The Mint Dam
The dam is an impressive structure that almost looks out of place when compared to the relatively backwater town of Stonebarrow. It's existed for generations and is currently under management through a joint effort of the Akwavi and Kadie clans (notably the Wingnuts). It spans a good sixty feet and is composed of earth and timber. The top is lined with three equally spaced waterwheels. One of the wheels powers the various Wingnut workshops that reside near the base of the dam. Another wheel powers the various mills that produce paper and other such items requiring milling, such as flour. The third wheel is for general use and powers many various places in the nearby town that require mechanical power. A menagerie of gearing, drive axles, and catwalks also line the top of the dam, interconnecting the wheels and providing service access to them.

After a quick talk with Djivan … well, a somewhat quick talk, after she woke him up, convinced him she wasn't a dream and then explained the situation with watching the camp, Olivia has made her way to the dam. The air is still here and quiet. There's an edge of tension surrounding the Wingnut territory and a lot of the shops and general noise has quieted down. Olivia can just barely make out Gunther on the damn walkways. He's tinkering on something. In fact, there's a series of 'somethings' lining the walkway now.

Olivia, thinking that it might be best to let Gunther see her first before waving him down or calling out to him, stands out in plain view for a minute, so that he won't be surprised and shoot something at her. I don't know what he's working on up there, she thinks, but I also don't want to find out the hard way.

And there Olivia stands for five minutes, then ten minutes, then fifteen minutes … Never underestimate the power of Wingnut single-mindedness … Gunther just isn't looking up.

Olivia sighs. Scratch that idea. Well, here goes something… Taking her distinctive cloth rose-hat from her head and waving it, she calls up to the Kadie, "Gunther! It's Olivia! Over here!"

"Eh?" Gunther calls back and stops working. He stands and wipes off his hands on the apron he's wearing. "Why are you standing down there waving your hat? Are you finally surrendering to me? If so, you should really use white, not multi-colors," he calls down.

Olivia manages a grin. At least I'm still in one piece! "No, I'm not surrendering!" she calls. "I want to talk to you! May I come up? You're not going to shoot me with anything, are you?"

Gunther leans on the top of whatever he was working on. "Well, if you're not surrendering I might have to shoot you," he points out, then sighs and shakes his head. "But eh, yeah, come on up. Good thing you stand out, you know. We're not exactly letting people close to the compound right now."

"I think that's very wise!" Olivia calls as she begins her ascent to the walkway. "Be with you in a minute!"

"Walk faster," Gunther comments and goes back to working on whatever it is as she ascends. When she starts getting close, he closes the device and leans on it again. Then it hits her, this is probably the first time she's seen Gunther dressed in actual work clothing, complete with tool belt. He waves a wrench at her and asks, "You weren't involved with the attack on Zahn, were you?"

Olivia's expression grows serious now. "No, but we have a pretty good idea of who did. That's why I came to talk to you. Is there someplace we can go where you know we won't be overheard? Or is here okay?"

Gunther slips the wrench away. "How private do you need?" he asks. "I have a very private place, if need be."

"Someplace where only you and I will know what we've talked about," Olivia says. "I don't want to run the risk of someone else finding out things they shouldn't. I think Amy may have already been followed… so I have to be careful."

"Ah, well. Then we'll go to my secret lab," Gunther remarks and pushes off the device. "You'll be blindfolded for part of the trip, though."

Olivia blinkblinks. "Well… all right," she agrees hesitantly. "Just as long as I don't fall down a flight of stairs or something to get there… "

"You'll just have to be careful," Gunther says dismissively and waves his hand. The smaller Kadie then walks by Olivia and heads back down the walkway. "Come on, then," he says. "I need to drop off the tools before we go, though."

"Okay," Olivia says, following along behind Gunther.

Gunther swings by one of the workshops and drops off the tool belt and grabs a scrap of cloth while he's at it. The Kadie then heads off into the woods of all things. "Zahn's still unconscious," he says, voice flat, "No real change in his condition."

Olivia inwardly smacks herself for not asking about Zahn sooner. "Ah, I s-see," she stammers, nodding. "I'll have to tell Amy that. At least he's not worse off. And I- I'm really sorry about what happened to him," she adds, more quietly this time. "How're you and your parents holding up?"

Gunther shrugs, then ducks under a branch. "Mom's trying to look strong, but she cries when she thinks no one is near," he says. "Whole clan is pretty upset. Even Deirdre is actually working with us for a change. And to be honest, I am surprised that Amy hasn't come to see Zahn."

"And dad, well, he's just burying himself in work," Gunther adds. "He's upset, though. First time I've heard him scream in years while working."

"Amy's staying away for good reason, Gunther," Olivia says consolingly. "I'll tell you more about that when we get to where we're going. But she's really worried and scared for Zahn. Really."

"I would still have thought she'd have visited once," Gunther remarks dryly, then circles around a large tree base. "Two minutes to blindfold," he comments.

"You'll understand soon, I promise," is all Olivia will say for now.

They circle a bit more through the woods until Olivia is a bit dizzy from all the backtracking. And it's at this point they stop and Gunther blindfolds her. Then, onwards they go. Gunther is at least pretty helpful in guiding Olivia through the brush and helping her avoid branches. Then suddenly, the temperature changes and she feels cool, wet, air on her face and the musty smell of earth. It sure seems like they're going underground now. Onward they walk for another minute or two, then Gunther removes the blindfold. "Give me a moment to light a lamp," he says. Olivia finds herself in … a whole lot of dark.

Olivia puts one hand to the side, hoping to find a wall to brace herself on, since she hardly knows where her feet are at this moment. "Right… a lamp would be good… "

And Olivia finds … a handful of slime on a cold, wet, stone wall. A moment later, an amber glow of an oil lamp fills the darkness. Olivia finds herself in a large stone room. The walls ancient stone and are covered with roots, vines, and slimy moss. All around the room are piles of crates, tools, and odd devices. "Welcome to my lab," Gunther says and sits on top of a crate. "Only I know where this place is."

Olivia wipes her hand on the leg of her bright green overalls and gives a low whistle. It echoes against the stone. "Whoa, cool place, Gunther!" she says, grinning despite herself. "I'll bet you get a lot of work done here, with nobody to bother you."

"Eh, enough," Gunther says dismissively. He peers at Olivia and says, "So, spill it."

"Yes. Right." The Skeek gingerly climbs atop another crate and crosses her legs under her. Taking a deep breath, she says, "There's some history that you should know first. It will make things clearer when I talk about what we think has happened to Zahn… and why we may need your help." Then she launches into modified version of the events that happened to Natasha all those years ago – with certain truths being omitted. She doesn't say that the Khatta used to be a College mage and a witch hunter, although she mentions that Natasha has always been adept at working with spirits. Her journey into Sylvania to hunt witches becomes a trip to see the country with some friends. All the rest, however, follows as it occurred – stumbling across the necromancer, fighting him, being captured and tortured, her friend Haruti's actions, being taken in by the gypsy tribe.

Gunther says little during the recount of events. He sits on the crate, tail swishing slowly. As a mention of a necromancer is brought up, his eyes narrow a bit. "Okay, so that explains where Natasha is from," Gunther says finally, then taps a clawtip against the crate. "But, not why Zahn was attacked. He has no association with any of that."

Olivia sighs and looks very unhappy. "He does now, I'm afraid," she says grimly. "The necromancer's whole point of capturing Natasha is that he wanted her death to complete a very specific ritual. He wanted to become a lich. That's a creature of undeath, 'a walking, eternal corpse,' Natasha said. A lich is very strong and it takes a lot of power to destroy one. But when Haruti stabbed him, the ritual was disrupted and failed. So now we think he's trying again. He must have survived that fall off the cliff – gypsies in the camp reported hearing chimes, like the bone chimes on the staff he used to carry. Amy thought she heard some, too, the other day, and says she saw the marks of the end of a cane in the ground. But Zahn's tangled up in this whole mess now because it takes sacrifices and acts upon the dead to complete the process of becoming a lich. That's why we believe he was attacked – that necromancer wanted his death to serve in this process."

Gunther's expression darkens and he starts dragging his clawtips over the wood on the crate, leaving gouges. "I … see," he says slowly. "So, it's the gypsies fault for bringing whatever this creature is here, then. I knew we should have run them out long ago. Well, we'll have to see to that now." He hops off the crate and goes to another one and starts rummaging in it.

Olivia's eyes widen in horror. "No, Gunther, you're placing blame on the wrong people!" she exclaims, ready to spring off her own crate and stop him, if need be. "It's not the gypsies that we want to run off – it's the necromancer and whatever minions he might have around! They're the real cause of the problem, don't you see that?! Natasha didn't want to become involved in his sick ritual, she just went into the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, if you run off the gypsies then that necromancer will still be out there, hurting more people just like he did Zahn!"

Gunther quits digging and looks at Olivia, brow arched. "Do you really believe that, or are you more worried about losing Djivan," he asks bluntly.

Olivia stares at the Kadie, looking as if she's just been punched in the gut. Finally, in a small voice, she says, "I already know I'm going to lose Djivan whenever the tribe moves on, whether they are driven out or leave of their own accord. As if that's any of your business, anyway." Then she looks right into Gunther's eyes and asks, "At any rate, yes I believe her. So does Amelia, especially with all the clues she's seen. That's why she's staying away from Zahn – she doesn't want to draw attention to where he is. He's not dead yet. The necromancer may make another attempt to make sure that he is."

Gunther considers that, then nods. "All right, then. You trust them enough to say that, and are strong enough to," he replies, then pulls something out of the crate. "So, I'm guessing there's something you want from me, then? Telling me all this is good, but I sense you had another reason." The Kadie then starts fiddling with the device he pulled out.

Olivia nods, thinking to herself, Smart kid. Gods, I don't know whether to hit him or hug him for that! Aloud, she says, her eyes glinting wickedly, "Y'know, I never thought I'd say this but… you may have been right about those invading hordes. They'd just be hordes of undead, that's all." Taking another deep breath, she continues, "Zahn told me once that you designed weapons – how would you feel about building some to defeat zombies? Some for individual use and maybe another larger one to take out groups?"

Gunther doesn't answer that question. He just keeps fiddling with the device he pulled out. He hooks a foot into some sort of lever and pulls. Three bow-like arcs swing out and the top one stretches back. He then takes aim at a small box across the room. There's a sudden twang, then another, then another. Wooden crossbow bolts fire out in rapid succession, impacting into the crate and splintering it apart in a hail of about thirty bolts. "Something like this?" he asks calmly, spinning the now empty bolt-chamber in his hand.

Olivia jumps straight off her crate and onto the floor as the bolts impact the box across the room. She looks between the splinters and Gunther for a few seconds, breathing rapidly. Then a large, evil grin spreads across her face. "Yeah. Just like that. That's perfect! Natasha said that anything we use against zombies has to cut them into tiny enough pieces so that they can't move enough to hurt anyone anymore. That would do the trick!" She then tilts her head to one side and asks, "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know how many in Stonebarrow are trained for its defense? Because that's about how many of those weapons we'd need."

Gunther shakes his head. "No, I don't. The Blacktails control the defense and don't exactly trust the Wingnuts," he notes and shrugs. He unhooks the chamber from the spent crossbow and sets it aside. "I installed a couple larger versions on the dam this afternoon. Just in case the attacker returned," he scowls.

Olivia picks up a few pieces of the smashed box and comments dryly, "Well, perhaps they should trust you a bit more now, after seeing what that crossbow of yours can do. I should send Amy to you so you can demonstrate for her like you did just now for me." She lightly scratches her chin with the splinters and says, "I'll make a point of asking her about our little army, then. I think she believes that we're probably just going to be fighting this necromancer and perhaps a few of his zombies, since it is rather conspicuous to be traveling with a whole horde of them. However, Natasha also told us that he has the undead at his call. And there are graveyards around here to draw from. At any rate, better safe then sorry, I say. That's why I think we'll need your help."

Gunther looks rather amused, really. "Wow, someone asking me for help. That's a first. As for the crossbow, Amelia has already seen it. Well, the larger prototype anyway. I finished this one a few days ago," he says and sets down the crossbow now. "She wasn't that impressed by the prototype. Thought it was too cumbersome. Personally, I think she'd rather just fight something hand to hand instead of just using overwhelming force."

Olivia looks worried as she sits back down on her crate. "I'm sure she would, too. Of course, she is rather good at it, so I guess that's why she would prefer it. And with Zahn hurt, and feeling the way she does about him… well, if that doesn't make you want to whack something, I dunno what does." The Skeek stares down at the floor as she continues, "It's just that if I'm right about these zombies, she's going to need what you have to offer, like it or not. We'll just have to prepare for the worst in spite of her. So I suppose that means making enough of these crossbows in case we do find ourselves overrun. Would you do that?"

"I'd build ten times enough, if it means I get to help nail the bastard who attacked my brother," Gunther says, eyes narrow. "It'll take some time, though. Anyway, is there anything else you need to tell me or should we head back?"

"Yes, just a few last things," the Skeek says. "You have got to swear to me, by the strongest oath the Wingnuts have, that you will not tell anyone else what I've just told you about Natasha's past and this necromancer being around the town. At least, not until it's absolutely necessary. If we can take this monster and any of his minions out by ourselves without alarming everyone, that would be best. A lot of the folks here would probably have the same first reaction that you did and that would not be productive. So – swear."

Gunther paces briefly, then nods. "All right," he relents. "What you have told me shall not leave these walls, on my honor and the honor of the Wingnut clan and all engineers." He then taps his foot impatiently and asks, "Now, can we go, or what?"

Olivia holds up a hand. "Fine, Mr. Impatience, then here are my last two demands: first, for whatever reason, if this necromancer tries to get near the dam and you find him, for heaven's sake, just try to drive him away and not kill him. If he's as powerful as Natasha says he is, then only the witches can take him down. I don't want you lying in a bed with your bones broken, too. And last -" here the Skeek gulps nervously, but continues on "- you're going to have to teach me how to use one of those crossbows. Or some other weapon, if you think that would be better. Because if the necromancer has been following Amy, he might spy on me, too. So I'll need something to defend myself with."

"Fine, fine," Gunther says and waves his hand to the first request. "Don't kill the jerk. Fine by me, we can make it slow and painful. As for the second, using a crossbow is pretty easy when it fires thirty or more. It's not like you have to aim much. But … " He goes to a crate and digs. He pulls out an armband from the crate with a small oblong box along the back. "Come here," he says.

Olivia quirks an eyebrow at the new device but does as Gunther says. "So what does this thing do?" she asks.

"Arm please," Gunther says.

Olivia obediently holds out her right arm but looks puzzled.

Gunther slips the armband onto Olivia's arm and tightens it down. He then pulls a small strap out and over her thumb, then palm. They feed back into the block on the back of her forearm now. "Okay, pull your thumb across your palm, then pull your hand down, towards the inside of your arm like this," Gunther explains, then demonstrates the motion.

Olivia watches carefully as Gunther demonstrates, then repeats the motions herself – praying that she's got it right.

Olivia can suddenly feel a jerk along her forearm and a snapping sound. Out of the front part of the box protrudes an eight inch long chitin blade a second later. It glints in the firelight. "Useful little thing for defense. Looks innocuous enough at first," Gunther says, grinning a bit too widely. "You move your thumb down first, then wrist, to trigger the release. Two phase, so you don't accidentally trigger it."

Olivia admires the neat little blade and says, "Gunther, I never would have guessed it, but you have unexplored possibilities about you. This I think I can handle. So how do I pop the blade back in without getting hurt?"

Gunther opens the side of the box and taps a small lever. He then pulls it back and the blade disappears with a click. "That," he says and shrugs. He then smirks and comments, "Changing your opinion I'm just another lunatic Kadie, are you?" He rolls his eyes. "Girls."

Olivia gives the Kadie a lop-sided smile. "So, what you're saying is that you want me to think that you're just another lunatic Kadie?" she asks mischievously.

"Or maybe I want you to think I want you to think I want you to think I'm a lunatic," Gunther retorts, sticks out his tongue, then says, "We really need to get back. I have work to do."

Olivia waggles her eyebrows at Gunther. "All right, all right," she laughs. "Back we go! I guess I have to surrender to the blindfold again, huh?"

"Could be worse. Could have made ya go nude and painted pink," Gunther comments as he slips the blindfold back on Olivia. She can hear him blow out the lamp and he then leads her, presumably back out.

Olivia rolls her eyes underneath the blindfold. "What's all this with people wanting to dye my fur colors?" she asks, only half-jokingly. "First Liliana, now you!"

"Bleh," is Gunther's only comment. It takes several minutes, but they're finally back into the woods (the air certainly changed). There Gunther removes the blindfold and Olivia is assaulted by the light. "Anyway, back to town we go, right?" he says.

Olivia blinkblinkblinks until her eyes become adjusted to the daylight again. Then she starts and tilts her head to the side again, waving Gunther into silence. After a few seconds, she gives him a sweet, although somewhat strained smile. "It's a shame to waste this lovely morning with work, especially since you can hear such nice chimes on the breeze," she says, placing her emphasis carefully. "But I think we need to get you back to the dam. Together. All right?"

"Uh, yeah, right. It's a bit of a walk anyway and I figured you wouldn't be able to make the way back on your own," Gunther says, looking at Olivia funny. He shakes his head and starts leading her back through the woods.

Olivia smiles at Gunther again and nods, placing her fingertips on his shoulder before he goes, as if picking a stray thread from his shirt. As she leans close to act this out, she whispers, "Spies. Careful." Then she follows along after him as if absolutely nothing is wrong – but she is watching the trees and bushes as they walk.

"Such a cute couple out for a walk in the woods," comes a rasping, scraping voice behind them; a voice on the same level as dragging fingernails across a slate board … it digs down to the listeners very bones. And then the air around them grows cold. Gunther immediately stiffens up and his tail puffs out to twice its normal size.

Olivia doesn't think – she only acts. Swinging around to face the intruder, she brings the box on her right arm up close to where she thinks the person's head ought to be and repeats the motion Gunther taught her.

And out the blade comes. Unfortunately, the source of the voice is a couple yards away, so Olivia stabs air. It's a figure, swathed in strips and remnants of black cloth. The strips move almost unnaturally in the light breeze. He chuckles a soft, grating, wheezing chuckle. "Child, put away your toys before you get hurt," he says in an amused, dismissive, tone In his right hand he holds an ornate carved staff made from bones. From the top hangs a series of chimes.

Gunther spins around and moves himself between Olivia and this person a moment later. The Kadie crouches, growling. "I don't know who you are, but you'd better get lost, now," he says.

And the air seems to grow that much colder around the two.

Olivia ignores the command and keeps her blade out, just in case the figure decides to get too close, although she does lower her arm slightly. "Considering that you could have killed us before now," she says, trying to keep her voice steady, "what do you want?" Pitched so that only Gunther can hear, she hisses to him, "Get ready to run."

"Oh, I wish to have words with you, Miss Weaver, friend of Tasha Al-Nadia," the figure hisses, the original name of Natasha spoken with an incredible air of hate. The hooded figure then seems to consider Gunther for a moment. "But you, you, I have no use for," he says in a dismissive tone and raises his hand. There's a sudden muttered word and an arc of darkness bursts out from the creature's hand, slamming into Gunther before he even has a chance to move. Gunther lets a sudden scream of agony as the energy wraps around his body. It lasts a mere second, then the darkness abates and Gunther simply collapses into a heap on the ground.

"NO!" Olivia screams, dropping to the ground beside Gunther, suddenly past caring about the powerful figure hovering over them. "What did you do to him?" She immediately places an ear against the Kadie's chest, to listen for a heartbeat, or to see if his chest is rising and falling in the natural action of breathing.

"Silenced a nuisance," comes the reply. Gunther is still breathing and his heart is still beating. "What happens to him now depends a great deal on you, Miss Weaver," the figure continues. "Run, and I will kill him, slowly and painfully. I will then use his corpse for a servant. A mostly useless servant, I suppose, but a servant. Or perhaps food for the undead. Eh, I will decide that later. Stay and speak with me, and I will spare him, and you, for the moment."

Choking back a sob of relief, Olivia brushes a few strands of hair from Gunther's forehead. "Hang in there, kid," she whispers. "We can't lose your brother and you, too." Then she stands to face the hooded man. "I will listen to what you have to say," she says simply. "What choice do I have?"