In the waiting room of the office of Dean Faust of the Sphere of Spirit, the chairs are tall and narrow, in fitting with the design of the architecture, but not necessarily comfortable to all possible species who might deign to sit in them. Dean Faust probably never notices, since he's a Korv, and doesn't tend to use chairs in the conventional sense regardless. Right now, he's behind a pair of bone-white closed doors, in his office. The waiting room is overly wide, with just a few chairs to sit in, and they're widely spaced about the room. In the center of the room, bathed in a sunbeam that pours through a high-placed window, is a white-furred bat-like Eeee secretary, who quietly scribes away at a stack of forms, occasionally pausing to adjust her wide-rimmed glasses, or to brush away a pale lock of hair from her eyes.

A white-and-black-furred Lapi enters the waiting room, heading for the secretary's desk.

Disdaining use of the chairs, a pale Rokuga sits coiled near the door of the office, arms crossed. Though he remains perfectly still, there's a sense of tenseness and impatience around him.

Qing stirs, his head tilting back enough to where he can see out from beneath his black, bowl-shaped hat.

The bat secretary nibbles thoughtfully on the tip of the white feather quill pen, looks up and about the room, and settles upon gazing at the incoming rabbit. "Name?"

After a long silence, the bat lets out an annoyed sigh at the Lapi, as he's clearly distracted by the ethereal-looking surroundings for the moment. Before she can ask again, however, the double doors leading to the Dean's office crack open. A white beak pokes out between them long enough to caw, "Next!" And then the door closes again.

The bat secretary looks to Qing. "You'd better slither on in. He's a bit impatient today," she says, then dips her quill pen in the ink well again, and resumes writing.

Casting an odd glance at Aaron, the witch-doctor starts to say something, but stops. He nods at the secretary, and gathers his coils up beneath him, winding his way into the office.

Aaron blinks at the sight of the pale Rokuga, and finally turns and smiles to the secretary. "Ah… Excuse me. Is this where I file a complaint?"

The bat secretary smiles, and repeats her question. "Name?"

"Aaron Lightfoot," the Lapi replies. "Of Lightfoot's Apothecary."

"Ah yes," replies the bat. "Your first complaint will suffice nicely. You've been called here to explain your complaint, actually."

The double doors crack open again. "How many left out there, Morticia?" a beak caws.

"One Aaron Lightfoot here to see you after the Spirit Mage from Nagai," the bat replies, sounding tired and bored.

"After?" Aaron asks. "But the one who caused the commotion is in there right now."

The Korv grumbles from behind the door. "Send them both in. I want to get done with this. I've got a gam – I've got a tight schedule to keep!"

"How convenient," muses the bat. "Very well … right that way." She points at the conspicuous doors. "Please don't hit the Dean with the door on the way in."

Aaron steps towards the door, then pauses as the secretary's last comment sinks in. He shrugs it off and continues on into the Dean's office.

As the door swings open, thank goodness, the Dean isn't standing in the way. The albino Korv has settled himself onto the high-topped back of the chair behind his desk, using it as a perch. Somehow he manages to keep his balance on it without toppling the chair. Or perhaps he's simply had the chair legs nailed to the floor. "Welcome, welcome! I am Dean Faust. Now … what can I do for you?"

The Lapi eyes the pale Nagai spirit mage, then says, "Well, this Mage here… " He points to Qing. "… summoned up some sort of spirit in my shop then ran off while it made a mess of the place."

"I am the witch-doctor Zhu Ye Qing, of the Higher Institute of Sorcery and the Supernatural, Nagai," hisses the Rokuga. "I am here to report a rogue spirit manifestation of significant power."

Qing's head rotates just enough to gaze at the Lapi over the tops of his smoked glasses. One eye-ridge slowly cocks itself upward.

Aaron hahs, "That's the same hokum you claimed before blasting my shop!"

The pale snake's expression doesn't change. "And what credentials or qualifications do you have to judge spirit magic, shopkeeper?"

"Hokum?" caws the Korv. "Mage Zhu Ye Qing … might I see your Guild Ring?"

Aaron says, "I deal with Spirit Mages from the College on a fairly regular basis … or at least when they need supplies. This character came in to order some supplies, supposedly, then started spooking out my other customers and muttering some sort of spell. Then everything went crazy and he ran out the back door. I have a mind to charge him for the handful of thistlebark I had to use to dispel the spirit he summoned up!"

Qing reaches under his mantle, working at one of his hands. "Very well." He slithers forward, and places an ornately worked ring on the desk, set with a milky stone. A tiny inscription circles the inside of the band.

The Rokuga tilts his head at Aaron, and almost smirks. "The spirit you dispelled … with a handful of thistlebark."

Aaron hmphs, "There were two other Mages and my clerk there to witness it all."

"And these mages are … ?" queries the Korv.

Aaron's black ear droops as he thinks. "Ah … one Francisco Asinsan and an Aelfin named … umm … Scarlet, I think."

"One of them, the fox Nohbakim, was the one harboring the malignant entity," hisses Qing, folding his arms. "This… simpleton ignored my warnings. I was forced to retreat when the spirit turned out to be too powerful for me to dispel without the aid of ritual magic – perhaps even colleagues, which is another reason I'm here."

Aaron hmphs. "It all stopped when I threw the thistlebark, and the Mage you say was harboring an evil spirit was perfectly polite about the whole thing."

Dean Faust caws, "Scarlet is a student who shows much promise in the Sphere of Water. Francisco … ah … I believe 'Asinsan' is not his last name, but some quaint phrase from his homeworld … well, he's a special young fellow. He's from the Sphere of Illusion. Perhaps this was some little prank?"

Qing's nose wrinkles slightly at Aaron, but he replies to the Dean instead. "I'm quite positive it was a spirit. Powerful enough to where I'm surprised it hasn't been spotted before. It registers strongly enough to be self-aware, probably capable of hiding should it feel it is threatened. I strongly urge that it be investigated."

Aaron eyes Qing suspiciously. No telling who among the Spirit Mages might be in the Sixth Kadam, after all.

The Dean says, "Well … we have quite a situation here. Aaron Lightfoot here is a well-respected citizen of Rephidim, and owner of the Apothecary. He has done much to help young journeymen from the Collegia Esoterica find employment. You, although you share the esteemed Sphere of Spirit, and are a Guild-member … are still here from a long way away. I'm afraid I don't know you very well."

Qing pushes his glasses up on the bridge of his nose to conceal a moment of displeasure. "Perhaps you've read some of my published journals from Nagai. At any rate, familiarity is not the issue here. Respected… " The Rokuga's tone contains the tiniest hint of distaste. "Respected as this shopkeeper may be, he has no training or sensitivity in magic and in spirits. He honestly thinks he can dispel a non-corporeal manifestation by hurling a fistful of tree bark at it."

Aaron crosses his arms, "Well, why did everything stop when I threw it then? And I've met a spirit before, I'll have you know!"

"The spirit probably no longer felt threatened by my presence," replies the Rokuga. He doesn't bother continuing with whether or not he believes Aaron met a spirit.

"If you couldn't defeat it yourself," the Lapi interjects, "then why would it have felt threatened by you at all?"

"I should note," the crow caws, "that a spirit of that sort of manifestation would rarely be stopped by … ah … flinging thistlebark at it. Though I should also note that thistlebark is most potent against spirits of … " He turns to regard Qing. "… Nagai origin."

Qing points at Aaron, this time looking visibly annoyed. "Because I knew it was there, when obviously no-one else did. That's all it needs." He dusts his mantle down, nodding at the Dean. "Traditionally, yes. But those are creatures that manifest in at least semi-corporeal form, like Chigai or Bokuru."

"Well, then why wasn't there a feeling of impending doom," Aaron asks, "like when I ran into … umm … when I happened to encounter a malevolent spirit … by chance of course … in the Old Cem – City?"

"What are you blathering about?" hisses Qing, distinctly annoyed by now.

Aaron tries to look stern, and says, "Ah … nothing that can be discussed in the presence of … erm … foreigners."

Qing shakes his head, rubbing at his temples with his upper arms while gesturing at Aaron with the middle set. "Dean, respected as he may be, he obviously has no idea what he's talking about."

Aaron turns on the Rokuga, and says, "Why, I'll have you know that I have the magical talisman the High Priest used to call the spirit during the sacrifice … umm. Forget I said that." The rabbit's ears droop deliberately now, to hide his blush.

The crow looks curiously at Aaron. "No, I will not forget. Explain yourself."

Qing nods in kind. "Indeed."

Aaron shuffles his feet a bit. "Ah, well, it was quite some time ago… "

"Perhaps the shopkeeper would be willing to bring us the artifact in question for examination, then," hisses the reptilian witch-doctor.

"And everyone assures me that the Sixth Kadam is just a joke," the Lapi says, glancing at the walls.

The Korv frowns severely. "If you are going to play such games with me, as respected as you are, shopkeeper, I shall throw out these charges immediately! I do not like teasing … especially with such flippant references to the Sixth Kadam!"

Aaron slumps, then asks, "So … it's not a joke then?" He quickly jerks his gaze back to one of the shadows on the wall, then chews on his lower lip. "Come to think of it … there was a multi-tailed Zerda there that night, but he was dressed absolutely garishly… "

Qing tilts his head a fraction of an inch. "Who are these… Sixth Kadam? I remember touring a place here before with one of the students, but I don't recall if he mentioned this … group before."

"A persistent rumor," caws the Korv, as he hops off of his perch, and waddles about the room. "Now, out with it, shopkeeper. You have a story. Share it with us."

Qing says nothing more, but stares crimson daggers at Aaron over the tops of his dark glasses.

Aaron takes a deep breath, then begins. "Well, I just happened to spot about a dozen robed figures sneaking into the Old Cemetery one night a few years ago, and followed to make sure they didn't get into any mischief. There were thirteen of them, I remember, because I take note of that sort of thing, and they were assembled around a sort of altar near the center of the graveyard. Oh, and two of them were carrying a large sack with several gray fox-tails sticking out of it."

"To all appearances, they were planning on sacrificing the multi-tailed fox to … to DAGH!" Aaron blurts out!

Aaron calms down, and continues. "From their ritual, they seemed intent on opening some sort of doorway into the netherworld to bring Dagh back, and that this was the purpose of the … sacrifice."

"Before they actually got that far though," the Lapi says, "I was able to disrupt the ritual, so that instead of Dagh they only summoned up … well … it seemed like the entire graveyard's occupants at the time."

Aaron smiles slightly, "I even got a scar from where a Cervani follower tried to stab me."

The Korv blinks several times.

Qing, quiet all this time, pushes his glasses back up so he can roll his lidless eyes behind them. He casts a glance at the Korv.

Aaron clears his throat, "Anyway, the robed people fled in the confusion, and I ended up with the High Priest's staff." No sense bringing the Wooden Shekel into this, Aaron thinks, Unless I really need someone else to blame it on.

Aaron says, "The sacrifice escaped as well."

Dean Faust caws, "A multi-tailed fox you say? Grey fur? You don't perchance think that there are several multi-tailed vulpines with gray fur running about Rephidim, do you?"

"And, of course, there's no connection between this 'sacrifice' you just inven – told us about, and one of the mages you claim as a witness in your store to the disturbance you are complaining about?" continues the crow.

Aaron blinks, "Well, I hadn't made the connection between the Mage Francisco and the one put up on the altar that night in my shop, I admit. But he is, as you say, a Mage of Illusion, and he was not seen to be working any spells or incantations when the disturbance happened." Gesturing to the Rokuga, he adds, "Only this one was working magic."

The bat secretary pokes her head in the door. She holds a lamp-lighter in one hand, and quickly lights a lantern hanging near the doorway, as the sunlight has stopped providing ample illumination by now.

"Simple detection cantrips and minor spells, I assure you," hisses the white snake.

The Lapi tries to keep out of the spreading shadows as much as possible.

Qing hisses, "They were to discern the nature of the disturbance I sensed."

Aaron hmms, "Even by your own argument, it was your scanning that goaded the spirit into action. So it's still your fault for the damages suffered by my establishment!"

"Are you changing your story, Shopkeeper Lightfoot?" queries the crow.

Aaron blinks, "Ah … not in essence, sir. This Mage cast magic without concern for the people and property around him, and it resulted in a big mess."

The Korv looks back at Qing. "Were they anything but detection spells?"

Aaron says, "Well, his attitude was very disturbing, staring at everyone rudely through that monocle of his."

The witch-doctor makes no move to avoid the shadows creeping across him. "They were detection spells. One to determine the source of the disturbance, and another to determine the nature. I assume no responsibility for the actions of a rogue spirit. It is my duty as a spirit mage to investigate all paranormal activity. This is a moot point, of course. Complaints leveled at me, however ludicrous, are to be directed at Imperial channels."

Aaron's eye go wide at the thought of having to deal with the Nagai bureaucracy.

Aaron says, "You could have just waited until the 'disturbance' left, and followed them. You wouldn't have needed to cast any spells in my shop then! It's full of the components used by all of the Spheres of Magic, and working spells in there could have disastrous results."

Dean Faust paces back and forth. "The shopkeeper does have a point there, Mage Qing."

Aaron accuses, "Even an apprentice knows magic is more unstable up here on Rephidim than down in the bowels of whatever crypt on the surface you probably work in."

"Time was of the essence, Dean," hisses Qing, frowning darkly at Aaron. "There was no way of telling whether or not this manifestation could potentially have attacked, or moved to another host. With something as unpredictable as spirits, it is most prudent to leave nothing to chance or speculation."

Aaron smirks, "Kill them all, and let the Temple sort it out later?"

The Korv snorts. "A detection spell is hardly lethal." He glares at the rabbit.

Aaron opens his mouth, then swallows the retort that was on the tip of his tongue. Never cheese off the local clientele, especially those that can authorize large purchases.

Qing, ignoring the Lapi, hisses, "Benign spirits are very rare, and seldom spontaneously manifest. It is in everyone's best interest that any spiritual anomalies be investigated immediately. Especially one that is powerful enough to be felt on a sub-spell level."

"I think the fact that I was driven off should be a testament to how dangerous this thing can be, if left unchecked," the serpent adds.

Aaron hmphs, and mutters, "Next he'll claim Francisco is really the new High Priest of the Sixth Kadam come to reclaim his staff … urk!" What if he IS? I'll have to get rid of that thing now… why did Woody leave it with ME anyway?

Dean Faust shakes his head. "I'm afraid that this will take further investigation. Mage Qing, in order to head off any further complaints, I shall have to ask you to restrict your activities during your stay in Rephidim, until further notice. You are not to enter Aaron Lightfoot's Apothecary without his express permission, and you will be responsible for any further disturbances should you do so."

"Shopkeeper Aaron Lightfoot, I would require of you a detailed list of properties damaged, and costs to be assessed. Your complaint may have included such a listing, but I would like you to file one separately … and double check it, of course," the crow caws.,

Aaron straightens up, "Of course, Dean Faust. Umm … I don't suppose you'd take that staff off of my hands, just in case?"

"Yes," answers the Korv. "I will require it for examination."

The Rokuga clenches his fists beneath his mantle, cords beneath his neck tightening. "Outrageous. Intolerable. Because of this ignorant Lapi's directionless whining, you are going to tie the hands of an Imperial college professor, and let a spirit powerful enough to achieve sentience to roam around as it pleases? Mark my words, no good can come of this."

Dean Faust sighs, and caws, "You will be asked not to cast anything more potent than a cantrip during your stay. There is no evidence, after all, that your casting of a cantrip caused any disturbance in the least. It is only after the casting of a Minor Spell that there is any contention of a problem."

Aaron takes a few steps away from Qing now, ignoring the shadows.

"If that is your ruling, then ssso be it," hisses the witch-doctor, his agitation allowing some of his accent to creep into his voice. "I've encountered this from Rephidim before, with the investigation of the Mage Isstan's death. It should not have come as a surprise to me. But how will you be investigating this anomaly, then?"

Dean Faust caws, "Since, Mage Qing, you are – alas – the accused here, I am not at liberty to divulge the manner in which this investigation will be carried out."

The sky is totally dark now. Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles outside.

The Korv flinches, looking toward the window.

Qing twitches at almost exactly the same time as the Korv.

Aaron manages not to jump at the sound of thunder.

The Rokuga wrenches his glasses from his face, crimson eyes now clearly visible beneath his hat. "Did you feel that? Dean Faust? Did you?"

"Yes," hisses the crow. He narrows his eyes. "It's coming from the Old City."

Aaron blinks, and pulls his ears down with his hands. "Th-the storm you mean?"

"No, idiot!" he snaps at Aaron. He levels his gaze again at Faust. "A ritual … a very powerful one … yesss, from that direction."

The sky bursts forth, as a powerful shower hammers against the walls of the school building. An icy ping can be heard against the window … then another … and another … as hailstones begin to fall.

Aaron moans, "It's them, they're raising Dagh! They must have found another sacrifice!"

Qing's fangs bare themselves. "Cease your foolish gibbering, clerk! You are in the presence of professionals!" The Rokuga becomes animated enough to place his hands on the edge of the desk. "Dean, this cannot be ignored. The chance this is related is too great."

Aaron glares at the back of Qing's head. In the presence of one professional at least, the rabbit thinks, and goes back to watching Faust's reactions.

"It is not to be ignored," caws the Korv, "but the question is what to do about it." He frowns severely. "I do not think this is safe weather to go investigating in. At least … not in body."

Aaron blinks at that comment, and looks out of the window again. Sure, it's a bit of hail and rain, but unless lightning is picking off pedestrians, a good umbrella or poncho should suffice.

The reptilian witch-doctor nods slowly, and leans back into his coils to consider this. "There's no telling what could be out there. What do you recommend? Conjuring a shade? Perhaps an animated cadaver if there isn't enough time."

The Dean's feathers puff out. "I suggest no such thing as an animated corpse, Mage Qing. I will not have … *KAW!*" He shakes his wings and flaps across the room, grabbing a bag with his beak from a shelf, then fluttering back to settle on the floor. "An observing spirit should suffice. We wish only to determine who or what might be involved here."

"Very well," hisses Qing, shrugging all three sets of shoulders. "Do you wish my assistance?"

Aaron asks, "How long does it take to summon an … observing spirit?"

"With help," says the Korv, looking at Qing, "perhaps four hours to do it properly. With a ritual of this magnitude, I think that will give us ample time to catch it before all is finished."

The witch-doctor nods. "We may begin whenever you are ready."

The Lapi can't help but shake his head. "You could just walk there and see what's happening in a fraction of that."

Qing's long neck twists around to eye Aaron, and a slight sneer twists his face. "I don't tell you how to stock shelves. Don't presume to tell us how to do our jobs. Go, if you must."

Aaron shrugs, and leaves the mages to their preparations, thinking that he should have brought a poncho.

Dean Faust begins scribing a magic circle, leaving the setting of the candles to Mage Qing. This is a time-consuming process, but eventually the chanting begins, and the workings of a spell begin to take shape.

The chanting drones on, with little apparent effect except for odd prickling sensations on the skin, and a steadily lowering temperature. The two mages seem used to the work, and remain in one place the whole time. The shadows continue to grow as the sun is swallowed up by the storm, until the only illumination is the circle of now half-melted candles. Finally, the last few syllables are said… and the candles simultaneously gutter out, the only illumination being a strange whitish-blue patch of glow in the center of the circle. As the mages exchange strange stanzas of some indecipherable poem, the glow resolves itself into a translucent eyeball about a foot across, with wide, bat-like wings and a pair of withered arms hanging beneath it.

Dean Faust, eyes still closed, hisses, "You direct it, Mage Qing. I shall maintain the spell. The storm is interfe – " He cuts himself off, jumping back into the chants to sustain the apparition.

The reptilian witch-doctor nods, and places his dark glasses back over his eyes, touching his upper set of hands to his temples, the other two pairs clasped in front of him. "Go," he whispers, and the floating eyeball stirs, silently flapping its wings. It turns toward the window, and quietly passes through it, ignoring panes of glass, supports, and hailstones as it wings into the storm.

Qing stares into space, still holding his head. He doesn't seem to be … here, anymore.

Through a hazy vision, the Rokuga can 'see' the spirit's journey as it bobs and weaves its way through the storm. Occasionally, the image falters … but Dean Faust's fevered chanting is enough to bring it back again.

The ruins of the Old City draw into view … then the cenotaphs and mausoleums of the Old Cemetery. The magic is stronger here. Very strong … but it feels as if … no! The ritual being sought out has already finished! Yet the storm still persists…

"An intruder!" a hissing voice is heard in the Spirit Mage's head. Another voice says, "I think that much is obvious." Or, that is … the words are said in some strange language, yet the magic of the spell gives the spirit understanding somehow that Qing alone would not otherwise have.

Qing's brow furrows as he strains to look through the spirit-scout's eye, trying to bring clarity to what he's seeing.

The eye's vision clears a bit … and through magic, he can see what would not be possible with the naked eye. The storm has abated here – and while the water should not interfere with this spirit's vision, this storm was evidently not of mundane origins.

Below is a clearing amidst the tombstones. In the center of it is a stone altar … the center of the disturbance. Upon it are four snuffed-out candles, and around it the remains of a magical circle. The ritual is gone, but there is still a faint dweomer … and a stain … the stain of the blood of a Jupani cub … upon the altar.

Qing whispers as he sees this. Whether it is for the benefit of the Dean, or simply for his own reasons, one can't be sure. "The mages … the ritual is done… they are gone, but the storm remains … it is of magical origin … the circle is broken, and the candles have died. The altar… blood… a Jupani cub… "

There's someone down there … a Lapi … a Lapi carrying some sort of magical artifact.

Qing echoes what he sees, trying to will the spirit to focus on the rabbit and the item it's carrying … looking for a face.

It's … it's that shopkeeper! He's carrying a staff … a staff that radiates with some sort of power … in the Sphere of Spirit.

The Lapi is now stumbling about in the darkness. There's a wail … from some sort of paranormal disturbance. Then several more … ghosts!

The Lapi stumbles against the altar, dropping the staff. The staff falls against the altar.

A bat flies in. A guard from the Embassy? He perches atop a mausoleum.

The shadows start to act up. The Lapi puts a blowgun to his lips. He fires at the first shadow he sees … the bat in question. The bat falls from the mausoleum, hitting the ground.

The Rokuga grits his teeth. "The shopkeeper is there… he bears a staff attuned to the Sphere of Spirit. In his clumsiness, he has dropped it… ghosts arrive… a guard from the embassy has stirred, and the Lapi has felled him with a blowgun dart."

The Lapi loads his blowgun again. Something animated crawls onto the staff. The Lapi picks up the staff.

"Dead?" squeaks the creature on the staff.

The Lapi shrieks. The staff is dropped. Some sort of spiritual disturbance affects the way the staff rolls off into the shadows. The creature latches itself onto the Lapi's arm.

Qing furrows his brow. "A strange, furry creature clutches the staff with the Lapi… it speaks, but barely understands what it says… the staff is being taken, and the small creature attacks the rabbit. We must not let the staff be taken… "

Alas, something happens … the staff … vanishes into thin air!

"Thank you, Usagi-san," comes a voice from somewhere. The magic conveys the meaning that 'Usagi' means 'rabbit' or 'Lapi'. And then there is laughter … laughter of a paranormal origin.

Qing hisses angrily, his eyes still blank, but his fists tightening again. "The staff… is stolen. We are too late. A spirit speaks … it thanks the Lapi fool… I feel the staff has been delivered into the hands of the very spirit that chased me from the Apothecary… "

Dean Faust bites his beak shut tightly for a moment … then resumes his chanting before the spell can falter.

"Do you wish to see for yourself?" asks the Rokuga, slowly unclasping his hands to spread them apart. "I can take up the chant while you witness why exactly I came to you."

Qing begins whispering in time to the Dean's own chanting, synchronizing.

The Korv nods, and the spell shifts over … the Dean seeing through the disembodied eye. "By the Spirits!" he hisses.

The serpentine witch-doctor only nods grimly as he murmurs.

"Jupani blood. Karnoran. From a cub," hisses the crow. "And that fool Lapi is trying to attack the observer."

"I don't see any staff. It must be gone," the Korv adds. "And no sign of the spell-casters."

"I do believe the Lapi just called the spirit … an ugly little spud!" the Korv manages to laugh.

Qing's nose wrinkles in distaste, but his chant is not interrupted.

"The Lapi … seems to be on to something," the Korv mutters, his voice trailing off.

The Rokuga begins gesturing at Dean Faust. He points to the circle, then to his mouth, then at the albino Korv.

The Dean nods, then begins chanting again. The spell shifts back over to the Rokuga.

The Lapi seems to be searching. He has stepped on something alive … something obscured … by magic!

The Lapi, however, seems to be oblivious to his near-discovery.

Qing, able to speak again, resumes peering through the seeing spirit. "Dean, I suggest one of us summons the guard. That shopkeeper will get himself killed, and I'm sure we've seen enough to where we must intervene."

Qing raises an eye-ridge at what he sees… though if anyone where present, they'd see Qing raising an eye-ridge at the far wall.

The Dean nods, and reaches over … to pull at a bell-cord.

"Something near the Lapi's foot, concealed by magic, has stirred. The Lapi is unaware," hisses the Rokuga.

The Lapi is saying something … "Anybody out here?"

He's answered by a moan from the Eeee guard, who is at the base of the mausoleum that he fell from.

The door to the office pops open. The secretary bat pokes her head in. "Yes, Dean? Oh! Sorry. Didn't meant to interrupt your … spell?"

"The Eeee guard that the shopkeeper felled is stirring… the Lapi is confused… he asks if anyone else is present… " The snake notices the bat, and takes up the chanting of the spell to allow the Dean to issue his orders.

Just as the spell shifts, the Rokuga can see the Lapi discovering the Eeee guard, leaving whatever it was he nearly discovered.

The Dean opens his eyes, and caws, "Call the Guard! That fool Lapi is in the graveyard! He's going to get killed! Send fliers! Hurry!"

The bat secretary squeaks in alarm, nods her head, then rushes out, leaving the door to close under its own weight. "All right," caws the Dean … "I can take that back again… " He resumes chanting.

Qing nods, and when he can speak, he does so. "Dean, the Lapi has ignored whatever it was he stepped on… I cannot tell what it was… I am trying to tell the spirit to look at it, but it's difficult, from afar. It might just act of its own accord."

The storm is abating. The paranormal activity is fading. For just a moment, there is a sensation of someone … someone with a concentration of magical energies … fleeing from the scene … but that fades away.

"A person has fled… one whom magic clings to." The witch-doctor frowns. "I can no longer sense him or her… the person has escaped. The energies are dissipating… there is nothing more to see."

The Dean nods … and begins the end-sequence to the chanting.

Within moments, the ghostly eyeball comes through the window, and settles in the center of the magic circle. It dissipates into a white mist … and a more clear image of the proceedings fills the minds of the two mages.

Qing's back stiffens as his head is flooded with sights and sounds…

"Dagh!" cries out the Korv. "Dagh and … Dusk-Hand … and the Dark Gods!"

"The multi-tailed one… the one from the Apothecary… he hides himself, but I know now… " The reptile locks red eyes with the Dean. "He has the staff. You must know now, as well as I do, that he has an artifact that Lapi had previously stashed away. A gate has been opened."

The Korv's eyes snap open. "Confound it! That Lapi should have brought that artifact here, so it could be examined! And now … " He hisses through a near-closed beak, shaking his head. "I am sorry, Mage Qing, for having doubted you. I rescind any restrictions on your activity in Rephidim while you are here."

"Any help you can offer in stopping this menace would be of great help," the Korv adds.

"It is in the past, Dean Faust. We have little time to spare, and I will aidyou in whatever way I can." Shaking his head as if to clear it, the black glasses go back over Qing's eyes, obscuring them from view beneath his hat as the light of the spell fades away, dimly replaced by the cracked office door. "Something… otherworldly exists now… it's beyond my knowledge now, but… " He doesn't complete the sentence.

Instead, he simply finishes with, "The Lapi must be detained. He mentioned an amulet… We mustn't allow him to bumble further."