Sadie Kane Finds a Bigger, Blacker Pyramid... Among Other Things

[Madotsuki]

I'd explain what it was like to travel between the structures, but it was a very dull experience and I'm not interested in recounting it. I'll just say that it took an hour or two to make the complete trip and that it was very sandy.

Instead, I'll talk about the buildings themselves. Having chosen to venture west of the pyramid, I came across another structure that appeared to belong in Roman times; four gigantic columns rose into the sky, possibly 10 stories high, supporting a black rectangle. Another column of similar height was consistently rising up and down in front of the structure, acting as an elevator. While I was waiting for it to take me to the top, I realized that the machine was operating without a sound. When I arrived at the top, I saw that the oblong was populated with dying trees. They weren't even palm trees, but possibly a type of spruce. I wasn't quite sure about that, since all their leaves had fallen. The crystal rested in the middle of it all, so I grabbed it and hurried along so I could catch the elevator down.

The next structure was little more than a coliseum, potentially of Greek origin. I walked into the arena, surrounded by bleachers that had never been filled. I couldn't help but feel watched, as if a bunch of ghosts had gathered to watch a chariot race that would never start and I had interrupted their wait. As soon as I found the crystal in the sand, I scurried away. There wasn't much to describe about that one, honestly.

Following that building was a structure of "I have absolutely no clue where this came from" origin. A set of disconnected, off-kelter staircases led up and around a large cone that was approximately half the size of the Roman-like building. At the tip of the cone stood another cone, much stouter and placed upside down so it balanced precariously on the other and acted as a platform. Despite the dangerous position, it was still. Another cone like the second one hovered in the air and changing its place so I could access the platform once I reached the end of the stairs. Much like the other buildings, there was a crystal there, so I took it and hurried back down.

The building after that... I don't think I could call it a building. Curved, black pillars about three times my size stuck out of the sand like a giant ribcage, like an enormous creature made out of onyx or obsidian had expired here. Speaking of which, I'm still not sure what these things are made out of; I haven't felt anything this smooth before. To keep things clear, though, I'll just say they're made of onyx. Anyway, back on track, I found the gem in the center of the abyssal skeleton and moved on.

If you thought those things were weird, just wait until you hear about the next one! Three columns, each one higher than the one before it, stood in front of a giant mound of onyx floating in the air. A ramp allowed me to reach the top of the shortest pillar. Unfortunately, there didn't appear to be a way to reach the other. As much as I hated doing it, I attempted to transform into a kite (the bird, not the toy), the holy bird of the god Isis. For some reason, I couldn't do it. It was like I really was a fledgling magician again! And at the worst time, too...

Through some brief investigating, I discovered that there was an invisible pathway between the columns. I began to scale it, making sure not to look down or focus on what I was walking on because I was literally touching nothing but air. After nearly falling once or twice, I arrived at the mass of crystals and pulled out the green one.

I eventually returned to the entrance of the pyramid with the sun starting to set. I presented all the crystals to the door, and as expected, they merged with it. Hieroglyphs materialized in the door. At first, I didn't understand what they were saying, but then I realized that I was supposed to read them down to up, which isn't at all typical. Roughly translated, it said: "the moonlight is my key."

Moonlight, eh? Well, it was going to be night here very soon. I'll just wait here until something happens, I guess. Not like there was anything else to do.