Aaron's Basement
The basement of the townhouse is large, running the full width and depth of the building. There are support columns, the gas and water heating systems, and several standing shelves filled with apothecary supplies and raw materials. The forward part of the basement is blocked off by a brick wall and a sturdy ironwood door sporting a combination lock. The light comes from gas lamps, with only a bit of sunlight filtering in through squat ground-level windows near the ceiling, too small for even a Kavi to squeeze through.

After stopping to pick up something from the old School of Chaos, Spring Meadow leads Tasha and the other Lapis back to Aaron's place and into the basement. "This vault used to be for keeping a few Savanite slaves in," the Earth Mage explains, as she starts working the lock. "So Aaron uses it to store the really expensive or dangerous stuff in now. I saw the combination last night when we came down to get… uh… something."

"That explains the disturbed dust on the wall. Roughly the size of your back, I believe," Layth comments as he peers at a section of the wall.

"Ahem," Meadow says, while Calligenia goes to inspect the spot Layth has found.

"Oi, I bet you got it," Tasha murmurs with a hint of a grin. Smiling, she says, "So, this is where tha' paranoid buck stores 'is secrets? I 'ave to wun'er if 'e 'as skeletons in there."

Layth whispers to Calligenia what caused the spot, complete with hand gestures to demonstrate.

"He does," Meadow notes. A final turn of the dial, and the bolt lever comes loose. She throws it open, and then stands back. "I don't think I could move the door myself, so one of you stronger types should do it."

Calli nods to the description, and doesn't seem shocked or surprised. Aisha, however, folds her ears back and tries not to listen in.

"S'pose tha's me an' Layth. C'mere, you big magic bunny, an' stop makin' Aisha blush," Tasha says. She steps forward and gets a grip on the door, waiting for the buck to step forward. "An' I wun'er 'ow Aaron gets in 'ere at all?"

Noticing Aisha trying not to listen, Layth finishes with, "I will demonstrate with Aisha later." Completely straight-faced, he heads back to the vault door. He takes a grip on it as well, telling Tasha, "He is half-Amazonian, remember. He is not so weak."

"It's not that heavy," Meadow murmurs. "Just too heavy for me."

"Mus' be the small 'alf," Tasha remarks back, laughing. "I'll le' you do it, so you can show off to the does." The woman stands back to let Layth take the door.

With Layth pushing, the door opens easily enough. There is a gaslight inside, as yet unlit.

"I should take you exercising," Layth comments to Meadow after he opens the door.

Now that the door's open, Tasha steps inside and begins seeing about the light. "I 'ope we don' discover 'e's a madman, an' 'as been 'idin' it all in 'ere," she comments.

The Mage blushes and hurries past the big buck to light the lamp. The yellow flame reveals a somewhat cramped, long and narrow room. The sides are packed with shelves, many of which hold jars and bottles with Amazonian motifs on them, along with various notebooks and others containers. Piled atop a crate at the far end are the three metallic looking cases that hold the Sifran artifacts recovered from The Fenris.

Layth walks to the wall first and reads over some of the labels. "Interesting," he comments, but doesn't elaborate further. "So, which of these bottles did Aaron come for?" he asks Meadow as he heads towards the metallic cases. "Curious minds wish to know what deviousness lurks in the mind of that Lapi."

Tasha glances around the room until she spots the artifact containers. "Don' open the smaller one, it's got memories I wan' to keep safely sealed until they get where they're goin'. Be careful with all the others, too. Remember those Sifran crystals were beyon' even the Expedition an' it's thinking machine." She heads for the cases as well, separating the memory crystal container from the others.

Spring Meadow squeaks at the question, and whispers to Layth, "I can't tell you that!" She glances back at the curious-looking does who poke their heads through the open doorway.

"Of course you could. It would make exercising more interesting," Layth comments, then flashes the doe a grin. He picks up the case that contains 'The Big Cheese' and rests it atop his shoulder.

"How can such dangerous things be held in cases so small?" Aisha asks Tasha. The cases aren't that small, but they're smaller than trunks.

"Well, my last dose won't have worn off yet anyway," Meadow replies, then covers her mouth as if she didn't mean to say that.

Aisha and Calli both back away from the vault door now, so that Tasha and Layth can exit with their burdens.

Tasha shakes her head, watching Layth's case as if it might leap from his shoulders and attack at any time. "Size is no measure o' danger. Look at Calligenia, aye? These things, oi, these crystals are a mystery older than any o' us. Older than Rephidim, older than the Expedition. Treat 'em with care," she explains.

"I'll keep that in mind for tonight," Layth whispers to Meadow. He pats her shoulder with his free hand, then carries his case out of the vault. "And thankfully … the cases do not smell, unlike laundry does after a few weeks."

"Should we be messing around with them then?" Aisha has to ask, but her rapidly twitching nose betrays her curiosity. "Where do we take them? The kitchen?"

After placing the case with the memories safely aside, Tasha takes up the case with the crystal she carried from the ship. "The las' time I saw these things, they were tryin' to kill us," she says as she exits.

"How were they doing that?" Spring Meadow asks nervously. "Crystals usually just… well, don't do anything but glow in weird colors and mess up spells."

"While one may look like cheese, no. We take them to the bathroom to test various things on them," Layth comments. "As for how, they warped the mind of some mechanical brain and made it murderous."

"Oh," the mage says, as if that explained everything. "I've heard how golems can go berserk if you keep them around for too long."

"They were connected to a Expedition artifact – a thinkin' machine. It was s'posed to support the ship when the other thinkin' machine couldn', since Sinai disrupts machinery an' such, bu' its direct connection to the crystals seemed to, oi, drive it mad. It killed Nora, the woman who looked like me. Though' I was 'er, an' said it'd kill me again. Nora, I mean," the Vartan explains.

"You are going to try some spells on them," Layth informs Spring Meadow.

Up two flights of stairs is the bathroom, which is luckily large enough to accommodate the whole group. It sports a double-sink and vanity with a large mirror, the fancy bathtub-shower, and a toilet.

"What sort of spells do you want?" Meadow asks once they arrive. "Earth spells have never had any effect on Sifran crystals before. But you claim these are from other worlds?"

"They're at leas' from Abaddon," Tasha confirms. "Where they got them from wasn' said, bu' they were definitely brought 'ere. I know the Expedition 'as been aware o' the Sifras for some time, which sort 'o suggests they 'ad some sort 'o contact with them well before they came 'ere an' met their fate."

"Anything that might cause an effect with a regular crystal. Nothing powerful, we just wish to see if we can learn what these things do through some experiments," Layth explains as he hands to the bathtub and sets his case in it. Carefully, he starts working the locks to release the case.

"Before you open the case, can you tell me how they were kept when they made your machine brain go bonkers?" Meadow asks.

"They were connected to it through some sort of glass wires that went into a harness that held the crystal," Layth tries to explain.

"Where they exposed to sunlight at all?" the doe asks next, while looking up at the frosted skylight that provides most of the light for the bathroom.

"No, we were under a mountain," Layth answers.

"A direct computer line to the crystaline thinking machine, named MOTHER. I'm thinkin' tha' crystals can talk to crystals, since MOTHER was also a crystal o' a sort. Nora called it Silen' Ones technology – Savanites," Tasha explains before laying her case carefully down on the sink. "Oi," she adds, "I 'ope they don' 'ave a grudge agains' me."

"Uh, better open it slowly then, and only one case at a time," Meadow suggests. "We don't want them talking to one another."

"No, we don' wan' tha'," the Vartan agrees, eying her case uneasily.

"I will open the cheese first," Layth notes as he flips the last catch and starts lifting the case off the crystal.

Tasha scoots her own case behind herself, shielding it further from the other crystal. "You behave," she tells it, tapping the lid behind her as she watches Layth reveal the 'big cheese.'

The exposed crystal does indeed look like a piece of cheese. It has a 'soft', runny look to it, and is filled with holes – a few of which go all the way through. It has the same multi-colored glow typical of Sinai versions of Sifran crystals.

Layth sets the lid aside and peers at the crystal. And then he does something no one had yet dared to do. He pokes it with a fingertip.

"It'd be beautiful if it hadn't killed Nora an' almos' killed me," Tasha remarks, sounding uneasy.

Aisha moves forward to get a closer look, while Calli seems nervous. At the poke, the crystal lets out an odd chiming sound. Meadow moves about, using her shadow to block the light occasionally. "It's not affecting my magic sense at all," the mage reports.

"Is that normal for them?" Layth asks as he pokes it a few more times, then rests his hand on it to feel its surface and temperature.

Tasha's ears flatten when the crystal chimes in. "I'm watchin' you," she warns the artifact. "You remember me, aye? Don' try anythin' or I'm tossin' you into the ocean."

"I've never heard of any making sounds before when touched," Meadow admits. The crystal feels… odd. It has no temperature at all, and shifts between feeling slick and rough to the touch.

"Try poking your finger in one of the deep holes," Aisha suggests to Layth.

"Calli, can you disable Layth if 'e loses control?" Tasha glances at the doe, brows raising.

The Amazonian doe nods to Tasha. Then she blinks, and asks, "By disable, do you mean to knock him unconscious only?"

"Very unusual," Layth mutters as he keeps his hand on it, feeling the surface. He gives Aisha an odd look, but then grins and shrugs. He tries to put one of his fingers completely into one of the holes.

A brighter, nearly musical tone is produced by inserting the finger. Unable to resist, Aisha pokes at one of the other holes, which causes the sound to oscillate slowly into a warble.

Tasha's muzzle quirks, and she nods. "Wha'ever will keep 'im from doin' anythin' bu' no' 'urt 'im too much. 'E's the stronges' o' us, we 'ave to be ready if 'e loses it like the thinkin' machine did," she answers.

"Alright, Aldara," Calli replies, and watches Layth closely.

"It's a toy!" Aisha declares, and starts poking at other holes, causing the sounds to keep shifting – almost like music.

"It's very musical," Tasha observes, returning her gaze to the artifact. "Try hummin' at it. An' it's no' a toy. Don' get reckless!"

"Maybe it was a musical instrument," Layth offers at the odd sound. He pokes a finger in and out of a couple holes, mimicking Aisha's odd amusement.

"According to Envoy, music is very important," Spring Meadow notes, and opens up the bundle she collected at the School of Chaos to reveal a set of wood, glass and metal tuning forks.

"Ah, do you think it will resonate with specific tones? Maybe if we find the right tone we can fix Tasha's speech," Layth offers. He even dares to pick up the 'cheese' now.

"Oi, maybe the Sifras spoke in music. Ain't talkin' jus' another sort o' music?" The narrows her eyes, peering at the crystal as she tries to look into its depths. "These people, these Sifras, they made things beyon' our ken. Jus' look at Gateway, an' 'ow it can take people to another place in an instan'." She shoots Layth a glare, and asks him, "Aren' you the one 'o always urged me to caution?"

Picking it up doesn't stop the sound from the crystal. Meadow tries holding various forks up to it to see if they will react, but none of them do, causing her chew on her lip. When she sings a note at one of them, it vibrates visibly.

"I am also bored and we need something to do," Layth points out to Tasha. He now methodically tries each hole, seeing if any note it makes may make the fork vibrate.

Even though the sound from the crystal changes with each touch, none of the turning forks respond to it in any way. Finally, Meadow goes, "Aha!" and pulls out the stub of a wax candle from one of the pockets of her robe.

"Caution unless you're bored? I'll 'old you to tha'," Tasha says, brow raising. "Jus' be careful, or I'm callin' this 'ole thing off. I'm not lettin' anyone die jus' 'cause they're bored."

"The wax is for?" Layth inquires.

"Tasha, come here please," Spring Meadow says, as she breaks up the candle and wads the wax into two big lumps.

"Alrigh'." Tasha scoots the case behind her as far back as it'll go before she steps forward. "Are you goin' you take imprin's o' the crystal's vibration?"

"Nope!" the mage says, then asks, "Layth, can you put it back down in the tub and stop touching it? I need Tasha to stuff this wax into her ears until she can't hear us."

"Okay," Layth says as he gingerly places the crystal back on its case stand. He peers at his palm, briefly, making sure it didn't turn his fur blue.

"Oh, you wan' to see if I can 'ear it even with my ears plugged?" Tasha holds her hand out for the wax, waiting for an answer before she plugs her ears.

There doesn't appear to be any change to Layth's hands, other than the lack of numbness associated with the crystal's odd surface texture.

"Exactly!" Meadow reports, and hands over the wax. There are some bits of gray fur embedded in it from the wadding, but that's hardly surprising.

Tasha nods. "That's a good idea. I was wun'erin' why they weren' makin' anythin' vibrate." She peers at the wax, then shrugs and plugs her ears with it. After a bit of testing, she gives the mage a nod.

"You would have needed several candles to plug Lapi ears," Layth notes. "So, poke the crystal again?" he asks when Tasha nods.

With a grin, Meadow reaches into the tub to stick a finger into one of the holes. There's a mellow, flute-like sound produced – which Tasha can hear quite clearly.

The Vartan's ears perk at the sound, despite them being plugged. She gives Layth and Spring Meadow a curious look, then goes "ahhhhh," to see if her ears are really plugged. Seeing they really are, she says, a bit too loudly, "I can 'ear it!"

The mage pulls her finger away. "Wow, it plays in our heads then," she says.

"What?" The red woman yanks the wax out of her ears, and asks again, "What?"

Layth grimaces. He motions downward with his hand, trying to tell Tasha to talk quieter. "Maybe it drove the machine brain crazy because it played all the time. Constant music would drive anything insane," he offers.

"But it plays when touched, not when exposed to light or other sounds," Aisha notes. "Didn't you say it was connected by… light… to the brain?"

"Something like that, yes," Layth says.

"So why can I 'ear it, even if my ears are plugged? An aye, it was connected by somethin' called 'fiber optics,' some sort 'o wire tha' uses light instead o' … wha'ever wires normally use," says Tasha.

"The other worlds don't have magic," Spring Meadow points out. "So wherever this was found, it probably didn't do anything because the magic was gone."

"Shall we lock this one up and get the other? Or would you like to try magic on it first?" Layth asks Meadow.

Glancing at the crystal, Tasha studies it a moment. Then, she asks, "Layth, give it a poke for me, would you?"

"There's one more thing I'd like to try," Meadow says.

Layth pokes the crystal as asked.

Once more, a musical tone is produced in everybody's head.

When the chime comes around again, Tasha focuses her mind on it. Then, she tries to mimic the tone in her own head, rather than humming it out loud.

It isn't clear if Tasha is successful or not, especially with the crystal still giving off the original tone.

Frowning a little, Tasha leans over and puts a finger on the crystal, then tries to match its humming tone in her head again. As an experiment, she then tries humming a different tone in head head than the one the crystal is producing.

The new tone in her head doesn't affect the one produced by the crystal. "What are you trying to do, Tasha?" Spring Meadow asks, as she looks at the wolf's expression of concentration.

"I though' maybe if they're talkin' righ' into our 'eads, then we'd be the ones no' talkin' back. Maybe they're waitin' for us to say somethin', bu' we never do, 'cause we're speakin' out loud. S'like the Perso-com, where you think o' somethin', an' it is." She lifts her finger off the crystal, and matches its hum in her head, and waits to see if the sound dies down or continues with her own mental humming continuing.

"If that's so, I don't think we could figure out the code," Meadow suggests. "This could be a device for controlling other crystals, or a book or… well… a musical instrument." The doe then tries singing something that sounds like gibberish, but she does have a surprisingly good singing voice. The cheese doesn't respond to that either, though, as far as anyone can tell.

"Hmmm," Meadow goes after clearing her throat.

"Hmm," Layth mimics Meadow and finally puts it back into its case. "Go ahead with your next experiment, or was that it?" he asks the doe.

"Oh, I wanted to run water over it," Meadow says.

Tasha leans back, frowning a little more. "Well, tha' didn' work. I was 'opin' it was talkin' into our 'eads, bu' like you say, it could be used for anythin' – speak any language. We 'ave a better chance of figurin' out 'ow to build a steam engine from scrap than we do to get this thing workin'." She steps back and waves everyone to continue.

"Ah, right," Layth says. He takes minute to reposition the case so that it's under the shower head. "All of you step back. If it explodes I will be the shield," the buck warns as he reaches for the faucet.

"Oi, an' tha' reminds me: MOTHER said it was drawin' all its power from these crystals, so at leas' one 'o them 'as enough power in it to keep a room-sized thinkin' machine runnin' for wha' migh' be centuries or more," Tasha adds.

"Explode?!" Aisha asks, and runs to the open doorway to stand next to Calligenia.

Positioning himself between the crystal and the others, Layth turns the water on as slow trickle onto the 'cheese'.

Tasha steps back, mantling her wings forward, just in case.

The music starts up again – and this time it seems to have an actual melody. There's also something else, just barely tickling the minds of those that are closest.

Layth's head tilts, trying to listen closer to that odd sound. He turns up the water a little more.

Tasha, two steps behind Layth, also tilts her head. She gives Layth a 'you hear that?' glance, then perks an ear towards the crystal – despite hearing having nothing to do with how she perceives the music.

With more water, things happen. For Layth, Tasha and Spring Meadow, the world around them seems to melt and turn inside out. They can see the music, and feel light and color, and smell sound.

"What's happening in there?" Aisha asks in a psychedelic burst of fragrant color.

"Wow," Layth burbles at the odd world of light and sound. Fascinated, he watches and inhales … he does however keep a firm grip on the handle of the faucet. He waves for Aisha to come closer.

"Oi, okay, this is somethin'," Tasha says aloud, reaching a hand in front of her face and wincing at her own words. "'Ow's everyone feelin'? I'm 'avin' trouble … Seein' things … Seein' words an' colors an' … It's makin' me a bit sick. Oogh."

The golden doe approaches, and then nearly falls over when her senses get scrambled.

"Glurgh!" Meadow moans from somewhere in the mass of swirling sensation.

Layth can't help but turn up the water just a bit more.

The chaos becomes even more intense, until it's difficult to discern where one's physical body ends and the next person's begins.

And there Layth abruptly shuts the water off. For the next minute, he just closes his eyes.

"I feel like I've drunk one of the Chaos Mages' prank drinks," Meadow moans from the floor.

"Calli? Calli, stay back, get ready to try an' pull us away, this thing's messin' with our senses. Jus' talkin' is makin' my 'ead 'urrrrrr … Ugh." As the blurring effect increases, Tasha wobbles, then sinks to her knees. "It's like when I was in tha' tube, comin' aroun'." She waves a hand blindly through the air, trying to lay her hand on someone else for support.

"I could taste my feet," Aisha mutters. "At least, I hope they were my feet… "

"I know why that happened," Layth says very slowly, trying to steady his mind.

Once the water stops, the sensations fade back to normal. Tasha finds the edge of the tub for support, while the two does are laid out on the floor.

"You were all flopping about like fish out of water," Calligenia reports from the doorway. "Do I need to subdue any of you?"

Rising back to her feet, Tasha groans. "Ugh, oi, it's like tha' time I tried drinkin' Cap'n Eyeshine's no'-so-special reserve," she mutters. Shaking her head out, she rubs her temples, and adds, "I coul' almos' see its music. Almos'."

"Why did that happen?" Aisha asks Layth.

Layth shakes his head, then runs his hand through his mane. "We resonated with it," he says as he sits down on the edge of the tub. "All of us, well, our bodies are mostly water; anyone from the desert knows that. With it submerged in the water, I think it made the water resonate with whatever energy it had. Since we are also water … we did too."

"That is freaky," Meadow says. "I wonder if we can set it on fire? No, never mind… no more experiments with this one. The effect could really mess you up over time, I think."

"No, we're alrigh' Calli," Tasha answers. She turns to listen to Layth, then begins to nod slowly. "I think I see wha' you mean. So wha' would 'appen if it was surrounded by flesh, those extra bits water doesn't 'ave tha' we do?"

"We're fine now, Calli," Aisha says, sitting up again. "I feel like you already subdued me anyway."

After a breath, the buck lifts himself off the tub. Layth makes sure there is no water in the base of the case, then goes about securing the top back on the crystal.

"I don't think we should try pouring blood on it either," Meadow notes after Tasha's comment about flesh.

"Tasha could try licking the next one," Layth offers as he lifts the now encased cheese from the tub and sets it to the side.

"Pro'ly no', I'm jus' gettin' a bi' curious now. This is somethin' we should leave to the Expedition researchers when we 'ave access to their labs an' such. Somewhere safer an' wit' better healin' than a bathroom," the Vartan agrees.

"Maybe it's for two people to use to become more intimate?" Aisha suggests.

With the cheese packed away, that leaves the other two artifacts held in the larger case that Tasha carried – which actually has two smaller cases inside: one for the 'starfish' crystal and one for the 'melted lady' statuette one.

"Shall we get intimate in the presence of one of the crystals, then, Aisha? For the furthering of knowledge?" Layth asks the doe with a completely impassive face.

"I'll get the other one," Tasha says after rubbing her head a moment longer. She walks ove to the stowed case, then carries it over to the side of the tub. "This is the one I escaped wit'. Wha' I really wan' to find is the one – or ones – tha' coul' power a ship."

Aisha pokes Layth in the ribs with a finger. "I am not that scholarly inclined," she replies.

"Shall I ask Spring Meadow, then?" the buck asks after the poke.

"What's in this one?" Meadow asks, tapping the case that has the statuette in it. "I can sense something from it."

"From the way she was looking at you during the massage you gave her, I doubt you would need the crystal," Aisha whispers.

"Sense what?" Layth inquires. To Aisha, he whispers, "If only I could figure out what would charm you so. You would do well with some relaxation."

"This one's the one we named 'melted lady,' 'cause it looks like one. The other one's the 'starfish,'" the Vartan explains as she gazes down at the two smaller containers. "Let's start with the melted lady, since you seem to be gettin' somethin' from it." Carefully, Tasha lifts the seperate container for the 'melted lady,' then puts it aside before closing the case and sealing off the 'starfish.'

"Well, magic," is all Meadow says as far as description.

Aisha whispers back to Layth, "I find the massages very relaxing you know."

Tasha adjusts the artifact on the edge of the tub, turning it this way and that as she peers at it. "It's a lil' disturbin'. Is it s'posed to look like a melted woman, was it a damaged statue, or is it jus' coincidence," she wonders aloud.

"See, that's what every Sifran crystal I've ever heard of looks like," Meadow says, moving her hand close to the object, and then pulling it back slowly. "This is your power source, but only at close range. It has the feel of wild magic."

"They all look like melted people? Maybe the Sifran turned themselves into crystals," Layth offers.

"Well, not people," Meadow says. "Just… melted. I doubt this was meant to be a statue of a person."

"So it's – an' 'elp me out 'ere, I don' know magic much at all – bu' it's drawin' off magic some'ow? Do you think it could be used again, such as to power a Expedition artifact? Withou' gettin' it to try an' kill us, tha' is," Tasha asks as she looks back at the mage doe.

"Uh, power something technological?" Meadow asks. "I don't know. What powers them anyway? You said it was connected to the machine with light, but if it really was a thinking machine, then magic could have affected it somehow."

"Are you saying magic drives people insane, then?" Layth has to ask.

"No, just that it reacts to minds," Meadow explains. "The more alive something is, the better it does on Sinai." She then sings that odd sequence again, but as before the crystal doesn't seem to react in any noticeable manner.

"What are you singing?" Layth asks as he draws closer to get a good look at the statue. He pokes this one too.

"The crew said the ship was bein' powered off somethin' called an' atomic battery, bu' MOTHER said it 'ad been drawin' all its power off the crystals. So it was pro'ly jus' MOTHER tha' drew power, an' MOTHER is a Silen' Ones artifact. So if I'm guessin' right, we'd need another Silen' Ones artifact, or a vessel, to try it. Maybe we can find one on Abaddon, or, oi, where ever Silen' Ones vessels crashed on this planet. 'Course, we'd also 'ave to figure out 'ow to disable the Directives, which means we'd need something like Ministry-like clearance before workin' with the computer," Tasha explains and, perhaps, sounds far more intelligent than she ever has in her life.

"Something Envoy made us learn in Choir," Meadow explains. "It's… uh… a 'binary prime number sequence' I think. Anyway, she said Sifran crystals might respond to it if they were 'interface' types or something."

"Are you sure that your friend was not just brain damaged?" Layth inquires. "Or drunk?"

Aisha stares blankly at Tasha for a moment. "I expect the mage to talk in gibberish, Tasha, but not you."

"Well, that's hard to say," Meadow admits. "She… didn't think like normal people. And her brain was supposedly part crystal itself."

Layth nods at that. "Brain damaged," he concludes.

Tasha scratches at an ear, then 'hmmms.' "Interface types, you mean like the perso-com? Or, oi, MOTHER I s'pose. MOTHER responded to Silen' Sign." She peers at the crystal a moment longer, until Aisha's comment makes her blink. "Oi, whut? I'm jus' talkin' 'bout wha' I know an' … Well, I do soun' righ' scholarly, don' I? Might be I 'ave a future in artifacts an' Expeditions."

"I wish I 'ad Nora 'ere to explain all this," Tasha adds, sounding a little glum.

Layth taps the crystal a few times to see if it 'sings'.

"You actually understand it?" Aisha asks the hybrid.

This crystal just sits there and glows. It doesn't respond to touch or sound, apparently – not even to the tuning forks.

Layth sprinkles water on it next. "Shall you return us to nausea-world?" he asks it.

"Some 'o it. I've 'ad people from the Expedition-era explain it to me, an' Nora did somethin' to me head tha' allowed me to use Silen' Sign an' talk wit' MOTHER. For a time, I was also actin' Nora on the ship, an' 'ad access t the workin' computers, includin' a titan. Ever since then, I've 'ad this fascination wit' the stuff – I wan't to learn more abou' it," Tasha answers Aisha.

The water runs down the sides and drips down into the tub.

Glancing at the artifact, Tasha says, "I wun'er if any o' these remember me, or if it was all in MOTHER's own 'ead?" She reaches over and touches the crystal, frowning at it.

"This one is boring," Layth concludes.

Meadow turns her attention to Tasha now. "You were possessed?" she asks. "Nora isn't a goddess, is she?"

Blinking, Tasha shakes her head. "Oi, no. I was the goddess before I met Nora. Nora's the, um, ol' engineer o' The Fenris, she was un'er Gabriel's Comman'. I spoke wit' 'er memory through the ship's computer system, which thought I was 'er for some reason. Even Gabriel thinks we're a lot alike. It might 'ave been fate." She prods the crystal a little more.

"So… not a goddess then," Meadow concludes. The crystal doesn't respond to Tasha's poking either. "This thing is a tiny little Forbidden Zone, so… uh… maybe the poking should stop?" the doe mentions.

"Try licking it," Layth suggests.

"It's not made of ice, so her tongue won't stick," Spring Meadow notes.

"Good idea. We'll seal it an' work with it later. I still 'ave this tought tha' some'ow, some way, we can use this to power another ship. Bu', tha's then an' this is now." She picks up the melted woman statue, and begins to replace it in its box. "Nora was more like a ghos', if anythin'. She was a Kar- … Jupani woman tha' looked like me, an' she was killed by the thinkin' machine when she stayed awake to secure The Fenris."

"One more to go, the strange star-like one," Layth notes, "For some reason, I suspect this one reacts to light."

"Oh, just a spirit then," Meadow notes. "That shouldn't cause brain damage like a goddess seems to."

"Have you known many goddess possessed people?" Layth has to ask.

"Oh, I met the goddess earlier," Tasha corrects. "I was the Herald of the Goddess Tisiphone, in Amazonia for a while. Isn' it funny 'ow many people look like me, even though I'm no' s'posed to look like anyone at all?" The woman shakes her head. "I feel like I keep meetin' other me's, like Nora, and Tisiphone."

"Err, my friend you thought might be brain damaged was possessed by the goddess Inala for a bit," Meadow notes. "That New Year's Party was a blast, too! But she got brain damaged when she broke the possession."

"Wha' I got was sad memories an' Silent Sign," says the Vartan. She makes a few gestures with her hands – perfect Silent Sign for anyone who can understand it – then pulls out the 'starfish.' "This is the las' one."

"You seem to attract trouble," Layth tells Meadow. The buck then leans over and pokes Tasha, noting, "Listen. You are Tasha. Not Tisiphone, not Nora. Create a new legend, not try to relive old ones… "

"I know some people that would probably like to examine your brain then, Tasha," Meadow says, as she looks to the starfish crystal next. "This one has an actual shape to it! Why do you think it will react to light, Layth?"

Tasha laughs a little at the poke, then leans over to pinch Layth. "Oi, I know! I jus' take the others are warnin's an' suggestions, they're no' me. You know I gave all tha' up when I left Amazonia." She the grins, and rubs up the buck's kneecap. "Still lookin' after me, even now. Wha' a good bun you are."

"We had one react to water, the other to magic. This one reminds me of stars in the sky, so I guess this one reacts to light," Layth reasons out.

"I know tha' Life Mage wan's to examine me," Tasha tells Spring Meadow. "I'm a little interested meself, wha' with all tha's 'appened." She then glances at Layth, and suggests, "'Course, it could react to seafood for all we know."

"Well, if this is the one that killed Nora, perhaps it does. That would make it crabby," Layth deadpans.

"Well, these would be Chaos Mages, and they might not give the brain back afterwards," Meadow mumbles, and looks up at the skylight and then back to the star-shape. "It looks a little darker than the other two crystals. You say they turned the machine mind mad? Crazy mad, or evil mad?"

The Vartan gives the buck a hard look. "You know Nora's death is a sore spot for me, magic bunny. Don' make light o' it," she warns, then rubs his knee up again. "No one should 'ave to die like tha'."

"Try to position the crystal in the daylight," Layth suggests to Meadow.

Aisha pulls aside the shower curtains to let more daylight fall on the crystal. Its colors do seem to get a little brighter.

Returing her gaze to Spring Meadow, Tasha answers, "Obsessed mad. Like I said, it killed Nora, someone who was s'posed to 'ave total control of the ship, jus' to keep the crystals connected to it. When we tried to take them away from it, it powered up the Themis-Skoll's engines and brought the volcano down on itself to try an' stop us. It said somethin' abou' Directive Zero, an' tha' it'd only give up the crystals an' its information to somethin' called the Science Ministry, bu' when I asked if it'd even give it up to them it … paused, like it was strugglin', then it threatened me and began its attack." She glances at the crystal again, frowning all the more. "MOTHER was also a crystal, a big thinkin' machine-crystal, bu' when it turned violen', the light inside it wen' from white to dark."

"Hmm," Layth muses and kneels down to get a better look at the starfish. Like the others, he gives it an experimental poke.

The crystal actually dimples from the poke for a moment, and the room begins to go dark. It might be a cloud passing, but it keeps getting deeper and deeper as if all of the light was being sucked out of the bathroom.

"This might not be good," Layth observes at the slowly darkening room. He pokes the starfish again.

"Kind o' like tha', actually," Tasha says with a hint of worry. "It migh' be abou' to do somethin', or chargin' itself up some'ow. Get ready to throw a towel over it."

Nothing happens at the second poke, unless the growing darkness was a reaction. Still at the door, Calli tries to light the gaslight there. What's worse is that the darkness seems almost solid, as if were exerting pressure against the skin now.

Layth tries to get a hold of the crystal now and hurriedly get it back into the case. "All of you get out of here," he says firmly, "There is no point in all of you risking yourselves."

"Ouch!" calls out Spring Meadow, as she bumps into something while looking for a towel. Something appears to hover over the crystal now, just below the showerhead. Something that squirms and undulates disturbingly, and glows with an odd light, even as Layth reaches for it. "Ia Shub Naggruthllgha… " the apparition starts to gurgle, just before the crystal is placed back into the case. When Layth snaps it closed, the darkness and phantasm disappear.

Aisha peeks out from behind one of Tasha's wings, where she'd hid, and Spring Meadow tries to get a towel off of her head in a near panic.

"Wha' the 'ell was tha'," Tasha remarks, pointing at the air above the crystal where the image once hovered. "Did you 'ear tha'? Wha' was tha'? Was tha' a Sifran?" She boggles at it, and without thinking, reaches over and pulls Aisha close to her for comfort. "If I 'ad to guess, I think we foun' our evil crystal."

"Okay, that one is dangerous," Layth concludes, sounding completely calm about the whole thing. "Did anyone understand whatever it was that thing said?"

"Help, it's got me!" Meadow wails as she is apparently overpowered by the bath towel.

Layth reaches over and calmly pulls the towel off Meadow's head. "No, the towel has you," he says.

"I didn' un'erstan' it, bu' tha' darkness is familiar. I think I saw somethin' like it within MOTHER's crystal. Maybe it was actually feedin' off the light o' MOTHER some'ow, or … I dunno." She glances at Spring Meadow, and stares at her blankly.

"A demon!" Meadow babbles. "That crystal had a demon in it!"

"Is there any safe place at the college we could take it and summon that thing for questioning?" Layth asks.

"Maybe," Tasha agrees, "or somethin' else. Some things tha's seem like demons are machines, an' some things tha' seem like gods are too. The Fenris showed me tha' technology existed tha' can be like magic. Wha'ever it was, it's no' safe to bring it 'ere."

"Are you crazy!?" Meadow yelps at Layth. "That… that thing wasn't like a normal demon. You heard it and saw it! It was… alien!"

"And that makes it not worth learning about?" Layth asks calmly.

"We're all aliens, o' a sort," Tasha insists. "'Course, tha' was more alien than anythin' I've seen, an' I've seen goddesses and machines tha' walk like men."

"You… you want me take that thing to Mage Emeritus Faust?" Meadow asks in terror. "The former Dean of Spirit? What would we tell him?"

"We should have just stabbed it," Calligenia suggests.

"We would tell him he is about to have the experience of his career?" Layth suggests. "Is he trustworthy?"

Tasha glances at the container, then the gathered people, one by one. "I'm thinkin' I'd rather wait until we reached the Expedition area, bu' I'm also worried wha' may 'appen if we carry these things through the Gateway tower. By all accounts, it's a gian' crystal tower, an' I don' like the though' o' wha' could 'appen if one o' these things takes control o' it with us inside."

"Sealed in the case should be safe, though. Remember, it had a physical connection to MOTHER," Layth points out.

"True," Tasha agrees. "Then I would suggest we wait until we have made contact with the Expedition. If we're goin' to trus' anyone, it's mos' likely goin' to be them."

"I don't know a lot about Faust," Meadow says, still shaken up and breathing hard. "He likes studying crystals though, and keeps stuff secret from the Temple I'm sure."

"And… none of this stuff should happen on Abaddon," the mage points out. "You said they had them there before. They did stuff here because magic works on Sinai."

"Mm," Layth says, thinking. "I may wish to meet this mage. If he can be trusted to keep things absolutely secret, he may be able to tell us what that was. How hard is it to speak with this mage?"

"He's not hard to find, and he's friends with Anisa, I think," Meadow says. After another moment of thought, she says, "But we absolutely cannot bring Aaron with us if we see him."

"Is he a rival for Anisa's affections?" Layth asks next.

"They never said they didn' do anythin', bu' tha's pro'ly the case. 'Avin' some knowledge o' the artifacts may 'elp give us leverage when workin' with the Expedition, too. As before, the risk is discovery an' the danger associated with it. Wha' we need to ask ourselves is: is this worth the risk," the Vartan says. She looks down at the case again, staring at it in thought.

"I propose we just meet with the mage and see what he is like. We can try to judge if he's trustworthy before we show him anything at all. We don't have to mention the Karnors at all. We can just plead that we found it while hunting for treasure or some such," Layth offers.

"Tha's sounds fair. I also suggest we only reveal the one artifact, tha' way if we mus', we can break from it an' have the others safely away," adds Tasha.

"Agreed. Limit exposure. The others showed no signs of demons, anyway. Now, if I were a devious sort, I would surprise some chaos mages with the cheese one … but it is good that I am not that sort," Layth muses.

Tasha just eyes Layth, ears twitching. "Um-hum."

"You must admit it would be mildly amusing," the buck notes.

"Migh' be, bu' I 'ave the memory o' the crew still in mind, too. These are the artifacts an' charges of many brave people, who died to learn abou' them an' this world. A lil' respect, if you would, aye Layth?" She smiles at the buck, and pats him, to show there's no hard feelings.

"They might also understand what it showed us," Layth points out. "But it is more likely they would not. So, matter at hand is seeing if we can understand what the last one showed us, if even remotely possible."

Tasha nods, then gestures at the box. "Was it jus' me, or did the world feel more solid when tha' thing was appearin'? Like we were goin' from air to water," she asks Layth.

"Somewhat, yes. A pressure grew as the darkness did," Layth agrees. "I also must wonder if anyone in the vicinity felt that."

"Good question, we ought an' go see. If it spread, we may 'ave the Guard beatin' down our door soon," Tasha agrees, sounding nervous. She walks over and picks up the 'big cheese' box and begins walking for the door. "I 'ave to wun'er wha' would 'ave become o' the world 'ere if it 'ad kept goin', an' wha' language it was speakin'. Does anyone remember the words?"

Meadow seems calmed down enough, and just blinks at Layth. "Rival? No, he's a freaky white Korv," she says. "And… actually, we have to go see him now. All of us," she adds, sounding despondent.

"Ia Shub Naggruthllgha. Or was it Aye Shrub … well, something like that," Layth says with a small shrug. He picks up the box containing the Starfish and the melted woman, then heads after Tasha. "And why do all of us have to?"

"Umm, to be tested for possession," Meadow says, apologetically. "If we did release a demon, it could be inside one of us now."

"We didn't release a demon," Layth insists.

"All o' us? I was 'opin' to jus' send Layth, 'e 'as a good 'ead on his shoulders – usually," the Vartan asks. She heads down the stairs and pauses at the entrance to the basement, waving at it. "Let's return these firs'." To Spring Meadow, tasha offers, "I don' feel possessed, bu' the other times was jus' things talkin' at me, an' one o' them was actually meself."

"I suppose of all of us, the most likely possessed would be me. I touched it, then moved it while it babbled," Layth admits, "And I feel fine."

"Yah yah, the blood of the innocent will blot out the stars!" Calli calls out, grinning like an idiot the whole time.

"We did feel tha' pressure though. I'm worried now wha'ever it is may 'ave its focus on us now; be aware of our presence. If this Korv proves trus'worthy, we migh' as well see 'im – bu' no more experiements! We need to leave Rephidim sooner rather than later," Tasha insists as she heads down stairs.

"Uh, what is wrong with Calligenia?" Layth asks. eE sets down his box and goes to the Chocolate doe.

Calli sticks out her tongue, and then says, "I was only teasing. You keep saying I should develop a sense of humor."

As Tasha walks down the stairs, her laughter at Calligenia's prank can be heard to echo throughout the house.

"You pick an unusual time to display one, though," the buck points out. "Which means I shall now have to thoroughly examine you." He takes her hand and starts pulling her towards one of the bedrooms. "Spring Meadow shall observe… "

"I don't think he'll find any demon other than Calli's normal one," Aisha comments to Meadow, who just looks… confused. "Now, about that other stuff in the vault… "