Their walk into the darkness was a short one. As they did, the Guardian was curious about one thing, "From your explanation, you know a little about what is going on at the sacred land of the Cothica," he gazed at them with an innocent curiosity in his gaze.
Chaor grunted, "Those Codemasters kept contact with the Cothica. They are the only ones who still have a link with their world."
"They left for so long that we only have a vague idea of their form now. The only thing we knew was that they looked similar to Overworlders, without all the fur."
"Indeed, they are like that," Tiaane admitted, "Mostly on their head and a bit on their arms and legs. They all wear so many pieces of clothing. From what Peyton said, those are the minimal and not considered superfluous…most of the time."
"Most humans don't like to show their flesh. Makes me wonder if it's because they are tasty?" Nauthilax commented. He quickly received a glare from the others. He remained quiet after and then said, "I'll take that back."
"We are here," the guardian told them. He put his hands on the door, "Do not cause any disturbance or battle in the city. I won't tolerate any disrespect."
"We won't," Gal'drad replied, gazing at the creatures and Vix'ben.
The creature of rock and ice nodded. He pushed the door and the creatures grumbled in amazement at the sight of the city.
Chapter 104: The City Of Old
The creatures looked around. It was an impressive city, but an empty one. There was no one on the large street. It looked like it was all made of bronze or something similar to it. The buildings were tall and large. They still had some decorations on it that had survived time, or partially survived anyway. They didn't know what purpose they were made for, but that wasn't why they came here.
Their guide walked forward, saying nothing about the large city at the top of the mountain.
Maxxor observed it more carefully. He saw how different it was from Chaotic. It didn't have the decorations and the strange structures. The humans didn't have any influence in it, "Chaotic doesn't look like this."
"Hum… I can't tell you anything. Never went to this Chaotic," the creature replied.
"Are we there yet?" Chaor grumbled.
"It's on the other side of the city. Don't worry about ambushes. The land has been infertile for a long time. No one can live here for long without sustenance. I have to climb down from time to time to get something in my stomach," he replied.
"I am curious about how you met the humans. As far as we know, the first humans showed up during the M'arrillian War our ancestors caused," Gal'drad commented. He sighed at that thought. His mind wondered about what the others were doing in the Cothica.
"Too far for us to remember. Just that they were there long ago. Don't know the reason why. No legends about them. Just what you can find in the city or anything that still has a little something of it. Even what you are seeking hasn't worked for a long time. Destroyed by our ancestors I believe," the rock and ice creature muttered to himself.
"We don't need a portal that functions anyway," Chaor muttered. They just needed something in it.
They reached the other side of the empty city and looked at the large structure. From the outside, there was nothing particular, except that it was much bigger than the other structures. A large gate blocked the entrance, not made of bronze, but something much harder that they couldn't identify from sight alone.
Maxxor wished Najarin had come with them. It would have made everything much easier, "Is this the only town your tribe lives in?"
"Of course not," the creature replied as he stepped in front of the gate, "Anyway. I'll open it for you. You wouldn't be able to do it without my help. It has been designed to remain closed in case outsiders wanted to misuse the portal. It's not working anymore, but we want no one to witness this. So many things could go wrong and our wise ancestors forbade any tribes from making contact with it."
"And you are letting us through," Tassanil commented.
"I believe your words that the Cothica is in danger. It is an exceptional situation," he pushed the door before the ruler of the Underworld complained about wasting their time.
Chaor had his mouth opened. He was still about to vent his frustration, closed it and turned back to the others.
Vix'ben snickered for a few seconds, before the reprimanding glare of his Chieftain ended that.
The large gate opened slowly. Once it was opened enough, they entered the structure.
They walked for a while along a long corridor. There were many doors around them. Seeing them, the creatures knew they would be lost without their guide and end up wasting more time. Convincing him to help them had been the better option.
"We are here," he stopped in front of a large gate. He turned towards the creatures, "The portal that was used long ago rested behind those doors. It was used by the inhabitants of the Cothica. Very few creatures went there," he opened it.
Behind the door, the creatures could see the portal.
Maxxor and Chaor immediately recognized it. It was the same one used by the M'arrillians and the few creatures they had sent to the Cothica. Mudeenu's eyes sparkled for a few seconds at the sight of the large portal.
It had no energy coming into it, but it was intact and had obviously been crafted with attention to details.
"What do you need to fix your own? This one will never work again anyway," the creature of rock and ice commented.
"We appreciate your help," Maxxor told him. He didn't know his name and couldn't be more polite, "We would have wasted a lot of time if it weren't for your help and cooperation."
"Do not make me regret this if it turns out you were lying," he warned them.
Chaor put his hand on the side of his head, "We are here Crellan. What do we need?"
The creature who guided them watched the red Underworlder curiously. He was intrigued in what was going on with the creature.
The ruler of the Underworld nodded as he received the instructions, "He said we need some kind of wires and energy for it to function again," he sighed as those asked for delicate operations.
"If you are searching for this portal's source of energy. You are wasting your breath. That crystal is long gone with everyone. That's why no one can use it," the creature of rock and ice explained to them.
That didn't make Maxxor nervous as he explained, "We already found one. We just need to be careful in using it. I'm sure they will eventually bring that thing to Chaotic."
"Those wires are specific," Gal'drad commented, "Made of strange material that conducts the energy from the crystal."
"We just need to find where it is hidden," Tassanil commented.
Tiaane turned towards their guide and asked, "Do you have a problem if we take the wires to fix our portal?"
"It won't work ever again, so I personally don't mind it. Maybe the others who asked me to protect it will have problems, but for the sake of the Cothica, I will overlook this," he turned around.
The High Muge was curious, "Is there something you want out of it?"
The creature nodded, "Yes. Listening to you, I am curious about something. I won't ask it though."
"You want to see the humans again?" Maxxor guessed.
The rock and ice creature turned around and avoided looking at them. He put his hands on his back and gazed at the ground, "Yes. To know what part of the legends are true and what lies within the Cothica? I heard many legends and never saw it."
Maxxor wondered if he could invite it or not to Chaotic. There were many risks, but he had helped them a lot and saved them a lot of time. He wouldn't decide until he contacted the Codemasters and told the others about it though.
The other creatures also had a feeling that the creature of rock and ice was interested in following them.
Vix'ben wanted to be certain of the creature's intention, but a gaze from his leader changed his mind, (We better make sure he won't try anything.)
(Keep an eye on him. We will search for everything we need to fix the portal,) Gal'drad replied.
(Will do.)
The Chieftain followed the creatures as they searched for the wires, they needed to fix the portal.
"Can you tell us anything about your tribe?" Tiaane asked as he continued searching for the location of the wires.
The creatures were at the portal and searched where it might begin or connected to the portal.
The creature was pensive. He wasn't sure it would be a good idea to open his mouth about his tribe's life. He replied, "Won't be any problem. I already let you inside here. Most of my tribe aren't anywhere around. They moved up to a few specific locations that I won't divulge. However, none of them are in Perim. The continent you came from. The world is bigger than you believe."
"Interesting," Maxxor commented. He grumbled when Chaor hit his back with his tail so the ruler of the Overworld returned to his task.
"We mostly lived on the many islands that surrounded Perim. However, those are even farther than you believe. This place also had an Eye in the sky before we made the portal. Strange items from the Cothica came there."
The creatures knew what the other one was referring to. They didn't press the matter as they continued their task.
"The big city here was one of our greatest achievements. I'm here because it must be kept under watch. It is a part of our history we don't want to disappear forever. All the bronze we collected to build all of this. A time where more creatures of my tribe lived," he was quiet after this, "That is all I should tell you."
"Anyone come here to check on you?" Maxxor asked.
"From time to time. Last time was a solan ago. I don't expect them to show up until two more solans," he replied.
Maxxor hoped that it wouldn't place a jinx on them. An expression Tom explained to him in the past. He really wished he could see Tom soon and make sure that he, his friends, family and the Cothica were safe.
"I still can't find a clue as to where the wire might be," Tassanil grumbled frustrated as he found nothing.
Chaor grunted. He wanted to tear something apart. He couldn't with the creature watching them though, and there was also the risk of destroying it. It wouldn't be a good idea to use brute strength.
"I think I got something," Nauthilax told them. He had managed to take a panel away from the side of the portal and saw some cables connected to the portal. It looked like some vine from a plant instead of something artificial. Something he wasn't interested in figuring it out. He needed to know which cable was needed.
Mudeenu quickly joined him and looked at them, "The one we need is…this one," he pointed at the largest one.
"Wait," Maxxor said. Chaor followed him and checked it. They wanted to make sure it was the right one, "It is."
"Yes. It corresponds to the description. This is what they destroyed before fleeing to the Cothica," the red Underworlder commented.
They were ready to leave and bring the wires back to Chaotic, but something interrupted them, "What is going on here?"
The creature of rock and ice quickly turned around, "Damn," he recognized others of his tribes.
"He did jinx us," Maxxor whispered.
Four creatures came into the room. Mudeenu clearly heard more outside of the room. He knew they would bash in the moment they tried to fight back.
The four creatures were made of the four elements, one for each of them.
"The council," the rock and ice creature whispered quietly as he crossed his fingers.
The four glared at him and at the creatures who were trying to harvest something from the deactivated portal.
Maxxor knew they were in trouble.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: The Elemental Council.
The creatures ended up in a problematic situation with the council of the other tribe. They had to convince them to let them leave with what they needed to fix the portal to the Cothica.