Olivia's room
Inside this room are several pieces of well-worn furniture, inherited from past occupants: a bed, a long, squat dresser with a slice of mirror hung above it, and a small desk and chair. The rest of the room is decorated in what can best be described as "controlled chaos." Canvases cover most of the wall space, on which have been glued odd assortments of buttons, twine, bits of colored cloth, autumn leaves, pebbles of varying sizes, etc. Some of this "art" represents recognizable figures but most are unlike anything ever seen before. Overflowing bags stuffed with cloth scraps sit near the doorway, while more cloth, bobbins of thread, yarn, and ribbons cover the surface of the desk. Located next the bed is something that might be a nightstand (judging from the trinkets resting on it), but it too is built from a mish-mash of smaller elements, twisting around and around like a corkscrew and then widening and flattening at the top.

Olivia finds her way home that evening. Nothing horrible happens long the way, either. The evening was nice, the breeze cool and clear, and even the insects were quiet for a change. Her bed was certainly a warm greeting and she wasted no time in going to sleep, either. Dawn sure seemed to arrive quickly, too, as it doesn't seem that any time at all passes from when she lays down, to when her eyes open again.

Olivia yawns and stretches, enjoying the comforting warmth of her bed for a few seconds… until she quickly remembers her situation. Hopping out from between the blankets, she goes to her dresser to choose clothes for the day. A very long, tiring, and dangerous day, by all accounts. Almost without thinking, she pulls out another pair of overalls (dark red) and a shirt to go underneath it (bright orange). She begins putting them on, quickly and nervously.

As Olivia gets dressed, she figures it's probably mid-morning. Except one thing seems to stand out. It's quiet. There's no sounds of the weavers at work, nothing. Silent as a tomb.

Olivia pauses in the middle of plaiting her hair, listening for anything, any noise at all. Not a sound. Her alarm growing, she quickly ties a ribbon around the end of her plait and shoves her cloth rose-hat on her head. After strapping Gunther's knife device back onto her arm (never know when it might come in handy), she unlocks her door and opens it a few inches, peering about for any signs of life.

A hot blast of air washes over her face. Then the putrid stench of rot and decay assaults her sinuses. From what little Olivia can see out the crack, the land outside is burnt and barren, the trees just twisted parodies of what they once were.

Olivia gags and coughs violently at the smell. She grabs a largish piece of cloth from one of the bags sitting inside the door and uses it to cover her nose and mouth before pushing the door open wider. She looks around, horror filling her eyes. Wh-what is this? she thinks. Am I still in bed, dreaming? Is t-this real?

The town around her … well, if it even is the same town, it's hard to tell. The buildings she can see are burnt out husks. Bones litter the landscape. It doesn't look like anything has lived here for a long, long, time. In the distance, just past the burnt out remains, a glow fills the sky.

Olivia looks to the glow in the distance, then steps outside cautiously, putting a few paces in between herself and the apprentices' wing. Wait… if everything around here is in ruins, how did the building I was in survive? she thinks, looking back at where she came from.

The building Olivia just left … is now a ruin as well. The only thing remaining standing behind her is the frame of the door. Her room, her things, all gone.

Olivia blinks at the now-empty space a few times, then pinches herself – hard. If this is a dream, it is one creepy, messed up dream! Then she turns and looks back at the distant glow. Hmm. Guess there's only one place to go, now. She heads toward it, looking about her at every step, not wanting anything else to catch her by surprise.

Nothing else shows itself for a bit as Olivia walks. She seems to be the only thing living here at all. As she approaches the glow, she starts to hear movement, scraping, dragging, uneven steps. Then she sees the source; a rotting cadaver of a Kadie, limping along, staring balefully in the distance with one good eye.

Olivia starts and looks about for something to hide behind, so the zombie Kadie won't see her as it limps by!

There's nothing to hide behind, and the zombie is coming right for Olivia. "Ahhhh," it rasps, its jaw barely remaining attached to its skull. "The master is expecting you. Come."

Olivia winces as she watches the corpse of the Kadie talk to her, but she nods mutely and indicates for the Kadie to lead the way. I should have known this would be his doing, she thinks grimly. Whatever this is…

The zombie rolls its head, his neck bending in completely unnatural ways. It then simply grabs Olivia's arm with a slimy, viselike, grip and pulls her slowly towards the light in the distance.

Olivia tries very hard not to retch at the contact of living flesh against rotting flesh. However, she allows herself to be dragged along, fighting down her fear – and her bile.

And bits of the zombies flesh falls off as they walk. And at long last, the source of the light in the distance becomes apparent. An amber glow emanates from a crudely built throne of skulls and bones. And atop the throne sits a robed Skreek. He no longer wears the hood up to obscure his appearance. He's gaunt, almost skeletal in his own right. His fur is patchy at best, and his hair, well, is tattered, spotty, and hangs down limply to frame his muzzle. His red eyes lock on Olivia and he smiles a yellowed, toothy, smile at her. "Ah, good, good. You have come to see your future. Good," he hisses gleefully.

Olivia stares in revulsion at the necromancer's face, revealed at last. She takes an involuntary step backward and is checked by the zombie still attached to her arm. "Wh-what do you mean, my future?" she asks. "What is this p-place? Is it real, or in my dreams?"

The necromancer makes a 'come hither' motion with one of his hands. So, the zombie drags Olivia closer. "Well, this place is both the past and the future, really," he cackles gleefully, looking very pleased with himself. He waves his hand again and a circlet of fire appears between himself and Olivia.

Olivia gives a tiny cry of surprise as the fire appears between them. She turns her head and stuffs the cloth into her pocket, not wanting it to be sparked by the blaze and set her face on fire.

The necromancer laughs and leans forward, his eyes fixed on Olivia. Then with a wave of his hand, an image appears in the circlet. A small group of soldiers clad in ornate armor and decorative robes stands in a circle, surrounded by what seems like countless zombies. In the center of the soldiers is a brilliantly glowing white light that shimmers and ripples. As Olivia's eyes adjust, she can just make out a young Khatta robed in a stark white flowing robe with flickering symbols flowing along the edges. "Recognize her?" the necromancer asks tauntingly.

Olivia's eyes widen and she cranes her head forward a little to get a better view of the scene, in spite of herself. "That's Natasha!" she exclaims. "This was when you fought each other, in Schadel!"

And so it is. She looks a lot different than she does now … but the presence is the same. Her movements in the scene are controlled, confident, in spite of the horde around them. Then suddenly her voice booms out in a commanding tone, in a language unfamiliar to Olivia. The bright light explodes from her form, rippling outward in a ring of crackling energy. The air shimmers and buckles as it flows outward. It washes over the zombies as if they were nothing and they collapse as if they were puppets which just had their strings cut. "Such power she can wield when she chooses to," the necromancer hisses, grinning. "Such power that will be mine." The scene shifts. The group looks relieved and content, thinking they've won … and then another wave rushes toward them in a frenzy. "I nearly had her once. In her arrogance, she thought I would so easily be defeated."

Olivia watches the scene play out within the circle of fire, horrified and entranced all at once. "But you caught her, on that cliff side," she whispers. "She told me you… tortured her… before performing the ritual."

"Oh, you have no idea," the necromancer says, grinning wickedly. The image in the circlet pauses. "Would you like to see?"

Involuntarily, Olivia raises one hand up before her eyes, blocking her view of the images. "No!' she gasps. Then she takes a calming breath and adds, "I mean… just don't."

The necromancer tsks softly. "You have no appreciation for the finer things in life, or death," he remarks and with a have of his hand, dismisses the circlet from existence. The Skreek then stands and walks down from his 'throne' and stops a mere foot away from Olivia.

Olivia tenses as the necromancer approaches, trying to prepare herself for anything. Through gritted teeth she asks, "So, what do you want from me now? You've taken so much trouble to bring me to this… place. What is your reason?"

The Skreek leans in until he's nose to nose with Olivia. "Perhaps I like your company, eh? You dance so well when I pull your strings," he taunts. "Though, yes, I have other reasons. One of which is to show you that you are never outside my grasp."

Olivia is sure the necromancer can see the little shiver that passes down her back at that last statement, but she ignores the fact and concentrates on not looking away from him. "And the other reasons would be… ?" She lets the question hang.

"Oh, I just want to know if my little spy has any news for me?" the Skreek asks, grinning rather maliciously. "I do so look forward to the conclusion of our business."

This monster doesn't waste any time, does he? Olivia thinks bitterly to herself. Aloud, she says, "Yes, I have news." Then she pauses and lets a look of anger mixed with despair pass across her face. "Amelia has… she has told me where Zahnrad is being treated for his injuries," she continues. "I've never been there before, but she's going to lead me to it soon. I'm supposed to help her take care of him." After another silence, she says, "And that means she will be in the same place soon, as well. So you can take them both at once." Then she closes her eyes and looks as she can't believe those words have just come out of her mouth.

The Skreeks eyebrows go up. "Really, now? Very interesting. And very fortunate for me, now isn't it? Unless, of course, you're lying to me and trying to lead me into a trap." he comments idly and lifts up his hand, palm up. A small, translucent figure appears in it, Djivan. He slowly closes his claws around it, watching Olivia with bloodshot, red, eyes. "You wouldn't do that, would you?"

Olivia opens her eyes again and stares back at the skeletal Skreek. "I don't want to help you at all," she snaps, choking back a sob, "but I don't want anything to happen to the people I care about! I do what I must, to protect them. What other choice do I have?"

The Skreek's claws close around the image of Djivan, which lets out a muffled squeal of pain. "None at all. I just like to make sure you remember that," he replies. The creature then takes a step back and seems to be sizing up Olivia.

Olivia clenches her fists but stands her ground beneath the necromancer's scrutiny. "How could I forget?" she asks, her jaw tight.

"Oh, you might have a sudden bought of heroics. It's an obnoxious disease, really. Not many are immune," the necromancer comments offhandedly. "Now, since you're going to help me, I wonder how I should reward you… "

The insides of Olivia's ears turn pale at the mere thought of any reward given by a necromancer. "Please… just don't hurt anyone else in Stonebarrow or the other gypsies," she says quietly. "Take the three you came here for, but leave the rest alone. That's all I would ask."

The necromancer snorts. "I will eventually need a harem, of course, when I cement my rule. You may hear from me again. Now that, that is a great honor," the necromancer asserts, leering. "In any event, I suppose I will have to visit you again, since you have little specifics on locations."

Again, the Skeek girl tries to take another step away from him but is held in her place by the zombie. She curses under her breath, then steadies herself enough to reply, "If I knew the exact location I would tell it to you, but as I said, I've never been there before. When I am aware of it, so will you be."

"Yes, I will. I shall have to visit you in person next time. I do hear you have a remarkable device within your guild that I would like to see," the Skreek comments offhandedly. He then turns and ascends back to his throne.

Olivia can't help it – her curiosity gets the better of her. She asks, "Er… what device would that be?"

The necromancer settles down onto his throne. "Don't play dense. You know exactly which machine I'm talking about," he chides.

Olivia thinks about this for a few seconds before she finally asks, eyebrows raised, "You- you don't mean our evil Loom #4, do you?"

"There, now was that so hard to think of?" the necromancer comments and rolls his eyes slightly. "I'm curious to learn what evils may infest it."

Despite her situation, Olivia looks shocked and almost amused by this. "Necromancers interested in looms… I learn something new every day," she murmurs. Then in a louder voice, she says, "Then I will show it to you. Now may I go… or is there anything further?"

"Oh, I could arrange for you to stay indefinitely, if you like," the Skreek replies, grinning in the sort of way that would chill the blood of just about anything. He snaps his fingers and several more zombies shamble into view from around his throne. "You could entertain my minions… "

Olivia refuses to look at the other zombies appearing around him – she only stares at the necromancer. As firmly as she can, she says, "And if I do that, I won't be available to lead you to where Zahn is hidden. So I think I would much rather leave."

"Suit yourself," the Skreek replies, sounding bored. He waves his hand lightly and Olivia starts getting a sinking feeling … literally. She's slowly sinking into the ground! And to make matters worse, hands covered with rotted flesh erupt around her and start helping pulling her down! The one zombie that had been holding her arm simply lets go.

Olivia gasps and screams out her terror as she is pulled into the earth! Somehow, she knows that this is probably the only way to leave this nightmare but she can't help but to give a voice to her fears.

The necromancer seems to relish the screaming. "Ah, such lovely shrieking, how I have missed the sound, scent, and tastes of fear," he mutters in almost ecstasy. The ground continues to devour Olivia, faster and faster. The skeletal claws pull relentlessly until her muzzle just barely sticks out of the ground and then that too is suddenly covered. Olivia can't breathe.

Olivia now holds her breath and starts fighting the earth around her, clawing for some sort of opening, some way to break through…

The ground around her holds her evilly. Her breath grows shorter and shorter. Her lungs feel as if they're about to burst from the pressure and pain … and then suddenly something gives way! And Olivia lands with a heavy thud on the floor of her bedroom. She's completely entangled in her blanket. It's even wrapped around her head.

Olivia takes in large lungfulls of air as she unwraps the blanket from around her head and body. Once that's done, she immediately staggers to the door, unbolts it and opens it just a crack. She peers outside, trying to get an idea of how much time has passed since she went into that dream state.

And it's … mid-morning. About the same time it was when she thought she woke up earlier. And this time, the air smells sweet and fresh. Outside, the bustle of a usual day is going on.

Olivia takes in a breath of the fresh air before closing and re-bolting the door. Then she leans against it heavily, feeling warm tears suddenly course down her face. She sinks to the floor and cries quietly, muffling her sobs with the palms of her hands. Got to let it out now… might not have another time. I know he's just trying to break me from the inside out, but- Gods, I hope this works!