Received: from PACIFIC-CARRIER-ANNEX.MIT.EDU by po10.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA05839; Sat, 17 Feb 96 21:52:15 EST Received: from emout07.mx.aol.com by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA29188; Sat, 17 Feb 96 21:52:13 EST Received: by emout07.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id VAA22483 for jevans@mit.edu; Sat, 17 Feb 1996 21:52:35 -0500 Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 21:52:35 -0500 From: Vctr113062@aol.com Message-Id: <960217215234_146994939@emout07.mail.aol.com> To: jevans@MIT.EDU Subject: Winter 7/16 ***************************************************************** Rather than attack with the Power, I used it defensively. Bringing my left hand up into guard position, I let my right hand down and sent the Power coursing through it. I'd been practicing shaping things with the Power for so long that I could direct its flow while keeping my attention on the pack of carnivores. The foremost creature tried to snap its jaws on my leg. It was twice as large as the others; its burning eyes were in line with my own. I pivoted, chambering and driving my heel into its neck. It flew back with a squeal that was at least an octave deeper than the others' high-pitched cries. The rest of the pack pressed forward, but by then the Ice ramp I'd created was as tall as they and I was on top of it. High ground gave me an advantage, and the ramp's narrow slope forced them to attack one at a time. In between bouts of fending them off, I invested effort into elevating the ramp and making it steeper. They struggled to climb it, skidding on its slick surface while I maintained my balance with ease. After a few minutes most of the pack stopped trying, though they continued to stalk the ramp's base. The creature I'd kicked in the neck wasn't giving up that easily. It dug its hooked claws into the ramp's surface, using them to gain purchase. Its muscled hind legs crouched and propelled it toward me; in midair, it twisted to bring the carving knife claws on its feet in line with my stomach. Springing forward to meet it, I snapped one foot after another in a double-hit front kick that connected solidly with its chest. It landed further down the Ice ramp and skidded to the bottom. I flipped backwards, alighting near the ramp's summit. The large creature righted itself and hissed. A light source suddenly appeared from behind and above. It shined like daylight - _real_ daylight, not the pounding red-orange haze of the bright circle in Limbo's sky. The glittering illumination revealed the greyish-brown color of the pack's dry skin, crisscrossed by asymmetrical black stripes on their necks, backs and tails. The pack blinked and shied away from the brightness, except for the one who had attacked me twice. He paced close to the ramp. When he turned, I noticed a long scar on his left hip, cutting across his stripes. "You've been following the rays from my Sunstone, haven't you," mused a languid male voice with a rumbling cadence, from the same direction as the light. His breath smelled hot and foul. "Need any help, Sub-Zero?" "No. How do you know my name?" "News of the Tournament you participated in travels fast, even here. By the way, I couldn't help noticing your moves against that raptor. Not bad, but rather weak compared to what I've heard about you. Are you holding back?" "I kill people, not animals." "How noble." Sarcasm dripped from each word. "Unfortunately for you, the raptors have more flexible ethics. Food is scarce in the Maze, so whenever they find something too big to bring down, they pin it against a corner somewhere until it collapses from exhaustion and thirst. They'll take turns watching you, rotating in shifts for as long as they have to. They're quite intelligent, that way. But they taste simply awful. Too tough and stringy, definitely not worth the effort. See the scar on that alpha male? I put it there, and nearly lost a leg of my own in the process. That was the last time I tried to make a meal out of a healthy adult raptor. "So, do you still want to stay down there with your toothy friends?" "They are not my friends." "Even if you do drive them off, which way would you go? The Maze has thousands of paths; you could search for days and never find Leucrotta Castle. You'd starve to death looking, unless you want to live on rats and cockroaches. Disgusting things. You can barely make a decent snack out of them, let alone a meal." "Do you know the way out?" "Of course." "Tell me." "First, would you do me the kindness of a face-to-face conversation? It really isn't very polite, keeping your back turned to someone when they're talking to you." Though I was reluctant to take my eyes off the pack below, this Maze was a greater threat than they were. My hearing and sensitivity to air currents would warn me if the scarred creature attacked again, but nothing I'd tried had helped me navigate this seemingly endless network of corridors. I risked a glance over my shoulder, at the speaker. A sphinx reclined on top of the stone wall that ran a meter above my head. He resembled a massive lion with the twisted mimicry of a human face. His thick fur was tawny yellow, contrasted against a dusky brown mane and matching tuft on his tail. Retractile claw-tips poked out from his toes. Tan, feathered wings longer than his lion-body folded against his sides. Each wing was attached to his back just below the shoulder joint. His face had distorted proportions; the nose poked far out, like a hawk beak, and the abnormally wide mouth was crammed with double rows of pointed canines. Underneath his neck sparkled a brilliant yellow jewel on an iron chain. I felt the presence of Power within its faceted depths. Someone had used a great deal of mystic energy to turn this gemstone into a solar storehouse. My admiration of the gem was cut short when I made the mistake of looking into the sphinx's eyes. They flashed deep green, the color of moss rippling beneath a running stream. There were no corneas, only vertical slit pupils nestled in a sea of shimmering emerald. My limbs stiffened. Command of my muscles seeped away. Like a badly manipulated puppet, the controlling force made me turn fully around. Inside, I struggled furiously against the sphinx's hypnotic Power. "Yes, that's better," he drooled. "Now, come on up here, where I can sink my teeth into you. All your fresh meat shouldn't go to waste on the raptors." My legs tensed as if to vault; I fought against the compelling urge. "What's taking so long? You're quite capable of making the leap." "Nnngh-no." The strain of defying the sphinx's call sent involuntary shudders through my frame. Though I could speak, I could not look away from his mesmerizing gaze. It took everything I had to simply remain where I was. "Don't be modest, I saw you jump an instant ago. You wouldn't be resisting my will, would you? You're not the first to try. Other humanoids have squirmed, cursed, spat in my face, or pleaded right up to the end. Guess what? They were all the more delicious for it." He stared harder. Sweat formed on my brow. Uncontrollable shaking wracked my limbs. The sphinx frowned. "You are more stubborn than you look. At this rate, I may have to come down to where you are." The scarred raptor made an angry, squawking sound. "Except that I don't like the way your friend is looking at my leg." "C-... coward!" "Who me? Just because I immobilize my prey before killing it? Isn't that what you do?" I could not deny that. "It's a very practical system. Spiders have been using it for millions of years. One more try. Come!" I took a step forward, then stopped. His mouth split wide in an irritated grimace. "Tell you what. I'll give you a sporting chance. If you can answer a riddle, I'll free you. I'll even show you the way to Leucrotta Castle. If you can't answer the riddle, your meat is mine." He licked his chops, smacking his lips noisily. "Here it is: Most precious of treasures Sealed in a long white box Without lock or key No lid to open No clasp to close What am I?" ***************************************************************** "'Ultratech?'" I repeated. The sound of the name filled me with disgust. "Silence!" Toxin commanded, sharply. The spitting cobra draped around her shoulders flicked its forked tongue in and out, tasting the air. Hurricane folded his arms. The Unknown did not move. It was the first time I had ever laid eyes on these three, the absolute rulers of the Lin Kuei Hierarchy, of whom I'd heard so much and knew so little. Hurricane was a master of Air and Water, one of the few clansmen in Lin Kuei history gifted with Power over more than one element. His Talent was so potent that he could influence weather itself, though affecting an area greater than half a square kilometer strained his limits. Hurricane's uniform had blue highlights a shade lighter than mine; the rest of it was spotless white, as warning of his dual talent. His mood was reputed to be as changeable as the wind and sea, spontaneously transforming from calm to destructive rage. Toxin was the most lethal of the three. Female Lin Kuei are rare, as the clan does not accept women into its ranks unless they are gifted with the Power, and does not routinely Test women. She'd joined the clan by seeking a pair of members out and demanding to take the Test. When one of them laughed at her, she raked her nails across the bridge of his nose. He died in a heartbeat. The survivor approved of her demonstration and sponsored her petition. Toxin's Power was that of Poison. She was immune to all types of venom, and distinguished cyanide from arsenic like common mortals separated varieties of wine. A touch of her fingers on bare skin brought illness; on an open cut, death. Her green and black uniform was composed entirely of the finest silk. Toxin was also one of the few Hierarchy members who regularly performed assassinations, instead of merely ordering them. Her record was spotless. She could murder with a scratch, a dart, a tasteless substance sprinkled in victuals, or the snakes she cherished like children. Rumor had it that she could slay with her gaze as well, but I doubted that; otherwise, she would have disposed of Pyre herself. Her kill-count was impressively high, for her age. She was a scant twenty-three years old, the youngest Hierarchy member ever. The Unknown was a mystery. His Power was a secret, if he had one. His uniform and the hooded robes he wore over it were entirely black, like the cloth of a common clan member, and completely covered his entire body. A bulge hidden under his one-way kuroko mask was all I could see of his face. He never spoke, communicating only through the secret sign language of the Lin Kuei, and only to Hurricane and Toxin. I call him "he," but I do not even know that. There has been an Unknown for as long as there have been Lin Kuei; indeed, the Unknown's authority absolutely supersedes that of all other clan members. Hurricane and Toxin's rank merely reflected that they were primary counsel to the Unknown, though for practical purposes they held strong sway in their own right. Though the Unknown can be challenged for his title, the challenge and the battle must be held in secret; should the challenger win, he must forsake identity and voice to become the next Unknown. There was no way to be certain whether the Unknown before me was the same individual who had sat on the central throne a year ago, a week ago, or yesterday. True, a clansman would unexpectedly disappear from time to time, but that hardly implied he had become the Unknown. Few Lin Kuei perish from old age. Hurricane, Toxin, and the Unknown: together, these three formed the ruling Triumvirate of the Lin Kuei Hierarchy. Their dominion was vast. Their cunning was immeasurable. They had wanted to see me, so I had not kept them waiting. I don't know what I expected, but it certainly wasn't to be- "-the appointed ambassador of our clan. You will represent our interests to Ultratech, and return with the details of their offer." Toxin lifted one arm, allowing her spitting cobra to slither into a more comfortable position. "Transportation has been arranged. You leave at dawn tomorrow. Now, is there something you wish to say?" "Why have I been chosen?" "Careful," warned Hurricane. "You have _not_ been granted permission to question our decision." "Understood, Lords." I had a sinking feeling that this was not going to turn out well. "Lords, I have a boon to ask of you, if I may." Hurricane scowled. Toxin's delicate eyebrows rose a trifle. "Speak, then," she said, her olive eyes set in a firm, unreadable expression. "I ask for leave to bring Smoke with me." "Smoke?" Hurricane snorted. "He's your lackey; why should we care what you do with him?" "I was under the impression he belonged to... someone else." "Smoke was your grandfather's bond servant," Toxin explained. "Weren't you aware of that? Inheritance naturally falls to you." (Then why is he your informant?) I wondered, but some questions are better left unasked. When I departed, I resisted the urge to turn around for one last look at the Unknown. He had stayed motionless on his cushioned throne for the entire audience. I hadn't so much as seen him breathe. ***************************************************************** The scarred raptor pounced. I sensed his coming, but was helpless to act until he slammed into my back. His razor claws pinned me flat on the Ice ramp, forcing me to break eye contact with the unblinking sphinx. Control of my body returned. Reaching behind my back with one hand, I grasped the scarred raptor's ankle and froze him with the Power an instant before he could rip my side open with his carving knife claws. "No! That's MY dinner!" roared the man-lion, leaping down from his perch. His body made a heavy thud when he landed next to the ramp. Other raptors in the background hissed, sounding more fearful than angry. "Out of my way, you little bastard!" the sphinx snapped, knocking the paralyzed raptor off me with a swipe of his paw. While he talked, I scrambled to hands and knees. "As for you, mortal meat-" I kicked straight back, into the source of his voice. My heel crunched into soft flesh and bone underneath. "AAARRRRR! My node! You broke my node!" I closed my eyes and spun around. The sphinx's Power had no effect on me if I did not look at him, so I was free to interrupt his yells with a glancing punch to his cheek. My Lin Kuei training in blindfighting, the art of combat in complete darkness, served me well. The origin of his growl moved higher, above my head; he was rearing. Air swished as his great paw slashed toward my throat. I cartwheeled up the ramp's slope, dodging out of range, and dashed three steps forward. Memory told me exactly where the ramp ended and the stone wall began. Without slowing, I stepped on the wall's cool surface and sprang off it, tucking in my arms and knees, spinning in midair to maximize trajectory. I landed on the sphinx's back, a little off-kilter, but steady enough to seize hold of the iron chain around his neck. "What in Haded-" the sphinx's curse stopped abruptly when I pulled the chain tight against his throat. "Take me to Leucrotta Castle at once," I commanded. "Why thould I- urk!" I let him choke for a moment before relaxing the tension. "If you do not, you shall die slowly, in extreme agony. I will asphyxiate you until you are helpless. Then I will put out your eyes, cripple your limbs, and turn you over to the pack. You will awaken in time to feel them rip open your abdomen and feed on your entrails." "Hey, you daid you killed people, not animald." "You can talk. You're no animal." "But I'm not a perdon!" "Close enough." I decided it was safe to open my eyes. Should he try to ensnare me with his gaze again, I could immobilize him with the Power before he could twist his head halfway around. "If I do ad you day, what happend to me?" "Obey me swiftly, without resistance, and I will show you mercy." "All right, all right. Judt take it eady on the windpipe, okay?" I wrapped my arms around his neck and gripped his mane. The lion-man crouched and bounded above the heads of the stupefied pack, landing on top of the wall behind them. He jumped from wall top to wall top. His jewel shined more brightly than before, revealing a vast network of crisscrossing walls that he navigated with ease. After several minutes of travel, he slowed. "Have to - redt - for a moment," he gasped. "Can't you fly?" "In thid dead air, with your lead weight on my neck? You have got to be kidding." Scuffling noises spiced with birdlike chirps came from below. The scarred raptor and his pack were trailing us. They must have known their home well; the Maze's twists hadn't delayed them at all. "This break is over. Get moving," I demanded. "Dlave driver," he muttered, resuming his leonine bounds. The raptors pursued. After ten more such bursts of activity, I could see the faint glitter of soft white light ahead, streaming from a half-circle opening like the one through which I'd entered. Beyond, I glimpsed a distant turret. "Okay, I've done what you want." "No. You must take me up to the castle." "I can't! It'd heavily guarded. To approach it id to die." "Very well, then take me outside of the Maze, and I'll continue alone." "If you're doe eager to throw away your life, I could eadily- ack!" "That will be enough backtalk," I glowered, accenting my words with another pull of the chain. "Go." He reached the half-circle opening in one last burst of speed, outdistancing the raptors. Leucrotta Castle rested atop a hill, several kilometers directly ahead. "End of the line," panted the sphinx. "So I see. One more thing: 'bone marrow.'" "Wad it that obvioud?" "Yes." He had been constantly talking about food. What else would he consider "most precious of treasures?" "Nexdt time I'll remember to eat firdt, adk riddled later. Are you going to keep your promide?" "Yes, killer. I will show you the same mercy you bestowed on all the others." I drove a blade of pure Power into his throat, cutting through tissue and bone to cleanly decapitate him. The sphinx's body sagged. Dismounting, I slipped his necklace with the brilliant gemstone off the stump of his neck. The gem might come in handy later, I thought, hiding it within my tunic. Its daylight glow dimmed in response to my desire to conceal it. "Rrrrrrraaawl!" The scarred raptor had arrived, followed by the rest of his pack. Cautiously, I stepped away from the sphinx. The scarred raptor's glowing red eyes flicked from me to the sphinx's fresh carcass and back again. "Well?" I said. "Rrawl!" He approached the sphinx. His foot whipped across the dead body's chest; an ebbing liquid trail of red marked where the carving knife claw on his second toe had been. He crouched, working his hands into the rent and tugging at something, until he had wrenched free a quivering blob of muscle. The scarred raptor gulped down the sphinx's heart, gurgling. "Rowl, rrowl!" Upon hearing the pack leader's cry, the other raptors converged on the body without sparing me any further notice. They tore at the sphinx, their rigid tails sticking straight up like points of a crown. I backed away steadily. Once they were out of sight, I ran until I had left them far behind. Only then did I stop to stretch out. The long, bareback ride had left me quite sore. ***************************************************************** "What the HELL is that?!" I exclaimed, gawking at the giant monster. "Our transportation," Smoke answered, casually. It was enormous. Its wingspan would dwarf a roc's. The sail of a warship could have made up its tail. It resembled no earthly beast. The thing's gleaming body was a slate-grey cylinder, with no neck and only a rounded off end for a head. One long eye was plastered across the top of its face; many smaller eyes ran in a line across its unbending body. Its tail was a thin triangle with rectangular flaps perched on its far end. The wings stuck out at acute angles to its either side. They carried neither feathers nor webbed bat skin; instead, they were simply a flat expanse of reflective grey. "It's... metal," I realized. Closer examination revealed rubber-coated wheels on three sets of wire legs, propping the thing up. "Haven't you seen an airplane before?" "A what?" "I suppose not. It's a flying machine, capable of traveling faster than-" "Fly? That thing must weigh tonnes! It doesn't have any joints with which to flap its wings!" "I'll give you a lecture on the principle of jet propulsion after we get on." "It doesn't have any handholds. How is a person to stay on its back?" Smoke started to answer, but before he could say a word he started coughing violently. Two years' passage had changed him. Instead of wearing the ceremonial clan uniform like I was, he'd come to the appointed site dressed in a black formal business suit with a grey shirt and tie. That in itself made him look astoundingly different, yet the slight smoke-plumes constantly escaping from his collar, sleeves, and leg cuffs assured me of his identity. He had left his mask behind. I'd never seen him without it before. His face was unusually pale and gaunt. One long streak of grey ran through his cropped dark hair, accompanied by a host of smaller grey strands. He seemed older than his age of forty-eight years. He also sounded a lot worse than before. His voice was fainter, and its gravelly rasp had increased, at times making his words difficult to understand. A pair of dark sunglasses with mirrored outer lenses hid his eyes. He appeared thinner and weaker than I remembered. And there was that cough. It had been infrequently plaguing him all morning. "Are you well?" I asked. "As well as can be expected," he sighed, clearing his throat. He made a brief chopping motion with one hand, as was his habit when he wanted to dismiss a topic. "Perhaps you should not make this journey." "I am going with you. I'm curious about Ultratech. The Lin Kuei has tried to infiltrate their ranks before, but none of the agents involved ever returned. Then out of the blue, Ultratech directly invites us to send a representative. They want to talk about something too sensitive to discuss outside their walls. Hopefully, whatever it is does not involve our mysterious disappearance." Smoke removed his sunglasses and rubbed them on his cuff, clearing off the thin film of soot that had accumulated on their lenses. Pronounced trails of red marred the whites of his eyes. "Ah, good. They're positioning the stairs." I followed his line of sight. Workers were pushing a long flight of steps over to the metal beast. The carpeted stairs were mounted on wheels, and looked as if some cosmic force had cleanly ripped them out of a tall building. A gaping wound appeared in the flying beast's side. Its metal skin was pushed out, leaving a human-sized hole. The beast's interior was... hollow? "Are we expected to climb into that thing's stomach?" "You catch on fast." "But that's insane!" "It doesn't have a digestive system. Trust me." "I will have nothing to do with that monster!" "Ultratech's corporate base is halfway around the world. We're supposed to be there the day after tomorrow. This is the only way to arrive in time. Anything else would be far too slow." "Ultratech can wait! I do not intend to crawl inside that metal _thing_ like a maggot burrowing into a dead-" "Are you going to tell the Triumvirate that?" I halted in mid-denial. "Look, Sub-Zero, the worst thing that could possibly happen is that it will kill us, in which case we won't have to worry about what Ultratech will do to us when we get there." Smoke affirmed his logic with a smile. His teeth were sickly yellow, with ugly brown stains. The sight was, in its own way, more ghastly than the prospect of being swallowed by the metal leviathan. My higher rank necessitated that I precede him up the flight of cut-away stairs, although my instincts were shouting to either retreat or do battle. The metal beast's cramped interior was filled with carpeting, lights, and rows of cushioned chairs fixed in place. It looked deceptively welcoming, but I remained on edge. Our designated chairs were cushioned and low to the ground, not at all like the Ice throne I was accustomed to sitting upon. When a loud, unnatural whine suddenly tore through the air, I tightened my hold on the soft chair's arms. "Sub-Zero, if I may..." "What is it," I muttered through clenched teeth. "If the temperature inside this space were somehow to drop too low, it might have a deleterious effect on the airplane's ability to fly." "What do you think you are implying?" "It was just a thought." Another episode of coughing briefly took hold of him. A young woman dressed in a blouse and knee-length navy skirt approached us. "Your pardon sirs, but we are about to lift off." She gestured to a small black rectangle mounted near the ceiling. It was decorated with glowing tubes in the shape of a white stick, superimposed by a red circle with a diagonal slash. "As you can see, the sign says 'No...'" She trailed off and stared, open-mouthed, at the charcoal plumes drifting from Smoke's collar. Smoke leaned forward and flashed his grisly smile. "Go ahead, miss. Please do finish your sentence." ***************************************************************** The terrain surrounding Leucrotta Castle was only somewhat more open than the Maze. Cold stone stretched in a variety of stalagmites, spires, arcs, hollows, mounds, and depressions. I passed natural carvings endowed with delicate elegance. Enough twilight filtered down from above to reveal the rock formations' dazzling colors, which ranged the spectrum sunset red to flower petal lilac. I had no idea Limbo could be so beautiful. A narrow strip of ground covered with flat, blue-purple stones crossed my path. It was clearly artificial; while it may have been meant to complement the wild splendor of its surroundings, it was little more than a pedantic ornament. It curled right and left, making a wide detour around the turrets of Leucrotta Castle. Past the strip, the terrain abruptly dropped away in a jagged downward rift. Scanning the area, I spotted a taller than average rock formation a reasonable slope, with plenty of grooves to function as handholds, and promptly scaled it. I could see the entire region from the rock's summit. It was an enclosed cavern, roughly in the shape of an indented hemisphere. Surrounding its circumference were dozens of dark openings like the one the sphinx had brought me to; in fact, I could see the man-lion's distant body surrounded by lounging raptor pack. Two raptors played tug of war with a haunch ripped from their fresh meat. From this distance, they might have been baby sparrows tussling over a worm. Aside from the raptors, the only signs of life were the bats fluttering to and fro above my head. I suspected that the openings scattered along the perimeter all led back into the Maze; if so, then this cavern was most likely the Maze's heart. The floor of the entire grotto was tilted in the shape of a wide cone: low near the circumference, gradually rising as one progressed inward. Below, the artificial strip of flat stones was part of an interior circle, marking off the boundary of an inner gulf. The gulf's depths were cloaked in shadow. I was close enough to the edge to pitch a piece of gravel into the abyss. Though I listened intently for over a minute, I did not hear it hit the bottom. Leucrotta Castle was supremely elevated on an isolated upthrust in the center of the chasm. If the ground were a cone, the castle was its point. Further down the paved blue-purple path was an archway; shimmering spots of red flickered on the ground all around it. Through the arch, a trail atop a moderately thin mound threaded across the gulf, resembling the top of a dam more than a bridge. Leucrotta Castle's silver-trimmed front door sparkled at the trail's far end. Looking upward, I saw the cavern's domed, stalactite-peppered ceiling curve approximately two kilometers over my head. Cracks and pockmarks in the ceiling allowed willowy beams of light to stream through; these diffusing rays spread to give the cavern its twilight appearance. There was a wider hole in the ceiling's center. Something slender, sparkling, and tinged with Power ran through that hole, winding down in a tight spiral until it touched the tip of Leucrotta Castle's highest tower. It was a golden staircase, the only egress from this self-contained world.