D'zan feels the nostalgia sweep over him and the life so long ago over the seas - he remembers the others and their life in the great green of the wild but the happiness he found there was so shallow for him.

"We seek a better understanding of the task laid before us and what has changed in this place - why He reaches from this place to our world. As to the price I humbly ask for your wisdom in offering a gift worthy of the knowledge we seek."

Upon hearing his fathers voice speak Nahuatl to him, Uetz does a double-take. "The voice is right, but this does not seem to be the right place for Father to speak to me," he thinks to himself, slipping back to his native tongue in his mind, "what do you think, Sister Eagle?"

"Play along or let the others take the lead," Quauhtli replies, "as we are the strangers in this land, and do your best to keep from offending our hosts."

He agrees with Quauhtli, and feels more at ease---as much as a someone in a strange metaplane can be---once D'zan takes the lead.

All

"All worlds are reflections of the others. Change in one world will cause ripples in the others. These questions can be answered, if the Mortal or Fox will bear my eyes into the light. The God-Touched's shadow bears another's mark and it cannot be a creature from outside your creation to bear our influence to your land. Do this and we shall speak plainly."

As the voice speaks, Argent and Papa have the sense that someone is looking at them, though no creature stands between the pillars.

"God-Touched?" Uetz muses mentally.

"I suppose this oracle can sense our devotion to the Nahuatl Gods," replies Quauhtli, "Fortunately for us, it does not see that as an affront to him...her... It?"

"Um," Uetz says to the rest of the group, his mind switching again from Nahuatl to English, "I believe someone has to bear its eyes. Based on the names it is using for us, I do not believe I can bear them. Nor D'zan. I believe that leaves you two." He looks at Argent and Papa.

"May the Gods give them the sense not to see this as PITO fodder," mumbles Quauhtli through their shared link.

D'zan hovers closer to Argent and Papa as he speaks in a low and hushed tone.

"These beings most likely exists at a junction of several different realities that allows them to bypass the protections most would use to keep them from seeing or knowing what happens. They would be limited in scope somehow though - I suspect these ones can only see shadowed or dark places so the offer to carry their sight elsewhere has value for them. It would allow them to see things otherwise unknown to them."

Leo reading the rest of what his companion knows in the freely shared thoughts that pass between them joins in the discussion.

"The questions you need to ask is what happens to you when you carry their eyes, how long you would need to carry them and what happens when you are finished. Have a care - you can give things here a foothold in places they should not be by acting as an agent in this manner. Also where you may be asked to carry them. Taking something not mortal into yourself can be more intimate than you want."

Argent blanches at the things suggestion, already glancing around for Leo even as the voice speaks. The voice the thing use was...odd. Argent's father had been a fox, there was never a voice to attribute to him, at least not one that spoke mortal words. The sense of him pervaded the words though, dredging up nostalgic smells and half-remembered images of a life he hardly even considered his own anymore.

Leo's words are a splash of cold water on his wandering thoughts, and he turns back to the creature, the speaker...the thing that had so enthralled him with mere tone. His grin comes back to his lips, some hint of the 'runners previous confidence returning. A deal? He could broker a deal anywhere.

"We'll agree, but on certain terms. First you tell us exactly what we're carrying, how much influence it will have over us, and what we would or could be forced to do to comply, and what happens when we're finished. And the deal is finite...once we've finished our escort, all of whatever it is we brought with us goes back, whether it's with us or not, regardless of where or how it might have separated or came to be."

All

"A secret cannot be untold once it is spoken, our Knowing must remain as long as the secrets are known. You will be carrying our Knowing, a thing that feeds our thoughts and gives us the secrets that it knows. You must bear it in all places that your mind will travel, do so willingly and it will have no influence. Do so unwillingly and it will find a home. When the secrets are again unknown to your world, the Knowing will return to this place."

As the voice resonates in your minds and across your skin, you see an obsidian stone appear on one of the nearby pillar fragments. Thinking back, you realize that it has been there the whole time but the shadows shifted to make it more obvious.

Papa stands silently, towering over his teammates. In this place, playing the fool troll seems not to provide the benefits as back home. He listens to the the dialog intently. Us? Possession?

Listening to the exact words and playing them over again in his mind, one piece "What, exactly, are the secrets? And how will they become unknown in our world?"

All

"The secrets are the answers that you have come to seek from us. They will be unknown when none of those knowing them are left to speak them."

"Only two are fit as vessels, but you would require a deal that intertwines the fate of all. Let it last only until the carrier can no longer speak the secrets, and then the Knowing will be returned. And the Knowing must allow for situations in which it would cost us our lives to carry it hence. A Bearer is no bearer if he is dead. Let the Knowing allow for these times, knowing that we will not willingly deceive it about these, and let the Knowing return with the end of the single vessel, and the deal will be struck."

All

"Though only two are fit, the others will know the secrets. If they choose to have the knowledge struck from their minds upon your passing, or to leave the mortal realms and serve their lieges, the Knowing will return when the bearers are no more.

Yea, if bearing the Knowing will truthfully cost the bearers their lives, then leaving it in safety will be acceptable. Though upon first breath of safety, the bearers must seek to take it up again. If the deal is struck, take up the Knowing and speak your questions."

The stone gleams with reflected twilight. Beyond the ruins, you can see the fog has rolled in as a thick wall. The other diviners are lost from vision.

Papa raises a hand to his chin and gently rubs it. Like an A.I.

Speaking to the entity, "Ain't no assurances in life; Mama taught me that. Sometimes words are gold and other times air. Guess we'll see the weight of yours. I'm in." He looks to the mages, "Ask your questions."

Argent reaches out, shrugging with a grin at the rest of the group. "Guess this means you have to protect me, at least until we're done here, right?" He scoops up the obsidian stone, cringing in a slightly melodramatic fashion as he picks it up.

Argent
As the stone touches your skin, you feel a warmth spread across the inside of you--like the warm breeze of a summer night trapped within your body. Looking out at the space around you, there are a thousand worlds overlapping in the space between the columns. The fog pulses with a purple vein of will and energy, you instantly know that it is alive and hungry. The disfigured statue melts away in your vision, and only the golden rune pulses with raw need.

Then the vision snaps back to your normal sight.

Team
Looking at Argent you see his eyes turn solid obsidian as he takes the stone and places it in his pants pocket.

Papa's fly spies pop out beginning to record the end of Argent's transformation. When complete Papa looks for a second stone, turning the camera's on himself.

D'zan looks at Argent and smiles softly at his transformation. Leo flies closer to the fox shapeshifter quietly asking him how he feels and looking him over for any other changes.

"It suits you."

D'zan rubs his hand together and faces the oracle - face light up with curiosity. His voice is liquid and moves through the air like a lover's caress as he begins to ask questions.

"What has changed with my Lord and why has he reached from this place to the world we hail from?"

All

"Thy lord does not reach from this place, but uses agents from here. The change comes from another world, offering a new balance to the courts which the Huntsman finds appealing. The shadows tasted a remnant of the knowledge when he spoke to you through the mirror. They could not pry your mind."

'Ooooooooooookay.Who or what do we hunt in our world? I have been given the means to pursue his prey but I would know what I am seeking."

All

"It is most likely that you seek a great tome, known to some as the Book of Enoch, or the letters of creation. There are many versions spread throughout your world, though the original could grant one the ability to exist beyond death. If there are other things you seek, describe them to us and we will tell you what they are called."

D'zan pauses taking the last bit of information in before speaking again.

"Taste of blood and stone, the beating heart. Sound of wings and wind, the stolen feather. What are these things?"

"Book of Enoch...creation story...would that be anything like the 'Book of the People?' What the Mayans called the 'Popol Vuh?'" Uetz thinks aloud.

All

For a moment, the voices build up and they are indistinguishable from one another. They quickly die back down to the single voice speaking to you.

"There is a stone, black as night and veined with rubies. Your world has many names for it, but it is best known as the 'Lover's heart.' In the hands of a mortal it grants all that they dream for, but not what those who knew them think they would want. It binds one of the Endless into your realm and holds her hostage to live two existences.

"The feather was that taken from Samael before his fall or perhaps before his rise. Time for beings such as it, does not flow the way it does for you. It was taken by the cthonic lords and given to Tezcatlipoca when your people still dug in the mud.

"No, God-touched. The Popol Vuh is a broken remnant--truth diluted too far to be seen as such. Many of the ancient works in your creation are this way. The Book of Enoch, in its original form is the truth of how your kind became mortal and how to break free of the cycle again."

D'zan turns towards the others.

"I had a vision or waking dream from the Huntsman where those three objects were named to me in verse. I think we are suppose to gather them for him which leads to the question - why does he seek these objects and for what could they be used?"

He ends the last sentence looking to the oracle again.

All

"The Huntsman is wise and does not keep counsel in the shadows. Though he cannot speak lies, the words spoken for our knowing, taste false. There are many things that could be done with the items separately. Together, they could give the Wild Hunt the power to hunt any being beyond the stretches of time and render immortal beings mortal. None who rose the Erlking's ire would ever truly be safe.

"In the hands of others, far worse things could happen. It is the nature of the being that will dictate its course."

Leo speaks quietly to Uetz while the oracle answers.

"Who or what is Tezcatlipoca? I admit I know very little about that pantheon."

D'zan looks quickly to Leo with an expression of thanks and approval at his question. He sits with the answer a moment before speaking again.

"Do others seek these objects? And if so, what do you know about them?"

All

"There are many who seek these items, without knowing all that they do. The most dangerous seeker, is the agent of the Endless. Mortals from your world breached the gap and showed that the Gallery was no longer sealed. Now, the Endless seek to close the doorway to the Mansions of Silence permanently from your world.

"The being is exceptionally old, powerful, and bound to an oath. The terms of that service are unknown to all but the Endless."

A complete look of confusion passes over D'zan's face as he turns to the rest of the group.

"Who the fuck are the Endless? Anyone? Anyone?"

Uetz's face falls at the oracle's mention of Tezcatlipoca. He whispers to himself to a benediction taught to him by his parents to banish away whatever bad luck might come from just saying the malevolent god's name. When Leo asks him about Tezcatlipoca, he takes a deep breath and separates the facts from superstitious fears before answering.

"Tezcatlipoca is the brother of Quetzalcoatl and helped create our world, but those are the only similarities between him and the kind and benevolent Feathered Serpent. He is known by many names, but the most fitting are 'The Ever Devouring Darkness,' 'The Enemy,' and 'The Lord of Near and Far.' If he is involved in whatever we must face, then we must be careful in everything we say and do."

Argent blinks as the questions go back and forth, and significant information seems to flash from more educated mage to more educated mage. He glances at Papa, giving the troll a half shrug as questions are asked and answered, and he half the party is no more informed for all that.

"Look, I'm not totally up on all this myth and legend stuff, but based on that things answers, aren't we doing the world a favor by turning around and going home?"

Argent

A second after your reply, answers fill your mind. There is a warm breeze along in the inside of your skull.

The Endless are unending ideals, Platonic Forms given life or the embodiment of such that Plato realized. One such is trapped within the heart-shaped stone, as Desire.

You see that D'zan has no choice in this matter, due to the oath sworn in the dark and shadowy passageways of your last existence.

You see a woman, the perfect woman in shape, wearing a simple black gown that accentuates the perfection. A small golden locket rests in the hollow of her throat on a light chain. At her feet, a small ork boy has a huge slash across his left arm and a butcher knife in his right. The wound is clearly self-inflicted, but there is no blood anywhere in the picture.

The breeze stops, but the memories are trapped in your mind.

Argent seems to still for a moment, his body going motionless for one long instant before he abruptly shakes his head, as if trying to clear the cobwebs.

Didn't realize I'd be signing up for a ~second~ voice inside my head.

"Hey, uh, so, I think I just answered my own questions. These...these Endless, they're like these personifications of ideas or something. There's one in a heart shaped rock that's called 'Desire'. And I guess..." he glances a D'zan, "And we pretty much have to help, because of what D'zan did to get us out of the tunnel alive."

He looks away, a look of intense guilt crossing his features, hanging his head, unwilling to look at any of the other members. "And there's a girl, with a locket, and an orc boy with a knife." he mumbles.

Papa stands by Argent waiting for the stone to be passed across. The conversation of a book potentially holding immortality momentarily catches his attention.

As Argent suddenly comes up with his own answers. Puzzled, he looks to Argent with an outstretched hand. "Can I see that?"

Leo nods as Uetz speaks - his face looking a little grim when he mentions what exactly qualities this being is attributed.

"Do you know where we can find this entity or at least contact him?"

Argent seems caught a bit off guard, but he nods after a moment's hesitation, fishing in his pocket for the obsidian stone to hand to Papa Smurf.

Papa takes the stone tentatively, not fully sure what to expect.

All

As the stone leaves Argent's hand, you see a shiver run down his spine and the blackness lifts from his eyes. When Papa takes it, with the fly-spies recording every second, it seems like his skin is infused with shadow. Every fold and crease is filled with darkness, a living shadow. When it is all done, it looks as if there is black grime or dust caught along the cuticles, in each knuckle, and the situation is spread across his body.

Argent
The warmth which has spread through your body suddenly turns to a chill ice and fades as the stone leaves you.

Papa
As the stone touches your skin, you feel a warmth spread across the inside of you--like the warm breeze of a summer night trapped within your body. Looking out at the space around you, there are a thousand worlds overlapping in the space between the columns. The fog pulses with a purple vein of will and energy, you instantly know that it is alive and hungry. The disfigured statue melts away in your vision, and only the golden rune pulses with raw need.

Then the vision snaps back to your normal sight.

Papa takes the stone and stares out at the changing space around him while he simultaneously watches the video feeds, tweaking fly-spy positioning for better video. The part of his brain watching the fog reaches out towards the colors for a split second before retracting his hand. The transformation complete, he holds up the stone, in the palm of his hand, looking at the stone first, then his hands as he half folds in his fingers.

He asks of the entity "Didn't you say two of us would carry this?" as he extends his hand back to Argent to return the stone

All

"The two of you may carry the Knowing. The others can not. If you both wish to carry it together, simply both touch the Knowing at the same time."

In the distance, you all hear voices though they are muffled by the fog. A collection of small flickering lights--possibly torches--is approaching from the marketplace. They appear to be coming down the path, your group took into the outskirts.

"If you wish to return home, the time is nigh. Ask your final questions, or trust your companions to Know the truth."

Opposite the space between the columns where Those-who-walk-in-darkness seems to exist, another tear in space opens. You see hills, the nighttime sky, and the Los Angeles skyline.

D'zan looks to the approaching mob from the market and looks to the portal opened by the oracle. A single thought passes between himself and Leo - an image of home and their bed as he smiles with teeth slightly too sharp to be seen as comforting.

"Who are they and do they oppose us in the hunt?"

All

"Those that approach with bound effigies are the enforcers of the accord. They do not oppose any accept those who breach the peace of the market place."

"Anyone have any final questions - we should scoot back home before whatever that is gets all loud and messy?"

He moves in the direction of the new portal to LA while looking everyone over to see if anyone has anything left to ask.

Uetz shakes his head.

"I cannot think of any other questions to ask."

"Agreed." Argent said, his gaze lingering on Papa Smurf and the transformation that had occurred perhaps a bit too long. The looks back at the mob, his normal grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Looks like we might just be getting in the way here anyway..."

He tugs his coat around him, covered in dirt and roots from the tunnel, and glances around. "Somebody got the box?" he confirms, before stepping through the portal.

"You heard him - someone tall and earthbound get the damn thing." D'zan hollers back over his shoulder to the more able members of the team. He pauses in mid-flight for the portal to LA.

"What was the purpose of the vials - payment or something we need to finish the task placed before us by my Lord?" He addresses the oracle one last time almost forgetting to ask in the first place.

Leo gestures for Uetz to make his way to the gateway home and waits to make sure everyone is moving towards it himself.

Uetz nods and walks through the portal.

I wonder how Etain and Rene are doing? he says to Quauhtli through their mental link.

Probably fine...so long as they did not manage to burn the house down...

Saturday -- July 16, 2072
D'zan

"The breath of departed innocence was meant for payment for this task. You may find use for them before the task is complete, though they will not be your only option."

With this, you can feel a shift in the oracle. It is as if it is no longer looking upon you, but focussed on another place.

In LA
Stepping through the portal, there is a moment when you feel darkness pour through you, invading every cell and memory of your being. It passes and you find yourself standing in the warm air of Los Angeles. The air is dry, with a hot Santa Ana wind blowing through. Your body suddenly registers how cold it has been wandering through the market and the fog, as the night air is several degrees warmer.

The bizarre sounds and smells are gone. Now it is the quiet of the hills, and the distant din of traffic and a lively city. Matrix coverage is patchy, but you find that by moving a few steps you can get into full coverage, only to have it drop again a few steps later.

Papa
Your commlink registers the local matrix and you watch it automatically connecting with your last settings. Files immediately begin replicating themselves from your hard storage to your secure online backups.

//Welcome back!
//It has been 3 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes since your last connection.
//Would you like to update your user profile?

In the lower area of your vision, you see the P2.0 icon switch from offline to online. A query comes through for uploading stored video files to your feed.

All

Once you acclimate back to the warmth of the city, there is only one decision left to make. Are you calling an aircab, or trying to scrabble down the hills?

Papa hesitates looking around with his changed vision before stepping through and back to his reality.

As the feeds come to life and P2.0 fills a corner of his brain, a subconscious smile fills Papa face from ear to ear. He quickly begins the updates to his profile, documenting his adventures without giving all the details or exposing members of the team. As he begins to note the flake in the matrix signal, he deploys his fly-spies in order to create a relay net always hold one in a strong signal while the other seeks the next relay point.

As he speaks, he also looks around to see if any new senses manifest here in the real-world. "Where to?"

"Yah and where the hell are we?"

D'zan flies up a 15 feet or so to get a better view of the their surroundings. While in the air he opens himself to the feeling that tied him to his prey in the Market - that which his Lord would say run to ground and laid low before the Great Hunt.

Leo stays with the others casting a single concerned look to his companion above.

"Where should we go? Back to the house to plan our next course of action? Or perhaps seek more information about the information imparted from the oracle?"

Papa
You quickly rebuild a mesh connection to the matrix with the fly-spies. It looks like the some of the signal towers are being blocked by rocky outcroppings along the hill. once you have a signal connected through the fly-spy, you can move anywhere along the hill without a problem. The video files from the drones feed through your standard editing routine and slowly upload into the P2.0 feed supporting your profile updates.

Looking across the city, you see a giant net of blue and purple lines. Beneath your feet, you can sense tunnels and feel the thrum of power. At Leo's mention of the house, your vision focuses on a distant point of the horizon--there is a sensation of falling forward as if a telescopic lens zoomed in too fast. You see the reflected light of fire service trucks in the windows of the house across the street from your team's joint residence.

D'zan

The instant you focus your thoughts upon your prey, you feel the pull. West and south into the city, the smell of old leather and musty parchment. North beyond mountains and rivers, in a great lake surrounded by cliffs. Far to the south and east, among jungles and great standing stones.

"I would like to go home first. I left my commlink in my room, and I have no idea how long it has been since we have been there last. As much as I appreciate the company of Etain and Rene, it is possible that they have eaten everything we have stored at the house," Uetz says.

"Also, I think I need to water my plants..."