The room in front of Arjun was shaped like a massive three-pointed star, with the central region being roughly circular. They’d come in through one of the arms, using the largest of the three entrances, one without any doors, but guarded by a couple of squads of heavily armed stonehorns. The two other entrances also sloped upward, but were only about half as wide, although exact dimensions were hard to decipher on account of the structure in the middle of the flat redstone floor filled with primitive sigils.
“Am I hallucinating?” Arjun muttered, eyes fixed on the surreal vision in front of him. “Or is that a giant glowing mushroom?”
“My thoughts exactly, the first time I saw it. Even thought I was seeing shrooms because I ate some dodgy ones,” Kumil said with a chuckle. “To answer your earlier question,” he told Eve, “we didn’t build it. It was always here.”
“This is no natural formation,” Arjun said, though he wasn’t entirely convinced about the truthfulness of that statement.
“Unless you consider Bramka himself to be a natural manifestation,” Eve pointed out.
Arjun nodded, conceding the point, too busy analyzing the fantastical structure in front of him to argue.
Mentally he divided the mushroom into three parts. The mostly invisible stalk, the humongous bulb and, strangest of all, the veil.
The cascading stream of rainbow light that descended from the bottom edge of the bulb created a translucent curtain – a veil – preventing Arjun from getting a clearer look at the stalk. His erratic earth-senses insisted it was metal even though the small portion sticking out from the top, some three hundred feet above, seemed to be made of stone. The bulb was neither. He sensed a kernel signature inside it, as well as in the veil that enshrouded whatever lay inside.
Then, all of a sudden, in an act that felt eerily similar to the starting of a heart, or an engine, the bulb and the sigils beneath their feet flashed a pale blue, and then started repeating every few blinks. With the added illumination, a backward glance revealed the sigils actually extended several dozen feet into the corridor they’d entered through.
James left the little command group consisting of the princess, Cavern Lord and the general, and ambled over to the three dumbstruck youths and one proud half-stonehorn.
“You can gawk all you like after we’ve fulfilled our generous hosts’ request,” the Cleric said, somehow managing to mean every word of it. After sharing so much in so little time with him, Arjun had all but forgotten the fact that the man was a professional liar. “Come on, don’t dawdle.”
After seeing Rukalia, the Cavern Lord, Mikalim and James vanish into the glowing interior of the mushroom, Arjun ventured, “What in the name of Aimin is it?”
The hint of a kernel signature emanating from within the mushroom was too diffused for him to get a proper read on. All he received was a sense of unfathomable age, apart from an intimidating mix of warning and challenge, with the former being the dominant feeling.
“The First Challenge for entering the domain of Bramka,” Kumil said, providing an encouraging nod. “Heaven’s Stepwell. This will take us to the Outer Sanctum.”
“Makes sense. Bramka is, after all, The Judge and the god of heavens all rolled into one. Never heard of this stepwell though,” Eve said, her face aglow with more than just the strange multicolored light given off by the Stepwell.
Wondering soul glows bright, Thurma was fond of saying. On those precious few occasions when she’d start reminiscing about her past – after a little prodding by Arjun, of course – her two studious pupils would listen with rapt attention to harrowing tales of adventures in distant lands. In the bustling capital of Aimingar, in the mysterious Shadow Forest, even faraway places like the Maha Aranya.
Later, after the end of the story, Arjun would suggest an amendment to her self-coined proverb, saying the soul that both wanders and wonders glows brightest, pointing to her own experience as supporting evidence. At which point she’d harrumph and start scolding both Hammond and him for distracting her. They should be studying as if their life depended on it, she’d say, not trick their old teacher into spilling her life-story. Arjun let out a sigh, and wondered if he’d ever see his favorite teacher again. Then, Kumil’s words struck him. Or rather, the capitalized inflection of them.
“What challenge?”
“Any who enters will be judged. Those meaning to harm Bramka will suffer the consequences of entering the Stepwell. Fear not. You should be fine,” Kumil said, walking ahead with confident steps and was soon swallowed by the light.
“Brilliant,” Arjun groaned, running a hand over his face. “Vague as they come.” No telling what the parameters of the test is going to be. All he can do is open up his Crown Chakra and hope not to get smote down by heavenly judgment. Not an altogether new predicament, though that didn’t make it any less daunting.
“Courage,” Eve muttered to herself, giving Arjun a determined backward glance. Thereafter, she squared her shoulders, took a step, and disappeared both from his view and essence senses.
Arjun glanced sideways at Aisha, who looked the calmest she’d looked since entering the subterranean realm. Soothed by her serenity, Arjun braced himself and stepped in.
As soon as he did that, as expected and feared, an external presence brushed against his Crown Chakra.
It lasted only for the most fleeting of moments, but Arjun felt the now-familiar sensation of…insignificance, of smallness, and of harmony, the same way a drop of water feels in the midst of the ocean.
With his next step, both the feeling and the consciousness that had evoked it, evaporated, leaving him with a strange sense of euphoric desire. The desire to explore the realm of the stonehorns, and the courage to dig out all its hidden nuggets of wisdom. He then received a tiny dose of the same sensation all over again from their link as Aisha emerged right behind him. He gave her a nod and a smile, then strode toward the group waiting up ahead, at the foot of the towering stalk, which, closer inspection revealed, was made up of a type of rock, mixed with some sort of raw metal ore, both unfamiliar to him.
“If everyone who enters has to pass the test, as you said, how did the thieves get in? Even a whiff of the full attention of that…” he swallowed, “and your brain would turn to mush. Is there another entrance?”
“No,” Rukalia gave a sad shake of the head. “They came through here, using treachery and deceit. And gold.”
Mikalim looked even more grim than usual at the mention of treachery. “The guards are being questioned. Thoroughly. But the thieves covered their tracks well.” Arjun sensed a deep pit of sadness behind his eyes, one hiding an even deeper pit of shame. “They were allowed in because they didn’t mean any harm to Bramka himself.”
“Few trinkets stolen here and there won’t affect Bramka at all. Still, a significant loophole in your security,” James told the general who nodded.
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“It is being addressed as we speak. We can’t alter how Bramka operates, so we’ll have to tighten our security through other, more conventional, means.” He moved toward the central column. “Follow me. And mind the stairs. They’re slippery.”
When Arjun asked his half-stonehorn friend about the strange rock with the veins of blue metal, he hesitated, casting an inquiring glance at his older sister. After receiving a reluctant nod of permission, he took a breath, gearing up to launch into a lengthy explanation when Eve cut him off.
“Let’s talk while moving. And tell me the Common names, unless they don’t have any.” Her tone turned grumpy. “Hornish names sound like someone’s taking a pickaxe to my brain by way of my ears.”
Couldn’t agree more. Too many Aimin-cursed consonants, Arjun thought, careful to keep that thought to himself.
Kumil gave an ambivalent snort. “Might be something to that. But then again, Sanbri, even Common to some extent, sounds like poetry to me. Language shouldn’t be so damned fluid. Unnatural, is what it is.” He shook his head, as did Arjun, though for contrasting reasons.
“Anyway, the ore does have a Common name. Dendremite,” Kumil began expounding on one of his favorite subjects. Metal Ores. Only a fraction of this was known to Arjun, so he paid close attention.
By this time, the others had started descending what turned out to be a set of old stairs hugging the outside wall of a massive hole in the ground, one the stalk, or rather the stone column, emerged from. This particular hole most definitely wasn’t made by a mechanical device. In fact, by the looks of it, whatever made that hole probably predated every machine in existence.
As they started descending, Arjun quickly discovered several other oddities. Both the inner wall that constituted the outer surface of the column, and the outer wall, were coated with moss, glowing a constant, dim, aquamarine. Only the inner wall, covered with even denser sigils than the floor, pulsated blue in rhythm with the bulb. He could still sense the kernel signature from up above, even a trace of it inside the column to his right, going all the way down into the bedrock. Odder still, the moss was secreting an oil-like substance that made the footing treacherous.
“By the Beards of Bramka, test after test. First gods digging through your Chakras, now even damned plants intent on breaking your skull.” Eve placed one cautious foot in front of the other. “Slippery as Sigrid’s ass. Can’t even get a solid grip.” She kept up a running commentary of what sounded like complaints, but were actually just the opposite. If he had to guess, Arjun would’ve said she was having the time of her life. So was he.
After about five hundred feet, the clockwise circular stairs ended at a set of huge double doors, carved out of the wall opposite. The door on the left was wide open, though the entrance was teeming with even more soldiers, one of which, a commander by his laurels, was presenting his report to the general, who looked somewhat flustered. And not from the walk. The commander looked worse.
“Any new development?” Arjun asked, coming up to stand beside the Cavern Lord and Rukalia.
“That’s precisely the issue,” Rukalia said, her frustration matching that of the stonehorn beside her, though she hid it better. “None. We haven’t managed to get him to talk.”
“Time for some drastic measures then,” the Cavern Lord said in a low voice not meant to carry. But because of the enclosed stone surroundings, it did.
“Torture is never a reliable method, Lord Vrakildram,” Kumil said.
“Of course not,” came the rapid reply. Too rapid. It hid the true meaning behind his earlier careless words. “That’s why we need James and your help,” he told Arjun, completely turning his earlier blunder around.
“We’d be happy to help,” Arjun said, keeping a tight leash on his anger. For once, the lifelong habit of hiding his true feelings even from friends came in handy. “Once we enter the temple proper and see the prisoner.”
After another quarter of a bell, during which James, Rukalia and Vrakildram were consulted multiple times by the general, they were allowed in through the thick stone door under the watchful gaze of several hundred stonehorns armed to the teeth with swords, hammers, maces, shields, axes, even cudgels. Beyond was a high tunnel chock-full of moss, of a different variety, which glowed a deeper shade of aquamarine. Even more interesting, under the layer of moss, the walls carried veins of a crystal that was both familiar in its strangeness and unfamiliar in nature.
Their party was headed by the general, with Rukalia, James and the Cavern Lord behind him. The commander brought up the rear, accompanied by a good company of stone-faced soldiers. Even the stale air contained a sense of foreboding and disapproval, and not just because of the present company or claustrophobic location.
The kernel signature was growing stronger. And angrier.
Then, between one step and the next, the oppressive atmosphere vanished, replaced by one of awe and wonder. Arjun took a deep breath of the cleaner air, glancing around.
He had once again wandered into an alien world.
Instead of the cavern that he was expecting, or a room, it was a vast open space that greeted him, a space that at first seemed endless. Even the distant sconces high up on the walls giving off an eerie blue light failed to penetrate the darkness at the other end. Despite all their efforts trying to maintain a respectful silence, the combined clamoring created by the metal armaments and armors of over a hundred stonehorns sent a ripple through the subterranean space. The resulting reverberation implied that as much of the space was veiled in complete darkness as in shadows. Arjun once again bemoaned the current unreliability of his earth-senses.
“Definitely compensating for something,” Eve mumbled to herself. Then, raising her voice, she called out to Rukalia and Kumil. “Was this also found and not built?”
The two siblings looked to be deep in discussion over a topic that left them both dissatisfied. The princess frowned at the apparent disrespect the question implied, broke the conversation off, and headed toward the Cavern Lord, who seemed to be almost bored.
Kumil, like Arjun himself, sensed the earnest curiosity behind the question. Advantages of Awakening your Heart Chakra, or the inevitable drawbacks of not opening your heart? Could’ve been either, or both. The two stonehorns who shared a father also shared the ability to mask their emotions, in their own way, if and when they wanted to.
“The original space you see, and much that you don’t, was found by the chieftain Rabriluk, back in the 6th century,” Kumil explained, ambling over to the three of them, a proud smile on his face as he glanced at Aisha whose mouth was still hanging open, wide eyes drinking in the magnificent high curved arches and soaring stone columns. Her hesitant feet took her to one particular column that seemed to intrigue her the most, and she stopped, moving her head from top to bottom.
“Legend has it, he awoke in the dead of night to find himself here, hundreds of miles from his home. During the later excavation and exploration process, the Farmer Cavern was found, and our population exploded. Throughout the centuries, we’ve added memorial buildings, arches and some additional rooms. Still a fraction of what was already here, though.”
“That arch looks different from the rest, less sophisticated,” Arjun said, pointing toward the shadowy upper reaches of the column that had piqued Aisha’s interest. The figures of dancing men and galloping oxen were carved in a manner that suggested it was depicting a story, maybe even a real event, if colored by imagination, though the column itself was bleached gray with time, the arch even more so. The adjacent column connected by the ancient arch looked to be a more recent addition.
“More primitive,” Eve added.
“The oldest column and arch in this portion of the tube,” Kumil acknowledged.
Arjun looked to his left, then peered right. In both directions, the gloomy columns and barely visible arches continued as far as he could see, which, unfortunately, was longer than he could feel. But his good old ears and aptitude for natural sciences came to the rescue when his Chakras had deserted him. The structure he was standing in, was shaped like a giant tube, extending for several miles to either side. The wall opposite was roughly a mile distant, five seconds as sound travels through the air.
“We have to explore the temple the mundane way, so to speak,” Kumil grinned, “though as you can see, there isn’t anything remotely mundane about this whole Bramka-blessed place.”
“No,” Arjun agreed. A hint of approval could be discerned in the kernel signature that seemed to pervade and permeate everything around him. Courage and curiosity, the former needed to satiate the latter – it seemed to say.
“Right or left?” Arjun asked, looking at one particular patch of darkness between two columns. The scene reminded him of something his father had once said. The dark and the unknown contain the most dangers and the most rewards. Perhaps he can glean something from the columns that everyone had missed.
But before Kumil could reply, two figures approached from the left. Seeing them, Eve let out a groan.
“There goes all our little travel plans!!!”