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Post by RenaRoo121 on Apr 15, 2010 20:42:13 GMT -5
The passage to Kathmandu from the Crystal Palace was a long and tiresome one. It was a path that took stamina, patience, and the knowledge of where to go and when to make a move. The path that Katmandu took, a path he was very familiar with, had he and the robotic hero known as Nano within the gates of the industrious city before they could say "Shangri-La."
The city was not too unlike the major cities found around the world, borrowing the same bland architecture and the same mixture of worlds and cultures. It was bright and crowded and, in that sense, the way it had been the last time Katmandu had visited it.
The demigod kept his newfound friend tucked against him securely in the nook of his lower limbs as they crossed into the Hindu slums of the city. It was the place he was born in and, likewise, the place he was most familiar with.
There were many good and many bad memories to be found in this area. He did not like crossing it and the tight grip he held on Nano would most likely give this away.
For the sake of Charlie Llama, or who Charlie had once been and someday would be again, though, Katmandu was willing to go to any lengths. This included crossing his most hated territory.
He sighed and looked to Nano as they crossed the area in the blanket of shadows.
"My brother, you have never explained to me what your interest is in Shangri-La. I know you seek to save the city of your origin but never have I understood how seeking Eden would aid Sodom or Gomorra."
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Post by saralinda on Apr 27, 2010 10:21:22 GMT -5
"No, NO, blast it! I need for to seek out the leader of men," Augie repeated. He pushed his spectacles further up on the bridge of his nose and wiped sweat and dust from his face with a red handkerchief. It was proving difficult to find a guide. His Nepali was rusty at best; he hadn't been in his home dimension in over three years. Readjustment was frustrating, accompanied by handwaving and shouting, although August wasn't typically a shouty person.
"Aguwaa! No...fine, I'll take it." He accepted the skin of yak's milk that was offered him with a sigh, giving a handful of coins in payment.
Augie's impatience was justified somewhat: he was searching for a lost scepter, a non-earth artifact of political importance that had ended up stashed in the Himalayas, abandoned by the inter-dimensional criminals who'd stolen it. Recovering the scepter would bring peace to the Lintarii people, whose culture he had been studying. He felt he'd been charged with a vital mission. Everything that stood in his way--Earth customs he hadn't had to deal with in years--was a source of aggravation.
The people in this slum, for example: they seemed reluctant to have anything to do with him, never mind volunteer their services as guides. He'd never had such trouble hiring a support crew before.
"I'll guide you."
Augie looked left, right, then down. There in front of him, deep in the middle of a profound bow, stood a child.
"Into the mountains? THOSE mountains?" the anthropologist asked dubiously. He swept a gnarled hand toward Shivapuri, which was looming in the distance.
"Yes, sir. I'm Sherpa; my grandmother taught me, before I came to this place."
Well, the lad was well-mannered at least. Tiny, but polite. And since zero others had come forward...
"You're hired. I'll pay you in American dollars, bujhnu?" He eyed the lad's fraying rags. "I'll buy you a new suit of clothes, too." Without waiting to see whether the Sherpa boy would follow him, August O'Neil set off at a brisk pace through the slum. He wanted only to return to his hotel, change clothes, and pack for the expedition ahead. Unfortunately, he was going in entirely the wrong direction.
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