How to Use This Book

Pick Your Path books are not like most books. You do not read straight through. You will continue on through the pages until you reach a choice. When given the choices, do not continue onto the next page. Instead, use the hyper-link associated with the choice you made.

At the end of your adventure, you will be given a score out of a possible 10. This is a measure of how far you got in the adventure. If you receive a perfect score of 10, you have done everything perfectly. If you receive anything below that, while you may have completed the adventure, you could do better, so try again and see if you can get a higher score, especially if your adventure ended in failure or death. The Relic Worlds Pick Your Path books have a specific goal to accomplish. In the first one, Mystic Island, you are to learn what that goal is. In all the others, you will receive a piece of a code. Collect all four pieces and enter that code into the Relic Worlds website to receive a special prize.

www.relicworlds.com

Good luck out there! And remember, find those artifacts, but come back alive! Lancaster James and his partner Little Jack are counting on you.

To

Jamie

for supporting me in so many ways throughout this process.

Relic Worlds © 2011 Bandwagon Books

Mystic Island © 2011 Bandwagon Books

Written by Jeff McArthur

Illustrations by Ricardo Barron & Jeff McArthur

Artwork © Ricardo Barron, 2012, and Jeff McArthur, 2011

Cover design in part by Dreamstime

Lancaster James pulls himself together, shaking his hair into place and tossing on his hat as he leans into the cockpit. He has been sleeping through most of the trip, and feels like he could sleep through a whole new trip, but Little Jack, his partner at the controls, would never let him. After all, this is for Lancaster's benefit.

They are arriving at the small star cluster known as Polaris; once the north star when humanity had lived on earth. Once they settled onto other systems, leaving their home planet behind like a spent soda can, Polaris became just another star in the sky. But it has re-emerged as an important spot for space archeologists, and anthropologists like Lancaster who are seeking out sentient civilizations.

Circling several of the stars are planets where an ancient civilization once thrived. Known as the Zeborno, they left behind empty villages scattered across their multitude of environments. It seems they adapted to every climate and, elevation, and style of living. But they were always dispersed. It seems that whenever a village grew to a certain size, a portion of their population split off and started a new village. This probably made them vulnerable to attack, and since no evidence has been found that they ever made it away from their tristar home, they were probably overcome by one of the other space-faring civilizations Lancaster and Little Jack have explored.

"We're coming up on Mirsuvis," Little Jack tells him. "You might consider being presentable." Little Jack, dressed in pressed black with a shiny leather jacket and greased back hair, looks over at his partner in the rumpled clothes and dirty jacket. "You might reconsider your hat," he says. "You always lose them anyway."

Lancaster thinks about it. He is meeting with administrators of the Polaris Archeological Society, a highly respected organization that has been doing extensive research of the Zeborno civilization across the three star systems. Their many employees may get dirty in the field, but the money people in the offices respect a good appearance. "I better hit the shower then," Lancaster says, heading into the back of the ship.

It is as he expected. Though not wealthy, the society keeps up a respectable appearance of formality. Taro Makoto stands behind a desk made of a strong local wood. Lancaster recognizes it as a Zeborno make, carved in their fashion with a high surface and the sides angling inward toward the bottom as if they are at the top of a V that goes below the floor.

Makato and his assistant, who stands almost with a formality that borders on a military stance near the door Lancaster entered, stare at Lancaster with judgmental eyes. Taro breaks a little of the tension, walking around the desk and offering his hand to Lancaster, who shakes it firmly, perhaps too firmly.

After getting him a glass of their local version of water, Taro gets right in to telling Lancaster what is happening. "We found an island just off the coast of one of the continents," he tells him. "And by just off, I mean so close that a bridge connects to it."

"If it's that close, why are you finding it just now?" Lancaster asks.

"It's shrouded in a dense fog," Taro says. "We never even knew for certain where the continent ended, and we had no reason to believe anything important was there." He turns and walks to the far side of his desk, pressing a button that starts a hologram just above the desk. The hologram shows 3 dimensional images of the places he's telling about. "One explorer happened to be mapping the canyon at the end of that continent when he came upon this bridge. He was confused since it was commonly believed that nothing was out there. This bridge should be leading to empty air. We checked it out with satellite imaging, and a radiation scan through the cloud cover revealed evidence of buildings."

The hologram zooms in through the clouds and outlines in red several buildings, about as many and the size of a village.

"That's wonderful, doctor," Lancaster says, using the prefix he always wanted for himself, but never achieved because he wasn't willing to deal with the politics of the university. "But why call me in instead of using one of your own teams?"

"No one under my employ is qualified for this sort of work. They wouldn't come back alive, and my insurance would not cover it. But… I need to know what's in there. So I'm willing to pay you one thousand electros up front, plus nine thousand if you come back alive. All I need is for you to tell me what's there that's important so I can determine whether it's worthwhile to send in a team."

Ten thousand is money Lancaster could really use. It's not as much as this job is probably worth, but he'll get to learn a bit about another alien race, which he is willing to do for free, when it comes right down to it.

After he agrees, Taro shows him where the island is on the map, pays him, and Lancaster goes to take a look.

The entire area is indeed covered in fog, but in flying over, they see three possible entrances, the bridge, flying down on Lancaster's glider, climbing the canyon.

Which will method will Lancaster use to get on the island?

- Walk across the narrow bridge

- Use the glider to fly into town

- Climb the cliff on the far side

Little Jack lets him off in a clearing and Lancaster makes his way toward the canyon. As he approaches it, he sees the rickety old bridge stretching off into the mist. It sags a little in the middle, and the wood looks like it's rotted a long time ago.

Lancaster takes in a breath, then lets it all out; best to have as little weight as possible. He puts one foot gently forward, then another, and slowly he begins walking across the bridge, keeping each hand on the rope railing on either side.

Below him, the fog blocks how far down it is, but as it drifts, he can see layers further and further down. Somewhere down there, very distant, the waves of the ocean are crashing against the rocky surfaces of the cliffs.

The groaning below his feet gets worse, as if the bridge is resenting his presence. He slows his pace, taking every step as gingerly as physics will allow. But it feels like gravity is yanking at him, as though his feet are being forced through the boards.

A little more than half way across and the other side is starting to take shape. He can see the cliff, and the roofs of some buildings are becoming visible.

The groaning of the bridge is replaced by a crackling. It gets louder, and Lancaster knows what it is. The bridge is giving way.

Which should Lancaster do?

- Shoot his grappling hook at the far end toward the island

- Run back to the mainland

Little Jack flies them directly over the area that the island is supposed to be. The fog obscures the entire area, but deep scans can see that something is indeed down there.

Lancaster goes back to the hatch wearing his gear. He calls to Little Jack on the intercom, and a red light next to the hatch glows as an alarm sounds. Then the hatch pulls open and the cold air rushes against Lancaster. He stands his ground a moment, allowing the pressure to equalize. Then he leaps out and allows himself to fall away from the vessel.

A few seconds later he activates the glider. Wings unfurl from his back and small engines unfold from them. He holds onto the steering sticks on either side of him that reach down from the glider, and with these controls he rolls down toward the fog.

He begins to glide across the top wisps of the fog when suddenly a beast leaps out of them. It's a long, muscular bird with no feathers, but tiny hairs that grow out of it irregularly, like patches of grass on a poorly cared for lawn. It resembles a pterodactyl, but with muted gray-green fuzz.

It sees Lancaster as a threat, and swoops in after him. Lancaster only knows a few maneuvers in this thing.

Which maneuver will Lancaster try?

- Try to lose it in the clouds

- Catch a gust to lift up above the creature

- Do a corkscrew to try to make it dizzy

Little Jack lowers the ship down to the ocean and opens the lower hatch. Lancaster drops out riding a small raft whose engine is already on when he hits the water. Splotches of waves are tickling his face as he leaps over waves, entering the thick fog. His eyes adjust, and he soon begins to make out the straight, rocky surface of the cliff's edge.

He reaches the side in a few moments and wedges the small boat among some rocks that stick out of the water like gnarling, sharp teeth. Balancing carefully, Lancaster steps up on the rocks, then looks up into the fog. He doesn’t know how far up the cliff goes, or if his grappling hook will reach, but he has to try. He fires into the blinding mist and waits. It hits something and Lancaster is able to pull it taught. He attaches the gun to his utility belt, and prepares to reel himself upward.

Then something catches his eye; a cave entrance that reaches up out of the water. What grabs his attention most about it is the fact that it has an architectural form to it. Someone carved this entrance, and even outlined it with skillful designs.

What should Lancaster do?

- Unlock himself from the grappling hook and explore the cave

- Raise up the cliff

Lancaster draws his grappling gun and shoves it forward. He fires at the cliff's edge as the bridge collapses below him. Tumbling down with the broken up pieces of wood, Lancaster feels the line go taught, and he holds on for his life as he swings toward the cliff.

He hits it with a loud thud, but still he holds on desperately to his gun. The other pieces of the bridge flutter downward and disappear into the fog. The rattling and crashing die out until all that is left is the wind.

After a few moments, when he knows the line is securely fashioned, Lancaster reaches his hands up, one after the other, to get higher on the line. Once there, he attaches the gun to his belt where it fastens tightly. He breathes a sigh of relief, then presses a button and is carried upward.

Along the way, he spots a hole in the cliff wall, a cave hundreds of feet above the ground.

What should Lancaster do?

- Explore the cave

- Keep rising up to the top of the cliff

Lancaster turns and sprints back in the direction he came. Unfortunately, that's the direction from where the cracking began, and the bridge drops out from under him. He is moving too quickly to be able to change direction, and he finds himself running in thin air, and plummeting downward almost in the very center of the canyon, disappearing into the mists of the abyss.

THE END

You have scored 1 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster swings himself closer to the hole, then puts a hand in it. He feels moss covering over the inner portion of the rock he grabs. As he pulls himself in, he feels more moss, and once he has lifted himself into it, he sees why. A comfortable nest is laid out, and four large eggs lay snuggled up together in the center. Lancaster looks around, fascinated by it. It is a large hole where evidently several birds live and care for their young.

He knows he can't stay, so he turns and readies himself to go out the hole, but he's stopped by a large bird with a beak as large as him, tiny hairs across its whole body, and a wide wingspan that covers the hole and then some. It appears out of the fog already swooping at him, as if it knew he was there. It knocks him backward with one nudge of its beak at its high velocity. He lands on the moss with such ferocity that even its softness does not help him. His breath is knocked out, and he has to struggle to his feet.

He only gets half way up when the bird attacks him again, knocking him back with its beak. He tries to put up his hands, give some sign that he is not a threat, but the bird cannot be reasoned with. It is a mother in the animal kingdom, and he is an intruder. She bats her wings and jumps on him. Her giant beak whacks him on his back, then pokes down and impales him. The first hit stops him. He can't move after that. It takes several more before the pain overwhelms him and he is knocked unconscious. Who knows how many more it takes before he is dead.

Perhaps the babies will have a meal when they come out of their shells.

THE END

You have scored 1 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster continues up the side of the cliff, focused on what he's doing. He reaches the top and climbs over the lip. At his feet, the ground is a combination of rocks and moss. Ahead of him, the mist shifts slowly, and his vision alters between near and far.

To see better, Lancaster pulls out his Illuminator, a handheld device with a screen he can watch and a beam at the front which he can project as light, or one of many spectrums. He uses a radar setting to see through the fog and he gets an outline of several buildings ahead of him.

Then he hears a noise to his left, like someone calling out in pain. At first he thinks he might have imagined it, or perhaps it was the wind, but it comes again, a little louder.

What should Lancaster do?

- Look for the source of the sound

- Explore the town

As Lancaster wanders through the fog, he begins to notice thin trunks reaching out of the ground at slants in several directions. The ground beneath him gets moist, and becomes more and more wet until he finds himself in a lagoon. There is a plethora of sounds from all sorts of creatures, but the whaling one is ahead. He at last sees it, a dog-like creature on four legs with a long, curling tail. The dog sees Lancaster, raises up on two legs, and Lancaster gets a good look at its face. It has the features of a monkey, with a small nose, a large, almost grinning mouth, and big eyes. It stops howling, staring at Lancaster transfixed. It then shifts its tone and begins bellowing in another octave.

Its call is echoed around him, and several other monkey-dogs make their appearance, lowering from trees and raising out of the water. Their high pitched whales end with a stuttering cackle that sounds like they're laughing at Lancaster. On all sides of him, they begin to close in.

What should Lancaster do?

- Run

- Fight the creatures

- Amaze the monkey-dogs with some of his tools

Lancaster walks forward, and soon the buildings begin to take shape ahead of him. They clear the mist and he begins to see their stone-metallic features. They look like silent ghosts standing firm against the drifting mist. It is frighteningly silent here, except for the soft footfalls beneath Lancaster's feet. When he occasionally hears the chirp of an insect or the scuttling of a rodent, Lancaster freezes, nervous that a predator has heard him.

The buildings, though fascinating, appear to be empty. There are three larger buildings near the center of town that particularly catch Lancaster's attention, a building that is devoured by long, tendril weeds; an oval building with a large hole on the top, a building with slanted roofs sloping in various directions.

Where should Lancaster go?

- The building with all the weeds

- The building with the hole at the top

- The building with the sloping roofs

Lancaster turns in a direction that seems to have the fewest monkey-dogs and runs for his life. His feet stick in the mud with every step, and he struggles to move.

The monkey-dogs are slow to approach him, but as they get closer, they get more daring. One of them swipes at him, biting as he does. Lancaster knows he must get out of there.

He notices how the animals are staying on the patches of moss and the trees, so he gets up on them, too, and hops from one to the other, making distance between himself and the animals.

Once he's gotten a ways, the animals close in faster, and the screeching of the monkey-dogs seems to take on a more aggressive tone. They gather together, and take chase as a team.

For a few moments, the fog is between him and the hunters, but it won't be for long. Lancaster sees a cave nestled in the ground by a group of trees. He climbs into it, hoping the animals didn't see him.

He hears them pass, and lets out a sigh of relief. He can get back out and go back to the town now. But something doesn't seem right about this cave. Looking further in, he realizes there is a blue haze emanating from with in it. It's not a trick of the fog, there really is something glowing further into this cave.

What should Lancaster do?

- Investigate the blue haze

- Go back to town

Lancaster turns to the monkey-dog beside him and punches it. The animal is clearly taken by surprise, and it pulls back, recovering. The rest of them pull back momentarily as well. Lancaster lunges at a second one. It pulls back. But Lancaster notices this time that as he lurched one way, the animals crowded in on him from the other side. This seesaws back and forth with the animals getting closer.

He pulls out an electric charge device that sends out a non-lethal lightning bolt. He fires it at one animal and it backs the creature up, then he turns and fires at another. The individuals are pushed back, but they continue to crowd in from the opposite side. He pushes up the energy level. It could actually be lethal. Lancaster races forward in one direction, scaring a couple of the monkey-dogs who race off across the moss and up the trees, then spins to meet the others.

But the ones behind him have gotten in too close. They overwhelm him, covering his entire body, scratching, biting, and yanking at his flesh. He shocks a couple off, but five more jump on him. The growling is as fierce as dogs, their teeth as razor sharp, or worse, and their claws are like small knives. He swings his fist, throwing one or two off, and five more join them. He is so buried now he doesn't know if they're being joined by others. He tries to walk away with them on him, but the sheer weight drags him down into the water. There they hold him, biting and ripping at him. He tries to get up, but they hold him underwater.

Soon, he stops struggling, and they share in the meal they have all gotten together.

THE END

You have scored 2 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster pulls a handheld holo-projector and turns it on, revealing a spinning planet and a star beyond it. The monkey-dogs stop moving, stunned by the imagery. Lancaster switches the images, moving from ice planets to deserts to deep oceans, amazing the animals with every switch.

He holds up a finger and pulls out his illuminator. He presses a button and light illuminates in one color, then another, then flashes in several light spectrums.

Lancaster got so into the show himself that he wasn't watching where all the animals were, and one gets close. It leaps up and snaps at him. Lancaster dodges just in time, but its razor claw swipes across his chest, tearing not only a rip in his shirt, but his chest as well. Lancaster clutches his bleeding chest and stumbles back. The other monkey-dogs, snapped out of their daze, look at Lancaster hungrily. It's time to go. Lancaster runs in the direction he was already stumbling, hopping from mossy outcropping to tree stump to small hill. He can hear all the monkey-dogs howling behind him as they take chase, not slowed down at all by the environment.

What should Lancaster do?

- Call for Little Jack to fly in and get him

- Head to the cliff and call Little Jack

Lancaster trudges further into the cave, following the blue glow. Though the cave is completely natural, it does have elements of civilization carved into its walls and floors, as if someone was slowly building up rooms, preparing this to be a new building.

The center of the cave opens up to a vast chamber. In the center, a pedestal holds aloft a clear crystal from which a blue glow shines. Lancaster looks at it strangely as he steps up to it. He doesn't know how exactly the crystal is growing blue, so he steps up to it and reaches to take it. He stops suddenly, noticing that the crystal is somehow connected to the pedestal. Something could snap, either naturally or alien-made, that could kill him, so he decides not to, but he stares deep into the crystal.

He sees gas swirling inside, rising from the bottom, as if fed by the pedestal, and the light shines from the center by an unknown source. It is the gas which turns the light blue as it fires out from the crystal. Lancaster wonders how many centuries it has been doing this.

He looks around at the cave and suddenly notices thousands of crystals which are reflecting the blue light. It appears that the crystal's light exists for their appearance. Is it a map perhaps? Could this mean that the Zeborno were a star faring race, or were they just observant of the stars. He notices that one crystal's size is slightly larger than the others. This could mean something. (Use all of this information in Relic Worlds, Book 5 - Catacombs of the Forgotten.)

This certainly would fall under the category of "worth looking at" that Taro was talking about, so Lancaster decides not to press his luck. He gathers all the information he needs to follow up, then leaves the cave, take care not to be followed by the animals, and calls for Little Jack to come pick him up. He will tell Taro that there is a town which seems empty, but, as long as they have the weapons to keep the animals at bay, there is something amazing in the woods. Perhaps he will come back later to see more, but if he doesn't get out now, he might not live to tell anyone about this discovery.

THE END

You have scored 6 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Still running, Lancaster pulls out his hand communicator and calls to Little Jack. Out of breath, he explains what's going on.

"Slow down and use your words!" Little Jack scolds. "I can't understand you when you're running."

"Can't," Lancaster puffs. Chased. Pick up on my signal."

Lancaster can almost hear Little Jack roll his eyes. It's a hard place to land, sure, but maybe he can fly overhead and drop something down for him, or maybe the engines will scare the monkey-dogs away.

Neither do. The sound of Little Jack's engines fly close, but not directly overhead. As Lancaster continues to maneuver, Little Jack's ship flies again overhead, then again. Lancaster realizes suddenly that Little Jack can't find him.

Looking up, Lancaster doesn't see his footing, and he trips over a root. The monkey-dogs are immediately on him, their razor-sharp teeth and claws, ripping at him. He flails his limbs, pushing them off, but that simply gives them something more to chew on. Lancaster suddenly gets the feeling of being stretched in every direction. He hears something crack, one of his ribs. He can hardly believe this is really happening to him.

And it's his last thought. Each of his four limbs is pulled in a different direction, leaving the torso torn to shreds in the middle, and it's devoured as quickly as possible.

THE END

You have scored 2 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster gets to the canyon. Looking around, he sees that the animals have continued to chase him even after the forest. And now he's trapped. Lancaster puts the hand com to his face and calls to Little Jack. "Now would be a good time for one of your famous pick-ups."

"On my way up," Little Jack says.

Not paying much attention to what Jack is saying, (he registered that he's coming, and that's all that's important,) Lancaster puts the com away and readies himself for a rescue.

As if knowing he will be going soon, one of the creatures steps forward, raising up on its hind legs, and narrows its gaze on Lancaster. He scrapes his hands together, one after the other. One of his friends gets confident, and pulls up next to him, then another, and another.

Soon the whole hoard is ready to take him out together. His back is to the wall. There's nowhere he can run.

Several of them jump at him. He falls back, startled, and loses his footing. As he and one of the monkey-dogs flail to their doom, Little Jack's ship rises up from below, and Lancaster lands on its hood. Little Jack told him he was coming "up."

He holds the ship steady as he gets them over the lip of the cliff and lands. There is plenty more to learn about, but Lancaster is too beaten up to finish today. Perhaps, after a change of clothes, particularly his pants, he can explore the mystic island some more.

THE END

You have scored 6 out of a possible 10.

Try again

There is a certain beauty to the building which is covered in vines which have grown up over the walls, crawled in through the windows, and swallowed the building whole. The moisture of the plants squish below his feet, and slimy juices soak his legs.

Inside, the floors of the various levels have rotted away, giving him a view up the building until it dissipates in the fog from whence random vines peak out. The walls are covered in colorful flowers and intertwined thickets. Below him, the floors have disappeared under a maze of overlapping roots.

In the center of the room, Lancaster can see where it all began. A row of plant life that was kept under controlled conditions. Apparently the plant got loose over the centuries and devoured the building that imprisoned it. How ironic.

As Lancaster begins to leave, he feels the floor shift, and the vines above begin to sway. Perhaps a heavy wind is coming through, Lancaster thinks. Then his foot gets caught between a couple roots. He tugs, but cannot get it loose. He undoes the straps to the boot to take it off, and as he does, he sees the walls begin to move. The vines are shifting, like snakes crawling through one another. Up above, the dangling greenery lowers toward him like tendrils.

Urgently, Lancaster gets his foot free of his boot and begins to run, but the roots pull together and snag his other foot. He takes his other boot off, but this time it doesn't help. He's trapped!

The tendrils reach around him. He swings at them and they back away a moment. He pulls out his Electro-Shocker and zaps a couple of the arms in quick succession, and they yank back up into the fog.

But a series of more vines grab him from behind, and yet more which were hidden below the roots climb up his body and squeeze his arm until he drops the device.

To Lancaster's relief, the roots part, freeing his foot, but the rest of his body is a prisoner, and he is sucked down into the bowels of the plant, devoured, just like the building.

THE END

You have scored 4 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Upon closer examination of the building, various portions have broken off the walls and rubble lines the sides. Every entrance is blocked by high rubble that Lancaster is unable to get through.

He steps back, pulls out his grappling gun, and fires over the top. The latch catches, and he buckles the gun to his belt. He presses a button and the grapple reels him upward until he reaches the domed roof. He puts the gun away, then steps carefully to the portion of the roof with a large hole in it. Peaking in, he peers down at the large room below him.

It appears to be a former observatory, with a large telescope still in tact staring out at him. Around the telescope are computer terminals. The power will be long since gone, but if any memory is still inside them, they will tell what the Zeborno thought of outer space.

There's only one problem, a giant creature, perhaps sixty feet in height, lying curled up around the equipment. It resembles a mythological dragon, with a long, crocodile like mouth, and a body that resembles a dinosaur. Its legs are slightly different in that its front legs are more like arms with four fingered hands, and its legs have long, almost comical feet. Its wings are small and thin, and look more like they are ornamental. And at its rear it has more of a stub than a tail.

What should Lancaster do?

- Go to the building with plants devouring it

- Go to the building with slanted roofs

- Sneak in and look at the equipment

- Make a distraction that causes the creature to run out

Lancaster approaches the hourglass shaped door, looks it over, then pushes it forward. It creeks on its ancient hinges as it slowly reveals an oval room with unusually shaped seats that face a platform at the front. A round ray of light beams in through a hole at the top of the roof as dust and insects dance in the pale light. Lancaster steps forward into the room, looking it over. The hole at the top of the roof was apparently a window, as evidenced by pieces of an intricate frame that once drew designs in the glass, or plastic, or whatever opaque material they used.

Along the inside of this window are designs of both carvings and painting that show a myriad of stars and planets. There is something very specific about these drawings that cause them to look less like imaginations, and more like realities that have been witnessed. Perhaps it was their dream to travel to these distant places?

At the front is a pulpit, and behind that, a wall which protrudes slightly in the center where it has more carvings and drawings. But these are different. Faded in the background are the stars and planets, but carved in the foreground are a series of images of important symbols with descriptions written below them in the Zeborno language. Some involve politics, others are religious, while still others are more about Zeborno culture.

Lancaster will have to spend some time studying these words later, comparing them to the notes he has on their language. But for the time being, he believes this is evidence that the Zeborno spread out onto other planets, and these relics are probably on those settlements. If he can find these artifacts, they might prove that the Zeborno were indeed a star faring race. And who knows what sort of powers might be inside them, if they came from such a mysterious group of beings.

Lancaster turns his attention to the pulpit and looks it over. It rises up out of the ground like waves of an ocean from all sides. There is a slit half way up the pedestal that goes all the way around it which almost looks out of place. It is clear that something was supposed to adorn the top, but has been broken off. Another relic, perhaps?

What should Lancaster do?

- Investigate the pulpit

- Go to the building devoured by plants

- Go to the building with the hole at the top

Lancaster goes to the pulpit, looking it over carefully, trying to understand it. He peers at the break. It was fairly neat, but there was clearly a tool used to slice whatever adorned it off.

Lancaster wipes his hand across it to shave off some dust, and he hears a click, which usually implies some sort of trigger.

What should Lancaster do?

- Jump away from the pulpit

- Duck down very low

Lancaster jumps back just in time to see a burst of energy firing out of the slit half way down the pulpit. This had looked unusual when he first saw it, and seems even more unusual now, as there is no power source the Zeborno left behind that is still operating.

Lancaster has only a fraction of a second to ponder these issues as he is sliced in half by the energy blast.

THE END

You have scored 5 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster ducks as far down as he can go. A burst of energy flies out of the slit in the pulpit he saw earlier. It fires around the room in every direction, and disappears.

After waiting a moment to make sure the trap is past, Lancaster stands again and studies the pulpit without touching it. Deep inside the dangerous slit he spots a swirling mechanism. He can hear it whirling with a soft hum and distant crackles, like a far away lightning storm. Lancaster sits down, ducking his head below the level of the slits, just in case, and he pulls out a handheld device that measures the amount and type of power. He turns it on and points it at the pulpit for a few moments, then looks at the reading.

The power generator is inside the pulpit, giving off just enough to set off the device. It utilizes a technology that will only last for a few years, and its doubtful that the power from the device will even last that long.

Someone planted this recently, someone who doesn't want anyone to know about the secret of the Zeborno. It was probably the reason they stole the artifact at the top. (Use this knowledge in Relic Worlds, Book 4, Secret of the Dark Agents.)

This is certainly a lot of information to digest. There's more to explore, but that depends on how much Lancaster wants to press his luck.

What should Lancaster do?

- Investigate the building devoured by plants

- Investigate the building with the hole at the top

- Go back and tell the archeologists about it

Lancaster makes his way to the edge of town and finds a spot that is not so smothered in fog. There he calls Little Jack, who flies in and picks him up, much to the protestations of the local animals.

Lancaster heads back to the archeologist's camp and walks in. He smiles privately at the judgmental stares he gets as he walks into the administration building wearing his adventuring gear and still smelling of the site. They're going to want his information.

Lancaster tells Dr. Makoto about the building he found and the carvings and drawings within. He also tells him about the pulpit, and the cut at the top where he believes a relic once sat.

Dr. Makoto looks at him amazed. "You must be mistaken," he says. "We would see anyone going in or out of that island."

"You didn't even know it was there," Lancaster says. "How could you know if anyone got in."

Dr. Makoto simply shakes his head and asks what else Lancaster found. Lancaster recounts what he has seen, but the rest they will have to see for themselves. He tells them where they can safely land, and how to navigate their way into the center of town without being harassed. "But," he tells him, "don't let anyone get separated. There are creatures there that have made it their home, and no one will want to meet them alone in the fog."

Dr. Makoto thanks Lancaster and pays him what he owes him. Lancaster is grateful, but he's anxious to get going. The relics drawn and carved on the walls of that temple are out there somewhere, and when found, will prove that the Zeborno were a star faring race, and may just unlock some of their greatest secrets. With any luck, he might find Zeborno beings themselves.

THE END

You have scored 9 out of a possible 10.

Start over

Keep your eyes open for the next four Relic Worlds books:

- Book 2, The Lost City

- Book 3, The Cosmic Orb

- Book 4, Secret of the Dark Agents

- Book 5, Catacombs of the Forgotten

At the end of each book will be a picture of the relic from that adventure. Match these relics with the ones found on the website for a prize from the Relic Worlds universe. Just look in the "Pick Your Path" section under "Games" in the website.

You can see more information at:

www.relicworlds.com

Lancaster connects the end of the grapple to the roof, and the gun to his belt, then lowers himself into the stadium. He moves slowly, trying to keep the sound low in hopes not to wake the monster. He succeeds, landing softly on the ground and unlatching the gun from the belt. He leaves the gun and wire dangling as he sneaks gently toward the computer terminals.

As he approaches the machines, Lancaster checks the beast to make sure it's still asleep. The slow rising and lowering of its torso tells that it is indeed sleeping, so Lancaster pulls out a round device with a magnet on one end, which he places against the two meter tall towers, and he presses the buttons on the opposite end, turning it on. He begins to get readings, and he adjusts accordingly. In a moment, the computer terminals hum to life. Lancaster presses a button on the monitor and watches the screen.

Photos of the galaxy, stars, and various planets appear. Descriptions flash across them in the Zeborno language, which Lancaster would have to consult with his notes to be able to read. But what becomes clear in the flurry of information is that some of these planets have been explored by Zeborno explorers. They simply have too much information on them to be guesses. Lancaster touches the screen to see if he can interact with the information. He wants to know what planets to go to in order to find their other cities, and possibly to find the Zeborno themselves.

But before he can look at anything, he is interrupted. The beast has awoken, and it slams the top of its head against the machine Lancaster is working on. The screen flashes, sparks fly, and everything is thrown about. Lancaster dodges out of the way, and a four-fingered fist smashes next to him. The beast looks down at him curiously through a side-long glance. It so resembles a dragon that Lancaster half expects it to shoot fire at him.

What should Lancaster do?

- Stay perfectly still

- Make a run for the grappling hook

Lancaster climbs down to the street and goes across the street. He takes out of his pocket a beacon that flashes irregularly and places it across the street in a pile of rubble inside a building where it can still be seen from above. He grabs a pile of rocks, then takes the grappling hook ride back to the ceiling.

Looking down through the hole, Lancaster lunges one of the rocks at the monster. It bounces off the hard skin. He sends another, then a third. Lancaster then throws a whole wad of rocks, which bounce against the creature. Curiously, it is not the rocks hitting it that wake the creature up, but those that hit the rocky ground around it which cause a loud ruckus. Its head shoots up and it looks around. Lancaster pounds his foot against the ceiling, bringing the creature's attention to him. Lancaster stumbles a bit, making it look like making the sound was an accident. He looks at the creature startled, (not hard to do now that he sees the full might of the beast,) and he runs away from the hole, sliding down the convex ceiling until he reaches a large pile of boulders. There he is able to hide among some rocks.

Just before sliding away, he saw the creature lift itself up on its legs and spread its wings. The wings could not possibly hold its weight, but he makes it to the hole in one leap. There, the creature grasps the ceiling with its hands, feet, and wings and pulls itself up. Watching from the safety of the rubble, he sees the creature notice the beacon, then leap at it. The wings serve as a parachute, slowing its fall, allowing it to almost glide to the beacon.

What should Lancaster do?

- Immediately hurry back to the hole and go inside the building

- Wait a little while before going in

Lancaster stays perfectly still, staring the creature right back in the eye, letting it know who's boss.

But the creature shows Lancaster who's boss… by snapping its enormous jaws around Lancaster's entire body, consuming him in one swift bite.

THE END

You have scored 2 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster leaps to his feet and dashes for the grappling gun. The creature twists and snaps at him from behind, barely missing. When Lancaster reaches the gun, he swings forward and shifts his weight to the side. As the beast lunges past him, Lancaster swings around the enormous body. He presses a button and, holding on for dear life, flies up toward the roof. He looks back for a moment to see the creature recover, and his hat falls off his head and into the creature's snapping jaw. Just as he reaches the top, the monster leaps up at him, and Lancaster pulls himself up over the lip, and rolls down the side of the convex roof. The creature's powerful jaws crash through the roof. Rubble slides down behind and all around Lancaster.

He reaches the bottom, and rocks fall all around him, some on top of him. He is almost covered in rubble. He could use this to hide, but he is not trapped in it, and he could make a run for it.

What should Lancaster do?

- Hide in the rubble

- Call for support from Little Jack as he makes a run for it

- Run for cover in another building

The creature leaps onto the building with the beacon with such force that it knocks off of it down, covering the beacon. The creature stops and looks around, confused, almost disappointed. As it searches for the light that just disappeared, it accidentally uncovers it. The light flashes a couple times, and the beast places its hand over it. After a few moment, it takes its hand off and the beacon is off. The beast seems to relax, but then the light blinks, startling it. The beast buts its hand on it again. It peaks, and the light flashes again, and again the beast covers it with its hand. This goes on a few more times until the beast accidentally covers it up with rubble. When it removes its hand and there's no more light, the creature looks around confused. It begins bashing in other buildings, searching for the light.

Lancaster has his moment now. He can get out and maneuver at will.

What will Lancaster do?

- Sneak into the building with the wild plants growing all over it

- Sneak into the building with the slanted roofs

- Sneak back into the building with the computer terminals

Lancaster bursts out of the rubble and runs down one of the more narrow alleys. He can hear the creature crashing against buildings behind him taking chase. Lancaster pulls the communicator from his pocket and calls Little Jack.

"You're quitting already?" Little Jack asks before Lancaster can speak.

"I picked up a little problem!" Lancaster shouts into the mic, figuring that Little Jack can hear the smashing behind him.

"Head to the cliff," Little Jack says. "I'll be there to pick you up."

Without responding, Lancaster puts away the com and dashes toward the cliff, the roaring of the creature close behind.

The buildings thin out, meaning fewer buildings to dodge through, but Lancaster has a lead on the beast, and he sprints through the fog toward the cliff. It comes upon him quickly and he has to brake quickly to avoid running over the edge.

Lancaster looks around desperately. No Little Jack. He should have had time to get there. Little Jack has never left him out to dry before.

The ground shakes. Lancaster spins round in the direction the beast will be coming. He can hear the shaking of the ground just past the line of slowly drifting fog. Lancaster's heart is pounding, his breath is heavy. The creature is between him and the town. The cliff is at his back. There are some woods off to Lancaster's left.

What should Lancaster do?

- Wait for Little Jack

- Make a break for the woods

Lancaster leaps out of the pile of rocks and begins running for a series of buildings. Behind him, he can hear the creature careening after him. It crashes against the building directly behind him.

Lancaster weaves through buildings, out one door and directly into another. The beast jumps from roof to roof, watching Lancaster as he scurries across the alleyways.

Eventually, Lancaster has to get somewhere.

What should Lancaster do?

- Rush to the building with the slanted roofs

- Make a break for the woods

- Keep weaving through the buildings until he loses the beast

- Double back after going inside a building

Lancaster hurries to the building with the slanted roofs. Behind him, it sounds like the creature is getting tired, but he doesn't want to take any chances. He bursts in the doorway and shuts it silently, but rapidly.

With that, he turns his attention into the room.

He is in an oval room with unusually shaped seats that face a platform at the front. A round ray of light beams in through a hole at the top of the roof as dust and insects dance in the pale light. Lancaster steps forward into the room, looking it over. The hole at the top of the roof was apparently a window, as evidenced by pieces of an intricate frame that once drew designs in the glass, or plastic, or whatever opaque material they used.

Along the inside of this window are designs of both carvings and painting that show a myriad of stars and planets. There is something very specific about these drawings that cause them to look less like imaginations, and more like realities that have been witnessed. Perhaps it was their dream to travel to these distant places?

At the front is a pulpit, and behind that, a wall which protrudes slightly in the center where it has more carvings and drawings. But these are different. Faded in the background are the stars and planets, but carved in the foreground are a series of images of important symbols with descriptions written below them in the Zeborno language. Some involve politics, others are religious, while still others are more about Zeborno culture.

Lancaster will have to spend some time studying these words later, comparing them to the notes he has on their language. But for the time being, he believes this is evidence that the Zeborno spread out onto other planets, and these relics are probably on those settlements. If he can find these artifacts, they might prove that the Zeborno were indeed a star faring race. And who knows what sort of powers might be inside them, if they came from such a mysterious group of beings.

Lancaster turns his attention to the pulpit and looks it over. It rises up out of the ground like waves of an ocean from all sides. There is a slit half way up the pedestal that goes all the way around it which almost looks out of place. It is clear that something was supposed to adorn the top, but has been broken off. Another relic, perhaps?

He steps up to study it.

He peers at the break. It was fairly neat, but there was clearly a tool used to slice whatever adorned it off.

Lancaster wipes his hand across it to shave off some dust, and he hears a click, which usually implies some sort of trigger.

What should Lancaster do?

- Jump away from the pulpit

- Duck down very low

Lancaster makes his way back into the building, going in again through the roof. He finds all of the computer equipment smashed. His fault, he knows, but perhaps the archeological team will be able to piece it together to find what they need.

As for Lancaster, the telescope is still intact. He steps up to it and peers through. There is a machine inside it which keeps it moving, following the same star no matter where it is in the sky. It is the star known to humans as Erodan.

This is where Lancaster will begin his search, to see if the Zeborno were truly a star faring race.

THE END

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SCORED 10 OUT OF A POSSIBLE 10!

PERFECT SCORE!!!

Start over

You can help Lancaster explore these planets. Keep your eyes open for the next four Relic Worlds books:

- Book 2, The Lost City

- Book 3, The Cosmic Orb

- Book 4, Secret of the Dark Agents

- Book 5, Catacombs of the Forgotten

At the end of each book will be a picture of the relic from that adventure. Match these relics with the ones found on the website for a prize from the Relic Worlds universe. Just look in the "Pick Your Path" section under "Games" in the website.

You can see more information at:

www.relicworlds.com

The ground shakes harder with each crash on the ground. The creature fades in through the fog. It sees Lancaster immediately. Staring at him, the creature takes its time. Lancaster is trapped now. He can't even make a break for the woods, and behind him is only the empty void of the canyon.

Then Lancaster hears a familiar roaring of a different kind behind hm. Looking around, he sees Odin's Revenge, Little Jack's ship, rise up out of the fog and drift just below the edge of the canyon. The beast races at Lancaster, and Lancaster makes a running leap onto the roof of the ship. As soon as he's made the jump, Little Jack swoops away from the beast, which reaches out at the ship and bats at it. Its long jaw knocks against it, sending it whirling away with Lancaster rolling around vulnerably on its roof.

He almost rolls all the way off, but catches a section of outside piping just in time.

Little Jack tries to jolt the ship as little as possible as he gains control and drifts to the other side of the canyon. He sets down so Lancaster is able to roll off the top and almost literally kiss the ground. He will have plenty to tell the archeologists, but he's not sure how much they will benefit from it. As for himself, Lancaster is going to want to explore some of these other planets to see if indeed the Zebornos were star faring, and if he might be able to solve the mystery of their disappearance, or, better yet, even find them.

THE END

You have scored 7 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Keep your eyes open for the next four Relic Worlds books:

- Book 2, The Lost City

- Book 3, The Cosmic Orb

- Book 4, Secret of the Dark Agents

- Book 5, Catacombs of the Forgotten

At the end of each book will be a picture of the relic from that adventure. Match these relics with the ones found on the website for a prize from the Relic Worlds universe. Just look in the "Pick Your Path" section under "Games" in the website.

You can see more information at:

www.relicworlds.com

Lancaster dashes for the nearby woods and disappears among the trees as quickly as possible. The loud thumps of the creature behind him shake the ground, and Lancaster does his best to keep his footing, at least until he is in the tree line.

The woods are actually a muddy marsh with straight, bamboo-like trunks growing out of the ground in various directions. Ahead of him, smaller creatures that are the size of dogs, but have tails, hands, and faces like monkeys rise up on trees and patches of moss, looking his way. There is something in their eyes Lancaster does not trust.

Behind him, trees snap under the weight of the creature following him. It has not let the forest slow it down, and it rises up behind Lancaster, its translucent wings outstretched, and its mouth ready to strike.

He is caught between two horrors.

What should Lancaster do?

- Run toward the large creature, then dodge out of its way

- Run past the monkey-dogs and further into the woods

Lancaster turns toward the large creature and charges toward it. The large animal does not pound him for one reason only, it is so surprised at his audacity. Instead, the creature backs up a moment, staring at him. By the time it swats at him with one of its magnificent hands, he is dodging around it.

The monkey-dogs take chase, bounding off of mossy islands and slanted trees, howling high pitched threats.

The larger creature panics at the charging animals, and it turns and swats at them. Panicked at the attack, the monkey-dogs jump onto the creature, and a fierce battle between the animals ensues.

Lancaster gets some distance, then calls to Little Jack. "I need a pickup by the cliff," he says urgently.

"On my way," Little Jack says. And true to his word, he lands right next to the canyon. Here is Dr. Makoto's landing spot. He can have the rest of the headache, Lancaster has other planets to explore.

THE END

You have scored 6 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Keep your eyes open for the next four Relic Worlds books:

- Book 2, The Lost City

- Book 3, The Cosmic Orb

- Book 4, Secret of the Dark Agents

- Book 5, Catacombs of the Forgotten

At the end of each book will be a picture of the relic from that adventure. Match these relics with the ones found on the website for a prize from the Relic Worlds universe. Just look in the "Pick Your Path" section under "Games" in the website.

You can see more information at:

www.relicworlds.com

Lancaster dashes in between the monkey-dogs, trying to rush into the woods. But his boots get stuck in the bog's mud, and he finds himself moving at a snail's pace.

One of the monkey-dogs leaps at him and lands on his upper torso. Lancaster bats at him with one hand while he tries to free himself with the other. He becomes alarmed when he feels the animal biting at his head, trying to pull it open. He focuses all of his attention, trying to pull the beast off, as another jumps on him, then another and another. They are all biting at him, and he tries desperately to shake them off.

Then he and all the monkey-dogs are lifted up in the jowls of the great beast. In one large crunch, it snaps down on this sandwich of bodies. It takes its time to enjoy this meal.

THE END

You have scored 2 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster continues to rush from building to building, occasionally looking over his shoulder to see if the creature is still there, and it is.

At length he enters a smaller, rather flimsy building, and all of a sudden the roof caves in on him. His pattern had become predictable, and the creature figured out which building he would be entering next, so it had leapt, and its huge body crushes the building Lancaster is in.

THE END

You have scored 5 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Inside one of the buildings, Lancaster brakes suddenly, and runs back out the way he had come. Behind him, the beast continues following the pattern Lancaster had been following, even if he doesn't see Lancaster between every building.

Having outsmarted the beast, Lancaster now has a choice whether to call it now by having Little Jack pick him up, or press his luck by returning to the observatory where he found the beast.

What should Lancaster do?

- Go back to the building with the open top

- Call for Little Jack to pick him up

Lancaster makes his way back into the building, going in again through the roof. He finds all of the computer equipment smashed. His fault, he knows, but perhaps the archeological team will be able to piece it together to find what they need.

As for Lancaster, the telescope is still intact. He steps up to it and peers through. There is a machine inside it which keeps it moving, following the same star no matter where it is in the sky. It is the star known to humans as Erodan.

This is where Lancaster will begin his search, to see if the Zeborno were truly a star faring race.

THE END

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SCORED 10 OUT OF A POSSIBLE 10!

PERFECT SCORE!!!

Start over

You can help Lancaster explore these planets. Keep your eyes open for the next four Relic Worlds books:

- Book 2, The Lost City

- Book 3, The Cosmic Orb

- Book 4, Secret of the Dark Agents

- Book 5, Catacombs of the Forgotten

At the end of each book will be a picture of the relic from that adventure. Match these relics with the ones found on the website for a prize from the Relic Worlds universe. Just look in the "Pick Your Path" section under "Games" in the website.

You can see more information at:

www.relicworlds.com

Lancaster has had enough. Exhausted, and unsure he's going to find much else of any importance, he calls Little Jack to come pick him up.

Odin's Revenge appears out of the fog above, and finds a wide enough area to set down. Lancaster has a landing spot and a place of interest to tell the archeologists. They can take over from here. Lancaster has other planets to explore.

THE END

You have scored 6 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Keep your eyes open for the next four Relic Worlds books:

- Book 2, The Lost City

- Book 3, The Cosmic Orb

- Book 4, Secret of the Dark Agents

- Book 5, Catacombs of the Forgotten

At the end of each book will be a picture of the relic from that adventure. Match these relics with the ones found on the website for a prize from the Relic Worlds universe. Just look in the "Pick Your Path" section under "Games" in the website.

You can see more information at:

www.relicworlds.com

Lancaster immediately fires the grappling hook at the roof again. The creature is not far enough away yet, and it hears the gasp of air pressure firing from the gun. It turns around and sees Lancaster pulling the gun taught. He sees the beast looking at him, and he presses a trigger which yanks him up. The beast leaps back at him, but misses, reaching up at the roof as Lancaster gets on it. He attaches the grapple to the inside lip of the hole in the roof and lowers himself down into the small stadium. The equipment he was looking through has been smashed, dented, and thrown around the room.

Before he can assess the damages, however, the beast appears at the hole and jumps down at him. Lancaster tries to hide among the ancient equipment that has fallen all over the room. But the beast, in a rage, knocks everything over in search for Lancaster.

At last it finds him, and there is no more hiding for Lancaster. The creature's large feet press him under the weight of the debris he was hiding under, squashing him, breaking many of his important bones.

But he won't be needing those anymore. The creature takes the weight off of Lancaster's body and grabs it with both hands. Then, in one quick motion, he snaps Lancaster's head off. After that, he devours Lancaster bit by bit.

THE END

You have scored 5 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster dips into the clouds and disappears in a sea of white. He can't see anything, and presumably, the flying creature cannot see him.

Then, very suddenly, the monster appears above him, charging out of the cloud cover, his eyes fixed on Lancaster. It's as if he knew exactly where Lancaster was, and perhaps he did; after all, not all animals use the same method to see. Lancaster might just have given himself a disadvantage by flying into the clouds.

The beast crashes straight through Lancaster, breaking up his glider, as well as most of his bones, and sending him tumbling head over heels to the ground; a long, long way down.

THE END

You have scored 1 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster catches a gust of wind that leaps him up and over the creature. The animal is taken completely by surprise, and it tries to adjust by turning to face him. It's too slow, and Lancaster uses the moment to make his attack. Revving the thruster, he bumps downward knocking the creature off balance. Lancaster twists in the air, then slams down on the creature again. This time he hits it hard enough that the animal stumbles in the air, its wings folding inward. Lancaster swings over to one of the leathery wings and runs his thruster against it. The intense heat causes the creature to yank its wing inward, and it loses its lift.

Injured, and unable to fly, the creature tumbles downward and Lancaster loses sight of it in the clouds.

He drifts down into the cloud cover, then through the thick fog until he finds the soft, mossy ground. He looks around and sees dark shapes through the fog. In one direction he can make out the walls of buildings. In another, thin lines and stringy vines imply a forest. It is in this direction that the creature had fallen.

What should Lancaster do?

- Search for the flying creature

- Head toward the town

Lancaster boosts the thrusters and launches himself upward, spinning on his side as he does. His jet trail knocks into the beast's eyes as it twists to keep up with him. Lancaster twirls through the air and the beast stays right behind him, keeping its eyes fixed on him. When it begins to realize his trick and flies straight at him, he turns, then continues the spin, making his motions just unpredictable enough to make the creature have to do as he does.

The plan works, the creature begins to reel, but it works too well. Lancaster gets dizzy as well, and begins to feel sick. Both he and the large beast begin to shiver in the air as they spin forward. The sky and the world all meld into one in Lancaster's eyes, and at length he loses all control, and he feels himself tumbling toward the ground. He would be an easy target, but the beast also loses control, and they both tumble headlong toward the ground in two different directions.

All Lancaster sees is fog. He doesn't know how far down he's going, and only knows the direction of the ground by the direction he's falling. He gets his bearings just enough to thrust against the ground and slow his fall, and just in time. Out of the fog rushes the ground. Lancaster hits it with a tremendous crash. All around him, his glider device lays in shambles, and he gasps for breath. He doesn't know how long he lays there in a daze, or if he falls completely unconscious or just loses track of time. Whatever is the case, it is a while before he is able to pull himself up groaning.

Looking in one direction, he sees the shapes of buildings nearby. That must be the town.

Continued...

Lancaster puts one hand at the top of the door and swings inside. He lands on the damp, rocky floor. Water is almost immediately washing up over his feet. He steps into the carved out corridor and walks up a few stairs which lead to a corridor that opens up into a few rooms. It's all quite overwhelming to Lancaster, and he begins walking through the rooms.

There is no furniture, no artifacts, nothing that is loose that could last, and he sees why right away. Barnacles and other sea life cling to the damp walls, perhaps dead, perhaps in hibernation.

Against a far wall are a few chests. They look like they might have something of value in them, so they could be locked, or trapped, or they could be easily opened.

Lancaster decides to come back to those. Perhaps there will be a clue to them in another room. He heads up another flight of stairs to another group of rooms. They are very similar to the first, but there doesn't appear to be anything valuable in them. They're fascinating to Lancaster in that the architecture is very much Zeborno, though that race didn't typically build out of rock.

Lancaster begins to walk down the stairs back to the room with the chests to check them out, but just as he does, he's stopped. The tide has come in, and in the few minutes he has been searching around, it has risen into the rooms he was just in. He will have to swim into them if he wants to go back into them. (Use this information to help you in Relic Worlds, Book 3 - The Cosmic Orb.)

What should Lancaster do?

- Climb the stairs upward to see where they go

- Swim back down into the room with the chests

It is a long ride through dense fog where he can only see a few feet around him, and he is going on faith that he will want to be at the top when he reaches it. The only sound he hears for more than a minute is the whirring of the rope reeling on his belt to pull him upward.

When at last he reaches the top he pulls himself over the lip of the cliff, puts his grappling gun away, and looks around.

The first thing he sees is a tower built at the edge of the cliff, curving outward so the top portion is over the edge. Beyond that he sees a large nest nestled among some trees at the edge of a jungle. Further inland, just at the edge of sight, is the silhouette of some buildings just beyond the line of fog.

Where will Lancaster go?

- The tower

- The nest

- The buildings

The bend around a corner and lead to a few more rooms, then another flight leads to a few more, then they go up in a zigzag completely alone without any buildings. It is just as well. Lancaster can smell the salt water below. It is continuing to rise, covering all of the rooms he was searching through.

He has to stop several times, resting to catch his breath. But he rises again each time and continues up the stairs.

At length he reaches a dead end, just a top. A bit of fear creeps in. What if the ocean rises to his level? There will be no way out!

He feels the roof, and quickly comes upon a hatch, which he is able to open. Lancaster opens the hatch and crawls through.

He is at the entrance of an oval room with unusually shaped seats that face a platform at the front. A round ray of light beams in through a hole at the top of the roof as dust and insects dance in the pale light. Lancaster steps forward into the room, looking it over. The hole at the top of the roof was apparently a window, as evidenced by pieces of an intricate frame that once drew designs in the glass, or plastic, or whatever opaque material they used.

Along the inside of this window are designs of both carvings and painting that show a myriad of stars and planets. There is something very specific about these drawings that cause them to look less like imaginations, and more like realities that have been witnessed. Perhaps it was their dream to travel to these distant places?

At the front is a pulpit, and behind that, a wall which protrudes slightly in the center where it has more carvings and drawings. But these are different. Faded in the background are the stars and planets, but carved in the foreground are a series of images of important symbols with descriptions written below them in the Zeborno language. Some involve politics, others are religious, while still others are more about Zeborno culture.

Lancaster will have to spend some time studying these words later, comparing them to the notes he has on their language. But for the time being, he believes this is evidence that the Zeborno spread out onto other planets, and these relics are probably on those settlements. If he can find these artifacts, they might prove that the Zeborno were indeed a star faring race. And who knows what sort of powers might be inside them, if they came from such a mysterious group of beings.

Lancaster turns his attention to the pulpit and looks it over. It rises up out of the ground like waves of an ocean from all sides. There is a slit half way up the pedestal that goes all the way around it which almost looks out of place. It is clear that something was supposed to adorn the top, but has been broken off. Another relic, perhaps?

What should Lancaster do?

- Investigate the pulpit

- Go to the building devoured by plants

- Go to the building with the hole at the top

Lancaster walks back down the stairs. Around the first bend, he sees that the water is splashing on the floor of the room he is heading toward. He figures that perhaps he can get in and look at the chests before they get too deep.

He steps into the water, and immediately it begins to raise, as if trying to swallow him. He heads toward the chests. He must see what's in them. As he walks toward them, his feet become heavier and heavier as the water rises to his knees, then his waist. By the time he gets within a few feet of the chests, the water level has enveloped him. He reaches for the latches and finds them locked. He is now completely submersed, and though he took in a deep breath, he is going to have to get out before long.

He swims back and heads up the stairs, but in a moment he realizes he went the wrong way, and he's further down the steps.

Water is rushing in. He feels himself swirling in it, and it overtakes him. He is slammed against the top of the stairs. Lancaster heads up the stairs, but a riptide drags him down. His head is hurting from the slam and he's disoriented. Soon he doesn't know which way he's going.

He shakes it off, pulls himself free of the rip tied, and looks at where he is. He's at the front door. He swims through it and immediately feels the strong waves of the ocean. Out of air, he pushes desperately for the surface. He breaks through, his mouth wide open for air as he gasps loudly. A large waves picks him up and throws him against a rock, which he grabs onto for dear life.

He holds on until he knows he will be steady. At this point, he is too weak to continue. He's almost unconscious. He calls Little Jack and has him pick him up. He will need to leave and possibly come back. Hopefully the offer will still be good at that time.

THE END

You have scored 1 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster walks in the hourglass shaped door of the tower. There are immediately steps leading up, which he follows to a relatively small room with large windows facing out toward the ocean and smaller windows which point toward the sky. A third of the floor on the opposite side of the room is transparent so he can look down at the ocean, and there are scopes in the room that look out the windows in the various directions.

Looking out the large windows, Lancaster sees nothing but fog. But when he peers through the devices, he sees right through the fog into the distance. One of them is pointed toward a coral island which has tall hills and holes on all sides, but also has a few small buildings built into some of these holes. Also on the reef is a small vessel and some unsavory looking characters carrying various things out of the holes. They don't look like archeologists; in fact they look like pirates to Lancaster.

What should Lancaster do?

- Have Little Jack pick him up and take him to the coral palace

- Continue on into the fog toward the buildings he saw earlier

Lancaster approaches a giant nest made of full sized branches and tied together with large vines. Inside, for cushioning, is a layer of moss. Three eggs, each half the size of Lancaster, rest at the bottom. The bird whose home this is is nowhere to be seen.

What should Lancaster do?

- Take one of the eggs

- Leave and go to the shapes in the fog

- Study the nest and the eggs

Lancaster gets closer to the buildings and sees that there is a full town. The archeologists were right! There is a lost village here.

Continued...

Little Jack cuts through the fog, remaining low, so close to the ocean that the waves almost hit its base. He is running as silently as he can, but the engines can't be so silent that they wouldn't hear him if he came up close to the reef. So he's letting Lancaster off using a Wave Rider, a one-man machine that rides slowly over the tops of waves.

Little Jack uses the scanners to see where the pirates are, and he drops Lancaster off on the opposite side. Before his engines can be heard, Little Jack swerves off, and the Wave Rider rushes Lancaster across the waves toward the edge of the coral island. Lancaster quietly hides the machine among some rough ground, then creeps toward the area the pirates were reported to be.

Just as Lancaster is rising up from behind a flurry of sharp rocks, he sees them. He ducks quickly back down and watches as the men and women pull up priceless artifacts from an underground village that has remained undisturbed for millions of years.

What should Lancaster do?

- Stop the looters

- Help the pirates and get a cut

- Silently call in the archeologists and watch for an opening

Lancaster swings one leg over the edge of the nest, then the other. He slides down the moss into the center and walks silently over to the closest egg. It swirls with shades of emerald and blue. This should bring a great price from other archeologists and museums.

Very suddenly, a large head pops up from the opposite end of the nest. It's the face of a very big, and very angry bird. It has short, colorful hair, but no feathers, a long, leathery wing span, and a sharp beak. That's about all Lancaster gets with his first glance. He has to fight or take flight pretty much right away.

What should Lancaster do?

- Run and hide with the egg

- Take the egg and head for the cliff

- Drop the egg and run

- Fight the large bird

Lancaster creeps up slowly to the nest and peaks inside. He sees three colorful eggs nestled inside of a bowl of full sized branches connected by vines and covered over with moss.

While he's watching, the mother bird flies in. It's a long, muscular bird with no feathers, but tiny hairs that grow out of it irregularly, like patches of grass on a poorly cared for lawn. It resembles a pterodactyl, but with muted gray-green fuzz. It doesn't seem to notice Lancaster yet.

What should Lancaster do?

- Stay and watch

- Head back into the fog

The bird checks on its eggs, nudging one with its head to roll it into a slightly better position. It then raises its head to look around. Its eyes are magnificent, piercing hard into the fog for predators.

In this way, it spots Lancaster, not far off and not that well hidden. The bird bristles its hairs and pushes its back up.

What should Lancaster do?

- Fight the bird

- Run to the woods

- Have Little Jack get him out

Lancaster tucks the egg under his arm and runs for the cliff. He pulls out his com with his free hand and calls Little Jack frantically. "Pick up near the cliff!" he shouts.

"Always in a hurry," Little Jack exclaims, but he'll be there.

The bird chases for a number of steps, then jumps up and disappears in the fog above. When it reappears, it's swooping down on top of him. Lancaster doesn't even have time to duck, he just kneels down, holding the egg.

But then Little Jack's ship Odin's Revenge flies in from the side, knocking the bird over. He touches down with the engine still going, and opens the hatch just large enough for Lancaster to jump in with his prize. He does so, and the ship takes off.

The mother bird jumps at the ship, knocking it senseless as it reels in the air. The mother bird flaps its wings in place as Odin's Revenge recovers in the air, straightening out. The bird sees this and goes in for another strike. Little Jack sees this coming and flies out of the way. The bird recovers faster than Jack anticipated, and it gets another blow in. The ship tumbles for a little ways, then Little Jack punches the thrust in highest gear and it rockets off. The bird flaps its wings as hard as it can, taking desperate chase, screaming at the iron bird that's getting away with its baby. But it's no use. Little Jack leaves it in the fog, quite literally.

Having made it away, Lancaster looks at his treasure. The egg has cracked either when he jumped inside, or as the ship was swinging wildly. Inside the crack of the egg, Little Jack sees a dead bird, about the size of a small human. It looks helpless and miserable. It would have been born and lived a full life in the woods with its family if Lancaster had not tries to steal it away.

THE END

You have scored 6 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster drops the egg right where he stands. Though it lands in the soft moss, he thinks he hears a crack from it. No matter at this point, he has to get away.

Lancaster jumps clear out of the nest and dashes away as fast as he can. The bird takes chase until he is clear of the nest, then it stands guard at the edge, screaming at him.

Lancaster doesn't look back. He just runs as fast as he can into the depths of the woods.

Continued...

Lancaster swings the egg at the bird and the bird pulls away. Lancaster drops the egg and picks up a stick that's in the nest. He jabs at the bird a couple times, and the bird pulls its head away, staring. Then it spits on Lancaster. Lancaster is disgusted by the mucus, but then he realizes there's something far more sinister at work. The saliva has a paralyzing agent in it, and Lancaster slows down, feeling each part of his body shut down.

Until at last he stops moving altogether. Horrified, he is conscious to see his fate.

The birds hatch. The mother needs a first meal for them. She takes Lancaster apart limb by limb, sharing each one of them with its newborns. Lancaster feels every ounce of the horrific pain as he is ripped apart and eaten.

THE END

You have scored 2 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster pulls out his hand communicator. The bird lurches at him, and Lancaster rolls out of the way. He takes off running, calling to Little Jack. "Need a pickup."

"Already?" Jack asks.

"Bird!" Lancaster blurts, dodging another blow as the bird chases him. He drops the com this time, but he doesn't have time to get it. He has to keep moving or he's bird feed.

As Lancaster runs, Little Jack swoops in from the clouds. At first he aims toward the com, but he quickly adjusts and chases after Lancaster.

The bird, right behind him, is about to hop up and swoop in for a killing blow when Little Jack flies his ship, Odin's Revenge, right into the back of the bird's head.

Flying over Lancaster, the latch opens. Lancaster jumps on, his hat flying off behind him, and he climbs inside.

The bird squawks' from behind him, taking chase for a few more flaps, but once Little Jack has the ship in full gear, it's left far behind.

When Lancaster stumbles up to the front, Little Jack looks at him annoyed. "So, you got beaten by a bird," he says.

THE END

You have scored 6 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster sneaks up to one of the looters. When he seems alone, Lancaster leaps out and punches him across the face, then throws him over the side of the reef island. Another pirate rounds a corner, and Lancaster punches her out cold as well.

He picks up her gun, arming himself. One of the pirates spots him and fires. Lancaster fires back, killing the pirate, then fires at the hover vehicle they have for carrying things. It explodes in the middle of them, and they go falling.

A few pirates who were further away from the blast stand and ready themselves to fire at Lancaster, but just before they pull their triggers, blasts explode behind them, and Little Jack's ship flies past.

As Little Jack flies around for another pass, Lancaster rushes up to the loot, now scattered across the coral floor.

Around a corner, he sees a whole new wave of pirates coming off their ship, docked to the opposite side of the island. He hadn't seen them before. One of them shoots Lancaster down, not killing him, but knocking the gun from his hand.

Lancaster half conscious on the ground, hears Little Jack coming back for another pass. One of the pirates sets up a large gun on a tripod faced skyward. Lancaster is helpless as the man lets fly a burst of fire. Odin's Revenge, Little Jack's ship, breaks up into small parts and crashes into the sea.

Now there's no hope for Lancaster. He is taken away as a pirate's slave with little to no chance of escape.

THE END

You have scored 5 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster makes himself known, to which they all answer by pointing their guns at him. But he tells them with confidence that he could be of aid to them because he knows how much all of these things are worth, and where they could sell them. All he wants is an equal share, and a few of the artifacts as his own. Smiling, the pirates tell him that this would be a wonderful idea. More pirates appear on the island, and they all work together to get the loot. As they do, Lancaster tells them what everything is, and where they can sell it.

"Thanks a lot!" the captain says, pulling out his pistol and shooting Lancaster. "Now we know what it's all worth."

As Lancaster fades from consciousness, he sees the pirates enter their ship with all their loot, and take off into the foggy sky.

THE END

You have scored 5 out of a possible 10.

Try again

Lancaster pulls out his hand com and ducks down. He punches in the private signal with his index finger then whispers, "This is line needs to stay crater quiet. Is anyone there?"

A voice whispers back that they are, and asks who he is. Lancaster explains who he is, where he is, and what he's witnessing. There is a silence on the other end that seems deafening to Lancaster. At last they come back on and tell him that a security team will be on its way.

Lancaster shuts down the com and peaks out again. The pirates continue, unaware of his presence. Lancaster realizes he did the right thing by waiting when he sees a second wave of the pirates he had not seen before hidden behind a wall of coral, ready to ambush anyone who comes near.

After a few minutes, it's starting to look like the security team might not make it in time. The pirates are loading up the last of the loot, and the ambushers are even coming out of their hiding, heading back toward the ship.

What should Lancaster do?

- Attack the pirates with the help of Little Jack

- Wait for the security team

The pirate at the anti-air gun is just pulling up the tripod when he hears a loud roar coming from the fog above. He quickly tosses the legs back down and points the barrel skyward. His prey appears out of the clouds coming straight toward him. An easy target.

All of a sudden, he feels a jolt crash through his back. He spasms uncontrollably, then falls to the ground, Lancaster standing over him, his Electro-Shocker in his hand.

Everyone else hears the roar from above and looks up to it. They wait for the blasts from their own weapon to take it down, but they don't come, and the ship fires a series of shots, hitting the back of their ship, and transforming their engine into a red fireball. The phantom vessel disappears in the cloud cover as quickly as it had appeared.

A group of the pirates rush to the anti-air gun. Finding their friend on the ground and the gun still set up, a group of them run to the ground, and a few of them scatter, searching for the assailant.

The ship overhead fades back into view. It's clearly coming for another pass. As the one on the gun focuses on his target, another who is close notices a rising humming noise coming from the gun, and another notices that the original gunner's pistol is missing.

At that instant, just before the gunner can fire, a shot rings out from behind some cover, hitting the over-heating anti-air gun. The weapon explodes, knocking down or killing all around it.

Those who were searching for Lancaster suddenly see where he's coming from. They charge his position across an open slate of ground. This makes them easy prey for Little Jack flying overhead. He cuts them down with Gatling laser fire and continues on.

By the time a second wave comes, Lancaster has changed position. He creeps up the edge of a coral hill, looking out at the group of pirates searching for him. He is about to ambush them again when he is grabbed from behind. This wasn't part of the plan. He swings both directions, but the man is choking him. He pulls up a gun and brings it to Lancaster's head.

Lancaster practices a move Little Jack taught him, dropping suddenly to one knee and pulling the man down, and over his shoulder. He does, and the man flies off him, along with Lancaster's hat.

The others come running, pulling their guns and leveling them at Lancaster. All they need is room between their captain and the stranger. But the two are locked in combat, wrestling and punching one another. Presently, as Lancaster punches at the captain, he over-swings, and the man grabs him around the neck, pointing him at his crew. It's his firing squad.

"Wait a minute," Lancaster says. "You don't have a way off this island. Be reasonable and give yourselves up."

"We intend to have a ship," the captain says. "We got an overload gun what can take your friend out of the sky without much of a scratch on the pretty paint job."

Lancaster struggles. There is nothing he can do. The pirates point their guns. As long as they hit Lancaster, nothing will hurt the captain. "You won't feel a thing," the captain says. "Just go limp and let it happen. Shhhh." He nods at his crew.

But just before they are able to pull the triggers, a loud zipping noise comes from all above them. They look up just in time to see a dozen or more wires appear out of the fog, and soldier's feet are right behind them. The pirates fire, hitting a couple of the security personnel, but then they get a volley, and they take out almost every pirate.

When they reach ground, they stick their chests, protected by body armor, at the pirates as they step forward, their guns ready. The captain tosses Lancaster aside and runs with his friends. But there are few places to hide on this small island, and they are all rounded up soon enough. Lancaster usually doesn't like to work with outside help, but this time he needed it.

Lancaster and Little Jack are able to look around the island for a few minutes before the other archeologists get there, so they take advantage of the opportunity. Lancaster realizes almost instantly that this is not the village Dr. Makoto had paid him to find out about. But this may be a more fascinating find, discovering that the Zeborno had an island-faring civilization in addition to their land-based cities.

This means little to Little Jack, who conveniently now wears pearl jewelry and a coral ring. Lancaster doesn't ask. He saved his life. The archeologists, too, let it pass. These two men found something that outweighs anything they have found in years.

But still, Lancaster wonders if there's more to be discovered.

THE END

You have scored 8 out of a possible 10.

Start over

Lancaster hunkers down and waits for the proverbial cavalry to arrive.

The pirates load up the last of the loot. The ship's humming reaches a high pitch, and the thrusters engage. The last ones guarding the area rush in the hatch, and all the openings seal up.

Lancaster stands to watch the vessel lift up into the air, then disappear into the cloud cover. It is a full few minutes later before the security personnel arrives and Lancaster has to tell them they're too late.

THE END

You have scored 7 out of a possible 10.

Try again

As Lancaster wanders through the fog, he begins to notice thin trunks reaching out of the ground at slants in several directions. The ground beneath him grows more and more wet, until he finds himself in a lagoon. There is a plethora of sounds from all sorts of creatures, but the strongest is a wailing cry up ahead. At last he sees it, a dog-like creature on four legs with a long, curling tail. The dog sees Lancaster, rises up on two legs, and Lancaster gets a good look at its face. It has the features of a monkey, with a small nose, a large, almost grinning mouth, and big eyes. It stops howling, staring transfixed at Lancaster. It then shifts its town and begins bellowing in another octave.

Its call echoes back from all directions. After a moment, Lancaster realizes that this is noe echo, but other creatures answering its summons. Several other monkey-dogs make their appearance, descending from trees and rising out of the water. Their high-pitched wails end with a stuttering cackle, as if they're laughing at Lancaster. On all sides of him, they begin to close in.

What should Lancaster do?

- Run

- Fight the creatures

- Amaze the monkey-dogs with some of his tools

Table of Contents

Start