The thing waits in the tech support forum, listening to Bomber and Lord Llama talk. Slowly, it begins to creep towards them. Then it halts and draws back. It had attempted to enter and take over the boards before but this was the first time that it had been able to enter unrecognized and unnoticed. This time, it actually had a foothold in the forum. It would not risk this foothold by doing anything rash. Instead, it would watch and wait and slowly grow stronger.

Bomber: What is your favorite Spiderweb Software game?

Lord Llama: i lik a4 but i aslo lik foamy cartons betr

Bomber: What's your favorite episode?

Lord Llama: i lik the sqirly song best.

Alorael, Erika Maroonmark, and WKS enter the forum. Erika Maroonmark and WKS cross the forum and exit into the General Forum. Alorael chivvies Bomber and Lord Llama out of the forum as well.

Alorael: Shoo! I've got work to do here.

Bomber: Fine. Let's go see what's happening in the general forum.

Lord Llama: k

Bomber and Lord Llama exit as well. Alorael looks around once, fails to notice the thing because it has hidden itself, and pulls out everything he needs to create skribbane potions out of ordinary skribbane plants. The thing waits until Alorael is concentrating entirely on his task and then sneaks up behind him. And proceeds to stand there for the next twenty minutes, hoping that its mere presence will disrupt Alorael's work. In fact, the technique is minutely successful, for Alorael makes several dozen skribbane potions. And one bottle of skribban.

Slartucker is helping Thuryl to puzzle out the rest of the Periodic Table of Spiderweb by creating a list of all Spiderwebbers and their elements when WKS, Erika Maroonmark, Bomber, and Lord Llama enter.

Erika Maroonmark: We've got a few elements.

WKS and Erika Maroonmark give Zorro the bars of silver, uranium, lead, and iron. Zorro combines the iron with Galactic Core. In a flash of light, Ash Lael appears.

Ash Lael: Finally! You have no idea how weird it was to be dead!

Zorro picks up the bar of uranium. WKS nudges Erika Maroonmark.

WKS: We have the key now. Let's go see what's in that chest!

WKS and Erika Maroonmark run over to the chest and unlock it. They open it as Terror's Martyr appears in a flash of light. He looks around.

Terror's Martyr: At least I'm away from most of the lunatics. I sure hope you're being selective about who you're choosing to bring back. There are already too many idiots here as it is.

Erika Maroonmark: It's a chemistry set!

Erika Maroonmark and WKS dig through the chest and pull out all the elements they can find.

WKS: Lithium, boron, copper, nitrogen, hydrogen, calcium, fluorine, nickel, potassium... there's a bunch of elements in here!

Erika Maroonmark: There's even some elements like hafnium and promethium. What was Thralni up to, anyway?

WKS: Who knows? Who cares? Zorro, we've found some more elements!

Zorro finishes combining Galactic Gore with the bar of silver.

Zorro: Well, bring them over here.

There is another flash of light and Jumpin' Salmon is revived.

Jumpin' Salmon: This is great!

Lord Llama: this is boring

Zorro: No one asked your opinion.

Zorro picks up the bar of lead and combines it with Galactic Core. Lazarus appears.

Lazarus: Hey! I'm back from the dead! For real, this time.

As WKS and Erika Maroonmark hand over the metal bars to Zorro in the General Forum, Arancaytar and Tyranicus run up to Drakefyre and *i in the Miscellaneous Forum.

Tyranicus: Slarty disappeared!

Drakefyre: What do you mean by that?

Ash Lael suddenly vanishes in a flash of light. Arancaytar points at the spot where he used to be.

Arancaytar: That!

All the Spiderwebbers crowded around to try and figure out what happened.

The Lurker: How and why does someone just vanish?

Terror's Martyr is about to make a scathing remark when he, too, disappears.

Dareva: What does it mean?

Imban: It must mean that we're being brought back to life.

Kingy: Really?

Ephesos: So long as we aren't being brought back as undead...

Jumpin' Salmon: I guess we know what happened to Alorael now.

Jumpin' Salmon vanishes.

Thralni: Yes! The chicken gods were listening after all! Please revive me next!

Lazarus vanishes.

Thralni: Oh, never mind.

Fatman: Why would you want to be revived, anyway? We'll probably all end up dead again. Dying once was bad enough. I don't want to have to die twice.

Ephesos: I just want to know who is reviving us and how they are managing it.

Spring: I guess we just have to wait and find out.

Spring vanishes.

Zorro is working as quickly as possible to revive people. In the space of just a few minutes, he has managed to bring back Spring, Mysterious Man, Ephesos, Drakefyre, Imban, Fatman, Ben4808, and Nikki.

Ephesos: I don't believe it... I'm alive.

Fatman rolls his eyes.

Fatman: Oh, goody.

Zorro combines the potassium with Galactic Core. Thralni appears.

Thralni: Yay! Now do Snafta, Zorro.

Zorro: I can't. I can only bring back Spiderwebbers when I have their elements.

Thralni: Oh. What is Snafta's element?

Slartucker looks over his list and then at the chart.

Slartucker: He doesn't have one.

Thralni: He doesn't have an element? This is unthinkable! He needs an element. How about... um...

Thralni thinks for a moment. Zorro combines the hafnium with Galactic Core. Zeviz is revived.

Zeviz: Well, this is a pleasant surprise!

Thralni: Tin. Snafta can be tin.

Slartucker and Thralni both look at the chart. Snafta's name is suddenly present in the square for tin.

Thralni: Now can you revive Snafta?

Zorro: I don't have any tin. In fact, this promethium is the last element I have. WKS, Erika, are there any more elements in the chest?

Zorro finishes combining the promethium with Galactic Core. Zephyr Tempest is revived.

Erika Maroonmark: Yes. There's some krypton, some titanium, some chlorine, some iridium, and some cesium.

Erika Maroonmark carries the elements over to Zorro.

Thralni: No tin?

Erika Maroonmark: No. There aren't any other elements. Sorry.

Thralni: I guess I'll have to go look for some tin. I bet I could find a bar in the Avernum Trilogy Forum.

Thralni exits. Zorro combines the krypton with Galactic Core. Archmage Alex appears.

Archmage Alex: Yay! I'm so glad to be back, I could skip!

Slartucker: There are still a lot of Spiderwebbers left to be revived. Where are we going to get the rest of the elements? Student of Trinity has anti-hydrogen and Delicious Vlish has anti-helium. Those certainly aren't going to be easy to find.

Zorro combines the titanium with Galactic Core. Saunders appears. Drakefyre looks around.

Drakefyre: Zephyr Tempest, Zeviz, you both have some skill as mages, correct?

Zeviz: Yes.

Zephyr Tempest: That's right. What do you want me to do?

Drakefyre: Let's see if we can develop a spell that will allow us to summon elements. Zorro, keep bringing back Spiderwebbers. The rest of you, start putting this forum back into order.

Alorael starts putting away all of his potion-making equipment. The thing immediately retreats to its hiding spot. Thralni enters just as Alorael finishes putting things away.

Alorael: Hi, Thralni.

Thralni looks impatient as he strides across the forum.

Thralni: I can't talk now, Alorael. I have to go find some tin so that Zorro can revive Snafta.

Alorael shrugs and opens a skribbane potion. He quickly drinks it.

Alorael: Fine, whatever.

Alorael exits into the general forum. Thralni exits at the other end of the forum. The thing crawls out of its hiding place and follows Thralni into the Avernum Trilogy Forum.

Thralni enters with the thing still following him closely. He takes several steps and then stops and looks around. The thing quickly hides itself.

Thralni: Hello? Is someone following me?

The thing says and does nothing. Thralni looks around once more and then continues on, still feeling watched and searching for a bar of tin. The thing continues to follow him, waiting for the right moment to strike. Finally, Thralni spots a bar of tin lying on the ground. He rushes over to it. In his elation, he forgets that he is being followed. The thing a attacks.

Thralni: Finally! A bar of... what the!

Thralni sees the thing a moment before it hits him--the thing that has consumed more newbs than Arctic Wolf; the thing that holds sway over most noobs; the thing that annoys and confuses most oldbies constantly; the thing that terrifies and enrages English teachers and linguists everywhere; the thing who exists in many variations but none quite so terrifying and loathsome as the form that stands before Thralni; the thing whose only goals are death, destruction, and dohesae fhosad xrazxar! But Thralni doesn't realize any of this. All he realizes is that he is staring at the most utterly incomprehensible and unintelligible thing that has ever existed. He starts to yell but the thing grabs him by the throat. Thralni promptly blacks out. The thing emits a hideous laugh.