LOCATION: Colorado
CHALLENGE: 
DATE/NUMBER: 14-Aug-2000/25
MAP:
And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear -- Mark 4:9
Diana had a good view of the Zora Valley from
her home in Draxmoor Manor. Good new this was, for
this was the day foretold in the Prophesy of Kra as
the day she'd begin her descent into the valley to
recover The Shimpps. She opened her window, took a
deep breath of the fresh mountain air, and casually
picked out the scents of the various
wildflowers carried by the light breeze, as a speck of
black on the horizon slowly grew larger. Columbine,
she whispered, that was his essence; but her brief
moment of pleasant reminiscence was broken, as the
blackness of a raven alighting on her window
reluctantly captured her attention. "ook ver nly ock
arn" ominously cackled the bird before flying off again
as fast at it arrived.
She carefully closed the great oak doors of the manor
behind her for the last time, and walked with purpose
down Nyrra Road. As she passed thru Drax, the
only town she had ever seen, she admired the buildings
erected by the long-departed Yuum: the observatory,
the moss-covered cathedral with its shining brass bell
tower, the three ivy-covered university buildings, the
library, and the doorless obsidian tower that remained
a mystery to all who dared to gaze upon it and ponder
its secrets. The road faded to a trail, thence to
nothing as she passed the last of the farms and into
the uninhabited crags and knolls of the valley. Now
was the time to be wary, she muttered to herself, as
she felt for her ivory dagger and recited the handful
of old cantrips her father had taught her years ago:
one for water, one for fire, one for earth, and one
for air. Always follow the wind -- that's what the
Prophesy said -- and she kept a steady pace despite
the blisters growing on her feet, as her invisible
guide howled uncaring thru the rocks.
Soon she came to be walking along a river, a shallow
putrid river of green -- oh how she longed for the
pure, floral scent of the mountain breeze! Very
wearily she proceeded now, having spent several days
nonstop on her feet. As the day began to fade into
evening, the river opened up into a lake, Meyer Lake
she recalled from the Book of Kra, with a small,
heart-shaped island in the middle, or so the Prophesy
said. This was the place she was to get to, but how,
she wondered? As she pondered this little problem,
her body went numb with fear as she realised the rocks
were moving towards her.
The stench of death overwhelmed her as she summoned the
will to overcome exhaustion, and focus her mind and body
on the eerie apparitions that confronted her.
Think quick -- a cantrip -- which one -- you've incurred
my wrath, raised my ire, now your bodies be consumed by
fire! As the flames shot down her arms and into the
ghastly beings, terror gripped her chest like a vice
as their malevolent grins and eyes advanced on her,
unfazed by, and even enjoying the flames. Now what --
think quicker -- water -- evil -- I'm gonna die --
walking dead -- you've given me quite a scare, but now
I banish you with air, she chanted as she made the
sign of the holy cross with her finger. The wind howled
and whipped the dust up above her head, and a huge wispy
crucifix took shape towering above her, cowering the
wraiths off into the wilds of the night.
She collapsed with fatigue, sleeping dreamlessly until
the howling wind picked up and woke her with the dawn.
The impassable lake still loomed, just as yester evening,
but now she was down two cantrips, and once again her
attention to this problem was interrupted, this time by
some tapping down by the water's edge. Going down to
investigate, she was elated (and a bit shocked), to find
an old rowboat tethered to a wooden dock that was just
about rotted away, and an even older gnome working nearby,
the gnarled lines of his face showing older and deeper
than the valley itself. "Oh please, kind sir may I buy
your boat, twenty pieces of the Queen's silver I have --
it is very important". Spryly stepping between her and
the dock he growled: "Book of Kra -- show me, show me,
and you shall pass -- you must prove to me that you are
the one first".
The actual Book of Kra, of course, had been lost long
ago, even before the Yuum had left; all that was left
were the various fragments and memories passed down among
the sages and sorcerers. Her memories of it came from
her father; as she replayed those memories a bit, it
popped into her head how he once said that gnomes
weren't the brightest of folk, and then her mind was
speaking faster than she could think: Book of Kra, letters
of worth, spring forth now from the earth! As the rocks
and crags trembled, shook, grew, and reshaped themselves
into giant-sized letters spelling out "BOOK OF KRA", the
confused, awed, and evidently satisfied gnome stepped out
of the way, allowing Diana to stumble her way down the
rickety dock and into the boat, rowing out whilst laughing
at her dolmenesque handiwork that now graced the lakeshore.
She spotted the heart-shaped island, and avoiding some
razor-sharp rocks that protected its natural cove, pulled
the boat up onto shore. She then quickly spotted the
pyramid-like structure at the center of the island that was
most certainly the treasure vault.
She circled around looking for a way in, but none was to
be found. All that could be found, chiseled into the side
of the vault, was an odd, cryptic riddle:
I am one of the oddest of words
just one of many irregular verbs
but while my cousins take form based on subject
my form oddly is determined by object.
What a strange thing to encounter
she thought, as she idly began looking under and around
the rocks for a way in while pondering the puzzle. "Of
course" she exclaimed, remembering the clue from
a few days back -- as she spoke the answer, the northern
portion of the pyramid silently slid away, revealing
stairs down to a lighted passage. Quickly she scrambled
down the stairs, feeling the tense excitement of victory
pounding in her heart.
The passageway opened up into a rough cavern, with
another passage leading out the other side. She crossed
over to this passage, careful not to slip on the wet rock,
and continued to follow the wind as the passage lead into
some stairs going up. The stairs headed a bit north
of east and climbed about forty feet before ending at a
triangular-shaped landing, just after passing an intersecting
passage. Two passages headed away from the triangle; she
hurried down the left one. It led out of the caverns to
the outside; opening up into some sort of ancient cemetery --
her heart was racing with anticipation now.
The first thing she noticed was that it was surprisingly well
maintained, with the exception of the wilted, dead, and
dried out flowers that graced the otherwise well-preserved
headstones, crosses, and urns. She cautiously walked over
to one section where an array of six and one half crosses
were in a perfect line, attracted by a faint, yet familiar
scent. She struggled to place the scent -- what was it --
oh my god -- "columbine" she cried out -- but all the flowers
were dead -- this was a place of death. Before she could
think the words thru, out it came: As I now have found
my treasure, I call forth torrents of water, and as her
incantation faded and the rains came pouring down, the flowers sprang
to life, bringing forth not his essence, but him himself
back to the living, to be reunited once again. They embraced
like no one has embraced since the beginning of time.
Later, as they stood there, an animal approached them from
out of the hills to the northeast; it was an eight-legged
pegasus, the perfect beast for two riders. They mounted,
and out of the valley they flew, reminiscing about days past.
"You know", he said, "I was beginning to wonder if you'd
ever make it". "Yeah", she smiled back, "I had my doubts a
few times along the way -- that Prophesy of Kra is filled
with downright obfuscation, misdirection, cruft, and cryptic
twists and turns that I never could have expected". "Well",
he replied, "as long as the treasure remains in our hearts,
we'll never get lost again".
