Chapter 559: An Interesting Development
The night was cool, something that wasn’t uncommon in the desert. Despite what people may think, nights in the desert get deceptively cold, but inside the rugged tent, the after effects of the activities left a warmth that was undeniable.
Despite being held on both sides, Laz slowly rose and left the tent, walking into the cool night air. From the view, he could see fires had been lit all around the temple, giving it an ancient and imposing look, like someone had reached down and snatched the entire area out of the pages of history before dropping it off here.
While the sight was impressive, what truly caught his attention was the red glow coming from the top of the temple, a pulsing light that shone out from a large basin that sat on the top of the stone structure. From where Laz stood, he could see over the lip of the basin, but not enough to see what was causing the glow.
’Whatever is in there is giving me a bad vibe,’ Laz thought to himself as he stood there, fully naked in the cool breeze.
"So what’s the plan?" Amira asked, walking up next to the naked Laz with a blanket draped around her skinny frame.
"I’m going to check it out, sneak in. Whatever works I think. I have a mask and clothes so that’s not an issue. And from the looks of it, people are still arriving so I should be able to blend in easily," Laz said as he looked at the mass of cars still pulling in.
"What about me?" Amira asked, somewhat unsure for the first time ever after bearing witness to this sight.
"You and Brittany need to remain outside. I can be sure there are no runes or seals present in the back gardens or around anything past that point, but inside the building is still a mystery. From what I can tell, there are several gathering points back there so your best bet is to keep a low profile and sneak around there. I’m sure you both can avoid the guards but just in case," Laz started to say before reaching his hand into the blankets and laying it on her chest.
The warmth spreading out from his hand eased her nervousness as she felt something hot on her chest for just a moment before it cooled.
"What’s that?" Brittany asked, also wrapped in a blanket.
"Come here," Laz said, repeating the procedure for her as well.
"Uruz, Nauthiz, Algiz," Laz etched the same three runes for both women, allowing his power to burn into their bodies.
"Consider it like buffs. These will help you both in your mission and in escaping if it comes to it. But don’t get into a fight no matter what you do. This place whispers of untamed lust which can sometimes lead to lawlessness so it’s to be expecting that some guests get out of hand. However, if you actually fight them, the guards or whoever, it will alert the entire temple and put the plan in jeopardy," Laz warned them sternly.
"Got it. So play the part and be stealthy about it. Got it," Brittany said with a smile.
"Sigh... yes. And remember, get any information you can and try to locate Amira’s sister. I’ll be inside checking out what there is to check out. What’s your sister’s name in case I run into her? And what does she look like?" Laz asked, realizing he didn’t know.
"Dalia... and she looks almost just like me but maybe a tad younger. People used to mistake us as twins when we were younger," Amira sighed as she almost let her feelings take over.
"No problem. I’m sure she is fine. While people vanish here, there has never been any accounts of them being killed. So I can only assume they need them for other purposes. But I will be honest with you too... She may not be the same woman you remember from a month ago..." Laz warned.
"I know... I know. I just... want her back. I don’t care what happened to her. I will take care of her no matter what..."
"Even if your parents want nothing to do with her anymore?"
"No matter what..." Amira said, thinking about her own circumstances. She had fallen in deep with Laz and Brittany and crossed lines she never knew existed. But even then... by the strictest definitions that existed, she was still a virgin. The problem was she didn’t know if the same could be said about her sister.
Laz gave her a hug before they headed out. While they were on the high ground overlooking the temple, there were side trails that seemed to run down into the clearing. What’s more, it almost seemed like the temple owners didn’t even know the cliff existed, something that Laz didn’t understand until he started hiking down the forest trails.
’The tree line resides right in front of the cliff, making it look like the cliff is nothing more than sky. Unless you’re looking down at it from above, there is no way to tell it’s there. And if they did see someone standing right at the edge of it, it would appear that the person was flying or something? Heh... weird,’ Laz thought to himself before turning his attention to the task at hand.
Once they reached the ground level, Amira and Brittany went off towards the gardens while Laz made his way towards the side of the temple. He noticed several openings that appeared unguarded and while he found that strange he was at least going to investigate while he could. Seeing as how more cars and people were arriving, Laz quickly skirted the base of the structure and came upon the first opening he saw.
’Hmm... nothing...’ While the opening was there, it also wasn’t. From his vantage point far away, he could see a black hole in the stone. Thinking it might be a way in, he figured he would check it out. But while the hole was exactly that, touching it made it feel like stone.
’It’s not painted on... but... how strange,’ Laz said, moving to the next spot.
It was the same way.
After checking several more and ending up with the same result, Laz gave up. Even if one of these holes were real, he might spend his entire night searching them before he found it and he wasn’t about to waste his time like that.
Taking some clothing out of his spatial pouch, Laz quickly got changed and putting a mask on his face, one that was white but had streaks of gold and black running down from the top to twist around the eyes and continue down to the bottom, Laz snuck his way into the que, acting like he had just arrived like all the others.
"Name?"
"Reginald Durcrass."
"Patron God?"
"Ducat!"
"Alright. Please enjoy your stay Mr. Durcrass. From now on though, your name shall be the same as your patron. If that violates any of gods doctrines, we ask you to choose a temporary name that we can record you as for the sake of tonight events?"
"It’s alright. My God is not so narrow minded as to prevent his loyal servant from using his glorious name as a title for this evening."
"Excellent sir. Please make your way inside and enjoy yourself. Any and all staffers are happy to help you... no matter where your pleasures leads," the young woman said with a smile, directing the large gentleman towards the entrance.
"Even if my pleasure leads to you?": The man going by Ducat asked.
"Perhaps later when I am done with my current duty... if you possess the means for such a thing," the young woman said back in a clearly tempting manner.
Knowing not to press his luck, the big man went inside and made way for the next guest. There were several lines to let people in so that no line was too large. This also meant that Laz didn’t have too many people in front of him before it was his turn.
Thinking quickly, Laz was going to mention Quetzalcoatl or maybe Maia, but in the end, it turned out that he didn’t even need to go that far.
As soon as he stood forward, the young woman recording the information looked up and her eyes went wide.
"Sir. Forgive me... I didn’t know such a guest was in front of me. We thought all of the Marked had arrived earlier so I wasn’t expecting your presence," the young woman said, bowing low to Laz.
Confused but able to roll with it, Laz just waved his hand.
"I’ve been busy. If you don’t mind?" Laz asked.
"Of course sir. Allow me to," the woman said before waving to one of the girls standing by.
"Please escort this quest around to the main gathering pavilion. This is your chance since he’s probably the last Marked coming today so consider yourself lucky your not on table duty," the woman said with the last part being whispered.
"Of course mam. I shall do as the god intends," the new woman said with a low bow, her short, pink hair briefly covering her face before she stood up straight.
"Good. Please enjoy yourself and if you need any sort services later, feel free to look for me," she said with a smile and a wink.
"Perhaps I will," Laz responded back before turning to follow his guide.
’How interesting,’ Laz thought as his mind started working in overdrive.
