"I guess I don't have much of a choice," Barnaby sighed as he turned to study Kotetsu. His partner was pushing the leftover chicken around on his plate, and he privately wondered if he wanted to finish it off. It wasn't like Barnaby intended to eat anymore.

"All right, what did you learn about the marbles, then?" he asked as he folded his arms over his chest. Barnaby hoped it didn't involve any stupid rituals or some kind of sacrifice. Ideally, the method behind using them would be as straightforward as those teleporation rings seemed to be.

The sooner they could figure out if this was a hoax, the sooner they could start making more solid plans.