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She manages a brief smile, mostly hidden by her long black hair, then waves away your concerns and stands upright and confident. That pleases her followers, but you can still see the worry in her golden eyes.

"Ah, yes," the Apostolic Mound says, its shapeless head tilting back so the golden pectoral on its breast catches the moonlight, "I am in contact."

Its eyes turn silver-gray, and a crackling hiss emerges from the Apostolic Mound's gore-slick mouth. Then you hear a familiar voice.

"Hello? Stralchus? Captain Kamateros?"

It's Dr. Sabbatine! Control almost leaps for excitement, all her faces looking upward almost reverently toward the drooling mass of the Apostolic Mound.

Before she can speak, Stralchus pushes past you and says, "The captain is dead. It's just me and one of the guards. Oh, and your robots. We've found ourselves in some savage nightmare world, Euphrasia! Get us out!"

You can hear the strain—very nearly the hysteria—in the mystic's voice. Stralchus has weathered the physical dangers without fear, but the mere existence of this place has worn on his mind.

The doctor's voice hisses and distorts, then comes through more strongly. "Is there something in the sky?" she asks. "Something like a mountain that's turned the whole world silver?"

Stralchus falls silent as if struck dumb.