Here is part 5. Can anyone discover the scene where we pay tribute to a favorite old Sci Fi movie?
Chris The Lurking Fox *************** The trees thinned out and sunlight streamed down revealing a broad, wide plaza barely visible beneath a carpet of weeds and wild grass. Across a sea of green and brown vegetation a tall stone structure loomed up. "It's the coliseum," Nestorius commented. "And it seems to be in fine condition." Edmund used a booted paw to push aside some of the weeds, revealing the old, tan, paving stones of the Seuilman plaza. "After five centuries the paving is still tight enough to keep the forest at bay." "But it's losing to the weeds," Stealth countered as he ran a hand through the waist high plants. Cautiously the trio made their way towards the structure, wading through the sea of grass and kicking up a cloud of pollen, dust and insects. The walls of the coliseum towered over them. In spite of the centuries of neglect it was still an impressive structure of tan colored stone covered. In front of them was a large archway that led deep into the interior of the massive structure. A lichen and moss covered stone centurion glared down at them from a perch over the arch. Emblazoned on the shield the stone soldier was holding was two letters IV. The small group slowly made its way to the right and came upon another arch, just like the first. Above this arch was a soldier that was almost a duplicate of the first one but on his shield was V. Stealth gave a chirp of laughter. "Those are gate numbers!" "It was used to control the flow of the crowd," Nest said "Everyone would have a token for a specific gate." He walked through the archway. Slowly they walked through the stone lined tunnel. The gloom and shadows tight around them as their footsteps echoed loudly in the silent structure. "I had four large women last night and satisfied them all." Edmund and Stealth stopped at those words and turned to their source. A few steps behind them they found Nest intently looking at one of the side walls. "You had four women and didn't share?" Stealth said. The lion turned and looked at his two friends. "What?" He asks confused. "No! Not me." He pointed to the wall. "Someone scratched that message here and I was reading it!" Edmund slowly nodded his head. "So no women last night?" Stealth asked teasingly. "NO!" the lion answered firmly. "I am happily married." "So does your wife know about these other women?" Stealth joked. Nest didn't speak but just pulled his lips back revealing an impressively large and sharp set of teeth. Stealth stuck his tongue out at the lion. The paladin ignored the antics of his two friends and peered closely at the wall closest to him. He could easily make out huge amounts of writing scratched into the stonework. "These walls are covered with graffiti!" "Bored people headed to the games must have written them," Nest commented examining more of the writing. "Patrician Lucirus Artinus is a thief ," Edmund read and then shook his head. "Seven hundred year old gossip." "Even then people hated politicians," Stealth commented. "Times change but human nature doesn't," the paladin explained. Nest gave a low, coughing growl. "Sad," he said in soft tones. Both of his compatriots turned to the lion morph. Nestorius ran his massive paw/hand along one section of the wall. "This one says that the gladiator Saltorius the strong killed seven men in the coliseum before he was defeated. Eight lives wasted for nothing more important than entertainment." "We tend in this age to remember all the glory of good of the Suielman empire," Edmund said. "But we need to remember the evils as well." "How can the empire have done so much good and so much evil at the same time." Stealth asked, shaking his head. The lion shrugged. "Magic I understand, but humanity confuses me." The trio of felines stood on the floor of the arena and looked upward at the grand stone structure that loomed up all around them! At ground level there was a sheer wall that went up at least ten feet. Cut into that wall at intervals were doors and doorways that led off into darkness. Above the wall rows of weed and vine encrusted seats marched up and up until they were lost in the gloom. The floor underneath their feet was carpeted with a thick layer of grass. In places the grass gave way to openings. Stealth peered carefully over the edge of one of the pits. And saw a yawning chasm that quickly disappeared down into the bowels of the earth. "That's deep and dark!" "It undoubtedly leads to the underground areas where the animals and scenery were kept," Nestorius said. "Scenery?" Stealth asked. "All they did here was fight each other and kill people." "It seems just sticking someone in the chest with a sword is boring," Edmund said in a disgusted tone. "So they turned the killing into theatrics. They would have scenery of all sorts including forests and hills for the gladiators to fight in." "Recreating famous battles was particularly popular," the mage said. "Some such recreations had hundreds, even thousands of participants." "This place looks familiar," Stealth was standing still his eyes taking in the structure around him. "It closely resembles many coliseums I've seen in the south," Nest explained. "It was a standard plan." Stealth slowly shook his head. "No, I've never been in any arena before now. Not in this life." "This life?" Nest asked. "It is possible that you were here in a previous life. Or in a place just like it." Stealth looked at Edmund for a moment. "So you suppose if I was I legionnaire I'd be throwing you to him?" He said and pointed to Nest. Edmund shook his head slowly at the bad pun and Nest just scowled silently as his tail lashed back and forth furiously. "It is possible, you're talking about reincarnation." Edmund nodded, "To be a follower so soon after the time of Yashua and anger the empire. I can understand that. To give my life. I like the thought, the punishment not so much." Nestorius puffed up and turned away, "I was never an animal." Edmund couldn't help but laugh out loud. *********************** After a long time the steps abruptly ended in a intersection where the corridor split into three directions. The group stopped for a moment. Misha peered down each passage in turn but all he could see was bare walls and flooring leading off into the darkness. Rickkter pointed off to the left. "We took that direction the last time we were here." "All right," Misha said. "So let's go this way," the fox pointed straight ahead. "Why that way?" Charles asked. The fox shrugged in response. "Why not? We haven't seen what's there yet." "Seems a good enough reason," Rickkter responded cheerfully. The group made its way down the corridor moving at a slow, careful pace. All of them were on alert for the slightest hint of trouble. Suddenly the walls fell away and they found themselves walking on a narrow walkway in a vast hall. The ceiling if there was one was lost in the endless distance above. A soft humming noise filled the air and seemed to be coming from everywhere and no where all at once. On the wall opposite him a vast metal object hung on the wall over his head. It was shaped vaguely like a cylinder with a glowing orb on top and bottom. This massive object slowly started to move, sliding smoothly and silently downward. Misha stepped to the edge of the walkway and peered downward. All he saw was a stone lined shaft that seemed to go downward forever. He watched the strange object slowly descend that shaft growing smaller and smaller until it was too distant to see. If it ever reached bottom Misha never saw nor heard it. "Where are we?" Caroline asked. "I have no idea," Misha said in an amazed whisper. "I'm not sure we're still in Metamor valley." "I'm not certain we're still in the Midlands," Rickkter added. "We're very deep inside the mountain," Charles said softly. "The stone here is ancient and powerful. The only thing keeping them from crushing this place is the magic that created it. That is still powerful." "The order was here for several hundred years," Misha said. "Plenty of time to build many things so I expected a grand complex but I never considered something this grand." Caroline waved her arms at the vast structure around them. "What does all this do?" The fox shrugged. "No telling what it does." On the opposite side of the vast space a door was set into the wall. The small group made its way across the narrow walkway and towards that door. Madog suddenly appeared in front of the group blocking their path. "No papa! No!" Madog insisted. The group came to a halt a few short feet from the metal vulpine. "Why not?" Misha asked, confused. "Yucky path!" Madog explained. "Madog," Misha sighed. "Forbidden," the metal fox whispered with a shake of the head. "Madog!" Misha scowled at the metal fox. "Forbidden!" He barked in cold tones. The automaton was standing as still as a stone idol in some long forgotten jungle temple. "Why forbidden?" Misha asked calmly. "Because it's yucky," came the reply from Madog. "Yucky?" Misha asked slowly. "Why is it yucky?" "Because it's forbidden!" Madog answered solemnly. Misha pondered that silently for a moment. "And it's forbidden because it's yucky?" "You not allowed there," Madog said. "Yet." "Yet?" Charles asked. "So what does all that mean?" "It means," Caroline explained without taking her eyes off of Madog. "That not only are we not allowed to go that way but Madog won't tell us why." "That's a good assessment of the situation. Do we go on?" Rickkter asked but already knowing the answer. "No," Misha answered with a shake of the head. "When Madog says no like this he means it." "You're just going to accept that?" Rickkter asked. The raccoon was standing with his arms folded. "Yes," Misha answered bluntly. "Sometimes you push and other times you just have to back off and let things be." Rickkter nodded in agreement. "We need to move with great care here. This place is still very dangerous in spite of the centuries of decay." *********************** "Where's Nest?" Edmund asked. Stealth looked around for the lion but all he saw was an empty arena. Where Nestorius had been standing was a dark hole in the ground. "The stone must have given out under his weight," Edmund commented. "And he fell through to the basement." "How far did he fall?" Stealth asked. The paladin shrugged. "Uncertain but at least twenty feet or so." The two cheetah's looked at the hole and the darkness beneath. "Is he still alive?" Stealth asked. "Of course," Edmund answered. "He's a mage and a small thing like falling a hundred feet won't kill him." "So how do we find him? We can't just jump!" "There must be a way down," the paladin said and walked towards the side of the arena. In front of him was a doorway that in times past must had been closed off with a door that long ago decayed and vanished.. Edmund peered into the darkness. "This one has stairs leading downward." !DSPAM:4f00b00c219731443720711! _______________________________________________ MKGuild mailing list [email protected] http://lists.integral.org/listinfo/mkguild
