"The maps are indicating a hidden area spreading out underneath the entire city, some sort of extended system of caves and tunnels that, according to the notes following with the maps, haven't been used in at least two hundred years. However there's no indication of just what these catacombs were used for."
Samos' raspy digitalised voice filled the air in the conference room.
Sig nodded every once in a while, as if taking mental notes of what the old sage informed them about.
Keira shifted her attention from the holographic recording of her father, to Daxter and then Jak and back again. She still had a hard time believing Daxter was back to normal. And then there was this strange behaviour from Jak.
Daxter made no secret of the fact that he wasn't listening to Samos.
It was more of an automatic act of defiance than a lack of interest though.
He simply couldn't stand listening to the old man, no matter what it was that he said.
Instead, he focused on Jak, never taking his eyes off him, trying to figure out just what he'd been on about earlier, on their way to the palace.
Jak on the other hand deliberately avoided any eye contact at all.
While listening to the information he did what he could to focus on what was said on the recording instead of thinking about how to get himself out of the emotional mess he'd managed to get into.
"…a marking that tells us something about a 'controlled light'. There are some other indicators of the precursors' involvement in the making of this place, but nothing we can tell for sure. What made me think of these maps when we got your message, was that there's a marking in the middle of the biggest drawn out cave."
The hologram shifted from showing the sage into a magnification of the mentioned part of the map.
Jak, Sig and Keira all leaned a bit forward to see more clearly what Samos meant to show them.
Daxter gave up his acted ignorance and did the same, once he realised this was something that could turn out to be important later on.
On the map they could see a big circle indicating the cave Samos had talked about.
It was connected to five different tunnels, taking different routes across the map.
Apart from this, none of the assembled listeners could see the marking mentioned.
"At first I didn't see it myself," Samos' voice said from the recording, "but then I somehow happened to lift it up in front of a candle, like this." After he'd said this, a light spot got visible from behind the map. Slowly all of them could detect thin grey lines spreading out on the parchment, growing into a symbol they by now all recognised.
Jak felt a sudden stinging sensation in the middle of his chest.
"Hey, that's the symbol of Mar!" Daxter called out as soon as the previously invisible ink completed the wave of lines that made out the ancestral mark of Jak's family tree.
"I'm guessing you all recognise this symbol, especially you Jak," Samos' voice said, and as the map disappeared, he was visible once again. "I don't know what this could mean, other than that it's important. According to a text I found among these maps in the archive once Ashelin got me back there, Mar hid something of tremendous power deep under ground out in the wastelands. This object is told in the text to have been forged by the precursors in order to help Mar as he fought an enemy far greater than himself. It was only a year after this fight that Mar died. The object somehow turned out to be seen as dangerous, but as it couldn't be destroyed, Mar decided to bury it deep down where no one was ever supposed to find it. If however one was to seek the power of this weapon, there's a warning telling that one person only to use it as a last recourse."
Jak looked at Sig, who slowly shook his head at this last comment.
"I don't know what all this is supposed to mean," Samos continued with a troubled face as the recording went on, "but it could be the very reason for the metalheads to be attacking Spargus. The way it sounded when Jak told us about the situation, I'm thinking there has to be someone else behind the metalhead attacks, controlling the beasts in order to get to what the city of Spargus has so valiantly and yet unknowingly protected throughout all these years. And my guess is that this someone isn't a good candidate to control this sort of power."
"Meaning he wants us to go out there and find the thing before they do, right?" Daxter said and rolled his eyes at the hologram. "We always get the crappy jobs."
"Sig, I'll leave it for you to decide what to do with this information I've given you. Keira will bring back what ever message you might have for me or Torn when she returns to the city, since the coms still don't seem to work," the sage said and then turned around as if to leave, but hesitated and turned back.
"Oh, and Jak, my boy, I know you're there listening to this. I truly don't wish to send you out on yet another mission risking your life for the sake of others, but this time I'm afraid that it's vital that you go. As the last living descendant of Mar, my guess is that you're the only one who'll be able to find this forgotten weapon of his. At least without tearing up the entire city in the process."
The old man looked down at his feet, seemingly having some difficulties in finding his words.
"As I said, it's up to you what you do. But know that I have faith in you to do the right thing. I can only hope it won't harm you…" and by this, the message was abruptly ended as the free space of the recording device was filled.
Jak looked down at the table, his hands meeting at the back of his head as he leaned forward on his elbows.
"Told ya'," Daxter mumbled in a low voice as he looked with compassion at his troubled friend.
Sig hummed as he thought about what they'd learned from the message.
"You don't happen to have a copy of that map along with you, peaches, do you?" he said slowly as he turned towards Keira.
The mechanic winced as she was brought out of her own pondering at the problems they'd been served.
"What? Wait, yes, as a matter of fact I do. I think I forgot about it in the excitement after getting away from those metalheads," she said, babbling fast as she turned around to get out a small mechanical device from the bag she'd brought with her.
"Ehrm, toots, I don't mean to offend ya' or anything, but that's not a map," Daxter pointed out as she put down the device on the table.
Keira gave him a haughty look across the table as he said this and sighed before straightening herself up and getting ready to explain.
"This is one of my own inventions, Dax. Since the original map is too old and fragile to be transported outside the room where it's kept at the moment, not to mention the act of folding and unfolding it several times, I photographed it and sent the information into this," she lifted up the small square object for all to see, "my digital map. With this you can follow the part of the map you're on at the moment as well as zoom out to get an overlook when it's needed. And, did I mention you also can mark the place you want to get to? All of it without having to stop in your steps to unfold some huge piece of paper. What do you think?"
Jak nodded approvingly. It would make things a lot easier.
"Well then, let me have a look at it," Sig said and she handed him the digital map. He fell silent for a moment as he scanned the map.
"Oh, well, there's just one problem with this map," he said after a while, handing the device back to Keira.
"There's no entrance," Jak said before Sig could finish.
Sig lifted an eyebrow in surprise and nodded.
"Exactly. How did you…"
"I noticed that the first time Samos showed the map. It's drawn out as a closed off system of tunnels, seemingly with no way to either get in or out," Jak explained and tried to recall the map in his memory.
"That only makes sense," Keira added and slid the digital map across the table for Jak to take it. "It was supposed to be completely sealed off, right? There has to be some place where the wall is thinner than on the other places though, where they got in and out while building the tunnels, and where they probably sealed them as well."
"Yeah, but where? The map doesn't show any exterior walls," Jak commented this as he picked up the map to have another look at it.
"A-hum, excuse me, wise and all-knowing fellows," Daxter said and got up on his feet to walk up and stand behind Jak. "I think you're forgetting something. We all know the precursors weren't like us, right? They were ottsels! And as much as one of us would try, we wouldn't be able to fit through, let's say a sewer opening or something like that. While an ottsel, on the other hand…" he paused and pointed at the map in Jak's hands.
"Dax, you're a genius sometimes, you know that?" Jak said as he saw where Daxter pointed.
At this, Daxter straightened himself from having leaned over Jak's shoulder and had a slightly smug expression in his face.
"Well, of course. I'm the best there is," he said and patted Jak on the head. "Don't worry, big guy, you'll catch up with me soon enough."
"What is it?" Sig asked as he got around the table to look at the map as well, Keira following him.
Jak put the map on the table so that all could see the red blinking dot marking the very spot Daxter had pointed out for him.
At the lower left corner of the map, there was a small chamber of sorts. Looking closer on the drawing one could make out markings indicating the presence of water; some sort of fountain or small pool.
As Jak zoomed in on the area covered by the red dot, they could see a small sized opening where the water was meant to flow through according to the rest of the markings on the spot.
"It's a source of moving water!" Keira said with growing enthusiasm.
Daxter nodded approvingly.
"Good gal. Now to the next part; adding the city map of Spargus on top of this to see where this source could possibly come from. Once we know this, all we have to do is to get to the place, gently blast a small hole into a bigger hole and we'll be inside in no-time!"
He sat himself on top of the table and leaned back on his hands, feeling more than happy with himself for being the one to have discovered this entrance.
Sig went away for a minute, getting a city map from one of the shelves in his private quarters.
Once he was back, Sig spread out the map on the table and they all tried to match it with the digital map of the catacombs.
"There's the foot of the mountain making out this palace," Keira pointed out on the catacomb map and just about thirty seconds later she found what they'd been looking for.
"There it is!" she said and pointed out the spot on the city map. "It's right underneath the hills of the city coast line!"
"Well I'll be damned," Sig mumbled as he studied the maps. "We could get to it from the foot of the canon hill."
Jak thought about this solution for a moment as he remembered the landscape surrounding the mentioned spot.
"But, there isn't any cave opening there, is there?" he asked and looked at Sig for confirmation.
"No, that's right, cherry, but we could open one. There's no harm in doing it since the ground is solid rock and there aren't any buildings close by that could get damaged by a small blast. I'd say it's our only shot."
"Then I've got only one more question," Daxter said as he realised what was missing in this equation. "Where do we get the explosives?"
A knock on the door interrupted them.
"Enter!" Sig called out, curious of whom it might be.
The doors opened and revealed a tired Karidi.
The dark skinned woman was sweaty from working and the desert dust stuck to her like glue since the battle against the metalheads. She apparently hadn't taken any time to clean herself up yet, a fact that only enhanced the over all look of fatigue she represented at the moment.
"I'm sorry to interrupt sir," she said apologetically as she entered the room. "There's a strange man standing outside saying he's supposed to be in here with you. I brought him here from the garage as soon as we finished unloading his car."
"Well, bring him in then," Sig commanded and Karidi turned around waving for the man to get inside.
"Greetings to all of ya'," Jinx said as he stepped inside. He took a quick look at the people present, and at spotting Jak, he smiled. "I see ya' couldn't keep out of this, huh, pretty-boy?"
Daxter slipped down from the table and placed himself behind Jak, not feeling all too great about the sudden turn of events.
Completely ignoring the comment towards Jak, Keira stepped up to Jinx with a determined look in her face and put a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Jinx, what do you say about getting some use for those explosives of yours, hm?"
The blond man looked down at her and as his smile widened, he gave her a pat on her own shoulder.
"Darling, I never thought you'd ask."
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