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| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | It's time for White Squad and Harrison Jones to mop up the Schnottzies, light the final obelisk, and find the Coffer of Promise! Things do not go precisely as planned. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Atley marches up to the Ramkahen town square, grunting pleasantly as he eats salted jerky.
Sil ambles up to the town square, waving to Atley and looking around to see who else is here.
Ben looks up from his notebook to nod at Sil and Atley. "Hey, y'all."
"How's the day, you lot?" Atley asks.
Ben closes his notebook and tucks it in his pack. He shrugs affably. "Goin' okay. You?"
"Good, doing good," Sil adds. He looks to Ben. "You all making progress with that coffer thing?"
Ben nods and adjusts the brim of his hat. "Reckon yeah. The squad cleared up some Schnottzie nonsense last time, and Doctor Jones should have some leads for us today."
"Assuming Dr. Jones is able to translate the copper scrolls we brought him, I believe we are on the verge of locating the Coffer," Auralind confirms.
Atley grunts. "Irritating how close they've come to destroying us all. S'good you're on their heels."
"Oh, that's good news," Sil smiles. "Copper scrolls? All sorts of stuff you all are running into."
"We'll try not to hit the reset button when we find it," Alysson chimes in cheerfully.
Atley grunts and waves a bitten piece of jerky at Alysson before he looks to Ben. "Wot' will you do once its found? Leave it to the tol'vir?"
Ben glances sidelong at Alysson. "Uh, yeah. Squad rule, no one touches no buttons. We will leave that to… we will maybe let Doctor Jones handle Titan machinery. Or maybe we will tell him no, too."
"The tol'vir seem pretty smart," Sil offers. "I bet they'll know what to do, if you show it to them."
Ben looks back to the others. "Yeah, reckon we will see. Got to know what we are dealin' with exactly, but tol'virs seem the likeliest fellows. They been sittin' here lookin' after it all along. An' if y'all are clearin' out Deathwing's fellows…."
Atley grunts. "We'll be seeing to them today. The largest gathering of them, I warrant."
"Deathweng," Alysson corrects.
Atley softly doubletakes Alysson with a squint.
Ben nods at Atley and then looks at Alysson again. "Death… okay. Sure. Deathweng."
"Good afternoon, everyone," Colson greets, as he gets within speaking distance.
Cressidha approaches with her brother. "Good afternoon, everyone."
"Yeah, with Neferset City taken, this last place might be the final blow," Sil nods. "Cole, Sidha, good aftternoon."
Cressidha smiles faintly and begins to trace water-conjuring sigils in the air.
"Afternoon, Aspenwoo–" Ben eyes Sil at the second nickname.
Atley inclines his head to the Aspenwoods after side-eyeing Sil.
Colson blinks at the nickname, but that's the only sign of surprise on the Aspenwood's face.
Sil shrugs a little at Ben, grinning.
Alysson glances at Colson and Cressidha to see if the twins have combined or something while he wasn't looking.
They have always been One Twin, Alysson.
"Hello, Blue and White Squad!" Azizia says, still wearing her modified tabard. She bows.
Cressidha passes out water to everyone.
Atley accepts the water with, "Cheers." He takes a sip.
Ben nods gratefully at Cressidha.
"Thanks," Sil says, accepting the water, still smiling.
Auralind bows her head, accepting the water. "Shaha lor'ma dula Luvas'alith."
"You're welcome," Cressidha says to Auralind, and returns to her place.
Colson ties his water carefully to his belt, smiling gently at Cressidha, and turning the same faint smile on Sil. Teehee.
Ben clears his throat. "Okay, so. Prospector Stillwall ain't joinin' us today because he got some Explorer's League business to do with… I dunno, Doctor Jones or that Miz Windwright or somethin'. So we can get goin' if y'all are ready?" He looks to Alysson and then Auralind.
Azizia eyes Ben and his choice of hat. And by "eyes" I mean stare.
Ben ignores Azizia. Possibly because he cannot see her from under the brim of his hat.
Auralind nods to Ben. "I am ready."
Atley takes another sip before he finishes off his jerky. "Good fortune, you lot."
"You too, sir. Blue Squad. See y'all around." Ben nods.
"Remember to drink plenty of water," Cressidha reminds White Squad, and nods to them as they leave.
Aura smiles at Cressidha. "We shall. Thank you."
"Light be with you," Colson says to White Squad.
Sil waves farewell. "Take care, you all. No reset buttons, I hope."
At Vir’sar Oasis….
Ben dismounts from Stratus, checks his gear over, and approaches Harrison Jones. "Sir." Ben nods to him.
Harrison looks up from his notes, blinks, and then grins. "Hey, kids! Great timing. Where's Stillwall?" He looks around.
Alysson stares. Now it is a spider convention. Where did the horned lizards go?
"He is occupied elsewhere," Aura explains.
"Aw. Okay. Well, I trust you kids can handle this without your advisor today. You've done some really terrific work lately." Harrison sets his notes aside.
Auralind twitches. "Please do not call me a kid."
"Deathweng," Alysson says out of nowhere.
"I've — what?" Harrison blinks at Alysson.
"He taught me that." Alysson grins.
Harrison eyes Alysson dubiously. "Right. Okay. Great. So — I think we're nearly ready. I've got the code on these scrolls broken, and I’m almost done translating them. I need a couple of last things from you."
Ben nods.
"First of all," Harrison continues, "I want you to look over the Obelisk site again. I want to make sure before we trigger anything that the Obelisk itself isn't damaged after the explosions last week.
"After that, though, we're going to need to head below. There's a chamber down there that should contain the operative machinery, and if Schnottz still has people hanging around, that's where they'll probably be. You take care of any trouble and I'll meet you down there. Got it?"
Auralind nods sharply. "Understood."
"Yessir." Ben nods.
"Good. See you soon!" Harrison waves them off cheerfully.
The squad flies out to the terrace of the Obelisk of the Moon, which last week’s trio blew up. At least one thing, however, seems to have been slightly less blown up than believed.
Ben surveys the still-smoldering wreckage, and then…. "Oh, shit."
Alysson blinks at the dragon.
Auralind's ears flicker. "Tell me it is not still alive."
"I think it's still alive," Alysson says.
"I thought y'all took out that fellow." Ben stares at Myzerian.
"I thought we did, also," Aura mutters.
Ben draws his sword. "Okay, well. Let's unalive him before we get the Obelisk lit."
"Fellow keeps fallin' out of the sky," Alysson observes.
"It sounds like it is struggling to fly. Perhaps we wounded it," Auralind considers.
"Yeah, he don't seem in great shape." Ben squints at the struggling dragon.
The dragon puts up a heck of a fight for the bad shape it is obviously in, but at last it falls heavily.
Ben stumbles back from the scorched earth and the dragon's still-smoldering corpse. "Damn." He takes off his hat to mop his brow and then approaches it again cautiously.
Aura keeps an arrow nocked and aimed at the fallen dragon. "Is it truly dead this time?"
Ben flings a hammer of Light at the corpse. It doesn't stir. "Yeah. Okay. I think we got him now." He nods.
"Well, 'less it's gonna turn into one o' them bone dragons, like in the North End," Alysson says.
"Take the head," Aura says grimly. "To be certain."
Ben nods again. "Good call." He steps forward to hack at the dragon's neck until its head falls free.
"I didn't see any headless bone dragons," Alysson agrees.
"Okay. We can let 'em know we took care of him and left this mess here. Let's find this chamber underneath?" Ben eyes the other two.
"Sure thing! Where do we start diggin'?" Alysson asks.
"I think… there is probably a way down. Like the other obelisks. Yeah?" Ben tilts his head at Alysson.
"Like this big hole?" Alysson asks.
"Like this big hole," Aura confirms.
"… yeah. Like that one." Ben nods.
They fly down the big hole. It’s really more of an entrance shaft but big hole is close enough.
"Oh. Yeah. Schnottzies." Ben stares at the black clad Elite Troopers locked in combat with… ghosts?
"Hey there's more ghosts!" Alysson looks around.
"We don't got no quarrel with these ghosts, seems like. But let's get rid of them other fellows." Ben nods.
"What's the floor doin'?" Alysson points to the weird puzzle floor.
"Oh, shit." Ben jumps back as a tile appears to slide out from under him. "That's — uh. I dunno?"
"It sounds… mechanical?" Auralind frowns, trying to make sense of what she's hearing.
"Hey, look how the pattern keeps meetin' up. Must be a Titan thing?" Ben studies it for a moment. He looks up to nod at Auralind, who cannot see him.
"What if steppin' on that's got somethin' to do with the reset button?" Alysson asks.
"Uh. Okay, yeah. Let's… stay off it." Ben nods at Alysson, who can see him.
"All these ghosts is humans again," Ben observes, watching a group of them pace aimlessly.
"Maybe there were humans in Uld-town before us?" Alysson asks.
"I reckon there must've been?" Ben nods.
"Other explorers, perhaps." Auralind muses.
"Hey, is that the button?" Alysson asks, pointing at an odd device.
"Wonder if the ghosts can tell we ain't motivated the same way as the Schnottzies. They ain't seem to care about us here, only fightin' them." Ben looks around sharply at Alysson's question. "HEY."
"Do not press it!" Auralind barks.
"My arm's not that long," Alysson says.
The device to which Alysson is pointing is across an entire room. Whew.
Ben clears his throat. "I dunno. The button is supposed to be in the pyramind of somethin', ain't it? This is maybe a obelisk-machine?"
As the last Elite Trooper crumples, Harrison Jones makes a swashbuckling entrance. He grins as he drops to the ground. "Great timing!"
"Hatman Jones ran across the puzzle floor!" Alysson cries, ducking.
Nothing dire ensues, unless the presence of Harrison Jones counts.
Harrison looks around the chamber. "There should be two Titan communication devices in here. If my translations are correct, one is a death trap and the other will take the codes to activate the obelisk. Let's hope I get this right!" He rubs his hands together.
"Hope?" Auralind groans.
"Death trap?" Ben asks suspiciously.
"Is this one o' them everybody dies traps, or just you?" Alysson asks.
"My money's on this one!" Harrison decides, and heads off, leaving White Squad to trail behind.
Harrison Jones says: This should just take a moment.
Tho'kesh says: Codes accepted. Activating mechanism.
Harrison Jones says: Well, that went smoothly for a change.
Ben relaxes and nods.
Tho'kesh says: System failure. Internal data corruption detected. Constructing defense mechanism.
Ben tenses again. "Well. Shit."
Harrison Jones says: Too good to be true. I might have known.
Harrison Jones says: Looks like we do this the hard way. Let's go!
Ben chases after the heedless Harrison Jones, until the doctor stops at another piece of machinery near the chamber's center.
"Okay, kids," Harrison announces. "I think I can do this manually, but I'll need your help."
Alysson eyes the giant statue close by. "We're gonna end up fightin' that, aren't we?"
Ben eyes the statue too. He nods grimly at Alysson.
Auralind frowns. "Fighting what?"
"Big… titan construct fellow," Ben tells her.
"One o' them big ol' statue fellows," Alysson says.
Aura sighs. "Of course. Titans."
Harrison is paying them no mind. "Yes, this all looks familiar enough. Thanks to all the information you gathered for me, I'm sure that I can activate the mechanism. I'll just need some time free from distraction. That's where you come in." He looks up and grins at them again. "Watch my back!"
"If all these statue fellows are around protectin' the reset button, aren't we doin' Deathweng's work for 'im by destroyin' 'em?" Alysson asks.
"That is a real good question." Ben nods at Alysson.
"Nah," says Harrison confidently, and begins tinkering.
"Perhaps, but this is a race to the Coffer," Auralind says. "We need to get there first."
As predicted, as soon as Harrison begins prodding at the machinery, the stone colossus at the end of the chamber grates to life and begins slow-pacing toward the group, the floor trembling with each step.
White Squad is on the job.
The guardian collapses with a crash. Behind the group, Harrison stands up and waves both arms. "That should do it!"
"We ever tried talkin' to them statue fellows an' askin' 'em for a truce?" Alysson asks.
"They have not typically been very conversational," Aura explains.
The device with which Harrison has been tinkering brightens with a swirling, multi-hued light. Abruptly, with a tremor in the earth, a spear of white light rockets upward and out of view.
Harrison and White Squad reclaim their mounts and make haste up to the terrace to survey their work.
Harrison has arrived ahead of the group, somehow, and is conferring with his old pal Sullah. He nods once to the turbaned gentleman and then takes off again on his gryphon, heading north.
"It's doin' the thing!" Alysson says, pointing at the light beam coming from the Obelisk.
Ben cranes his neck up at the new light beam. "Well. That — yeah. Doin' the thing."
Sullah approaches, grinning. "My friends! Well done!"
Auralind nods in greeting. "Elune adore, Sullah."
"You've really stirred up a sandstorm here!" Sullah does not seem distressed by this. "Jones tells me you will need to make your way to the top of that mountain now, according to his translations. I'm afraid you won't get far with those troopers swarming it like ants on a carcass. Fortunately, some of my friends were able to confiscate a bit of the enemy's hardware. It should make your journey a bit easier."
Auralind chuckles. "Of course. Interesting friends you have."
Sullah winks at Auralind, who cannot see him. He turns to point into the distance. "If you make your way to the ridgeline to the north, you will find it waiting for you. Good luck!"
"We're goin' on an epic journey up a mountain?" Alysson asks. "Is there a bracelet?"
"A what?" Ben blinks at Alysson.
"Why would there be — never mind." Aura sighs.
Awaiting them atop the ridge is a row of siege engines, which overlook the plateau above the Obelisk of the Moon. The plateau is indeed swarming with more Schnottzie troopers, distant antlike figures on patrol.
Alysson eyes the siege engines. "Maybe the bracelet comes later."
Harrison Jones has already taken a seat on one of the misappropriated siege engines. He waves cheerily. "Sullah wasn't kidding. That hill is crawling with troopers! Jump on a machine and paint some targets on 'em. And make every shot count! We need to be able to get up there!"
White Squad jumps on machines and makes every shot count.
Harrison whoops. "Nice shooting!" He hops down from his seat. "Now let's see if we can make our way up there before they're able to recover."
Atop the plateau….
As the group approaches some ruins ahead, Ben surveys the smoking wreckage of the Schnottzies' camp. He whistles.
Alysson gapes at what appears to be a large tol'vir statue. "What's THAT?"
Harrison Jones looks over his shoulder and grins at Alysson. "Pretty fantastic, right?"
"I do not know," Aura says dryly. "What is that?"
Ben's head swivels and he surveys the statue as well. He mutters to Alysson, "What you bet we're gonna fight it?"
"We're definitely gonna fight it," Alysson says. "It's a statue."
"Giant tol'vir statue thing with… wings an' armor an' all," Ben tells Auralind.
"Another statue." Aura sighs. "We will soon be experts at battling masonry."
"Hey, that'll help if we gotta fight any Horde castles," Alysson says.
"Okay!" says Harrison. "So far, so good. We need to keep moving, though. It's just a matter of time before the Schnottzies get their act together. If my translation is correct, the Coffer should be just beyond these ruins.
"So stay on your toes, because I'm guessing we have a big job still to come!" Harrison turns to survey the statue again. "Ready? Set go!" He sprints off across the courtyard.
"Hey!" Ben calls after him.
The group is once again obliged to chase Harrison.
They catch up with him on the other side of the courtyard with the tol’vir statue in the middle. Harrison is facing down a squad of armed Schnottzies in khaki uniforms, as well as a short, familiar figure in black.
"Hey it's the boogeymen!" Alysson cries.
Aura nocks an arrow, immediately on the defensive.
Harrison Jones says: I figured I might see you again, Schnottz.
Commander Schnottz says: Ve meet again, Doctor Jones! Zhanks to your vork in zhis region, my mission has become much easier.
"… yeah we kind of was worried about that." Ben scowls at Schnottz.
Harrison Jones says: I know what you're up to, Schnottz! Deathwing will never have the coffer, not if I can help it!
Commander Schnottz says: Vell in zhat case, ve must ensure zhat you and your friends are out of zhe picture.
Commander Schnottz says: Permanently!
Commander Schnottz says: You von't live to see your precious coffer, Jones!
Harrison Jones says: Not so fast, Schnottz!
Harrison, once again, takes off without the squad, pursuing Commander Schnottz deeper into the ruins. White Squad remains, facing a semi-circle of Schnottzies armed with machine guns.
Suddenly, there is a ponderous, grating sound from behind them, and the earthen floor of the courtyard trembles.
"Aw, hell." Ben steps back resignedly.
"Hey, the statue is killin' his fellows," Alysson says.
He means the Schnottzies. The tol’vir colossus is deadly, but it is equal-opportunity deadly, and panicked Schnottzies are cut down by eye-lasers and massive, sweeping stone claws.
"Who could have predicted this…" Aura mutters.
White Squad joins the fray to show the Schnottzies how it’s done.
The Schnottzies are not impressed, mostly because they’re all dead. But so is the colossus.
"Which way'd they go?" Ben looks around breathlessly.
Auralind points to the staircase leading upward.
"There're flyin' crates!" Alysson says, pointing skyward.
"Come on." Ben sprints toward the stairs.
A familiar Hatman awaits them at the top of the stairs.
"Hey!" says Harrison cheerfully. "Good to see you're all still in one piece!"
Ben glares balefully at him.
"We're all in one piece?" Alysson glances between them. "I thought we were in three pieces…"
"Four," he corrects, looking at Thaeru.
Ben nods dourly at Alysson.
Aura lifts her brow at Alysson, and manages an appreciative smile.
Harrison does not seem concerned with his arithmetic. He rubs his hands together. "After all we've been through, it looks like everything's actually coming together!
"We're just steps away from the coffer… I've researched the codes to reveal it… Schnottz thinks we're dead…. You know, we might just pull this off after all!"
Ben raises an eyebrow. A Hazan Eyebrow. "If we're steps away, where's that put Schnottz?"
Prescient, Ben.
As the group emerges into the next courtyard, they are faced with a shimmering dome of light. Another Titan device stands across the way. Harrison jogs toward it to begin his usual meddling.
Harrison Jones says: That oughta do it!
He steps back from the device. The golden dome of light falls away, and where it was now stands a massive golden chest, ornately carved and ornamented.
Harrison Jones says: Would you look at that…
Harrison Jones says: Kids! We've done it!
A goblin zeppelin flanked by a pair of black drakes lifts above the edge of the courtyard plateau, and the greasy-haired goblin grins down at them.
Commander Schnottz says: Vell done, Doctah Jones!
Commander Schnottz says: Such a pity…
Commander Schnottz says: I vould offer you a prestigious position in my organization if I didn't haf to kill you.
Commander Schnottz says: But first!
Commander Schnottz says: You shall vitness zhe destruction of zhat vhich you hold so dear!
Commander Schnottz says: I never vanted your silly chest for myself. Zhat artifact is zhe only zhink preventink Deazhvink from activatink zhe reorigination mechanism!
Commander Schnottz says: Vonce his lust for vengeance is sated, I vill be free to rule Azerozh as I see fit!
Brann Bronzebeard says: Och! Come on now, ye buggar…
Commander Schnottz says: Hmm? Vhat vas zhat?
Commander Schnottz says: No matter! In a moment, nozhink vill remain of any of zhis!
Commander Schnottz says: Not only haf you led me right to zhe coffer, but you haf removed its protektions!
Ben mutters something under his breath and flicks a dire look at Harrison Jones.
Harrison Jones says: Close your eyes, kids. This ain't gunna be pretty…
Commander Schnottz yells: Destroy zhe — Vait… vhat is ZHAT?!
Brann Bronzebeard appears from… inside? the Coffer? Somehow?
Brann Bronzebeard says: Ahah! Fresh air at last!
Brann turns back to tinker with the Coffer’s elaborate ornamentation. A globe of golden light gathers above it; abruptly, the light lasers outward and blasts goblin and drakes all out of the sky.
Commander Schnottz yells: Auckh!!!
A familiar red-bearded dwarf — no, not that one — grins at them. "Lucky fer you, this ol' dwarf's still got a few tricks up his sleeve!" says Brann Bronzebeard cheerily. "Heehee! Shoulda seen tha looks on yer faces!"
Auralind tilts her head, brow furrowed. "That… was entirely unexpected."
"I don't… uh. Understand what happened, exactly?" Ben looks around the terrace uncertainly.
"Archaeology, me lad!" says Brann.
Alysson points at the dwarf. "Hey! How'd he get inside the thing?"
Ben shakes his head wonderingly at Alysson.
"Archaeology, me lad," Brann says again complacently. "You an' Junior took yer sweet time gettin' 'ere, din't ya?"
Harrison Jones wipes his brow. "Junior," he grumbles.
"If someone told us it was a race, we'd've been hittin' more buttons," Alysson says. Then he pauses to consider. "Wait, someone did tell us that."
Brann turns to Harrison. "Takin' in the sights, were ye? Don't go breakin' yer arm pattin' yerself on the back now, the real work's just beginnin'!"
He looks to the squad again. "There be more ta this ancient artifact than ye know, but in order ta reveal its secrets, we need ta get it to the Cradle of the Ancients! Now, howdya suppose we do that?" Brann looks back at Harrison with a grin. "Ye got any bright ideas, Junior?"
"Of course I have a plan," Harrison mutters irritably under his breath. "Someday, maybe the old coot will learn to trust me."
"What was the plan for them black dragons an' the coffer?" Alysson asks excitedly. There was more than one plan?!
Harrison clears his throat and avoids Alysson's gaze. "I had planned on bringing the coffer back to my lab for study, but it seems Brann here has different ideas." Harrison eyes the dwarf.
"Och, no ye don't, laddie!" Brann agrees. "I'll be needing it to stop Deathwing’s work here, aye?"
Harrison looks a little sullen. "My buddy Jock is standing by with transport, waiting on our signal. Take these flares and plant them around the perimeter to let him know we're ready." He offers out a bundle of flares halfheartedly.
"Not bad, not bad," approves Brann.
The squad plant flares around the edge of the courtyard. A short time later, a pilot appears and, after an excitable conversation with Brann Bronzebeard, secures the Coffer to airlift it out. The group mounts up and dutifully follows the plane and its precious cargo down toward the Cradle of the Ancients — evidently, that is the name of the dry and withered oasis where they hunted coyote pelts for Schnottz.
The Coffer is set gently in the sand before a massive gate. White Squad and the two archaeologists gather around it.
Brann surveys the Coffer and then turns to eye the gate behind them. "Nice work, Junior! Looks like everything made the trip in one piece."
Harrison folds his arms and looks sulky.
"Hey, it's the face door from… several weeks ago!" Alysson says.
Ben pushes back the brim of his hat and eyes the door. "Hey, yeah. Sure is."
Brann, meanwhile, has turned back to the Coffer with a gleam in his gaze. He cracks his knuckles. "I'm not quite certain what ta expect 'ere, so stay on yer toes, eh? Stand back!"
"Are we… openin' it?" Ben asks with some alarm.
They sure are, apparently. And by "they” I mean Brann.
He does something else with the Coffer’s ornamentation, and behind it the carved face in the gate blazes with golden light. It channels eye lasers that crawl across the sand inexorably toward the Coffer, and focus on it for several long seconds.
When the lasers die, the Coffer’s lid falls open.
Brann gazes into the Coffer with awe.
Auralind puts her hand to her chest as she suddenly inhales, reaching to Thaeru to steady herself.
"Auralind?" Ben looks over at her.
"The land suddenly…." Aura simply gestures around them at the all the new growth.
Alysson gapes. "It's alive! The face beams happened an' then the place re-alived itself!"
The once-sere land around them is suddenly green and lush and blooming; clear water runs in the old channels in the sand, and brightly-colored frogs chirp and hop around them.
Ben looks around and takes a startled step back. "Damn. Damn."
"Where'd the frogs come from?" Alysson asks, chasing a frog.
"The oasis is all… oasey again." Ben looks awed.
"Is that where they get their name from? When you see 'em you go, ohh… an' then eyy?" Alysson asks.
"Of course!" cries Brann, examining the Titan discs he now holds.
He is probably not answering Alysson.
"I had a hunch this is what we'd find." Brann looks around them. "… wasn't expecting the organic transformations, I must admit."
"How d'you think the device knew not to further… aliven us d'you think?" Alysson asks.
"Because ye already read as alive, laddie! How would it aliven ye further?" Brann peers at Alysson.
Alysson points at Thaeru’kal.
Brann blinks at Thaeru'kal. "Och, well. I… well."
Auralind chuckles. "Thaeru'kal asks me to inform you she is very much alive."
"Ah!" Brann looks relieved.
"I was thinkin' maybe I should check my armpits later for plants," Alysson says. "Just in case."
No one has a good response to that.
Brann hefts the discs again. "Half of me wishes I could stick around a while and take in the sights with ye. I've seen some amazin' things in my day, but this does take the cake. Sadly, I have a fair bit o' research ta do on these discs before I make my way into the Halls of Origination."
"I would suggest you wait for us to join you in the Halls," Aura suggests, "But I suspect I know you better than that."
Brann strokes his beard. "Welllllll, since ye mention it…. You lot do seem to be worth your salt, carryin' Junior here through your expedition like ye did."
Harrison makes a strangled noise.
"Perhaps ye'd like ta tag along and see how a REAL archaeologist works, eh?" Brann twinkles at them.
Ben glances at Harrison Jones, and then back to Brann Bronzebeard. He nods. "Yessir."
Auralind nods solemnly. "So it shall be."
"We're gonna solve more Titan puzzles?" Alysson asks eagerly.
"With luck, we're gonna solve Titan puzzles and save the world, laddie!" Brann beams at Alysson. Give me a few days to decode these discs, and then meet me in the Halls of Origination! I'll see the lot of ye there!"
Harrison Jones watches Brann depart. He looks a little despondent. He takes his hat off and beats it against his hand to shake the dust out of it, and then claps it back on his head. "Well," he says with false bravado to the squad. "Not bad, not bad. And I hope you all learned some valuable lessons about caution and foresight and not getting ahead of yourselves!"
Ben stares at Harrison.
Auralind glares in Harrison's general direction.
"So are we gonna leave the Coffer here?" Alysson asks.
Harrison turns to look at the gleaming object. "Well." He brightens a little. "Brann's taken the contents, so the Coffer itself is no danger anymore. Maybe I'll take that, at least, for study. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'll do!"
Ben nods politely.
"Maybe you can tell us what the horned birds are on it!" Alysson says excitedly.
"Fantastic!" Harrison declares, in much better spirits now. "Your papers are due on Wednesday, by the way. Now, where did Jock get to?" He looks around for his pilot buddy, and wanders off vaguely into the oasis.
"Oh, we're still doin' papers?" Alysson starts to sweat a little.
Ben stares after him and then looks at the other two.
Auralind waves to Harrison as he wanders off. "En'shu falah nah…kid."
Ben snorts a laugh at Auralind. He clears his throat. "I, uh. Dunno about the papers? I ain't even select a thesis for mine yet." He takes his own hat off to mop his brow again.
"I'm gonna do mine on eye beams," Alysson says.
Ben nods seriously. "Pretty good, yeah. Nice." He looks thoughtful. "Maybe I will write on the falcon motif. Or the presence of human ghosts and the bipedal colossi."
"I shall not be writing a paper," Aura says firmly.
"Because you'll be talkin' the paper at someone, yeah?" Alysson asks.
Ben eyes Auralind and then decides she probably already has her college degree. He nods at her. She still can't see him.
Auralind 'stares' at Alysson for several uncomfortable moments before answers: "No."
"No? But I bet you could talk a whole book on that elf fellow we met," Alysson says.
"I mean it seem kind of a shame to put in all this work an' then drop class at the last minute," Ben observes. "But you… prob'ly you don't need a degree in nothin'?"
"Class…? Were you — " Auralind shakes her head. "Never mind. Whatever value you gained from this experience is yours to cherish."
Ben nods respectfully. "Yes'm. Thanks. You too."
"Can I keep one o' these magic frogs that came outa noplace?" Alysson asks.
Ben contemplates the frogs. "I reckon they are maybe happiest here. You can come an' visit 'em, yeah?"
"I gotta visit the camels too," Alysson says, grinning.
"… yeah, so. You can make a whole trip out of it, visitin' stuff." Ben nods gravely. He looks between the other two. "So I reckon I will see y'all for a expedition to Halls of Origination in a few days, yeah? An' Prospector Stillwall hopefully back, too."
"Yeah!" Alysson cheers.
"Okay, then. Good job today, y'all. Dismissed. I am gonna go get some coffee an' start on my paper, I guess."
Auralind chuckles. "Ande'thoras ethil."