~ Takyle stalked back to the marked door and glared at it malevolently.
"Just what are we supposed to do now?" she demanded. "We went through the only unlocked doors there were! What exactly are we supposed to do?"
"How the hell should I know?" Andrew snapped back. "You're the one that decided we should go that way!"
"It was the only way!" Takyle shouted. Jaden took that moment to physically step between his team mates.
"Hey guys, have either of you noticed that you seem a bit moody here lately?" Takyle glared at him.
"Just what are you trying to say, Jaden McAllister?"
"I'm trying to say that you both seem a bit moody here lately," Jaden reiterated calmly. "Now why don't we just go back the way we came in and try redoing this from the beginning?" He gestured to the door at the end of the hall where they had exited the last live-sim. Takyle breathed deeply for a moment.
"Ok. I personally don't think I'm moody...But Andrew definitely is, so let's go," she said. Andrew's jaw tightened, but he didn't respond to her jab, just headed for the door. The three stepped back through and, instead of re-entering the wizard's white building, they were seamlessly standing on the edge of a vast expanse of rolling dunes, sun relentlessly beating down on them, blinding them. A hot breeze picked up the sparkling, tawny sand from the tops of the hills and threw it into the air like morbidly brilliant confetti.
"Oh hello," Andrew said mildly. Just in front of them was a media station, just like the first one they had encountered back on the plain. Text scrolled onto the com screen.
"Team 6: Your task here is to locate three things required for the next level before your allocated time expires. The three items are: A key, a code, and a sphere. You will find three clues to their locations printing out below. Good luck." The text disappeared and was replaced by a ticking clock already counting down from 20 minutes. Takyle jumped forward and grabbed up the three sheets of paper that the media station had spit out. Each held a line or two of print. She thrust one each at Andrew and Jaden.
"Let's go. We've all got our radios, yes? Meet back here when you've found your item. And be careful!" Takyle took one glance at her sheet of paper then set off at a jog towards what appeared to be an oasis in the distance. Andrew looked over at Jaden, then at his own clue. He shrugged, checked the compass on his watch, then headed towards the East without a word. Jaden silently watched his companions leave, then looked down at his own paper.
"Essence of Earth, steady, true, hard as iron, fall to wind and water, shelter of the pursued," Jaden read aloud. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He looked back up but Andrew and Takyle were already far away. And the clock was ticking.
Fall to wind and water...Stone. Water and wind both wear rock away. Shelter of the pursued. He needed to find a cave or stone structure of some sort. Jaden looked around, located the tallest dune in sight and headed for it at a run. Perhaps from that vantage he would be able to see something other than just miles of sand. Hopefully. ~
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