Splittin' this jin joint.

"One more to go," Saul said. He let the blanket fall open. The gem fell into a corner of the portable hole along with the other two. "Definitely don't touch this one, unless you like the heat."

"So that's fire," Marc said. "That leaves earth."

Outside the hole, I heard wood hitting rock. "And I think that's it."

I climbed up the ladder and out of the portable hole. I took the five steps to the edge of the precipice where I could see the water some ten feet below me. Audry and Anna had already tied it off and were climbing up. After days of searching, they brought us the last of the elemental gems.

Anna saw me and smiled. She held up a small cloth that contained the elemental gem. She smiled broadly.

"Got it!"

I smiled in return. That was the good news--we were leaving. The bad news was I had to handle that damn golden skull again.

On Earth, an object is just an object. A phone, a computer, a car, even a sword--they are just things with no will of their own. Any good or evil they project is at the hands of the wielder (and if you don't think phones can project evil then you never had a telemarketer call you during dinner--God, I don't miss that one bit).

In this world, it doesn't work that way.

Saul and Marc stood at the edge of the hole watching us. They both had the same look on their face.

"Are you sure about this John?" Marc asked. "One of us could--"

"No," I said. "My idea, I'll do it. Besides, I've already handled it once."

"That's what disturbs me," Audry said. She dusted off her hands from the climb up the cliff face. "Such things have a cumulative affect."

"The more you handle it, the harder it gets," Anna said. "Look, maybe one of us should--"

"I said no." Anna flinched. My voice was louder than I intended. "Anna, I'm sorry. I just don't want anyone else exposed to this."

"Taking all the burden on your own, eh?" Saul said.

"He'd make a good Paladin," Audry said.

I wanted to laugh. A Paladin. Me? Virtue is not one of my virtues.

"We are here for you, John," Marc said. "Never forget that."

"I won't," I said. Without another word I descended into the hole. I wanted to hurry before I changed my mind.

As soon as my feet touched the floor I could hear its voice. All four stones were here, and it knew.

I am here.

I could hear it, but I couldn't. The voice was in my head, but I knew which direction it came from. I went to a pile of gems and jewels in a corner. I hadn't touched it since I came to the elemental nodes. I covered it in gems and jewels as we found them. There was a fortune here, but I'd throw it all away to get rid of that damn skull.

I reached inside the pile. My hands wrapped around it. The coldness made my fingers numb, but I knew I could hold it for eternity if I wanted. I terrible, oily feeling slipped through my consciousness. The golden skull, the orb of death, vibrated in my hand as I pulled from under the treasure.

The gem in the blankets vibrated. It glowed in the semi-light of the water node. The gem rose from the blankets and drifted lazily toward the globe. It rest itself in a hole on the forehead. I knew that it would take powerful magic to separate the gem from the golden skull.

I pointed the globe toward the remaining gems in the corner. They slid across the floor and into the air. The planted themselves in the remaining three holes that circled the skull. A shock went through my body. The knowledge of the skull's abilities filled my mind, showing me how its powers could be used. Scenes of humans and elves dying in droves before the skulls power swarmed over me. After a minute, it was over. I knew what this thing could do. More importantly, I knew the way out.

"John?"

I felt a hand on my arm. I didn't realize I had closed my eyes. When I opened them, I saw Anna standing before me. I never saw such concern on her face.

"Do you know how to leave?" Marc asked.

"Yes," I said. My voice had no emotion in it. "This is the key." I gripped the skull tightly. "With this I can...." I thought of what I could do. I thought of the terrible destruction I could rain down on enemies and friends alike. I also remembered something about the skull from the old pen and paper game. No good can come from using the skull.

"John," Audry said. She put her hand on mine. It quivered. She must sense the evil in the skull. "John, put it down."

No!

For a moment, I almost listened to the skull. On a whim, I dropped it. I felt a rush of anger from the skull. I kicked it into a corner. It hurled insults at me in a language I did not understand.

"I'm okay," I said. I blinked my eyes rapidly. "Wow, that sucks."

"Should we leave now?" Marc said.

"No," I said. "It's all good. We've been up for a while. We need to rest. Where we're going, we're going to need it."

--------

They are resting now. No matter what I do, I can't seem to get to sleep. The skull is sulking now. It realizes I won't be the easiest target to get a hold of. Or is it trying to make me think it thinks that?

I never understood true evil until now. All I want is to destroy this thing, and if that meant staying here in the nodes for eternity then I would do it.

Fortunately, it won't come to that.

Once we leave, both the nodes and the dungeon complex, we will destroy this thing as should have done years ago.

And I know how to do it.