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Teleporting? No. There would be no such contrivance.

Firstly, the method of shadow travel Maximos employed was not based on teleportation. To teleport is to travel a great distance in a short speed. This sort of speed and energy transfluence distorted the flow of the essence engine at Maximos' core. It made it all wibbly wobbly, and thusly made the Shadow sick. Maximos would never intentionally use such a thing. To travel as a shadow meant to be infected by the blackness, broken down into the core umbral matter and sent to commune with other pre-selected shadows and reformed.

But this, was not why there would be no teleporting. There was no teleporting because Maximos was walking. And John was following. It was a simple as that.

Brimming with unstoppable determination, Maximos was marching on the temple. In his mind he was quite practically about to siege this temple. March down its walls, face whatever lie within and vindicate his brother and make things right.

Maximos walked right past the table, right off the large metal rock and continued on. "I was only there long enough to collect what I needed ad leave."

He continued marching, right on towards the edge of the magic circle. "It was large, but ravaged by time and neglect, the people who worshiped there died there. Likely in some sort of battle. And its located--"

Maximos stopped, the tip of his nose about a fingers width from the edge of the magic glyph stylized into the ground and the naked exposure to space behind it. "Oh."

Max stopped and laughed and swirled around on his heels. He didnt even seem to notice the way the edges of his sleeves brushed past the rim and froze immediately forming thin white sheets of ice on his dress shirt forearms. He laughed. "Well its not on the Moon! Pffft, how silly."

And he began walking back to the table, pausing only momentarily to rub his arms which had now melted to wet splotches and add. "That's strange, it suddenly feels a bit chilly. Nevermind. John, we came all this way for that, we're certainly not leaving it."

A hand gestured to the large metal chuck the table had been set on. "Do you think you can lift that?"

Honestly, Max had no idea what Tomorrow was getting so excited about. He was only walking the wrong way, its not like he was going to step off into a void and freeze to death within seconds while all the oxygen in his body was ripped from him into an endless vacuum...or something.

Geez. They were on bigger issues now, a mountain of a stone Tomorrow was asked to lift, and now the Aesir was deep at work. Max smiling proudly as the stone began to rumble, rock, and finally lift. The table slid like so much refuse off a plate, but before it could stain the moon soil, Maximos snapped his fingers opening what looked like a hole in nothing through which the discarded dinner and eventually the table itself fell vanishing into nothing.

By the time the table was cleaned, Tomorrow had the object in question lift on its edge. He had really revealed anything special, rather he revealed the absence of something. Beneath the enormous stone was a hole, it was perfectly round as if carved out by some sort of sharp tool or lazer. It looked less infact like a hole and more like a pipe made of marble-smooth gray stone. It went down a very long way until the light simply could not delve any deeper and was overcome by pitch darkness.

"Oh wow, thats really neat!" Max said, scooting up beside Tomorrow, even with his barren flank, peeking down into the whole giving a sharp whistle. "Who do you think put that there?"

While the Shadow was busy looking down, Tomorrow would be able to see that the object he had lifted was not stone at all. But rather a completely round sheet of metal with various engravings underneath its surface. Some looked like letters or text in some sort of alien tongue, others looked like scratches or dents in the metal from some kind of horrible claw or massive fist.

Maximos glance shifted up, almost innocently moving to scratch the side of his head investigating the underside of what might very well be some sort of lid. "Why do you think they put it here?"

Of course, as fate would have it, as Maximos looked up John would be able to see something the Shadow missed. Something called to him in a language the other man simply could not speak. Maximos knew the rage of darkness and pain, the clinical yet starving need to kill. John knew battle lust, blood lust, the way of the barbarian smashing way across the battlefield simply for the sake of it. And that was exactly what was being spoken here, in a symphony from a thousand silent voices just pouring up a single emotion. Something was stirring in the darkness, something that glimmered just faintly in flecks of light, like teeth, claws, or some sort of chitin. Something primal, old, and terrible.

It was about exactly then that Maximos shrugged and leaned back away from the hole entirely, never bothering to look down. He just casually walked toward the center of the magic circle and said, "Oh well, its our lid now. Ready to go John?"

"Is there? A scary things in the dark places of the moon? And what does it look like?" Max said with a mote of curiosity on his face. He let his hands fall to either side of himself, fingers splayed out. Lines of black bled from his fingers in streamers, like wet lines of pain staining the air. The streamers began to glow, dark purple at first, then a light plum color.

Max raised his hands in front of himself, and began to draw symbols and shapes in the air using said glowing streamers. "We really have to get you over that fear of the dark."

A magic ring, a few arcane symbols within it, seconds at most. Tomorrow had begun lowering the lid at just about the time that Maximos laughed an amused little laugh and said. "Lets go."

And then snapped his fingers. The entire scene encountered on their arrival played in reverse. The scene became still, darkness overcame them and then receded. It would seem quicker this time, things visited a second time usually did. Blackness retreated away, the walls of Maximos' laboratory rose again like the two dimensional outskirts of some set on a play. Finally, the entire scene fleshed out. Details and shading returning to their natural normal places.

Maximos was standing off by his laboratory table, and Johnathan was left a few feet from that. He wasnt holding the lid anymore, perhaps by some sort of miracle it had been left behind. Maybe John's final efforts to place it down were a success. There were marks on the lid, maybe it was unable to be transported. It was about then that Walter entered the room, prim and proper at always.

"The spare table has been returned to your snacking chambers sir." He said softly. The Shadow smiled brightly and replied, "Thank you."

Walter bowed. The Moon was a long way away. Funny things happen in the light, funny feelings happen when your brain is fried. Literally. As the butler rose, he spoke again. "And the master's cargo has been successfully transported to the Dock, the Skullions and Skellions have been set to copy its text for later investigation."

It was about then that Maximos really smiled. A big bright, innocent as Christmas Day smile and stepped toward the door, clapping his hand on John's large shoulder. "We have it! We'll have your arm made in no time at all! Isnt it exciting?"

Maximos was excited. Very excited! It just seemed to bleed from his pores and the smile on his face as he cheerfully added, "Now lets get you to that temple!"

Max did not know what to say, or truly even how to react. Tomorrow was afraid, it seemed and in ways he had only caused but never witnessed. Normally, a simple moment of soul sight would reveal the difference between a lie and the truth, but it was entirely different if a person had a gravely injured mind that truly could possibly really not be able to tell the difference between a lie and reality.

Max shook his head and said. "John, relax, I've never seen you like this. I assure you, if there was something up there we would know."

His glance shifted to Walter, offering the butler a nod, and then to John again. "Yes, alright, just calm down, if it will help we'll go to the surface."

With that Max began walking, staying beside his far large friend as he guided him through the maze-like twists and turns that were the inner workings of Shadow Island. Left turns, right turns, forks in the road that seemed to open up to identical hallways when it truly felt as if one had walked so far they should be at the edge of the floating chunk of land that housed this place. But walk on they did, eventually leading back to the neatly decorated entrance hall. Max moved ahead then to open the main double doors which in turn lead to the spiral rock staircase that opened onto the surface of the island. Silvery white moonlight poured down the stairs in a most inviting sort of way. "Are you feeling well enough to travel after this John? I can have Walter prepare us a carriage to take us to that temple once you've seen what you feel you must."

There was a certain about of serenity on Shadow Island's surface. A pristine garden, a long view of the Mithral Mountains giving way to the ocean from six thousand feet about and extending into eternity. The night provided a cool breeze, just enough to give a slight chill without being what one would call cold. Stars filled the sky in a plethora, miles and miles from any blaring city lights oh...and of course...

The Moon. It was not a blackened crisp, creatures were not swarming about its surface, it was not blood red, or menacing even in the slightest. As it had been yesterday, as it had been for millenia before that, the moon was just a spotted gray disk in the sky, bright and full, shining down pale silver light like a giant unblinking eye.

After a few quiet moments, there was a creak from the wooden door of the windmill and Maximos stepped out and walked silently up to the towering Aesir.

"Walter will be summoning us up a carriage in a moment or two." He said softly. There was a honest concern in his voice, the type belonging to someone truly concerned that the person in front of them could literally fall to pieces at any moment.

Pale hands slid into dark pants pockets and Max's mismatched eyes turned up to meet John's, staring into the moon. In the reflection of its silver glow his right eye seemed almost blank. "Its pretty."

He said, almost absently, and then. "Do you feel better?"

They came right out of the clouds.

Two of them. Their bright glowing hooves beat on open air as if it were solid ground and ran tirelessly toward the island, heavy breaths poured from flared nostrils and while blue manes whipped in the wind. They were horses, it seemed, until one got a closer look. What appeared to be flesh and blood creatures were actually made of marble. Hard stone pounding away, where the animal bent and moved the stone had cracked. Where it should have had hooves were instead broken ends where the stone had completely shattered off and imperial blue energy flowed down with each trot and then flowed up, pouring through the cracks in their black stone skin line neon veins bleeding out some sort of arcane life. These veins raced all the way across the twin beasts and all the way up their eyes which poured the same fountain-like essence like two ethereal spouts, just below where the blue flow seemed to break free around their crown and form a mane of some sort.

But the horses were not alone large metal ignots were tied just above their shoulders. Simply, bolted right into the creature and then affixed to a large dark wooden box being toed behind. No, not a box. Its center was carved out and open in an odd U shape, plum colored lengths of cloth were visible with the undulation of the beasts pulling it. It was a carriage, something straight of Victorian fiction, rolling with thick wheels who's rims sparked against the air as if rolling on an invisible friction.

The horse drawn carriage flew directly across the sky to the edge of the island and then effortlessly rode atop its surface, following a stony path around the gardens so that it could come to rest beside Tomorrow and Maximos.

Almost immediately, the Shadow cracked a wide grin and approached both of the horses, standing between them and affectionately rubbing both of their faces before offering each a small black cube from inside his vest pocket. "I would like you to meet our rides, John. They're new, I havent named them yet. But..."

He turned away from the horses which each in turn let out a whinny of excitement. The type of sound was correct but their voices seemed to echo as if coming from down a very long and empty hallway. Max walked to the carriage itself, all dark ebony wood with various compartments in its side. He opened what appeared to be a small cabinet and started rifling through it as he spoke. "...They'll do the job admirably."

He pulled away, closed the cabinet and then approached John, offering the man a green vial of some sort of. It was glass with bright green fluid inside that almost seemed to be glowing. "Drink this."

Max said, offering John the vial. "Its a more concentrated form of the Life Leaf...not my favorite, I only really allow two of these to be brewed at a time. I dont imagine it will restore you fully, but it should at the very least stabilize you until we arrive in Guldor."