Stochastís was in an unsociable mood as the group descended the mountain. Amethyst felt it was important to give him his space, but didn't want to leave him alone either. So she remained a few good feet behind him walking hand in hand with Tenya. Amethyst's legs were like jelly and Tenya acted as much as a crutch physically as she had been emotionally. Amethyst struggled down the path, needing consistent breaks and her mind too was starting to wonder into her past.
The birds had continued their singing. The trees continued their rituals, dropping their leaves. The waves crashed against the cliffs and the city was breathing just the same. The world continued moving just as it was supposed to.
Amethyst thought about her own imprisonment and her time as a slave. She hadn't for a while, but seeing Sofía in the state she was, rekindled her own memories. Even so, she was trying to keep herself present in the lovely moment with Tenya. Her mind was pulled between her conflicting thoughts and feelings, but it was Tenya who had reclaimed her mind's focus, allowing her to enjoy the moment before it was gone forever.
Hand in warm firm hand, Amethyst let her tail bump against the leaves while they exited the forest. She liked the way the leaves felt as they parted for her. She had also hoped that her tail would hold onto that Autumn scent that was unique to the decaying leaves for just a little bit longer.
The grassy fields and vineyards were beautiful in the afternoon light with the wind pushing the tall grass to look like waves in an ocean of yellowish green. As the trail widened into a path and then into a traveled road, passersby greeted them warmly. Amethyst wondered if there was another place out there like this, the contents of her visit between the Mirrors were only the distant rumbles of a dream but this felt familiar. Other rumblings caught her attention instead. The rumblings of both her belly, and the distant dark clouds that were rolling in over the sea.
The clouds had come over head and were dimming the sun's warming light. Amethyst's extremities were feeling cold. She tucked her tail the best she could as she and Tenya clutched to each other. The winds picked up and the temperature dropped rapidly. Stochastís was pressing forward, directly into the wind for the most part, his hands protecting his face from the debris whipping around. Wa Chini was tucked behind Stochastís, his thin fur doing little to protect against the cold.
The rain which had started gently was falling angrily along with hail and bits of snow. The slushy mixture soaked Amethyst to the bone. This cold was different from the cold of Ashara's dry nights. The wet stole away all sense of heat, leaving her shivering. Cold was cold to Amethyst and its source was irrelevant. She wanted to warm up and do so quickly. She wished that she had some kind of fire or heating magic.
The servants at the front of Stochastís's home didn't allow them to pass through the main hall. They took them around the side towards the guest quarters before any protest could be made. They took an abrupt turn into a different building altogether. Amethyst had not been in the building, but knew it to be the bathhouse.
The open parlor of the bathhouse had two large doors on either side of the far wall. There were small decorations and chairs in the parlor, but Amethyst spent no time admiring them. Wa Chini and Stochastís were ushered into one door while Amethyst and Tenya were taken through the other. There was a large square tub large enough for at least six people to sit comfortably.
The servants stripped the two girls in moments, peeling the layers of sticking cloth until they were both completely bare. The servants disappeared, leaving the girls alone, standing in front of the steaming tub. There was no need for invitation as both of the girls approached the tub. Amethyst tiptoed, her frigid feet burning slightly as she crossed the stone tile.
The tub was sunken into the floor, allowing the girls to kneel down and feel the water. It was hot, but not so hot that the girls couldn't slip right in. The burning against their skin was a welcome pain as they sank into the chair shaped sides of the bath. Amethyst's tail tucked nicely in small grooves along the corners of the sitting area. The notches allowed Amethyst to really lean back and let her head relax against the stone floor which had been rounded and raised slightly with a folded cloth to add comfort.
Across from Amethyst, Tenya had fallen right into the same grooves. Amethyst stole glances at Tenya's flushed face. Tenya looked up at the same time to see Amethyst watching her. She smiled, then moved slowly across the tub to sit in the spot adjacent to Amethyst.
"Do you come here often?" Tenya giggled.
"Oh yeah." Amethyst teased. "And right after, I generally walk through the garden."
Tenya gasped. "The garden you say? Oh, if only the weather were not so nasty today."
"They should really do something about that."
The girls laughed and joked as they warmed and washed in the bath. Servants had returned at some point and laid out fresh warm clothes, but Amethyst and Tenya were too absorbed in their fun to notice. The girls let their hair dry for a while, then spent a long time brushing out Tenya's tangled mane.
They made their way to the guest house, the cold air was refreshing rather than miserable. The guest house was empty, save for a servant who informed them that Stochastís had gone into the main house and that Wa Chini had followed him.
The girls finally found Stochastís with the Anesdari Amethyst had seen the other night at their arrival dinner. She had bright white hair, two large horns like antlers and tanned olive skin. Her green eyes were hidden behind naturally narrow features that made her look unavailable and unapproachable.
"Oh good." Stochastís said, "This is Exousía." He gestured to the Anesdari, who crossed her arms in a similar manner to Tenya's stance. "She is the head of security here." He looked at Exousía. "This is Amethyst and Tenya, though you've all met once before, a dinner was hardly the place to greet each other."
Her voice was deep and gravelly. "It is pleasant to meet you both." Exousía's accent was quite different to the locals, but she spoke confidently. She turned to Stochastís. "Will they be joining our preparations?"
"Yes." He replied, his voice was steady and exact. "As long as that is what they wish."
"We are here to help. This is about Sofía right?" Amethyst inquired.
"Yes." Exousía responded. "We are going to be conducting an investigation into the Old City."
"What is that?" Amethyst asked.
"It was a city of decent size at some point, but time and natural disasters buried it in rock." Stochastís answered. "Most of it is not accessible for one reason or another, but there are portions that were protected, or excavated during the building of this city."
"We know there are limited areas and access." Exousía said. "We have some of our men searching those places as we speak." She gestured to follow then went to the corner of the main room which was sunken into the floor.
There were old maps and papers scattered about the table. Exousía familiarized them briefly with the maps and how they corresponded with the city itself.
"As you can see here, there are only a handful of places." Stochastís waved his fist and frustration entered his tone. "We can search these areas, but I am convinced that there is somewhere unexplored."
"I, on the other hand, am not so sure." Exousía remarked. "Going on the assumption it is true however, it is more likely that Stochastís is correct. It would make little sense that a known area, no matter how obscure, would be used." She looked down at the maps. "It's my job to be skeptical, so I have others searching around the city as well."
"Do we have reason to doubt Sofía?" Amethyst hugged her arm and looked at Tenya.
Exousía moved around the table and lifted another paper, which was separate from the maps. The paper had an image of what looked like a Serpent Guard, but much larger and had snakes protruding from the head. "This is a Gorgon. They are known to deceive. If they let you go, you could be sent on a quest with no end."
"We don't know anything about their origins." Stochastís started to raise his voice. "Sofía is not just some Gorgon, she is a brilliant and well thought individual."
Exousía remained steady as she retorted. "I would never disagree with you on such a matter." She was calm, her posture was relaxed as she continued. "Regardless, she herself said she had been cursed."
"But." Stochastís started to stammer.
"Yes, she let you go." Exousía interrupted. "That does not mean she gave you reliable information. Wherever she was cursed, she likely did not take the time to properly examine her situation and surroundings. What she may have assumed was the Old City, might have been somewhere else entirely."
The room was silent and Stochastís said nothing to refute her words. As careful as she may have been, Amethyst agreed that Sofía wouldn't have been able to really take her time. Exousía's argument made sense, at least to her. Still, something didn't feel quite right.
"What if she didn't escape?" Amethyst said aloud before she could think it through.
Exousía let her relaxed posture shift to face Amethyst. She put one hand on her hip and her narrowed features bore into Amethyst. "You mean to say she was allowed to leave?"
"Y-yeah." Amethyst looked away from the gaze which had reminded her so much of her mother's gaze. "If she were, then she could have taken in more details, and Stochastís said she was detail oriented. So with that logic it isn't much of a leap."
"Not to mention." Tenya interjected. "She didn't just let us go, she took the time to wait for Stochastís to piece the puzzle together, rather than just tell him." She had no issue meeting Exousía's gaze, she also grabbed Amethyst's hand confidently. "This is evidence that Sofía has a presence of mind."
"In the spirit of following every lead, I'll make sure to include this information as we deduce the location of her imprisonment." Exousía looked back at Stochastís. "I promise my men and I will find where she was, I'll move all my men to look for secret or forgotten areas."
"Wa Chini and Garba would be a great help I am sure." Amethyst offered. "Tenya and I want to help in the search as well." She gripped Tenya's hand tighter and looked at her. The confident features of Tenya looking at Exousía unflinchingly made Amethyst's heart float. Tenya smiled and nodded her head in assurance.
"Then it is settled. I shall accompany you and your group in the search." Exousía started to gather the papers together. "I will inform my captains to our routes and we will begin the search ourselves."
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§
The rain pattered onto Amethyst's hood. Its waxed surface was dripping with water. Underneath, Amethyst tightly held her woolen cloak, leaving little room for the water to find its way in, yet some still did, leaving her slightly damp. Her boots had also been waxed and though they were much more resistant to water, some still managed to squeeze into them as well.
Overall Amethyst found the whole ordeal miserable. She felt like she was sailing again. She had a nearly impossible time staying dry. Her experience in The Sewers had been much worse, but that didn't stop her from feeling glum. She had thought about using her magic to keep herself dry, but felt that since it was not a matter of life and death, it was not fair for her to have an advantage over her friends.
When they would stop to rest, Amethyst would try to pull as much water from their clothes as she could. The process was tedious. She had been practicing since The Aqueducts and her control over water had become more sensitive in a lot of ways, but even so, she had not dedicated herself in any meaningful way and found it difficult to focus on the water in front of her.
The crashing rain around her made it even more challenging to keep her mind trained on such small amounts of water. To help supplement, she would use her magic to create subtle streams of air to help finish the process. The situation became more difficult after each attempt and felt almost meaningless as they would step right back out into the rain and be soaked only minutes later.
The second day of the search yielded no more success than the first, and the third was just as unlucky. Cold and wet, each day was more frustrating than the last. Each evening was started with a hot bath and finished quickly in a warm bed. The comfort of being dry did little to motivate them into stepping back out to search.
On the fourth morning, before they decided to walk back out into the pouring rain, Stochastís had decided to remain inside and think. Amethyst and Tenya were playing card games together, while Exousía was poring over old maps. Wa Chini was learning words from Ebba, who had the day off from her studies.
"I still can't wrap my head around her puzzle." Stochastís mumbled.
"What puzzle?" Ebba exclaimed. "I love puzzles and I am really good at them."
She abandoned Wa Chini's practice. Wa Chini didn't seem to notice as he continued reciting words. Ebba sat down next to Stochastís. She had a beaming face that brought a smile to Amethyst. Tenya prodded for the game to continue, but Amethyst's focus had shifted to the conversation between Ebba and Stochastís.
"I am sorry to say little one, it is unlikely you can help with this." Stochastís had hardly looked away from the table he was blankly staring at. He was sitting with his legs crisscrossed, hunched over the table in the lowered portion of the floor of the main hall. He looked the complete opposite of Ebba in every way.
"Maybe explaining it to a little girl will help." Ebba mocked. She spoke as if to a small child. If she was trying to be funny, the attempt yielded no reaction from the brooding Stochastís.
Stochastís had no intention of indulging her curiosities. She pulled at his arm and begged him to tell her the puzzle. He kept looking away and focused more on the nothing in front of him.
When her attempts failed, her demeanor shifted entirely. She straightened up, her goofy grin dropped and she became serious. Her eyebrows arched and she resembled Stochastís's mother. In an authoritative tone she said "You know, Stochastís, seeking wisdom from outside yourself yields perspectives not yet considered."
Stochastís turned to look at Ebba who had started to leave. "Wait." He said. "Stay and sit."
Amethyst noticed the smallest hints of a smile on Ebba's face before she turned back to Stochastís stone-faced. Amethyst looked at Tenya as if to ask, "Are you seeing this?" Tenya was locked on the conversation as well. So Amethyst returned her attention back to the two. Amethyst noticed that Exousía had also started watching.
Ebba sat back down and peered up at Stochastís. He explained what Sofía had said to the best of his memory. He was not as animated as normal, but by the end he couldn't help himself but to stand and act out his memory.
"If mother could see this!" Prátton laughed from the doorway.
"How do you know it's a puzzle?" Ebba asked, ignoring the intrusion.
"She said she is cursed, and likely is bound in what she can say." Stochastís stood, then started to pace. "She would have hidden a message in her words. Melydaesian is different from Asharen, but that's the gist of what she said."
"Seems awfully complicated. Are you sure she is not just a mixed bag of nuts now?"
"I am." He said while eyeing her.
"Ebba!" Tenya attempted to interject.
Ebba ignored any comments and continued. "So, she waits until you show up. Then tells you a lot of riddles you can not solve..." Ebba placed her elbow on the table and used her hand to prop her head up. "Sounds like she might just be crazy now."
"No, that is her way."
"She acts this way always? On purpose?"
"You would not understand." Stochastís struggled to keep a mild tone as he spoke with her. "She had always chosen very carefully. Each action and word is precise and well thought out. Everything about her has a deeper meaning."
"Well, maybe there is something specific in Melydaesian that does not translate to Asharan?" She stood up and walked back to Wa Chini. "I do not know that many words yet, so I guess I am not helpful after all. " Ebba nearly sat before muttering. "Weird choice to hide in a ratty old temple."
"Sorry child." Stochastís apologized as he started to sit down. A look of intrigue crossed his face. "Wait." He shot up and made his way towards Ebba.
Amethyst could see the hint of a smile on her face before she turned around again. Amethyst felt a sense of Deja vu. Something about Ebba was off, but Amethyst couldn't tell what. When Ebba fully turned the smile was gone. She wondered if she had just imagined it all.
"Why do you think it is weird she chose a temple?"
"Lady Ofeíletai was telling me that there were lots of places that had been abandoned by nobles in the city after the war with Eastern Ashara."
"Sure, but why is that relevant? Would she not want to be as far away from people as she could be?
"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders. "But if I wanted to hide, I would not tell anyone where I was, so why would she?"
"Well..." He thought about it for a while. "Prátton... and Mágissa..." He stammered.
"I feel that, if she was going to hide, she would not have told anyone. Hide and go seek would be a boring game if we always knew where everyone was. Then it would just be tag with too many steps. Actually that sounds fun." Ebba sat down and looked back at Wa Chini. Her smile returned and she tried to regain Wa Chini's attention.
"I am as legend portrayed. Creatures of Awful origin." Stochastís looked at Exousía then to Amethyst and Tenya. "When I was young there was a legend that told of monsters under the temple here in Neopolis." He looked between the two as he continued. He sounded solemn. "My parents dissuaded my belief, but Sofía always believed there was a secret entrance into the underground that Mágissa had shown her. Since I had never seen it, I let it go as a childhood fantasy."
"Fun legend." Prátton said,
"You mean to tell me, you think there is a way into the old city under the temple?" Exousía blurted.
Stochastís turned away. "There is only one way to find out." He said as he started towards the door.
§
The rain was giving its final rasps as Amethyst followed Stochastís's lead. Tenya was close behind with Exousía and Wa Chini. Prátton had come to help a bit before he was required to leave with his men on a march north to the capital for training. By the time they had reached the temple, Prátton bid his farewells and cursed his duties that he could not assist.
The temple markets were nearly empty except for a few stubborn merchants. The braziers were cold and the beggars on the temple steps had sought shelter elsewhere. Along the top platform, the sick and infirm were still huddled together under tarps and makeshift tents. There were small sources of light and fire that they were gathered around.
When the group entered the temple, they were greeted by several priests and priestesses. Stochastís paid them little mind and the temple authority seemed to have no interest in dissuading the marching group. The temple was much warmer than the outside, and somehow Amethyst felt like just being in there had helped to dry her, if only a little.
The main room of the temple was large and open, surrounded by decorative pillars. The ceiling and walls depicted the stories of gods and men in random segments. Beyond the pillars near to the entrance of Mágissa's oracle chambers, there was a large doorway that led into a deeper room. Amethyst was surprised to see large statues of men and gods acting as the pillars.
The statues were carved in such ways to depict anguish and difficulty to hold their burden. The ceiling had been carved and painted with luminescent colors showing off an exaggerated mural of the night sky. Lines of thin white paint depicted constellations that were somewhat familiar to Amethyst and many that were quite different to what she knew.
As Stochastís pressed forward, they left this room of stars and entered into a much smaller chamber. The chamber was nearly blank in design. Close to the back of the room, there was a piece of some foreign wall.
The depictions of this remnant were similar to what Amethyst had noted in the old temple. There she could see the final moments of the old gods as they cowered before a god in the more modern style. Behind the god were all of the familiar gods that the Melydaesians had come to worship. Amethyst found the art to be interesting, but outside of her current objective.
"What now?" Tenya asked.
"Now we search." Stochastís started to walk around the room carefully.
Amethyst was too distracted by the main piece to notice before, but upon closer inspection, the room was quite detailed. Along the walls were thin drawn patterns which stretched from the floor all the way up to the crown molding. Their intricate patterning formed scenes of small yet familiar depictions of the old temple. The dedication of the artists impressed Amethyst so much that she had forgotten her purpose and simply admired the craftsmanship. She wished Busara were here to see the care and detail the masons here had bled into the stone.
"Misty?" Tenya inquired.
"Huh?" Amethyst replied.
"You are lost again." Tenya had clasped her hand on the back of Amethyst's neck. "I asked you what you thought of the wall."
"Oh, it's a really pretty work and reminds me of the old temple, but you know, much smaller." Amethyst smiled at Tenya before looking back at the wall.
"It is certainly smaller." Tenya giggled. "But it's just pretty?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Amethyst wandered along with Tenya as they were slowly searching the patterns for something that didn't fit or stood out. "Where did Wa Chini go?" Amethyst had just noticed that her feline friend had been missing.
"He went off to get Garba." Tenya replied. "Good eyes, he said."
Amethyst nodded her head and returned to the search. She didn't know exactly how long they were searching for, but it was long enough for her outer layers to dry. Garba and Wa Chini followed by Nuru had started investigating as well. Amethyst was curious where Bontu was, but chose to keep looking instead of asking.
"Has anyone seen anything out of the ordinary yet?" Stochastís asked, frustrated.
"To be fair." Amethyst started. "Most of us do not really know exactly what to look for. It is all out of the ordinary, but there is nothing that breaks the pattern yet."
Stochastís let his back drop to the wall and he slid down. He let his hands drop to his knees and his head hung low.
"It is not a race, sir" Exousía tried to comfort him. "We will just take more time looking."
"Maybe we can ask Mágissa?" Amethyst offered.
"No." Stochastís's somber voice resonated through the room. "She is busy, and what's more I..." He let the thought hang in the air, but didn't finish.
Amethyst wondered if he had grown to be distrustful of Mágissa or if he might be worried she couldn't be of help. Amethyst pursed her lips and returned to the etchings once more.
Lines converged and separated randomly, like thread twisted from one etching to another. Amethyst had gone through the left side and was now in the center, behind the lone wall which rose just high enough to separate them from the view of the solitary door in and out of the room.
Amethyst stared at the wall in front of her. All of the lines were blurring together. She rubbed her eyes aggressively to the point that she could see little specks crossing her vision. She let out a long and deep yawn. The others had been in and out of the room, their eyes also had grown tired, and they were considering stopping for the day. Just as Amethyst was about to agree, she recognized one of the patterns on the wall.
The patterns depicted the gods and men in the strange attire just as she had seen in the old temple. It wasn't just familiar like the others, but exactly the same one she had observed. She let her fingers trace the shallow divots. She followed the carvings along the familiar layout she had seen in the temple. Like a guide, the small weaving lines led her from one room of the old temple along to another.
Like a maze she started to follow the binding lines until she came back to the middle near the left side of the room, close to where she had begun. Her pacing back and forth following the connections had gained everyone's attention. They were asking her what she had found, but she was too entranced to offer an answer.
Her breath hitched in her chest and she dropped backwards in shock. She pointed to the spot on the wall that had garnered her reaction. Tenya, who had been following her up to this point covered her mouth as well. Stochastís blocked Amethyst's view of the art. He rubbed his hand over the curious spot.
The lowly wall on display in the room and its old depiction started to slide out of the way towards the only door of the room with a deep, yet subdued grinding noise as stone slid against stone. Below the wall was a staircase, the luminescent paint guided along each nose of the stairs.
"Dear gods, they were right!" Exousía exclaimed.
"How did you know?" Stochastís asked while she turned to face Amethyst.
Amethyst was catching her breath, an unknown fear was radiating through her. "That... That symbol. It was upon the door of Katili and it marked the secret entrance to Uongo's--"
Images of The Aqueducts filled Amethyst's mind. The nightmares of wriggling flesh chasing her, demanding she join them echoed through her imagination.
Everyone peered into the darkness below. Each in their own mind, curious as to what horrors could be locked down below, if the pattern of the symbol were to continue. Amethyst was the only one to keep staring at the symbol. The symbol of a serpent, locked into devouring its own tail, carved gently over a sun.