The Plain of Jars
While the story is all my work and imagination the character of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider franchise belong to Core Designs, Edios, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix.
Chapter 1
February, it is a strange month, not quite winter, not quite spring. A purgatory month that brings with it hope of a new start as old demons fight their way back to the previous year. As a cold sunlight filtered through the dusty window you could be sure that today was a day of change. Only a squeak of a leather glover and the sound of a heavy oak door opening punctuated the silent February reflection.
"Miss Croft I am pleased you were able to come at such a short notice", the shadow spoke standing into the dusty light. The woman who sat in the chair by the window, legs kicked over the arm, glanced towards him nonchalantly, reviewing the stocky middle-aged man who had perhaps traded his sense of humour for throughly British manners.
"It wasn't as though I was given choice now was it Mr Flynn? Or may I call you Earl? You know I hate formalities". Lara swung her legs off the arm of a tatty olive-green chesterfield chair to lean forward to provide a perfect inquisitive stare.
"Yes well formalities aside I called you here as I want you to do me a favour".
"Doesn't everybody", exhaled Lara sliding back into the chair, this was obviously going to be one of those meeting, thirty minutes long and too many adjectives of situations Lara wanted nothing to do with.
"I wouldn't know Miss Croft, I tend not associate myself with some of the clientele I have heard you like to spend your time with", Earl quipped staring back at Lara before delving into his desk and pulling out a blue file.
"Touché"
Ignoring Lara's snappy comment Earl proceeded to take photos of giant stone jars out of the file laying them on the desk before taking a piece of paper out littered with unintelligible scribbles and hand drawings. This caught Lara's attention more than she wanted to, she hated having someone else in the deal with her, always means at least fifty-fifty if not more for the greedy bastards who do nothing except drop tidbits of information then wait for her to come back with the goods. Yet these images looked intriguing if not strangely familiar.
"Have you heard of the Plain Jars in Laos?" asked Earl passing Lara one of the photos.
"I have actually, can't say I have visited but I do remember them from my University days", said Lara.
"And you know about the Ancient King Khun Chung?"
"Yes the name rings a bell, had a nastily long war with his enemy didn't he? He used these jars to store lao lao wine in?"
"Well yes that is how the legend goes, however my team have recently uncovered some new information that may place Laos in quite the archeological spotlight. Although there have been many digs there from the 1930s it is still a mystery what these jars were actually used for. They are all lidless, however they have rims that looks as if lids were meant to fit on them. Anyway some of my students were on a sponsored dig looking for evidence of the lids when one of them found a chunk of sandstone in site one, Ben Ang, the biggest of the sites with 250 jars. To be honest this was one time where I wished she hadn't listened to ethics lectures".
"Why is that?" Lara enquired.
"While she was cleaning the sandstone she noticed it had an unusual shape." Earl passed a photo across the desk. "As you can see it is very smooth with a faint neat circle cut at the convex with a dent at the side. Now my student thought this was part of a lid and started to clean it up for indexing. As she cleaned she noticed that the crack moved very slightly so she gently extracted the two piece from one another; inside was a ring set into the stone. A beautiful ring made of gold and rubies together shaped as a tiger. When worn it looks as if the tiger is curling around your finger".
"Do you have a photograph of it?" asked Lara peeking up from the previous photograph.
"No, unfortunately the supervisor took it away. I only have her description to go off, she was rightly concerned because it was a find that could make her a fantastic career. I have had a look in the library and all I can find is this small lithograph. As you can see it is somewhat different to the description my student gave." Earl passed Lara a small book bound in red cloth opened to show the image.
"I can see what you mean" Lara exclaimed, "This ring looks much more like a jumping tiger with one ruby, or a single jewel at least".
"Exactly, this ring is the harimau ring that is believed to be the treasured possession of King Khun Chung, apparently the wearer could transfer knowledge from one person to another. An ancient copy and paste system in a way. The King used it wisely to increase intelligence among a select group of soldiers and scholars who then travelled and taught communities valuable skills such as reading, writing and medicine. As I said however the ring is different to the description so I cannot be fully sure what we are looking for." Earl sighed. "Who knows it could be something else entirely".
"We? I have agreed to nothing yet Earl".
"Lara please, you would be doing me the biggest favour".
"So you want me to get it for you...I'm sorry I am not that kind of archeologist", Lara snorted pushing her chair back and beginning to walk towards the door. After Paris Lara was done with doing favours for others, they only lead to messy situations. She was certainly intrigued by the proposition but hated the way it was portrayed as a favour. Feeling mixed emotions Lara briskly clicked open the lock before pausing to decide whether slamming the door was a good idea or not.
"You are quite right Miss Croft you are not an archeologist, you are a tomb raider", Earl shouted towards the half-closed door. Lara stopped and quickly crept back around the door looking up at Earl in a quizzical manner.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me", whispered Earl, "you are not an archeologist Lara not matter what your official career title tells the world. You are a tomb raider and you know it".
Turning back Lara gathered her steps and cooly walked back to the chair now flooded in cold February sunlight highlighting her brunette braid.
"I'll admit Earl, you are certainly a good observer of character. However as I remember you didn't invite me here to confirm a character reference, you had a proposal for me yes? Not a favour, I don't do favours any more." Lara glared from the doorway at Earl.
"I thought you weren't interested Ms Croft".
"That was before you so favorable commended my career", Smiled Lara sitting back down, analysing Earl through her eyelashes.
"I called on you Lara because of your previous, shall we say, expeditions. You left the university a few years before I started, nevertheless I have heard great things about you. Some not so good but we shall ignore those".
Lara sniggered, she knew exactly what Earl was referring to. Sure not all her archeological techniques would be considered legitimate, okay perhaps ninety percent of them, but she found the goods right? Pondering such thought she looked back into the frosty street through the window. All those people, walking around oblivious to what happens in these buildings, they look up but never truly see anything...
"Ms Croft are you listening?"
"What on earth makes you think I wasn't?" Smiled Lara breaking her gaze from the street and focusing fully on the task at hand.
"Nevermind", Earl continued shaking his head, "I need you to go to Singapore, that is where the ring is located at the minute"
"So it has already been moved from Laos?"
"Yes, A Mr H. Wright was sponsoring the dig. He's a big power in the mineral mining business and now lives in Singapore with his new wife sorting paperwork from the Asian office. He's been everywhere, Nigeria, Bolivia, Canada, Armenia and of course Laos; the list is endless".
"What has this got to do with the harimau ring though?"
"Well you see, Wright took a few optional classes while he was at University, geophysicist by trade but a keen treasure hunter in his spare time. He wrote an essay during his time here for one of my modules he took, detailing quite proficiently links between legend and reality; what he expected to find there which was of course the harimau ring of King Khun Chung. He seemed to know too much even then. Wright also owns a quarry site in the province of Xieng Khouang, where the jars are found, a sandstone quarry if I remember correctly ", Explained Earl diving once again into the blue file for more photographs. This time instead of a ring the images showed grainy footage of said quarry and postcard worthy pictures of the lidless stone jars buried into a field.
"Convenient", Lara mused taking the photos from Earl.
"My thoughts exactly, which is why it is important to remove the ring from his power".
Lara looked up at Earl, judging every facial movement he made.
"What does the ring have to do with you Earl? I mean it is all well and good that this is a powerful artifact, but I'm curious to the reason you want it." Lara asked quizzically, "and if I find it why should I give it to you? You know my history, too well perhaps, and you still trust me?"
The question took Earl by surprise as he widened his eyes trying to compose an answer that did not reveal too much.
"Mr Wright was once a student of mine when I lectured at Oxford, as I have mentioned previously. He was clever, yes very clever; but he was careless at the same time. He knew too much of himself and during private meetings I never felt at ease with him".
"You had private meetings with him?" asked Lara raising an eyebrow.
"Well yes, essay evaluations, general questions, that kind of thing." Earl stumbled.
"Looks like you were taken for a ride then"
"Perhaps, look Ms Croft the reason I want you to do this is because I know you can do it. That ring has great powers and in the wrong hands it is a deadly weapon. He is a ruthless business man, he has no appreciation for repercussions of the historical kind. Mr Wright looks forward not backwards and that will cripple not only himself but the whole nature of society if he is able to harness the power of the ring.
"And if I get it you know I'll probably want to keep it" Lara indicated, smiling again at Earl, "I like collecting things".
"Ms Croft that is an issue that warrants a discussion when you are sure you are able to get it for me. Lets just say the ring chooses its owner, not a person owning the ring". Earl said wearily. He glanced back at Lara to find her deep in thought.
"Interesting. Both the level of trust you have in me and the ring itself"
"Maybe," Earl shrugged, "but weren't we all tomb raiders back in the day?"
Lara looked up and met his eyes indicating a brief acknowledgement. Standing up she peered again through the dusty windows to the London street below bustling with shoppers and tourists.
"Singapore you said?"