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VRDET-OP: The Marraketh Connection
     "Underground Part 2/4"
        by: Red Paladin
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	They headed towards the dining room that they had been in 
the night before. Red smiled slightly and shook his head as he 
saw the magical crimson shadow still hung on the wall near one of 
the fireplaces. On the opposite wall, a porridge of some was 
cooking. Not exactly Red's idea of Good Food[tm], but he knew 
better than to expect meat.
	"They're still angry for you doing that last night," Bryn 
said, sitting next to him, referring to the red silhouette.
	"Tell 'em I'll fix it sometime today," Red replied, 
smiling still. Then he noticed something strange. With the 
exception of Bryn, no one was sitting anywhere near him. He was 
about to ask why, when the unspoken question was answered.
	"They don't quite like you," Bryn said before continuing 
her conversation with, as far as Red could tell, one of the druid 
elders. Their disliking was understandable. It tends to be a 
trait of assassins as a first impression. "Oh," was all that came 
in response.

	Near the end of the meal, Bryn and the elder moved to 
another room to continue their conversation. During that time, 
however, Bryn examined her crystal. Red, from the profiles, knew 
that Bryn could do many things, but could tell that she did not 
have full control of the power. These druids were probably just 
teaching her more about it.
	Finishing breakfast, Red decided to do more exploring, in 
full view this time.
	Moving down a hall, he saw Bryn talking to the druid and 
reading an ancient text. A quick peek at the letters reminded of 
the ones at the gate of the city they had previously been. He 
made a mental note to ask about it.
	Farther down, he came across a larger room that had 
several beds to it. It was a change from the personal chambers, 
though still just as drab. This, like most of the other places, 
was empty. At the end of the row of bed, was a smaller room. He 
walked in and was surprised to find a full stock of herbs that, 
for most part, Red was familiar with. Careful not to disturb 
anything, he searched out and found some of the rarer 
ingredients. Extracting his datapad, he scribbled down some of 
the labels on the containers, matching the symbols to the names 
he knew so well.
	"Let's see," Red whispered to himself, "Deadroot... wow, 
pixy clovers. I wonder how that grows here?" On Chiaroscuro, pixy 
clovers only appeared in the summer, and magically disappeared 
for the rest of the year. Remembering from some ancient texts 
that Red had seen, it was the component of many time 
manipulation spells due to its unique properties. That art was, 
for all intents and purposes, lost now, and only rumours were 
heard of a few people that practiced it in his homeworld. To 
find the dried blooms in another dimension was amazing. He 
wondered how the druids used them.
	Besides this, Red found others that, when combined formed 
powerful healing compounds, salves and ointments. He made a note 
to himself to ask Bryn to help him talk to the resident healer to 
see whether he could learn more. For example, some of the herbs 
were actually poisons. Perhaps they also had some healing 
properties.
	He smiled at this thought, as it reminded him of Friar 
Lawrence's soliloquy, about everything having both good and bad 
qualities[1]. Red, as a member of the sect of Red Mages, believed 
in the balance. Equilibrium. B'harne was something beyond the 
boundary of evil, and threatened the delicate balance of the 
universe.
	After, jotting down all the information he could, he 
moved away from the healers' quarters, and continued his 
exploring through the maze of corridors that was the druids' 
home. For such a large space, and being underground, all was kept 
neat and orderly. Torches lit every hallway just enough. He had 
to admire the workmanship that it must have taken to build this 
place.

	A few hours later, Red navigated back to the dining room, 
but not before taking frequent wrong turns. Just as he sat down, 
Bryn stepped into the room looking much happier.
	"So, what have you been up to?" Red asked.
	"Well, I've reading some books written by the guy who 
made the crystal and I found some incredible stuff," Bryn replied 
excitedly. Red listened to her talk about the crystals properties 
and its potential, raising his eyebrows occasionally. He asked 
her whether she has learned more about controlling the power. She 
replied with a no, but she said she's closer now. Red nodded.
	"So, what did you do?" Bryn asked Red in turn.
	"I've been doing more exploring," Red explained. "They 
have a big supply of herbs down one of those halls." He tried to 
point to the correct hall, but the enormity of place made him 
forget exactly which one. "Well, anyway its there. When you're 
free, do you think you could help me with translating when I 
talked to the healer?" *Provided that I find him or her*
	"Sure. How 'bout tomorrow?" Bryn asked. "I want to learn 
more about the crystal and my powers today. Maybe I can even get 
more control over it."
	"Okay. Don't try to go too far, too fast. It could get 
dangerous," Red warned.
	"I won't. I have the druids to help if anything goes 
wrong," she replied.
	He nodded. "That's good. Well, anyway.... Oh, do you know 
when we can leave. We _are_ still on a mission to save Kat."
	"In a couple of days, they said yesterday that they go up 
to the surface every week to perform a worship ritual to the Old 
Man Across the Sea. It's 'pose to be bad to go up for any other 
time. They also use that time to get food."
	"Alright," Red nodded again. "Well, I'm going back to my 
room after lunch. Arrange my weapons and such. If you find 
anything interesting, tell me, will ya?"
	She smiled. "Okelydokely."
	Then lunch came, as did the other druids. *Oh, right. I 
got to fix that wall* He ate, and sat thinking how it could be 
done. A question suddenly jumped into his mind. How was he going 
to explain to the healers that he'd already knew about the herbs? 
*Ehn, I'll think of something. Now back to the wall...*

	With lunch finished, Red waited until the druids went to 
their normal lives, away from the dining room. As he had never 
attempted this before, it could get messy. One noted exception 
was a druid elder, to whom Bryn had told that Red would fix the 
wall.
	Red sat on the earthen floor and concentrated. The 
Fire[tm] in his blood flared up before settling back into a 
controlled blaze. He could sense the elements much clearer. It 
was a good thing that the walls were only earth, or else what was 
going to be done would not have happened.
	Manipulating the element Earth, he searched out the parts 
of the wall that had been stained red from the Cloak[tm]. Moving 
slightly deeper into the wall, he gently pulled, causing the 
substance of the wall to become its coating. The entire room 
shook. He stopped, realizing that the magic was affecting too 
large an area. He shifted the power, focusing on the silhouette 
on the wall.
	Slowly, but surely, the stained soil shifted into the 
wall while simultaneously switching places with the earth behind. 
Using a wall of Air, Red sure made the earth did not come out too 
far. After a few more minutes, the entire image was buried and 
scattered into the soil behind it. When the job was done, he 
unwound the weave of air, and retracted the flow of Earth. With 
that done, the chore was complete.
	That done, the druid cautiously moved towards him, and 
patted him on the back. "Thank you," Bryn said, translating.
	"You're welcome," Red replied, "but now, I need some 
rest." Though he didn't look tired, Red knew that the only thing 
keeping his strength was the Fire[tm]. He would need real rest 
soon.
	He walked to his room, then suddenly drew a dagger 
holding it at the figure on his bed. *Wait a minute* It was only 
the crimson shadow that he had left the night before. He laughed 
at his own silliness before collapsing on his bed, on falling 
promptly to sleep.

                             * * * * *

	"Who says the sea can't move in winter,
	 Or a cloud stand still in a storm.
	 Who says a man can't cry and be lonely.
	 Who says a man can't tend to be bored.

	 And if you could see inside my heart,
	 You would see loneliness.
	 And if I could show you my mind,
	 You would be depressed.

	 So I sit away lonely,
	 And I get away only in my mind.
	 Said I sit away lonely,
	 And I get away, sometimes."
		-Sit Away, Boyz II Men _II_

	That night after the show and dinner, his roommates and 
her's were planning to sneak out after curfew.
	They were planning on the phone when he decided to talk 
to her privately.
	"Yo, could you put the phone down, Joe," Red asked.
	"Sure." He put the down his phone as Red talked through 
the first one.
	"Could I speak to Elaina?" On the other side, he heard 
her say, "Oh, my god. Shirley? Could you put down the phone?"
	"Okay," Red heard through the earpiece.
	"Who did you think it was?" Red asked right off, hoping 
she would pick up on his meaning.
	"Who did I think who was," was the replied.
	"Who did you think it was?" Red reiterated.
	"Who did I think who was," came the reply again. 
Exasperated, Red tried the direct approach. Try being the 
operative word.
	"The survey." Doh!
	"Well, the survey was y..."
	"I mean the candygram."
	A slight pause. "Who... I don't want to say." Pain 
infiltrated her voice.
	"Please?" Red pleaded.
	"No, I don't want to say," she said again, more strongly 
this time. Red really wanted to know, but let her off, knowing 
that he would not get anywhere this way. He couldn't even catch 
her off guard. *Fine*
	"Here, you guys can have the phone back," Red said to his 
roommates.
	*Damn! Damn! Damn!*
	Why wouldn't she tell him? What harm could it do? Red 
wanted to know because he wanted to know who she was thinking 
about. Why was it so hard? Why was it so damn hard?
	The night bandits decided to sneak into his room before 
climbing out the window. Red was pretty sure not all of them 
would come because he was there.
	These questions were left unanswered as Red drifted off 
to sleep only to be waken by the girls' room coming to sneak out 
with his only two alert roommates.

	It was about an hour later, they showed. Red wasn't sure 
that she'd show since he might have upset her, but she did. Red 
pretended to continue watching TV, ignoring the fact of her 
presence. They only stayed for a little while. Red was right 
about not all of them coming; one of them had fallen asleep 
because of the fourteen hour bus ride. The important person did 
not stay behind. The wall had started to come. A wall of air that 
only seemed to prevent sound and sight between the two of them. 
Red only closed his eyes, regretting.
	"Do you want to come with us?" Juliet asked. A lot of 
people had this name at school. This was directed at Red.
	"No, thanks," Red replied. He knew he'd just be an 
ornament to the group; dead weight, in fact. Beside, he didn't 
make Elaina feel uncomfortable. He did not want her to be 
uncomfortable.
	They did not answer that. They turned and left through 
the window, leaving Red, with only his thoughts to accompany him. 
The first tears flowed from eyes since Valeriana's death, until 
they drowned him to sleep.

Music: Blue in Green, Miles Davis _Kind of Blue_

                             * * * * *

	Red woke, finding some water in his eyes. Wiping it 
aside, he sat on his bed thinking. He had to get over it, but he 
needed to re-live the events to do it. It would affect him 
negatively if he didn't.
	He sighed and began taking out his weapons for 
maintenance. *This'll keep me busy for a while* Getting off his 
bed, he laid them all out, on the straw mattress. Starting with 
daggers, he ensured that the edges were sharp and the balance was 
still correct. This would occupy him for the rest of the night.


To Be Continued in "Underground Part 3/4"

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Footnotes:
[1] Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene iii, Lines 
9-30.
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(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.