Beauty & The Beast

[Carthrat]

Taking the peyote quickly results in the same strange experience N'Dovu has never grown quite used to- his vision grows hazy, and the world grows indistinct. Dominating his field of view is the quickly-building bonfire, which seems to draw him in and surround him. The entire world appears wreathed in great fires, and his feet seem to take him forward of their own accord.

The heat from the bonfire grows in magnitude, and N'Dovu can feel sweat running from almost every pore in his body. The light is so bright to his eyes- and he beings to see strange, flashing glimpses of other places.

A giant field of parched dirt and an open sky, with three suns hovering above...

A huge city, constructed entirely of brass...

A castle that looks straight from a tale of 'Arabian Nights', with the round, pointed towers so common to that genre, and a moat made entirely of lava...

These visions are over as quickly as they begin- fleeting, dreamlike, half-remembered. With a mighty surge of fire, N'Dovu can see again the strange spirit last seen in the laboratory- but now it is much bigger, more solid, and more.. simply there than before.

"IT IS GOOD THAT YOU HAVE COME," the spirit booms. With each word, gets of flame snort out it's nostrils- and they are distinct against the fiery shroud the world is in.

[Brian]

N'dovu bows to the great spirit, and says, "As bidden, I return, spirit."

[Carthrat]

"INDEED," replies the Spirit. "THIS PLACE IS FAR MORE SUITABLE FOR CONVERSATION THAN THE CLUSTERED LAND OF STORM, FILTH, AND METAL.

RISE UP, SPIRIT-SEEKER. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, ASK THEM NOW. IF YOU HAVE NONE, I WOULD HAVE YOU ACT WHERE I CANNOT."

[Brian]

N'dovu considers very briefly, then asks, "What can be done to remind the Cahuilla youths of the old ways?"

[Carthrat]

"SEDUCED BY THE WAYS OF METAL AND STORM, THEY ARE DRAWN AWAY FROM STATIC EXISTENCE," states the spirit. "FOR SOME, THIS MAY BE A BLESSING. FOR OTHERS, IT MAY BE A CURSE.

IF SHOWN THEIR NEW WAY BRINGS PAIN AND SUFFERING, THEY WILL REVERT TO THEIR OLD. BUT IT IS THE NATURAL WAY OF YOUTHS TO REBEL AGAINST TRADITION. I HAVE SEEN IT MANY TIMES. SOME ARE DISCONTENT, BUT MANY STILL SEARCH FOR A BETTER WAY. BE CAREFUL, SPIRIT-SEEKER."

[Brian]

N'dovu considers this as well as he can -- the haze of the drug is begining to make the outside world less real, and the spirit world more.  "I thank you for your wisdom, spirit," he says, bowing to the great fire.  "What would you have me do in exchange?"

[Carthrat]

"PERHAPS OUR GOALS CAN CO-INCIDE," states the spirit, the great flames surrounding N'Dovu's vision parting somewhat. "I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE. LONG AGO, I HAD PHYSICAL FORM AND PHYSICAL BODY. BUT THEY HAVE SINCE BEEN TRAPPED. IT IS ALL I CAN DO TO MANIFEST MYSELF TO THOSE WHO KNOW HOW TO LOOK.

THE OUTSIDERS SEEK TO FIND WHAT HOLDS ME. THEY DIG APART ANCIENT RUINS TO FIND THOSE LIKE ME AND HARNESS OUR MIGHT. I WOULD NOT WISH TO SERVE THOSE WHO ARE SLAVES TO THE WORLD OF STEEL.

I AM HELD IN THE TEMPLE OF IFRIT, WHERE EVEN NOW, DIGGERS STRIVE TO LOCATE AND BIND ME.

BUT YOU CAN REACH ME FIRST, SPIRIT-SEEKER. THERE IS A SECRET WAY INTO THE TEMPLE IN WHICH I LIE."

The fires encompassing N'Dovu's vision shift and part, revealing a hazy image of a long canyon, filled with excavators...

...a trio of huge boulders, arranged in a triangle, and the patch of dirt in the middle...

"SNATCH ME AWAY FROM THESE DIGGERS, SPIRIT-SEEKER. WITHOUT THEIR PRIZE, THEY WILL BE FORCED TO LEAVE- AND PERHAPS, CHEATED, SOME CAIHUILLA MAY RETURN TO THEIR HOME."

[Brian]

N'dovu nods, thinking already of what he'll need to do to free the spirit before it can be captured.

The first thing to come to mind is his weapon; this task will most likely not be easy.  "I understand, spirit.  I will do your bidding," he replies.

[Carthrat]

"MOVE WITH HASTE, SPIRIT-SEEKER," states the spirit, before fading away into the realm of fire, which slowly peels back from the face of the world, leaving the campsite surroundings to N'Dovu. Everything seems dulled and dark; nothing is as clear as it was before he had seen the world of flame.

"N'Dovu? Are you ok?" asks Rick, from somewhere behind you.

[Brian]

"I have to go," N'dovu mumbles.  "To free the spirit before the young Cahuilla give it to those strangers."  Climbing to his feet, he rubs his eyes and looks around to make sure that he and Rick are alone before continuing.

[Carthrat]

There's nobody else around, but Rick looks concerned. "What do you mean?" he asks.

[Brian]

"There is an ancient spirit sealed beneath the land nearby," N'dovu explains, taking his stick, and using it to make some quick drawings in the dirt.  "There are three boulders ... like this.  I need to go there and find my way to the spirit before the construction workers do -- their purpose was darker than perhaps we suspected."

[Carthrat]

Rick doesn't speak for a moment, eyeing the drawing in the dirt carefully, and eventually, shakes his head.

"I recognize those boulders you speak of. The site where they stand was used as a place for ceremony in times past. In the modern era, they go unused.

I can take you to them, but they are some ways from the site. I can't imagine what would be there."

[Brian]

"A way," N'dovu replies.  "I must hurry, though."

[Carthrat]

"I see," replies Rick. "Well, I'll take you there now."

That said, he heads back to his car and quickly gets in...

<->

Shortly after, Rick pull the car up outside the same three dusty stones that N'Dovu saw within his spirit-vision.

"And here we are," he says, eyeing the stones with a hint of wariness.