They made it back to town that night. Cala's head was buzzing the whole way back, looking for some clue he had read or some hint he had gathered that could help him. The Totemas had to be around here somewhere. Strategy guides and programmed responses and message boards flashed through his head.
His mental search had separated him from the human from the real world and the Viera she was with. They went left, he went right, no one really noticed. Cala kept walking, thinking about a solution. This was a game, he was in it, there was a solution. The developers wouldn't put in something impossible that was important to advancing the plot like this. All he had to do was advance the plot.
He made a turn into an alley without thinking about it and ran into a tall figure. Cala staggered back, nearly losing his balance, and looked up to mumble an apology to whomever he had collided with. However, his eyes met with a familiar face. His blood froze.
Shakata's eyes went wide with recognition. "YOU," he angrily grunted. With one lightning-quick motion, he grabbed Cala by the shoulder and threw him into a wall, pinning him there with a bulky arm. "We left you for dead. You sssshould be in a monster'ssssss belly."
Cala recoiled in horror. Shakata shot him a stare of pure malice. For a tense moment they were frozen. Then Shakata reared his head back and laughed loudly; it echoed through the cracks in between the buildings and shook the windows. Cala didn't know whether to feel relieved or even more terrified.
Finally Shakata caught his breath. "You've got ballsssss, kid. I grant you that," he said, loosening his grip on the boy's shoulder. "Maybe you're not sssssso bad after all."
Cala's brain started operating again once it understood that it wasn't about to be splattered on the cobblestones. "So…you're not gonna kill me?"
"I don't know if I could at thissssss point! That's what the monstersssss were sssssupposssssed to do!" Shakata nearly started laughing again, but caught himself. "Look, maybe I owe ya one after all that. Where you staying tonight?"
Cala became aware that it was nighttime, and quite cold out, and also that he was likely wanted after his escapade at the castle. Maybe he ought not to spend so much time in his head, he reflected. "Nowhere, I guess."
"Let me put you up for the night," Shakata suggested, sweeping a long arm around Cala's shoulders. He led the boy down the alley. "Heck, let me ssssshow you our headquarterssssss. With everything I've heard about you lately, you might even be getting a job offer! Breaking into the casssstle, that takessss sssspunk, kid."
Cala considered his options. Word was spreading that he was wanted, and having a place off the grid to lay low seemed like a good plan. Plus he wasn't sure he wanted to anger Shakata, a potential new ally. He looked up. "Sounds like a plan to me."
Cala rode on the back of a horse-drawn cart. The cart, also occupied by Shakata and (presumably) one of his Phora Cult lackeys, had left town a while ago. It now was riding a slope downward through a sandy valley, into a ravine surrounded by two high cliffs. Cala had remained silent for most of the ride, but as he looked around now, he perked up. This looked familiar…
Shakata noticed Cala's apparent interest. "The Delia Dunesssss," he said proudly, gesturing at the desert expanse surrounding them. "Jussssst about the lasssst place anyone would like to look, esssspecially when it's for the likesssss of ussss." He chuckled. "The perfect hiding place."
As the cart continued into the ravine, it approached a cave leading underground. A small smile emerged on Cala's face. "Perfect," he whispered to himself.
The cart entered the darkness of the cave, and they abandoned it to continue on foot. The cave arced and spiraled into the earth, further and further down, until it bottomed out a couple hundred feet down, where it began to resemble something man-made. The travelers walked this path by lamplight, but Cala's face was lit up with recognition brighter than the lamp. When they reached the bottom, Cala was absolutely sure what was here.
"We found it like thisssss," Shakata said, motioning to the intricate tile pattern floor, carved jade sculptures and increasing frequency of crystals. "We don't know who made it or why, but it worksssss out well for usssss. Come on, let me ssssshow you the main room." He led Cala past a couple of guards perched by the entryway into another passage as they saluted him.
The next room was nothing short of a wonder. The floor checkered and changed from one tile to the next like the scales of a chameleon changing its color. Arcane symbols littered the large cavern, engraved with runes of a language long forgotten. The room was littered with bags of supplies and loot, no doubt ill-gotten gains of the Phora Cult, but neither they nor the bustling workers, warriors and quartermasters could distract from the sheer otherworldly beauty of the room. Most interesting, though, was the massive crystal at the opposite end of the entrance. The room seemed to flow outward from it, like a river from a waterfall. It seemed like the focal point of the universe; shining light onto everything around it.
"Pretty impressssssive, huh?" chuckled Shakata, crossing his arms.
"Yes," Cala murmured, still in awe. "Very." He collected himself and looked at Shakata. "Mind if I take a look at the crystal?"
"Knock yoursssssself out," Shakata replied. "None of ussss can figure out what it doessss. Jusssst don't blow anything up."
Cala approached the crystal with care, aware what this truly was. Crystals in places of power like this only meant one thing: this was the domain of one of the Totema he sought. But what exactly would he do once the Totema appeared? Perhaps more importantly, how would he get it to show up in the first place? He reached the crystal, its light now nearly blinding this close. With one robed arm shielding his eyes, he extended a careful hand to touch the crystal.
When it did, a high-pitched ring sounded through the room, interrupting the work of the Cult members. The crystal somehow shone even brighter, and brighter still with every passing moment. Cala stumbled back and lost his footing, falling flat on his back before the crystal. An unearthly wind began to whip about the chamber, and the cultists, now afraid for their personal safety, began to flee. Shakata rushed up to Cala and pulled him off the ground.
"What did you do to it?" he shouted above the wind.
Before he could get an answer the crystal's light gathered into a form – an armored seraph, a six-winged angel, towering large and imposing in the chasm. Its light was somehow even more radiant than that of the crystal; it was almost a holy light, but there was nothing gentle about the bladed stave the seraph held in its hand. It pointed straight at Cala, much to his horror.
"I AM MATEUS," the seraph said with a voice bigger than fear, beyond humanity. "YOU ARE ABOMINATION. YOU SHALL BE JUDGED."
With one more blight flash of light, both Cala and the seraph were gone, leaving Shakata the lone figure in the room. After blinking, he said aloud to no one in particular:
"What the hell wasssss that?"