Weaving a tapestry is a difficult task. One that is doubly difficult when the thread is tangled and you don't what the final image should look like. Nonetheless, Olivia has tackled that task, weaving a coherent tapestry from the tangled notes and voice recordings of the old vampiric Eeee alchemist, Orifice Pike.

Finding the stash of journals in the hidden room was a real boon, as it filled in many missing pieces. This didn't make it any easier to sort through though, since the man had scribbled his notes into whatever journal seemed handiest at the moment, so that related entries could appear in multiple books. As for the voluminous chunks of alchemical gibberish, Olivia simply set that aside for the mages to go over.

The story she ended up with tells of a young researcher, fresh out of University with a head full of bright ideas – which wouldn't have gotten anywhere without the help of a patron, whom Orifice refers to only by the initial "A" – a habit that shows up often, whenever he discusses correspondence or dealings with anyone who isn't local, referring to them by initials alone. It was "A" who set Orifice up in Dontgointhe Castle, assuring him it would be the ideal place to pursue his research on the animation of inert matter.

In the early days, Orifice was quite gregarious and would spend plenty of time in town (which was further away than the present day, as this occurred before the Upheaval and its flooding). He was young, somewhat exotic and educated, and used that to charm local girls. He had a particular fondness for Skeeks, claiming that 'Weaver Clan girls have the softest breasts and the sweetest blood' of all the townsfolk. He seemed less inclined to associate with Lapi, and the Kadies made him nervous.

Back then, his research was generally restricted to what had been written down in ancient tomes, some of which required him to travel great distances to read. This also caused him no amount of frustration, as he never seemed to find examples of anyone actually succeeding in the creation of life from non-living matter. As the years passed, and his novelty wore off with the local girls, he ended up spending more time alone in the castle (he didn't consider Igor to be good company) and was forced to subsist on animal blood, which didn't compare well to Weaver blood. It also made him restless, and more nocturnal. He would prowl the castle in the evenings and sometimes fly out over the fields 'on the hunt' even though he could never take down any prey.

It was during this period that he met two other nocturnal locals; Abner Wingnut and Buffy Chalk. While the Lapi doe proved resistant to seduction, he still enjoyed her company (and occasionally wrote down lurid fantasies involving her). Abner provided a different sort of stimulation, since the Kadie was full of grand ideas and possessed of clever hands, and did not terrify him the way certain other Kadies did.

It was during one of his castle prowls that he discovered the steam pipes, which Abner showed him how to use, and even got the arcade game in the wine cellar working.

It was on one fateful, stormy night that the restless, castle-bound Eeee came across the odd little closet that turned out to be an elevator, and discovered the deep sub-basement and the tunnels beneath it, along with the subterranean canal system. Of particular import was the ritual chamber, which in his own words, "Filled me with inspiration." He dove into local history and legend to try and uncover the origins of the basement, but could never get back farther than the Bloodfur invasion. "The invaders gave no quarter. After fighting across the breadth of Sylvania, they slew all who dared to resist them in this Promised Land, save for the Skeeks, who were held as little more than slaves by the humans, Korvs and Rhians that dominated. Even they knew the Skeeks were special."

Fearing that Igor was a spy for "A," Orifice kept the basement a secret and conducted his experiments there. Finally he had success, and was able to create imps. He only confided his success to Abner Wingnut, who was able to create devices that could be powered by the tiny imps Orifice was making. Thus was born the Iconograph camera, where a chained imp would paint a picture very quickly before dissolving, the miniature orchestra and a dictation-taking device, dubbed the Personal Demonic Assistant. It didn't work very well, though. Once again restless, he began exploring the canal system, discovering the underground apartment grotto and the lair of the trolls. It was around this time that he tested the digging device that launched one of the castle's towers into the air (and eventually into a tree). He was fascinated by the trolls, which he called 'troglodytes' and wanted to know what kept them alive – if they even were alive, and not some sort of golem.

He set up traps, and was able to get blood samples. The temptation to taste the blood himself was strong, but he resisted as the fluid was simply too precious. It was the addition of the blood to his animation rituals which produced a better class of imps – more robust and 'smarter' but harder to control. The creatures would use themselves up quickly, however, depending on the tasks they were given, which meant a more ready supply of the troll blood was needed in order to refine the process. He began calling it the Philosopher's Stone during this period, and was also growing more paranoid of Igor and having odd nightmares and hallucinations. This prompted him to seal the basement 'well' that led to the lower tunnels, and install the spike trap on it.

He began studying the trolls in greater detail now, and was especially interested in the larger, seemingly more aggressive breed, which he speculated was artificially augmented and mutated from the regular stock. "Their great claws shine like ice, sheathed in a material I cannot fathom," he wrote, after his encounter with one in the tunnels beneath the basement well. He suspected there were separate factions of trolls, one that lived in the great cavern along the canal system and another deeper clan that was led by the red-eyed giants.

Capturing one of the large trolls was needed, in his mind. Not just for research, but as a source of the Philosopher's Stone. He tried many methods, but eventually concocted a trap involving a specially created imp, which allowed Orifice to finally subdue and capture one the red-eyed creatures, which he secured in the other basement room for study. He got as far as determining that the Philosopher's Stone derived from the blood of a red-eyed troll was far more potent than what came from the smaller, more docile ones, before he was forced to flee to the hidden room behind the ritual chamber when the captive troll finally escaped.

Isolated in his hidden chamber, Orifice began to break down into madness. He thought the trolls were digging through the walls, singing to him, and that Igor was with them. Out of desperation, he drank the fresh troll blood that he had with him, before it could "turn to dust" like the previous samples from the captive had. There's only one page after that, where he rants about how "It bleeds! It bleeds a river!" and "Blood from a stone!" before the entries abruptly stop with a final ominous phrase: "The Master calls me."

Not all of the mysteries are wrapped up though. There's still the matter of the final voice cylinder being treated with preservative after Orifice was, presumably, dead.

Olivia pushes the journals aside when she's finished piecing together Orifice's story. She also drops her head into her hands, which hurts rather a lot. "All this madness from trolls' blood," she murmurs. "And if I'm not careful, our current Dr. Pike will suffer it, too. If she finds out how to add to the Philosopher's Stone she already has… " She trails off and shudders at the thought.

The dark musings are interrupted by pounding on the door, followed by Amelia shouting, "Olivia! Open up! I need your body!"

The Skeek starts violently and grabs all the journals before calling out, "Give me just a minute!" Then she goes to her nightstand and raps on a hidden panel so that it opens. She shoves the notebooks inside the stand and closes the panel before going to open the door. "If this is about my underwear again, Amelia, I'm gonna deck you! Or at least try," she grumbles.

Amy and Zahn are at the foot of the wagon, and the Kadie girl is holding an apparently empty wine bottle. "We need you to drink a ghost so we can talk to her. Are you busy right now?" Amy asks.

"You do realize you need to lead into such requests, right?" Zahn asks Amelia. "I mean … it's a bit jarring to show up and demand that someone gets possessed… "

"It's Olivia!" Amy retorts. "She dates Djivan! Subtlety would just confuse her," she claims.

"I don't know. I hear Djivan can be devious," Zahn notes.

Olivia stares between the two of them. "You want me to do what?" she splutters. "Um, do you even know anything about this ghost?"

"It's a Skeek, and it thinks Zahn is Abner, and it wants his … what did she want again?" Amy says, turning back to Zahn.

"My head," Zahnrad answers.

"Right, that," Amy says. "I caught her and put her in this bottle."

Olivia beckons the two Kadies inside and closes the door firmly. "Now let me get this straight," she says slowly. "You want the ghost of an angry Skeek to possess me so I can allow it to chop off Zahn's head? Wow, you're even crazier than I am!"

"She's not angry," Amelia notes. "Just… uh… flirty… "

"Extremely flirty," Zahnrad admits.

"Well… maybe a little angry from being in the bottle now… " the Kadie girl mutters.

"But she still wants Zahn's head!" Olivia exclaims, incredulous.

"Anyway, I think she has something to do with the trolls, maybe," Amy notes, and looks to Zahn. "Did you want to tell her about the pictures and the secret underground lab and the wobbly mattress?"

"Yes, but I don't think she wants it immediately," Zahnrad says, "Otherwise she could have tried for that when she grabbed Parsley… "

Olivia wobbles over to her bed and sits on one edge of it, her head back in her hands. "Yes, I think telling me the whole story would be advisable," she replies, rubbing her temples now.

"Right, so, uh, here. Pictures explain better," Zahnrad says as he digs in his pack. Out comes a small box. He opens it and pulls out several glass plates that he offers to Olivia.

Olivia looks at Zahn curiously but takes the plates from him. Then she holds them up to the light so she can see what's on them.

One of the plates shows several white, pink-eyed Skeeks in lab coats, all standing together for the portrait. Also, there's a smiling Kadie on one side and… a big, red-eyed mega-troll.

Olivia starts again and peers more closely at the picture, to see if the troll is free and relaxed in the picture, or chained up and snarling.

It's pretty much just… standing there.

"You see, the Skeek was Abner's uh, cuddle toy, sort of," Zahnrad explains, "Or at least she pretended to be to lure him into help with certain things."

Amy points to the troll's head, where the spiky quills point out, to show some barely visible wires leading off. "See those? Wires!"

Olivia quirks an eyebrow at the detail Amelia's indicating. "Yes, I see. D'you think the others in this picture were experimenting with it?"

"Making it, would be my guess," Zahn says.

There are pictures of the underground apartment grotto, with the pool full of children, and adults wearing colorful, utilitarian clothes. All of those Skeeks are also white. Most of the rest are of a single white Skeek woman, always naked… and several more of her AND Abner together – and in one of those the woman's eyes seem to be glowing like a troll or vampire's do.

"So this was Abner's, um, girlfriend?" Olivia asks, pointing to one of the pictures of the naked female Skeek. "Strange how their coloring was white – I didn't think albino Skeeks existed in decent numbers. Ever."

"That's the one in the bottle, yep!" Zahnrad says cheerfully.

"And what d'you want to talk to her about? Before she tries to rip off your head, that is?" Olivia asks next.

"We did some tests," Amy says proudly, pointing out a picture showing a rather limber position involving the Kadie and Skeek. "That's not possible. So, I think it was a ghost possessing someone else at the time, and the camera imp still saw the ghost part. So all of these pictures could be of ghosts!"

"Well, why she wants my head, of course! Don't worry, there won't be any snogging," Zahn claims.

"Oh, uh, one more odd thing that probably isn't important. She had shiny teeth. Like troll claw metal shiny. It was odd," Zahnrad adds.

Olivia sits with the glass plates in her lap, her gaze on the garish purple curtains. Finally, she says, "If I agree to do this, I want someone who actually knows what they're doing to be present. So that's either Natasha or Isolde. Either one of them could help us greatly if I can't stop this ghost from attacking Zahn."

"One of them?" Zahn asks, aghast, "But, but, they're both creepy! And bossy."

"I can protect Zahn," Amy points out, crossing her arms. "And pull the ghost out of you, probably. Plus… uh… I'm not sure I could convince one of them to help. They'd want to know where the ghost came from and everything!"

"And they know about possessions and magic," Olivia points out firmly. "We don't. Or at least, we don't know enough. Those are my terms, or find some other Skeek to do this."

"You know we can't trust any other Skeek," Amelia pouts. "Maybe Natasha knows how to interrogate a ghost without letting it out. I guess we could ask and find out that much… "

"There is no way Isolde would allow it," Zahnrad complains. "That leaves the gypsies since they don't like rules … or something."

"Natasha's still a witch, she'll ask questions," Amy grumps. Then she brightens up. "I bet she'll be proud that I caught it though!"

Olivia stands up and hands the plates back to Zahn. "Then I guess we'd better start walking to the gypsy camp, yes?"

"You really need to be more trusting," Zahnrad complains as he puts the plates away, "I'm sure we could deal with the ghost. We don't need any old bossy people! But fine. We'll ask her."

"She's older," Amy warns, "so probably shouldn't be shown all of those pictures. Old people are sensitive about seeing stuff like that!"

Olivia smiles a little and pats Zahn on the shoulder. "I trust you to do all the things you're excellent at, like inventing and building things," she says more gently. "Since when did you become a mage?"

"Magic is just science that hasn't been cataloged," Zahnrad claims, "I'm sure I could figure it out!"

Amy opens the door and looks out. "There are a bunch of apprentices trying to hide behind the corner of a cottage out here," she notes.

Olivia tries very hard not to laugh but the corners of her mouth keep twitching. "Mmm-hmm," she says vaguely.

"Why are they hiding?" Zahn asks as he now peers out the door too.

Olivia also comes to look, thinking she might be able to identify the apprentices.

"That was fast," one of the Skeeks complains to the others. "And the wagon didn't even rock! I thought Olivia was wild and stuff! I want my apple back; this is not what you promised!"

The apprentices squeak and scatter when they see Olivia herself looking out now. She knows most of them – she even taught a few!

Zahnrad covers his mouth and laughs.

Olivia elbows Zahn and Amelia and calls out to them, "If you want wild behavior, just follow these two around!"

"What?" Amy asks, looking confused. "You Weavers are all weirdos!"

"Well, wouldn't you be if you had to nit frilly underthings?" Zahnrad points out. "Come on, let's go before Gunther shows up and a real disaster happens."

"Uh-huh, you just keep thinking that," Olivia says, leading the two out the door so she can lock the wagon.

"So, what or vho did vou break now?" Natasha asks the odd group after having all of them come inside. "Dis has gotten to be a very busy few days. De vhole Liliana mess was tiring. I hope dis is simpler?""

Amy holds up the bottle to Natasha. "We caught a ghost. We want to talk to it."

"Unfortunately, not as far as I can tell," Olivia says to the Khatta. "They want to have this ghost possess me so they can do it."

"Vou caught a ghost? Vithout any formal training?" Natasha asks with her brow arched. Olivia's explanation earns quite a different response; the Khatta brings her hand up to her forehead and rubs it as if she just had a sudden and massive headache. "Vou vant to do vhat?" she asks slowly.

"I trained as a witch for years," Amy points out. "And you showed me how to grab spirits with your test. So… I just did that. And put it in this bottle. And… it's a Skeek ghost, so… you know. Possessing a Skeek would be safer, right?"

Olivia holds up her hands and smiles wryly. "Talk to them – it wasn't my idea! I'm just crazy enough to consider it."

"It vould be simpler due to similarities in body and spiritual fields," Natasha comments. She's still rubbing her forehead, too. "Safer is questionable. Possessions always carry some risk, from permanence, to subtle body changes over time aftervard. Olivia coul' end up taking on some o' da ghost Skeeks physical traits later, since dere vould be close compatibility."

"Oh great, then I might become albino!" Olivia groans. "Do you know how sensitive they are to light? Plus the poor eyesight and all?"

"Vell, the physical changes may only manifest demselves vhen you are in surroundings dat vere familiar to the original spirit. Like in 'er old home," Natasha offers.

"It did have a nicer figure though," Amy points out.

"So, vou vant to talk to 'er. Dat can be done other vays, but they also carry risk in accuracy of da information. Summoning and containing a spirit for interrogation is a matter of de mage's vill … and dat same vill can affect vhat the spirit says. It is a precise an difficult art to conjure and question vithout influencing."

"We don't need to conjure though, we have it right here!" Amy notes waggling the bottle. "Ves, vou do, but to contain it outside de bottle for questioning still requires de force of vill, Amelia. Influencing her answers is still likely," Natasha notes.

Huh, no more dates with Djivan there! the Skeek thinks. Not like I really want to go back, anyway…

"This is silly," Zahnrad comments.

"Hey, it wants your head, Zahn," Amelia reminds the Kadie boy. "Don't you want to know why?"

"Well, yes," Zahnrad admits.

"Okay then, if we can't interrogate a spirit outside of a body without affecting its answers, can we still stop it from harming Zahn?" the Skeek asks next.

"So… you're saying that if we use a spell, it'll be like hypnosis and the spirit will answer what it thinks we want to hear?" Amelia asks.

"Easily," Natasha says, "Dat is a matter of having a vard or dispell ready for use." Natasha then nods to Amelia, adding, "Dat is de net of it."

"And what about drawing the spirit out of me when we're done questioning it?" Olivia says.

"Relatively simple. Expanding vard to force the spirit out," Natasha says.

"Yeah, that," Amy says. "Simple! When can we start?"

Olivia thinks on this. "Then we may want to ask the ghost if there's any way we can send her to her rest afterward. We can't just have it floating around, or trapped in a bottle getting angrier and angrier."

"Well its home is down in the caverns," Zahn says, "We could let it go there. Maybe as a promise so that it'll actually tell us stuff? I know if I knew I was going to be killed I wouldn't tell anyone anything."

"There are lots of ghosts down there, according to the picture," Amy notes.

Olivia looks at the others. "Then I suppose you'll have to walk me there afterward, as a gesture of good faith. She might not let go of me otherwise."

"I don't know about that," Amy says. "I mean, isn't that where having her possess your body can cause changes?"

"Uhm, that would mean showing her the secret room!" Zahnrad says and waves his arms at Natasha.

"And dis is a problem?" Natasha asks curtly.

"No … just saying," Zahn squeaks.

"Then what do you propose? It might not just take us at our word." Olivia says.

"Taking it back vould probably be the simplest option. Releasing Olivia vould lessen chances of any permanent effects," Natasha notes.

"I was hoping we could just stick it back in the bottle, but… " Amelia says, then sighs. "Would it be best to perform the whole thing down there then?"

"Mm, probably. Is dis place isolated and quiet?" Natasha asks.

"Oh yes! It was Abner's passion pit!" Zahnrad says cheerfully.

"Vou are a strang' man," Natasha tells Zahn.

"He's got nothing on Abner though," Amelia notes, and drops to a whisper to say, "His bed wiggles… "

Olivia glances sidelong at Natasha now. "So would you be willing to oversee this madness?" she asks, smiling slightly.

"Kadies," Natasha sighs and shakes her head.

"I had better, because I suspect dat if I do not, they vill try something more dangerous," Natasha admits.

Olivia nods then turns her attention to the two Kadies. "For this, both of you owe me big-time!"

"Hey, you'll get to see secret areas of the dam, so… uh… are we even if we don't blindfold you?" Amy asks.

"I can handle being blindfolded; I've done that before," Olivia notes. "Let's just say I may need that favor from you later."

"Okay," Amy agrees, and looks to Natasha. "What do you want for doing this, Madame Natasha?" she asks.

"Vou here three times a veek so that you can be properly trained," Natasha says, "Vou obviously attract tings dat vill require it."

"Three times? Well, okay, since I need to practice with Viktor too," Amy says. "Parsley can keep an eye on Zahn for that long… "

"Vell, three timees a veek until vou exhibit sanity," Natasha remarks as she gathers a few things.

"Eek. I feel like I'm being fed to the Lapis," Zahnrad whimpers.

"I'm perfectly sane for a Kadie," Amelia claims, crossing her arms.

"Is there anything I need to do before I get possessed?" Olivia asks. "Since I'm the, er, host body and all… "

"Did you eat anything today?" Amy asks Olivia.

"Er… I had breakfast? That was a while ago now, though," the Skeek admits.

"We'd better pack some sandwiches then," Amelia notes. "Just in case the ghost makes you vomit all over the place."

"Delightful," Olivia mutters, making a face.

"Possessions do not usually cause nausea," Natasha says, "Vell, unless dey are specific necromantic kinds, such as some zombification techniques popular during de Necromancer Vars."

This seems to cheer Olivia up a little.

"Or if the ghost just wants to gross people out," Amelia adds. "But yeah, this one just wants to have sex with Zahn and take his head, so as long as neither of those happen we'll be fine!"

"Da vorst forms of necromantic possession vere de black hearts. Ve still do not know much about them, but they vere almost impossible to stop," Natasha adds as an afterthought.

"And on that happy note… are we ready to see this place?" Olivia asks.

"Well, the sex part isn't so bad," Zahn mutters.

"Bleh, the regular zombies were bad enough when they showed up," Amy says, sticking her tongue out. Then she blinks and swats Zahn on the shoulder. "Oh really? Well, maybe we should talk Djivan into being the host then… "

"Sure! Then you would know what it is like to be around Parsley all the time!" Zahnrad quips with a grin. "Let's go."

"I'm betting it won't be feeling so frisky in Olivia's body," the Kadie girl notes. "She'd never want to sleep with you, after all… "

"You've got that right," Olivia mutters.

"Good. I don't want to bed a Skeek like her anyway," Zahnrad claims.

It takes a bit of diversion to sneak Natasha into the dam accessway, given that the last time the gypsy was here she blew up part of it. But eventually they get inside the support tunnel, and through the secret rotating pylon, down the ladder and through the tunnel to Abner's old workshop.

"Oh, you shouldn't tell anyone about this place," Amelia finally tells Olivia and Natasha. "It's a secret!"

"No blowing this place up, either!" Zahnrad adds.

Natasha just sighs and mutters something about Kadies.

Olivia pulls off her blindfold and squints around the room. "I'd ask how you found this place… but I'm sure you wouldn't tell me," she remarks, grinning. "Kadie territory rules and all that!"

"Darn right!" Zahnrad insists and puffs up his chest. "It belongs to me now!"

"So, should we do it here or in the bedroom?" Amelia asks. "That's where we caught the ghost, but it showed up out here the first time, right Zahn?"

Olivia rolls her eyes and again, has to fight to keep herself from laughing. "Mmm-hmm!"

"It showed up here first, right. But most of its pictures are in the bedroom. So … let's try there," Zahnrad suggests.

"Plus she can lie down for this and not risk falling over," Zahn adds.

The bedroom is about the size of a regular Kadie cabin, and the bed is enormous in comparison. There's something odd about the surface of it, though. There isn't much else in the way of furniture, aside from an old wardrobe, which makes it far tidier than the main workshop itself.

Olivia eyes the bed curiously and walks over to pat the top of it.

The mattress bobs and ripples like a pond from the Skeek's touch, but the material is dry… some sort of membrane over liquid.

Olivia pokes the surface of the bed a few more times, fascinated. "Is there… water in this mattress?" she asks, somewhat taken aback.

"I don't think it's pudding," Amy suggests, and then casually pushes Olivia onto the bed from behind. "Try it! We'll probably have to do the ritual on it."

Olivia yeeps! and falls onto the bed with a sloshing of liquid. The small Skeek bobs up and down on the huge bed like a cork in a bathtub. "Not funny, Amelia!" she squeaks, scrambling around to get her bearings.

Natasha's brow arches slightly as she peers around the unusual domicile. "I do not recognize the manner of construction," she finally says, "Vho made dis place and vhy? It is very advanced."

"We were kinda hoping the ghost might know," Amy says.

At last, the bed settles and Olivia settles with it. She's still glaring at Amelia, however. "So how do we start this ritual?"

"Chalk and stuff!" Amy says, then notes, "And maybe drawing some stuff on your fur too."

"Well, since vou already have da spirit, no conjuring is necessary. Just need to set up a binding circle and some vork on vou to lessen your resistance. Vou need to not be able to resist it for dis to vork. Once dat is done … vou just drink 'it," Natasha explains. "

Olivia hehs. "This gives new meaning to the phrase, 'imbibing spirits!'"

"Hmmm," Amelia goes, looking thoughtful. "This suggests one heck of a practical joke to play on someone like Emmett… "

Whack! Wow, Natasha hits Amelia a lot like Isolde does. "Focus, apprentice," she says as she hands over a pouch of chalks to Amelia. "Draw a circle around de bed, then I vill tell vou vhat symbols to place."

"Always with the smacking," Amy complains, rubbing her ear before crouching down to draw the first circle. At least that is fairly clean. Ritual preparation was something she learned from Isolde, who hit a lot harder…

"Passable. De circle is not as precise as I vould vant, but no matter. Now follow my placement instructions," Natasha says as she walks around the circle and indicates what to draw. Amelia has to redo several as the sweeps were off, or altered the meaning … or maybe just because Natasha is cruel.

Amy does as she's told without grumbling, although she occasionally shoots Olivia a 'this is all your fault' glance as she works.

Whack! goes Natasha again. "Focus!" she says.

For her part, Olivia merely folds her arms and glares back at Amelia, as if to say, This is what you get for pushing me onto this weird piece of furniture!

While the Kadie-demon-witch girl works, the ominous deep thumping starts up again, causing the bed to ripple and the floor to vibrate.

"Ack, that again!" Zahn complains.

"What is dat?" Natasha asks as she looks up from the ritual.

"It means the trolls are running around," Amelia says. "At least, that's what happened last time. It could be nothing this time around – we don't even know where it comes from."

"Great – we do not need trolls barging in here at a time like this!" Olivia exclaims.

"As long as de do not come up here, no matter," Natasha notes as she enters the circle and sits down on the bed before Olivia. "Now I must … inhibit your natural resistances," she tells Olivia.

Olivia looks as if she's steeling herself for this part. "Okay… does that mean drawing things on me, too, like Amelia said?"

"Only slightly," Natasha says, "I am not trying to destroy it completely. That vould be bad."

As abruptly as it started, the thumping stops after only a few minutes.

Olivia nods emphatically. "Yes, very bad. All right, do what you must."

"We glued the hatch back down, right?" Amy whispers to Zahnrad.

"Yes," Zahn whispers back.

Natasha now takes some time to draw some delicate symbols on Olivia's head, down her throat, and on the backs of her hands. Once she finishes with those, she says, "And now I must do a bit more outside the circle. Amelia, hand 'er the bottle." Amy crosses the circle to hold out the bottle to Olivia. "There's nothing in it but the spirit," she explains.

Olivia takes the bottle gingerly from the Kadie girl and nods, looking nervous.

"Cheer up!" Amy says. "It can't be worse than fish oil! Maybe it'll even taste like strawberries!"

"I have taken steps to hopefully prevent any permanent physical changes," Natasha promises as she sits down on the floor outside the circle, "But you may have some for a few days if the spirit is particularly strong villed. Amelia, outside de circle."

Olivia does try to smile a little. "We're about to find out, anyway."

Amy scampers outside the circle, trying not to disturb the bed in the process.

"Drink only when I tell you," Natasha says. The Khatta then draws in several deep breaths and closes her eyes. The chanting that follows is familiar is style, if not in words, to all that Olivia has seen her do now. So is the boredom … as the chanting goes on for a good fifteen minutes before Olivia feels anything at all. But once she does, well, it feels like her entire body has a case of the tingles. Like invisible little worms are all trying to get inside her … latent spirits, no doubt. "Now … drink," the Skeek hears Natasha say.

Olivia takes a deep breath, let's it out slowly, then pulls the stopper from the bottle and 'drinks' the spirit. She concentrates on how it tastes, so she can tell Amelia about it later.

There's no substance, but Olivia can still feel something flowing over her tongue and down her throat. It tastes like blood. She has the urge to gag, but her body is already feeling distant. She's sinking, down through the membrane of the water mattress and into the deep, dark well beneath it. All she sees is the receding square of light up above, all she feels is the cool water pulling her down, and all she hears is… singing.

The singing of the trolls.