The guide appeared as if from the darkness itself.

How was he able to do that? Venser wondered. Could the guide teleport? It seemed unlikely, but he resolved to keep more of an eye on the human.

The pa.s.sage went on in the darkness. Venser ran into the darkness willingly, without thinking. The floor was smooth enough and he only tripped once, but was up and running again in a moment. The pitched battle behind slowly fell away, but the echoes continued. When the guide struck fire they all stopped running. He was standing next to a stretch of wall exactly like the other stretches of wall in the pa.s.sage. Elspeth and the fleshling slowly eased Koth down and leaned him against the wall. Koth groaned and his eyes fluttered but did not open.

"We must be somewhat close to Karn now," Venser said.

"We are deep," the guide said, tapping on the wall. "Soon I will be as deep as I've ever been."

"What perchance happens then?" Elspeth said. "When you do not know where you are?"

The guide kept tapping on the wall. "You find what you search for."

"Those aren't the most heartening words I've heard today," Koth rasped from the floor.

"I have never actually been to the chamber you say Karn resides in," the guide said. "I knew of it, of course. I cannot think it will be too difficult to find if the Father of Machines resides therein."

Venser pursed his lips. Let us hope he is not difficult to find, he thought.

The guide stopped his tapping on a certain spot. He tapped six more times around the place.

"Let us hope that this portal is not locked, as some of the others were," Venser said.

But when the guide pushed, the circular section of metal swung outward and the hole became visible. The guide took the small lamp he'd lit and leaned into the hole. "It appears to be a chute," he said, his voice echoing.

"What good news," Koth moaned.

To Venser it did not seem possible that they could go any deeper. But deeper still they went. The chute turned out to be not just a chute, but a chute that branched and reconnected and became as wide as a large pay road. Venser was glad to not encounter a toll master though, as that would surely have been a fell Phyrexian indeed. He could feel feel their depth somehow. Anything that deep would have been a type of creature he would rather avoid than engage, he suspected. A couple of times as they slid Venser felt his skin crinkle and when he looked into the darkness next to him he thought he saw something sliding next to him their depth somehow. Anything that deep would have been a type of creature he would rather avoid than engage, he suspected. A couple of times as they slid Venser felt his skin crinkle and when he looked into the darkness next to him he thought he saw something sliding next to him But his paranoia could have been triggered by the knowledge that he would have no more fluid. His hand went to the empty pocket in his shirt, where the small bottle had been. He could feel the beginnings of his tremors. Most likely his body and brain were shutting themselves down. He was nearing his end. That much was clear.

He remembered as an apprentice being warned against anneuropsis extract. The other students called it moth juice or moth extract. Some used it despite their teacher's warnings. It had been, if Venser recalled correctly, a big help in study and retention.

And retention was important with the amount of information they had to metabolize on a daily basis. There were so many newly discovered metals and mana matrices, how could the teachers or anyone over the rank of distillate possibly understand the difficulties encountered memorizing it all.

That was the general justification for its use, anyhow. He knew it was a bad idea to use the fluid. On the other hand, his marks were excellent, and he kept sipping the bottles. He kept sipping it even after he left the high walls of the academy behind him and went into a life of invention and adventure, study, and planeswalking. He kept sipping it even after most of his friends from the academy had stopped.

But they never did what he did. They never went where he went and took the chances he took. They were stuck on Dominaria working for the collective, or eking out a living teaching. With how he lived, Venser needed needed what the moth extract seemed to deliver. Who cared if the fluid really did not do what he thought it did. The important thing was that it what the moth extract seemed to deliver. Who cared if the fluid really did not do what he thought it did. The important thing was that it felt felt like it did. like it did.

His teachers had warned the students about how dependent an artificer could become on the juice. They had told him how it happened-they brought in a former potioner to talk about how he made the fluid. Venser did not remember all the ingredients that went into it. He knew most though. What he did remember completely was how it was made. And it disgusted him. It was left in ceramic jars in tar pits for a certain amount of time, if he remembered rightly, and then buried in a special kind of mud, things like that. If his memory served, it was even buried in the dung of different creatures, some of the dung came from obscure planes-the dung of a huge beast from Zendikar was used, as well as strange plants from that wilderness.

And as he slid to almost certain death, he wished more than anything he had ever wished that he had another bottle. Wished it so much that his palsy began to shudder down his synapses. Venser looked to the side. The glow from Koth's gills illuminated a circle around them as they slid at different speeds down the wide chute. Elspeth was carrying her sheathed sword in her hand. Koth was between her and the fleshling, looking remarkably comfortable as he slid on his back. His abdominal wound was wrapped in lengths of torn white linen Elspeth had packed for just that purpose.

The guide was nowhere to be seen, of course. But when the chute ended, he appeared again, leaning against the wall in the room the slide emptied into. The room seemed to be writhing, somehow. They had come once again into a room of guts and veins, with wet tubes threading through everything and walls that stunk and appeared to sweat or bleed. Koth looked around and sneered. Elspeth's nose twitched. The fleshling peered into the darker corners. But still the guide leaned against the wall. For one mad second, Venser remembered the terror of Koth's mother being puppeteered by a Phyrexian. Then the guide stood away from the wall.

"The way is over here, when you are recovered," he said.

Venser was pleased to see his mouth and lips working normally, as they had before. Koth's mother's movements were jerky, and her mouth's motions did not match the words being spoken, he remembered.

The chute had flung them into the middle of the pocked floor. Koth shrugged away Elspeth's proffered hand, and stood. He did not stand quite straight, but looked much improved from earlier.

Elspeth obviously agreed. She nodded at him. "You'll feel the wound for a day or two, but the enchantments have sped the healing and you will be able to fight shortly, do not worry."

Koth did not look overjoyed at the news.

"I know you have been anxious to fight again," Elspeth continued, pursing her lips.

It was hard with the white warrior, Venser reflected, who had almost no apparent humor about her, to tell when she was trying to be funny. This time was no exception, and Venser puffed out his chest and began walking.

"This way," the guide said. Koth turned about-face from his original direction and followed the guide.

The guide led them across the darkened room, which was veritably throbbing. The tubes and pipes were larger than Venser remembered seeing in other rooms, and he mentioned that to the guide, who shrugged. But to Venser it seemed that something was being pumped. The tubes, veins in actuality, expanded and contracted and there was a whooshing sound as well as a rhythmic booming, as though someone was striking a vast metal drum.

The guide approached what looked suspiciously like a real door, except its size was greater than what Venser would have expected in that deep place. Double a man's height and as wide as two more, the door showed, in metal relief, the gears and cogs that made up a machine. Hundreds of different colored metals made up the different inlays and parts of the door, which Venser thought mere decorations. But the guide turned the huge bra.s.s k.n.o.b, and cogs in the door began turning. Soon all the works that made up the door began to turn and move and the door opened and creaked inward. The guide stepped aside like a doorman at a ball and ushered them inside.

Why all the mechanisms? Venser wondered. If it is a lock then why did it open so easily at the guide's touch?

He soon found out why. They followed the guide into the chamber, which like almost all the places in the depths of Mirrodin, was dimly lit. The room smelled strongly of metal falling to corrosion. The droning sound was softer there. The room and the sound reminded Venser of something, but he could not recall what.

A huge column stood at the far end of the room. Hundreds of tiny yellow mites sped around it in a circular orbit. Venser turned to ask the guide what the place was, but he found the guide staring stock-still at the top of the column. Venser waited a moment, but the guide didn't move. Elspeth had noticed it too. She reached out and took the guide's wrist. After a moment of feeling his wrist for the beat of his heart, Elspeth frowned. She checked once again that her finger was in the right place behind his thumb before pulling her hand away. The guide's arm fell.

"I feel nothing," she said.

Koth, who was walking with virtually no hunch by then, did not even look over. But the fleshling did. "He is a machine," the fleshling said softly. She looked at each of their faces. "Surely you knew that."

"A Phyrexian?" Koth said.

"No," Venser said, waving his hand before the guide's eyes. "He shows none of the tell-tale signs. "This is an extremely deftly made mechanism that fooled us all. Even me."

"He seems to have brought us where he was supposed to," Elspeth said.

"It's dark everywhere," Koth said, as if in explanation of the deception. "We were running the whole time."

Elspeth gave Koth a dark glance. "Yes we we were, weren't were, weren't we?" we?"

But Koth either didn't notice or did not acknowledge the jab. He walked over to the guide and brazenly knocked on his forehead. "Yep, he's metal," Koth said. He turned to Venser. "Well," Koth said. "Where are we now? Is this the goal of all your superior leading?"

"You have nerve," Elspeth said to Koth. "I'll give you that."

Koth gave Elspeth a wide smile. "I feel good for the first time in a day."

"What is on the walls?" Venser said. He had not noticed the walls because they were shrouded in shadow, but he moved closer for a look and was shocked at what he saw.

Koth moved closer to the wall. "They are bones, of course," Koth said. The bones were stuck to the wall in a certain pattern, four sideways then four vertically. The pattern covered all the walls, except where ribs and other bones were set in circles or triangles or other geometric patterns. Eventually the bones changed to machine shapes and more cogs.

n.o.body said anything. There were enough bones for hundreds of humans to have used. And thick, black, rubbery tubes ran around the bones and through them. At some places the bones were obscured by curtains of smaller black tubes. The whole room pulsed.

Venser shook his head. "What is that sound?" Venser said, holding his head, which felt like it might explode. Was it starting? He thought desperately. The palsy's toll?

"I hear it also," Elspeth said.

"Feel it in my chest," Koth said.

The guide jerked once, and then stood still.

"That sound is my children running to this place. That sound is all of their feet."

The booming voice seemed to come from everywhere in the room at once. Venser stood up a bit straighter. "Karn?" Venser said.

The words seemed to hang in the air.

"I have not heard that name in eons," the voice said.

"It has not been that long, old friend," Venser said.

"Old friend? Do I know you? What is your name?"

"It is Venser of Urborg."

"Venser of Urborg," the voice repeated uncertainly.

"From not so long ago," Venser said.

"Yes," Karn said. "I sent somebody for you."

"I'm sorry?"

"I sent a guide to lead you to me, but I cannot remember why."

Venser looked to his side, where the guide was staring up at the top of the column with rapt fascination.

There was a terrific clatter as something began moving at the top of the column. Before their eyes, the column began coming apart. Venser stepped back. He noticed small, dark creatures that had been holding the sections of the column on their backs lowering the sections downward, hand to hand. Each of them was a duplicate of the small silver creature they had all followed down into the depths below the Vault of Whispers. Soon the last section of column was set vertically on the floor. A silver figure began climbing down a small ladder built into the metal of that section of column. The large figure was dwarfed beside the huge column it climbed down. It stopped midway down the ladder and launched into a series of violent convulsions before letting go of the rungs and falling the rest of the way to the metal floor.

Venser rushed over. The silver golem was lying on the floor inside the dent it had created by falling. Venser noticed the other, similar dents in the floor.

The golem's eyes were silver slits and his wide jaw was thrust out. Karn reached out, took a handful of the metal floor as though it were dough, and pulled himself to his feet, where he stood looking down at Venser. Venser noticed with unease that the silver golem was smeared with black oil. What appeared to be droplets of the material dotted his silver body. Venser forced himself to smile. "We have been searching for you, old friend."

Karn frowned down at Venser. "You are here to destroy me, I know this."

Venser held up the palms of his hands. "That is not true."

"You want to," Karn shook his head once before continuing. "You want me to become a Phyrexian."

"We want just the opposite," Venser said.

"We want you to leave," Koth cut in.

Venser ignored the vulshok. "We do not want you to leave," Venser said. "We are here to heal the sickness you have."

"I am not sick," Karn said. "I should crush you for saying such."

"Then leave, why don't you," Koth said. "Go away, you are not wanted here."

Venser stepped closer to Karn. "Karn, it is I-your old student and friend."

But Karn's eyes popped open wide and his metallic nostrils flared. "You dare approach," he shoved Venser, who flew back skittering across the floor and into a wall.

"Now you really are going to leave," Koth said, "in pieces if possible."

Koth grabbed one of Karn's arms and yanked him off his feet. The silver golem looked bewildered as Koth took a step, pivoted, and threw Karn down and onto his back. He hopped onto Karn's chest and his hand went white-hot in a blink. Koth moved to plunge his hand into Karn's chest, but Elspeth held his arm back at the bicep. Koth struggled to free himself, but Elspeth had better purchase and was able to keep the arm back.

Karn's face had once again pinched itself into a malevolent expression. He brought his knee up and slammed Koth in the back, sending him over the golem's head and into wall, where the geomancer lay still.

With the fluidity of a snake, Karn hopped to his feet and stood facing Elspeth. "They are almost here," Karn said. "When they arrive I will let my children have their way with you," he said. His slit eyes moved to the fleshling, who was standing next to Elspeth. "They like skin you know."

"Stop."

Venser hobbled up to them. By its strange angle, Elspeth could tell Venser's left arm was broken. The dented helmet was still under his arm. He stepped to Karn's side. Karn raised his arm to strike when he saw Venser. But the artificer did not cringe.

"Remember our time together, Karn?" Venser said. "Do you remember exploring the Valley of Echoes? Where we found those scrolls and I could not read the writing, but you could somehow?"

The golem's face softened. He lowered his arm. "I do not remember that, but I should like to."

"You are Karn," Venser said.

"...Father of Machines," Karn boomed. The echo vibrated the walls.

"No," Venser said, when the walls had stilled. "The creator of Mirrodin. You are powerful and kind."

Koth's crumpled form stirred.

"We are here to heal you from what is attacking you," Elspeth said.

Confusion spread across Karn's face, and then in a moment the expression changed again. "Or maybe you will help hold up my column." Karn reached out and clamped his large hands on Elspeth's head, one hand on each ear. She struggled, but the silver golem's grip was immovable. He closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were black and glowing.

"Tell me what you remember of your childhood," the fleshling said.

The fleshling's words were not loud, but the strangeness of their context stopped everybody.

Karn blinked and his eyes went back to silver.

"What?" he said.