After the brief search I found the secret passage, but it was guarded by some creatures that appeared as gargoyle dwarfs, with almost black skin. They were not tall at all, horrible fighters, and average mages. One from my swords slashed through the chest while the other sword followed with almost totally severing the wing from the body. I jumped to the side as lightning strike the ground where I was staying. One from my swords removed the monster's hand pointing at me as it try to make the spell. The other blade coming up, slashing from its crotch to its chin. The third one fly down and clawed at my head, but missed. It turned to come back as I put away the swords and greet it with a burst from the submachinegun. It tumbled from the air and hit the ground hard. I spun around and shoot another one two times in the chest. It fall to the ground and before I can put the coup de grace in the back of its head, another one is attacking, grabbing my leg trying to take the bite from my thigh. The teeth made some sound as they hit the armour. I pressed barrel of my gun to its forehead and pulled the trigger, sprayings its head's contents all over. Just at the time the last one alive stood up and shoot the firebolt at me hitting me in the chest. I stumble backwards and it warmed up the next spell. But the double tap from my gun ended it. These little creatures discorporated into large black ants.

I went into the passage, steep stairs leading down. I placed a couple SLCDs, attached the rope, and begin to go down, slowly, deliberately. I not gone down far when the stairs went totally flat, but I used my descender to arrest the descent. Then from the ceiling near to the top of the stairs the oil was dropped for to make the shaft all slippery. I hurried to go all the way down, with the hope to get the treasure out of the depths.

In the middle the shaft bended slightly to 90 degrees, completely vertical shaft. I hammered in some pitons and dangled over the middle of the vertical shaft. I dropped one from my empty magazines and started counting. Raz, dva, tri, chetiry, piat, shayst, sem, vo-, boom. Of course, the equations stop working after five seconds. All I knew for very sure was that I needed a longer rope. The plan was to build the system by segments. Descent 100 meters, make new anchors, descend another 100 meters, and continue so until the bottom of the pit revealed itself.

After many hours of work, several battery replacements, and 100s of meters of rope I reached the bottom of the shaft. After I arrived at the base of the shaft, I found a dais covered in some phosphorescent slime. It also covered the floor and about 5cm of the base of the walls. I decided not to disconnect from the climbing harness yet.

I took my knife and scraped some from the slime away, as soon as I remove the knife the slime crawled along the blade, and it seemed to be multiplying. So I dropped the knife before the slime touched me. I took one from my hand flares and ignited it, then lay it in the slime. The slime coated the flare and snuffed the flame. I take my liquid nitrogen gun and try some cryotherapy on the slime. Nothing happened. I take my small CO2 dart gun, unload it, and shoot burst of air on the slime. It sprays away from the flare; it not penetrated the flare at all. So I gently poke the slime with another knife's tip and I realise the surface tension of the slime is very strong--it quite fond of itself, but if to break the surface tension it quickly falls in love. I had no idea what this slime would do to flesh or organic material. At the time, it not the most important thing to consider. Given the behaviour, if I step it in it suffocate me quick. I was dangling there, thinking. The slime was hide something to solve the puzzle. At least, I so thought.

And I was correct, for to so think.

I sucked some water through the straw of my hydration pack and then spit it out. By appearance, the water had the measurable effect on the slime. I got some idea, but details of the contract prevent the details. I extracted the tiger-eye medallion hand it over to my contracters, and they hand over the briefcase full of money.

Final clause in my contract is to mention publicly for the amusement of dym: the tiger-eye not the first piece of the puzzle, but the last.

How are you involved with Dym?

I not involved with dym at all.

kalle wrote:Final clause in my contract is to mention publicly for the amusement of dym: the tiger-eye not the first piece of the puzzle, but the last.

Explain.

Sorry me, I not understand you. What I shall explain here? I follow dictates of the contract.

How is Dym involved with the final part of the contract?

The message. Exactly as I said.

My god, people, you see at last why delusions the unhealthy thing?!

No language barrier. Nothing to restate. I quote the final clause of the contract verbatim. "[Katja] agrees to mention publicly..."

As I said already, I just make what the contract orders, what I was paid to make. It all very clear, if to be perfectly honest.

I cannot say you who write the contract, but I said already I not involved with dym at all. Seems in some small way I said already something about who not write the contract. But now the paranoid ones from you will name me the liar.

I think Hannah could be right. Katya you have said that you are a friend to Natasha, and she thinks of you as such it seems. So I will take you at your word.

Kalle, did you sign a Non Disclosure Agreement? Or is theis more a matter of if you reveal your employer in your line of work you wind up out of work very quickly?

And if such actions are your profession, please send me a list of other places where you have made such "extractions", even though I find such actions distastefull, I can apreciate the artistry involved in plumbing such secrets.

Shadowstalker wrote:I think Hannah could be right. Katya you have said that you are a friend to Natasha, and she thinks of you as such it seems. So I will take you at your word.

I know Krilova know very well. We worked puzzles together, study at university together, and often she spent long nights with me at my flat. Through her I know Kolya and Sasha, too.

Logos wrote:Sorry, Kalle. ... Please, don't be offended?

Logos, hi,

I am not offended at all. I understand. If you want to talk through it, you know how to contact me.

Kei Nakamura wrote:Kalle, did you sign a Non Disclosure Agreement? Or is theis more a matter of if you reveal your employer in your line of work you wind up out of work very quickly?

And if such actions are your profession, please send me a list of other places where you have made such "extractions", even though I find such actions distastefull, I can apreciate the artistry involved in plumbing such secrets.

Kei, hi,

Yes, the contract not allows me to discuss many details at all. I shared all that I could. But even without NDA, I would not find the work if I tell everything to everyone. The answer to both your first questions is yes.

Many places in the Russian Federation. I also make some jobs in Former Soviet Union. What level of precision do you request from me?

Haha, well, I think it would be safe to reveal that I owe my life partly to Katja professionalism.

Sometimes you can do both.

Well given that I am an archeaologist, I suppose a list of the sites that were plundered, along with at least a description of what was "liberated". The items found within a dig are often more important than the site itself in what they tell us.

You got a good way to know for certain which clues those are Mr. Caliburn?

If not I am going to continue to notate, tag, and bag every item at each site that I participate on, so that I don't miss ANY clues.