Sang the Stray (Completed)

70. Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog

We approached the amphitheater with most of the Setari and green-suits in our wake.  The feral cats that normally overran the area scattered away.  Their yowls and hisses letting us know exactly how they felt about us disturbing their sanctuary.

"The aether settled into this section and then drained away through that doorway.  There is a room with a stone table, but nothing else," I said standing near the center of the terraced seating. 

"Did you ever go inside?" Tsee Toma asked.

"No, it always seemed a little scary. I only ever peeked in once and avoided it the rest of the time I was here.  I didn't want to disturb the cats," I replied.

A couple of the boys chuckled.

"What?" I  whispered to Silas, who wore a knowing grin.

"You and cats," he said.

I guess it was sort of funny when you thought about it.  I just shot the chucklers an exasperated look. 

We walked the rest of the way down the crumbled white stone steps to the doorway.   Gauzy cobwebs arched across the ceiling and dirt and decaying matter coated the floor. I expected a strong scent of feline but the air wafting from the room was relatively fresh.  So either the aether at Moonfall somewhat purified it or there was some other ventilation.  I had not seen any other doors or windows in the room before, so I was assuming the aether was to credit. 

We passed through the doorway and Gabriel started muttering, "Fucking evil spiders....if one those fuckers lands on me..."

I gripped Silas' hand, feeling like something was off, but attributing my unease to my predisposed impression of this place. After all this was a collection space for aether and I still had no desire to experience the effects any more than necessary.  It still sparked memories of my stepmother.

Someone brought in a light and we could see the walls had inscriptions obscured by grime. I think it must have said something in ancient Lantaren or Muinian, whichever the language would be called. The room itself was circular with the stone table in the center.  Although, it wasn't the sort of table you could sit at, so maybe platform was a better description. The surface seemed to be made of something other than white stone, more of a black and grey marble. The diameter was close to two men's arm spans but still left enough room for us to walk around it three-persons-abreast.  With two Setari Squads and the green-suit contingent, we filled the available space. 

"Are those stair steps?" Marc asked pointing to a series of squared stones that spiraled up along the sides of the platform base.

"Could be, looks like it's more than just decorative," replied a green-suit.

Axel asked, "Any one get any sense of threat from Combat Sight?"

A chorus of no's sounded. There were a lot of Combat Sight talents here.

He asked next, "Other Sights getting anything?"

Gabriel said, "It feels like a Gate, but not..." He reached out and let his ungloved hand hover above the surface for half a den, but pulled back quickly with a grimace. "Aether affect," he said.

"Place Sight is giving me a sense of....communication," Tsee Blackbourne said after circling the platform and then baring his own hand, reached out to place his fingertips to the surface.  A tightening around his eyes was the only evidence of pain he allowed.

"THREAT!" Echoed through the chamber from all those Combat Sight talents.

But their voices were drowned out by the wail I recognized as the dhura from before. My hands flew up to cover my ears. No one else did the same though.  Guess I was the only one so afflicted.