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VRDET-OP: The Marraketh Connection
          "Temporary"
        by: Red Paladin
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	"Come like shadows, so depart."
		-Three Witches, IV, i, 111, William Shakespeare, 
		_Macbeth_.

	The ruins of the ancient city had taken dust like a 
magnet to iron filings. Red brushed off some of it for 
examination. It _was_ partly iron. He sprinkled it from his 
finger as he hurried to follow Bryn, who had moved up ahead. The 
iron was mostly rust now. There had to be some water source 
around here, if there was rust. The two kept searching, going 
through the alleys of building, and the internal structures. This 
place was huge, yet there was no sign of life except the rare 
rat-like creature that crossed their path. The sounds of 
footsteps reached his ears, but he shook it off as his 
imagination. He looked around and noticed weird writing on the 
some signs, and took note of it.
	"Would you look at this place," Bryn said. Red remained 
silent surveying the old, crumbling buildings. He occasionally 
looked down to find out what was trying to trip him. The rubble 
also had big pieces to it.
	As they travelled farther inside, to the heart of the 
ghost town, things got a little better, but almost 
insignificantly. The incredible force that caused this 
destruction had no doubt come from the sea. How? Who knows, and 
at the moment Red could not have cared less.
	Now that they were closer, they could see what might have 
been the palace or castle of the family that ruled this city. It 
was still a ways away because of the twists and turns that were 
necessary to navigate the former streets. If they were to find 
something, that would be the best place to be.

	It had taken them a good hour to get there. Running had 
not been an option because of the debris and the lack of energy 
in both of them. They were almost to the point of staying 
conscious by force of will alone. They were certainly relieved 
when they past the outer gates to the inner confines of the 
building. Out from under the unmerciful sun, and into the cool 
shadows that awaited within. They were even more grateful for 
the fountain inside that miraculously still flowed with clean 
water. Red quickly filled his waterskin before dousing his face 
and head with the cool liquid. It was temporary relief.
	Feeling quite refreshed, they finally looked at their 
surroundings. The capitol building's interior was enormous. 
Not quite Sistine Chapel high, but what was left of the ceiling 
was enough to make you stare in awe. Any decorations that had 
been, were long gone. Slight cracks in showed around a few 
eroded statues that surrounded the now-open dome ceiling. Near to 
the bottom of the dome was a encompassing gallery that now was on 
the verge of falling apart. Red shook his head to make sure he 
was not hallucinating. Water flew everywhere.
	"Hey!" Bryn exclaimed.
	"Sorry," Red apologized.
	She responded by splashing some of the water at him.
	"Now there's no need for that," Red said before returning 
fire, or water as the case may be. This continued for a few more 
splashes until Red heard footsteps. More than fully refreshed, 
Red knew he heard something this time.
	"Wait," he said in a whisper.
	Bryn was about to dip her hands in for a two-handed 
splash, but stopped. Red strained to listen. The muffled steps 
were slightly louder, and the Fire[tm] in his blood flared to 
enhance his sense of hearing, but the echo of the hall made it 
impossible to pinpoint its source. Red signalled Bryn to leave.
	At first, they ran blindly around the pool. Then they 
finally realized they had an infinite number of dark hallways in 
which to enter. Bryn grabbed Red's arm as she chose one of the 
many ones on the left. As they entered, Red hand shot his arm out 
to grab one of the torches resting in a ring on the wall. He left 
it unlit as they raced down the hall. The hall wound its way 
like a snake through the building. It felt like they were running 
in circles. Finally they came to an intersection and three more 
paths lay before them. As Bryn pause to decide, Red channeled a 
strand of Fire and ignited the torch. The light it gave off what 
strange. It began green in colour before it changed to the more 
normal red, orange and yellow. *Huh. Probably copper (I) oxide* 
Red thought, from his chemistry class. That was his best science 
subject. Mixing herbs for different things did that to a person.
	Red then felt a tug pulling him to the right. He looked 
to see Bryn moving down the right corridor. The light flickered 
as they walked down this one.
	"Do you know where you're going?" Red asked.
	"No clue whatsoever," came the reply.
	"Excellent!" Red said, sarcastically. Nevertheless he 
continued to follow. The Fire[tm] burned less brightly now, but 
was still present. He heard noises besides Bryn's steps, and drew 
a dagger with his free hand. Looking back to where they came 
from, he saw nothing. They kept walking. "Do you know what's 
chasing you, at least?"
	She continued walking. "I think it's someone from my 
past. I'll tell you the story. Just keep walking." Red listened 
in earnest as she told him of her encounters with a certain Lyran 
that has caused her troubles in the past.
	The story was finished. Before continuing, they lit 
another torch that hung on the wall. Then they turned a corner 
and entered a room filled with what seemed were antiques. The 
room had a musty scent to it, was filled with cobwebs and was 
supported by several square stone pillars that encircled the 
room. Other than Red's torch, there was no other source of light. 
It reflected off the usually shiny pillar on one side. They were 
almost like black mirrors.
	"Bryn, here," Red handed her the torch, "you hold this. 
Can you sense her?" 
	"Yes. She's close," Bryn said. Red exchanged the single 
dagger for several X-Cards[tm], while he examined the rest of 
their surroundings. It was almost like the place they had entered 
from, except it had a flat ceiling instead the dome-like one 
before. Also, the roof had survived better than the other one, 
though it was not as decorated. On the floor, however, there 
seemed to be the remnants of a coat of arms. As Red glanced down 
he saw that there were also faint symbols that seemed to point 
towards the pillar faces. On closer inspection, the pillars were 
actually very dark green and contained symbols of their own.
	"She's getting closer," Bryn said. Red pulled his hands 
away from the dark pillars to get ready for an encounter. He let 
the Fire[tm] burn a little brighter in his veins. Bryn jumped 
back slightly as his eyes met her.
	"Is there something wrong with your eyes? They're all 
cloudy."
	"I can see just fine," Red's now-cold voice replied. He 
turned his attention on the doorway, ready for anything.
	"Okaayy..." Bryn said, uncertainly. The noises from the 
corridor were growing louder though very slightly. All his focus 
when to the rectangular entrance, and everything else was blocked 
out. What Bryn was doing, he did not know.
	Suddenly, a dark man-sized silhouette appeared. It had 
the look of a monster. With a flick of his wrist, Red sent the 
three explosive Cards[tm] spinning through the hallway.
	They passed right through it, disintegrating part of the 
wall behind it. *What the...?* He moved closer to the hallway. 
Suddenly, the thing move.
	"That wasn't her," Bryn said.
	"What?" Red asked, perplexed. He walked to the end of the 
corridor and turned, looking. He saw a rat-like creature. It had 
been the cause of the alarm. He blew out the torch that had 
created it.
	"Damn! There I go, chasing shadows!" He turn around, 
walking back into the room. "It was just some rat! I think she's 
messing with your mind."
	"Why though?" Bryn asked.
	"'Got me," Red replied. "I wasted three good Cards[tm] 
for nothing."
	Feeling quite frustrated, Red sat down, leaning on one of 
the dark green pillars.	"If you find anything interesting, 
call..."
	He was interrupted by a flash of green light from the 
sigils on the floor and on the pillar before he disappeared along 
with the flare of light.

To Be Continued in "Underground"

(C) A Neutral&Chaotic Production, 1998.

Neutral&Chaotic Publishing since 1997.
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The preceding segment is a work of fiction. Names, characters, 
places and incidents are either the product of the author's 
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual 
events or locals or persons, living or dead, is entirely 
coincidental.