It's a sunny spring morning in Pittsburgh and the last week of classes before finals. Sabrina Kluebottle and Nicholas Graf are seated in their Archeology 204 (Early Mideastern Cultures) class which is held in a large auditorium on the 31st floor of the Keystone Tower- the centerpiece of the campus.
The instructor- Prof. Samuels, is known for giving out really good review notes before the final, so everyone in the class is present and the room is full.
As the prof goes through his power point presentation, the next slide shown on the screen catches Sabrina's and Nicholas' attention. In vibrant green text on a shimmering gold background what appears to be a poem reads:
The great bear sleeps on, knowing no danger.
Ravens and mad dogs harken to the call.
Without timely help from the four strangers,
The light will fade and darkness will fall.
Three ages of time are guarded by foes.
Vanquish the warrior of blood and fire.
The soldier of steel must reap what he sows.
Gray guardians form a peril most dire.
The path is blocked by a wall of green.
The forest keeper would be death to fight.
A door awaits there, though none can be seen,
Its handle a flowery rose of white.
A candlelight vigil; a dirge forlorn,
The old one washes the shrouds of the dead.
The corpse must yet walk cross the Moor of Thorns,
'Til at last it reaches the Bridge of the Dead.
White becomes black, and black turn into white
The ancient rider will make the path clear,
The river is dangerous; one place is right.
Cross only the ford of the bloody spear.
The immortal minstrel gives help we need.
Listen to the head of the man who died.
The death king, and the blessed one will lead.
The man in green will be our final guide.
Three things will we need to work the wonder;
The whitened bones of Bedivere the bold,
The magic sword known as Exacalibur,
And the guardian bell cast all in gold.
The poem stays on the screen long enough to copy it down in your notebook, and then the presentation advances. Strangely though, you don't notice anyone else writing it down. The next slide goes back to covering ancient Sumerian irrigation techniques. Twenty minutes later class ends and the students begin filing out of the auditorium. Professor Samuels is down front answering some questions from a handful of students.
Down the hallway, James Kluebottle is hiding in the men's restroom. A campus security guard saw him shooting marbles out a windwon at some squirrels outside with his slingshot and has been chasing him around the building for the past 40 minutes. John Harrison is in the hallway waiting for his friend Nicholas to get out of class and go to breakfast.