zallia | Nerd Fun 3--Part 3

In my haste to flee the now crumbling building, I almost forgot to grab the findings, the precious artifacts that had cost Robert his life...

The protection I could give them was the hat off my head as the walls came down around me, though it's not like it would afford me any protection should I happen in the path of a wayward stone...

I took one last look at my fallen comrade, wishing desperately that there were some way I could save his body from being entombed in this wretched place that had taken his life, but alas, I had not the strength for such an endeavour and instead patted his unruly brown hair back into place and kissed him gently on his forehead as a final sendoff before I was forced out lest the pyramid take my life as well...

When I reached the outside, I fell to the ground relishing the fresh air of the outside world after having breathed in the stagnant dust for so long...the excavators had already retreated, abandoning their vehicles upon noticing the crumbling stone...I was still disoriented from grief and panic, but I remember hands dragging me to safety and through my haze I quickly shuffled my hat into my bag...

Suddenly, there was a terrible thundering and I looked back to see the pyramid had split into two, then four pieces, as it shuddered and seized in a violent manner...

The dirt around the pyramid began shifting as well and I realized that the pyramid was not just crumbling, but sinking, as well. The earth hungrily swallowed not just the stone, but the vehicles that had been left behind as well, thankfully bereft of innocent bystanders...

The silence in that desert was palpable after that. Everything was very still as we gazed at the smooth land where an awesome monument had stood only a few short hours ago...I began sobbing, drained after the whole ordeal...but then anger filled me as my senses took leave and I rushed over to where the pyramid had been and began clawing at the ground, screaming at it to return my friend...the crew pulled me back trying to talk me back into reality, while I gripped hanfuls of dirt in my hands, but I was lost in my grief and frustration and finally collapsed into a catonic state and was taken to the hospital...

Having only incurred bruising and scratches, there was no real reason to go to the hospital for medicine could do nothing for my state, but on the walk back to civilization, I realized that I still had the handfuls of dirt and rocks clutched tightly in my hands...I opened them to see these last remnants and discovered that what I thought was a rock, turned out to be a polished stone, carved with artifacts unlike those that I saw in the pyramid...

It was the lost Key of Ardamia, thought lost to the ages, or possibly destroyed, and just maybe the key to an unworldly power that could grant access to the greatest magic mankind had never found...

I knew in my heart that never would the pyramid had given up this secret on its own and that it could only have been Robert's influence, trusting that I would not be corrupted by it, but instead gain wealth in riches and knowledge the likes of which I couldn't even imagine...a parting gift that Robert had bestowed upon me...

I began contemplating the future and how I was going to locate the Lost City of Ardamia, but it only filled my head with thoughts of how our last adventure had gone so horribly wrong...I wasn't sure I was up to another adventure after this, remembering how my friend had looked, possessed by evil and suffering so, but I knew I couldn't remember him that way, I needed to focus on the good times and think about my happy Robert...and as I held the Key up to the sun, I whispered to him "This one's for you, old friend..."