Over the past week and a half, I have made no further progress on the investigaton due to what elapsed the moment I returned to the Scalar after my second visit to Fleming House.

When I returned, I decided to test one of my many mechanisms used to detect the presence of darkfire floans. The moment I turned it on, it began to issue a multitude of alarms. I thought at first that it was a glitch in the mechanism itself. But when I turned on another machine, which I named the syphondrome, I realized that the first device told no lies. I had been exposed to a large amount of darkfire.

I cannot determine how long I had been exposed, but I do remember, on the rainy night I ventured in the woods, becoming disoriented. I should have known then that such disorientation was one of the classic signs of being under the influence of darkfire. But of course, that would have required my own judgement, which, as for anyone else, is influenced in part at least by emotion.

And my emotions were under sway by the very same darkfire influence. It was a wonder I felt so vulnerable and irrational when the Chaplain had turned against me in the University Council meeting.

So I immediately went to the Hospital. Not the University Hospital but the one in the center of the town of Cabotton proper. For some reason, I have had a bit of foreboding when it comes to putting myself in the care of others in this way at the University. Perhaps it's a lingering effect of the darkfire influence, but it's not something to impact my decisions too severely. In any case, the nurses and doctors, as well as the other staff, did a superb job cleaning the darkfire out of my system that I was able to return to the Scalar by Friday.

Unfortunately, even my speedy recovery does not cast hope on the prospect of this investigation.

Upon my return, I picked up a package sent to me by Headmaster Snow. It contained a short letter informing me of my standing in terms of reputation of the University student body, as well as the daily copies of the Flagstaff. Word spreads fast at the University. I had informed both Winsley and the Headmaster of my darkfire exposure, but it appears that someone may have overheard; and my story became popular.

The Chaplain capitalized upon this and convinced the University Council to vote against its portion of the commission being paid to me, under the pretense that my diagnosis was confirmation that I had been "corrupted by the sway of Darius Weller and therefore could not be trusted to continue the investigation."

That obviously is not true. And why the Chaplain has turned against me in the first place, I am still struggling to understand. But alas, October is only five days away; and I am no closer to finding the outcome of this incident than I was in the beginning. I would need the month of October, I admit. And the University is not giving that to me.

So I will conclude this investigation and fly the Scalar out of Gentry County tomorrow morning. I wish the authorities well in getting to the bottom of this; and I hope for the utmost safety and well-being for Ivella Ogden.