From where we stood in the temple, there were three doors along the far wall that looked like excellent places to begin our search for the stairs. We chose the middle and proceeded to search each room along the hallway inside. Or rather, Bingo and Gi’ Kar did. I was stuck in the large room making sure no harm came to Savantha. I know I need to make sure she’s safe, and I will do my best toward that end; but it kills me to be left out of the adventure. Fortunately, I was able to peek into the rooms after they were cleared by the other two. Fascinating! Huge structures of solid rock were inside each room. Large man-shaped statues as well as altars which were once considered holy. And waiting behind is not all bad. I was able to speak at length with Ajax about Com ‘Durak and the temple. His knowledge is limited, but still, it is much broader than mine. The stout God of the Earth intrigues me. And it’s strange, but I feel as though I am gathering strength simply from being in such a consecrated place. Truly remarkable.

Some of the rooms we found included a library full of books in the ancient language of Com ‘Durak. Not even Ajax could read into the old pages though. We also discovered what appeared to be a forge of some sort. I have no experience with forgery, but I have heard and read about them. Rarely on Orb is there enough metal in one place to warrant a fully supplied forge, but it appears we have found one! I suppose no place is more fit to hold one, either. All kinds of interesting and wonderful devices were to be found in here, but since we didn’t find the stairs, Gi’ Kar was eager to move on. I would like to return here someday.

We also found a large room similar to the others in layout, but it had a very large circle design on the floor. It appeared to be made by master artisans, and seemed to depict the sun, the moon and stars, surrounded by runes. There was also a large purple stone set in to the wall. Ajax moved towards that immediately and snapped his fingers. He said the rock was made of amethyst and remembered that this stone is called a portal stone, and is used to transport people up or down, depending on which stone is used. He thought it was very unusual though, that the stone for going up was here, without the accompanying stone going down.

After some searching, we were able to find another portal stone pair. Ajax muttered some word of power and we found ourselves in a new place. Apparently under where we just came from. How strange. Bingo and Gi’ Kar each took one of our warriors and set off in different directions down the hallway. I heard sounds of fighting in both directions, but wasn’t able to help because I needed to stay back. And then it occurred to me: No one said I needed to stay put. They only said I needed to watch the girl. I can do that.

I chose the direction Gi’ Kar took, but I didn’t see him. There was a fork and I must have chosen the direction he didn’t choose. Even though I didn’t see him though, I did find some interesting rooms down a hallway. There were two rooms which each looked as though they had been sacked, but what was left appeared to be very high quality. The furniture was amazingly well crafted. Each room also had it’s own personal portal stone, with room for only one person. They each went up! I wonder to where. We also found gold. Gold! As in gold pieces which would be used to buy things. My tribe always bartered, so I’ve never even had any gold in my possession. Whoever lived here must have been very wealthy!

Back in the hallway, the sounds of battle were getting closer. Suddenly a horrible scream reached us and I almost retched when I found the source. A minotaur ran past from another hallway. He seemed to be wearing a… crown… One of my Gru’ Dwari soldiers was impaled on his horns, obviously dead. The minotaur’s head was covered in blood, and he stopped in the entrance to our hallway and worked furiously to remove the poor guy from his head. The two soldiers with us charged him, and actually managed to shoot him once before he turned his attention our way. He cut them down promptly, one after the other, then turned towards us. I drew my bow, but Ajax was quicker. He reached down and seemingly pulled pieces of earth from the ground. He then hurled them with all his might at the minotaur. At first he seemed stunned. Heck, I was stunned. I’d never seen the power of Com ‘Durak displayed in such a manner. He repeated the process, and the force of his rocks brought the beast down.

I rushed to my men, and thankfully one was still alive. Unfortunately, my Kaa’ Jah Kushani companion had been killed. I brought Ajax, Savantha and the last remaining soldier with me around the corner to try and find our friends. After rounding two corners, we found them. Bingo and Gi’ Kar were steeped in blood and surrounded by bodies. I gave them what aid I could, but sadly, of the ten soldiers who accompanied us out of Kon’ Te Kel’, only one was still standing. I will grieve for them with their brethren when we make it back to the village.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 5:37 pm and is filed under Aquila's Journal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.