In the span of only a few days, things can change so much.

Just after I finished my last entry on the 19th, I received a message card in my postal slip box aboard the Scalar. The item was a mysterious note reading: "Look to the top and find your lowest man, O, IM."

I just could not comprehend the note. But regardless, I placed it in my files for safekeeping.

The following morning, just after I finished preparing the Scalar for departure, I decided, out of sheer curiosity, to venture down to the University for one last look at the Basement Chamber of the Northwest Wing of Fleming House. I noticed that in the wall facing the University Administration building was the outline of a door. I had seen it before when I was here previously but never thought to make a note. Out of impulse, I took out my talisman and cast my own type of "material activation" spell. I cannot fathom why I felt such an impulse to do this, but when I did so, the spot on the wall actually materialized into a doorway leading to a tunnel. This tunnel was lined by a rail track on the floor with a special, shall we say, cart-tug thing mounted with a lever. I jumped into this and pulled the lever. The thing activated and took me down the tunnel, which began to incline. However, the wheels on this were mounted as such that whenever the slope of the track changed, a fulcrum angled the set of wheels as such that the bench in the cart on which I sat remained level. This incline then turned into a vertical shaft; and that's when I noticed the rail wheels actually had teeth on the inside to grip onto in inner set of teethed rails on the track. Thus, what I was riding turned into an elevator.

After a couple of minutes, the thing came to a stop at a door, which opened. I mounted my talisman, expecting a confrontation; afterall, I was in hostile territory. However, what I saw when the door opened took me by complete surprise.

It was the inside of the Chaplain's Office.

My mind was boggled. I suspected that perhaps this was yet another figment of my disorientation, that perhaps I was still afflicted by darkfire. Nevertheless, I decided to have a look around.

The first item that caught my eye was the Certification that Father David Connor had on his wall. I had seen it before on my numerous visits to his Office but never had the chance to look at it closely. The year of certification was in 1240, but one of the signatures was from the Bishop of Daylram: Father Mark Forring. The issue was that, as far as I knew, Forring passed in 1239. This was only a matter of speculation at the time, but I did later confirm this to be true.

My second find confirmed my growing suspicion. It was his collection of pendants on the shelf to the side between the desk and the door. Holy Pendants were meant to look like talismans, being eight- or nine-sided. But these had eleven sides.

They were darkfire floans!

And then the third find was the note on his desk, which came from one of his contacts through the text-ticker machine. It read: "To the defenses at the other end. He's on his way to Fleming yet again."

As I was taking in these finds, my thoughts went back to the note from "O, IM," reading: "Look to the top and find your lowest man."

At that moment, I was urgent and alert. I prepared my talisman again, expecting a confrontation any second. But a few moments passed with silence. I looked at the note again. "At the other end," I read again. I looked back at the elevator shaft, and then out the window at the outside wall lining the elevator shaft. The spacing around the shaft did not make sense, but then I saw what looked like a string stretched taught running down the wall.

The shaft-tunnel was actually a granular string, which meant the tunnel existed not in this reality, but in a parallel plane contained within that string. This was a work of advanced spellfire.

And then another thought came to me. If they are talking about "the other end," that could only mean one thing. They expected me to come here, and then they would confront me when I returned through the tunnel to that Basement Chamber. Instead, I picked up the Chaplain's Office Phone and called Mervin Lorens. After a great deal of talking, he agreed to come with me to launch a surprise attack upon the cartel leader and cronies, barging through the very same Basement entrance where Lorens' confrontation occurred earlier this month.

That we carried out, but were surprised when we burst through into the Basement Chamber only to find it empty.

I will never forget the sense of impending urgency when we scanned that dark room with our talismans drawn, fearing an ambush from a concealed hiding spot or a multitude of such. It was after a great deal of searching that I came upon another outline in the wall opposite to the entrance of the tunnel to the Chaplain's Office. This was yet another entrance to another granular-line tunnel. There was a rail track lining the floor of this one as well but no cart. However, there was a lever on the side.

"Prepare yourself," I remember telling Lorens as I pulled the lever.

After a few minutes, a rail cart arrived to us, empty. There was a similar lever inside; and when we got into the cart, I pulled it.

The cart started moving, slowly at first, but then picked up to about the speed of an average car. We rolled along for five minutes before finally slowing down to the other end, which consisted solely of a narrow staircase. We went up this staircase and arrived into the interior of a small shack in the woods.

But there was something familiar about this layout. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon; so the daylight was able to give me extra insight. I proceeded out of the shack and had a look around. And I realized, with confirmation, that this was the very spot to which I arrived on my initial search in the woods on that dark and rainy night. I turned to my left and spotted lamps sticking out of trees indicating a trail seemingly leading Eastward.

I thought I caught a glimpse of these tree-lamps when I became disoriented out here; and no wonder. Upon closer inspection, I realized that these lamps were designed to be lit by darkfire floans; though, to my relief, they were not active at this time. I beckoned Lorens to follow me. I also pulled out a hand-held radio I carried with me and signalled to a backup agent of the Campus Watch to send someone from the Cabotton Police to serve as protection if I needed it.

In the meantime, Lorens and I followed the trail, which wound Eastward for awhile before curving to the North. It was just after nightfall when the trail led us to another place: Gentry County Airfield. Off to the left, I could see my airship, the Scalar. The trail came to the edge of the South Perimeter of the Airfield, where it dipped below ground into a lit tunnel going under the fence.

And it was here where we were attacked...from behind.

We both barely dodged the stun spells shot at us. And we fought back as perpetrators shot at us from the front as well, so that we were surrounded. It was toward the Airfield I shot stun spell exchanges while Lorens covered the rear. Just as suddenly as they appeared, though, the attackers disappeared, retreating into concealment.

Lorens and I went back out to the tunnel entrance where I called over the radio to have help meet us immediately. Two Officers of the Cabotton Police arrived. And when I pointed where the tunnel led, they determined that there was a hangar, abandoned some years ago, that would possibly serve as their base. Several more units had been dispatched to surround that hangar; and when they were in position, I, along with Lorens and the two other officers, went back down the tunnel toward the destination. Indeed, we arrived to the inside of one of the hangars.

"Show yourselves! Hands on your head!" we shouted with talismans drawn.

And all hell broke loose.

From at least five different locations came the relentless firing of stun spells. Just at the moment, the Officers outside kicked down the door on the North end, barging in and launching stun spells of their own.

It was here when I caught sight of the Chaplain, who fired back at me, trying to knock me off my feet. He missed me but hit Lorens. Nevertheless, I took after him. Seeing me do this, he launched what looked like a darkfire-laced stun spell. But I managed to deflect this with a shield spell. He turned and blasted down a door on the East end of the hangar. I chased him out and had him in sight running toward the East Perimeter fence. But then he disappeared. I had no choice but to return.

Back in the hangar, I found that the cronies had left as well. The fight was over. But I remembered Lorens. I went over to him and found him on his back and unconscious. Luckily, as I would learn later, Lorens was only knocked unconscious and would make a full recovery the next day.

So that left me with one question: Knowing that the Chaplain was Darius this entire time, where did he go?

At first I was at a loss. As much as I gained in terms of ability to track darkfire cartels and cronies, I did not always know the whereabouts of those I pursued. Going through my notes and records, I thought that perhaps Darius returned to the Shades of Hasphitat, the section between the Northern half of the Diamond District and the part of Hasphitat on the mainland. And I thought of this with dread, for I know that it is near impossible to navigate that area. Then I considered that perhaps he returned to Lake Maern and the Mount Carris perimeter.

And then another thought came to me: The Standler, that popular inn located in the very center of the sprawling center of Ebony Valley. This was an exciting moment for me, for that town was just East of Cabotton. I did not know for certain if perhaps that was where he went, but I do know that questionable things have happened there, especially on the lower levels on the building, which opened out only to the side street down the steep hill behind the parts visible to the public. Very few people know that this part of the hotel exists, so many outlaws and criminals gather here to do their business.

Lorens made a quick recovery. When he did so, I called him again, and he agreed to come with me to scout out the place, disguised as clients intent on making a darkfire deal. We coordinated with the authorities in Ebony Valley and set up a trap. I also conferred with Lorens how people talk and act around the Standler regarding business of the like; after all, I have dealt with such events in the Standler very frequently.

And two nights ago, we set off. We took an airship (not mine) from Cabotton to Ebony Valley the next town over, dressed in heavy business cloaks, which was appropriate considering the cold and rainy weather. When we arrived to the Standler, we went around the building down the steep hill to the side alley below and spotted the back entrance.

"We are here for a deal with 'the Baron,'" I told a shady-looking individual inside the small Atrium of this entrance. When the man gestured to the door behind him, my heart rate increased. "The Baron" was what they called Darius here, as I know from past experience. And when the man gave such a gesture of approval as if we were expected, I knew that I was right with regard to Darius' whereabouts. So we proceeded through.

And there he was, the man we all once called the Chaplain in the past. His arms were folded as he eyed us. Before he opened his mouth to speak to us, however, a stun spell discharge caused us to all duck.

It came from Lorens, who must have panicked. The Chaplain went to retaliate against us. He knew it was us now. I tried fumbling for my talisman, which I did not think to prepare. But instead, my hand got the spellfire-bound catching rope. In a split second, I produced that and caught him. The impact of the rope hitting before bounding him knocked him to the floor and rendered him unconscious.

"Quick," I said to Lorens. "Take him before his cronies arrive."

We did so and quickly. As we went out the Atrium, my mind went to the man we met there. But as I saw, Ebony Valley reinforcements arrived and subdued him as well.

Darius was caught, and there were no injuries.

After a long night of giving information and processing Darius as well as his cronies, Lorens and I took an airship back to Cabotton. During this flight, I read an article of their local newspaper regarding Ivella Marie Ogden and her whereabouts.

And immediately my mind went to the note. "O, IM." Ogden, Ivella Marie.

I will check into this as soon as I am done resting.