63



Control describes what Dr. Sabbatine needs: astronomical records that reveal the exact current time. The others seem bewildered by the doctor's requirement, and you suspect you will have to be the one to secure the charts. Scouts report that the ophidians have a central fortress in the volcanic mountains to the west. Victims of their raids are brought there to suffer what the mountain tribes believe is ritual sacrifice, though the vague and terrible reports you hear make it sound more like medical experimentation.

The doctor seems not to appreciate what the ophidians are doing to people and asks you not to harm their incipient scientific research.

The first stage of your journey takes you up the same river you used to reach the Apostolic Mound, past empty villages already half reclaimed by new growth.

You see none of the False Icon's servants, but Therko keeps disappearing into the forest to report on the devastation and desolation he finds. One morning, he returns bearing a handful of clay pots and unfamiliar utensils; all that remains, he says, of the once-thriving mountain of the Apostolic Mound.

"Keimia took everything," he says.