Dawn is still just a faint glow in the east as a dark-furred Kadie girl makes her way through the Weaver compound to the apprentice housing. This turns out to be a series of rooms attached to the back of one of the main shops. Finding the one with the proper nameplate takes a moment, and then Amelia raps lightly on the door.

There is the sound of rustling from behind the door, and a cheery call of "Coming, one moment!" Then more rustling as the door opens slightly. Olivia peers from the opening.

Amelia smiles to the Skeek, and says, "Good morning, Olivia. Are you ready to go to the castle? I also brought some old clothes and the measurements needed to make them fit." She's holding a bundle against her chest, with a broom strapped across her back. The Kadie's pocket-festooned shorts are at least a size too big for her, and cinched tight with a belt.

Olivia opens the door widely at Amelia's greeting, then beckons for her to come inside. "Just about ready, Amelia. Do come in. I just need to empty out one of these sacks so that I might have something to haul away old clothes from the castle." She gestures to one of the overstuffed bags by the doorway.

The Kadie's mouth hangs open as she enters, overwhelmed by all of the colors and trinkets. "You live in a treasure cave," she whispers.

Olivia looks pleased at this pronouncement and blushes a little as she shuts the door. "Thank you. Although all this 'treasure' doesn't stop me from wanting more, of course. Isn't that always the case?" The Skeek girl smiles at the Kadie.

Amelia nods, and grins. "I've got one of my mother's old outfits," she says, holding out the bundle she's carrying. "It would cost less to have it altered to fit me than making something brand new, right?"

Olivia takes the bundle from her and looks inside, which hides most of her face from the Kadie. "Yes, it would. Yet if you wanted for me to make you a new outfit or two, I'd also do that for free. Consider it a, uh, reward for saving us from the descendants of the Frog King."

"Free?" Amelia asks, with her eyebrows raised. "Wow! That's really generous of you, Olivia!" Grinning happily, she adds, "And I'll help carry back anything you find at the castle, too."

The contents of the bundle appear to be a simple brown skirt and a cream blouse.

Olivia raises her head from the depths of the bundle and smiles back. In a more relaxed tone she answers, "That would be appreciated. So while we walk to the castle, you can give me some ideas for what colors of clothes you'd like." She then turns to place the bundle on her desk amongst the rest of the cloth overflowing there, and begins emptying out one of the bags near the door.

"Oh, I never really thought about colors before," Amelia admits, looking around at the room for inspiration. "I suppose… uh… earthtones?" she suggests. "Or maybe blacks and whites, since I'm pretty dark already."

Olivia starts stacking the cloth scraps from the bag on the floor in a semi-neat pile. "Earthtones would be simple enough to do, if that's what you'd like. It's the dyes for the brighter colors that require the most measuring and blending of ingredients, anyway. I could add splashes of lighter colors here and there – collar, cuffs, that sort of thing – but I'd only sew on what you'd enjoy wearing." Another grin twitches her lips. "I realize that I may be one of the few who like the really blazing colors."

"They tend to draw a lot of attention," Amelia says, smiling. "I do that enough as it is, I think. I wouldn't mind wearing some bright colors in winter though."

Olivia finishes stacking cloth scraps and stands, sack in hand. "Then I shall make two new outfits for you – one for warm weather and one for cold weather. So you can have one outfit of muted tones and one of brighter colors. How does that sound?"

"That's great!" Amelia says, grinning brightly. "I don't have a lot of cold-weather stuff. I get really poofy in winter, too."

"Then I shall do so. Glad to be of service." The Skeek girl gives Amelia a sweeping bow and wiggles her nose. Then she plucks her rose-covered cloth cap from the "nightstand" and puts it on her head. She gestures to the door. "Shall we?"

Amelia takes one last look around the colorful room before stepping out into the pre-dawn light. "We just need to pick up Zahnrad now," she says. "He wants to cut through the woods, I think."

Olivia comes out behind the Kadie and closes the door. "All right. I shall follow your lead!"

"Last time I came here, Zahn was asleep inside," Amelia tells Olivia as the two girls arrive outside the shop. The Kadie then pounds on the thick gear-door.

Olivia gapes up at the gear-door in awe. "Goodness! I've never been to Zahn's workshop before. What an unusual door! I think he has some of his own artistic sensibilities hidden underneath all that fur."

"Creative, certainly," Amelia agrees. "Not sure about the esth… assthe… way it looks though."

A moment of silence, then the door rolls aside. However, the person standing inside the workshop is most definitely not Zahnrad. It's another Kadie, a young lady, dressed, in well, clothing that leaves little to the imagination; a pseudo-swimsuit made from row after row of knotted cord. She steps out, moving gracefully and tilts her head to regard the two. "Ah, Miss Blacktail, Miss Weaver is it?" she says in a lilting tone. "Have you seen dear Zahnrad this morning?"

"Err, no," Amelia says, feeling a bit embarrassed for some reason. "He was supposed to meet us here before dawn, and we saw the lights on inside… "

Olivia exchanges glances with Amelia. "That's right. He was supposed to accompany us to Dontgointhe Castle this morning."

The barely dressed Kadie seems to consider this. "Mmm, well, then if you see him, would you tell him Deirdre wishes to speak with him?" she replies and flashes her tail about. She pats both Amelia and Olivia's cheeks and saying, "There's some good girls." Deirdre then strides away confidently, tail held high.

Olivia looks back over her shoulder at the disappearing Kadie. "Do you know her?" she asks Amelia in a whisper. "I've never seen her before… "

"I thinks she's one of Zahn's cousins," Amelia whispers to Olivia as she watches the other squirrel leave. "I wonder if that outfit is comfortable? Anyway, he's probably inside hiding."

Olivia grins. "I suppose you'd have to hide if someone came after you in an outfit like that. Shall we go inside and find out where he is?"

Amelia nods, and ducks inside the doorway to the workshop.

Olivia follows along in Amelia's wake, still grinning, as if at some private joke.

After a quick look around, Amelia calls out, "Zahn, we're here! If you're hiding you can come out now."

The shop is buzzing with the usual activity. Various gears, pulleys, and belts groan and crank all around the pair. On the nearby bench is some sort of odd contraption made up of a series of small bellows, all inline, connected to an oddly shaped rod. Near it several tools are scattered, as if someone had just been working on it, then had to bolt for some reason.

Olivia takes a moment to stare above her, watching the wheels and gears spin endlessly. Then she calls, "Yeah, Zahn, it's safe now! She left!"

There is some rustling up in the rafters, then a flicker of shadow moves across the room. A moment later, a ball of fur swings down, leaving a very upside-down Zahnrad looking at the two, hanging by his feet from a beam. "Oh, good! Whew," he says.

Olivia squints at the upside-down Zahn. "Not who you expected to see this early in the morning, I take it?" she teases.

Amelia grabs for her broom, but stops when she recognizes Zahn. "Oh, there you are. Who is Deirdre and why is she looking for you dressed like the catch of the day?" she asks.

"Er, no, not really," Zahnrad replies as he swings back and forth slightly. "Deirdre's my cousin. She, er … she's a tad strange. She likes knots, you see… " he tries to explain, then coughs. "Well, I think Emmett probably couldn't keep quiet, to be honest. I, er, told him where he could watch her do morning exercise on the ropelines. He has a thing for her, you see."

Olivia smiles and says, "Ahhh, I see. She came to pay you back for slipping him that information?"

"I bet she has a really impressive hammock," Amelia comments, accepting Zahn's explanation. "Wait… did you give Emmett back his clothes?"

"No, of course not," Zahnrad replies, They're up in my cabin." He then curls upward, let's go, flips, then lands on his feet to face the two. "He doesn't even know I was there."

"We found Emmett and the Chalk twins asleep in the hot springs," Amelia explains to Olivia. After a moment of thought on what she knows of the Wingnut mindset, she asks Zahn, "So, is Emmett hanging upside down from a noose around his foot right now?"

At this Olivia murmurs, "My, my, the things you two get up to… !"

"I have no idea. He's rather slippery, you know," Zahnrad comments and picks up the scattered tools. He then says quickly to Olivia, "We were up to nothing!"

"Well, we did do some laundry," Amelia notes. "Anyway, are you ready to go, Zahn?"

Olivia shrugs and waves a hand dismissively. "Oh, of course not. Stealing someone else's clothes is such an everyday activity, anyway. Not even worth mentioning."

Zahnrad promptly takes Olivia's hat and plots it on his own head. He grabs up a nearby pack, from which papers and tools protrude. "Yep, I'm all ready to go. Have been for, ah, three hours," he says.

Olivia gives Zahn an appraising look. "Nah, the colors don't suit you as well as they do me." She takes the hat back and grins, but desists from further commentary on their clothes-stealing adventures.

"Might as well get going then!" Amelia says. "I'm getting hungry. Do we need to sneak out, or will your cousin wait for you to show up later?"

"Oh, she'll probably boobytrap the way back to my cabin," Zahnrad comments dismissively and waves his hand. He kicks a nearby lever, which dislodges the main drive gear, effectively shutting down the workshop. Quickly, he douses the lamps, then nods, "Yep, we should get going and I have to see Dr. Pike in flight." He pats Amelia's back, flashes her a small smile, then heads out of the shop.

Shrugging to Olivia, Amelia follows after Zahn.

Olivia adjusts her cap and follows after the two. To herself, she muses, "I wonder what kind of boobytrap she would put in his way… ? Tripcords? Hah, that might suit her!"

After crossing the bridge below the dam, the trio catches a glimpse of two white figures running from the hot springs onto the Manor Road, but they're too far away to positively identify. Beyond the springs, the woods flow up along the reservoir and beside the road. While not as menacing as the Gnarly Woods, the tall trees cast a significant amount of gloom, and the night mist is still thick upon the ground.

"So, do you have a way to keep from getting lost if we cut through the trees?" Amelia asks Zahn.

Zahn doesn't look phased at all at the eerieness of the forest. He walks along, whistling now and then and looking skyward. He looks like he's resisting running. "Hmm? Oh, well, I have a compass in here. We can use it to find the river, then follow it back," Zahnrad replies after a moment and looks over at the dark Kadie. "You nervous about getting lost?"

"No-oo," Amelia finally says. "As long as we know which way is west, we'll be able to find the road," she admits. "Just never been in these woods before. It's where the sawmill gets its lumber from though, isn't it?"

"I believe so," Zahnrad says with a nod. "I've wandered the outskirts some, looking for marks of any ruins I can dig through for parts." He then grins at Olivia and says in a low, gravelly voice, "I think Amelia is afraid Ol' Froggie will be looking for her!"

Olivia nudges Zahn playfully with her elbow and says, "If he did appear again, I'm sure she'd knock him around as well as she did last time!"

Amelia snorts, and marches forward into the mist. "We'd better stay close, all the same."

Olivia lets a bit of her hidden nervousness creep into her face as she murmurs, "No argument here." Then her face clears again and she comes up to walk beside Amelia.

Zahnrad just grins and walks into the mists as well, taking a position on the other side of the Kadie from Olivia. "So, how are you two this morning?" he asks.

The underbrush isn't very thick in this part of the woods, making the going easy for now. Tall, beech-like trees with smooth trunks and few low branches fill the area as well.

"I'm pretty happy," Amelia reports, with a glance towards Olivia.

"So am I," Olivia adds. "I have another project! I'll be making Amelia some new clothes that fit, as well as altering an outfit of her mother's to fit her. She's even going to let me add some color to one of them," she says contentedly.

"Great! Glad to hear it. I'm sure both of you will enjoy the outcome," Zahnrad replies and looks up at the tree branches. He smiles to himself.

Perhaps because he's looking up, Zahn is the first to glimpse a tall, hunched silhouette within the mist ahead, just around the curve of a nearby tree trunk.

Zahnrad nods his head towards the shadow. "Hey, look. I don't think that's the tree," he says, sounding rather unconcerned. "And, you know, it doesn't look like one of the usual wildlife. Huh."

Drawing her broom (which is clearly an oak staff with some bristles tied to one end) Amelia holds it out defensively. "It's not moving," she comments.

Olivia swivels her head around in the direction Zahn is indicating, trying to get a better look at the shadow.

Zahnrad starts walking slowly toward it. "You're right, it's not. Think it's dead?" he asks.

The shape remains indistinct and frozen, until Zahn gets closer. Then he can make it out as a stone memorial statue, although with the arms and head missing, and the remnants of two wings visible on its back.

Zahn moves quicker towards it. "Hey, it's a statue," he declares, "and it had wings! Wonder if it was an Eeee?"

"Hard to tell, it looks like it's wearing robes," Amelia says, as she gets close enough to see it as well. There are other shapes out in the mist now – clearly small buildings.

Olivia hangs back for a moment until she can discern whether or not she needs to offer Zahn any help. At his words, she also comes forward and looks at the broken statue. "Might have been," she says. Then she grins. "Going to estimate its wingspan?"

"Can't without knowing the species for certain," Zahnrad says, oblivious to the apparent teasing. He walks around the statue slowly, feeling over the surface and looking for writing.

"I think we've found the old manor graveyard," Amelia says, with a hint of dread in her tone. "Those look like crypts over there," she notes, pointing with her staff to the mist-shrouded buildings nearby.

The base of the statue is covered in moss, but a few letters are still exposed.

"Really? Want to check them out?" Zahnrad asks as he kneels down to try and brush away the moss and read the script.

The writing comes clear – but it's in some foreign alphabet. At a guess, it could be Olympian.

"We could," Olivia muses. "Some old crypts and tombstones have intricate carvings on them. Might be useful for me to see some of the old artistry, get some ideas. But uh, not without someone to go with me." She looks into the mist and shivers a little. "I still think it's a good idea to stick together."

After a quick investigation, Amelia reports, "There are just two crypts, but only one is still sealed with an iron bar."

Zahnrad gets an idea. He pulls out a blank sheet of paper from his pack and a charcoal pencil. He places it over the writing, then rubs the pencil on the paper to generate a negative transfer of the letters. "There, got the writing. I'd like to get this translated. Maybe the Doctor can read it, or perhaps one of the witches," he says to no one in particular.

Olivia looks between the other two. "Well, I'm game for a quick look down there if you are. As long as it won't make us late to the castle."

"We'll need a light then, to get a good look," Amelia suggests.

"Did someone say iron? Think we could get the bar? I could use some iron," Zahnrad says and stands up. He looks between Olivia and Amelia, then says, "Or would that be improper to do?" He then puts away the piece of paper and digs a bit more in his pack, pulling out an odd looking hat with a lamp stuck to the top. "I have the light covered. I was thinking if we were working in the cellar, it would be good to have hands free … so, I made this," he explains.

"Doesn't that make your head hot?" Amelia asks, eyeing the helmet-lamp. "I guess we can take a quick look. It's not like it's the middle of the night or a holiday."

Zahnrad starts strapping on the hat. "Nope. Heat rises," he says, now looking … well, rather silly. He reaches up and hits the lever on the side of the lamp and it sparks, then lights up. "I have another idea," he says a moment later. "I can go in first. If something bad happens, you can pull me out. If not, you just follow in."

Olivia peers at the lamp on Zahn's hat. "You come well-prepared," she says and twitches her nose. "As for the iron bar, well, if someone went to the trouble up latching it on there, maybe we shouldn't pry it off? Now if it had fallen off, that might be another story entirely."

The nearer crypt has a peaked roof and the general sort of Olympian styling common to stone buildings. The gargoyles and dragons at the corners are definitely more Sylvanian in origin though. Heavy iron hinges mount the hardwood door to its frame, with a slightly rusted bar on a pivot holding the door closed. On the lintel above is a carved figure of a beaked fish.

"Hey … Snapfish!" Zahnrad declares and points at the fish. "Wonder if he's still in there. And, er, yeah, let's leave that one barred."

At the mention of the name 'Snapfish,' Olivia nods her assent and looks up at the figure on the lintel with wide eyes.

Amelia nods in agreement, and leads them over to the next crypt. It looks considerably older, and the door looks fairly rotted. There are still holes and mounting points in the stone showing where the iron fittings had been removed. There aren't any gargoyles this time, and whatever figure may have once graced the lintel is long gone. A scar shows were it must have been chipped out.

"So, ah, want me to go first?" Zahnrad offers and looks at the two girls.

"How does the door stay standing without hinges?" Amelia wonders out loud. "It's like they removed them without opening it or something. And you've got the light, Zahn, so I suppose that makes you the one to go first," she says, grinning.

"Uh, okay. Do you want us to hang onto your tail and pull you out that way if there's trouble?" Olivia asks.

Zahnrad grins at Amelia. "If I die, head on without me, eh?" he says and winks. He considers Olivia's suggestion, then nods, "Certainly, but don't get any ideas." He snaps his tail straight out.

Olivia gives the Kadie boy a wavering grin, trying to recover some of her composure. "Wouldn't dream of it." Then she grabs the end of his tail.

Holding her staff ready, Amelia stands to one side of the ancient door. "Maybe it's stuck or something? How do you want to try and open it?"

Zahnrad considers, then tries to work his claws into the cracks near where the hinges were. "Maybe we can pull it out this way from here," he says, then sticks out his tongue and concentrates.

Wood peels away and crumbles under Zahn's claws, which triggers a domino effect across the door. Cracks and tears appear and expand, until the whole thing collapses into a heap of damp splinters and kindling. The larger pieces are full of tiny tunnels, probably made by wood-boring insects.

"Oops?" Amelia offers.

Zahnrad stands there, hands still in position where he was trying to open the door. "Ooops," he says sagely and nods.

Olivia stares at the shards of door. "That went better than expected… in a creepy, crumbly sort of way."

The lamplight reveals a chamber about ten feet by ten. Shelves built into the walls hold the crumbling remains of caskets, while the center of the room is taken up by three stone sarcophagi. The stone caps of all three are broken, with the center one being half covered while the other two are open and exposed.

Zahnrad looks at the rubble for a bit, then shrugs and says, "Into the darkness goes I!" The Kadie then promptly steps through the doorway. He walks towards the center caskets and tries to crane his neck and peer in.

Olivia walks forward with him, still grasping his tail and tensed to pull him out if need be.

The dust is thick on every surface, stirred up into little clouds by the explorers' feet. The half-covered center sarcophagus is empty – more than empty, really, since there is a hole in the middle of it, going right through the stone into an earthen tunnel that extends down beyond the lamplight.

"There aren't any remains," Amelia notes, stirring the debris on one of the shelves with the end of her staff. "No bones, cloth, anything… just wood. There should at least be bones, shouldn't there?" She hasn't seen the hole and tunnel yet.

"Hey … we have a tunnel in here," Zahnrad says back to the other two. "If we had more time, and some rope, I'd want to go down. But, we don't. I really don't want to miss seeing the Eeee in flight." He cranes his head to look into the other two.

The other stone caskets are largely intact, and one of them has what might be a femur bone buried in the dust within.

Olivia releases Zahn's tail and begins inspecting the crypt for any interesting carvings or statues. She passes by the center sarcophagus and stares briefly into the hole. "What could have made that, d'you think? Folk like us? Or something… else?"

Zahnrad looks around the center casket for piles of dirt other than the usual dust. "And a better question, did they dig in … or out?" he says, for the first time looking slightly worried.

"Ghouls," Amelia suggests, looking at the hole with Olivia. "We'd better cover it up with what's left of the stone slabs."

There aren't any markings beyond a few scratch-like gouges inside the sarcophagus, but in the narrow tunnel there are chunks of stone that might have been part of the floor at one time.

Zahnrad places his own claws in the gouges to guesstimate the claw size. "Anyone see the other part of the lid?" he asks.

Whatever made the gouges had wider, more spade-like claws than a Kadie. "It's here on this side, Zahn," Amelia reports, sweeping the dust away from chunk of the cover stone.

Olivia goes over to where Amelia stands with the portion of sarcophagus lid. "Did you want to look it over for any other marks, Zahn?" she asks, guessing at his intention. "Or just cover the sarcophagus back up?"

"It had huge claws," Zahnrad comments, then walks over to Amelia and Olivia. He says to Olivia, "Well, maybe another day when we have more time, perhaps?" Then, to Amelia, he says, "I take one side, you take the other?"

"Look here," Amelia says to Olivia, and brushes away more dust from the slab to reveal… another chisel-scar. "The markings have been scraped off," she says, before bracing herself opposite Zahn to lift up one end of the slab.

Olivia hmms softly. "Marks on the outside of the cover stone, rather than the inside. Looks like something tunneled in rather than out. I'd need to see the underside to be sure, though."

Zahnrad nods to Amelia and crouches down to grip the lid, saying, "We'll lift and you look under it, then, Olivia. On the count of three. One, two, three!" The Kadie then starts to try and lift the lid.

Olivia crouches down quickly for a look at the underside of the lid, should they manage to lift it.

The first attempt to lift the slab raises it a few inches before the surface under Zahn's fingers begins to crumble, causing the stone to slip out of his grip and crash back down. The impact splits the slab into two pieces, and causes a cloud of dust to billow out into Olivia's face.

Olivia coughs violently and waves a hand in front of her face, trying to disperse the dust.

Zahnrad curses and hops back away from the stone. "It … crumbled!" he says, looking irritated.

Amelia blows on her own fingers, and is still wincing from the loud noise. "Ummm, it should be easier to lift now though. And… maybe we'd better hurry? Anything down that tunnel could have heard the noise… "

Olivia looks worriedly at Amelia. "That may be true. Zahn, d'you want to try again?"

Zahnrad nods to Amelia and Olivia. "Let's get moving," he says and kneels down by one piece and slips his fingers under it. "Grab the other side, Amy. Smaller they may be, but I don't want it in any more pieces."

Olivia hurriedly positions herself for another look as they try to raise the pieces.

There isn't any trouble lifting the smaller chunk, and setting it into place atop the sarcophagus. In the dim light, Olivia can still glimpse the claw-gouges in the underside.

Olivia's expression settles into grim lines. "There are marks on the underside of the lid, just like the ones you found on the inside of the sarcophagus, Zahn. Correction: something was coming out."

Zahn visibly shudders. "Let's get the other piece on," he says grimly and moves to the next chunk.

Olivia gets to her feet and backs up a foot or so towards the door, to give the others more room to work.

In short order, the sarcophagus is covered. And for good measure, the Kadies stack pieces of the other broken capstones on top of the original ones.

Zahn dusts off his hands and says, "Who here thinks I should maybe build this place a new door and attach it another day? I know I sure do."

Olivia raises a hand in mute agreement.

"I'd prefer knocking the whole thing down and burying it myself," Amelia offers, "but a door would be good too."

Zahnrad walks to the door and quickly measures the size, and the wall thickness. "Well, I think, ah, I'd like to move on. This place is starting to creep me out," he says and rubs the back of his neck.

Olivia leads the others back out of the crypt and into the fresh air. "Work for another time, and work I'd be more than happy to help with. Shall we get going? I know Zahn doesn't want to miss the doctor's flight."

"I hope we don't have to go through another cemetery up at the castle," Amelia says, before heading back into the woods.

Zahn pats both Amelia and Olivia on their backs as they head into the woods again. "It's daylight, right? Even if we did, it should be safe," he says reassuringly. "You know, there are days I wish I were an Eeee… "