Chapter 4: Deeper Still

A massive gilded and adorned staircase. For the short time that Kmna generated light, both he and Aoax were awestruck. Not even the elaborate cathedrals of Kexist City could compare to the sheer detailing of these stairs. The stairs were wide enough and ceiling high enough to allow easy passage to the largest of creatures. The edges of the stairs were smaller and used for Humi size, while a center stairs were carved to be much larger allowing for even Kmna to traverse them comfortably.

The stairs themselves are mostly made of polished rose marble. There is colorful glass grown into the marble itself creating a narrative of pictograms and other images on each step. Bordering the larger stairs in the center and the smaller stairs on the edges is a square tube of gold-white metal. Etched into the stout railing was more pictograms, seemingly telling one continuous narrative. Aoax had never seen these letters before, and could only guess what they meant by the abstract depictions of the objects they represented.

Blooming from the stairs up the walls and overhead is a mural of astoundingly well preserved paintings. Woven into those breathtaking paintings is embedded gemstones and metallic detailings. One could not see the color of the stone behind the intricacies overlaid. The walls depict mostly the humi that had lived there and what they felt was important to them; their gods, hierarchy, triumph, and the like. But in addition to the usual of ancient artwork, was a motif of a rectangle with a halo of light emanating from it. The rectangle would be bowed to by the crudely drawn humi or near someone or some god of importance.

Despite what was the norm around the town, there is no vegetation growing on the stairs. Not even a few meters from where the stairs started, there is no vines, moss, or any other plant that reached or touched the lavish staircase. It was as if the stairs themselves had coerced the plants into keeping their distance.

Aoax thought it quite queer, how the village was so plain yet had such magnificence hidden within. The more he thinks about it, the less sense it made. It wasn’t right, this village was too poor and too mundane to have created or let alone hold this structure.

Aoax’s wonderment soon turns to worry. An effect that Kmna also seemed to have gone through. “Go get others,” she said, to which Aoax gladly obliged. Aoax left the building and called out into the dimly lit town.

Thisher and Drvkauh were there almost immediately. They had just about finished their search when Aoax had called. Frauch and Mangal came slightly later, Mangals light giving their position away. The group of delvers, now reconvened, enter the building to join Kmna.

Kmna was still staring down into the abyss. Upon the group's approach, Mangals light light up the stairway more than Kmna’s flame could. The shimmering of the stones and metals beckoned the group to go below. Yet despite Mangals increased luminescence from excitement, the stairs reached so deep that the bottom could not be seen.

“This ain’t right,” Frauch said anxiously. “No, this ain’t right at all.”

“Yeah, why would this be here, maybe this is the treasure Vroljez was looking for?” says Thisher, his voice slightly quavering.

No one seemed to like this out of place structure, none more so than Aoax himself. “Probably is, let’s go back and tell Vroljez what we found.”

Kmna, her composure already regained, takes one step onto the staircase. An uncomfortable feeling of imminent danger sweeps over the group for a good second. With nothing happening, Kmna takes another step, then another, and another. Soon Kmna was already a good ways down the stairs with the rest of the delvers watching with trepidation.

Mangal is next to venture down saying, “He shouldn’t go alone.” Soon after Drvkauh and Thisher join the descent, with Aoax and Frauch left at the top. Aoax looks to Frauch, hoping he was in the same mind to go back and report. Frauch took a deep breath and, without letting the breath go, joined the others.

This was completely mad, something was obviously wrong and they all knew it. Was Aoax the only one with a lick of sense? In spite of what his mind was telling him, curiosity and pride prevented Aoax from retreating. Aoax wavered a few moments more before giving in and descending himself.

On their way down, Kmna asks “Any you find any thing?”

Mangal is the one to answer Kmna first, “yes, many holes in the ground.”

Thisher agrees with Mangal, stating that they too had found many large tunnels all through the village. “I think whatever made these people leave might still be around.” Thisher then pulls out some kind of shed insect part from a pocket on his gown. “Most of the holes were kinda big, but me and Drvkauh found one that was many times bigger than the others.”

Kmna requests to see what Thisher had found. Her veil did not protect his obvious worry when holding the fragment. “I know this from place. Not remember.”

A sick unease was laid heavy amongst them all. Something was not right, some kind of danger was soon to come.

They continue down the endless steps before finally coming to the bottom. What was before them is nearly as jaw-dropping as the steps. A single room, as big as a canyon. Symmetrically erected throughout the room are stone pillars carved in the shape of immense trees. The trees were not like the ones outside, but enormous trees found deep in the jungles of whidyr. Littered all across the ground were small flakey broken pods. Aoax’s heart sank when he saw the size of the holes dug through the room. The were almost as wide as Kmna was long, only the largest creatures imaginable could have dug them.

The six were struck with fright, they had waltzed into somethings nest. Something that assuredly would not want them there. Aoax was about to offer for them to have a tactical retreat before they saw it. What they had been sent to find.

A door.

But not just any door, a Tuumon Kova or great unknown. These doors are the great enigma, unopenable yet leading to nothing on either side. They’ve been discovered all over, no rhyme or reason for where they pop up. No one knows why they exist or how to open them. Indestructible and ornate, they stand tall and never move. Some say they were placed by gods, others think they had something to do with the destruction of the old world. No one knows for sure. With more and more Tuumon Kova being uncovered, their allure and value increases.

This is assuredly what the group had been sent to find, yet the ease of their discovery builds more and more tension. Something needed to go wrong.