Each step towards the temple warms the air around them. It appears to be safe, as the well lit interior is just one large, white, hexagonal chamber dominated by a tall hearth in the center. Black flames lick upwards from within.
"I wonder what this is...?" asks Mi'ehna, who doesn't dare venture too close to the hearth. She casts a glance back, noticing that that Malufel has parked itself in the doorway.
Skye notices, too, and he wonders why it's stopped. "Do you think he's afraid to come in?" he asks.
"Surely not," Mi'ehna answers, glancing at him with a perplexed look. "What could frighten such a monster?"
"If there
is something in here that scares him, I
don't want to see it..." Skye mutters.
"Me, either." There are no doors in this room, and Mi'ehna really has no idea what to do here. The Malufel is blocking the only way out... for a moment, a flash of despair enters her overactive mind.
The hearth flickers, its blackness tainting pink for a second.
A confused look crosses Skye's face. "Did you do that?" he asks Mi'ehna. He remembers how the day before some of her light let loose after he released all of his.
"No..." she steps a little bit closer, curiously examining the fire. "It is not natural fire, Skye. It... reminds me of my own mind, honestly. It feels the same." She turns to look at him. "Suppose it is related to the minds of those around it?"
He nods. "It... seems possible." Curious, he summons a strand of light and reaches out with it to see what will happen. The pale gold strand seems to absorb into the blackness. Skye feels a vibration, then lets go. "I... felt something," he says quietly.
Mi'ehna squeaks at that, looking at him, then at the fire. "Skye! It swallowed your energy, like... well, like my mind does. That must be it. I would bet that there are more of these hearths somewhere, or... maybe a bigger one. But, can you feel that?" She doesn't know if he can sense energy in the air or not, but right now, a pattern very similar to Skye's light is being dispersed into the air. She shudders, at how delicious free-floating energy feels.
Skye smiles slightly. "Light... as I understand it, is emotional energy combined with physical energy. I think this fire...
burns it. Like the energy is fuel or something..." He
does feel it, and can see it as well. Sparks of pale gold are scattered about.
"How wonderful... such a thing could be of so much benefit to the outside world, Skye. I want to test it, if that is okay with you..." she looks at him, lips pursed in thought. "But how would we go about creating a larger spark of emotion?"
He thinks for a moment. "Light usually gets bigger and stronger when the person has either a huge surge of adrenaline or when they feel a profound emotion. A great deal of sadness or happiness... anger." He, too, is curious as to how the fire will react to a greater surge of light.
Mi lowers her head, thinking, puzzling. Adrenaline, or emotion. She can't kick him in the crotch again, that card is probably used up. She looks at him, looks away. Back again. "I am at a loss, Skye."
"Maybe if we sit here and focus on something that makes us very sad, or angry, or happy, we can channel the emotion to the fire?" he suggests.
"I fear what might happen if I let my emotions run with me, Skye. Mine are... powerful entities, and they control me." She looks at the Malufel, who appears to be sleeping, and back to Skye. "What makes you happy, Skye?" She smiles a soft, warm smile. "I would have wanted to know this, anyway."
He regard her for a long moment. There are easily much more things that make him
sad, but at the moment, if he could focus on one thing... "You," he answers. Then, feeling foolish, he looks at the Malfuel, as though it is the single most interesting thing he's ever seen.
The black fire bursts upwards for a split second, entwining its light in strands of pink and violet. Mi'ehna's eyes widen for about that long, before she can reaffix her mental shielding.
Mi'ehna just turns her head, hiding her eyes.
After it passes and the air is electric with energy, Skye nods, smiling. "You're right... your emotions
are powerful."
A tinkle of laughter is her first answer. "They own me, you know." Looks at him. "You say such sweet things. I think... I am glad that Hadone found her mask."
A grinding sound rolls over the room as the electrical energy floats about, tearing Mi'ehna away from the thoughts assaulting her mind. The very walls are moving, turning.
The Malufel grumbles softly, turning its broad back to them, and disappears back down the trail.
"The door is being sealed!"
"
Xsa... we're going to be trapped in here!" He feels panic wash over him as he watches the walls move. He starts to run to the door, Fairfight bouncing against his thigh.
"Wait, Skye! Wait!" At the rate he's going, the door will be sealed first, possibly with part of him in it. She reaches for his arm to stop him, even as a portion of the wall on the other side is revealed open by the turning chamber.
True to his word, Skye does as she commands and skids to a halt, nearly falling down in the process. "Look," he says finally, pointing to the part of the wall that's moved.
Mi lets out her breath, relieved. "Oh... good. I think we have no choice but to go that way, so..." she tugs on his arm. Doesn't say anything else, though.
The inside of the next chamber can be seen from where they stand. It is a hall, perhaps three hundred yards deep, and filled to the brim with all sorts of jewels. Jewels, and traps; spinning blades line the walls in several spots, while jets of flame shoot up from vents in the ground. Holes in the wall suggest spike or arrow traps, as well.
Skye gulps. "Well..." he says, trying to sound brave. "This looks like fun, doesn't it?"
"This... is so
typical!" Mi'ehna sighs softly. "I will go first. If I fall, find a way back. All right?" She looks at him, as if searching his face for an impending truth or lie. "Unless you have an idea?"
He thinks for a moment. They really don't have a lot of options. "I've got nothing," he says finally, a frown gracing his features. He's afraid of what might happen to her if she falls, though. "Are you sure you can...?" he looks down the hall.
"Yes. My armor will protect me." She steps just inside the room, looks to either side. There's a big round button on the inside that reads 'disarm - press simultaneously
'. She blinks. "Huh. Look at this, Skye."
He looks. Blinks. "That's... oddly specific," he says. "There must be one on the other end of the hall."
Mi'ehna nods, closes her eyes. Looks at him. "Yeah. Wait for me... you will hear me in your mind, counting down from three. Three, two, one, press." She smiles. "I will see you on the other side." With that, Mi'ehna lifts up her arms to cover her face and sprints down the hall. The spinning blades she sidesteps, the arrows bounce harmless away from her sorcerous armor... the flame is another story, and she whimpers with the pain of third-degree burns along her cheeks and nose. Before long, she is completely out of sight. A minute passes, two.
"Skye, can you hear me?" Her mental voice asks, still a bit warbly from the pain of the burns.
Unused to anyone's voice in his mind, Skye nods before remembering she probably can't see him.
"Mi'ehna?" he says in his mind, cautiously. "Are you okay?"
"Yes... I was burned, but I will be alright. It is difficult to..." a crackle of static, "...communicate mind to mind. Are you ready... I am counting down now. Three... two... one..."
Skye holds his breath and pushes the button on his side.
The effect is instant. The blades cease running, the jets cool, and stone seals slide over the arrow-loops all the way down the hall.
"That is good, Skye. Now, come to me. There is something you should see, here."
He runs down the hall, both anxious to see what she's discovered and worried for her.
"Are you hurt badly?" he asks.
Mi'ehna is leaning against the wall, covering one side of her face with a vambraced arm. "Yes. But do not worry. Look." She points towards the corner of the hallway, where a street leads down what looks like an entire village... though an obviously high-tech one. The buildings are very advanced, and though no automobiles are about, there are several small robots floating along, picking up trash or carrying things.
He stares, amazed. "This is probably the last thing I expected to see..." he murmurs. He's never seen anything like this before. "I wonder if this is where Buddybots come from..." he muses.
Mi'ehna's eyebrow lifts a bit, the one that isn't covered. "Buddybot? What is that?" Her voice trembles a bit at the end... it's pretty plain that she's burned more badly than she's letting on.
Skye smiles a bit. "Be glad you don't know..." he mutters. Then, "Mi'ehna... are you sure you're not hurt too badly?" Xsa... I'd trade my "unique talent" for healing abilities right now.
She laughs quietly, and moves her arm. It's bad. Very bad. The entire right side of her face has been scorched, and her eye is shut... though whether it can open is not obvious.
"I always lacked the talent of hiding my problems," she observes.
He smiles a half smile, even though his light has just taken a gigantic plunge.
"If you hide your problems, no one can help you," he says calmly. What a hypocrite I am...
"We'll just have to find someone who can help..." He looks down the street.
"Yes. No. Skye, my body will feed off of your energy. Just keep your mind open, and I will heal before long." Mi'ehna pushes away from the wall, letting her hair hang over the badly burnt side of her face. "There. We can go."
This village is actually arranged the same way as the previous one. A clean stream runs through it, and the bulk of the area borders an evergreen forest.
Directly in front of them there are three buildings. One is marked 'P.D.' another is marked 'Registration' and the last is marked with a ball and chain.
Nodding, Skye pushes his light out a bit, letting it hover around him like a veil.
"So... where do we go first?" He's not too sure he likes the look of any of the buildings, really.
"I... could not say. Perhaps..."
About that time, a little flying drone buzzes up them, its bright green eyes bathing them in some sort of light. "Hey! Stop that!" Mi'ehna grumbles, hiding her eyes.
"Scanning... human... error. Nonhuman. Proceed to Registration, or leave the area. Failure to do so will result in termination."
"Mi'ehna... I think this thing's threatening us..." Skye says. There's a hint of amusement in his voice. However, he looks to the building marked 'Registration'.
Mi'ehna observes the thing for a moment. "Skye... I think we might want to do as it says. I feel a great deal of power concentrated into this... thing. Not a huge surge, but a fair amount compressed into a fine point. Like a suicide spell that detonates a building, or something."
"Scanning... human... error. Nonhuman. Proceed to Registration. You will not be warned again."
"It doesn't have any light..." Skye says offhandedly, but he starts walking toward the building as Mi'ehna suggests.
Mi follows him, noticing that the drone follows as well. "I do not think it is alive. Have you ever seen such a thing...?"
As she speaks, the registration building looms in front of them. A fairly obvious main desk, along with a bored clerk who looks rather like a killbot of some kind.
Skye approaches the desk with curiosity. He's only ever seen small robots before, so this is a surprise to him. "We were told to report here..." he feels a bit ridiculous, speaking to this thing as though it's a living being.
"Oh, goody! Work!" The bot turns, shuffling some papers in front of it. "Oh, you have no idea. This job bites fanatically. It is a zealout, and it's religion is suck. Sit, sit! And... is she okay?" The bot looks at Mi, who is still covering her face.
"I am fine," she lies, pretty convincingly this time. The wound isn't healing as it should, and she can feel the fire beginning to run down her neck. She isn't worried, though.
"Nothing serious," Skye adds, though he really is worried. "If you don't mind my asking, what are we supposed to do here?"
"Duh. This is Registration. Where you register. You need a permit to be in this part of the temple, especially if you're a fleshy. Robots have been known to blast your kind when they don't have authorization to be around." The bot nods, its gestures distinctly human. "Sign your name right here." It holds out its hand, where a stylus is attached to a little screen. "Real, full name. I'll give you your I.D. after that. And state your business, for the record."
A strange look crosses Skye's face at the words "real, full name", but he takes up the stylus with his left hand. With a sigh, he scrawls "Trigon".
"State my business? You mean, why I'm here?" he looks to Mi'ehna.
"We are scouting," Mi quietly answers, both hands covering her face. "Scouting. We are looking for information."
The bot blinks its neon eyes. "You aren't dressed for scouting. You're dressed for a fight."
"Yes. I know. I expected a fight." She reaches out, and signs "Mi'ehna" which is actually her entire name, and in so doing, reveals that her entire face looks as if it has been... tattooed. Odd, slashing marks of gray are fading onto her face, but aside from the searing pain of them, she doesn't seem to notice.
Skye is starting to wonder if the fire that scorched her had some sort of magical property.
"We don't mean any harm," he says.
"No one means any harm. Harm just kind of happens." The killbot beeps. "Alright! You're cleared for twenty-five hours. Now get the hell out of here before I have to file paperwork for keeping you more than three minutes."
Dothaven Past VI
Stumble!