Countess followed the Baron, and Lin and Vance walked behind her. The hallway was very long, and Countess was grateful when they finally turned into a large stairwell. They walked down one level and into a wide, open space with outward-angled glass observation windows around its periphery. Countess could see only black outside the windows. A sign over the entry to the area said: “Logistics Management / Operations / Observation.”

The dimly-lit room was enormous. Countess thought it was at least one-hundred feet wide. Around the outside were several complicated-looking control panels and built-in seating. A multitude of lit buttons, knobs, switches, sliders, etc. covered their surfaces. There were also what looked like rectangular panes of black glass at eye level, if one were seated at the control panel. Above the observation windows and completely encircling the room were more black glass rectangles.

In the middle of the room was dominated by a large, circular table. The side of the table was brushed gray metal, and the top was black glass two inches thick. As Baron Greystone neared the center of the room, the entire area magically sprang to life. Countess was temporarily blinded and held a hand above her eyes. The entire ceiling seemed to be composed of square white lights. And all of the shiny black rectangles were now showing bright, moving pictures.

“Whoa!” Countess heard herself say. She used a hand to shield her eyes from the glare.

Lin was so surprised, he actually pulled a sword from his belt and went into a defensive stance.

Vance laughed. “It’s okay, guys. This is all perfectly normal.” He held out his hands, palms down, and made a slow, patting gesture. “The lights and systems here are automated. They power up in response to our presence.”

“How is that possible?” said Lin.

“I’ve seen traps that do that kind of thing,” said Countess. “But there’s usually a tripwire or some other mechanical device involved. I see nothing like that here.”

“It’s a bit more sophisticated than that,” said the Baron. “There’s no time to explain the intricacies of everything you see today.” The Baron’s eyes went to each of their faces. He seemed to be watching them very carefully, gauging their reactions to what they were seeing.

Countess looked around the room. There was motion everywhere, and it was hard to know what to concentrate on. Everything seemed to be fighting for her attention. The world outside the observation windows slowly brightened to a warm yellow glow. Countess took several steps over to the nearest window and looked out. She jumped back, stunned. There was a cavernous gulf of space below them. The room they were standing in seemed to be suspended above a vast cave, a square cylinder that seemed to extend down to infinity.

“My god!” said Countess. “It’s enormous!”

“This is the control center for a large warehouse,” said the Baron. “Four warehouses, actually, and they’re all directly beneath our feet.”

Lin, who was standing next to Countess, looked down into the warehouse. “Whoa!” he said, his eyes wide. “Nope. No way. That’s crazy.”

Vance was more confident. He strode over to the window and bent over. “You guys are just being—” he jumped back. “Okay, yeah! That is…really far down.”

“If you’ll all join me here,” said the Baron. He looked annoyed at them. “We can begin.”
 Countess, Lin, and Vance gathered at the circular table. The Baron touched something on the black surface, and the area above it was suddenly filled with shapes that seemed to be made of colored light.

“Nice,” said Vance. “This is a really good quality holographic display! The best I’ve ever—” He noticed the Baron was staring at him. “—sorry.” Vance bowed his head and said no more.

Countess was amazed. Her eyes danced around the bright and beautiful pictures. The display was showing what looked like a topographical map of the area surrounding Greystone Barony. Then, the Baron touched the table, and the view shifted. The small, irregular circle that was the Barony outer bailey zoomed upward and took center stage.

Countess smiled. She looked at Lin. His eyebrows were raised so high, she thought they were going to detach and fly away.

“As you all know,” said the Baron, ”earlier this evening, Greystone Barony was attacked by pagan forces. They breached the gatehouse, killed several guards, and proceeded to infiltrate Intelligence Headquarters.”

The view zoomed again. This time, the barony keep was the focus. The view rotated and zoomed to its front entrance.

“The pagans entered here, then proceeded to kill more guards and staff.”

The view changed to a flat, plan-view map, with each level like a layer in a sandwich. The top and bottom layers sheared off and disappeared from view. Only one slice remained, the map of the ground floor. It angled itself to face them.

“Once inside, they made their way to my office, leaving traps of various types—most were spectacularly lethal. Countess disarmed most of the remaining ones.” The Baron looked at Countess.

“Thank you, Countess.”

Countess smiled but felt uncomfortable during this part of the briefing.

“Once my office was breached, they opened my panic room and stole the most valuable thing in it: one half of a powerful weapon.”

The Baron looked at each of them meaningfully, then he bent over and touched the table again. The view changed. There was now a large ring hovering above the table. It seemed to be slowly rotating. Except, it wasn’t. The outer surface of the ring was a moving picture of stars. Behind the stars were gas clouds of various colors.

“Beautiful,” said Vance.

Lin whistled softly.

“Beautiful and lethal,” said Baron Greystone. “This is one of the Rings of Callifrey. By itself, harmless. But together with its sister ring, it forms a weapon of divine temper, capable of destroying an entire kingdom.”

“How could something so small be so destructive?” said Lin.

“We don’t know,” said the Baron. “It’s ancient technology, highly advanced. It set a precedent in military weapon systems even in the advanced age in which it was made.”

“I can definitely see that,” said Vance. “Even the ability to display motion graphics on something so small is a wonder of technology.”

Countess sort of understood Vance’s meaning, if only by context. She looked at the Baron. He was smiling at Vance, but there was something more there. It was only there for a split second, but it seemed like Baron Greystone was trying not to laugh.

“And how about a power source?” said Countess. “I know about metal-acid batteries from my advanced systems training, but I’ve never seen anything this advanced. There would have to be a battery inside this, right?”

The Baron frowned. “The technology inside the rings is highly…compressed, I guess you could say. I’m sorry I don’t have more decisive answers for you.”

The Baron took a moment to look seriously at each of them in turn. “It is obvious that the pagans don’t have the other ring. Otherwise, they would have used it here tonight. And their quick departure seems to indicate they know where the sister ring is located.”

Countess looked at Lin. He was hanging on the Baron’s every word. Vance looked concerned, and slightly stunned. She might have to talk to him later, ensure his head was in the game.

“Your mission,” said the Baron, “is to prevent the pagans from acquiring the Rings of Callifrey, at all costs. Bring them back here, so they can be properly disposed of. The pagans themselves are expendable.”

The Baron touched the table again. The map reappeared, zoomed out and centered on the Hud river.

“Your team will meet with my contact named Hollymane in the Forbidden Land. She will—”
 Vance timidly interrupted. “I’m sorry, sir. Did you say…the Forbidden Land?”

“Yes. The ordinance preventing entry is lifted for you three only. You will each receive my mark. The guardians at the crossing will allow you to pass.”

Countess looked at Lin. He seemed impressed.

“I’ve always wanted to go there,” he said.

“Trust me,” said the Baron. “You don’t.”

Another touch of the holographic table, and the map panned and zoomed again. A red line extended out from Greystone Barony and moved toward the Hud river.

“You will travel on foot to this location.” A red dot punctuated the spot beside the river. “You will meet the guardians at the river, present my mark, and they will ferry you across to the Forbidden Land. From there, your team will be on your own. Be careful.” The red line made a left turn and traveled along the river north, then it made a right turn and went across the river. Another dot was placed on the other side of the Hud river, and then the line disappeared onto a huge gray area marked “Forbidden Land.”

“Once inside the Forbidden Land,” said the Baron, “you will locate Hollymane. She is in a medical facility somewhere inside the ancient city.”

“City?” said Lin. “There’s a city in there?”

The Baron looked at Countess. “Yes.”

Countess looked at Lin and shook her head. He shrugged.

“The sign on the building Hollymane is in will be labeled: ‘Labcourse’. Repeat the name with me.”

“Labcourse,” they all said in unison.

“Very good,” said Baron Greystone. “Hollymane will give you powerful weapons with which to fight the pagans. You need them. You’ve seen the pagans’ destructive capabilities already.”

The Baron pressed something on the holographic display table, and the map disappeared. He then turned around to face them.

“To review: Your team will travel a short distance to the guardians, who will ferry you to the Forbidden Land. Once inside, locate Hollymane and accept the weapons she gives you. Track down the pagans and prevent them from getting the Rings of Callifrey. Return them here. That is all.”

The Baron looked at them and smiled, as if a large weight had been lifted from him. “But before I dismiss you, I have a gift for each of you. A small token of my appreciation.”