Chapter 6: Kazas

"What's your name?"

"My name's Turin Sanders"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to inspect the pipes"

The guard nodded looking over the papers that Megufu had handed to him.

"Bloody toilet's always up the creek," he grumbled looking them over, "What levels is it this time you need to check out Mr. Sanders?"

"2nd and 3rd is what I've been given permission for," replied Megufu unflinchingly.

The guard looked over the papers again and handed them back to him with a nod, "Make sure you get it stamped properly next time Mr.Sanders. I'll let you through but you must realize we have these precautions in place for good reasons. You never know when you're going to let someone through who really ort not to be"

"Yes I quite understand," replied Sanders, "I'll try and make sure my superiors understand all about it that next time, I'm just here to get the job done"

The guard scribbled a note on a piece of paper quickly and handed it to Megufu, "In you go then," he said seeming anxious to move on.

Megufu entered through the double doors of the draw bridge and walked down the metal floor grating and took a left turn conscious that the guards might be watching him walk in. Once safely out of view he stopped putting his back to the wall. Uncoiling it he read the note he'd been given:

"Plumber named Tom Sanders to be given access to the 2nd and 3rd Levels. Please cooperate and show him access to the pipe points and sewage sections" – Guard: Yoric Griever.

Looking left and right quickly he sighed and walked on. The backpack was unusually light for a plumber. He was lucky the guard's hadn't opened it – but then again their magi-detection machine hadn't picked anything up so why should they? To them he was just another of many people to enter the tower with honest reasons.

After a number of turns that he'd taken exactly the same in the simulation and passing numerous rooms with strange experiments going on inside he came to a glass window where a guard sat on the other side. Megufu showed him the note by slipping it through the small gap below and the guard nodded. He was overweight and lazily he got up and unlocked the door. Opening it he nodded saying, "Follow me,"

The guard lead him to another room where a teleportation device was located. He had to pass an electronic card down it before it would open. Metal grating rose up into the roof as he passed the card over it allowing them access. Once inside the guard pressed a series of buttons and left the room. A few moments later Megufu was transported up and away to the third level of the large complex where the rock was supposed to be kept.

"The rock itself seems to be practically indestructible – how far this goes we're not willing to find out. No lab equipment could remove even the tiniest of samples for study – are you getting this?" asked one of the scientists.

The scribe nodded passing a light blue stick over a large black board on the wall. The stick did not touch the wall but as it passed over it a blue line that glowed stayed in place forming writing in the shape of the scribe's movements. The room was very large and had once contained a large amazingly well crafted statue in ancient times. It had been moved to the Kanzas museum after the increasingly dangerous magical experiments had deemed its position unsafe. There were many scientists in the room and in the center was a large transparent machine, which was completely see-through. At the very center was a black rock while around it various strange transparent mechanical arms and cogs worked.

"Stop writing," said the scientist and turned to the others briefly who were monitoring equipment round the room, "Hit it with some E-W resonance and see if it reacts"

The scientists nodded and set about pulling levers and pressing buttons. One of the arms inside the large machine pointed at the rock and glowed bright green. The scientists were quickly putting goggles on to protect their eyes. A moment later there was a bright flash of green light that filled the room. Slowly it died down and the rock remained unchanged.

"Write this down," said the scientist quickly, "After treating the rock with every elemental resonance except for thunder we found it responded positively to darkness and negatively to light putting it firmly in the dark elemental table of magic. Because of the lack of response to all other elements – it seems to show us as far as our equipment can show that the rock is very pure dark seeing as nothing else could be picked up"

The rock flashed black suddenly and shone. The scientist stopped speaking and looked on in silence. The scientists looked at each other astonished and quickly checked their monitoring equipment. Gradually the light died down and even the scribe looked on with a puzzled face.

"What happened?" asked the scientist, "Why did it do that?"

"I don't know sir," replied one of the others looking at the equipment, "It's never reacted so strongly before"

"Was it the E-W resonance?" said another, "It could have triggered it off – maybe there's some E – E or E –W in it?"

"I don't care just find out what that was!" demanded the scientist quickly, "I want to know exactly what happened there. Look over all the information that passed through while that light was shinning"

The double doors to the room opened to either side automatically and a man walked in.

"You get out!" shouted the scientist turning to him, "You're not supposed to be in here! This is a private top priority experiment!"

Megufu looked at the man critically and from his backpack took out the spanner. It clicked ready to fire and he aimed it forward.

"Everyone stop what you are doing right now!"

Silence filled the room and the scientists all turned to look at Megufu who held the spanner out pointed towards the leader.

"Is that the black rock? The rock with all the power in it?" demanded Megufu quickly

The scientist looked at him cryptically slowly working out what was going on, "Yes it is," he replied, "What do you want?"

"Take it out of the machine immediately or I will kill you," said Megufu quickly. To strengthen his point he thrust the spanner forward. The Scientist looked at him and the spanner and at the machine several times unsure of what to do. He walked slowly to the transparent machine and then stopped in front of it.

"No," he replied firmly, "I'm not going to do that. If you've got any sense you'll put whatever that is down right away"

Megufu fired and the man paused the nail embedded in his head. His lips failed him and he fell to the ground dead.

"Take the rock out of the machine!" shouted Megufu, "Do it now!"

The scientists nodded to each other and hurriedly set about pressing buttons and pulling leavers. Eventually one of them ran to the machine. The hand passed the rock down a small transparent tube where it slid out and into the hands of the scientist.

"I've done it," said the scientist with a nod.

"Hand it to me now!" ordered Megufu.

The scientist didn't respond.

"DO IT!"

Slowly the scientist walked forward and grudgingly handed him the stone. Megufu snatched it and quickly put it in a designated pouch in his backpack. Running to the doors he pressed some buttons on a control panel.

"Security system's activated," said an electronic voice from above.

Red laser fencing shot up around the room making a perimeter around the scientist's and their machine that was now empty of its test subject.

"The room as you well know," said Megufu quickly, "Is rigged with a Petrification curse to stop people such as myself stealing the stone. I wouldn't try to leave the room if I were you until the security period has ended"

Turning he closed the electric door behind him. The two guards that had been guarding the room were both dead on the floor either side. One had a nail in his head the other had a broken neck. He looked at them briefly with some hint of sympathy before running away.