing something."

"If I see her now, she might give me something else to do today," Amelia says. "Then I wouldn't be able to go check that stuff with you." Besides, I may need a good bit of time with her, she mentally adds.

"Okay, well, you can look over the drawings Clover did while we walk to the castle, then. I'm … a bit jealous, really. Some of them are rather clever. It's not fair I didn't think of them," Zahn grouses as the two make their way out of the trees and back to the road heading towards the castle.

"So you're sure they aren't copies of stuff from your library?" Amelia asks.

"Positive," Zahnrad says and offers her a rolled up collection of papers. "One I may try building."

The girl looks at few of the drawings before saying, "I don't understand any of these."

"The sizes are wrong because Clover didn't understand any of it really either. She just drew what she saw in her mind," Zahn explains, "But the concepts are sound. Look at the last page and her comments about lines in her head."

"Help me… " Amelia reads. "So, you think she saw some of these things underground, then?" she asks.

"Yes. Possibly. I also think someone attached something to her head and shoved the plans into her mind," Zahn adds. "Like the sky island language thing. It explains the burns on her scalp."

"The doctor said there weren't any punctures or holes though," Amelia points out. "I'd think it would be easier to go through the ears or nose… "

"She suggested the burns could be electrical," Zahn notes, "And that can go through skin."

"So maybe they shocked her head to get it in. I don't know. Can't believe she wanted me to open up her head," Zahnrad mutters.

Amelia just looks sidelong at Zahn for a few moments. Finally she asks, "What does 'electrical' mean?"

"Ever rub your feet really fast on a rug and touch someone?" Zahnrad asks.

"Uh… nooooo," Amy says, looking at Zahn like he's saying slugs can fly now. "Why would anyone want to do that? They'd burn their feet."

"Okay. Stand there for a moment," Zahnrad says as he stops. He takes a few steps away pulls off his shirt … which he then starts rubbing rapidly on his forearm.

"You'll make your fur stand up or curl if you keep doing that," Amy warns.

"That's the point," Zahnrad says. He then reaches over with a rather fuzzy forearm and lightly taps Amelia's nosetip. There's an audible crack, followed by a slightly stinging nosetip. "That is electrical," he says.

Amy grabs her nose and jumps back. "So… uh, someone rubbed Clover's ears together really fast until her hair jumped off her head?" she asks. "And what happens if… I mean, two people under bedsheets… Wouldn't there be more fires?"

"No, no. Electrical is a form of energy," Zahn says as he pulls his shirt back on, "Hard to control and direct, but it can do things. Kind of like magic, I guess. Lightning is the same thing. One of my uncles liked to experiment with electricity. He built this really odd device out of lots of felt and salad bowls. When he had it running full speed… touching it would knock you across the room. He liked to touch it a lot; but well, he was a little odd."

"That sounds like something Igor would do," Amelia whispers. "He sure looks like he's been struck by lightning a few times… "

"Who says he hasn't? Anyway, enough electricity can burn things; but it takes a lot. A little zap like on your nose or what you could produce rubbing on stuff wouldn't do it," Zahn says as they resume the walk to the castle. "I … kind of wish it had been me who got the information dumped into their brain."

"What good would it do you if it made you crazy at the same time?" Amelia notes, as the castle comes into view. "Wouldn't you rather just have the drawings?"

"Well, yes. They gave them to someone who's completely useless with technical things. She can't even speak coherently enough to describe them well enough that I could reproduce them," Zahn grumbles, then brightens as the castle comes into view. "I don't know if we'll find anything useful down below, but I'm hopeful. I also want to know why someone is trying to give this stuff to us. It's like we have someone who wants to be a friend, perhaps, but doesn't know how to communicate."

"I'd be wary of strangers wanting to give you things," Amelia warns. "Especially things you really, really want. Oh… hey, I just realized something: Dontgointhe Castle. Don't Go In The Castle! It's a word-thingy!"

Zahnrad starts to say something, then just stops. As much as he wants to comment on how long he's known that and he thought she did too … he decides it's better to just say nothing at all. Opening his mouth got him into trouble once today, afterall…