Chapter 2: A Momentary Lapse of Reason
After giving an acceptable speech to the sponsoring committee she was once again allowed to continue her pilgrimage for the search of valuable artifacts. With extreme hesitation the council had accepted her request to temporarily hold onto the obscure bangle and it soon became a new symbol of hope for her. She still wanted to study its properties and knew that she would have to involve others that were more experienced in the field. In the meantime though, it was still her secret.
Her next trek involved a well-planned trip via glider to an area that had little exploration. By foot it would be extremely difficult due to the steep incline of rocky cliffs combined with swamps. It was a land that contradicted itself in many ways and was still also listed under Federal protection. Thankfully territories that included possible city ruins became unlawful for plunderers or treasure hunters to enter Unfortunately that also became the case for those just curious of history but there was hope that the public would one day be allowed. Eowan felt that ignorance was a vast problem for the people of her society. So much was hidden away from the populace that it was no wonder that there was no belief in legends or magic. Without any evidence she knew that the hopes would be slim.
After glancing at the well-aged map she found herself casually gliding over a wide area of the ruins. So much was easily seen and much of it was already part of another excavation. She knew that there had to be much more though. With a sigh she silently turned the glider around and slowly dived so that she was low enough to glance other areas along the hills that might not be so obvious. A spyglass became more necessary as she stuffed the map inside her jacket pocket. She remembered an odd cave formation not far from an area where she had turned and easily found herself returning. Sure enough upon closer inspection she had evaluated correctly. There was a man-made marking near one of the caves. After finding a slightly leveled area she lowered the glider and carefully halted to a stop. With bag and camera in hand she found herself carefully looking towards the ground for a possible entrance. The ground hadn't been trodden upon in quite some time but it was evident that it had been used as a cave entrance. A bit of hopefulness and glee came upon her as she walked up to the newly discovered area. No other scientists were nearby and it was evident that this area was still a discovery. The entrance to the cave was not touched. Upon coming to the cave's opening she soon found out why it was still a secret. There was a visible walkway going towards the cave but after examining the cave's outer wall she could not find an entrance. Only a small indentation was present, enough for 2 people to enter to keep out of the rain but nothing more. At best it was 4 foot in length. After closer inspection she did notice an odd evenly shaped hole along the one wall. It appeared as if a hand-sized sphere would fit inside the slot but nothing more. After pushing and checking various spots in the wall it became evident that she needed much more info. The secret had succeeded but as far as she was concerned it was going to be solved soon. Realizing that she needed more assistance than she wanted to admit she marked the area on her map then quickly sped off towards her glider. While on the glider sudden thoughts and ideas overwhelmed her. She tried to imagine what type of "key" would fit in the odd shaped slot. She only hoped that her computation record and odd collection of various scientific records would help assist her. After getting her residence she managed to thumb through various subjects quickly but still there was no mention of an odd shaped key. Many of the various ruins that were found did not have the sphere shaped edifice. While sitting at her desk an odd thought suddenly came to her. She rummaged quickly through one of the desks drawers to search for a particular item. With relief she managed to find a small fist-sized sphere. She almost had forgotten about it for it had been in her life since she was a small child, so long that she could not remember how she received it. But as she held it's semi-glowing form she found herself staring at it, noticing that it's size and shape seemed almost too appropriate. She never received an answer as a child regarding it's purpose and was always told that it was a "pretty item" that was found.. found where? Without further thought she found herself once again packing her backpack and rushing towards her glider. With map in hand, off she rode on towards another direction.
After giving an acceptable speech to the sponsoring committee she was once again allowed to continue her pilgrimage for the search of valuable artifacts. With extreme hesitation the council had accepted her request to temporarily hold onto the obscure bangle and it soon became a new symbol of hope for her. She still wanted to study its properties and knew that she would have to involve others that were more experienced in the field. In the meantime though, it was still her secret.
Her next trek involved a well-planned trip via glider to an area that had little exploration. By foot it would be extremely difficult due to the steep incline of rocky cliffs combined with swamps. It was a land that contradicted itself in many ways and was still also listed under Federal protection. Thankfully territories that included possible city ruins became unlawful for plunderers or treasure hunters to enter Unfortunately that also became the case for those just curious of history but there was hope that the public would one day be allowed. Eowan felt that ignorance was a vast problem for the people of her society. So much was hidden away from the populace that it was no wonder that there was no belief in legends or magic. Without any evidence she knew that the hopes would be slim.
After glancing at the well-aged map she found herself casually gliding over a wide area of the ruins. So much was easily seen and much of it was already part of another excavation. She knew that there had to be much more though. With a sigh she silently turned the glider around and slowly dived so that she was low enough to glance other areas along the hills that might not be so obvious. A spyglass became more necessary as she stuffed the map inside her jacket pocket. She remembered an odd cave formation not far from an area where she had turned and easily found herself returning. Sure enough upon closer inspection she had evaluated correctly. There was a man-made marking near one of the caves. After finding a slightly leveled area she lowered the glider and carefully halted to a stop. With bag and camera in hand she found herself carefully looking towards the ground for a possible entrance. The ground hadn't been trodden upon in quite some time but it was evident that it had been used as a cave entrance. A bit of hopefulness and glee came upon her as she walked up to the newly discovered area. No other scientists were nearby and it was evident that this area was still a discovery. The entrance to the cave was not touched. Upon coming to the cave's opening she soon found out why it was still a secret. There was a visible walkway going towards the cave but after examining the cave's outer wall she could not find an entrance. Only a small indentation was present, enough for 2 people to enter to keep out of the rain but nothing more. At best it was 4 foot in length. After closer inspection she did notice an odd evenly shaped hole along the one wall. It appeared as if a hand-sized sphere would fit inside the slot but nothing more. After pushing and checking various spots in the wall it became evident that she needed much more info. The secret had succeeded but as far as she was concerned it was going to be solved soon. Realizing that she needed more assistance than she wanted to admit she marked the area on her map then quickly sped off towards her glider. While on the glider sudden thoughts and ideas overwhelmed her. She tried to imagine what type of "key" would fit in the odd shaped slot. She only hoped that her computation record and odd collection of various scientific records would help assist her. After getting her residence she managed to thumb through various subjects quickly but still there was no mention of an odd shaped key. Many of the various ruins that were found did not have the sphere shaped edifice. While sitting at her desk an odd thought suddenly came to her. She rummaged quickly through one of the desks drawers to search for a particular item. With relief she managed to find a small fist-sized sphere. She almost had forgotten about it for it had been in her life since she was a small child, so long that she could not remember how she received it. But as she held it's semi-glowing form she found herself staring at it, noticing that it's size and shape seemed almost too appropriate. She never received an answer as a child regarding it's purpose and was always told that it was a "pretty item" that was found.. found where? Without further thought she found herself once again packing her backpack and rushing towards her glider. With map in hand, off she rode on towards another direction.
