Pangaea Play

Keita shrugged, "I dunno, sometimes you don't question it and get swept along and suddenly poof! There you are rushing!"

"I suppose so," Koji nodded.  "That makes some sense."

Keita swung her arms as she walked, "Have you ever been exploring? Out in the caves and tunnels?"

"No.  Why would I go there?" Koji asked, genuinely puzzled.  There was no work to be done out there.  Maybe some fungus to gather, but not much.

"For fun! Thats where we are going, there is this cave that is...wow...you'll just have to see! It's beautiful!" Keita said enthusiastically

Kata woke with a groan, stretching in her makeshift bed behind a few crates on the street. She had had no intention of falling asleep, but the boy never came back. Whatever. She pulled herself up and headed to her hideout in the markets to get some food and supplies for the stakeout. It was about time she had to move it, anyway. The guards would eventually track her down if she stayed too long. Once she arrived she spared no time in downing a couple leftover mushrooms, collecting her few possessions, and heading back to the chapel. If this treasure was as valuable as the Proclaimer made it seem, she have her own house once she got her hands on it.

"Oh.  Okay," Koji agreed with Keita, following her semi-reluctantly.  He wasn't so sure about this whole... going to the caves for fun thing.

~~

"Please!  It will only take a minute," Perry pleaded, following Steven and Laura around.
Laura let out a huff of annoyance.  "Perry!  Let it go.  We're not going to that... lunatic.  We don't have time, and what would Mother and Father think of it?"
"They say he's harmless, but a waste of time," Steven said, grabbing his gear and beginning the long task of checking every single line to make certain there were no frays or tears.
Perry frowned as he watched them.  "You're going out again?"
"Yep," they said simultaneously.
Perry glared at them for a long moment as Steven and Laura ignored their little brother and went about their business.  Then he smiled.  Turning away, he went to find his parents.  A short while later, he was back.  "Laura, Steven, Mother and Father say you have to spend the day with me."
The twins stopped short and stared.  "What?!"
Perry nodded firmly.  "You can ask them if you like, but Mother agrees with me.  We don't spend enough time together as a family, so they said you have to do something I like today for fun."
"You conniving little boy," Laura growled, but she couldn't help a twinge of respect.  Their little brother wasn't as dumb as he used to be.
"I don't want to!  I want to go back to the caves!" Steven protested.
Laura rolled her eyes at him.  "Keep up that whininess and you'll never get a girl.  Come on, if we just get this over with, maybe we can still have time to go to the caves after."
Steven huffed but nodded.  "Fine.  Fine!  What are we doing?"
"We're starting by going to the cult church and talking to the proclaimer.  That's fun," Perry said in satisfaction.  He clipped Puff's lead on the cat and headed for the door, ignoring his sibling's groan as they walked out the door.  "By the way, I got the stuff again."  He held up the bag then scampered off as Steven spluttered behind him.
Laura laughed and grabbed Steven's hand, dragging him after.  "Come on, Steven!  We're going to see a madman who plays with fire.  It could be fun!"
"Yeah, maybe," Steven agreed, brightening.  It was always fun to rile up dumb people like that proclaimer guy.

Keita and Kiki led him to the entrance of a tunnel leading off of the main road. Kiki lit a torch and motioned him on, "Come inside, its amazing!"

Kata adjusted the pack on her shoulder and wandered down a nearly deserted street. The guards didn't much care for the homeless, usually shipping them off to a labor camp at first sight. She tried to keep as low a profile as possible. Moving was always dangerous. She started thinking back on her last permanent home when she saw a sight she could hardly believe: the boy from the chapel! There he was, just ahead of her. And he had the guy she suckered in the market with him. Don't think I could pull that off again on him, she thought with a sigh. It'll have to be stealth this time. She slowed down to match their pace and followed them at a distance.

Koji inched along behind his friends suspiciously.  "I do not know about this, Keita.  Are you sure it's safe?"

~~

"Stop pulling, Perry!" Laura protested as Perry hurried them toward the chapel.  
"Then walk faster," Perry told her, pushing the door open.
"What's the rush?  It's not like he's going anywhere," Steven huffed, reluctantly following his brother and sister and the cat into the proclaimer's chapel.

Kiki nodded, "Totally, promise. We come here all the time." The two sisters led him deeper into the cave. The touch light began to catch on something glittering on the walls, then suddenly they entered a huge open area covered in shining white crystals, "See! Isn't it beautiful!" Keita held the torch up higher

One of the Flames saw Perry and his siblings walk through the door and ran back to fetch Ellefson. Only a few seconds later the Proclaimer came hurrying out and asked in a demanding tone, "Are you the ones who found these artifacts?"

~~

Kata smiled as she watched the three of them enter the chapel. Everything was confined in a single place: easy prey. She ran over to a window on the side of the chapel and peered in, waiting for the best time to sneak in.

(VC, we need to get our characters near the Proclaimer's chapel thing by the time the other characters come out.)

Koji stared around the cave in awe.  "This... this is... it is beautiful!  It's so... gleaming."

~~

Laura and Steven stared at him.  "Uh..... Yes?" Steven ventured, trying to figure out if he should punch this guy or not.
"Yes!  They are my brother and sister, Laura and Steven," Perry said.  "Laura and Steven, this Proclaimer Ellefson."

(ok, deal. maybe Keita can take koji to another cave nearby)

"Its one of my favorite places" Keita said, walking over to one wall where some of the crystals were. "You cant break them off, they loose their shape. they are perfect just here..."

Ellefson asked hurriedly, "Where did you find these? Are they real? Did you make them?" He believed the artifacts were real, but he wanted to hear it from the source.

"What are they for?  What do they do?" Koji asked curiously, poking the stones curiously.

~~

Steven held up his hands.  "Whoa!  Slow down!  Yes, they are real, we found them in the tunnels.  Why do you need to know?"

"They just are, they are just for beauty, like your paintings. The light reflecting through them is what makes them glitter." Keita said softly

Ellefson composed himself. "You found a picture of people in a land most unlike our own; no rock above them, vegetation everywhere, and, most interestingly, the Great Light in the sky. In other words, if this is real and you didn't fake this, you just found scientific proof of my church's teachings. Here, look for yourself," he said as he handed the picture to Stephen.

"Oh."  Koji touched the crystals softly then winced as a sharp edge cut his finger.  He shook it off, sucking on the abused finger as he walked around the cave slowly.  "They are like growing rocks?  How?"

~~

Steven stared at the picture.  Then snorted.  "Yeah, right, this is probably some really good drawing or a hoax just to mess with you."
"Maybe someone who came to listen to your ramblings made it," Laura pointed out.

Keita shrugged, "I dunno...I don't remember how crystals get made. we should ask at school..."

Ellefson scoffed. "If that sort of technology existed it'd be almost as exciting as if this were real. There's no possible way to forge this. Where did you find this? Could you point it out on a map?"

"Oh, school, okay," Koji agreed much less enthusiastically.  He did not like asking questions at school.  "What now?"

~~

"Maybe, but what's in it for us?" Steven asked cautiously.  "What are you going to do, destroy the whole tube?  There's a lot of life in those tubes."

"Never," Ellefson responded sharply. "I'm part of that life in the tubes that you speak of. Besides, this is all I need." He took a long look at Steven before he said with a hint of sarcasm and a smile, "What will you get? If it's all real, you might get rid of us."

"Want to see another cave?" Keita asked, turning to face him.

Koji shrugged then nodded.  "Yes.  What other caves are there?  Are they all like this?"

"One second."
Laura and Steven moved off to one side, discussing the idea between themselves.  Perry stood near the Proclaimer, waiting nervously.  Finally, Laura and Steven came back.  
"Alright, we'll show you," Steven said, "but on one condition.  We get to come with you to this... place.  We want to see if it's real.  Even if it's not, it will be one wild adventure!"