Temple of the Felines

[WarKitty]

[Noon Passage]

There is no answer to Sam's knock; however the door itself is not locked. Inside the shed is a well, a large number of empty jars and baskets and bags of varying sizes, and an assortment of wrought iron gardening tools. There's a trap door in the floor as well.

[Huts]

The mouse gives a satisfying crunch as Omiko eats it. It's still warm and barely a mouthful. The oasis itself is green and vibrant, with clear water and fruit trees and wild millet. It's quite clear that this was at one time cultivated.

After a while, the cat meows at Omiko, then starts heading off a little ways.

[Mound Tunnel]

The rider feels a chill pass over her as she sits on the stone slab. For some reason the pineapple doesn't taste right, either. Still, nothing else much happens. After a while though she may notice that the lamp on her bike seems very very bright, and it's easier to see if she looks away from it.

[Earl of Purple]

Mound Tunnel

The rider shivers as she sits upon the slab, but that makes sense. She's in tunnel, far from the sun's light and heat. Of course it is cold. The pineapple tastes funny, too; but the can is at least twenty years old, and tinned food doesn't last forever.

She does notice that her solar lamp is exceptionally bright, which is odd. This far from the surface, without the sun to charge it, the lamp should be fading, not getting brighter. But she won't look under the bonnet of a gift car; instead, she'll use the increased light to examine the walls and the slab, to look at the runes and see if there's another way out of this chamber.

[Recaiden]

On one level, she knows she only likes eating the mouse because of weird feline instincts.
On the other hand, what a warm delicious little treat! Embrace the strange cat feelings!

Omiko heads in to drink some of the oasis waters, and take a fruit from the trees and pocket it.
An inhabited place, once, but it's equally clear that it's no longer tended now.

"Hmm?"
She'd better follow that cat!

[Deathkeeper]

[Noon Passage]

Sam peers down the well, but he's well enough stocked with water for now. He checks out the trap door.
...he's going to keep going until he pops out at some other side of the world, isn't he?

[WarKitty]

[Noon Passage -> Tunnel]

The tunnel area is apparently quite wide and branching. Sam might recognize that this appears to be some form of service tunnel network. There are pictographs on the wall in various places.

[Huts]

The cat goes into one of the huts and paws a bit at the loose bricks around the hearth, meowing loudly.

[Mound Tunnel]

The Rider is likely to find that the light isn't really helping her at all, despite its apparent increased brightness. The runes are odd, and very very old. They're clearly some sort of writing system, but it's an open question whether the Rider can interpret them in any way. The arrangement might remind her of old books of warding spells though.

[Recaiden]

"Something in the hearth, kitty?"
Omiko kneels down there and investigates. Something here, hidden in ashes? Lift up some bricks? Is there something in the cracks or underneath?
Or does the cat perhaps just want a fire to be lit?

[Deathkeeper]

[Tunnel]

Sadly, Sam cannot read the pictographs, so he has nothing to guide him besides the light from Steve the Sword. He continues forward for now. Maybe the boat was safer than he first thought. It would be very easy to get lost down here...

[Earl of Purple]

Mound Tunnel

Reminding the Rider of old warding spells and books would require her to have seen such esoteric knowledge. Most of the books she's read have been on mechanics, finding water and similar subjects. And the third Harry Potter book, since the others have been lost.

So she doesn't recognise the symbols, but does hop off the slab to get a better view. The spoon is put back into a pocket, and the pineapple juice drained from the tin. The can will probably be abandoned here, since she doesn't want it any more and it has no more use to her.

[WarKitty]

[Huts]

Omiko will likely immediately notice that the bricks here are quite loose. A little bit of lifting and digging will unearth a buried wooden box, with a sun design carved into the top. Inside is a stone amulet strung on a simple braided cord, some metal tokens, and a small papyrus scroll. The amulet is of a cat in black stone holding a bronze ball. The tokens seem to be of lead, with a hole at the top where they could be strung. They have an image of a cat in front of a sunburst on one side, while the other side is printed with images resembling, variously, an ear of grain, a clay jug with a stopper, or some folded cloth. The scroll has some form of runes inked on it.

[Tunnel]

While Sam can't read the pictographs, he might recognize that some of them are the same as the ones from the area where he started. The ones down here seem to be pretty crudely painted and are usually alone at the entrance of various tunnels. Perhaps suggesting directions? Not all the symbols are familiar, but they look an awfully lot like signs.

[Mound Tunnel]

The Rider can tell that the symbols were carved in a ring around the slab, but lacking any particular knowledge of runes she won't be able to read them. However she can probably start to hear, in the distance, the sound of running water.

[Deathkeeper]

[Tunnel]

Sam continues in the tunnels for now, trying to memorize the symbols for where he’s been. Since he doesn’t have a direction to go in he chooses to follow a symbol that looks the most important.

[Earl of Purple]

Mound Tunnel

Wiping her mouth, the empty can is set upon the slab. The Rider gives one last glance at the symbols on the slab, unprops her motorcycle, grabs her shotgun-axe and heads towards the running water. Water is very useful, particularly since to get her she's been driving through the desert for a few days. More water is always useful. She's not riding her bike; she's pushing it. She wants to be able to hear the water to ensure she's going the right way, and also if there's a sudden drop she doesn't want to drive into it.

[Recaiden]

Could you fit a cat in this box?

Omiko pulls it from the loose bricks and goes through the contents. The cat amulet, she puts around her neck right away.
The lead tokens, she shows to the cat that lead her here.
"You know what these are for, huh?" It's an interesting trio of symbols.

[WarKitty]

[Temple Tunnels]

Sam sees a number of symbols, but the most prominent one in this area appears to show a basket full of plants and leads pretty much directly away from where he was.

[Mound Maze]

The Rider can keep heading towards the water, although the twists and turns of the maze will make it quite difficult. Still, eventually she should be able to reach a wide, swift river. There's a very large raft on the shore, the logs covered in black pitch, and a long wooden pole. It would definitely be large enough for a bike, if the Rider wishes. The wood smells faintly aromatic under the smell of the pitch.

[Huts]

Yes, you could probably fit a cat in this box. Assuming the cat was cooperative. That's always a question with cats.

The cat tilts her head curiously for a minute, looking at the tokens. But she doesn't seem to display any more understanding of the question than one might expect of a normal cat.

[Deathkeeper]

[Temple Tunnels]

Sam eyes the symbol. That seems...easy enough to piece together.
He takes a couple minutes to go back to the shed, take one of the baskets and put some catnip and herbs from the garden in it. If there were rituals involved he definitely won’t have the mix right but maybe if any ancient ghosts or whatever ask he can say he was just following the instructions on the walls. If the pool is still magic who knows what’s still down here? That’s why he didn’t take any of their gold.
Which better be haunted or something because if it isn’t guarded he’s going to kick himself for walking past it forever.
His “offering” gathered he goes back into the tunnels and follows the signs on the walls.

[Recaiden]

So odds are that the cat will get into the box on its own, given time.

Omiko takes these things with her and, jangling the lead tokens in one hand, heads towards the reflecting pool.
The cat doesn't have to come along.
And she's not saying that it should come along.
But she's going to go over there, if the cat wanted to go that way.

[Earl of Purple]

Mound Maze

At the river, the first thing the Rider does is open her saddlebag and pulls out a large plastic bottle and swishing around the final drops of water before swigging it down. She'll then lower it into the river and sniff the bottle after she's pulled it back, to make sure the water smells good. Might need to boil it later, but she's in a desert- water's valuable here.

Then, she'll try pushing her bike onto the wooden raft and start poling across, driven by curiosity and a desire to find more supplies.

[WarKitty]

[Temple Tunnels]

Sam follows the tunnel for a while before emerging in another cave. This one appears to be mostly natural rough stone. It's illuminated around the edges by some form of glowing crystal rock pyramids. Along the far wall there's an unadorned altar, with a brazier in front of it. A basket next to it contains some coals, a few reeds and bits of worn fabric, and a piece of flint and a pyrite striker.

There's another tunnel leading off on the far wall as well.

[Huts-->Reflecting Pool]

The cat follows along with Omiko, possibly somewhat being a trip hazard. In any case they reach the pool and the cat hops up to take a drink. Omiko can feel that the ground under her is firmer, a layer of sand over a solid surface.

[Mound Tunnel]

The Rider refills her bottle without incident. However once she's fully on the raft, a black-clad figure appears standing in front of her on the deck.

TOLL PLEASE

[Deathkeeper]

[Temple Tunnels]

Sam eyes the altar. Do coals stay good? He isn't really sure. But maybe he might as well try. No one seems to have been around for ages to take care of this place. That's probably not good for whomever is the patron of this place.
Well, Sam might not be the smartest guy, but he DOES know how to start a fire. Sam arranges the coals and reeds in the brazier to get a good fire going, and puts the herb mixture from the garden in the cloths on top of the reeds.
He knows he isn't doing this right, and definitely doesn't have the herb mixture even remotely correct, but hey, at least he's trying.

[Recaiden]

Omiko trips trying to avoid the cat once on the way there, but she manages to catch herself after a few falling steps.
Oh, this is nicer to walk on.

After giving the cat a little while to drink, she heads on into the main building, stopping to take a look at each of the mummified cats along the walls.

[Earl of Purple]

Mound Tunnel

The rider has paid tolls before. Usually in goods, rather than services, but not always. And normally the tolls were for bridges across chasms and wadis, rather than ferries. And none of the toll-collectors have appeared from nowhere like this; magic is probably the cause, but magic like none she's seen before. Chained lightning, forever-flames, poison glass and death zones are all dangerous magic, if sometimes useful- chained lightning plays its part in keeping her bike running- but nowhere has she encountered people appearing from thin air. She jumps as a result, but recovers quite quickly.

So which goods would pay the fare? Not water; there's plenty here. Food, perhaps? But if they've got this much water, they can grow food all they want. Fuel? They have no visible engines, and the Rider doesn't know where she'd replenish any fuel she gave away. And that leaves weaponry. The Rider opens their saddlebag again, but rather than a bottle they pull out a small cardboard box, filled with 9mm pistol rounds. She doesn't have a pistol in the right calibre; she traded the last for shotgun shells. She offers that to the hooded figure; hopefully they're accepted. If not, she could try killing them, but her guns and machete against their magic seems a fight doomed to fail.

[WarKitty]

[Temple Tunnels]

The mixture ignites and burns merrily for a few minutes, before there's a small whoosh and the fire goes out. The brazier is now empty, but there's a small gold stone figurine of a sleeping cat on the altar. It's very shiny and definitely was not there before.

[Reflecting Pool]

Omiko's feline companion sticks with her, but goes quiet in the entrance. The mummies here are very small, probably kittens. Each one is very carefully wrapped. They have clear gems on the claws, and gems on the eyes varying between blue, gold, and green. Every now and then one will have red eyes or black claws.

[Mound Tunnel]

The hooded figure extends a hand, and the Rider can see it's dark and withered. She's almost certainly come across sun-dried corpses before, and this being has the same flesh. It takes a single bullet from the box.

STRANGE COIN, BUT IT SUFFICES.

The figure takes the pole and begins to push the raft across the river.

[Recaiden]

Blue gold green blue gold green blue gold green red.
Hmm.
"What's special about you, little kitten?"
Omiko spends a while examining the first red-eyed mummy before heading further in.

[Deathkeeper]

Temple Tunnels

Well, Sam knows a miracle when he sees one. He bows at nothing in case someone is watching and gently picks up the figurine.
”Hello, little shiny kitty.” he says giddily, and places it gently into his pocket before continuing on his way.