Alex pushed the other zol block into the wall with just a touch of his finger. It slid into place and the circuits connected. He laughed. Was it this simple?
All that needed to be done now was to power the Well. Alex knew he had more than enough Psynergy to start it. But what had the young woman said? The Luna Mask was still missing. He needed to find it in order to power the machine.
Well, that shouldn't be too hard. How difficult could it be to traverse some ancient ruins and find a mask? He walked up the stairs on the left side of the machine and looked at the place where the mask belonged. Interesting.
He noticed a bowl on the ground, surrounded by more energy circuits. Once the well had the Luna Mask, he suspected he would need to cast Douse and fill the bowl with water. How easy. The ancients could not have been as powerful as they were said to have been. Runes covered the two doors in the back of the well. He was not concerned with what lay there. Treasure, perhaps, but he did not need any of it.
Veriti had returned. She had a mask in her hand and was waving it at him. But when she ran up the stairs, she tripped. The mask fell out of her hand and broke on the floor. Alex sighed. This girl was clumsy.
But she was beautiful. And intelligent. And she was his way to Paithos and all of Ayuthay. He picked up the biggest piece of the mask, a fragment almost half the size of the original. It looked familiar.
"Is this...?"
Veriti smiled. "It's a replica of the Luna Mask. My brother had it made several years ago..." She sighed and then frowned. "I didn't mean to break it...but I thought maybe you could use it. For study and for protecting your face."
Alex looked at the mask. Did she really want him to wear it? She continued looking at him with that pretty smile, so he tried it on.
It fit quite well, the smooth metal onto the rugged scarring of his face. There was a strap at the back which he fastened around the back of his head, so he attached it and then moved his hair to cover the strap.
Veriti beamed. "It works perfectly!"
"...thank you." He realized that he liked the feel of the mask. It was cool on his face against the hideous scars that marred his otherwise perfect facial structure It added to the mysterious image he was hoping to portray. And wasn't it ironic, to be wearing part of the mask that would help him gain control over the land? A broken part. Much like he would soon break the seal on the ancients' hidden power.
Veriti cleared her throat. "Perhaps you could accompany me to the royal library? There are several books on the history of our people and the machines. And I could show you where you can stay as a guest of the royal family...that is, unless you would rather sleep in the inn."
She seemed a bit he somehow charmed her? Did she fancy him? He did not need a king's sister from a worthless town in Ei-Jei to fall in love with him. He could use her affection, but never truly need it.
But her eyes were so earnest and pleading, and Alex decided he did not want to refuse the offer. After all, she had been a great help so far. He forced a smile.
"Guide me, my lady." He held out his arm and she took it, shyly. He needed to study more about the connections between the machines in Ayuthay and Passaj before moving forward. And he needed to figure out what in the gods' name this mask had to do with it.
The wheels were sliding into motion.
