Upper branches – Wingnut compound: Kettenrad quarter.
The elevator has let off in a section of the Wingnut clan's treetop compound. A sign near the elevator reads
'Kettenrad. Let not your hands wander, lest an evil fate befall you.'
and a beneath that in really small letters 'And we mean it, too!'. Several walkways branch out to various sections of the Kettenrad quarter. Most appear to be walkways to the family members' private quarters. However, a few stand out as different; one leads up to a large, multi-roomed building that appears to be some sort of group dining hall. It's currently brightly lit and quite cheerful … in spite of the odd piping and various belts that stick out of it at various angles. Another, path leads off into a center section of the compound. In the distance of that path, a jungle of roping and nets can be seen. And lastly, a more ominous path branches off. It looks like one to a private residence, but it's overgrown and tangled.

The preparation of dinner went a lot better than it could have. Amelia wisely avoided the use of the automated noodle-maker and instead stuck to a simple rolling pin and manual kitchen utensils. And … the meal went off without a hitch! Everyone, including Gunther, had to admit it was one of the best meals they've had in a long time. But, alas with all things, it comes to a close and evening is starting to set in. The light in the sky is fading to a dull red as Amelia and Zahn walk out onto the balcony near the dining room. "I'm sorry that they asked several times when I was going to make you a permanent family member," Zahn apologizes again, "I think it was the food talking tonight."

"I take it as a compliment," Amelia says, grinning. "There's something you can help me with though, if you aren't too worn out from eating."

Zahn stops mid-step. "Oh? Do you need an automated weapons sharpener, something sharpened, or something else?" he asks, figuring Amelia would be asking about something she's interested in.

"I need you to hold some branches out of the way," Amy says. "I was able to clear some of the stuff earlier, but haven't checked… well, I may just need you to climb around a bit is all."

"Oh, well, that's easy," Zahn says, sounding a bit disappointed. "Why do you need me to hold back branches?"

"It's a secret," Amy notes. "Maybe I'll tell you if it works… not sure if it will, just guessing right now," she says, and starts towards the overgrown path to Stephan's cabin.

"Woah, wait, why are you going up there?" Zahn says as he stops at the base of the old walkway.

"I need to look at something through a window," Amelia explains. "You can stay on the outside though. I've been in here before with your Mom."

"Yes, well, that place gives me the willies; I always feel like I'm being watched," Zahn notes as he heads up the walkway now. "So, you have to look out through the cabin window?"

"Yes," Amy says. "I need to see if… if things line up."

"What do you mean line up?" Zahn asks as the two reach the cabin door. "I guess you need me to hold back the branches near the window?"

Amy nods, and takes the locket from her pocket. "It's probably nothing, but I should check anyway. Just a hunch and all," she says, just before opening the door and stepping inside.

"I think she's getting weirder," Zahnrad comments to himself and hops off the walkway and into the branches. He scurries along the limbs until he's handing upside-down near the rear cabin window.

Inside, the cabin is dark. The shadows cast by what light enters the windows seem almost unnaturally long, too. The largest window is just ahead, in the back of the cabin.

Inside, Amy pokes the pendant in the proper place to unfold it, and then goes over to the window to see how much she can see in the waning light.

"Just tell me when to try and move stuff," Zahnrad calls out from somewhere outside.

Opening the pendant is beginning to be rather old-hat. The old device clicks and whirrs, splitting apart into its three sections and the bar and hole plate now exposed in the center.

"Okay," Amy replies, then holds the little gizmo up and looks through the holes and slots, turning it this way and that to see if she can line them up with anything visible through the window.

Amelia was right earlier, the leaves and branches outside the window make it hard to see anything; even with the amount she cleared away earlier.

"Can you pull some of the branches away that are just outside the window?" the girl requests to her helper.

"Let me see… " Zahn says. A few seconds pass and some of the branches rustle, then pull away from the frame. "Any better?"

The pendant is held up and turned to and fro once more…

It's tedious work, but it does seem like the slots in the plate do line up with positions of some of the trees out there. Well, maybe. The pendant is years old and trees do grow, though slowly. It's only a guess if those lined up are the right ones or not. Some of the holes in the plate don't seem to overlay on anything, though. Except for the lowest one, which seems to center over the base of an old tree near the edge of the Wingnut territory.

Squinting a bit, Amelia tries to identify the patches behind the unfilled holes.

There isn't anything specific about the unfilled spots; at least not at first. When she moves her head around a bit, she spots something, but given the fading light and her lack of night eyesight, she can't quite make out what it is at this point.

"Find anything yet? Hanging upside down is starting to give me a headache!" Zahn calls out.

"Enough to check out later," Amelia says. "You can let go of the branches now.

Fwap! The branches snap back into place. "I guess I'll meet you by the door, then," Zahn calls out. She can hear him going through the branches shortly thereafter.

Amy closes the pendant and heads for the door, placing it back into her pocket. It's nice to have actual pockets!

"So, what was that about? There something we need to go look at?" Zahn asks Amelia. He's leaning against a large branch near the walkway.

"Yes, but I don't know if I can find it in the dark," Amelia says. She heads for a clearer area of the balcony, where she can see the old tree from. "Maybe that tree, not sure."

"I can see in the dark," Zahn reminds Amelia. "So, if you tell me what you're looking for I might be able to help." He pads out onto the walkway and peers at the old tree. "That one? It's full of some huge old knotholes, I know that much. Some you could walk right into. It's right on the edge of our territory; been there for many generations. I think it's even on the territory maps as one of the main markers."

"Big knotholes you say?" Amy asks. "Is it still alive?"

"Yeah, should be," Zahnrad answers. "Haven't been over there in years, though."

"I'd like to see it," Amy says, then grins. "I mean, if you can walk into some of the holes, it's probably the Clan snogging spot.

"Er, you want to go snogging now?" Zahnrad asks.

"Well, I want to see if it's a suitably private spot first," Amy says.

"We can go. We should grab you a lantern before going over there, though," Zahnrad notes. "Just meet me by the base of the elevator, I'll grab one from the dining room."

Amy nods, and heads for the elevator. At least that piece of machinery is straightforward to operate.

It takes a couple of minutes, but Zahn comes bounding down from the treetops and lands with a soft thump onto the ground. Hanging from his right hand is a shuttered lantern with red glass lenses. He opens them to bathe the area in a soft, red, light. "Red doesn't mess up my night vision," he explains as he offers it to Amelia.

Taking the lamp, Amelia pauses to adjust to let her own eyes adjust to the color. "I wonder why that is? Do you know?" she asks Zahn.

"I have no idea. Red seems to work best. Blue light is the worst. It really messes with my eyes at night," Zahn says with a small shrug. "So, shall we go? It's a good fifteen minute walk from here."

"Okay, let's get going then," Amy says, and holds out her free hand.

Zahnrad intertwines his fingers with hers and the two walk off into the forest. It's a rather quiet walk through the woods as the evening light continues to fade around them. In fifteen or so minutes, perhaps longer, the two get close to the base of the old tree. "I think this tree used to be the center of the clan way back, but it hasn't been used in a long time," he comments as the tree comes into his view.

"From before the dam was built?" Amy asks while holding the lantern up higher in an attempt to illuminate the side of the tree.

The Ancient Tree
The ancient tree is a massive oak-like tree that now sits on the edges of the Wingnut territory. It is massive; its base easily thirty feet across, perhaps more. Some of the roots that jut from the ground are taller than most Kadies. While ancient, the tree is still quite alive; its branches far above blotting out the sky. At the base there are several deep 'cracks' in the trunk, fading back into unknown darkness. Dotted all along its trunk as it reaches skyward are the sunken pits of former branches … time-worn into knotholes.

"Is it the light, or is this really as big as it looks?" Amy asks, patting one of the giant roots.

"Yes. From what I've been told this was the clan center before the dam was built. You see, back in the older days the dam area was firmly in Miller territory. When the plan for the dam was made, all the territories over here shifted over a bit. This was once the center of the Wingnut territory … now became the edge. The dam then became the new center, more or less. That was part of the deal when the dam was built; it would be in our territory if we had to maintain it," Zahnrad explains as he looks upward. "Actually, I think it's bigger than it looks right now. The darkness makes it hard to see all of it."

Venturing up to one of the cracks in the base, Amy shines the lantern into it. "You must have played here all the time as a child. I sure would have!" she says.

"Nah, we're too busy learning things as an apprentice," Zahnrad answers. "Be careful. Who knows what might be lurking in there!"

"Slugbears?" Amy suggests with a smirk.

As Amelia swings the light around in the crack she's closest to, something catches her eyes that doesn't look quite natural. Amelia could swear she sees what looks like roots of the tree twisted and warped into something that looks like a stairwell.

"Otters. Much worse than Slugbears," Zahnrad notes.

The light swings back, as Amelia tries to confirm the odd structure. "Otters? What would they be doing in here?" she asks.

It really does look like stairs from where Amelia stands. "You suggested this would be a good snogging place. Otters … seem to do that a lot," he reasons.

"True, but they don't bother with the privacy part much," Amy replies, and cautiously starts down the stairwell.

"Hey, wait!" Zahnrad calls out and hurries after Amelia. The odd stairway heads downward for a bit, then stops at a rough-hewn tunnel of sorts leading off into darkness. "Okay," Zahn says, "I think this must have been part of an old dwelling here."

"Underground?" Amy asks over her shoulder, then starts to follow the tunnel. "I know you have secret underground tunnels under the main compound."

"You know about those?" Zahn asks as he follows along. "Who told you?" The tunnel goes for about fifteen feet, then branches right. Amelia now finds herself looking at a stairway going up.

"You were kept in them while you recovered from being mauled," Amy notes, and follows the bend and new set of stairs.

Up and up the stairs go. Presumably they must be a spiral staircase cut directly into the core of the trunk. The stairs and walls are slick with moss and the musty smell of dirt; this place has not been used in a long time. Up ahead on the right looks like … a door?

"Oh, well, that makes sense," Zahnrad says at the explanation about the tunnels. "They're intended for clan safety."

Stopping at the door, Amy gives it a good looking-over. It might be old, but that doesn't mean the traps or alarms aren't still working.

It's a pretty plain looking door, really; planks of wood, a knob, and the plate covered what is probably a lock. It looks like the door must also open inward, too, as there are no hinges on this side.

Resting her hand on the knob, Amy asks Zahn, "Would you trust an unlocked door down here?"

"So … do you want me to try opening it?" Zahnrad offers as he peers at the old door. "I mean, I doubt there is anything on the other side." When Amelia asks the question, he pauses to consider it. "Well, the clan did move voluntarily … so I wouldn't expect we would have left anything trapped. Well, maybe. Some of my ancestors were pretty odd."

Amy checks to see if the plate moves aside to reveal a keyhole or anything.

Yep, there's a keyhole under the plate.

Bringing the lantern close, the girl shines it on the exposed keyhole to see if it is key-shaped or something more exotic.

It's just a basic key shape. Nothing terribly exotic about it. "Trying to peer through it?" Zahn asks.

"I can't without blocking off the light," Amy notes, and just tries the knob to see if the door is locked or not.

The door is, in fact, unlocked. It makes a horrible squeaking sound that echoes in the stairwell as it slowly opens. Beyond is an … empty room. The room is fairly large, perhaps ten feet deep and twenty feet long if you measured along the curve that is probably following the shape of the trunk. It also looks like a few of the knotholes in the walls were repurposed as windows at one time; but the glass is long gone. Everything is covered in a layer of moss.

"Oooo," Amy coos, and steps into the room to get a better look around, even checking out the windows.

Zahnrad peers in. "Looks like an old meeting room to me," he comments as he follows Amelia inside. "Too big for a bedroom."

Now that Amelia is inside, she can see that the ceiling is probably ten feet high. In a few places where moss has not quite grown yet on, she can just make out what looks like intricately carved wood that appears to be part of a beam carved directly out of the old tree.

Amy goes to examine the bare spots near the beam, tapping the wood and listening for strange sounds. "Think there would be secret doors in a room like this?" she asks Zahn.

"Heh, probably," Zahnrad comments from where he's scraping away some of the moss. He pauses and looks over his shoulder. "You were expecting to find a place here, weren't you?" he asks.

"Maybe," Amy admits. "You've got a secret place somewhere, don't you?"

"Of course I … wait, are you looking for my place?" Zahnrad asks and turns so that he can directly look at Amelia. "You could have just asked; it's not here."

"No, I'm not looking for that," Amy says, rolling her eyes in the dark. "I think Stephan wants me to find his secret lab, for some reason."

"And you think it's here?" Zahnrad asks and scratches his ear. "Uhm, going to tell me why you think it's here and why you think he wants you to find it?"

"Well, because he sort of gave me the key," Amy says. "And that sort of led me to here if I was using it correctly."

Zahnrad looks at Amelia funny. "Uh, he's dead. I don't see how he could have given you a key," Zahnrad says rather lamely. "But, if you think it's here, then it might be easier to check all the rooms that can easily be found first before looking for secret doors."

"If it could be easily found, it wouldn't be secret would it?" Amy asks, although she can't really be sure of that logic. Stephan didn't seem to have the secretive streak that Gunther and Zahn do. "I don't suppose you have a map of this place?"

"Uh, probably. It would be back in the archives, though," Zahnrad answers as he walks to a window. He leans out of it and peers around.

"Well, try to find out some time," Amy says, and tests out how cushiony the thicker patches of moss are now. "I'll have to come back during the daylight to really explore further though."

Amelia should be more careful where she pushes on the moss. Apparently, she found a place where a fungal pod was growing under the moss. It squishes down under her paw and there's a bug puff of spores that burst out around her hand. The puff is accompanied by a rather rude noise.

"Ack!" Amelia says, backing up and setting down the lantern to wave her hands in front of her face. "Okay, no snogging in here!" she claims. "I think I'd better hit the baths, I don't want to track any spores into your room."

Zahnrad has to force himself not to laugh. "All right, how about we walk up as far and the stairs go? We can then check each room on the way down before we head home. If nothing turns up, then we can check the archives for a map," the Kadie suggests.

"Okay," Amy says, then sneezes.

Zahn pats Amelia on the back. "You know, I first thought that maybe you wanted to come here because you were planning to try and get me to chase you tonight," he notes as he heads to the door back to the stairwell. "Not that I would have minded."

"What, after all that cooking and eating?" Amy asks.

"Well, how am I supposed to know what the signs are?" Zahn asks as he looks up the stairwell. "So, do you want to go all the way up, then check as we come down, or check as we go up?" he asks.

"Probably better to go up and check on the way down," Amelia says. "Won't be as tired when we're done, I think."

"Do you want to take the lead up or want me to?" Zahnrad asks next.

"I'd better," Amy says, carrying the lantern. "That way if I slip, you can catch me."

"With the side benefit of having a nice view of your tail," Zahnrad says with a playful grin as Amelia passes. He's probably joking.

"Hah," Amy says, heading up the stairs. "Your night-vision probably isn't that good," she teases.

Zahn's answer to that is to grab ahold of Amelia's tail and give it a light tug as the pair go. "You never know," he says, "at least I'm authorized to admire it."

"Very funny," Amy chides, and tries to wiggle the tip in Zahn's face as they ascend. "This place is so neat. You could turn it into a haunted tower and charge the otters entrance fees."

And up and up the staircase goes. This tree is huge and it seems like the stairs may go along its entire height. At even intervals the two pass by more nondescript doors that lead off to who knows where. One thing of note, though, is that the stairwell itself gets more ornate the further up the two go. Instead of purely decorative carvings, though, the walls are adorned with what looks like machine diagrams.

"Why would they be carved into the walls?" Amy asks as they pass the drawings. "Are they special?"

"It's not like anyone admires my tail," Zahnrad retorts after a sneeze from the whap of Amelia's tailtip. "I mean … oh, hey, diagrams!" He stops to look at them and rubs his chin, "Not sure. Can't make them entirely out, so I'm not sure what they're depicting."

"Maybe the first Wingnut designs?" Amy asks. "You couldn't steal them, since they're part of the tree… "

"Possibly. If the moss was scraped off might be able to tell more," Zahnrad considers, then heads on. Ahead looks like what might be the top of the stairs. It certainly looks like they stop at a hallway, at least.

Once at the top, Amy shines the lantern light down the hall. "Top floor!" she announces.

The top floor is … a bit cleaner than the others. Perhaps the moss hasn't gotten this far yet. The hallway isn't long. At the far end sits another … door? At least, it's probably a door. There are several peculiarities about it; one is that it looks somewhat newer than the rest of the woodwork. Second, it looks extremely sturdy. Third … there isn't a doorknob. At least, none visible from where they stand.

"Now that looks like a Kettenrad door," Amelia says, stepping up to the portal and looking around for… well, anything that looks like a release or a puzzle lock or other familiar door release.

As Amelia gets closer, she isn't disappointed. The door seems to be made up of several sections. First, there is a large circular outline in the center. In the center of the outline is a small triangular, well, mostly triangular, inset. On each of the 'points' sits a small gear. In the center of the inset is a small circular disc of hundreds of small pegs that stick out about half an inch. Zahn peers at the door for a moment and has to agree, "Yes, it does, rather."

"Tiny little gears," Amy says, taking out the pendant and handing the lantern to Zahn. "Sure looks like Stephan's work."

Zahn takes the lantern and holds it to illuminate the door. "Given the number of pins in that center bit, there would be literally thousands of possible combinations for that lock. That is, even if the pins are part of the lock," he notes. "It would take centuries to try them all. Er, hey, what's that?" He's peering at the locket Amelia holds.

"The key," Amy says, and pushes in on the little pattern that unfolds it. "It narrows it down to… uh… three possible combinations. Or… " she pauses here for a moment to do some math in her head. "Six. Yeah, I think six is the most… "

"Woah, hey," Zahn says as he watches the pendant split apart into sections. "Why didn't you show me this sooner? I would love to take it apart and see how it works. I've only seen a few things Stephan ever built and Mom won't let me touch them."

"Taking it apart might make it hard to put back together," Amelia notes, and orients the key the same way she looked through it to line up the trees, then tries to set it into the triangular space. "Maybe his designs are in here. Then you wouldn't have to take it apart, right?"

"Maybe," Zahnrad says with a small shrug as he watches closely. The 'key' slots into the inset perfectly. The pegs in the central bit are all depressed except for the few that jut through the slots and holes in the central plate. Even the gears on the corners mesh perfectly into the gear fragments of the key sections. Once fully seated there is a small 'click' and two rods drop out of the circle, just outside of the triangle.

"What do those mean?" Amy asks. "Are they handles for turning the circle?"

"Well, that would be the logical purpose of them," Zahnrad agrees. "Do you want me to try it or would you prefer to?"

"I'd better try," Amy says. "If anything goes wrong, I'd have a hard time carrying you out of here." She grabs the rods and tries to turn the circular section with them, trying counter-clockwise first.

The circle turns with surprising ease; it's almost like it was gliding on ice. As the circle rotates, the gears on the ends of the triangle rotate. When those rotate, they press and pull on the rods connecting to the center plate … which also rotates. In the end, when the circle is turned counter-clockwise, the center rotates clockwise. When she's turned the circle about one half of a rotation there is a dull thud and the door jerks slightly in Amelia's hands. "Uh," Zahn says at the sound of the thud, "I'm not sure that is good or bad… "

"Well, only way to know," Amy says, biting her lower lip as she tries pushing on the door to see if it will move.

Unlike the door she tried earlier, this one opens without making a sound. As the door starts to clear the frame as it goes inward, Amelia can see several large holes in the frame. Presumably those were the bolds holding the door closed. Given their size … it would have been extremely difficult to have forced the door.

"It's like a vault," Amy says. "The armory doors have bolts like this."

"Yes. Not surprising. Any highly secure place would have large door bolts to prevent someone breaking in," Zahnrad says with a nod. He tries to shine the lantern light past Amelia and into the room beyond.

"He sure was serious about security then," Amy says quietly, afraid to make too much noise now, as she looks inside.

The Grand Sphere
If this room lacked a floor, it would look as if it was a huge sphere. The room is approximately fifteen feet across and and fifteen feet high. The wooden walls have been polished to the point of being almost glasslike to the touch. The layers of black lacquer that have then been applied to the surface only enhance that effect. Only two things are immediately visible in the room; there is a large device that has numerous jutting 'arms' as part of it that is covered by a dusty sheet. On the far side is a ladder that leads up a hole cut into the otherwise seamless sphere.

"Oh wow," Amy says, then swallows hard. "Your mother thought… thought that maybe Stephan was testing me too. I think maybe she was right," she adds, a bit nervously…

"Okay, this is a bit impressive. He must have round this old room and repurposed it," Zahnrad offers by way of explanation as he walks into the large room. "Though, I'm not quite sure what for. I would also recommend not touching anything yet. Not until we're sure there isn't a self destruct system."

Snapping her fingers, Amy says, "The door!" She heads back to the entrance, and checks the back side of the heavy door to make sure they can open it again from inside. "You wouldn't leave the door to your workshop open while you did stuff, right? We'd better close it before touching anything," she reasons.

"Depends on what I was working on," Zahn answers absently as he stares at the sheet. "Don't forget the key, you still might need it."

The back side of the door has what looks like a cranking wheel for manually turning the door bolts from the inside. It looks like you can't actually get locked in here at least.

Amelia looks at the key, and wonders how to disengage it from the lock. She tries pressing on the pegs to see if they'll all pop back out, along with the key.

It takes a few firm push attempts before the other pegs pop and the key drops out of the mechanism and into Amelia's hand.

"Weird," Zahnrad notes from where he's looking under the sheet. "I don't understand the point of this."

Smiling, Amy folds the key back up and puts it into her pocket, then tries to close the door from the inside, turning the wheel to lock it again. "The point of what?" she asks over her shoulder to Zahn. "And do you think there are any lamps or lights in here?"

"This thing," Zahnrad says and pulls the sheet off of the device. Without its cover, it looks even odder. At the center is some sort of spherical bit that looks like it's probably made from clay or similar with what looks like thousands of pitted holes in it, all over random spots. Near the bottom looks like it has a small access door, big enough for a hand and not much else. Numerous reinforced bars stick out in seemingly random directions from the base, each with its own smaller sphere resting on it. The smaller ones look like they were made from bits of broken glass. "I mean, it looks like art, not a machine."

After securing the door (or at least, assuming it's locked and secure), Amy comes over to inspect the device. "There aren't any lights in here, so maybe it's a lamp?" she suggests, as she bends over to look at the access door.

"Not a great one if it is. It just has a bunch of little holes in it," Zahnrad points out as he steps aside for Amelia to investigate. The door is solid, so whatever is beyond it can't be seen unless it is opened.

Amy shrugs and tries to open the little door. "So it does more than just light up then," she guesses.

Click goes the door. It swings open. In the low light Amelia can make out what looks like a series of lamps inside. Or at least a series of wicks and their associated adjusters. There's also the faint scent of lamp oil, but no telling if it's still good or not.

"I don't suppose you have a match?" she asks Zahn.

"Bottom of the lantern next to you has them," Zahnrad says, "In the tinder compartment. Are you sure it's a good idea to stick a flame in there?"

"Well… they're little lamp wicks… " Amy says, after locating the matches. "Why would it be dangerous?" she asks.

"Because you don't know what it does," Zahnrad says with a grin. "One might mistake you for a Wingnut … sticking your hand in something and trying to get it working with no information at all."

"It's a lamp," Amy says confidently. "Just a really fancy one." She checks the oil in the reservoirs to see if it's still liquid or if it's turned to jelly over time.

The oil is gooey, but it's probably still usable enough to at least light up for a bit. Zahnrad just grins and stands back. "All yours. If you were supposed to find this place, you get to fiddle with it," he quips.

Amy chews on her lower lip once more, then strikes the sulfur match to light the wicks. Once she's got them all, she closes the little door and scoots back away, just in case the arms start swinging around.

It takes a bit of time for the old lamps to slowly come to life. When it does, the pinholes all over the central sphere start to glow with a bright yellow color in the dark room. As pretty as it might be, the side effect is more interesting; on the domed ceiling all around them the pinpoints of light are reflected in the glossy ebony surface. Streaking across the center of the dome is … the Procession? Well, it at least looks like the Procession; a band of blurry color and light. Other familiar constellations can be made out on the dome above as well. The smaller spheres that stick out from the center now also glow with a soft light. Nowhere near as bright as the center, of course, but they are visible.

Zahnrad spends a moment looking at the ceiling, then to the other spheres. He rubs his chin, the says, "I know what this is." His brow furrows even further, "And I think I remember it."

"It's the sky!" Amy says, looking around. "All of it! It must have taken forever to plot it all, given how it's almost always overcast. I don't think I've ever seen the whole sky clear in my life."

"Maybe that's why he built it; he wanted to see the sky," Zahnrad offers as he continues to look up and rub the back of his neck. "It's been clear now and then, but not often. He might have gotten diagrams of the sky from tourists and maps they brought from ships. Airships use starcharts, you know, to navigate."

"Do you need one then?" Amy asks. "I guess you'd have to if you flew above the clouds and couldn't see the ground."

"Yes. Actually, I probably could use a decent one," Zahnrad notes, "But the problem is, the sky isn't static. It moves position depending on the time of year." No sooner does he finish saying that than does the central sphere creak and very slowly start to turn and rotate, making the 'starts' above begin a slow march across the dome. "Okay, now that's creepy," Zahn adds.

"How does it do that powered by oil lamps?" Amelia asks, lying down on her back to watch the 'sky' above.

"Don't know," Zahnrad says and drops down so he can look into the 'access door'. He peers around for a bit, then says, "Ahah. Mirrors reflect the light out to the small spheres. And well, there is a lot of ceramic piping in here. My guess is he's got some water in the pipes that he heats up with the lamps. That'll make the water circulate, which probably puts just enough pressure on some mechanism below to get it moving. Sort of like a steam engine, only not nearly as powerful. Also a lot safer, the pressures won't be that high."

"Moving the sky with water," Amy says. "Poetic."

"Moving a pinhole sphere with water," Zahnrad corrects as he sits back. "I'm not sure why he would have built this; but I think he brought me here once. At least, I remember seeing a clear sky vaguely as a child. Maybe when I was three? That's about right."

"He wanted a clock, maybe?" Amy suggests. "Or just to know what the Procession was up to when he couldn't see it."

"And why try to show this to someone now? Why you?" Zahn asks, "It just seems strange."

"It's pretty," Amy says. "And it could just be a challenge, to see if I would find it and start it up. Machines don't always have to do work-stuff. They can just be for looking at. Mechanical art. Stephan was an artist, I think."

"Do you want to stay down here? I want to go up the ladder and see what's above this place. Maybe he's got a notepad somewhere up there," Zahn muses and looks to the ladder on the far side of the room.

"Okay, should we turn this off before we go?" Amy asks, getting back to her feet.

"When we leave, yes. Just wait here and I'll see if there's anything worth looking at above. I'll call if there is," Zahn says and heads over to the ladder. Up he goes and disappears through the hole in the ceiling.

"Be sure to yell if you get your head cut off or anything!" Amy calls up the hole.

"So … do you like it?" comes an oddly familiar, hollow, and quiet, voice from behind Amelia.

"Yeep!" Amelia squeals, then spins around. "Stephan? Please don't startle me like that," she whispers urgently, then takes a moment to smooth out her ruffled tail. "And, I think it's beautiful. I've never been able to see the whole sky before."

Standing behind Amelia, of course, is the faint and fluctuating image of Stephan. He rocks back and forth slowly, hands clasp behind his back and looking hopeful. At the compliment he practically beams with a smile. "I didn't know if anyone would care," he admits, "But, I thought you might. You wanted to see the magic in the world and under the open sky, everything seems to be special, magical."

"I'll say!" Amy notes, and glances towards the ladder to see if Zahn is heading back yet. "How long did it take you to mark down all the stars and movements? You must have been a toddler."

"Long time. But … they're not very accurate," Stephan admits as he looks around at the 'stars' above. "Some of them are guesses, some I know are off. Some I got from books, or old records, too." No one seems to be coming down the ladder yet.

"It's still impressive," Amy says with a smile. "I mean, it's not meant for navigation, and nobody would notice any errors with the naked eye. I certainly wouldn't. Is there any other reason you led me here?"

"Maybe," the specter admits as he walks around to the other side of the central sphere. "It was stupid, though."

"What do you mean, stupid?" Amelia asks, looking concerned. "The sky-show?"

"No. I just … it was just a dumb idea. I thought maybe I could help you have at least part of your dream," Stephan admits, completely out of view and voice rather faint. "Give you a place where you could learn Wingnut magic, the magic of mathematics and gears. This place wasn't doing any good … so I thought maybe you would want it. I thought maybe it would be … inspiring, I guess."

"I can learn mechanics here?" Amy asks, her ears perking up. "That's great! I'll do my best, Stephan, I promise."

"There's lots of old stuff here that can be dismantled to see how it works. One of the best ways to lea … " Stephan starts to say until he's interrupted by a horrible grinding, then clunking, sound from somewhere under the floor. The central apparatus shudders violently, then stops moving. "Oh, no, no, NO!" the ghost wails and runs over to a section of floor. In a futile gesture, he tries to pull up the floor. "You can't break, you can't," the smaller ghost-kadie insists.

Amy hurries over to the phantom, and asks, "What do I need to do to fix it?"

Stephan keeps trying to pull up some sort of panel in the floor. Of course, he can't even begin to get a grip on it given he has no real form. "I don't even know what is wrong," he says weakly, "And I can't touch it. I … all I can do is watch it decay. I spent a long time building this and it's … it's going to die too." If a ghost could cry, this one likely would be now.

Reaching through the ghost to the floor panel, Amelia tries to pry it up for Stephan.

The sensation of going through the ghost is … like Amelia put her arm through a pool of cold water … only it doesn't leave her wet. The chill that remains is similar, though. The plate itself is slightly heavy, but it does lift away to reveal a mass of interlocking intricate gearing. It looks like the moss has attacked this place too, because it's pressing and pushing the gears completely out of position. One or two are completely off their axles and just sitting at an angle.

"Aha," Amelia says, and starts to reach for the moss… then reconsiders. "Is the machine still trying to move, or is it stopped now?"

"It will still be trying to move," Stephan says as he worriedly looks at the mess in the flooring, "Near the center sphere should be another access panel; inside should be a lever to shut it down."

Rushing over to the device, Amy opens the panel and looks for the lever, hoping it will be obvious.

The panel comes away easily enough, but inside are several levers, it turns out. Plus, there are a lot of moving gears in here. It looks like by pulling them it pushes spring-held gears up, disconnecting it from whatever powers the gear movement. After a bit of looking, the best guess is probably the right-most lever, since it seems to push against a triangular sloped gear that seems to connect to a really large gear that is practically vibrating as it presses against the smaller triangular one.

Biting her lip, Amy pulls the right-most lever, hoping she's guessing correctly.

It takes a surprising amount of force to dislodge the connecting gear using the lever … but it does pop up. There's a clunk and the largest gear now rotates freely, albeit rather slowly. From her vantage point, it doesn't look like it connects to anything now … so, it might be 'off'.

Amy runs back to the gearbox in the floor, and checks to see if they're still looking strained. She plucks one of her stilettos from her hair as well, to cut the moss with.

It doesn't look like they're straining anymore. Stephan just sits nearby, looking for all the world beside himself that his machine is broken. That is most definitely a Wingnut trait.

"It's just some gunk, Stephan," Amelia notes, and starts cutting at the moss. "I'll remember to keep things clean."

"It's more than that," Stephan complains and points at the completely dislocated gearing. "There are all in the wrong spots."

"Let me clear the moss out, and you can tell me where they go, okay?" Amy replies, and keeps sawing out the invasive flora.

As Amelia cuts away more and more of the moss, the situation looks worse and worse. A lot of the gearing has been dislodged and sitting at angles. It isn't simple gearing, either; it's like other things the former Kadie made … extremely complex. Stephan … well, he just hugs his tail.

"Just… one step at a time," Amelia mutters to herself as she surveys the damage. She digs out the last of the moss that she can reach, and figures there must be some sort of fluid she can use to kill the rest later. "Okay, now," she tells Stephan, smiling again. "Just hand-hold me through this."

"You're going to have to hold the primary gear stationary while moving the two links to it back into position. You'll also have to line up the timing markers on each of them so they're thirty degrees apart each," Stephan tries to explain while pointing at various bits.

"30 degrees is… one twelfth of a full turn, right?" Amelia asks, as she tries to follow the directions with just two hands. She often has to resort to sticking her tongue out of the side of her mouth while she concentrates.

And the end result is … a lot of frustration. When ones looks like it should slot into place, the other one wobbles and falls back out of position. Stephan, well, twitches nervously.

"You used your feet as extra hands, didn't you?" Amy asks Stephan. Her own toes aren't quite as versatile, so she has to improvise. She tries to brace things by using her knife where possible. "If this doesn't work, I'll need to get Zahn to help," she explains.

"We all do," Stephan admits in answer to the question. Seemingly at the end of his frustration, the small ghost sticks his 'hands' into the mess as well, on top of Amelia's. The shock of cold hits the Kadie again, but that's not the strangest sensation Amelia gets. All of a sudden, she can see how it's all supposed to go together, the way the gears mesh and exactly how the rotational forces all dance across the interlocking parts to their ultimate destinations. In her mind, a diagram overlays what is before her with numbers, positions, measurements that work together; forming an almost arcane 'spell' of mechanical control. And the weirdest thing of all? Fixing it suddenly seems easy; all she has to do is deliberately move the third gear on the right out of position. So, when she nudges the first of the two back, the other one will wobble, catch on the now out of place gear, and pop them both back into correct position.

With her mouth hanging open during the epiphany, Amelia attempts the solution she sees – nudging one gear out of position so that the others will correct themselves. "It's like witchcraft," she whispers. "Is this how you see things, all… alive?" she asks the specter.

It goes amazingly easy now as Amelia presses the gearing into proper positioning so that with the movement of just the left interlink, they all snap right back into place. When the final gear drops into place, Stephan pulls his hands away and as abruptly as it came, the ability to just see how it all works vanishes, leaving Amelia staring at … a confusing mass of gears. The ghost curls up tighter and hugs his tail again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I wasn't trying to," he babbles.

"Wait… it's gone," Amelia says, suddenly feeling half-blind. "How do I learn to see like that again?" she asks Stephan. "It's not magic is it? I can't do magic."

"I … I think I took over," Stephan admits weakly and scoots away a bit using his feet. "I just wanted you to understand how it worked. I think I made you understand, to see the world as we look at things. I'm sorry, it's not magic, it's just … learning how things work and in time it all just starts to make sense."

"No wonder I could never figure out the diagrams," Amy says, sitting down and then putting the floor panel back into place. "They don't move."

"You're not mad?" Stephan asks as he peeks out from behind his tail.

"I wonder if Morgan sees magic the same way?" Amelia mutters, then blinks at the ghost. "Mad? You said I might be inspired here to understand things, and then you showed me what understanding them is like. At least I have an idea of what my goal should be now. I'm thankful!"

"I could try to show you more, maybe," Stephan offers as he gets back to his feet. No sooner is he up, then Zahn's voice calls out, "Amelia! Sorry for taking so long, be right back down. I got … distracted."

Amy turns to look towards the top of the ladder, then notes quietly, "Oh, I should probably turn the projector back on." She turns back towards Stephan to see if he agrees.

Stephan is gone, leaving Amelia to decide that for herself. Amelia can hear Zahn heading back down the ladder, so she only has a few seconds to decide.

Getting to her feet, Amy returns to the projector and pushes the lever back into position, hoping the gears will engage normally now.

Clunk. The gears fall back into position and the center sphere starts its slow rotation once more. Zahn is now back in view as he slides the rest of the way down the ladder and hops off. "You should see the telescope up there; it's impressive," he says, "It's why I, well, took so long. Sorry about that. You must have been bored down here by yourself."

"Oh no," Amelia says, smiling. "I had plenty of interesting insights while I was waiting."