Lee had been fully immersed in Finnwich's story of his erstwhile meeting with Cassandra when the old man took a long pause. Lee looked around the room - at the still-turned-off screen, at the various figures still in crystal, and at Kimmie - who still seemed transfixed by Finnwich's story to the extent that one might think she had learned something of extreme importance to her. Just as he had all that time ago, Finnwich looked through the panes around them, observing the mystical creatures of the deep swimming around. Lee briefly did so too, but then his impatience - his desire to know more - got the better of him. "So what happened?", he asked.
"Of course, at that precise moment she pushed the button on the device she had just pulled out of her pocket, generating that force field you know quite well. This was the first time I had seen such a thing, and I had no knowledge of how to counter it. She left me then, confined to a small room, with a few tools of the trade she wanted me to do, so to speak. I was left to labour for days there, trying to figure out a solution to the task she had given me. It was difficult, but I persevered - knowing that I had the tools, if not to solve the problem, then at least to enable my escape."
"So how did you get out?", Lee asked, his impatience with Finnwich's long-winded diatribe returning. The latter, however, smiled.
"Ah, well, you see, what she was not aware of was that I had learned of a method to conjure up my staff anywhere, anytime. Of course, I could not let her find out about it - not until I had determined how, precisely, to use it to escape. I took a few hours of every day I was in there to work on figuring out the solution not to her problem, but to mine. Eventually, I stumbled upon the answer; the force field was now gone, and I fled."
"But I don't get it... what does this have to do with anything?", Lee inquired.
"Ah, that is really quite simple. You see, during my stay I had completed her task - in part. I had determined that only an extremely powerful, concentrated blast of pure energy could activate the Antiquis Triangulum. Of course, without the Manifester Arcainiumus, I had no way to determine what, if anything, besides a solar eclipse could provide such an amount of energy - although I had my theories, of course..." Finnwich stopped here, seemingly unwilling to continue for the moment.
"So wait, did you ever figure it out?", Lee asked.
"No, my boy, I did not; I'm afraid that much of that part was left to them. From my work in there, I was only able to guess that a combined approach - activating the pyramid's energy mechanism, and using both keys with the appropriate energy input - would be required to open that structure without the appropriate timing."
"So it wasn't ever figured out how to open it without an eclipse then?", Lee inquired.
"Not quite. You see, after I left the trap Cassandra had placed for me, I learned that they had found a replacement for my task - in fact, I heard that it was a student at the school."
"A student? Really?", Lee asked, slightly shocked.
"Unfortunately, my knowledge does not extend quite as far as to know who it was. However, one day I learned that not only had a way to perform the opening without an eclipse found, but that it had actually been attempted!"
"What!? How? What was it? Who did it?", Lee exclaimed, now simply stunned.
Before Finnwich could respond, however, a voice announced, "Security breach contained. Deactivating emergency lockdown."
Without saying a word, Lee grabbed a crystallizer and ran to the elevator. As he waited for the doors to open, he realized that Finnwich was standing next to him. "You're coming too?"
"Not quite. I have some important business to take care of upstairs." As the doors opened, Lee thought to himself: I'm going to need all my strength for whatever happens... next.