The Reconnaissance Clock

CHAPTER 8 THE SPIRE

Morso remote viewed and no mutants were seen. Kasinic had his radio out and Flel had taken interest in listening to it. The static overpowered Morso's abilities and he motioned for Kasinic to turn it off but he continued to listen. Morso, not wanting to start any conflict, continued his viewing. At this point, Kasinic had been able to figure out a lot of the radio codes that the mutants were speaking on the radio and was explaining some of them to Flel. Kasinic spoke up, "I tried to fire another round at those transhumants at the gate and the gun locked up. Not the best weapons. When they do function properly they do a good bit of damage. Explosive arrows in Flel's hands would be more reliable though" he said, then turned to Morso, "You should have seen how that mutant at the gate went down in action". "I would love to get my hands on some explosive arrows." Flel spoke in a curious voice. The ground seemed to shift a little. "What was that?" said Flel. "It felt like a small tremor." Morso said after he abruptly stopped viewing the area for danger. "Watch your step then" Prirmenha spoke to Morso.

Flel was feeling nervous about what he had to do once he got to the top of the spire. The spire peered above them seeming to taunt them. It seemed as high as the clouds. There were trees that surrounded it, thick with leaves. It seemed as though the trees were engineered to cover it up but where not high enough. Dirt surrounded where the spire was built. It was made out of some sort of clay walls with golden designs integrated into it that made it look like it contained connections on a circuit board all leading to the Crucifix on the top. It was obvious that the structure was built by the mutants. There was a large stone door at the base of the Spire marked with what looked like ancient hieroglyphics. Flel tried to push the door open but it would not budge.

Prirmenha thought for a bit and recalled reading something about this in the manuscript. Morso pulled out the manuscript, somewhat water damaged and gave it to Prirmenha. She turned to a bookmarked page and tried to prevent the rain from destroying more of the book. "It says here that the door is designed to only be a way out. It is inaccessible from the outside." she read aloud. Flel walked around the spire and looked in the dirt for some sort of switch. Meanwhile, Morso attempted to remote view inside of the spire. The ground began to shift as it did earlier and Kasinic lost his balance. The door slowly grinned open. Dirt fell from the crevices. "Morso..." Flel said. "I don't know how it worked, but it appears to respond to me remote viewing inside of it, I could not see anything though." Morso said. Prirmenha handed the book back to Morso.

The door stood open. Flel took a sigh of relief and went inside. The walls of the inside of the Spire shined with a smooth black clay like substance. Faint lights illuminated as the party entered. An elevator was in the center of the room and around it the floor was baron except for a small table with a paper on it. Flel picked up and eyed the paper. It had a list of names neatly written on it but he did not recognize any of them. "Thank the Creator for the elevator!" Morso exclaimed. The group went into the elevator and with a push of a spongy button they began to lift. Kasinic looked like he did back on the boat but held his ground. The door opened and immediately the group shivered from the cold. The air smelled clean and the room looked like some sort of lab. On the far end of the room, there was a bath of water. Next to the bath were towels neatly folded in shelves. In the shelves next to the towels, were first aid kits and some electronic equipment. Wires of a massive gauge slithered in piles along the floor, then up the walls to the ceiling. "Not the safest place for a bathtub" Prirmenha laughed as she was placed down on a chair in the side of the room. The walls were made of a metal that acted like a mirror and the roof was made of stone that looked like it could give in any minute with all of the cracks in it. "So, this is what it looks like inside of the Orb" Kasinic said.

Flel walked over to the bath and remembered what the book said. He looked at the others. Kasinic was pacing around the room admiring the construction and Morso was resting in a chair next to Prirmenha with his eyes closed. It had been a long day. Flel almost forgot about the burn on his arm and gave it a look, it was not too bad, but he was afraid to look at his foot at this point. "Maybe we can just rest here tonight. Nobody knows we are here." Flel said to the group. Kasinic then looked over at Morso and Prirmenha, "I think that is a good idea. I will keep first watch; besides I still have plenty of ammo." Flel nodded and found an empty chair. He could not help but look at the bath at the far end of the room with electrical wiring coming out from underneath it into the ceiling. He then remembered how there was a great Crucifix at the top.