The royal shuttle landed just outside the alien forest. The Trixians had been exploring for weeks now away from the main refugee fleet looking for some sort of place to settle and establish as a new homeland. It was only by chance that Enru found than Enris IV was similar to their old homeworld. Instantly Octavia insisted that they land there to learn as much about the planet as they could. An had protested stating that it was too dangerous for them to go to an unexplored world with out more guards, but once the pink haired princess had decided on something it was impossible to get her to change her mind.

The shuttle door opened and two hand maidens walked out, the tall blonde, Enru, and the short brown haired woman, An. They had just managed to barely convince her Highness to stay in the shuttle while they went out and checked out the forest. Still they knew they had to find explore it quickly or else the Princess would wander out and try to explore on her own. Still if the handmaidens were able to handle the situation correctly they could make sure that Octavia would be in no danger.

The demon moved closer to the energy source readings. He had circle the plan in orbit half a dozen times and the short range sensors of his ship kept signaling that the readings were coming from deep in the old forest growth. He grunted in frustration as another spikey plant sought to entangle a foot as he moved through the undergrowth. He had circled the numerous times hoping the computer had simply missed an easy landing zone, much closer to the source.

As he pulled his foot free, he had thoughts of returning to that damned slave trader and pulling her four lungs out through her mouth. As his foot finally joined the other three in freedom, he walked around a couple of the large trunks and ran right into a large heavily trodden path of dirt twelve feet wide. The sight of the easement caused him to roar in rage, throwing his head back and releasing a gutteral bellow of frustration.

The damned slaver never mentioned a path once. Hours of fighting for progress from the landing zone, only to find a walking path. Thoughts of violence and the slaver floated through his mind for a few minutes as he stepped cautiously onto the pressed dirt.

An and Enru got a little ways into forest as they looked for any signs of intelligence life in the forest. Alas, there was nothing that made the handmaidens believe the forest had any sort of major animal life. The two looked at each other as they realized that at least this forest probably did not contain enough nutrients that would support large lifeforms. And if it it could not support large lifeforms than it probably would not support a large colony. Still they wanted to make sure there wasn't something hiding on the edge of forest. Once the forests edges were secure then they would work their way towards the interior.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the of the shuttle entrance a pink haired princess appeared. She was wearing her formal wear, wanting to make a good impression just in case there was anyone in the forest. The princess slowly stepped off the shuttle to look around and see what was in the forrest.

The path made walking through the older forest much easier. The planet seemed to be mainly pine, although the remnants of tropical plants were abundant. He traveled the path listening to the sounds of wildlife. There was the hum of insects, the chirps and chitters of who knew what, and the soft groans of tree branches creaking under the gently warm breeze. Although the plant life was similar to the paradise of Shokushu, those forests were alwayss unnaturally silent.

Far off in the distance the bright sunny sky was marred by the appearance of angry thunderheads. In the distance, flashes of light erupted, so far only a speck on the horizon, who knew how long he had to find the temple before the storm hit.

He continued along the path seeking the destination that the road surely led to. The temple was said to contain an object he had only heard of in rumor. The trader though promissed him him the much needed equipment for a new lab. He thought the whole thing a joke but the signed offer made the demon start to believe some nugget of the information may prove to be true. The scans from overhead had shown a temple in the middle of the forest, so who knew how accurate the rest of the information may be.

The Princess was surprised to find what looked like a large walking path in the forest. It was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good for the royal as she now had a walking path to explore the forest without worrying about her dress getting snagged on branches and such. However it meant that other people visited the planet and so it might actually less empty than she had first suspected. Still it was nice to hear the hum of insects as she moved through the woods.

It was then the young woman had the sound of thunder overhead. Octavia looked up and saw that far off in the distance there was some clouds, with flashs of light within them. The royal suddenly realized that a fierce thunderstorm would soon be upon her.

At first instinct, the young woman thought about running back to the shuttle and ride out the storm. However, it was at this point pretty far away and she was not sure she would make it back before the storm arrived in the forest. It was then that the pink haired princess noticed that there was some sort of building in the middle of the forest. Perhaps she could find shelter there she thought. Not realizing that the she was not the only one that was looking to get to the building before the storm arrived.

The demon was the first to arrive at the temple, and he was thankful that he made it when he did. The tell tale crackle of thunder approaced in the distance, the retort following the flashes that remained in his visions for seconds after they had passed. He approached the large structure. It seemed to made of solid stone, erupting unnaturally from the middle of a small clearing.

The structure appeared to be a large cube with a pyramid resting to the top. Everywhere he looked the stone seemed to dance as he moved his head. As he approached he realised it was simply that every surface of the archaic structure was dominated by carvings. Although they were crude in nature they seemed to show enough actions to represent an entire pictographic language. He paused a moment to look over a few near the 20 foot high maw of a large predatory cat that was carved as an enterance.

It was an effective ward, as even the powerful demon felt wary entering such a foreboding work of art. Yet, invisibly enter he did, unaware of the approaching party of women soon to follow...

Octavia continued to move faster towards the temple, as she could tell the storm was approaching quickly. The thunder started to getting more frequent as flashes of light soon began to lead the claps of thunder. The young woman could tell the storm was going to be over the forest very soon and very intense when it arrives.

The royal found a large stone building in the middle of clearing in the forest. The building looked like was covered in carvings of some sort of language, mostly heiroglyphs. Unfortunately for the pink haired princess she only could read the Trixian language. Her ability to talk to others in their native language was only due to her ability to read their surface thoughts and infer their language and accent. So she had no idea what the stone building was built. She paused for a moment as she found the entrance of the building, which was designed to be the mouth of some sort of large cat.

Any thought of not entering was gone when a flash and earth shaking thunder followed, the young royal ran into the building. She didn't know where her handmaidens were but she was positive they would find her soon enough...

The rumble of thunder filled the demon's ears as he paused to look around the stone chamber. Everywhere his eyes alighted, he took in many thousands of carvings. As impressive as the structure was for how archaic the building appeared, the glyphs were even more astounding for their level of detail and the sheer amount of time that so many would take to complete.

The room was in darkness, except for the light streaming in through the opening, but his cat-like green eyes quickly adjusted in the blink of an eye. He looked around the cavernous room, noticing four doors on each side of the square chamber facing each of the cardinal directions. Above the strange pictures climbed towarda the ceilings stopping just short of the roofs. It was truely like walking into a cartoonist's dream. As he glanced at the stone benches carved out of the walls, they were waist height on him. They must have been a taller species than average to have seats raised so high.

He was about to set off through the door opposite the enterance when a flash of lightning exploded in a flash from behind him, followed by the rumbling retort of more thunder. As the bassy noise died down he heard something peculilar for the obviously abandoned structure. From the enterance way came the shuffling sounds of someone approaching. Was it another treasure hunter seeking his prize? He settled invisibly in the corner waiting for the arrival of the intruder, wondering what manner of crrature followed him...

Octavia ran inside the room as she struggled to get away from the intense storm that was approaching. The royal took a moment to catch her breath before she had realized she was in a dark room. The young royal soon realized that she in dark room that only was a bit of light that streamed through the door. And it was only going to get darker as storm approached and covered up the sky.

A flash of lightning lit up the room, temporarily illuminating the room. The Princess only had a moment to see the room before the light faded away. It looked like the entire room was filled with more of the strange pictures as each wall appeared to be covered in them. There also appeared to be three other doors in the room. THe also appeared to stone benches but they were way too high. A loud crash drove the young woman back to reality as the entire room shook with that rumble of thunder. That lightning strike was really close and the young woman was now really glad she was inside.

The young royal immediately moved over to the door opposite of the entrance. She wanted to get as far away from the storm as possible. The woman wondered if she was going to be able to open the door and find some place that is a little safer. More importantly would royal the find a room that was a bit better lit than this one. If it had no external light she would have to just simply wait up here until the storm passed before she could try anything else.

The demon remained motionless in the corner as the shuffling drew closer. His light bending invisibility rendered him invisible like a motionless chameleon. Unless someone were looking right at him and their brain knew what to look for, he was the ultimate surprise hunter. Readying himself to launch his tentacles from under his arms, he wonders what type of being was headed his way.

His green eyes surveyed the cavernous room as a solo humanoid made her appearance. She had long pink hair and wore a dress. Her sudden appearance kind of threw him for a loop. Of all the dangers and possible run ins he had envisioned for this treasure hunt, a lone beautiful female, who at a glance appeared unarmed was not one of them.

He watched as she took in the carvings with each flash of lightning much the same way he had. He had the inkling that she was a first time visitor much like himself. The real question was what she was doing here? Was she competition in the hunt, a simple traveler seeking shelter, or was she some magical illusion created to lure in unsuspecting tomb raiders?

He watched as her shapely form headed through the doorway opposite the enterance, and Slimer moved in pursuit to find the answers to his many questions...

The young woman that struggled for a moment with the door, but she was really strong enough to get it open. The Princess was not one of her handmaidens who had the strength training to make this an easier task (if strength was all that was needed to get the door opening). The royal took a moment to take a break as she looked over the door again.

She heard another crack of thunder as the sky soon lite up the building once more. Octavia let out a startled shout, though her homeworld had thunderstorms, she couldn't remember any thurnderstorm to be as intense as this. Or at least when she did she had the safety of the palace or one of her family's summer homes to rely on. Here she just had this stone building that she knew absolutely about.

After taking a moment Octavia went to the door and tried to force it open it again, this time she found she had it almost gotten it open the first time. Now the royal only had to put a little more effort into and then suddenly the door gave and opened. Immediately the Princess could smell the musky scent of the room beyond as it appeared it had not been opened up in ages. Hopefully the Princess thought, she would find some sort of light source inside.

She was a slim little woman, her long flowing pink hair trailed down her back as she worked the door open. Moving behind her, he followed her inside the room. The stale air was an indication that perhaps the room had not been breached in longer than he had been alive. It was wierd the way her delightful aromal teased his nostrils even as the pugent moist air of age warred against it.

As they entered a shimmering light seemed to begin along the corner of the room, and traveled along the seemless corner where the carved stones of the walls met those of the floor. What magic was this the demon thought? How powerful was this long extinct race that the dim light still operated centuries after the last reported contact with the original builders had occured. Those reports were simply lost in the sands of time though, and that precious knowledge was as dead as the creators of the structures. He knew it as a certainty. Yet as the glow proceeded to fill the new chamber, he began to have doubts.

The demon might have reevaluated his need to be there if it wasn't for the strange arousal he felt building for the brave and shapely female before him. It wasn't long before he let his eyes travel from her delicate form to explore the wonderous surroundings that became faintly illuminated...

Octavia could smell the stale air as she entered the room, it had to be at least centuries since anyone had opened this particular chamber. For a moment the royal had extreme doubts on whether she should even attempt to go on any further. Still there was a sense of discovery, the idea that she had seeings something that had not seen in forever that made the pink haired woman moved on.

It was then that that the room seemed to light up in a shimmering light along the corners of the room. The dimly room made the young woman feel a little safer as she was no longer stumbling around in the dark. She wondered what kinda of people built this place if they could produce a building that had this shimmering light that could power the room hundred years after anyone had visited the place. Octavia followed the light as the it seemed to lead her further into the chamber. It seemed liked it was inviting the young woman to go further into the room and she what was there.

Obvious to the what was behind her, the Princess would have probably tried to run away screaming. But the royal did not realize there was a demon behind her, one that would be able to take her in instant. For now though both her and the demon were more intent on see what was in this room...

The glow seemed to eminate from no where in particular in the large room as it spread up the walls and along the ceiling. Like the preceeding room, this one had more of the intricate glyphs linging evety inch of the walls and evening the ceiling. The floor sloped downward though. It was a gentle slope and by the time one traversed the cavernous area the would have unwittingly traveled a few feet underground. There was a noticable difference in the temperature of the air from the enterance to the back wall.

As the demon took in his surrounding he was in awe that such an ancient culture had managed such technology. He thought of it as technology bcause he could discern no magic source. A failure as a young imp in those studies, he still was able to use his innate abilities to see the weaves of magic, yet he saw none.

The room was vastly empty, yet in the center stood a still body of water. The pool was either a few inches deep or endless. Looking at it from the surface would give no apparent idea of its depth. In the far back corner on the left hand side was another enterance, carved to mimic the head of a beast the demon could not identify, even after all his travels. The eight eyes all appeared evenly spaced apart from its pair, yet they seemed to travel the circumference of its head.

As the room finished illuminating though, a soft glow began to eminate over the waters surface. Little did the demon know they had stumbled onto some sort of informaion storage system. Without speakers, and without magic source, a gurgling woman's voice spoke in some strange language, her vocal patterns creating a rippling on the surface of the still pond. Cautiously the demon watched the pink haired beauty and contemplated his next action. He needed the treasure that was for certain, but anyone who had possession of this level technology would not simply hand it over...

Octavia tried to figure out where the source of the glow, however there did not seem to be any indication of where it could be coming from. Soon the entire room was lite up showing more of the glyphs similar to the other room, the pink haired royal was so enthralled that she did not notice that she was actually slowly traveling down a gentle slope. Unknowningly, the Princess had traveled several feet underground. When the cool air hit her skin, the young woman assumed that it had already started to rain already.

The Princess could not even begin to imagine how this room was powered if it was made out stone. If the Trixians could some how harvest this power and apply it to their ships, they would be able to greatly improve their ships. Even if it only affected the lighting, that is less power the ship had to use for lighting and could be used elsewhere.

It was then that the Princess noticed a still body of water in the center of the room. It was unnaturally smooth as of someone took the sharpest of blades to perfectly cut off all the waves that a pool would normally have. The young woman could not see the bottom of the pool. Apart from the pool the only thing in here of interest was some sort of creature's head. It had eight eyes and they seemed to evenly spaced across its head. Octavia wasn't sure what it was and was not going to get any closer to find out.

It was then that the pool begin to glowly softly, the Princess's attention was diverted to the water at this latest development. Slowly the water began to ripple as a female voice began to emanate from the surface water. The royal did not recognize it and sounded like it was gurgling. The fact that the Princess could not immediately understand told her that she had come across some sort of ancient device, had there been a mind attached to it, she would have picked up on the language due to her own psychic powers. This was going to make accessing it difficult, though maybe...just maybe it knew Trixian. I am Princess Octavia, House of Bellatrix, of the Trixian Hegemony. I wish to know what I am addressing.