Chapter 2 – Angkor Wat revisited
Lara had already packed her things and was ready to the commitment she had made with Von Croy. When she was impatiently standing in front of her home, looking at her watch, Von Croy's limo arrived at the mansion. She was quick to get in the car and throw the bag anyway on the car seat. Von Croy grouched something in german, but Lara didn't pay attention to it.
- Who is he? – she asked in a rude way, pointing to the man in a blue suit next to Von Croy.
- And I thought British people were the most educated - Von Croy mocked. - This is Jeffrey Hastings. My biggest investor and partner in Von Croy industries. That "latest technology", which you mentioned, was thanks to this man.
- Nice to meet you – Jeffrey said. He reached his hand for Lara and expected she would do the same, and she did.
- As the Iris is our interest, Jeffrey insisted to follow our progress – Von Croy was leaning on his cane and looking out the window.
- It's always great to have someone just watching two people doing the hard work of digging, right, Werner? – Lara said without worrying in express any education or sympathy with those men.
Von Croy ignored what Lara said and started to complain:
- I don't believe I'm going back to that place again. This is a waste of my money.
- It's not my fault if you didn't search right, Werner. Maybe you're going old. What did you do in the last time you tried to know something more about the Iris? – Lara asked.
- In the library next to Angkor, there are few reports about the Iris. No one know its exactly location, completely secret, needs some sort of energy… Nothing more. It was luck to found it that day.
- You forgot the revenge that would fall upon the one who caught the Iris.
- Nonsense – Von Croy rolled his eyes.
Arriving at Cambodia, Lara had two hopes. The first one was that Von Croy didn't searched properly about the Iris in Cambodia. The second one was that the history of it wasn't in that country. She passed hours locked in a plane with Von Croy and now she would be more time locked with him but now in a car.
- Let's go to the museum. I have an acquaintance there. It would be better if you heard from his the story of the Iris – Von Croy said.
In the library, Von Croy tried to use his sympathy with a man (almost the same age as him) called Sarit Chey, one of the responsible for that museum. While Sarit was asking personal things to Von Croy, the American Jeffrey couldn't stand the heat of that country. Lara wasn't comfortable with the presence of Jeffrey in the search of the origins of the Iris. Isn't it enough Von Croy have a tendency to break the rules by freed? Having a little friend of Von Croy witnessing everything wasn't a good idea.
- Sarit, I brought some kids with me today. I want you to meet Lara Croft and Jeffrey Hastings.
- Nice to meet you – Sarit said in English.
Lara and Jeffrey answered, but Jeffrey rushed to make a lot of questions about the place, as if he was a child visiting a museum for the first time.
After Sarit answered all the questions from Jeffrey, who weren't related about the Iris, Von Croy demanded an improvised internal meeting just for him, Lara and Sarit. The three reunited inside a office in the museum, while Jeffrey was waiting on the outside.
- So, my dear Von Croy, how can I help you? – Sarit asked – Are you back because of the Iris?
- Exactly. But this time I want you to tell everything you said to me to this lady – Before Sarit could say anything, Von Croy spoke again – she's the stubborn type.
Lara was serious because of Werner's comment and then she sat in a chair in front of a table, waiting Sarit to sit in the other chair at any time.
- Oh, the Iris… So unknown and so mysterious – Sarit picked up a book on the shelf and sat down in the chair, facing Lara.
She tried to read the book title, but failed as he was quick to putting the book on the table.
- The Iris is considered a legend here in Cambodia. In the records we found about the Iris in these 800 years, because the rumors of its existence appeared after Angkor Wat emerged, there's no drawing about its format – Sarit turned the book upside down so Lara could read, and he pointed some lines to her, even not stopping talking – They said its format is "curves and circle" and nothing more. It's completely difficult to guess a format of a relic with only these informations – Sarit laughed.
Lara looked away to Von Croy, who was standing. She then came back pay attention to Sarit.
- "The Iris needs to be kept in secret. The one who needs to work with the Iris, needs the energy of the rainbow".
- Wait… Energy of the rainbow?
- Yes, strange, isn't it? Rainbow has no energy – Sarit pulled the book back to himself, passing the pages – There are a lot of theories that the Iris could be a reference of deities, or can be a saying… They believe the circle is the sun and the lines, the clouds.
Lara was intrigued, but she didn't want to share her secrets. She asked to look the book again (it was in English). She read few informations of the "legend of the Iris". She asked to retreat with Von Croy and said goodbye to Sarit.
When they were in the library entrance, Von Croy said:
- Any idea came to your mind, miss Croft?
- Yes. It came. The energy of the rainbow could be related to the Norse mythology, or something like that. The Bifrost is an example of an rainbow in the mythological culture… - Lara hesitated – Well…
- Oh, yeah… But the Nordic countries are far from this warm place and from Sanskrit. In here, it's a completely different culture, Lara. Don't you think I haven't considered Bifrost? I've already had! But even the Iris itself has an appearance of Nordic, right? And with so many information of the Norse mythology, the Iris would have its name somewhere written.
Lara was serious. Used a bit of time to think and said:
- In this case, I vote for "Déjà vu".
- What?
- Déjà vu. I need to have access to the place where you picked the Iris. It is our only hope.
- Do you remember for what we had to go through to get at that place, which by now must be full of rocks?
- Werner, by any chance do you remember anytime similar to a rainbow on it? – Lara ignored completely what Von Croy asked, and she was staring him.
- No! Everything happened so fast. That thing floating, moving it by himself… I was hanging on my foot… When that kind of dome started to close, everything got very dark – the anger of Von Croy was showing – I fell anyway in a place where I couldn't see anything!
- But how did you… - Jeffrey tried to ask, but he was interrupted by Von Croy.
- After a while, bored in the darkness, you end up feeling a little crazy, Miss Croft. I just held the Iris anyway and imagined myself out of that place. The only thing I remembered was that typical yellow ray coming out of the red ball and hitting me. When I realized, I was already on the outside. – Von Croy paused – Unfortunately, even with all the technologies in Von Croy Industries, I can't store the energy inside the Iris. It's been 13 or 14 years that it doesn't produce the same energy as in that day. Yes, it can teleport someone, but only close to those machines of energy. The mystery of how it can retain power within is… - Von Croy gave up continuing his sentence and just sighed of frustration.
- Answering your previously question, I do remember. And as we didn't had time to look well at that place, we need to go back there – Lara looked serious to Von Croy and Jeffrey. She was determined to go to that place with or without them.
After tired hours looking for the exit closest to the place where the Iris was kept, after hours pushing rocks, stones, Lara, Von Croy and Jeffrey reached the right place.
- Not much has changed – Werner said, and he was now looking the rocks with contempt.
- Werner, do you have any idea if in this place there's gold? – Jeffrey asked, still a little dazzled by that simple place – Places like this must be full of gold – and then he started to touch the wall close to him.
Von Croy looked to Lara for a few seconds. Suddenly, he regretted bring Jeffrey. And While Jeffrey was talking to himself, Werner stared the rounded floor closed to that some sort of sliced dome, that one day locked him up. Decided to not do anything in that place. He would just wait for Lara to be on her own.
Lara, on the other hand, was expecting the same complaint of Von Croy when she found him alive with the Iris is his hand. She passed the stone who has the warning that Von Croy once ignored.
- Look, it's the stone with the inscriptions right here – Lara gave a little kick on it, as the stone had earned few neighbors because of that crumbling. – And, once more, it says that vengeance would fall of the one who took it.
Jeffrey was now scared. Von Croy never mentioned any kind of curse.
- Vengeance? – Jeffrey asked scared – That relic had a curse?
- Oh, ancient hocus pocus – Von Croy rolled his eyes. His contempt for that warning was repeating again.
- So you don't believe that? – Jeffrey asked to Von Croy.
- It's been about 13 our 14 years, I don't know. It was meant to happen, it would already happen. Or maybe the fact the place crumbled and that thing closed me up was the price.
- But, in general, do you believe in those things?
Before Von Croy could answer, Lara interrupted:
- Have you read any book of Shakespeare, Mr. Hastings? Have you read Hamlet?
- No.
- In Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy". – Lara gave a sideway smile, sexy without mean it – If even Shakespeare said that… - She paused – It's basically the motto of any archeology schools.
Jeffrey preferred to be quiet. Lara approached the lever that would open that protective "dome" of the pedestal. She pulled it and, for her surprise, it worked perfectly. Suddenly, that thing was opening. A complete déjà vu. And When Lara approached the place where it supposed to have a bridge, she realized the bridge was destroyed.
- I think I will have to jump – Lara said to Von Croy.
- Oh, good luck, Lara. Unfortunately, nowadays, I use a cane and I don't jump like before – Von Croy said while he was sitting on one of the rocks.
Lara stepped back, ran and jumped. Unfortunately the jump wasn't enough to make her fall standing, so she needed to hang on the ledge. Von Croy and Jeffrey showed sign of concern, but soon Lara was standing there. When she approached the pedestal of the Iris, she searched carefully for any information. In the back part, she investigated the pedestal and discovered something written. She crouched and approached her face. She could see something written there. She was surprised and amazed to find a miserable clue. And while she passed the finger around where it was written, she got more surprised. Her face was still for a moment.
- You were right about something, Werner – she screamed after she was standing once again. – You were right about I being wrong.
- What did you found out? – he asked nervously.
Lara looked back to where she had discovered something written before she could speak.