The cellars are a little damp, but seem secure. The Cyclopean stone pillars give the impression of Second Empire architecture - much older than anything on the surface of the Academy of the Mind, even if it's not quite as ancient as the dome of the Karazthan. If Batendal isn't safe here, he won't be safe anywhere. They pass some steps leading further down to even lower levels, but Gurnyla tells Karogeth that those chambers are flooded.

"Now, if Guruinath cannot be trusted, who were you in communication with?", Gurlyla asks Karogeth.

Karogeth

"Lavuyl Zalyn and Faeryn. I can personally vouch for the latter, and he vouched for the former. Speaking of which, I'd best update them that we're in a place of relative safety. I'll err on the side of caution and make sure they don't have the exact point."

"Lavuyl Zalyn?", says Gurnyla, "He's one of The Twelve. I suppose we should be thankful to The Guardians the conspiracy doesn't go that high".

Karogeth

"Precisely. Now, let's see what the latest developments are: Both the Karazthan and Academy have paid in blood this day, and we need to make damned sure those responsible are thwarted. How's Batendal doing?"

He reactivated his communicator, speaking,

"Lavuyl Zalyn, Faeryn, this is Karogeth. Batendal is in a place of safety, what's the situation at the moment?"

"The airship has crashed on the west bank; it won't fire on the Academy again", comes the reply, "I don't have any reports of casualties. No direct communication from The Legion as yet, I have reports that they have Guriunath under arrest from our own men at the scene".

Karogeth

"Understood. Any further news on co-conspirators? Does the airship appear to be salvageable?"

"I'm security rather than technical", he says, "Have to wait until Fareyn can examine the wreckage. And I don't have the forces available to secure the crash site, so the lowlives from the West Bank will probably have too much time for looting".

Karogeth

"Guardians damn their thieving souls, that craft is beyond price! Isn't there anything we can do? run a generator to give anyone touching the hull a shock? anything?"

"You technical people might think differently", he says, "But I'm more concerned for our people on board; I don't know the fate of any of the crew as yet"

There is a pause.

"I must go", he says, "I've had confirmation that The Legion have Guruinath captive. I must head there at once".

Karogeth

"Understood, Karogeth out."

He turned his attention back to Batendal: With Guruinath out of the equation, that just left however many people were left to silence him.

Batendal is still very weak. But he's conscious.

"What's happening", he says in a weak, croaking voice.

Karogeth

"An Airship fired on you, but was shot down itself in turn. Our people are cleaning up at the scene. We're alive, but another couple of Wizards died making sure of that."

"Why?", he says, "And why did you try to save me?".

His face shows the expression one might expect on hearing of the destruction of one of the Karazthan's irreplaceable craft, with the possibility that it might all be his fault.

Karogeth

"Because people have been trying to silence you by having you killed, even to the point of using one of the Airships against you. That means what you know is vitally important to them, worth more even then one of our airships, and it's that kind of wrong-headed thinking that got us into this mess in the first place. Trashing the submersible, losing the airship... The goals of these people are so completely and utterly antithetical to everything I stand for, everything I believe in, that opposing them in every way was the only course of action."

"I... I didn't want to", he said, "But if I didn't.... I...I...". He pauses to cough. "I would die".

Karogeth

"Yes, you said. It is to be hoped that we've put that behind us now..."

"What... going to happen to me now", he asks.

Karogeth

"Well, not getting assassinated by your former 'associates' is about the only guarantee I'm giving. What would you like to happen now?"

"Tell Fareyn and Dalarath the truth", he says, "And catch those... those... people".

Karogeth

"Oh, we can certainly have that. They're busy on the catching part as we speak, but I can see if Faeryn's free to hear what you have to say..."

He checked his communicator.

The communicator is alive, and still gets a signal. This is probably a good thing, because it means nobody has blown up the dome.

"Fareyn here", says the voice on the other end, "What's the situation?".

Karogeth

"We are secure here: Batendal wishes to tell you everything. Putting him on."

"I want to have Batendal moved back to the dome as soon as Lavuyl tells me it is safe", says Fareyn before Karogeth passes the communicator to the stricken Batendal.

Batendal then goes into a long, rambling and not totally coherent account of how he'd been poisoned, and how he'd die unless he did the bidding of the poisoners who could supply the antidote.

"What are the Karazthan going to do next?", Gurnyla asks Karogeth, "I had thought it was only the Academy of the Mind that was divided into murderous factions, while the Karazthan was united behind the agenda of its inscrutable leaders. Clearly we have been mistaken".

"Oh, we're united, all right. This is the exception that proves the rule: One bad apple spreading malign influence, the rest of us uniting to purge it and be unified once more."

"Has the danger of further attacks passed, or are some of your rotten apples still at large?", she asks.

Karogeth

With the exhasperation earned through the previous days of toil and turmoil,

"Yes."

"So what are we to do with your Batendal?", she asks.

"We'll be taking him back to the dome as soon as we get the go-ahead, most likely."

"Does your superior want this to happen soon"?

"That depends on when we get the go-ahead, doesn't it?"

"As soon as Rethuis d'n Amatheyr, our head of security, gives his word, you can go. You might want your own guild to provide an escort; it may still be dangerous out there".

Karogeth

"I'll give them a heads up when the time comes."

"I'll mindspeak him", she says, closing her eyes to concentrate.

"He'll be right down", she says.

Rethuis d'n Amatheyr is a well build kandar man with a shaved head. After greeting Gurlyla, he turns to Karogeth.

"It appears that our guest has enemies prepared to kill innocents to get him. Sadly we lost one dead and one missing to protect him".

"Now the airship is downed, the Academy complex is as secure as it can be. What is the situation with the Karazthan dome, to your best knowledge?".

Karogeth

"I believe things are under control there, but it won't hurt to verify. Our hands will be full with the airship, though."

"What of those who attacked us", he asks, "You have been in communication with the dome, so Gurnyla tells me. Why did they attack, who were they, and what of them now?".

Karogeth

Indicating Batendal and rattling off on his fingers,

"To silence him, we'll let you know when we have the whole story, and they crashed."

"They crashed because The Legion destroyed the airship with artillery fire", says Rethuis, "What's left of it still burns on the western bank. What is in this man's head that's of such import than they commit mass murder to keep secret?".

Karogeth

"We'll be asking the survivors that as we speak."

"That is assuming there are any survivors", he says, "I've had a couple of adepts with the Way of Vision scan the crash site; it's a confusion of violent emotions. I know there are several dead; whether from the airship or on the ground I we cannot tell".

Karogeth

"When the confusion settles, we'll know."

"So the Karazthan doesn't know either", he says, "Or they haven't told you. Is their head of security available to speak to me on that communication gadget of yours? I don't have the mental strength to mindspeak him from here".

Karogeth

"I'll ask if he's free."

He turned back to the communicator, trying to raise the head of security.

"Fareyn here!", answers the communicator, "What's your status?".

Karogeth

"Largely unchanged, but the Academy is asking questions. Are we willing to hear them?"

"What sort of questions?", he asks, "And who's asking them?".

Karogeth

He reiterated the questions asked so far, naming the askers.

At Fareyn's request, Karogeth hands the communicator to Rethuis. Karogeth can only hear one end of the conversation, although it's clear they're discussing the pros and cons of moving Batendal back to the dome, of the possibilities of traitors remaining at large, and the suspicion that he's perhaps not quite as safe remaining in the Academy of the Mind as had been hoped.

Eventually Rethuis hands the communicator back to Karogeth.

"We're moving him to the dome", says Fareyn's voice, "The Academy of the Mind tell us his condition is stable enough to move him. We'll come and get him as soon as I can gather enough Men In Black to provide sufficient security".

Karogeth

"Understood. I'll hold station here until then."