What's up
You know, I just ran over the summary underneath the Story title in the listing. I got to say, seeing all those errors in the text, it's a wonder that some people actually decide to tune in. I just went in and corrected that Thing again.
But anyway, this is Chapter 12 of the Story where we finally enter Thirmongrung.
- 12 -
Thirmongrung
The trio containing of Chris Cortina, Nathan Drake and Charlie Cutter had been walking for about an hour through the jungle that lied in the northern part of Thailand. Cortina lead the way with his paper containing the layout of the labyrinth of caves and tunnels they were about to enter.
Once in a while, Nate and Charlie kept their gazes locked on each other not sure whether the path the mercenary took them on was the right… or if it would lead them directly into a trap. After all, each one of them still knew that the little extra in Cortina's assignment was to kill Nathan.
And the way the buzz cut man in front kept leading them around, Nathan was sure that they were going towards the trap. But then again, there were all those small pieces of statues that lied here and there in the jungle that showed that there has definitely been some sort of building or artificial structure in the past. And at least that was something that Nate could count on.
"We better kept it low till here, I don't have the nerve to get it on with those guys again if avoidable." Chris suddenly said from the front which forced Nathan and Charlie to shake back and stare at each other for a short moment.
Yet Charlie brought his hands into his hips before pushing his chest forward. "We crashed with our ride in the middle of a bloody jungle, what makes you think that we…" he stopped in the middle of the sentence as he saw what lied in front of the trio.
Chris slowly stared to the back with a triumphant smile. "Oh I don't know…" Up in front, there stood numerous trucks and jeeps that obviously belonged to the posse running around with Lawrence and Chen. "… just call it a hunch!"
The small track which they had driven in the jungle led all the way to a small cave that was big enough for small jeeps, yet not big enough for the trucks to fit through. Without waiting another second, the trio rushed behind several of the vehicles as they heard voices go through the air and reach their ears.
"Psst… Nate!" Charlie called as he spotted a pair of two men standing Just around the vehicle he was hiding behind. Both of them wore dark grey army gear while they had their weapons hung from their backs. Both had been involved in a chat with one of them lighting up a cigarette.
Drake understood it right away and sneaked around his vehicle now having a better stare at another duo standing beside a truck. Right behind him, he gave a sign to Chris and quickly sneaked over the track as he stopped right behind his English friend.
Quickly and without being seen, they moved further until they were on the edge of the vehicle. Both glared to the other side and saw Chris being in position as well. For a second, Nathan inhaled deeply and then right away rushed out behind the car grabbing one of the men around the neck and pulling him back around the corner.
Charlie right away got up and kicked the other one in the stomach before hammering his elbow into his face. Chris on the other side slid over the hood of the jeep and right away sliced one of the men's throat open. Right after, he grabbed one of the arms of one of them while twisting it in an awkward way, and right out breaking his neck again.
In the meantime, Drake had hammered the head of his opponent a few times against the door which caused him to drop to the ground immediately. He started up and saw Cutter being finished with his opponent. He helped the English man to his feet as both stared straight at the Canadian coming their way and swiping the blood off from his knife.
"Alright! So far so good." Charlie called and the trio right away stared into the darkness of the cave that they were about to enter "After you." He said towards the Canadian mercenary and directed his arm into the distance.
With a slight frown, Chris walked ahead as Drake padding Charlie on the back and followed the other one into the cave.
"Admit it, we're lost!" Charlie said with folded arms still following Cortina and Nathan through a pair of dark tunnels and underground cave systems. All three of them had a pair of flashlights in their hands and shined on the walls beside and around the place.
None of these corridors seemed to led to an ancient myth that once defined a whole continent. But then again, it often didn't seem that way in the past. Nathan stared around as more and more mistrust grew inside of him with the American slightly eying him with the corner of his orbs. "I hope you know what you are doing?" He asked yet almost seemed to make it look like a threat.
The trio turned around corners and axes for quite a while with the outside walls not changing a little bit. And even though Nate didn't knew how anybody could find order in this labyrinth (even though he himself has done it a few times in the past) he once again could feel that they were getting closer with each moment they kept going.
As they went around another corner, Drake immediately realized a small shift in their surroundings. The shape of the walls around them got a little more constant and even through the whole part of the wall. Nathan threw the light on the wall observing the carvings on the place. "If I didn't know any better, I would guess that these tunnels were carved." He said which caused Charlie and Chris to stop and stare at him.
"What makes you say that?" Cutter asked right away with one eyebrow raised and a disbelieving glare.
But then again, Nathan knew what he meant and he stopped for a short time walking over to the wall of the cave. "You see these markings, I can see a pattern on them. Almost as if someone had used something the drill through the mountain in order to find get to the middle of the mountain."
Yet Charlie and even Cortina were not really convinced and folded their arms in front of their chests. "But then again, how in the world were people able to built something like this without using a giant drill… y'know… like they do today?"
"Guess that's we are about to find out once we get there." Nathan replied as they kept going.
It took another fifteen minutes and the group marched through corridors, small gaps and tunnels as they already forgot what daylight looked like. But then again, there was something that gave both Nate and Charlie the feeling that they were on the right path.
Voices and noises reached their ears and all three of them stopped before they went around the next corner. Unlike the ones before, they could tell that these were not English but a bunch of Chen's men. The Canadian sneaked up to the corner and then peaked around the edge and on the scenery in front of them.
Nathan was right behind him and stepped as he peeked over the head of the other one before looking back on Cutter and Cortina. "Alright, we should try to sneak past them. I don't want to end up with holes in my stomach right now." Right away, he could see the disappointment in the eyes of the mercenary and he right away got an unsettling feeling from him.
He clapped Chris on the head and right away stared into the face of him. "Don't get any crazy ideas! Have you seen the masses of trucks and jeeps that he had back there? God knows how many of those guys might be after our tail after we bring them down!?"
But then again; Chris checked the map he held in his hands and began talking back to the American. "I don't want to break to you Drake, but there is no way around those clowns. I told you before, there's only one way to get to Thirmongrung. That to say it just like you do, but we have to walk through them if we want to reach Lawrence and Chen."
After taking a few seconds of considering, Chris stared around the corner again. Several small jeeps were parked a glade that was bigger than the tunnels the trio had walked through the last hours. Pieces of equipment and boxes sat around the place along with a pair of spotlights that shining on the walls.
Chris once again observed the scenario and began counting the people that they had to beat in order to get further. Nathan rose up from behind after being at the count of at least men staying behind. Four of them stood together once again in the middle of a chat while two other placed themselves on part of the boxes. Chris sneaked past the jeeps and boxes while also staying the backs of the spotlights.
Drake on the other hand waited for him to to make the first move ready to get into action himself. While the other four still waited on their spots, Chris lurked behind the edge of the car before smiling up to them. All four stared completely shocked as they spotted the man that kept smirking sinister at them. "Hello Gentleman… grenade?" He said in Thai before throwing a stinger grenade into the middle and right away jumping to the side.
The explosion hit the four men spot on and Drake wasted no time before running to the group. Chris came forth again and made a double kick directly on the faces of two while Nathan kicked the third one in the balls.
The man's rifle flew in the air which Nathan caught and swiped the second guard with the weapon across the head. Charlie hammered one of the men faces first on the hood before ramming his elbow in the face of the second one. As fast as the fight had begun, it was over again. The explosion of the grenade must have alerted most of the cave already and all three were sure that their quest was no longer a secret.
"Well…" Charlie said dusting off his clothes a little bit and coming to a halt beside the treasure hunter. "That actually went better than I have expected." He added as the trio was now completely standing together in the middle of the glade.
"WHAT DID HE SAY?" Chris almost screamed as both Charlie and Nathan held their fingers in front of their faces and tried to make him be quiet.
"Cool it Gretzky" Charlie quickly replied while the Canadian understood and Drake stepped away from them. The American stared into the distance and to the sides of the cave with the other men staring at him in confusion. Again, Drake kept wandering back and forth from side to side while holding his hand to his chin. "Nate!?" The English one said and Drake continued staring into the distance.
Finally, Charlie stood up and walked right beside his partner before taking a look at the outside walls himself. The realization hit him like a rock. "This… this is the door to the City." He said not staring over to Drake while he observed the construction a bit more.
All two could now see the shape of doors that had been opened and now leaned against the wall of the cave. Both Charlie and Nathan knew that the group they had been chasing had already passed the entrance and maybe already had gotten a glimpse of Thirmongrung. "You know there's something that I don't get!"
Nathan turned to the side as Charlie spoke out once again. "I know that the temple back on the Philippines could only be opened when you inserted the right word in their language. Normally, stuff like that appears on everything in contact with the theme of our adventures." Drake listened with Cutter continuing.
"But then again, how in the world, if Hack and Slash back there is the only one that can navigate through the Labyrinth or tunnel system, how can they be able to do that with ease and without any problems?"
Nathan was about to respond when he realized that… Cutter was right. They both thought that Chris was the one that could get to the city and that the others had no advantage in that regard. But here they were, Lawrence and Chen had reached Thirmongrung… and they didn't.
After turning around and walking straight up to Cortina, Drake quickly grabbed him by the belts on his gear and shoved him against the wall. "I guess you have some explaining to do." He said once again with a growl escaping his voice.
"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU JUST SAID BUT… I GOT A FEELING THAT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE OPEN DOOR!" He replied while pointing with one of his fingers on the map in his hands. "BEATS ME HOW THEY DID IT!" Chris added before he and Drake stared deeply into each other's eyes.
It took quite a while for Nate to release the Canadian and get back to the middle. "We can't change it anyways. Let's keep moving!"
After picking some extra ammo and a few little things, the trio stepped around the corner and found themselves staring at a stair going down. Drake and Charlie stared at each other and both drew their pistols before taking the first steps with great caution.
The wall was colored in light brown and for the first time in quite a while. Drake could make out torches and sculptures along the left and right side. The stairs were wide enough for at least ten men to step down side by side. And they seemed to be endless.
Finally, the trio reached the bottom and stared directly at several statues designed in the same way as they were in the temples and places they had come this far. It were three in total with two door or passages going between them. "What do you make of it?" Charlie asked as he stopped in front of the one to the left.
His gaze fell on the face of the creature built out of stone, and he could tell right away that it was no human that he had seen here. "Isn't this the guy that we had found back in Cebu City?" Charlie asked and Drake stared over to him with a nodding of his head. "Yeah! That's Rahu!" he said and then noticed the object that lied in his hands. "What is he holding?"
Drake walked closer to the statue and stared into the hands that held some sort of vase inside them. Symbols were carved into the stone and Nathan immediately recognized it. "It reads… the nectar of the gods. This must be the amrita." He added and turned his attention back on the statue to the left where Cortina stood in front of.
Chris rubbed the inside of his ear with his finger as he slowly began to find his hearing back. He turned around with Nate coming to a halt at his side. The statue to the left showed another god like being standing and raising a round object into the air. Right away, the trio could tell that it was a head and even the question of which the head belonged to was no mystery anymore. "That's also Rahu! After he got decapitated."
Charlie and Chris turned back to the American who already had his focus set on the statue in the middle. This however was no god like being. This was clearly a man. He too was standing. The carvings around him seemed to resemble the one of fire and smoke as he seemed to emerge from them. In his hands, small glass looking objects were carved and set in while there was another symbol right underneath the statue.
Again, the American leaned down and stared at the symbol trying to decipher it. The symbols were all written in the Language of the Tangnamgrah so he was the only one that could get them. "It reads… The curse of the moon." He said and was finished right away.
Without knowing what that meant, Drake turned back on Cutter and Cortina who stared at him with raised eyebrows. Charlie was the first to response with a bad feeling in his stomach. "Now that is perfect, not only have we to compete with an army and their lunatic squad. But now we're getting a curse thrown at us… again." He said while throwing his arms up in defeat. "Then however, I hope that this isn't the case with this."
Drake stood back and better left that statement where it was. Instead, he gazed past the statues and his eyes widened while walking forward. And then he saw it.
The men found themselves standing on another stair that led to the probably most amazing places had ever seen in his life. Up ahead, the sight of a city stretched itself out through the part of the biggest cave ever seen. There were buildings everywhere. Most of them were colored white with dark green roofs made out of stone. Jade and gold markings decorated the buildings to a point that made them look really amazing.
There were buildings placed beside buildings and the streets that were made out of light grey stones were narrow but still well seen from above and also gave the city a nice and organized layout. Drake mouth dropped down to the floor as Charlie and Chris came to a halt beside him.
Even though they found themselves in a gigantic cave that was far beyond the biggest ones they had ever seen, there was a giant hole in the ceiling of the cave that provided the city with light. It looked almost like a volcano that had been emptied from the inside.
All in all, this was something none of them had seen before. At least not since Drake had wandered through Ubar. The American stared further ahead and found a giant temple on a hill on the other side of the cave. And then there was that huge plaza in the center surrounding the eight cornered building forming the center of the city and had most of the streets leading towards it.
Drake caught himself back and kept observing the scenery with several thoughts reaching his mind. How could a civilization capable of creating this giant city could go down? He asked himself and then got snapped out of his thought as he heard a clicking and a slight light bulb appearing beside him. Nathan stared at him with raised eyebrows. "What are you doing?"
Charlie on the other end simply put down a small camera before he turned back on Nate. "What… I'm just holding the moment. You know… before you destroy it again."
Right beside them, Chris chuckled and passed the duo while taking the first steps down the stairs leading to the city at whole.
Thirmongrung was a city designed in all sorts of Asian architecture, while the houses had a Chinese style to them, lots of the statues and little decorations came from the Thai and Vietnamese culture. The trio marched swift but silently through the street once in a while staring to the inside of a building in order to find something interesting, and of course to avoid getting spotted by Chen's men.
Drake lead the way turning stopping at a corner as he heard motion on the other side of it and he leaned against the wall before taking peak. Drake immediately saw a duo of the Asians holding their weapons and talking to each other.
Before either one could say anything, Chris padded them on the back and pointed to the back of them were they could hear other voices coming and all three knew that there was patrol coming their way. Chris right away opened a door and signed both of them to come after him.
With quick motions, they walked inside and closed the door just in time for the patrol not being able to see them. Drake right away walked to the middle of the room and began observing it.
Charlie on the other hand quickly stared out the wooden windows barricaded with bars before he turned his attention to the Canadian at their side. "I see you have gained your hearing back mate." He said not without hiding the sarcasm coming from the mercenary who quickly sat down on the ground.
"This place is great!" Drake said looking around the place they had walked into. "This place is like a mash up between several Asian cultures. Take a look." He said and kept walking over the floor. "Look, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Cambodian." He pointed with his fingers at several objects lying in the shelves of the places. "This is an archeological goldmine."
"Guess so!" it was one of the first things that Chris had said for the last time since he damaged his hearing in the fight in front of the gate. He glared over to the American and right away pulled out his gun and checking the clip.
Nathan thought for a short moment before he glanced over through some bars of wood and directly above the roofs of the other buildings. He could see the giant temple on the wall of the cave, as well as the giant octagon building in the center. And that's when he figured something out.
"For now, we should get down to the middle and check out that building in the middle. I guess we can find some answers there." He said by walking back to the door and peaking through the small opening in the door.
Chris and Charlie followed him with the Canadian cocking his gun and stopping right after the treasure hunter. "When you say answers, I hope you mean Lawrence!?" He added and Nathan as well as Charlie stared back on him.
For a short moment, Charlie was about to slam the mercenary's head right on the door when Nate replied with a slender smirk and a defensive motion of his arms. "Hey! Since we are already here, we should get forward and unlock the secrets of this city." Nathan held his own gun right in front of his face and opened the door while stepping out onto the street.
"So… there we are. Anything interesting that you want to observe here?" Chris asked a bit annoyed as he and the other two stood in front of the giant octagon building. Yet there were several stony stairs leading up to the building. The outside wall was made of white stones and each side held one sculpture similar to the ones back at the entrance.
There were also giant dark brown colored wooden double doors with golden marking on it along golden stripes on the bottom and the top. Drake stared at them and short after realized that each one of the eight statues showed a scene that was going on around the whole building.
Four of the sculptures showed a man taking a vase and raising it above his head before leading it towards his mouth. The other four sculptures showed a man in profile while the carved lines in the stone resembled something looking like water. Nathan walked closer to the picture and noticed once again the small pearl of glass that was crafted into the stone.
"Those little things start to interest me." Charlie said right before Nathan walked towards one of the doors and opened it. The inside of the building was completely dark and Nathan along with Charlie stepped inside slowly followed by Chris who took another glance to the outside for any hostiles coming by.
The two treasure hunters stared through the night before Drake brought his hands to his hips and stared over to the English man. After that, the American checked each of his pockets while Charlie stared at the silhouette of his friend and already knowing what was going on. "You know, I'm really starting to consider buying me a lighter." He said and already heard the clicking right beside him.
In the dim light of the lighter, he could see the triumphant face of Cutter who searched the outside walls for torches. "Ah… there we go." He said and walked over to one that hung on the wall. After igniting it, he handed one over to Chris who did the same.
Both went on and lighted every one of them all around the room with the three guys getting to know in what kind of place they found themselves in. "You know, the way this place looks in the dark light, I got the feeling that this place might be some sort of temple or prayers room." Charlie said with a slight smirk of triumph.
"Or maybe, a rec-room. Maybe a place to play Canasta." Chris replied from his spot as he lighted up the last torch.
"You're both wrong!" Nathan said from his point with complete horror in his voice. Chris and Cutter both turned around to him and as they got into eye contact with the American. Drake stared up from the ground facing both of them. "This is a grave!" He said with a grim face.
Both turned their faces around the place and immediately noticed the masses of skeletons lying on the ground. Each one of them shook back in shock while Cutter had to hold back his feeling to throw up on the spot. Chris on the other hand began circling around and observing the bodies that lied on the ground.
Nathan himself did the same while kneeling down in front of one of the dead. "Wow, must have been one hell of a massacre!" He heard Charlie call from behind standing in the middle of the place. Yet hen Drake observed a little further, a thought and a realization came to his mind.
"These guys weren't murdered!" He said not 100% sure himself. But then again they could as well be. "At least there are no stabbing or bullet wounds in them that could serve as an indication." He continued while Charlie raised his eyebrows once more.
The English man then kneeled down to a skeleton himself turning back to his friend. "Someone might have strangled them." He said staying with his point. "I mean, what could have happened that all these guys could have died at the same place at the same time. At least that is what it looks like to me:"
"You wanna hear my opinion?" Chris asked from the back as he let his hand wander through some of the stacks of objects lying everywhere. "I guess this was a giant mass suicide:" He added and right caused Drake and Charlie to shook up and seconds later stand on their feet. "Or can you explain to me why most of these guys still have these small brass cups with them and in their hands."
He reached out and held one of the small objects into the direction of the two treasure hunters. "Do you know how many people it would have taken to strangle these guys without letting one get away. These guys died here for a purpose and I bet that was due to poison in something they drunk.
Taking the oxidized brass cup with him, he handed it over to Drake who took a closer look at it himself. The American then stared around to the small amount of walls and then back to the middle of the room. His eye then locked on another corps lying against the wall to their right and he quickly walked over to it. "One of these is not like the others." He said in a forced joking voice and kneeled down.
The figure right in front of them still had the clothes he died with him in his hand as Nate observed the robe he wore. "It is not from this culture. That is a robe worn by Europeans." He said and felt the hand of Charlie connecting with his shoulder.
"Is that… Magellan?" He simply asked knowing that Drake didn't knew it either… but then again, he wanted to find out. He searched the complete robe of the man and right away found a small piece of old paper in one of his pockets, surprised that the robe had pockets after all. "What is that?" Charlie asked after Nathan had unfolded the paper.
"It's a… farewell ladder." Nathan said as began reading. "It's written in Spanish. Magellan travelled around the world in assignment for the Spaniards. This is not Magellan however… it's one of his men."
Drake began wandering through the room, as was his habit when he came across such things, and he began reading out loud. "This is to whoever may come after us and come upon these strange lands. Whatever you may seek inside here, it may never leave this place. "Fernaó and we have seen what the Sarira can do. And it is nothing that should be taken to the outside world."
"It was never meant for the world of the living!" Nate heard Chris call in a bad Bruce Campbell expression and simply silenced him by holding up his hand. "The curse of the moon is too dangerous for anyone to possess. We decided to destroy any evidence that we could find."
Chris and Cutter stared at the people standing and both of them began to understand. But neither one of them spoke as Drake wasn't finished. "Though the lust for eternal life is the by far greatest thing that we have come across, it is not worth the horror that might come from this. Too my dear friend Fernaó. I hope that our great god in heaven can forgive the deeds we have done and may safe us a place in heaven. And I have to apologize for ending this like this… I'm sorry!"
Drake folded the letter back together and stored it back in his own pocket.
"That pretty much proves it." Chris said from his spot folding his arms. "Whatever they found in this city had them convinced that they had to end this right here in order to have not have anybody else known." The mercenary said pointing with his finger down and around to the corpses.
Nathan nodded in agreement while Charlie had something else to point out. "And from what it sounded, our friend Magellan wasn't informed, since this lad clearly apologized to him and even said that they wanted to destroy all evidence. That's why nobody knows about this place and the culture anymore. They wiped out everything that was connected with them.
"Except for Magellan who left enough clues for Da Gama to follow him, which brings us back to Lawrence, Chen and us who are after it together too." Nate said from his spot. And then he thought back to the statues. "And I bet that it has to do with those gems that were carved in the stone outside and at the entrance."
No one said anything as they just kept standing around in the room and staring at the numerous dead bodies lying around them. The trio had once again surrounded a small object in the middle of the room. Another octagon out of white stone and a dark green colored stone cover. "What do you think is underneath?" Chris asked and walked right towards the object.
Nathan knew what he was up to and he followed him quickly. Both men checked the object and quickly found that the cover of the construction could be shoved off. "Come on Charlie… help us with this." Drake called and all three began pushing.
It took them a while but finally, the cover gave in and got shoved to the side before landing right on the stony ground. The moved cover revealed a deep hole in the ground that seemed to go on for miles. "Looks like an old well. This must have been how this city could exist and reach this height in the middle of the mountain." Nathan called out while Chris pulled out a few bullets from his clip and letting them fall.
After falling through the darkness, the sound of iron colliding with stone reached them and made them turn around to each other again. "Obviously run dry quite a while ago." Charlie remarked and then turned back to friend Drake again. "So… what now?"
Before each one of them could say anything, they could hear footsteps and noises on the outside and knew that they were too late to get out and they simply waited for the door to open and Chen along Lawrence to walk in.
