Door Handle.
Mesmerised by the mystical man, you obey his command and wait.
Beside him, a light begins to glow, brightening into a ball of fire. Its brightness is painful to the eyes, yet there is no heat.
A vagrant, huddled in the shadows nearby cries out and scurries away as fast as his crooked legs will take him.
"This is magic..." the words escape your mouth in a whisper, but Tharrithon doesn't reply. He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. The light solidifies and dims, leaving in its place a metal cylinder some ten feet long and perhaps four feet wide, lying on its side on the ground.
He extends his hand to the gleaming surface and pushes. A section of the cylinder swings inward, as if it were a door. There was no join or hinges here before!
"You may enter."
You stoop to climb inside, but hesitate.
Tharrithon waits, patiently.
You rest your hand upon the outer shell of the cylinder to steady yourself, and put your head inside.
But... how can this be? There is nothing beyond this door! The alley, the buildings... everything behind this alien object is perfectly visible from inside.
But wait... perhaps this door is nothing more than a facade? You withdraw your head and stare at the solid cylinder in front of you, and spread the fingers of your free hand on its cold surface. It doesn't make sense.
You lean inside again, this time scanning in every direction. The palm of your hand is splayed to your side, flattened as if it is pushed against glass. You can see your own hand from the inside. This impossible object, strong and metal on the outside, allows you to see outwards in all directions, as if you are looking out from inside a glass bottle!
"You are in danger, my friend, you and the future of your world." "The girl arrived not far from here in a machine identical to this. She and her friends would use you as their pawn to destroy the world as you know it today. Well meaning as they are, we cannot let them find you."
Beside him, a light begins to glow, brightening into a ball of fire. Its brightness is painful to the eyes, yet there is no heat.
A vagrant, huddled in the shadows nearby cries out and scurries away as fast as his crooked legs will take him.
"This is magic..." the words escape your mouth in a whisper, but Tharrithon doesn't reply. He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. The light solidifies and dims, leaving in its place a metal cylinder some ten feet long and perhaps four feet wide, lying on its side on the ground.
He extends his hand to the gleaming surface and pushes. A section of the cylinder swings inward, as if it were a door. There was no join or hinges here before!
"You may enter."
You stoop to climb inside, but hesitate.
Tharrithon waits, patiently.
You rest your hand upon the outer shell of the cylinder to steady yourself, and put your head inside.
But... how can this be? There is nothing beyond this door! The alley, the buildings... everything behind this alien object is perfectly visible from inside.
But wait... perhaps this door is nothing more than a facade? You withdraw your head and stare at the solid cylinder in front of you, and spread the fingers of your free hand on its cold surface. It doesn't make sense.
You lean inside again, this time scanning in every direction. The palm of your hand is splayed to your side, flattened as if it is pushed against glass. You can see your own hand from the inside. This impossible object, strong and metal on the outside, allows you to see outwards in all directions, as if you are looking out from inside a glass bottle!
"You are in danger, my friend, you and the future of your world." "The girl arrived not far from here in a machine identical to this. She and her friends would use you as their pawn to destroy the world as you know it today. Well meaning as they are, we cannot let them find you."