Chapter 28--The Key

The two groups of questors were running for their very lives, but in one case by a stroke of luck, and in the other by intuition, they were both heading toward the Shrine. In a desperate attempt to outrun their pursuers, Joey activated his Trap Hole, which slowed the Clanners down for a short time before he ran out of energy and was forced to recall it. Tea and Kaiba, meanwhile, had cleverly doubled back and temporarily thrown off pursuit, giving them a slight lead. The two groups, both barely outrunning their would-be killers, reached the Shrine and ran into each other. Everyone fell down, got back up, and was extremely surprised to see everyone else.

"Guys! You made it!" Tea said, relieved to see that Joey and Tristan were all right.

"I can't believe our luck! We both managed ta get our Seals, an' we both made it ta the Shrine!" Joey exclaimed gleefully, forgetting about their pursuers in his happiness.

"I hate to break up your little reunion, but in case you hadn't noticed, we're being chased by a group of a bloodthirsty psychos who want to kill us, so can we open the Shrine already!?" Kaiba interjected, glancing nervously behind them.

"Oh, right!" Tristan said, also remembering.

They took out their two Seals and looked up at the Shrine. It was a small building, but it was impressive nonetheless. It was made entirely of wood, with silver inlay on some areas, but was unweathered, as though it was brand-new. It nestled in the foothills of the mountains, jammed between two peaks. The door of the Shrine was made of the same beautiful, dark-colored wood, covered with many silver signs and sigils of protection. It had two halves; in the center of the whole door was a circular indent, also divided in two. It was obviously made for the Seals.

They quickly put the Seals into the doors, waiting for something to happen. For a second, there was silence. Then, with a loud, mellifluous chime as if of a great bell, the doors swung outwards. They stepped inside, feeling slightly nervous, but nothing happened.

"Should we...try to close the doors?" Tea said softly, shivering; there was a feeling of ancient power about this place that made her feel small, like standing by the ocean.

They tried to pull the highly polished wooden doors inward, but they were immovable. Shivering slightly with nerves and suspense, they continued on, going deeper into the Shrine.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Outside, the two groups of Clanners, following the humans' trails, slammed into each other in front of the door, fell down, and were as surprised to see one another as our heroes had been only a short time before. Seeing the open doors, the teamed up and barged into the Shrine, ready to stop anyone from taking the Key at all costs.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The hall of the Shrine were old and covered in dust, but the wooden paneling of the floor and walls gleamed as though new. The building was as silent as a tomb, a fact that Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Kaiba found ominous. It felt oddly intrusive to be traversing this silent hall, their footsteps echoing eerily through the darkness. There was but a single hallway, leading a small chamber at the other end of the building.

As the questors noticed this, they heard the tramp of booted feet and realized that the Clanners were coming after them. They froze for an instant, listening. Then, as the footsteps drew closer--

"Run!!!"

Behind them, the Clanners spoke in their own language. They couldn't understand Clann, but it was an unmistakable "There they are!" Just as they heard these words, they reached the chamber.

The chamber was constructed of the same wood as the rest of the building, but here the ceiling was decorated with inlayed silver designs which glowed faintly, lighting the dais in the center of the room. The dais itself was of silver, and in the center was a pedestal. On this pedestal was what must surely be the Key they had come so far to find. They dashed up the steps to the pedestal, but were disappointed on sight of their prize.

The Key of Aramas, fabled treasure of the Clanners which they had come so far to find, did not have the inexplicable newness of the Shrine it was housed in, nor was it as beautifully and carefully made. What they saw was not a powerful magical object; what they saw was half of a Key that has been split down the middle, covered in rust and blackened by time. Despite this disappointing appearance, they could all feel the power radiating out from it, like a lamp hidden under a basket. As they stood admiring it (or rather, being disappointed by it), the Clanners arrived.

They stopped dead when they saw four humans standing around the Key. They were in shock; it was a sacred object of the Clanns, not to be stolen by mere humans! They glared at them, eyes full of malice. Finally, one of them spoke.

"You may not touch the Key--it is a sacred object of the Clanns. Only three may remove it from its Shrine--a caretaker of the Key, all of whom are gone; the one who may use the Key, who comes not; or one touched by the Sign of the Clanns. You must leave our sacred place, trespassers. None of you may touch the Key," she said flatly, hnd clenched around the hilt of her long knife.

The adventurers were crestfallen. "No! We came all dis way fa nothin'? There has ta be a way ta get da Key!" Joey said in frustration-- there was no way he was giving up after coming so far!

Tea smiled triumphantly. "There is! They said that 'one touched by the Sign of the Clanns' can take it. I have the Sign of the Clanns! Lai- shi gave it to me, remember? That means I can take the Key!" she smiled, fingering the silver symbol she had worn around her neck all this time, never realizing that it was the key to the Key.

While the others gaped at her, the Clanners looked furious. "GET THEM!!!" one roared, as they all raised their weapons.

"Uh, Tea? If you're going to take the Key...now would be a good time!" Tristan said nervously, looking at the enraged Clanners.

"Right!" Tea grabbed the Key from its pedestal, then whipped out the Gating device she had carried for so long. "Let's get out of here!" she said as they all joined hands.

With a flash of white light, they had vanished. The Clanners cursed their poor timing, then set out to inform the Overlord. The humans would not get away with this.