The Promised Ones

by Brad Stucki

  Then she remembered Javin. Everything had happened so fast. Had he actually pushed them both through? But Saballa was going to kill Sauros, and he saved him, only to kill him with the death machine? That didn’t seem right. What had he said just before they went through? Stick to your guns! We’ll be back!

  She didn’t know what the first meant, but “We’ll be back!” He must know something! That’s something to hold on to. Could one of the Mulda’ fi have control over the death machine? Javin seemed certain of it. But then again, Javin hadn’t been certain of anything before.

  I must have hope!

  Tranthra’ Joh stood watching her. Mouhra’ Lah stared back, head high and face composed.

  “Take her back to the tower to think it over.” Then he spoke to her. “We’ll find your sister soon, and then we’ll see if you change your mind.”

  ***

  It had taken Chahzuu two days to reach the lush valley floor. A couple of times he'd had to climb down steep cliffs, but his comfort in swinging among the tall trees of the jungle made it relatively easy for him to pass. Still it slowed him more than he wanted. The distance from the top of the ridge had been deceptive. His blood was moving with the prospect of doing something that could make a difference. His haste had made him slip once on the moist rock face with almost disastrous results. It was then he slowed for the next drop off, grinding his teeth at the delay, but also realizing he couldn't help his people if he were severely injured.

  The floor of the valley was even more lush than he was used to. Water stayed in open ponds, and in several places he had to wade across hip deep streams holding his scrip case above his head to keep it dry. This was totally new. Never had he seen so much open water, and never running water. As he stepped through the first, he started gasping. The water was warm, but it was swift, and the tug threatened to pull him along with it. Once he lost his footing and fell, just catching himself before he went under. It surprised him at how nervous he was.

  In his home country, and while he'd been traveling, he'd always seen water strained out of the air each morning and condense into the small basins to drink, or from the larger basins his people had constructed to hold their daily water needs. Never had he seen it standing or flowing in such great quantities. Looking back along the valley wall, he could see off in the distance water actually cascading down the sides of some cliffs, running into the valley, collecting in the lowest space it could find. It was strange he hadn't seen it from above. Now that he was on the lower level of the valley, he could.

  The mystery faded from his mind as he continued to make his way to the overgrown mounds up ahead. A regular pathway, though heavily overgrown, provided a relatively easy direction to follow. Underneath, the ground was hard, like stone had been laid down earlier, and he was following a constructed thing; a road that had become overgrown with vegetation because no one had been on it in such a long time. It reminded him of the canyon where the grotto was. And where my dreams ended, and the nightmares began.

  Chahzuu cautiously approached one of the smaller mounds on one side of the path. This one was about twice his height, peaked at the top -- where he could follow its regular lines through the growth of foliage -- and appeared to be wide enough to be a dwelling of some sort. There were no visible entrances. He walked part way around and couldn't discern any difference from the front. Underneath the accumulated soil and foilage, he was sure lay something constructed by the ancients. It had to be so. But there were no records of any such places. At least not any clear ones, Chahzuu thought as he remembered the oldest records that had led him here.

  After a closer study, he turned back onto the main path. Up ahead he could make out his destination rising above all the other mounds and sitting in the middle of the gradually broadening way. It too was covered in lush foliage, but it peaked nearly three times higher than any other mound around it. It was the largest structure Chahzuu had ever seen, easily as high as even the tallest of the jungle monarchs in his home country. Right at the top, he could faintly make out a dark opening, like a cave overhung with ferns and vines. That's where I need to be. The thought of entering another dark cave made him shudder but he put his feet to the task and continued on his way.

  It didn't take much longer to reach the base of the large mound. The water seemed to have spread off to the sides of the valley, and the place with the mounds -- he instinctively thought of it as a city -- was on slightly higher ground. The surface was that of placed, flat stones, with a cushion of the mulch and growth of the jungle floor.

  He tilted his head back and looked up to the top of the mound. He could no longer see the cave opening as it sat back from a terrace near the top. A detail he hadn't seen from further back. Straight ahead the side was steep, but it was something he could easily climb. There must have been steps here at one time.

  Chahzuu readjusted the shoulder strap of his scrip case and stepped forward onto the side of the mound. The climbing was hard. Loose dirt and bushes kept slipping with his weight, so progress was slow. He had to stop often to catch his breath, but he wanted to at least reach the terrace at the top of the mound before the Great Light burned out for the night. Being on the side of the mound, climbing in the misty dark, was not a thing he wanted to experience.

  Finally, Chahzuu pulled his worn frame over the top of the terrace ledge. His breath was puffing like it hadn't in the many years since his youth. He took his time, lying on his back, and watched the mists swirling high overhead, reflecting the beams of the setting Great Light. A slight breeze coursed over him and chilled his skin, just as the Great Light burned its last for the day and surrendered to night.

  The transitions from night to day, and day to night were always a thing of wonder for Chahzuu. It happened rapidly, but the last scintillating burst of light at the end of a day was always an awe-inspiring sight as the misty particles in the air reflected the last remaining bits of light, scattering it to all the face of the mother-ground. Then with the last bit of light gone, and nothing to reflect any more, the mists quickly shrouded the world and dropped lower, cooling, while at the same time covering and insulating the mother like a cool, soothing blanket.

  Chahzuu knew, though, that this was merely illusion. With the descent of darkness came the few small predators that haunted the mists, unseen, and unseeing, they hunted by senses other than what a man possessed. One rarely had warning as one of these denizens of the mist came upon them in their hunting. Sometimes, though small, they could injure before a man could fight them off. There were no trees here for safety and he was alone. Chahzuu's first duty was to find shelter.

  The entrance to the mound was the logical choice, but he didn't relish the idea of walking into a cave where he had no idea of what was inside. The last time he did that it didn't turn out so well. In the back of his mind there was a sense of foreboding about this cave as well.

  It wasn't fear, really, but something deeper, more poignant nagging just at the back of his mind. It wasn't something he could specifically describe. The feeling was a heavy. One that gave him concern, but not one that would step up and say, this is what I am, this is what I mean. Instead he just had the certainty that once he walked into the cave, something would happen, and it would mean either life or death.

  How do I know all this? He gazed into the black depths of the opening. Then the crystal in his breast warmed. The feeling comes from the crystal. What does it mean? How is it connected with whatever's in the cave? Or is it connected?

  Standing out here wondering isn't going to change what's inside.

  Chahzuu turned to look out through the darkening mists once again then took a deep breath, turned and started toward the opening. The crystal grew warmer the closer he approached, and just as he got even with the opening, something on the walls flickered, and a faint glow started coming up on the walls. This time there were no pinpoints of light like he'd experienced in the other cavern. This time there was just a subtle glow that seemed to emanate from the walls, but it
was a light that wasn't visible at its source. It seemed to radiate without any visible effect until it reflected back off something . . . like his skin -- which took on an eery glow -- and the other wall, and the ceiling.

  The illumination was just bright enough to faintly light the hallway leading into the mound. It was still dark, but every crevice, corner, and mark on the wall was clear and crisp. There were no shadows . . . anywhere. It was as if the air itself were energized with a light that illuminated without bathing or coloring anything.

  The crystal continued to warm. The feeling he'd had before entering persisted. It didn't grow any stronger, or slighter. It was still the sense that something profoundly important was going to happen, and it could mean his destruction . . . or not, and that each was equally acceptable to whatever awaited him inside.

  Further down the hall was a branch in the corridor. He could go either way.

  Which should he follow? Chahzuu shrugged and took the left. He went a short way and it curved to the left again, and he found another branch. A maze! I could get lost in here and never find what I need . . . Or never find my way back out, for that matter.

  Chahzuu sat, thinking over the situation. With each maze, there is always a key. The key lay in finding the reason behind the maze.

  So far, the corridors, though dark, had seemed safe enough. He could sit and think a bit before feeling he had to move forward. There could be other pitfalls besides the maze if the builders wanted something hidden well enough.

  And that's the key!

  What was hidden was an Article of Power! Something so precious that it had to be kept out of the hands of just anybody who could stumble into the mound and find it. But it was also meant to be found, wasn't it?

  Chahzuu stood and retraced his steps back to the opening. This time he thought through the old records. There was nothing in his memory that seemed to help. Then he went back over how he'd found the mound in the first place. It had been tied in with his thoughts about a certain thing, the old records regarding the Articles of Power . . . and the Crystal!

  It was the crystal that led me here! And now it would have to be the crystal that takes me the rest of the way . . . I hope.

  He faced down the corridor, slowing his breathing and closing his eyes, calming all his senses, he focused on the crystal's warmth setting just above his heart. Three steps forward. Three more steps. There was no change in the smoldering glow. He opened his eyes and he was at the first intersection. Chahzuu shut his eyes again to help with his focus. Time for an experiment.

  Slowly he rotated to his left and took three steps down the corridor. Was there any change? No . . . wait! just faintly, a flicker in the warmth. Well, not really in the warmth. He felt just a touch unsettled. Could it simply be a matter of not being confident about the path? Something his mind fabricated? Other than that slight feeling, there was nothing.

  There's only one way to check.

  Chahzuu opened his eyes and moved back to the intersection, this time he kept his eyes open, focused inward, and turned to the right. He took three steps forward. Again, the crystal's warmth felt about the same. Was there something different in this direction? Barely. Just a slight confidence that he'd made the right choice. It was hardly there. It could easily be his own feelings.

  It's all I have.

  He licked his lips and continued down the right corridor. If nothing else, I hope I've got a really good memory. Wait! I'll mark the path I've been, and then I'll be able to keep track.

  His hand ducked down to his scabbard and pulled out his knife. I've been spooked too much by all this. I should have thought of this the first thing I found it was a maze.

  He brought the knife up and pressed as hard as he dared against the wall, then scratched it down slowly, watching the result. There was no mark left. Again, he tried with the same result.

  Chahzuu tried to press harder, leaning onto it with both hands, threatening to splinter the hard obsidian. If he pressed any harder the knife could snap. There wasn't so much as a scratch on the wall.

  He brushed his hands over the surface. It looked like stone, but on closer inspection found it wasn't. It was something harder than stone, cut or formed, to look like stone. To the touch, it felt unique, like some sort of solid mineral, or crystaline growth.

  Too many mysteries, Chahzuu thought as he examined the point of his knife. It had worn where he'd pressed it against the wall. Whatever it was, it was harder than the obsidian of his blade. He put the knife back in his scrip case and again stood facing the interior of the mound.

  Slight as the feelings are, I've got to trust them . . . and try to memorize the way back.

  Chahzuu continued down the right branch. It went straight for a time, then curved hard to the left and doubled back, but there was no branch yet. He continued to focus his mind inward, thinking about the slight feeling of confidence. It hadn't changed. The path continued forward, and though it was dark, there was still that same glowing eeriness that lighted his steps. He tried to keep track of how many paces, making a mental map in his mind of the maze, and where he was in relation to the opening. Just ahead was another intersection. Again, a right and left choice at right angles. Chahzuu paused.

  This is taking too long. If I hesitate each time I come to an intersection, I may never reach what I came for. Then the converse thought came to mind. But if I press forward too quickly, I may pass where I need to be, and become lost or worse, trigger some trap set to catch those who don't have the key.

  He stood, thinking.

  The crystal and my knowledge of the old records brought me this far. And my first decision was based on the 'feeling' I had. Even to test, I need to remain consistant. So, I'll do the same for each, and force myself to trust my 'feelings' even if it's just my imagination.

  With that, Chahzuu decided to go left this time. His eyes remained open, but his thoughts continued to focus on his feelings and the crystal in his breast. The warmth didn't change, but again came the slight nagging disquiet that he'd made the wrong choice. If he hadn't been focusing, he never would have felt it.

  Turning back, he continued past the intersection and went several careful strides down the right intersection. This time, again, he felt the ever so slight confidence he’d made the right choice.

  Chahzuu took a deep breath and continued down the right corridor. It went for a time, and then turned again, this time to the right. Then right after the turn, he came to another intersection.

  This time he chose the right corridor first. The slight feeling of confidence was there, but it seemed just a bit stronger. The crystal in his breast seemed just a bit warmer too.

  Three right turns in a row, Chahzuu thought. How likely is that?

  Just to make sure, he backtracked and tried the left corridor. This time the feeling of disquiet was there, only less, if that could be possible.

  If I doubt the feelings and make mistakes, do I have the feelings taken away? If that were true, then the creators of the maze must be trying to teach as well as hide. Still, the feelings were so slight, Chahzuu couldn't say with any certainty they weren’t just figments of his imagination. For all he knew, it was as simple as moving about with trial and error until you found your way.

  As soon as he thought that, he knew he was wrong. If the Article of Power were here, then the creators would certainly have put in strident protections.

  I must not doubt, or I really could end up lost to my own fear . . . assuming I haven't fallen prey to it already.

  Chahzuu backed up and took the right corridor again. This time the distance wasn't as great until the next intersection. It was the same, two choices at right angles. One right and the other left.

  They can't have meant for each turn to be to the right. That's too simple. Anyone who made a guess to follow each right branch would be able to navigate the maze. Chahzuu chose left. Then the feeling of disquiet came again. It was a little stronger than the last time, almost giving him the impression it was a reward fo
r getting this far, and not doubting . . . too much.

  Turning back, he took the right corridor for a few paces then stopped to assess his feelings. He shook his head as the confidence came, a touch greater, and the crystal burned just a measure warmer.

  It's enough to drive the sane crazy, and simple for a crazy to pass. Chahzuu chuckled as he continued down the corridor. Maybe that's the intent. Who else but someone crazy would think of always turning right? And what would make a sane person doubt more than always turning a single way through a maze?

  The next intersection Chahzuu went to the right without hesitating. The next beyond it, the same. Each time there was a gradual increase in the feeling of confidence and warmth from the crystal.

  After several more turns, each to the right, the feelings were such that he didn't doubt any longer. Instead he started thinking about what the creators of the maze were trying to teach.

  It took him a while. More than he thought, given his initial impression of the size of the building. The light never changed so it was hard to gauge the amount of time he'd been walking. It was made harder because, though the feelings were much stronger, he still had to focus in order to make sense of them. He didn't want to blindly continue down the right intersections just to have it change at the end.

  Another thing he noticed was the fatigue in his leg muscles. It appeared that he'd slowly been ascending, going up. Yet the length of time he'd been walking surely would have brought him to the top of the structure by now. It didn't seem to make any sense. And he'd long since given up trying to keep track mentally. The map he'd tried to keep in his mind had been sacrificed to focus his mental energies on his feelings and the warmth of the crystal.

  The next turn, again to the right, Chahzuu could discern a slight blue, glowing line across the floor. It ran up the wall on either side and joined across the top of the corridor, as if it were a seam in the structure, or a break to a different part of the building.