Author Comment: I want to thank my Beta-Reader of everything he did for this chapter to come out. The chapter came one week later because it took some time to get Beta-Read. I took this chance to get a little break since I was busier that week.
The creatures investigated the tablet. Even with the human they saw on it, it said nothing else.
"How can this even be made?" Tiaane wondered. From all he knew, the Messenger was the first human who ever set foot in Perim.
The other creatures had no idea.
"What makes you think they didn't go to the Cothica instead?" Mudeenu asked. The others turned towards him, "We are surely dealing with a tribe who made that portal to the Cothica long ago."
Gal'drad sighed, "It's only a guess, right?"
"Of course, it is only that. This tablet means nothing!" Chaor grunted. He gazed at the temple, "We have to find a way to stop the M'arrillians! Not ask about this tablet! It's useless!"
Tiaane grabbed the tablet, "I'll hold on to it. It might prove useful later once our grave situation is resolved."
Maxxor gazed at the sun, "And we can investigate the temple now. The sun is high enough."
Chaor huffed, "Finally," and marched first into the unknown.
The others followed.
Vix'ben stayed behind for a minute. His arms crossed. He still couldn't understand what the tablet meant. Many other things were going through his mind, but he focused on the mission and joined them.
Chapter 102: The Secret Of The Temple
With the sun shining through the windows and cracks, it was easier to observe everything. Now, they could better see the images on the walls. There were some humans depicted there, as well as a bit of the Cothica.
"It doesn't look like anything on the map of the Cothica," Mudeenu concluded as he recalled the bit of the Cothica map he had seen before.
"Maybe that map of yours was false," Chaor grunted, barely aware of what transpired long ago thanks to his spies and the information collected.
Nauthilax frowned, "Nothing interesting in them. Just almost gone."
Tiaane took a more academic approach, "And I wonder which tribe used to live here. I can't imagine it was any of our tribes."
"There is no recollection of this among the M'arrillians, otherwise we would have invaded the Cothica long ago if that was the case and you wouldn't have known about it," Gal'drad commented.
"And none of the tribes would have been able to fight back against Milla'iin," Vix'ben added. He sighed as he observed them closer.
"None of this is important!" Chaor grunted as he proceeded further in. He jumped to the next floor to investigate.
Maxxor had a feeling that Chaor was greatly worried for Kaz, "We'll split up and investigate everything. It will be faster that way."
"We might miss some details," the High Muge Mipedian warned them.
"We need to take that risk or Chaor might try to destroy something important," the ruler of the Overworlder replied.
Tiaane was quiet for a few seconds, "No complaining then," he said, and went to his own part.
The other creatures split up and searched the different floors of the temple. All they had were images and the unknown language of the lost civilization of the island. There were little clues about the humans, though just more images of them.
Maxxor stopped when he noticed the creature's appearance. It looked very different from any of the tribes. He remembered some of them looked like creatures of the Underworld he realized as he inspected it further. It was something he would tell the others once they finished checking everywhere, though it might just be a small detail.
For the rest of the day, the creatures inspected any little part of the temple they could. The walls, the table and any other structures they could find.
After a while it was getting dark and the visibility dropped inside. With that they all left the temple. Once outside, they gazed at each other.
"Did you find anything?" Chaor growled.
It was obvious to the others that he had found nothing interesting or important.
"No hints of any secret passages. Nothing that would look like that crystal used for energy for the portal or anything about a connection between here and the Cothica. The only thing was the image of the human we found," Tiaane sighed.
"I just saw a few images of the crystal myself, but nothing makes sense because I don't understand what's written on the wall," Mudeenu grumbled his frustrations after giving his report.
"Same," the two M'arrillians said at the same time.
"Guess we will have to search deeper tomorrow. There must be something else on the island," Tassanil commented. He to had nothing.
Nauthilax grunted, "We've wasted our time today! The M'arrillians might get the Cothica under their tentacles if we don't hurry up!"
"Did you hear anything about a change in the situation in the Cothica?" Gal'drad asked Chaor and Maxxor.
Chaor replied, "Nothing. Guess they didn't progress more than a city or two. Seems like the world is really big and many continents that split the world into smaller parts."
The creatures continued to talk about how they should progress tomorrow.
Maxxor waited for a while before he shared what he found. It was too dark to reveal what he saw with their eyes. Unless Chaor's flame guided them there. Once they weren't loud, he spoke, "I did find something. It's not as important as-."
"Why didn't you say it sooner?" Chaor growled loudly.
The ruler of the Overworld sighed, "Because it wasn't that important and we needed to investigate everywhere. I did find a few images that stood out."
"What were they?" Tassanil asked before the underworlder could release more of his anger.
"They were the images of creatures that were made of the elements. They didn't really look like any creatures of our tribes. Some of them looked like their bodies were made of fire, water, earth, wind or a combination of the elements together. We do know a few creatures like that in Perim," Maxxor told them.
They already knew who they were. They had met four of them recently. The Elementals. They looked like the creatures of each tribe, but their bodies were mostly made of an element in question. There were also others like Magmon whose body was a combination of fire and earth.
"Where are you going with that?" Vix'ben grumbled with uncertainly. He watched the image on the tablet. It was just creatures with humans from the Cothica. The image meant nothing else, "Because I feel like you are trying to look into it too much."
The other creatures didn't reply. They gazed at each other as they wondered if that was the case.
"Maybe I am thinking too much about it, but this should be something to keep in mind. I mean, those creatures are the ones who made the portal, if true. That means that maybe they can repair it if we can't find anything to fix it," Maxxor justified his finding.
The others were uncertain if that would be necessary.
Tiaane decided for the others, "We should just keep this in the back of our mind. We better find what we need to fix it elsewhere, because searching for them might take a long time. Time that we cannot afford."
The creatures agreed. They didn't have a good scenario. If they needed to search for a civilization that might already be gone, it would be for the worse.
Maxxor nodded, "Right. It is still the only thing I found to share though."
"I don't think any of them knows about this place anyway," Chaor grumbled.
"What can we do for now?" Mudeenu asked.
"The only other thing interesting I saw was a strange structure at the top of the mountain," Vix'ben pointed at it.
"We might have a chance to find something interesting there. The portal to the Cothica was at the top of a mountain," Gal'drad commented.
Maxxor scratched his chin, "And the Eye of the Maelstrom was high in the sky. From what we know, it is definitely connected to the Cothica. Altitude might be a factor here."
"Why didn't any of you say that sooner?" Chaor grunted.
"You could have guessed so too," Mudeenu huffed at the red creature.
The ruler of the Underworld had nothing to say to that.
Tassanil went towards it. The argument that was developing was only a waste of time. The others noticed the Danian leaving them behind. They pushed that aside and followed him.
Gal'drad and Vix'ben could fly and that gave them a great advantage. Despite that, they couldn't use it.
"Don't fly ahead of us," Chaor growled when he noticed the two M'arrillians doing so.
"Fine," Gal'drad nodded as he floated near them.
Vix'ben huffed, (You are being too obedient to them Gal'drad. We need to show them we have some spine!)
(I don't have a spine,) Gal'drad gave a deadpan answer as he gazed at the other one the same way.
(I meant the expression those Chaotic Players used.)
(If we went ahead, it would only lead to suspicion. They might believe we'll try to destroy the portal, if there is a functioning one. They will not hesitate to accuse us of being traitors if we are out of their sight. We do not antagonize them,) the Chieftain replied, showing he thought ahead of the other M'arrillian.
The Fluidmorpher sighed and joined the other one, (Not going to crawl like them.)
(Neither do I,) the other one replied.
The two quietly chuckled as they noticed the others were already getting exhausted. The day was coming to an end and they had a long way to reach the top.
Vix'ben was a little reassured that his leader wasn't accepting it all kindly like a good little slave. It was only to avoid conflict with them. He knew that was the truth or he would have walked with them. He wondered if there was frustration or anger growing in Gal'drad's mind.
The creatures were obviously jealous of the flying ability of the M'arrillians, but would never say anything about that.
The darkness began to settle and they weren't even close to the top. They were still far away and it could take an entire day to reach it. The creatures were tired and settled to rest for the night. Unfortunately, they had brought very few things to camp. They only had a few rations to survive the night.
They eventually stopped and made camp in a safe location. They put up a few tents and took out a few of their rations, as they hadn't found anything fresh to consume for the night. The creature's minds spiraled a little. They wondered what they would find at the top of the mountain. However, all they had was the hope of finding the answers to their questions.
The night was young. The campfire they made was their only source of light.
"I hope by the Cothica you are safe Tom," Maxxor whispered. He knew the boy was safe for now, but what would happen while he was searching for a way to fix the portal? Anything. They had tried to contact the Codemasters, but they couldn't. There wasn't any problem with the communication devices. It was just that no one answered.
Chaor watched the flames. He knew his boy was safe, and brave. Maybe not at the level of Kazzy's friend, but he might reach it one day. Still, he wasn't interested in the boy turning into a warrior like the other Underworlders. He was special the way he was. Weak, but when at his limit, capable of showing great courage. He closed his eyes. The sight of the boy turning into codes, still haunting his mind. His muscles tensed, "I will never fail you again," he quietly said, once he was certain no one could hear him.
The others observed the two M'arrillians, who stood a little away from the group. Gal'drad was the closest and endured their gaze. Some where suspicious while others were simply curious.
None of them had anything to report. The night was here and they had already spoken everything they had about that tablet and the image Maxxor had found on a wall.
They did have one question though. Where were the creatures that inhabited the island? Where they gone, or had something killed them? Maybe there was something else they didn't know about.
With those questions on their minds, they rested for the night.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: The Guardian.
The group climbed to the top of the mountain and encountered someone who protected what was inside the mysterious structure.
