-*-*-*-*-*-*- Deo: The Garunda Tower Scene = Part 1 -*-*-*-*-*-*-
						     Written: Dec 3, '96
						     By: Simon Knowles

Deo trudged miserably along the path, slowly making his way along the path the city guard had directed him along.

"Tara! Oh.. Tara..", Deo moaned, his eyes scanning the horizon, futilely looking for his beloved, "Where are you now?"

His pendant, which hung on a small chain around his neck, glowed green against his breast, soothing his heart gently, as it always did, as if somehow the stone was imbued with her life force.

"Tara.."

Waiting for no further remorse to claim him, Deo continued on, hoping to find the town that the villager in Tunlan had spoken of. This majestic castle town was the largest in the land, according to the villager. Its walls were as high as those of the sheerest mountains. Deo mumbled to himself. The recollection of the villager's exact words brought thoughts of disbelief to his mind, as no simple castle town could have walls that high!

"Night's coming on.. fast..", Deo remarked to himself. It was true. Since he had left Tunlan, the nights came into darkness with the ferocity of a lion, as if some unnatural source was banishing the day.

"I've got to find someplace secure..", he noted. It was not safe to be out in the open at night, as Deo had so roughly discovered, one night, when he was ambushed by two foxes, looking for an easy meal. Fortunately, these particular foxes couldn't swim, and Deo managed to climb out on the other bank. 

Deo increased his pace, and soon, came upon a tower in the distance. Ignoring the dark and forboding air about it, silhouetted against a firey sunset of vibrant reds, oranges and yellows, Deo trudged with renewed determination towards the tall tower.

			     -------------

Around the time the sun had set level with the horizon, Deo had reached an intersection, with a dusty path heading to the tower. After picking his way through the undergrowth of the unused path, he managed to get to the base of the tower.

After a quick investigation of the surroundings, however, he discovered only one possible entrance in: A tall dark wooden door. Its rusted metal frames betrayed no crevice in gaps of the oaken wall's perimiter. Seeing no visible latch anywhere in the long-sealed portal, Deo sat down, his head bowed, totally at a loss of what to do next.

Suddenly, his pendant became warm to the touch of his skin. Deo sat up, confusion swirling wild in his eyes among the green glow that was coming from under his chin. What possessed this stone?! A small, but clear, tone was heard, shattering the total silence which had fallen. Deo, his attentions directed to the chain around his neck and the bizarre action of his amulet, didn't even notice the great doors moving, until a loud creak was given from the rusted joints.

Deo, as if propelled by some invisible but definite force, cautiously stepped inside the gateway. Not wanting to hang around to explore the depths of this dark stone building, he ran up the nearest flight of stairs, and took the first flight of steps he came across, until he ended up on the top rampart of the tower roof, many many dizzying lengths from the ground.

Finding a comfortable spot in the corner, among some weeds that had grown there, who knows how, Deo lapsed into an uneasy, but silent sleep.