It's a long walk up those endlessly spiraling stairs, especially while carrying the bulky journals. But Olivia perseveres… and sometimes wonders if the elevator really is untrustworthy like Igor claims. The Skreek sure vanished quickly enough, and with that limp shouldn't be faster going up the stairs than Olivia is.

Olivia actually does fairly well, even though she's getting tired as she reaches the top. She does carry heavy bolts of cloth throughout the Weavers' compound, after all. So up the stairs she goes.

Everything is quiet up top, as far as the castle goes. At least, nothing is exploding or screaming and no odd little mutant troll-dragon-mice run across Olivia's toes. She may just escape without incident for a change.

Olivia is about to relax but at the last moment she tells herself, Never assume anything. Especially not in this place! So she carefully makes her way to the door.

The door opens with that horrible squeaking noise that Igor spends hours getting to sound just the right shade of ominous. The sunlight spills in, making a mess on the floor, and… nothing jumps on Olivia!

Olivia breathes a sigh of relief for that but still does not relax. She carries the journals outside and attempts to close the door behind her.

The door shuts with a huge, ominous clang that – of course – echoes through the courtyard. Nobody comes to investigate. Nothing stirs in the DANGER: Vegetables! garden either.

Olivia clutches the journals against her chest and starts on the road for home…

The Milk Run burbles along, and on the far side is a small flock of Rughrats being tended to by an antlered Lapi (and a big dark… bird?). Nothing is going to interrupt Olivia this morning, apparently!

Olivia hmms to herself and continues on her way. She'd try to flip through another journal as she walked, but figures that wouldn't be a good idea. It wouldn't do to accidentally toss one of great-great Uncle Orifice's notebooks into the river!

Things go smoothly until Olivia reaches the first T-junction, and spots her boyfriend Djivan coming towards her. With Amelia! And they aren't fighting!

Olivia quirks an eyebrow and thinks, Well, that's unusual. And… concerning. She waves to them both and calls, "Hello! How are you both?"

"Ey, it be Olivia!" Djivan declares loudly and points, "Wit' books, too! I hope dey no important cuz dere be bigger matters to deal with!"

"Yeah, well… we were looking for you, Olivia," Amy says. "And don't worry, I didn't let him touch me anywhere."

Olivia holds the books a little more tightly to her chest and says, "They're actually very important, thankyouverymuch. But what's wrong?"

"Demons," Amy says. "And Lili."

"Bah, dere no demons!" Djivan says with a pfft, "Just Lili." He dangles a bloody piece of gauzy cloth similar to what Liliana usually wears in front of Olivia's nose. "I foun' dis out in de woods."

Olivia blinks. "Demons have got a hold of Lili? So… who are we supposed to be concerned for? I'd be more worried about the demons, myself… "

Olivia looks closely at the bloody cloth. "Did you find anything else?" she murmurs.

"Could be a demon hunter too," Amy notes. "We need to go look at the spot where Djivan found that."

"I agree," Olivia says to Amelia, "but I need to put these books in a safe place, first. If I lose them, Dr. Pike will kill me."

"West from here an north o' de town. No past the castle," Djivan clarifies.

"Hmm, we can use the bridge at the castle then," Amy says, then points out to Olivia, "You could just leave them at the castle if they're so important. What are they?"

"Old Uncle Orifice's journals," Olivia says. "And, uh, I don't exactly want Dr. Pike to have them right now, either. I'm afraid you're just going to have to trust me on this one."

"I though we already read through his journals though," Amy notes, and leans into get a better look at the books.

Djivan crosses his arms. "Lili more important den books," he says in a huff.

"Not these," Olivia explains. "They were hidden in that black room of his but I managed to find them. Any chance of me swinging by the Weavers' first? So I can put them away?"

"Yes, she's very important but so are these. So are a lot of other things and people, too," Olivia says evenly.

"Run really fast," Amy notes. "And bring… uh… some string!"

Djivan doesn't look happy, but nods. "Go hide de books, den. We'll wait," he says.

Olivia nods but looks curious. "How much string?" she asks before running off.

"A couple of yards at least," Amy says after a moment of thought. "Blue if you have it, otherwise… red."

"Wha wit de string?" Djivan has to ask Amelia.

After Olivia has left, Amy explains, "It's good for binding demons."

"I prefer a good cord t' bind Lili. 'course, need a good four poster bed, too," Djivan muses after a moment. "I didn' know you were into dat!"

"That's not what I meant!" Amy says. "And if you know what I was into your head would probably explode."

"Vell, ve gots time – ya could tell me," Djivan notes.

Olivia takes off as fast as she can for the Weavers' compound. Once there, she does not store the journals in her room (as she does remember the tunnel underneath her room), but in the safe guarded by Gunther's new security system. Afterwards, she rummages about in her room for red AND blue string, coming up with a few yards of each in thick yarn. Hoping this will do, she runs back to the junction where Amelia and Djivan are waiting. "How's this?" she pants, holding the yarn out to Amy.

"Ah, both colors! Perfect!" Amy says, taking the string. "Good work Ollie!" she says with a smile.

"Ey, turns out here Amy is inta bindin' demons!" Djivan notes and waggles his brow to Olivia. "Wanna be a demon?"

"Well then, you can reward me by not calling me 'Ollie'," the Skeek grumbles.

"I'm just in a weird mood today," Amelia says by way of apology. "Did some… uh… stuff the other day and… had a weird morning."

"Maybe some other time," Olivia smiles at the Skreek.

"Vha sorta stuff?" Djivan naturally has to ask.

"Wild crazy Kadie-nookies, okay?" Amy blurts at Djivan, almost in challenge. "With a side of Parsley!"

Djivan blinks a few times, then grins. "See! I knew she was into strange stuffs," he says to Olivia, "Vanna invite 'er along sometime?"

Olivia pats Amelia in a calming sort of way, not wanting to make the Kadie any more wigged out than she is already. "I keep telling you, one person at a time is enough action for me," she tells Djivan. "Shall we go into the woods now?"

"Yes," Amelia says with forced calm. "Into the woods to hunt demons!"

"Righ', righ', let's go," Djivan agrees and lets it drop. He waves for the pair to follow into the woods. The trek is moderately unpleasant, what with the burrs and branches that tend to snap back and try to thwack the people behind the leader. Eventually they reach a clearing. It's here that Djivan says, "Ve here. Found it against dat tree," he says and points to one of the gnarled trees.

Amy sniffs the air, and looks at the ground for signs of footprints or a struggle.

Olivia walks thoughtfully up to the tree itself and examines it for anything else of Lili's that might have been left behind.

There are slight signs of other footprints in the area, both in boot and claw. The scents here are also mixed, but Lili's perfume tends to stand out. The tree, however, is more interesting. Something seems to be moving in its branches. Of course a loud crack follows and Olivia suddenly finds herself buried in some horrible groping thing! To make matters worse it smells funny! Djiavn squeaks and cries out, "Olivia!"

Olivia squeaks in alarm as she goes down underneath the thing! She pushes at it frantically, trying to get it off her…

Amelia jumps up and spins around with her sword in hand! "Lettergoyoumonster, or I'll gut ya!" she chatters.

The monster in question isn't putting up that much of a fight, really. In fact, its pretty limp. Once Olivia gets it shoved off, she finds herself looking at a mangled pile of cloth and rope. Looks a bit like a strange net, really.

Djivan kicks it. "Ey, it be a funky rope pile," he says, ever the master of the obvious.

Olivia rolls over and sits up, once the netting is off her and on the ground. "What in the world… ?" she gasps, trying to get a better look at it. "And what is that smell?"

Amelia, though, when she gets close feels like she just got kicked in the face. The scent is extremely strong, at least to her. She does manage to shrug it off soon enough, thankfully.

"Okay, whatever that is… is nasty," Amelia remarks. "Maybe it's supposed to overpower whoever gets caught in the net?"

Djivan kneels down by it and sniffs lightly at the rope. "Dunno. Sort of a strange sickly-sweet smell an not even dat overpowering," he remarks. Funny, it doesn't seem to be bothering Djivan that badly.

"Hmmm, and there's a boot print," the Kadie points out. "A net, boot-print, and a demon-call. I think we have a Chronotopian demon-hunter on the loose, and he got Lili… or rather, didn't get her… at least, not with the net."

Olivia takes another sniff at it, to see if the scent is just as strong to her as it seems to be to Amelia.

It's not that overpowering to Olivia, either. Its annoying, but not debilitating.

Olivia hmms at that. Then she asks Amelia, "How can you tell the demon hunter is from Chronotopia? I wasn't aware they had the corner market on such folk."

"An vhy vould dey care about Lili. She no demon," Djivan notes.

"Because all demon-hunters come from Chronotopia," Amelia reasons. "And all Chronotopians wear boots. Unless this is a Sylvanian human of course. But Sylvanians know better than to hunt demons. Especially harmless ones like Lili!"

Amelia also just blinks at Djivan, apparently having assumed he knew everything about Liliana. "Well… uh… she's a demon… in the sack… right?"

"Well, yah, can be! But that no like a demon, demon! It no like she has horns or anyt'ing," Djivan argues.

From the look on her face, it's evident that Olivia is taking this reasoning with a large dose of salt. "Um, maybe we should scout around now to see if we can discover which way that they went."

"Just trust me when I say Lili is susceptible to a demon-call," Amelia grumbles, and goes about looking for more tracks.

"Lili's susceptible to a lot of calls," Olivia mutters in an aside to Djivan. "Especially a come-hither one."

Amelia can't even get close to that net without the feeling of being kicked in the head returning. The tracks here are unfortunately a couple days old and morning dew and ground sogginess have destroyed most of anything that looks useful. At a guess, it does look like there was some sort of fight here.

Djivan hehs and nods to Olivia, "True, dat." He starts climbing the tree to see if he can find anything from where the net fell.

"The net missed, so whoever it was tried to subdue Lili… " Amy mutters, then stops and says, "I can smell that! I'm not stupid! How do you think I figured out it was for knocking out demons?" It takes her a moment before she realizes she said that out loud.

"Don' yell at Olivia!" Djivan calls down from the tree branches.

"I'm not yelling at Olivia!" Amy yells up into the tree, and then kicks the trunk for good measure.

"Amelia, is there something else wrong?" Olivia asks softly, now eyeing her friend with concern. "You don't seem to be yourself, really, and I don't think it's just the smell coming from that net."

"I'm… more than myself," Amy says. "And stop telling me to give in! You just want me to go on a killing spree," she mutters to herself.

Olivia walks over to the Kadie and takes her gently by the shoulders now. "Amelia, I'm not telling you to give into anything," she says, gently but firmly. "Who is saying this to you?"

"Ey, I see some smoke in the distance from up 'ere!" Djivan yells. "Out in de woods, even!"

"Err… I am, apparently," Amy whispers to the mouse. "Look… remember when we were in Bravil's head, and sometimes I'd go all red?"

Olivia ignores Djivan for the moment to focus on Amelia. She nods tensely.

"Well, that was because I'm po – wait, smoke?" Amy turns to the tree, and asks, "How far, Djivan?"

"At a guess? Mebbe a mile, give or take. No too far," Djivan calls back and starts scrambling down the tree.

Olivia sighs and inwardly curses the Skreek's timing. "We'd better see what's going on, then," she says.

"Yeah, let's go!" Amelia says, waiting for Djivan to get back to the ground. To Olivia, she whispers, "Anyway… uh… let me know if you see my fur turning red. Even just a little?"

Funny she should mention that, Amelia has one red eye. Or well, maybe it's a trick of the light because when she blinks, it's back to normal.

Olivia nods and whispers back, "Okay. Just promise you'll explain this to me later?"

"You might not like the explanation," Amy points out. "And I know don't know exactly what's happening. But I'm sure someone came and did a demon summoning call. And we're on the right track."

"Righ', dis vay!" Djivan says as he tromps back into the woods, heading west. Amelia, being the practiced hunter, should notice things as they walk, broken twigs, crunched leaves. Something, or someone was dragged this way. But the funny part, is, she doesn't! It's Olivia who spots them, including the subtle color variances where some blood was left smeared on leaves. Olivia's mood becomes more and more serious as they walk to the source of the smoke. Whatever we're coming upon, it isn't going to be good, she thinks grimly. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she replies, "If it concerns your well-being, Amy, of course I want to know."

"It's more of a concern for everyone else's well-being," the Kadie grumbles. "And magic. I shouldn't have agreed to Natasha's test… "

The walk is slow going and just as annoying as the first, but they make progress. It takes an hour, but the small group reach what looks like an abandoned campsite. A smoldering fire puts out the black smoke Djivan must have spotted. The only nearby shelter looks to the an earthen cave, the entrance leading down somewhere into the wet ground.

Sniffing the air again, Amy tries to catch a whiff of Lili's distinctive perfume.

As Olivia notes the cave, she mutters, "Great, just what I need – more time underground." Then she leaves Amy for the moment to inspect the campsite.

The perfume is stronger here, certainly, and seems to lead towards the cave. That's not all that seems to indicate Liliana. Olivia finds out what was fueling the fire; a few charred shards of brightly colored cloth lay near it, along with blackened chitin jewelry.

"Someone's been trying to erase all traces of Lili's presence," Olivia says quietly to the others, pointing to the burned jewelry.

"Should have scrubbed her down then, because I can still smell her," Amy says, and sits down at the entrance to the cave to just listen to it for a few moments.

Djivan goes and kneels by the fire. He sifts through the charred jewelry for a moment, then cups one of the pieces in his hand. "I gave 'er dis long time ago," he says. "Made it fer 'er birthday."

Olivia joins Amelia at the cave's entrance. "Then whoever it was would've had to wash her for a week. You know how she liked to soak in her perfumes," Olivia says lightly.

Even with the sound of wind in the leaves, Amelia hears something faint somewhere in the cave. Breathing? No … crying.

"Someone's in there," Amy says. "Crying. I think it's Lili. Uh… might be best if I go in alone first."

Djivan drops the burned jewelry and stands. "No, we go t'gether. She's our friend an we gonna go to her," he says firmly and heads towards the cave.

Amelia hurries to get in before Djivan. "Well… she might not want to see you just now," she warns. "And it would be good to have a candle or something."

Olivia nods at the Skreek's words as she follows the others. "Well, I left all the candles back at Pike's castle, so don't look at me," she says.

After a moment of thought (although it really looks like Amy is cocking her head to listen to something), the Kadie says, "Okay, it might also be a trap. There's something hollow about this place."

Djivan thrusts a finger square into the center of Amelia's chest. "Now listen up," he says, voice low and almost dangerous. "I know you t'ink I jus' someone hopin' t' catch a look at a naked girl. Vell, no right now; Lili's family. You aren't gonna stop me from goin' to her side. Gottit?"

And as an aside to Olivia, Djivan comments, "Grab one of dose branches and wrap it in some dead leaves an that string. Makeshift torch. It'll work enough, I 'ope."

"That's not what I meant at all," Amelia snaps. "But Lili has some secrets even from you, Djivan. And her pride. If you go ahead now, it could change everything between you."

"No secre' coul' kill our friendship," Djivan says as he crosses his arms over his chest. "She comforted me vhen my mother die'. I can' just ignore her in pain now."

"Let's go then," Amy grumbles. "But I'd feel better if at least one of us stayed outside in case the whole place is meant to come down on us."

"Maybe… " Olivia begins meekly, then continues in a slightly stronger voice when the other two look at her. "Maybe we could let Amelia go first, and if she doesn't come back in fifteen minutes, then we could go after her. Would that work?"

"I'll leave a trail of thread," Amy offers.

Djivan sighs and rubs his eyes. "Fin'," he relents.

Handing Djivan the end of the blue thread, Amy says, "Trust me, Djivan. You brought me along for the dangerous stuff, remember?"

"It no about trustin' vou. It about failin' me best friend," Djivan whispers to Amelia as he takes the string.

"Please be careful," Olivia tells the Kadie. "If your fifteen minutes are up and you don't return, or we hear a lot of struggling going on in there, we're coming after you."

"Don't worry, I'll bring her out if she's down there," Amy promises, and heads into the dark wet hole while the thread unspools.

The hole's grade drops sharply as Amelia goes down. The cave feels almost unnatural, somehow. She can't even quite explain it, but the utter hollowness it seems to radiate sets her teeth on edge. At least one thing is good; there aren't any side passages … and the crying is getting louder. Up ahead is an opening that probably leads to a larger room.

Once the Kadie is out of sight, Olivia embraces Djivan. "She's one of the best fighters we've got," she whispers to him. "If anyone can bring Lili out of a bad situation, it's her."

Djivan seems to deflate in the embrace. "I 'ate feeling so useless," he admits quietly. "If she dea' I don' know vha I gonna tell 'er mom."

Taking it very slow, Amelia inches her way down the incline. It feels like she's dropping down a throat though, from the way it gets on her nerves. "Lili," she hisses. "Are you down there?" She keeps watch for the dim glow of the vampire's eyes, and thinks to herself, "Can demons sense each others presence? Is she really down there or is it just her voice?"

The crying stops for a moment. "Amelia?" comes a cracked and tired voice. It sounds like Liliana, anyway. "Dat vou? Please don' be an illusion. Please be real. Feel so … empty."

"Well, I don't exactly feel very useful here, either," Olivia says. "I'm not a warrior. But if worst comes to worst, I can be with you when you face Lili's mother. I wouldn't let you do that alone."

"It's me," Amy says. "Are you able to move? What happened?"

"Don' remember much. Jus … pain. Felt like dey tore me in 'alf," the voice says weakly. "Can' move, either, left me tied up down 'ere. Please jus' get me out of dis place."

"I'm coming down then," Amy says, heading in deeper towards the larger chamber she senses. "They, you say? Was there more than one?"

"Ves. At leas' three," the voice admits. It's only a few seconds later and Amelia enters the room. It's dark in here and the scent is of decaying plant life and burnt wood. The feeling of emptiness is even greater in here, amazingly. Against the far wall Amelia can just make out a figure leaning against it. No … stretched out over it. No … tied and spread arms, legs, and wings, on some sort of wooden frame. It's probably Liliana and her breathing is shallow and weak. There's also a brief smell of burnt fur.

"Some sort of ritual," Amy whispers, trying not to breath in the herbal scent too much as she heads for Lili. "Open your eyes, Lili," she says. "I could use the extra light."

It visibly takes some effort for Liliana to lift her hear. "Me eyes are open," shays, voice dry and cracking. There's no red glow. Nothing.

"That… isn't good," Amy notes, and feels her way to where Lili's arms are bound to the frame. "I'm going to try and cut you loose now," she says, taking out one of her thin iron stilettos.

It's rough rope and Amelia can feel where it's cutting into Lili's flesh; raw and slightly wet from her blood.

"Uh, this could hurt, I'm sorry," Amy says as she starts to saw at the rope. There's just no way to avoid rubbing it further against the raw flesh. "Where they humans?" she asks, trying to make Lili focus on something else.

"We're going to get it back," Amelia growls, almost to herself. "Whoever stole it, I'll find them and get it back. I've got the perfect bait, after all."

"Han' ere for a few days an nothin' kin hurt much more," Liliana says in a coughing laugh. "Humans, humans," she says, sounding even more tired. "I think dey vere. Don' remember so well, tho. Jus' pain. Feel torn in half."

"Did they make you change into your other form?" Amy asks as she hurries to free the bonds. "Did they lure you to them somehow?"

"Vas jus' huntin'. Felt drawn. 'member a horrible smell an' remember crashin'. Vasn' hurt, cept my pride. Vell, until something hit me on de back oh' me head," Liliana tries to explain. "Voke up on dis wall. Lots of chantin'. 'member feelin' funny, feeling forehead an feet on fire. Touched some sort of crystal t' me chest an everyt'ing burned." The Eee actually starts shaking and when the last bond comes free, she collapses forward and curls up on the damp floor. "Make it' stop. Hurts," she sobs, pleading, "Kill me, anyt'ing. Jus' make de emptiness go away."

"Time's up," Djivan says up above and he ties off the string he was holding. "Let's go," he tells Olivia and takes her hand, then descends into the cave.

"I'll get it back for you," Amelia promises, cutting the ropes. "A crystal? They stole your demon, Lili. I won't allow that! Not in my territory," she growls, her eyes turning red. And we have a LOT of territory, don't we? A whole red swath of it from here to Tursdi, she thinks to herself.

Olivia nods her assent and takes the gypsy's offered hand. "Go slowly so our eyes can adjust," she tells him.

"Righ," Djivan agrees as the pair descends. "Amelia, ve comin'!" he calls out … and Amelia can certainly hear that.

"'… van?" Liliana squeaks, "Dat 'van?"

"Hurry!" Amy barks, then more quietly tells Lili, "Of course it's him. Did you ever doubt he'd come looking for his sister?"

Olivia hears Amelia's command and steels herself. "Go only as fast as is safe. We can't risk falling in here, don't know where we'd land."

"Don' vant him t' see me," Liliana admits and curls up more. "He get mad an vant revenge. Don' vant 'im hurt too."

"He'll get you to Natasha," Amy says. "I'll leave him something to have revenge on though."

Djivan squeezes Olivia's hand firmly and descends fairly quickly, though safely. In short order they're entering the dim and dank room. On the far side Amelia sits and Liliana … yes, its her, is laying in a ball on the floor.

"Dear gods!" Olivia gasps, letting go of Djivan's hand and moving quickly to Lili's other side. "What happened?" she says softly, putting out her other hand to feel for the Eeee's face.

"Get her out of here," Amy growls. "Get her to Natasha! Her spirit has been torn out."

Olivia frowns at what that implies. "What about you, Amy? Aren't you coming?"

Olivia finds Liliana's face. It's caked with with mud and tears. "Gah, Olivia too," Liliana whispers, trying in vain to bat at Olivia's hands. "Don vant yas t' see me. Look terrible." Djivan slides in next to Olivia. "Gods, Lil," is all he can say. He can't even bring himself to touch her right now out of fear of hurting her more.

"I'll be right behind you," the Kadie promises.

Olivia looks to Djivan now, helpless. "I can't carry her on my own. I'll need you, too."

"You no' going off after whoever did dis; no alon'. I know vou don' t'ink much o' me, Amelia, but I can't let whoever did dis just get away," the Skreek growls, "I haf' t' be there too. I just, I haf to, okay?" And with that, he winces and slips his arms under Liliana, telling her, "I sorry if dis 'urts, Lil. Ve gonna getcha help."

Sitting on the ground, Amelia digs her fingers into the damp soil and whispers, "Sylvania. In ages past, you called to me. And I came. And in my wake flowed a river of blood, all to slake your thirst. Now it's time for you to repay me. Help me find my quarry, and I'll feed you again. For I am Amelia Bloodfur, and today I claim my birthright!"

Olivia assists Djivan in lifting Liliana from the ground, as gently as she can. "I don't care about how you look," she tells the Eeee, although her voice is shaking. "I'm just glad you're alive."

Heat washes over Amelia and for a moment, every follicle tingles. And then … it's gone. "Can't," Amelia suddenly finds herself saying, "Not here. Not here. Wards, shields. Wa … aaaagh!" Amelia's head feels like it explodes in fire … and she too crumples to the floor, unconscious.

"Looks like we gots two t' carry," Djivan says with a sigh as Amelia collapses too. "Good t'ing Lil's light. Gots a long way to go, though. Best get movin, Olivia. Ya hold Lil for a bit and I'll tie Amelia t' my back. I just hope she no wake up an kick me butt later."

"Amelia!" Olivia cries. Once the Eeee is safely in Djivan's arms, she kneels again on the floor and takes the Kadie's head in her hands. "Oh no, oh no, not you too," she says softly. Then she sighs. "I'd better try carrying Lili as best I can myself. Amy's heavier, so you get to carry her. Rather doubt you'd manage both at once." In desperation, she thinks, What's going ON?