Chapter 6: Deep Below
There was a staircase leading down from the entrance. It was rough, obviously made from natural stone ("What? Natural stone on Coruscant?" ) and it lead down below the ground. As soon as I had lowered the rock on top of the entrance I lit my lightsaber. A glow rod would probably have been better, but I didn't have one. The bluish light cast an eerie glow over the surroundings. Force alone would have to know who, or what, could be hiding here in the shadows.
I proceeded carefully. By the end of the stairs the ground levelled out and became a rather narrow corridor and I released some tension. The spider webs hanging from the ceiling witnessed about little traffic indeed in this area. Hopefully there weren't any other entrances to whatever I went towards. I reached out with the Force and felt nothing.
That is, no living beings at least.
The Force itself was another matter. It felt incredibly strong in a way I hadn't felt it before, not even in the Temple. In a way it was soothing, but it also felt a bit disturbing as I didn't know what to expect. I had never heard any tales about any convergences in the Force here on Coruscant. But then again, a convergence would probably have been more…disturbed. Here the Force felt pure, in lack of a better word.
The place felt safe enough so I increased my speed a bit.
And then I stopped. The corridor had ended and I was almost literally spat out in a huge hall with massive stone pillars bearing the ceiling. I lifted my 'saber to get a better look and I felt my jaw dropping almost down to the mosaic floor. The hall was astonishing. The walls were covered with mosaic showing landscapes. A clear blue lake area gradually transformed into landscapes of rolling hills and deep forests. I almost expected to see a deer peeking out between the trees. The floor was decorated with a geometric pattern, symmetric about the center with a stylised sun stretching it's rays towards figures surrounding it. It surely was breathtaking.
A low sound such as the one of gurgling water reached my ears and I looked around me. The sound seemed to come from the 'lake district' wall and I approached carefully. Just below the image of a sparkling waterfall was a little spring where clear water was burbling happily. I couldn't believe my own eyes. Pure water had not been seen on Coruscant for hundreds of years, if ever. Everyone knew (and everyone tried not to think of it) that the water supply on the city planet was mostly recirculated even though some fresh water was collected in huge basins when weather control every once in a while allowed rain showers to occur.
But here it was, a natural spring from the ground itself. Carefully I knelt down and dipped my fingers. It felt cool and tempting and for a moment I contemplated if it would be overly reckless of me to taste it. If I became severely sick down here, wherever 'here' was, nobody would ever find me.
Well, only one way to find out. I bent down and drank deeply.
It was delicious.
