Hunter waited anxiously in the hotel room. He tried to watch television, but kept finding himself standing up and pacing the room. He picked up a magazine, then put it back down again. Patience was not Hunter’s strong suit. Finally, the door opened. Hunter leapt from his seat.

“Well! So! What did you find!” Hunter blurted. Then he noticed the look in Tiyana’s eyes and slowed down, “Sorry dear, let me slow down for a second. How are you? I love you. I am glad you’re home…” Hunter pecked her on the cheek. Once he thought that he had finished the bare minimum of obligatory pleasantries, he blurted, “Okay, so, seriously, what did you find?”

Tiyana’s icy stare melted into a wide smile. Her eyes lit up as she began talking, “Something amazing, dear, just amazing. This rock is heavy. It’s too heavy!”

Hunter’s eyebrows narrowed and he looked around the room, “So, its heavy? It doesn’t feel heavy.”

“No, no, no, dear, not heavy like that. It’s heavy at the molecular level. It’s got all kinds of things in it, there’s some carbon, some silicon, some iron, even gold, but part of this rock is made out of something really, really impossibly heavy!”

“There’s that word again. I still don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m glad that you’re so excited.” Hunter said with a shrug.

“Hunter, parts of this rock have an atomic weight of over 120, meaning that this rock is made partly out of an element that does not and really should not exist on Earth.”

“Fascinating…”

Tiyana took the otherworldly stone out from her satchel and held it out to Hunter. Hunter stared in wonder at the mysterious rock.

“This is a big deal Hunter. This rock is too heavy to exist. Anything that heavy should be so unstable that it decays within days if not microseconds.”

“Is it radioactive?” Hunter asked.

“It should be, but it’s not.” Tiyana replied excitedly.

“Shambhala.” Hunter whispered.

“What?”

“Remember the painting on the runestone?” Hunter asked.

“Yes.” Tiyana said tentatively.

“This stone was in the painting, with the guardian.” Hunter said softly.

“Right.” Tiyana said. “Maybe it has certain… chemical properties.”

“Chemical properties? Tiyana, you know what I think it is.” Hunter said.

“The Philosopher’s Stone. The Cintamani Stone. An Alchemy device.” Tiyana scoffed at the ideas.

Hunter smiled and shot Tiyana a look.

“Okay.” Hunter started, “What did Ghaelvord want with this stone?”

Tiyana remained silent, thinking.

“Tiyana, he thanked us for waking him up. He didn’t want the treasure. He took Shenouda. He’s strong. He has technology that we can’t understand. He talked as if he was immortal. And I did not like him. You know what I mean? He is… I don’t know… sinister. Now this stone? Now we find out about the impossibility of this stone!” Hunter’s voice grew louder. Then it grew soft, “What have we done?”

Tiyana’s mind had been swimming with the scientific implications of her work. Visions of groundbreaking research danced across her mind. She pictured herself graciously accepting a Nobel Prize. Plans for experiments had been taking shape in her head all day. The intense focus that she brought to her research filled up her mind with possibilities of scientific breakthroughs. She had temporarily forgotten about Ghaelvord and her time in the labyrinth. Hunter’s words, however, brought them back front and center.

Tiyana shook her head slowly, “I, I, I don’t know.”

Both Prices stared at the floor for a long time. They concentrated intensely on the memories of the labyrinth. They concentrated intensely on their options. They forced their minds to wander and explore possibilities.

Finally Hunter spoke up, “There’s something about that lake.”

“Lake?”

“Oracle Lake. Do you remember the picture we found where the statue of Cerberus overlooked the lake? That statue is not there today, and neither is the monastery in the painting, although there is another monastery nearby.”

“What is it Hunter? What is in that crazy mind of yours?”

“Look, I, I just can’t quite put my finger on it, but the stone, Cerberus, Ghaelvord, that painting, the pictures in the hall, the ding… Tiyana, there is a connection. There is a connection between all of this and that lake.”

“Shambhala.” Tiyana whispered.

Hunter looked away.

Tiyana knew all about Hunter’s fascination with Shambhala. For a split second, she considered her options. She could talk him out of it. They could study the stone. She could make headway. She could learn things. Maybe she could even discover how Ghaelvord did what he did when he transformed in the inferno.

On the other hand, she did not dream Ghaelvord up. She saw him with her own two eyes. She saw him take Shenouda. She saw him laugh. She saw him casually give away treasure of immeasurable worth. Ghaelvord would not disappear. He would show up somewhere. They unleashed him on Africa, of all continents. He could hide in the jungles or in the plains. What would he think about the world? Tiyana harbored deep feelings of dread about Ghaelvord’s agenda. Whatever made him tick, Tiyana did not want to find out. She also did not want to feel responsible for whatever happened when he showed up again.

Tiyana had to support Hunter’s quest. She knew that Hunter had an uncanny knack for making connections. If Hunter thought that he knew something, then he probably did. Ghaelvord could show up at any minute and do anything. If the Prices wanted to find out who Ghaelvord was and what made him tick, then they had to move fast. They had to be clever. Research would take too long. Plus, it may turn up nothing. Also, the press, the fame, and the incessant questions were beginning to grate on Tiyana’s nerves. She would not mind getting away from it all. Hunter’s vague connection was the best idea that they had. Tiyana would support it, wholeheartedly.

Tiyana reached out with both hands and grasped the sides of Hunter’s head. She pulled his head close and leaned in, touching her forehead to his.

“Let’s do this.” She said.

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