Shireroth

There was a man outside of those old, original JASO Labs on Amity Island, knocking loudly on the doors, walking around looking for an open entrance. "Are you going to let me in now?"

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked a random guard, peering down at the strangely dressed person. The man was young, and wearing painfully bright orange and green. He looked very impatient.

"I'm Bayen, and I'd like to poke around the laboratories..." explained Bayen slowly, as if it was all very obvious and the guard was rather slow. "You know, swap a few chemical bottles, mess around with some of the charts, oh, and look at some of the very old records, of course..."

"No!" said the guard indignantly. "Who do you think you are?"

"I just told you that, didn't I?" said Bayen, rolling his eyes.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Oh really?" drawled Bayen. "Go ahead. Ask me." The guard stood baffled for a moment. "You know, ask me to leave. You said you were going to..."

"Oh... erm..." stammered the guard. "Would you please leave?"

"Sorry, can't do that," replied Bayen. "I've got some stuff to do here."

"What would that be?" asked the guard suspiciously.

"HOW MANY TIMES WILL I HAVE TO GO OVER THIS WITH YOU?" yelled Bayen. "Sorry, it's just... haven't we already done this? Several times? I'm here to swap a few chemical bottles, mess around with some of the charts, oh, and look at some of the very old records, of course..."

The guard was starting to get confused. "Maybe I should call my superior officer..."

"That would be great!" said Bayen jovially. "In fact, if you can, get the Count personally..."

"You want me to go straight to Count Russell?" asked the guard, astonished.

"Wait, WHAT?" asked Bayen, suddenly realizing there might be a slight hitch to his plans.

"Gman Russell, the Count here...?" clarified the guard.

"O-o-oh..." said Bayen slowly. "See, I must have missed the memo... I thought it was one Prodigy Almighty..."

"He was count..." said the guard. "Not any more."

"Well, that might be a slight problem..." said Bayen. "Ah well, go see if Count Russell will talk to me... he might let me in... it's worth a shot... maybe... I think... I hope..."

As the guard was about to pick up his radio, a shout came from down the road.

"OY!" called Prodigy as he ran up the road. He had a new paint job; he wasn't red anymore; in fact, he was jet black...

He stopped in front of the door, next to Bayen, and glared at the guard. "What the hell are you doing? I told you to let him in!"

The guard saluted. "I'm sorry, Your Lordship, but your orders are voided since you are no longer Count."

Prodigy looked at the man as if he hadn't answered the question. "You moron, I got PROMOTED! I'm not a Count anymore, yeah, but I'm still BARON of Absentia and am your superior!"

"But, Your Lordship, the Count will not--"

"I'll take the blame," Prodigy sighed, rolling his eyes. "Don't forget I'm HIS superior too. Go on in, Bayen."

Bayen moved to open the door. "Well, aren't you coming, Prodigy?" he asked. "You're in on this as well... you might even get a chance to test out that shiny new 'paint job' you've got there." He winked.

"I've got a few things to catch up on," replied Prodigy, rolling his eyes. "I might be able to join you later... I'll catch you on the way out, then maybe. I would really like to play with this new... paint..." He grinned.

"Alright, then," said Bayen, slipping inside. It was a huge place. It looked old, as if the equipment hadn't been used in a long time. Well, they were Jasonian labs, after all... Bayen doubted they were kept up for use - more for historical reasons, he suspected. Hence the guard.

Bayen sighed. It looked like it was time to root through all of this stuff. Why couldn't this type of thing be any simpler? Noo... complex scavenger hunts... He grumbled loudly, looking over the tags on the rooms. Engines, Aerodynamics, Biochemistry, Archeology, Testing...

Wait... why was there an Archeology Department in this type of a lab? It wasn't very plausible... and the style didn't really match the rest of the place...

Bayen walked by the "Authorized Personnel" sign without hesitation. Inside, there was a small note on top of a desk. Bayen read it over, picked it up, and put it in his pocket. Then he left.

The note read:
Begin as we did, in the Cavern of the Day
Where once It lay holds secrets to the path you seek.

Set your course from the land by wave of the Bristlebane Saviour
Many twists and turns you will take before you meet Christoph L.

Ask him not which way does the sun go, nor from where the Treesians come,
But envisioned is the gateway which the past reveals.