ic Snakebite In: Hidden Treasures of the Himalayas! (IC)

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"I..." The Yeti frowned, looking up at the wheel again. "It's purpose is to spin. I do not exactly know what they did with it, what they do with it. I know it is to spin, but you reach the limits of my abilities unfortunately." he looked a little uncomfortable. "...I do not exactly have the ability to ask them. They haven't returned in my entire watch, so that question would have to be asked to the ones that aren't here. But I think it's important. Not in the sense of being made to provide purpose, but rather that it does something, and it needs to continue doing that thing. I don't know why I think that, or what it does specifically, but that is what I think. So I will keep it spinning, until the sun swallows the earth if need be."  he was uncomfortable, unsure about why he was doing something, but he had conviction about doing it. An ironclad certainty. "It's the right thing to do." he nodded to himself.

 

"To keep it moving we spin it by hand, there is a station at the top of the tower, you can spin it from there, add your essence to the spinning wheel. If you'd like, you can add some of your own power to it, to be at one with the universe for a single moment."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"Then I hope it spins forever," said Cassandra, not at all reassured by the Yeti's explanation. "Or at least until the.. .what did you call them? the uplifters? at least until they return. And when they do, give me a call."

 

She flashed a glance to the Professor. "I mean, you do have cellphones or something, right? Or do you communicate by thaumatological etherwaves? Sounds like something you might need an... ethernet cable for!"

 

Groaning at her own joke, she turned back to the Yeti. 

 

"But I would like to turn the wheel. If that's ok. I mean, as long as it not considered a gift?" she said, exercising due prudence. "We can consider it an offer on my part, perhaps? Or doing my duty to the cosmos. And if that sits well enough, then you can tell me about the uplifters whilst we get to the wheel of destiny..."

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"When they come back, I think it will be quite obvious. Or at least I'm hoping so." the Yeti said "Follow me." He said as he turned, leading her through the temple.

 

The sights and wonders were beyond compare; there paintings and piles of treasure, statues of jade dragons and golden tigers. The wealth of nations held within these halls, never to be taken or given. Even the temple itself was a piece of art worth money beyond compare, pillars made of space age material with no conceptualization on earth, precious gems on every facet of larger gems, archways that billowed with mist that when breathed in cleaned the lungs of all fatigue.

 

"The Uplifters were here before man crawled out of the ocean, when the only living beings were Lemurians. They were the ones who created men, who made Utopian and Ultimen. Some people think they're the reason why humans so often display metahuman powers is because of experimentation by the Uplifters. That may be the case, it may not be, but something to think about, perhaps. It's not within my span of knowledge."

 

And at the very top, on a platform of flat stone was the base of the eternally spinning disc. The Yeti walked up to it and took a hand on it, pushing with all his might. The speed of the disc didn't increase, but the world seems just a bit more...stable. More confident and calm than it used to be.

 

"All it takes is a little bit of your life, to spin it. It's a pleasant feeling, despite that."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"A little bit of your life? Ah...."

 

It was certainly pause for thought. 

 

"I am all for pleasant feelings, and you know, for doing my part to keep the wheels of the cosmos turning. But life is not something to be discarded too easily..."

 

She raised an eyebrow at the Yeti. A couple of months would be worth it. For this experience, worth it. But a couple of years? A couple of decades? Or just some eroding of ones energy?

 

"A little" she repeated. "Could you be a bit more specific? A little rather depends on your point of view. A day would be little to me, but death to a butterfly. You - ah - catch my meaning?"

 

 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"..Ah, true. Right. I did not think about that." The Yeti admitted. "In a place like this, with a longevity like mine, the moments of life sometimes slip away without me thinking about it." he said, looking up at the spinning wheel. "You can say something that seems totally normal to you and scare others. I must remember to watch my words with others sometimes; the issue with living in a place like this." It almost chuckled, a deep rumbling sound in it's chest. The creature almost seemed to have a kind, gentle nature outside of the protective duties of the valley.

 

"No one has ever died spinning this, and I don't believe it takes any true years of your life from you. It's just a little of your energy spent, and you'll get it back. You might get a little tired but I think that would be it. So if you are concerned you can't make the hike back after the spin, that is understandable, but I think you will be fine."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Cassandra raised an eyebrow that matched her smirk. "Nobody ever died.. yet!"

 

But there was no way she could turn down a cosmic experience of this nature. 

 

She was about to touch the wheel when a final thought hit her. 

 

"Wait... this is not a gift, is it?" she asked. "A gift to spin the wheel?"

 

And get me trapped here? Would they want me here... and if so would they try and trick me?

 

If she had the assurance, she would spin the wheel. Her finger tips so close she could almost feel the magnificence that awaited...

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"What? No. No it's not a gift. I am not allowing you to spin the wheel, you just happen to be spinning the wheel while I'm here after you found it by following me. I have given you nothing." The Yeti says sternly.

 

Then the disc is given a whiff of her energy, and Cassandra's world expands.

 

Beyond the Earth. Beyond the Sun, Beyond the Solar System,

 

To the Galaxy itself.

 

She could see a thousand thousand thousand thousand of these wheels, across an equal number of planets. All spinning. Not in identical places, not watched over by identical guardians. That one there was on a storm battered beach. That one on a frozen sheet of ice. Were these different planets, different realities, or some combination of both?

 

But Cassandra was connected. To every wheel, to every person that touched them, to every person that had ever touched them. Not aggressively, not overwhelmingly, but peacefully. For all are part of one universe, all are part of one being. For a moment, all conflict washes away; there is nothing that is not part of everything, everything is a part of one thing; the Universe, the Galaxy? Everything within those things is, in itself, part of those things.

 

Everyone is together, and she is a part of that for just a moment, a moment that seems to last for eternity, but then ends instantly, leaving her back where she was, standing on the platform below the spinning wheel.

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"Whoooo...."

 

Her hand left the wheel, but a part of her would always be on the wheel. 

 

"That was incredible," she said, eyes so wide Cassandra feared they might fall from her skull. After that experience, she feared they might not just fall, but sprout legs and arms, get married, and have a wedding. 

 

It was a pretty mind bending experience. Everything was possible. This, she thought, was a vision of infinity. And compared to infinity, anything was nothing. 

 

"I won't forget that in a hurry, or maybe I will. It was too... big... to fully hold in my head, but I will remember the taste of it. Forever..."

 

She took a breath in, held it, and exhaled. 

 

"Professor, I can see why you wish to stay. But I cannot. These boots were made for walking, and they wont rest till every hidden corner of the earth has seen these soles..."

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"That is your path, Casssandra. I appreciate that you came to look to look for me. You can not have my notes and research, but if they happened to leave this place, I would not be upset." the professor said with a smile. "I hope you find your path enlightening, but I will not send you with well wishes or give you good luck." He stated with assurance.

 

"If you are ready, Cassandra, then it is time to leave; too much longer in this place could very well be too long indeed." The Yeti said. "I do not wish to speed you along or break your reverie, but, well. All things have their time, do they not? And this time, this moment, is nearing it's end. So I must see it off."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"All things do," said Cassandra. "To be honest, part of me will miss this place, but a greater part of me will not. I suppose I am one who finds stillness in movement, not movement in stillness."

 

That sounded cool, she thought. Maybe the echoes of touching the cosmic wheel. 

 

"It is time to go. But perhaps, Professor, you could give me some letter. From you to your loved ones, so that I can pass on that you are safe and happy. Otherwise others will try to find you, and many may perish under the trials that guard this place."

 

"And then, good Sirs, we can depart...."

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"I can not give you anything, Cassandra." The professor said. "I can not ask that you return my writings and my bag. But if this bad here that I am putting down..." he put it down in front of him. "Happened to leave my presence, I would not be upset. It certainly has important things to me inside of it, but nothing I would miss too much." he said, turning around. "Now, it was great to see you Cassandra. If you return, I'll greet you again, but I doubt that you will; this does not seem to be a place you often get two chances to visit." he said. "But as long as you had fun."

 

"I agree. It is unlikely you return, but, Cassandra, it seems you've learned something. So this adventure was hopefully enlightening. Now, it is time to go." The Yeti seemed to smile under his heavy fur cloak.

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Cassandra gave out her hand and shook the professors. It was not easy, nor was it easy to know why it was not easy. Something about this whole caper sounded a little - what was the word?

 

Rotten?

 

Like a sweet fruit on the turn. Nothing you could pinpoint, but it left something distasteful in the mouth. Was it the place? or was it Cassandra Crow, running from something? Like she always ran. 

 

Was it the place, or was it her?

 

Was she missing something? Here, or always?

 

The questions itched in her skull, but she was wise enough to know she couldn't answer them. Questions to think about, but not to linger. 

 

"Fare well then professor. And mister... ah... mister Yeti... I shall remember this place for the rest of my days."

 

She didn't offer her hand to the Yeti. It might very well get crushed...

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

And so, carrying an extra bag with her but 'not' the well wishes of the Professor and the Yeti, Cassandra Crowe made her way out of the Sunbright Temple. She saw the incantation written on the arch of the bridge as she left, written in an ancient Chinese script; readable with a little guesswork but only because of the age of the design. The actual script and letters were perfectly preserved, forever 

 

That which was given here must never be taken

 

and then as she passed under it, the tropical feeling of the temple passed, and Cassandra was returned to the snowy mountains of the Himalayas, her bag a little bit heavier.

 

A new adventure had been concluded, but there were still so many mysteries left on Earth.