The procession continues to pass through the narrow hallway and into the chamber. As it does so, Widjgleeby impatiently pushes one of the doors out of her way, just missing Mey'Luskar and blocking Pru.
Mey'Luskar only gives the massive reptile a pensive glare and moves on.
"Hey, WATCH IT, you oversized clod!" snaps Pru from behind the door.
Lirassa and Ham continue to strut toward the older Yangae man, who trembles and stammers as he backs toward the display case behind him.
Bina enters the chamber and heads straight toward the crystal with an emotional moan, Atraktu on her heels. Betham pauses in the doorway and eyes the large gem warily.
"That's it!" hisses the constable. "That...thing...has been buzzing in my head since we got here!"
"You fear the Oneness," sings Bina as if in a daze.
"Fear?" Betham grunts with annoyance. "All I give a flame about right now is that...rock...is driving me bonkers!"
"A gift from the Elders," retorts Bina as she comes up behind Nekshi. "It calls to us!"
Betham sighs and shakes his head.
"If you're talking about that old rock," says Mey'Luskar weakly, "just forget it! Keep walking! I HATE that thing!"
"Don't fear the Oneness!" replies Bina.
8 comments:
Where is room where vid was made? it had tables, drinks. Must be food.
"Upstairs," replies Mey'Luskar over her shoulder. "And the sooner we get up there and out of here, the better."
"Fair enough," Mon'Fargret replies. He turns to the old man.
"If you value your safety, lay face down on the floor with your hands behind your head. We will be leaving someone behind to keep an eye on you."
"Nekshi! Lirassa! You two in front as we go up the stairs. I will follow with Mey. Next are Betham and Bina. Widj, you are next and others to follow."
He motions Zeton over. More quietly he says commandingly, "Would you disarm and keep an eye on this guy for a couple of minutes until we are far enough away for him to do any harm?"
With that he turns towards the staircase and awaits the party formation to continue.
"No problem," says Zeton, and he trots around Lirassa and Ham to oblige.
Lirassa, who was clearly enjoying her scaring the old man to death, sighs but starts moving toward the stairs, Ham right behind her.
Nekshi is still wrapped up in the crystal and her wrister.
"A gift from the Elders," sings Bina. Then her large eyes narrow. "Why is it here? In that scum's collection like some old rock? It's wrong! It's...it's blasphemy!"
Betham gives the crystal a wide berth as he circles around behind Mon'Fargret (after having let Zeton pass).
Mey'Luskar slides quickly through the door and hustles toward Betham with a shudder, keeping her face away from the crystal.
Widjgleeby bangs the other side of the door closed so she can move toward the door. Meanwhile, uttering bile under her breath, Pru reopens the first half of the door so she can squeeze in behind the massive reptile.
As the party begins to head up the stairs, led by Lirassa and Ham with Granite Spear close behind, Nekshi doesn't budge. She continues to alternate between studying the crystal with furrowed (and furry) brows while fussing over her wrister.
Next to her, Bina looks at the advancing party in horror. "We-we're not just going to go off and leave this here, are we?" she cries.
"Why not?" asks Betham irritably. "Good riddance! Come on, Bina! Let's move!" Eying the crystal warily, he takes a few steps in the disgraced priestess's direction, gesturing her to follow.
Then Nekshi utters a (very flat) cry of excitement. "That's it! I found it!" As a dozen inquisitive looks are aimed in her direction, she adds, "The writing! It's ancient Her'gal'ad! This dates from the Os-Gal'adian period!"
"I could've told you that," retorts L'Toyei with an unimpressed shrug. Ignoring Nekshi's venomous answering glare, he toddles up to the crystal's stand and studies it passively.
"Well, of COURSE it's ancient Her'gal'ad!" snaps Bina. Then she clenches her fist. "Ooh...if only I were still part of...I could share the wisdom of...ooh!" She stamps her foot. "It's not fair! What Mountain Eye did...all this...HIM having this...it's not fair!"
"It says 'alignment'," say Nekshi and L'Toyei almost in unison, though the latter is about 0.73 seconds faster, and both know it.
"How about if we misalign the crystal? It might save us from what is ahead. Anybody game to turn it in a different direction?"
Bina eyes Mon'Fargret as if he'd just asked her to jump off a bridge.
L'Toyei eyes him vacuously.
Nekshi raises an eyebrow and then walks right up to the crystal's display stand.
"No!" hisses Bina, waving her hands frantically. "Don't!!"
Nekshi pauses thoughtfully, and then she reaches through the shattered case and turns the crystal.
There is an instant of intense, heartstopping silence (other than Bina's brief vocal/psychic cry of alarm).
Then, suddenly, there is a dramatic outburst of absolutely nothing.
"Obviously not physical alignment," observes Nekshi, scratching her chin as she moves away.
"Obviously not !" retorts Bina through clenched teeth. "That word..." She purses her lips. "I think...it has...well, it would have a more spiritual meaning, wouldn't it?"
"We don't know, do we?" barks Betham. "So let's leave it! Come on, let's move!"
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