[quote]“How many others of us are there, might I inquire? And how—how in such an earthly name did all of this come about? I cannot think the Kingdom has succumb to such turmoil in only half a decade’s time. Should we be able to locate our friends and family prior to our deaths, now? -- No…”[/quote]

Doctor Kelodie watched, silent, while Doctor Howell slowly came to terms with what was happening -- as if the translucency of the stone somehow contained the truth of all things. Kelodie bit his lip and glanced repeatedly out at the caravan, nervous and impatient on behalf of the losing battle being waged in the mud, of the fading screams of the child, of the destruction that, to his living eyes, seemed impossible to comprehend -- but he gave the resurrected their space. Death should have been the end of them, as far as Nature was concerned. Now they were being asked to prevent others from sharing their fate.

He took a breath, and he chose to ignore the question about family and friends -- the answer seemed already clear on Howell's face. [b]"A dozen have left here over the past six months, each with a bag of those stones."[/b] He nodded to the sack that lay open on the floor, its contents glimmering. [b]"As of today, I can only account for the location of one. She's keeping watch over the crypt of the Third MODO -- due north of here, alongside the lake."[/b] He glanced outside again, tapping his foot. [b]"Y'know,"[/b] he huffed with a flash of a tight grin, speaking quickly, [b]"I really do think and believe that these things are far easier to comprehend when you've seen and interacted with them first, or else the explanations and history will make no real sense with no context, right? So I must suggest --"[/b]

A hiss of steam issued from one of a network of thin pipes that crossed the ceiling; Kelodie glanced up, and prattled even faster than before: [b]"I must go and check on the machines immediately. I've given you all I can -- please, take those stones, seek out Rirane to the north, she has a much better grasp on the situation than I do. I'm just the mechaniker."[/b] He flashed a grin and bowed low. [b]"Good luck,"[/b] he said just before he ducked into the stairwell and disappeared into the dark below.

[b]"Help!"[/b] a young woman cried at the foot of the sanctuary steps. She was covered in mud, her hair all askew; a spindle-armed creature clung to her back. She couldn't see the horrid thing that hung from her shoulders, grinning with sharp teeth and big eyes. It was very nearly sinking its claws into her, and she had no idea it was there. [b]"Hello! I see you in there! Please! My sister is taken, please help us! What kind of sanctuary is this, where you all stand and watch children get kidnapped? Please, I beg you!"[/b] She stared pleadingly into the dark beyond the open door of the temple, where she had seen the moving silhouettes of people inside.

Behind her, the caravaners attacked empty air with their shovels and shot at nothing with their muskets, hoping in vain to hit one of the invisible creatures. In reality, the creatures were retreating, returning in droves into the trees and taking off as fast as they could flee. A few of the spindly creatures remained, flitting back and forth between the wagons, gleefully dodging bullets and shovels.

[i]Sqwaaak![/i]

An ethereal screech rang in Howell's ears, and he would see a flash of bright orange and blue feathers, partially obscured by a tree. A long black beak snapped out suddenly, catching one of the foul little beasts by the leg. This new creature stepped out from behind the tree, flinging and snapping its prey like a heron swallows a fish. This new creature was shaped like a deer, but was covered in shimmering feathers and had the long neck and sharp beak of an exotic bird. Once it had swallowed the smaller creature, the bird-deer fluffed its feathers and squawked in threat at the others.

The people of the caravan hadn't seen or noticed anything at all. The bird-deer, too, was completely invisible to everyone but Howell. He was witnessing an entirely different plane of existence overlapped with his own.

[hr][quote]"My name is.. Kazuki. "[/quote]

After leaving Doctor Howell in the sanctuary, Doctor Kelodie sprinted through the dim stone hall and skidded, out of breath, into the pod room -- where he immediately found a child, out of his pod and wrapped in a robe.

Doctor Kelodie stood uncertain and mystified by the child's appearance. The man who stood before Kazuki now was rather short in stature, with sandy hair and thick, multi-lensed goggles atop his forehead. He wore weathered white coat, noting his profession as a doctor, and he stared in confusion down at Kazuki.

[b]"Hello there."[/b] He flashed a small grin and squatted down closer to the child's level. [b]"I'm Doctor Kelodie, welcome to my lab, may I ask how you got out of your pod?"[/b]

Kelodie was very confident that he was the only person here -- he maintained and managed the lab all on his own -- but unless one of the other awakened had been helping this child, it was strange that he had so quickly got out and found himself clothes.

To Kazuki's eyes, however, he really could see the nurses and doctors that moved around the room. Some of those nurses passed through machinery as if it wasn't there, and others flickered as they walked -- all of them, of course, had been dead a long time. In a room full of people, only Doctor Kelodie appeared vibrant and whole and alive.

Kelodie caught the child's eyes tracking movement that wasn't there, and thought he understood.

[b]"Kazuki is your name, right?"[/b] He smiled gently. [b]"You're seeing ghosts. But don't be afraid, it's your particular gift -- yours, it seems, is even stronger than most. You're seeing things the others didn't even notice."[/b] He laughed quietly, intrigued about this new heightened sensitivity in the child -- and maybe it was exactly because this was a child that the senses were so bright.

Doctor Kelodie stood and offered a hand to Kazuki. [b]"Come with me. There are so many things I want to show you."[/b]

Kelodie led Kazuki down a darkened hall, then up a dim staircase into a wide old hall littered with dust, scattered with ancient blankets and pillows, and pocked by weeds and roots. A bronze statue presided over it all: a great lion with three heads, three wings and wild painted eyes. The path between the stairwell and the open double doors had been cleared and scraped by repeated drag-marks. At each corner of the room was a blue-glowing device that whirred and spun: the points of an invisible barrier meant to keep something out.

This was where he had left Howell, who may or may not still be present within the sanctuary. Outside the open doors there was a lot of shouting and screeching on the muddy road below.

[i]Cree-eeak.[/i]

A big, bright blue toad hopped slowly across the dusty floor of the sanctuary. It was the size of a dinner plate, with warty dry skin that had swirls of purple and blue and spots of yellow. The toad had three dark eyes that each blinked independently. Every time its throat expanded, a fiery sort of glow shimmered within the thin membrane.

Doctor Kelodie could not see the toad; he had no idea it was there. Instead, he let go of the child's hand and offered Kazuki a finger-sized shard of translucent green stone. Deep within the stone were pinpricks of light, like a small galaxy swirled within. [b]"You have a very special gift, Kazuki. You're what we call an Echo. People who are Echoes can use these stones to catch strange creatures that only you can see. Would you like that? To have some very special pets?"[/b]