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Chapter 3

'What is it with you humans and stating the obvious?'

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The planet revolved as they trekked, and as the temple came into view at the end of an avenue of trees, the dying sun seeped crimson into the clouds. Rose disentangled herself from a particularly grasping set of vines and hurried to catch up with the Doctor as he emerged onto the path.

Her feet were soaked through her trainers from an encounter with a concealed marsh, and her legs ached from navigating through the tree branches that snaked across the path. Twice she had startled some kind of ground bird, which squawked at her and took off into the ferns, its red tail wobbling comically.

The Doctor was examining his watch as she finally left the forest behind and stumbled into him. 'I told you I'd find it.'

'How long did that take us?'

'An hour, an hour and a half.'

'Great. And how are we going to get back in the dark?'

His face fell. 'Dunno. I hadn't thought of that.'

Rose sighed, hands on hips. She stepped a little way down the path and squinted. 'Well, there's the temple. Any ideas on how to get inside yet?'

The Doctor patted himself down until he located the psychic paper. He pulled it from his pocket and brandished it at her. 'PPC - Planet Planning Committee. Works every time.'

'You do this a lot then? Sneak into places you shouldn't be?'

He looked affronted. 'Not a lot. More like, when I have to.' Rose's slow grin spread onto her face, and he returned it. 'Come on.'

Hand in hand, they ran down the avenue of trees to the temple entrance. The packed earth changed to strange, blue gravel underfoot, and the circular bulk of the temple grew steadily larger.

It reminded Rose of photos she'd seen of the Coliseum in Rome – all arches and white stone. It tapered to a flattened-off spire at the top, and from the topmost arches, very long flags in blue and yellow hung like curtains down the length of the building. Some kind of motif was painted on them in silver; Rose could have sworn the thin lines writhed as she looked at them.

The Doctor slowed to a walk as they neared a large imposing archway of the same white stone; other than this, there was no visible barrier to the surrounding courtyard, also circular. There was just the wall of trees. Rose could make out figures in varying coloured coats milling about, and the faint sound of harp music floated through the still air.

Two tall Ellion in spotless white coats materialised from either side of the archway and stopped them with outstretched arms. Rose stepped closer to the Doctor as he introduced them, holding up the paper. She noticed the focus of their eyes glaze over slightly, and then they were in.

She shivered involuntarily as they crossed the threshold, and beside her, the Doctor closed his eyes briefly. 'Force field,' he murmured, 'and not a particularly strong one at that.'

'That's good?'

'It means I should be able to get at it if we have to leave by... other means.' He stopped and surveyed the courtyard. 'Right. Where's that cellar?'

'Excuse me?' Rose wheeled. The girl bowed quickly. 'I'm sorry.' She appeared about twelve; her red coat hung loosely off her slight frame and the small harp strapped to her back looked heavier than she was.

'That's okay...' replied Rose, a little puzzled. After a second she remembered herself and bowed awkwardly.

The girl continued, the slight wind playing with the tips of her hair. 'I couldn't help overhearing. I can show you the cellars if you like.'

The Doctor nodded. 'If you don't mind, that would save my assistant and me a lot of trouble.'

'Please, follow me.'

The girl led them around to one of the side entrances, ducking under the cloth that served as a door and through the archway. They came into a long corridor, lit by a type of glowing crystal set at intervals in the stone. The rocks shed an eerie bluish light which caught oddly on the Doctor's leather jacket and fractured off.

Two young boys in green coats passed them going the other way, chattering animatedly. Both were clutching harps to their chests. Rose supposed this must be a kind of school for harpers, since they were the only people she'd seen.

Their guide led them down a short flight of stone steps and turned left at an intersection. Then more steps, at least fifty, then a thick cloth "door" concealing the entrance.

'Here. But, if I may ask, what is it you intend to do?'

'Just survey the contents,' assured the Doctor.

Alarm flickered across the girl's features. 'Cellar six is off bounds, even for the PPC. The Lords and Ladies say no one is to enter it, not even for maintenance.'

The Doctor's brows flicked. 'Thank you.'

The girl smiled, bowed, and then scampered back the way she'd led them, taking the stairs two at a time.

The Doctor heaved the cloth aside and ducked through, and Rose followed through the cloud of dust. Coughing, she was forced to blink repeatedly until her eyesight adjusted to the gloom inside. She smelt stones and stale air, and could hear the Doctor's footsteps descending rapidly. 'Keep up!'

'I can't see a thing!'

'Hold that flap open and find a torch or something.'

Irked by his blasé nature, she yanked the curtain back and used the faint blue light to locate what appeared to be a normal electric torch attached to a fixture in the wall. Pressing the panel where the on-switch should be caused a beam of the same blue light to leap into the darkness, hitting the Doctor full in the face.

Rose jerked backwards as she saw his eyes – the pupils had changed shape, narrowing and elongating like a snake's. In the glare, they reformed, startling her into speech. 'What was that?'

'What?'

'Your eyes!'

'Oh. That.' He came back up the steps as the torch beam wandered erratically over the walls. 'I just shifted my sight into infrared.'

'You can do that?'

He sighed exasperatedly. 'What is it with you humans and stating the obvious?'

She pushed past him and strode down the steps, sweeping the torch over the cellar. The blue light revealed a good number of silvery boxes piled neatly, though in no particular order. The Doctor swiped the keypad of one with the sonic screwdriver. 'Food supplies. Which cellar is this anyway?'

Rose aimed the torch at the opposite wall, where a similar curtain hung. There was a figure cared into the stone, but in a spiky script quite alien to her. 'I can't read it.'

The Doctor deciphered it quickly enough. 'Nine, through that arch. Making this one eight, and,' he swung to face the opposite wall, 'that way seven and six, and the harp.'

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Cellar seven contained shelf upon shelf of neatly folded coats, and the arch to cellar six was blocked, not by the usual thick curtain, but by a sophisticated-looking metal door that made Rose think of something from Star Wars. Undeterred, the Doctor strode across to it and produced his trusty screwdriver.

There was a white flash and the crackle of discharged electricity, and the Doctor was thrown backwards; small blue strings of lightening leapt across his jacket. Rose dropped the torch with a cry and leapt across as he landed in a heap with a groan.

'That,' he gasped, propping himself up on an elbow, 'is a good example of a strong force field.' Charges of electricity earthed down his arms, causing him to twitch. Rose heaved him up, but he shook her off gently. 'I'm fine, I'm fine.' He surveyed the door again, more guardedly. 'There has to be a keypad somewhere.'

Rose retrieved the torch. 'But if it's blocked off, maybe only the "Lords and Ladies" can get in.'

He frowned. 'Good point.' He walked the length of the cellar wall, examining the stone bricks and murmuring to himself. 'Palm print? Retina pattern? Voice key, even?'

Something caught Rose's eye, and she aimed the torch. A section of the stone didn't look quite right... She went to it and knelt, running her free hand over it. It felt warmer. She pressed her ear to it and heard a faint electronic throbbing.

She knocked on it, and it went clang.

The Doctor's head snapped around. 'Aha!'

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Hint 2: Famous harpist and bard in the 1700s.

AN: That should give you one. More next update!