For what seemed miles, Charles followed Ellie further underground into the depths of the abandoned temple. Every few moments, Charles' eyes caught movement from the crystal, resting on Ellie’s open hand sensing the stone was eerily similar to Karn's rock. A flicker of hope rose in his chest as he assumed the stones were somehow connected in some way. He almost expected to see a blue light around each corner followed by Karn’s smirking grin.
“It won't be that easy,” he spoke absently and sighed.
Each step they took echoed along the stone floor as the path twisted and turned deeper and deeper. The hallway had many branching offshoots and sideways, yet they ignored all of them.
The stone guide seemed to not only illuminate their way but also bring life to the temple itself. The stones' light revealed gem laden runes scattered throughout the walls, roof, and floor, reflecting a kaleidoscope of colours as they passed. It was if the stone was a battery for the entire place.
Charles looked over at Ellie's outstretched hand. He remained optimistic, yet suspicious of the stone, especially now it was leading them further below the surface. That feeling only grew as the path snaked further into the unknown, then abruptly stopped.
A wall shrouded in darkness halted their progress.
“Great. A dead end.” Charles swore to himself.
Ellie turned to Charles excitedly. “It’s pulling harder now. I think we’re here.”
Charles gave her a flat sceptic stare, which hardly diminished her enthusiasm. He was about to speak when he heard something up ahead.
“Is that running water?” He whispered to himself. He then chuckled to himself then tapped Ellie’s shoulder, mouthing the words, ‘running water’, then tapped his ears. She smiled back in recognition.
Ellies turned back to the dark wall and threw her glowing hand up, illuminating the smooth rock wall. Her delicate fingers shifted over the stone's surface, searching for any minute detail to pull or push in any hidden grooves.
Suddenly the wall cracked, revealing in fact that what they stood before was a door.
“Trust Ellie to find a long-lost ancient puzzle and crack it,” Charles said, clearly amused.
Ellie turned to face him with a brilliant smug look of triumph widening her smile. Mimicking her grin, Charles gave her an encouraging wink and mouthed ‘good work’.
Turning back to the door giggling, she pushed a flat object that clicked into place, unlocking the giant stone structure causing it to roll aside.
“Wow.” Charles said in awe.
They found themselves basking in a warm bright light of a gigantic inner chamber. It looked like a scene that had been ripped straight out of a dream world.
Above them, on the ceiling, were a million bright crystals that illuminated the chamber with a pure white light. They pulsed from within, leaving the room in a warm, pale radiance. In contrast, the floor was a sea of colour. It was if an artist had spilled their entire paint collection throughout the room in a vast array of random conflicting patterns. Huge mounds of mineral deposits lay as if on display, littering the floor in every direction.
Charles could recognise a few gemstones such as amethyst and emerald along with metals like copper and iron. Grass grew between the giant clumps of mineralized stone, while other areas were caked in layers of vibrant crystalline flowers.
“Well shit. There’s got to be billions worth of stones just in this room,” Charles said while facing Ellie.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
She nodded excitedly and pointed towards a towering rose bush made from rubies.
A waterfall in the distance sustained a crystal-clear stream that twisted its way through the indoor garden. The flowing brook snaked its way towards a large lake that sat directly in the centre of the chamber. Dotted throughout the scene were hundreds of stone totems, constructed from the same dull material as the temple itself, lacking the vibrant colour and life of the crystalline garden within.
“This is beautiful.” Ellie said, taking in the sight. Charles nodded in awe and held her tightly in his arms, their fingers intertwining as they held the crystal. They both flinched as Ellie's stone jolted forwards once more.
Instinctively, Charles let go of her hand and stepped back as the crystal flew from Ellie’s grip and landed on a patch of grass, then bounded right into the depths of the crystal-clear lake.
Plonk!
Ellie and Charles shared a look then slowly approached the waters' edge.
Tentatively, Ellie knelt on the grass at the bank. Reaching her hand out gingerly, she submerged her hand to retrieve the stone from the water, only to recoil.
The crystal darted away just like a small fish. They only had enough time to blink once before it darted away and vanished in a flash of light.
Ellie’s shoulder slumped. It was gone.
Charles sighed, then knelt beside her, laying a comforting hand on her back. She replied with a gentle smile.
“At least we could rest here a little and recuperate a bit,” Ellie said softly.
Charles smiled back and nodded. He agreed they deserved that much at least. Then a light flickered in the corner of his eye.
With a quick tap on the shoulder, he pointed towards the other side of the lake.
It was the stone.
Cautiously, Ellie placed her hand back into the lake as the stone darted towards them, then floated to the surface. Somehow, an unknown force returned the stone delicately into her submerged palm.
Before she could draw back her hand from the lake, the stone leaped from the water and splashed her face.
“Ah.” She squealed as she recoiled. “It’s in my ears.”
Ellie wiped the water from her face and looked up at Charles who was currently battling a fit of laughter. She responded to his mockery very maturely by poking her tongue out at him and crinkling her delicate nose in disgust. Yet, it was no use. She giggled.
Suddenly, she paused, frowning.
“Wait.” Ellie said. She turned in confusion, then swivelled her head around.
“What’s wrong?” Charles asked in a panic.
She ignored him and drove a finger in her ear.
“What?” She mumbled and picked up the stone with both of her hands, pulling close to her face. Ellie then looked at Charles, anxious. “Can’t you hear that?”
He shook his head. Her confusing responses only added to his fear as he asked, “Hear what?”
Ellie turned away from Charles and towards the stone.
“Gone?” she asked, staring intently at the quartz in her hand with both amazement and sorrow.
“What about you?” Ellie asked. “Blue? Yes. A friend.”
Charles waited patiently with a look of confusion for the one-sided conversation to conclude.
“Ok,” she said, glancing towards Charles with a look of concern. “We’ll take you with us.”
After a time, Ellie looked away from the stone and into Charles' concerned face. “We need to head south.”
He stared at her. “Um, what? What was all of that?”
Ellie watched Charles' lips, then responded.
“Scarf, I mean this stone here. It’s a person, or something. Either way, it talked to me. And I could hear her voice.”
“The rock talks?” he asked.
She nodded. “The rock’s name is Scarf. It guided us here so that she could speak. Apparently, this is her home, and her family’s gone.”
Charles gulped, remembering just how much pain he felt when he lost his family.
“And what does it want us to do?” he asked.
Ellie looked down at the now silent stone and spoke softly, “She says she knows where our friend is.”
Charles' ears perked up.
“And the fastest way to reach his is by going south,” she added.
Charles thought for a second then spoke up. “The crystal has led us safely so far,” Charles mumbled.
Ellie smiled. “I trust it.”
Charles sighed.
“Ok babe,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. Before his lips reached her skin, Ellie grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into a proper kiss. After a few lost moments that left them breathless, they reluctantly moved away from each other and focused on the task at hand.
A new goal was set and bearing established. They were heading South.
Charles followed closely behind Ellie. He watched her protectively as she wound her way past the mineralized mounds that lay between the grass of the temple floor. It brought him a sense of relief to watch her move with this kind of purpose. No matter how many times she had been knocked down, the brilliant and beautiful girl he fell for kept getting back up. Charles felt a flush of pride that she bothered to see anything half as great in him.
He took her free hand in his and gently squeezed three times and waited as she squeezed three times back.