Envoy is a long way from Xenea now, though a Savanite accompanied her at the bequest of the Priest-Queen – a young but accomplished shaman by the name of Crystal-Hand, so named because of a curious condition of his right arm, which looks as if it has been partway turned into living stone … though his lack of mobility of the arm suggests that this is no improvement by any means. That the Savanite accompanied her did not mean that there was any real opportunity to converse, and Envoy as of yet knows very little about her companion, even now that they have come back to the Tower of Barabbas.

The Tower of Barabbas was not quite as Envoy left it. Somewhat like the Gateway Tower in the middle of the desert, a small "settlement" has sprung up around it of tents and temporary structures, housing researchers and excavators. It would seem that the Emir is intent on learning all that can be learned around the tower as well as within it.

A sand trireme bore Envoy to the Tower, and she was conveyed with typically Himaatian pleasantries to the interior. The garden is in much better shape now, though it does not appear that the caretakers have disturbed the animals in stasis, for there are none running about.

So it is that Envoy is led into the base of the Earth Tower, accompanied by the robed Savanite, Crystal-Hand. In the garden, it looks like there is a small gathering – an Eeee that matches the description of the emissary Envoy was told about, Kursis, and a Naga that must be Vanatos. A sandy-colored feline in mage's robes Envoy recognizes as Seira – an Earth Mage assisting the Emir, though her skills do not exceed Envoy's own.

Envoy bows before the emissaries from Babel and the Nagai Empire, and introduces her companion. "This is Crystal-Hand, acting representative of Xenea, but mainly here as a researcher."

Crystal-Hand bows, a few grains of sand falling out of the folds of his bleached and plain robes.

The Eeee turns away from the Naga. He is a finely-dressed gentleman in zolken robes, in a carefully tailored outfit that sports touches of Babelite style, yet has the cut of local Himaatian fare. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Kursis, Emissary of the High Princess Saraizadze, may the Kindly Ones smile upon her."

The Naga ducks his head in greeting – a black snake with blue bands, and a blue tongue that flits out briefly. "Vanatos," he hisses, "servant of the Emperor. A pleasure."

A tan feline with eyes heavily lined in black, and her hair tied with beads, bows as well. "Journeyman Seira, serving the Emir. I have served in the role of Gatekeeper during your absence, honored Mage Envoy of Lothrhyn."

"I am sure that Seira has seen to your immediate needs," the Aeolun says, after returning Seira's bow, "but I would like to know what the respected representatives each wish to learn during their visit, so that I can hopefully provide the necessary information?"

Vanatos flicks his tongue, tasting the air, then hisses, "We should like to know … what capacity does this tower have – or its contents – to serve as a new weapon of war? How might the discoveries here tip the balance of power of Sinai?"

Kursis nods in agreement. "Yes. We are aware that the Emir has declared his neutrality, but he has been very … friendly with Rephidim. We would not wish to see Rephidim abusing this friendship. Not to suggest any partiality on the part of the Emir, of course, but if there were anything of great military worth here, Rephidim might be so desperate as to violate the Emir's trust at some future time, in order to gain it."

Envoy blinks at the requests. "I'm afraid there isn't much here that would be of practical military use. There are a few dangerous creatures that Barabbas created, but given the magical upkeep of such beings they are hardly cost effective. Even the defenses of the Tower are designed to deter intruders, not armies."

"Dangerous creatures?" Vanatos practically pounces on the words. "What sort of dangerous creatures? How dangerous? And who will make sure that these creatures are not used for ill purposes?"

"Guard dogs," Envoy says, simply. "Unless you are a Zerda, in which case you may find the hybrid Gooshurms frightening."

Vanatos shuffles back to his normal stance. "Guard dogs … hmph. All right. I suppose that's nothing earth-shattering. But what of this business about creatures in suspended animation? Is there some sort of device here that can turn living tissue into stone? What if it were to be used for ill purposes?"

"Any advanced Earth Mage can place a creature or person into a transformed state of suspended animation," the Aeolun points out. "This is not a trivial undertaking, however, and there is no suggestion in Barabbas' notes that he devised any other special method or artifact to achieve this. His goal was to expand on existing knowledge, not reinvent what was already in place."

Vanatos nods, and is quiet a moment, then says, "Well, then … Mage Seira, I do believe we were to be given a tour?"

Kursis just nods, letting Vanatos do the hissing for now.

Seira nods. "Of course. I can show you about myself, unless Mage Envoy would prefer the honor. Or else I could summon one of the chief researchers, who might be able to give you more meaningful discourse about the archaeological significance of this find."

"If possible, I would prefer a Scholar give the tour," Envoy says. "I think that Seira and I need to experiment with one of the spells Barabbas used to help feed his creations, since we clearly need to support a larger number of people now and the Wazir will be most grateful for any reduction in the costs of resupplying us."

Kursis nods. "I would prefer that as well. I suspect we have learned as much as we can from Mage Seira – and a considerable amount of information that was, honored Mage. The High Princess will be most grateful for your assistance."

Seira nods. "I'll see if Horus is available. If you'll excuse me?" She bows to those gathered, then heads for the amber door.

Crystal-Hand quietly turns to follow Seira with his gaze until she passes him, then returns to looking at the nearby foliage with an air of detached interest.

Envoy describes some of Barabbas' innovations for the garden, such as his magic "fences" for keeping animals separated. "It may have many more practical applications, such as keeping vermin out of food supplies."

"Really," says Kursis, nodding. "Is this something that could be mass-produced?"

Seira returns, accompanied by a white-swathed feline that looks to be in his forties, but still has a strong back, suggesting one who gets into his work. Seira bows. "May I present Chief Researcher Horus, servant of the Khattan Emir. He can show you about the upper level of the tower, and answer all your questions regarding what we know of it so far."

"That's one of the things we hope to discover," Envoy says. "We don't even know if it will work on normal animals yet, or non-native ones which might have higher magic resistance."

Kursis nods to Envoy, then turns to smile at the newcomer. "Ah! So good to see you. Although I so much value Seira's insights, it may be refreshing to one who does not speak in the puzzling ways of Caroban."

Envoy looks to Seira, and wonders what's so puzzling about they way mages explain things?

Seira just politely smiles, while Horus leads the two emissaries off to the staircase. She looks to Crystal-Hand, as if encouraging him to go along, but he shows no sign of moving. Instead, he turns to look at Envoy.

The Aeolun smiles to the shaman, and asks, "Don't you want the tour as well, Crystal-Hand, or would you rather stick with us puzzling mages?"

Crystal-Hand just makes the faintest hint of a smile in return, and shakes his head. He gestures toward an herbal section of the garden, with a 'may I?' expression on his face.

Envoy nods to the cheetah, and gestures to Seira, "He might have some insight into how to get the garden back into shape."

Seira smiles. "Oh! You want to look around? Certainly. The plants are all labeled."

The cheetah nods … then heads off toward a far part of the garden, inspecting the plants as he passes.

Seira lets out a breath, then looks to Envoy. "Whew! It's good to see you back, Mage Envoy. I've pretty much been acting as a door-opener and trap-disarmer here, and doing what I can to help keep the plants in order … but it seems that everyone expects me to know everything about this place, by virtue of being a mage."

"Xenea has a lot of natural bio-resources," Envoy says, chatting to Seira. "They could become a valuable trading partner for the Emirate once they develop more infrastructure. I've never heard of scholars expecting a mage to know things, though! Have they made any interesting discoveries yet?"

Seira hmms, nodding. "Plus, Xenea is a close neighbor, except that Kilmanjar is in the way. Well … interesting discoveries… "

"Shipwrecks out in the sand?" Envoy asks, while watching Crystal-Hand explore.

Seira says, "Sand-ships. It would seem that some of those who came out here to try to explore the tower brought some provisions with them. We've found a number of items that might tell us more about the culture of the Nohbakim, and their development. It seems that their culture was very closely tied to that of the Zerda in this area, many centuries ago."

Envoy nods, "According to the legends I've heard, they started out as Zerdas, but were cursed. It would take some time for their cultures to diverge, as the Nohbakim became more adapted to living in the deep desert. What I would like to know is whether any of the animals that Barabbas experimented on were imports to this world, and if he was able to manipulate them."

Seira nods. "We're not entirely sure how he gathered his creatures, but we've discovered some features that suggest the 'Zakis' of the Wandering Roams. He has done some extensive research on these creatures, and they seem to feature heavily in his overall studies."

"The Zakis are herd creatures that follow large beings known as Goliaths, to which they bear some slight resemblance – and it has been a matter of debate whether Zakis might in fact be immature versions of the Goliaths," Seira adds.

"That would make sense, to me," Envoy says, looking thoughtful. "I'm sure you've worked on making new strains of plants, unless you specialized in one of the more inorganic subspheres?"

Seira nods. "I've done a lot of that sort of work with plants. That's more my area of expertise, and the primary reason I was brought here. The animals are still in stasis, but the plants require some care."

Seira says, "In any case, Barabbas seems to think that the Goliaths and Zakis were made, not born or evolved, and that they serve as components for some larger … machine. Or that they somehow serve a purpose combined. It seems that a great deal of his research was devoted to trying to rearrange the 'pieces' that he thought he could find in these Zakis, and his attempts to determine whether other creatures on Sinai might provide additional pieces to the puzzle."

Envoy nods, smiling. It's good to have a specialist around. "And from my own experiments, I don't think magic as we know it has sufficient … resolution … to manipulate genes directly. If all of the native animals were engineered, though, then their genes should be clustered into functional groupings instead of scattered around throughout the chromosome. I think Barabbas found out a means of identifying and manipulating the clusters."

Seira says, "Perhaps. I'm not convinced that he found anything conclusive in his experiments toward verifying his initial theories, but it would seem that he came up with some awfully interesting creatures in the meantime. Of course … if he were alive, we could ask him ourselves." She looks to Envoy. "I heard that there might be some more mages arriving from Caroban?"

"Once it's closer, yes," Envoy says, and sits down near the pond. "More Life Mages are supposed to examine Barabbas, and decide if it is safe to attempt to revive him. Otherwise, we still have at least one question that we can ask him in his current state, before any hope of revival is gone."

Envoy looks to the Khatta and confides, "Personally, I think Barabbas was onto something, but that he was thinking too small. This entire solar system is likely to be a mechanism of some sort, or part of an even larger one. I just don't know if it ever served its function before the First Ones abandoned it."

Seira asks, "Do you think, then, that the First Ones might have created the Zakis?"

"I would have to examine one," the Exile says. "I haven't seen any First Ones artifacts that use mechanical parts, but there has been plenty of evidence that the Expedition used both mechanical technology and biotechnology. The Zakis and Goliaths might be magically-induced fusions of the two, if they don't predate the Expedition. They might even be the product of a post-First Ones civilization. It would certainly be worth investigating."

Seira nods. "There have been reports of Goliaths being seen with what appear to be mechanical parts fused into their bodies. The Zakis seem to be smaller versions of the same creature, only minus any such mechanical 'enhancements'. It is believed that Goliaths must be extremely old … and there may be fewer than twenty of them left in existence, as they have died over time. If Zakis are immature versions of Goliaths, nobody has ever witnessed one growing up."

Envoy blinks, and asks, "Have you ever seen a … hermit crab? It is a sea creature that uses the abandoned shells or carapaces of larger animals for protection. Mature Zakis may simply be using the remains of large machines for the same purpose… unless the machine parts have been seen to still function in some way?"

Seira nods. "Yes, I have seen such a creature as you describe. Though I do not believe I have heard it called a 'hermit crab'. A 'vagabond' is what I have heard it called. And as for these machine parts … no one has ever really studied the Goliaths to learn what purpose their machine components might have. They seem to primarily serve as armor."

Envoy frowns. "Armor to protect against what then? It suggests another, unknown animal that must have preyed upon them in the past."

Seira says, "The only known enemies of Goliaths are other Goliaths. They wander the Roams, until they encounter another Goliath. The two creatures then do battle for an extended period of time, while the Zakis fight with the Zakis of the other 'clan'. The battle typically ends with both of the Goliaths collapsing of exhaustion. It is presumed that, every once in a while, one Goliath or another must die as a result … but these battles are not often witnessed. The Wandering Roams are sparsely populated."

"But nobody has reported seeing Goliaths on, say, Abaddon, have they?" Envoy asks. "There were Plaguebringers on Abaddon. These Goliaths could be related, in some way. The Zakis might act as drones or workers for the Goliath queen, forming a sort of mobile hive."

Seira shakes her head. "There were no reports of anything resembling Goliaths or Zakis on Abaddon, nor did anyone recognize descriptions of such creatures. Hmm. Fascinating thought. Perhaps … perhaps the Goliath produces the Zakis … but so long as the Goliath lives, none of the Zakis will develop into a new queen?"

"That could explain the low population. There may not be enough resources in the Roams to support more than twenty or so groups," Envoy says, looking thoughtful. "A study of the Goliath lifecycle is clearly needed. After we get the Tower running properly again, that is. Do you think the garden can be maintained without reviving any of the animals, or is there some sort of symbiosis involved?"

Seira says, "It appears that the garden is self-sufficient. It did not require any sort of suspended animation, and was found to be flourishing at the time the first expedition arrived. However, it was badly overgrown, and the pool was nearly choked with weeds. It seems that the garden is indeed capable of sustaining itself here, at this oasis the tower is built upon, but that it was not able to stand up to the overgrazing brought about by releasing the creatures without aid of magic to accelerate the growth of foodstuffs."

"Assuming the Emir's Zoological Gardens will not offer much more space," Envoy asks, "how often do you think the vegetation will need the magical growth boost? It will probably be important in deciding how the different environments get laid out, and how much extra land will be needed for growing food crops."

Seira nods. "Here, magic use would be required on nearly a daily basis, though it should be within the capability of a single Earth Mage Adept to handle this task. However, I do not think that any of Caroban of that status are quite ready to devote the remainder of their lives to maintaining this place in the middle of the desert. It should be possible to sustain these creatures by more mundane means, and we have determined that it should be well within the resources that the Wazir would be willing to expend to maintain them. The larger factor would be the matter of providing a proper place to keep all of them."

"Well, that is another reason we are here to study the Tower," Envoy says. "Much of this could be applied to the design and construction of the Emir's zoo, I believe. It is just a matter of finding out what can be applied usefully. Keeping the animals in separate enclosures solves a lot of the problems, I imagine, and using regular farmland to raise the vegetation to feed them shouldn't be too hard."

Seira nods and smiles. "I do hope that the Emir will be pleased." She frowns a bit. "This matter about moving the Tower is something else entirely, however. The roots of this tree go down a great distance, and reach out further than the circumference of the dust storm. The idea of moving this Tower is … mind-boggling, I must confess."

Envoy shrugs. "No more boggling than the idea of tethering a sky-island to the ground, probably. We won't need to worry about that for some time though. First we need to test each of the elements needed to maintain Barabbas' creatures here, then see how they can be applied to a larger area. I suggest the Gooshurm summoning spell first, followed by the fences. Once we are sure we can feed and contain the animals, we can see about waking some of them up and seeing what their care will really cost."

Seira nods. "Certainly! I've been advised to assist you in any of your experiments, however I can."

"All right then!" Envoy grins, and looks around. "To test the Gooshurm lure, we'll need to open the storm-wall probably. And warn the camp. The wigglers may come right up onto the hard sand, or burrow up under the tents if we aren't careful."