Palmyra didn't go immediately, he couldn’t, not wanting to be gone for he wasn't sure how long without his wife knowing where he was going to be. He’d gone home after the meeting with the code. He had a lot to think about and he honestly wanted to tell his wife all about this. He guesses that was the good thing about most of his family being a part of all this. He didn't really have to keep secrets, not from his wife or his brother. He was honestly glad, he wasn't even sure he and his brother had any real secrets between them and Palm was sure he wouldn't be able to keep from telling him.


It was a couple nights later before he was able to go to Palmyra, doing as Shang instructed and saying the oath that came to him. Tonight, he had to resonate with the code piece on his wonder, but he knew he had other things he needed to accomplish, like figuring out if he was potentially a reincarnation or if this was in his bloodline … finding his ring and beginning work on restoring his wonder.

He stood on his wonder … a whole city … he had no idea where to start, but he was in awe at the moment, by the sheer size of it. It wasn't like his wife’s planet, a massive jungle. No it was quite cold, an odd shift from the warmer spring days they were experiencing on earth. His outfit was definitely not made for the temperatures. He frowned not really understanding why he was so lacking in the fabric department when he could have used more clothing.

He frowned looking around and trying to figure out which way to go. The code said it would help and he certainly needed it because he had no earthen clue where he was currently. It wasn't as if he’d been there before and had time to explore.

He didn't have time to note much before he saw the glowing trail that would lead him to his wonders’ code piece and started to follow it. It was strange and he felt small walking down the path lined with stone pillars for what seemed like, maybe a couple of miles. He didn't know how far he’d have to go, but he was pretty sure if it had to be secure, it was probably at the end. So he walked for 20 or so minutes, following the path laid out for him and just took in the sights. Past the columns were houses, tons of them and the whole city seemed to be walled off … no one was getting in that didn't belong. As he walked his pasted statues in what seemed to be a break in the miles of columns. He walked past more than one building that seemed to branch off from the road and he still hadn’t made it to the end.

It was close to an hour later when the road and at what appeared to be a massive building. Palm headed up the stairs, in through the arch, only to see that it was a larger than life courtyard, surrounding another building toward the back.

The light that was guiding him went right into that building. He frowned as he entered the building looking at the light that seemed to disappear into a wall. He went over to the wall and it was solid, so not seeing a way in he left out and went behind the building but the light just led back into the building. He frowned deeply and went back into the building, back to the wall where the light disappeared and inspected it further.

It had to be a wall, right? It had to move, though Palm had no idea how to move it. He wished he had a flashlight or something, it wasn't exactly bright even with the few windows the building housed. It was frustrating and he wondered if there was electricity of some sort, but realized it wasn't likely to work.

It took a bit before he noticed the check height; there seemed to be a little circle notch and the Castor symbol, as well as what looked like the light indentation of a hand print. It made him think of the ring and realized in order to get to the code he would need to find it. He prayed to whomever was listening that the damn thing was nearby. He didn't have ages to be looking for a damn ring.

He turned and started to search the building he was in checking every nook and cranny for the ring. He found it after about 15 minutes of searching on a shelf on one of the little alcoves dispersed equidistant around the wall. He sighed relieved and slipped the thing on to his hand before heading back over to the wall and pressing his hand and ring in place.

There was a shift and the wall slid to the side to reveal a staircase, the faint glow leading upward. Palm followed it, into what could only be described as an ancient attic. The floor was a long rectangle likely the length of the building, the wall slanted outward, giving the appearance for the back of a pyramid, only upside down. The code rested at the end of the room, pulsing and spinning erratically.

He went and stood before it, bowing his head and trying to clear his mind so he could resonate with the code piece. The concept was easy, but the stillness and quiet of the wonder didn't actually help. He wasn’t used to this place and he had no real connection to it. Instead he thought of home, back in Italy, running through the orchard and watching the boys stuff themselves full of grapes, he smiled and relaxed. It took some time before his thoughts cleared and he was able to really focus standing with his eyes closed feeling just himself and the code.

He frowned after a moment because it was loud, there were voices??? That was alarming causing him to wrench his eyes open to see he was certainly not where he’d been instead now he was outside of the city.

“Halicarnas,” he heard someone shout and spun to see himself … or rather another Palmyra and Halicarnus running toward him. “You're late brother, you said you’d be here like an hour ago. Did your training run over?”

Palm watched as the other him slung an arm around Hali, grinning and stirring him towards a bunch of buildings that lined the valley outside of the city walls. “Soooooo what knight tomb are we going to explore today Hali … we’ve got until supper before someone comes looking for me. We just can’t get caught like last time. Nazith was so mad.”

Palm turned and looked to what now knew were tombs and turned with a raised eyebrow to the troublemaker from the past and shook his head. The tombs were gorgeous with art painted on them and statues carved into them. He wondered if they were only for the previous knight that held post on Palmyra or if possibly there were others.

Young Palmyra released Hali and started making his way through the rows of tombs until he’d passed probably six of them and stood before one that was a couple football fields from where they had started. He seemed to have no qualms about going to the tombs and headed right into it and Palmyra could hear his laughter from outside the tomb. “Get in here Hali.”

Palmyra stayed outside, not really likely the idea of traipsing through someone's grave like it was some great adventure. He wasn't a kid anymore, hell he had young kids. He wasn't terribly impressed with the previous knight of Palmyra, but he wasn't overly mad because the page was certainly younger than him and was just having fun with his brother.

He smirked knowing he was definitely going to tell his brother they were brother, blood brother in a past life. It was one hell of a coincidence and Palm was hard pressed not to call it fate. He supposed some things were just meant to be and his and Hali being brother was one of those things?

He chuckled shifting as the pair came out, “it's always the same … want to head up to the castle?”

Palm frowned and looked around before he spotted a massive castle outside of the city, up on a hill. He really didn't get why those two places weren’t walled off like the rest of the city, but he wasn't really given time to figure it out. He blinked and he was standing back in the present looking at his wonder’s code piece back to a nice stable glow. He didn't know if he wasn't meant to feel any different, but he certainly felt relief and a sense of accomplishment. Everything was as it should be and he even found his ring, now it was time to go home. He hoped at least it wasn't past 3 am, so he could at least get some sleep.

WC: 1535