The Marraketh Connection - "New World, Ancient City" by Technician Brynhild, VRDET R&D " ... they could see in the wide valley shadowed by the Mountainšs arms the grey ruins of ancient houses, towers, and walls. "There lies all that is left of Dale," said Balin. "The mountain's sides were green with woods and all the sheltered valley rich and pleasant in the days when the bells rang in that town.'" - J.R.R. Tolkien, _The Hobbit_ Our trail had ended, nearly as abruptly as it had begun. Looming before us was a great ghost town, no doubt the ruins of a fine and beautiful city. *Bloody impressive. I wonder what happened...* The ruins struck me speechless. *Something big did it, obviously. Places like this don't just evaporate one day.* Red was obviously just as dumbstruck as I was. Together, we walked into the town. The ghostly majesty of the old city didn't end once we were inside. Most of the buildings' ornamentation had long ago been eroded or washed away, but the mere silence - nothing but our footsteps, the occasional rustling of the rodents that inhabited the ruins, and the sound of crumbling structures - was eerie enough. *There's obviously no one alive here - no Katze, anyway! But let's keep exploring... we need a clean water source, whatever happens.* As we searched a gigantic building that must have been an old warehouse, I discovered a bizarre metal object in the ruins. *No rust, so it's not iron... and it almost looks like a weapon! Not a medieval one either.. more like a modern-day prototype. Weird.* Thoughtfully, I put the artifact in my backpack and continued. Finally, after an hour or two of exploring, we found what seemed to be a major building, complete with fountain. *Whoa, this thing still has clean running water! Thank IDH for that!* Both of us drank, filled our canteens, and splashed our faces with the cool water. It was some mild relief from the deadly heat, as was the shadowed courtyard area where we stood. Red and I both stared at the courtyard and nearby structure. It was considerably more intricately worked than the rest of the city, and some decoration had even survived the ages. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, Red shook his head from side to side. Water droplets from his hair spattered out all over him - and me for that matter. "Hey! What was that for, genius boy?" I sputtered. "Oops." "You'll pay for that," I said, splashing water from the fountain at him. He responded in kind, and soon we had quite a water fight going. I was just about to get him something good when he paused. "Wait..." he whispered. "Did you just hear something?" The reply ("No") was on the tip of my tongue when the feeling caught me off guard. It was the feeling that there was great magic in the area... but great evil as well, Lyran magic in other words... and in a pattern I still knew well... "We better look around for this mysterious sound of yours," I remarked, and we began our search. To tell the truth, I was a little spooked out at this point, but I hid it fairly well. The building had obviously been important. because there was a seemingly infinite number of dark, twisting hallways. I hastily chose one, and Red followed. On the way in, he managed to snag a torch off the wall and proceeded to light it. "Thanks, Red. Now at least we can *see* our creepy unknowns." "Okie. Do you have any clue at all where we're going?" "None whatsoever." *What did you expect, dude? I sometimes don't know where I'm going in VRDET HQ... so why would I know here?* "Excellent!" he said sarcastically, and we went down a narrow corridor. The Lyran was closer now; she was either following or tracking me. *But... why now? Why here? Why take so long to come for revenge?* *Simple, Bryn... she simply bided her time until she knew she would catch you off guard and disoriented. I mean, how much more disoriented can you be than in another dimension?* Red interrupted my inner monologue. "So, do you think something's following you, or what?" "Yeah... someone, not something. Someone from my past. It's a long story." As we walked down the corridor, I told Red the whole story of my first run-in with this Lyran, and, by connection, how I had acquired my Crystal. It happened long before I knew about the Jihad, when I was only in fifth grade ... and when a strange new girl at my school began campaigning with giant posters of B'harni up and down the halls. Later I would learn that the girl was really the Lyran, on her first mission, to prove something, but back then I was clueless. She did her job well, and soon most of my school was spongified. I, a loner by nature, found the whole thing mildly repulsive, but I managed to find one friend who hadn't been taken in. The story gets confusing here, even for me ... I believe my friend was a scout for someone, and he reported my minor triumph to whomever he served. He disappeared one day, into thin air, but a boy who could have been his identical twin had delivered me the Crystal, along with a cryptic note from someone named H.P. It would be years before I'd understand the Crystal, but I knew to safeguard it with my life. And what of my spongified classmates? I'm not sure, but I am relatively certain that the Lyran's plan did not succeed. In fact, the Crystal's presence might have helped them despongify; I remember that they looked more alert after I wore the thing daily. I moved soon after that, and lost track of most of them, but I have every reason to believe most of them recovered. Whatever happened, I had no doubt spoiled the Lyran's careful plan ... and now, she must have her revenge. As I finished the story, Red lit another torch, and we examined the room we had ended up in. It was filled with old, fragile relics, and the roof was supported by pillars of black - very dark, at least - stone. Red, now on full alert, handed me the torch. "Can you sense her, Bryn?" "Yeah. She's close." I didn't tell him how close: not close enough to be sneaking up behind us (wouldn't be her style, anyway) but probably within a mile or two. Still, too close for comfort. More sensation... like a predator, with us as the cornered prey, going for the kill. "Uh oh... she's getting closer." Red, startled, and with his assassin's instincts, tensed and readied, his eyes looking as if he were in a trance. "Uh... are you all right?" I stammered. "Y - Your eyes..." "I'm Fine," he replied in a voice suddenly turned cold and mechanical. *Uh oh... I'm in over my human head now... what's he going to do?* I could only stutter back "Okaaay...." Noises in the corridor, spooking me even more. Red, with the poise of a trained killer, focused on the sole entrance to the room. I backed towards the far wall, away from my now-mildly-threatening partner, to steady myself. I must have looked a fright... I had the jitters of my life! Then, although I could barely see it (when I'm nervous, I squint, among other things), a silhouette appeared on the wall. Red threw three of his explosive cards at the wall ... where they did nothing, except for blow an impressive hole in the wall. It dawned on me. In this case, he was tilting at windmills. "That's not her, Red." Red proceeded to curse the rodent that had cast the frightful shadow, and he turned around, returning to the light. He sighed. "Are you *sure* she's not playing with your mind?" "Why would she? Why now?" "Don't ask me. All I know is that I wasted three cards. Damn!" He sighed again and slumped against a pillar. "If you see anything i interesting, cal-" And he was gone, with a flash of light from the pillars and designs on the floor. At first I was confused; then I understood. "Some sort of magical transport, I guess," I said unnecessarily to myself. "Well, Red, wherever you went, you're not abandoning me again!" And with that, I touched the pillar... and in my last sight at the ruined city, the green light flared in my eyes. And then there was the feeling of falling through free, easy darkness, not knowing when - or if - I would land.