Chapter 2

Team Battacor slowly made its way along an earthen, rock-strewn path, that wound to and fro between the feet of grass-covered hills. Ahead, leering at them from on high, beyond the hills, loomed a tall, snow-capped mountain. ''Dudes,'' Rynoh exclaimed, his face a mask of frustration, ''we've been walking for hours, and still no sign of the relic.''

''Signal or no signal,'' Zylus, who was walking up front; x-reader in hand, said, ''this relic is no match for Team Battacor. We've got nothing to worry about boys.'' The words had barely left his mouth, when a rock caught his toe, tripping him over, and sending him sprawling to the ground. Rynoh and Bash tripped over their fallen leader, and crashed down on top of him, blasting the air from his lungs.

''Get off of me,'' Zylus demanded, desperately trying to wriggle free, out from under the tremendous weight of his two teammates, ''get off.'' At length, Rynoh and Bash stood up, and pulled their leader to his feet. ''Idiots,'' Zylus grumbled under his breath, brushing himself off, before resuming his march, trudging along the path, with a spring in his step wrought of anger.

For more than an hour they walked, the path continuing to snake between the feet of the grassy hills, and gradually beginning to slope upwards, towards the mountain in the far distance. ''Hey, look at that,'' Zylus exclaimed, as they rounded the base of one hill, the Battacor leader pointing towards the base of a white stone stair, that wound up and between more hills, up towards the mountain. ''Come on,'' Zylus said, motioning to his companions to follow him, and they began ascending the stair.

An hour or so later, a truly amazing sight greeted them. A towering stone-arc, hewn from the same type of white stone as the stairs, with a dialect of Greek script, inlaid in silver, running along the length of the curvature of the arc. The sheer beauty of this marvel of stone masonry would have been enough to awe and humble most people, but, not surprisingly, its grandeur was completely lost on the three brutish members of Team Battacor. They were on a mission, and so they just continued their ascent of the stairs, and passed right through the giant stone-arc.

A few minutes later, they came to another stone-arc, this one a bit larger than the previous, and, a few minutes after passing through that one, they came to another, and then another, and then another. Soon, they had passed through a total of nine stone-arcs, and they could see the tenth looming up ahead, this one the largest, and inlaid with gold, as opposed to the inlaid silver of the previous nine.

But as grand as that tenth arc was, it could not hold their attention for long for behind it loomed an even more amazing sight. It were the ruins of an ancient city of white stone-houses, with columns and statues, also hewn from the white stone, standing here and there. Yet, if Zylus and his two cohorts were even the least bit impressed, they did not show it.

''Hey, I'm getting a signal,'' Zylus exclaimed excitedly, as a marker appeared on the screen of his x-reader. ''And it's coming from over there,'' the Battacor leader pointed along a paved street of white cobblestones. Zylus led Rynoh and Bash along the street, the three e-teens searching every nook and cranny, crest and crevice, along the way.

It was a small city, and it only took the Battacor about twenty minutes to walk through to the other end of it, stopping before a huge, white stone gate that seemed to lead into the mountain. ''Oh man,'' Zylus said in an annoyed voice, ''the relic is somewhere in there.'' He walked up to the gate, and laid his hands on the smooth, white stone. He lingered in that pose for a few minutes, then his gaze snapped on his two companions. ''Don't just stand there,'' he said, ''come help me.'' The two e-teens looked at each other, then moved to help their leader, Rynoh taking up a position on Zylus' left, while Bash took up a position on his right, and then they pushed with all their considerable strength.

The gate did not budge.

The Battacor tried a different tactic then, backing up twenty feet, dipping their shoulder, and charging the gate, slamming into it, though their efforts availed them nothing but a bruised shoulder. Zylus, outraged by their inability to push the gate open, stomped down a foot and twisted it on a cobblestone, smearing the mud from his boot across its white surface.

Zylus had an idea then, backing up a dozen feet and motioning for his companions to do likewise. ''BONE CRUSHER!'' he exclaimed, as he punched at the air, and a huge hand made of red energy shot out from him, slamming into the gate with such power that the cobblestones beneath their feet trembled. The gate broke apart into rubble, and a cloud of dust rose into the air.

A few moments later, the cloud of dust thinned enough so that the Battacor could see what was behind: a tunnel of worked stone – roughly twenty feet tall and eight feet wide – that led into the mountain. Zylus walked into the tunnel, motioning for his teammates to follow.

As they moved farther and farther away from the entrance, the light available to them became scarcer and scarcer, and before long they found themselves walking in complete darkness. Zylus took out his x-reader and held it up before him as he walked, using what meager glow the small device offered to help navigate through the pitch blackness of the tunnels.

A few minutes later, they came to the top of a stair, its polished, white stone contrasting starkly with the dullish gray stone of the tunnel. Down the stair they descended, down into the deeper darkness of the tunnels. Once they had descended about a thousand steps, they hit level ground again, and from there, the tunnel forked in two before them; one path going level and straight ahead, the other sloping down gently.

Zylus, Rynoh and Bash, winded as they were from their thousand step descent, rested at the fork for a few minutes, before continuing along the level path that went straight ahead.

On and on the tunnel wound, like the burrow of a giant earth-worm, before finally opening up to a high ledge, overlooking a vast cavern, with jagged stalactites and glow-worms hanging from its high ceiling. Guessing how wide the cavern really was would have been an impossible feat for the Battacor, for beyond the ledge, the cavern was veiled in pitch blackness, and their x-readers only offered meager lighting.

''You've got to be kidding me,'' Zylus said in an annoyed tone, as he noted that there was no way down from the high ledge, ''we should've taken the other tunnel. Common, let's go back.'' They were about to do just that, when a low hiss, coming from somewhere behind them, reached their ears, sending shivers up and down their spines, and holding them fast with fear.

As one, the Battacor turned around, to regard the creature that had made the sound, but they saw nothing. Again came the hiss, this time louder, and the e-teens looked up the wall, to the undeniable outline of a creature; a blacker shadow in the darkness. It was a huge lizard, with wide-splayed legs, ending in suction cup-tipped feet, that allowed it to cling to the wall.

Zylus cried out as the giant lizard jumped at him from the wall, its open maw, sporting huge fangs, leading the way. Zylus dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws of the great beast, which landed heavily on the ledge, clawed feet drawing lines in the stone.

The giant lizard pivoted, its slavering maw launching for Zylus again, but the e-teen was ready this time, sidestepping and then launching a heavy punch that connected squarely on the side of the reptile's jaw, knocking it off center and to the side, its head crashing into a stone wall. It shook its head vigorously and eyed Zylus, its bulbous yellow eyes narrowing ominously.

Zylus – noticing that Rynoh was sneaking up behind the giant lizard – looked straight into the slitted, reptilian eyes of the beast, making sure that its attention was exclusively on him. But the giant lizard already knew of Rynoh's presence, and with a swish of its powerful tail, it caught the sneaking e-teen squarely across the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground, gasping for breath.

Zylus began backing cautiously, but an uneven jag in the stone caught his heel, and he fell on his back. The giant lizard eyed its prey, hissing excitedly in anticipation for the juicy morsel that it would soon feast upon; then it launched.

Zylus brought his feet in against the giant lizard's chest, bringing its momentum to an abrupt halt, and holding it at bay, fanged maw snapping shut mere inches from his ashen face. With a howl, Zylus pushed out with all his considerable strength, the muscles in his legs going taut, and the reptilian beast fell over backwards, landing heavily on its back, near the ledge's edge.

Zylus was quick to his feet, and so was the giant lizard, but before it could get back on the offensive, a roaring Bash, his broad shoulder dipped, slammed into it, knocking it over the ledge. With the lizard equivalent of a blood-curdling scream, the beast plummeted down; down into the blackness, and a few moments later, there came a sickening ''crunch,'' the sound of a lizard, skewered on a stalagmite.

''We still have that kairu to find,'' Zylus said, after they had all had a bit of a breather. ''Come on, boys. There was another tunnel at that fork, and I'm thinking that it must lead to where the relic is.'' That said, the three e-teens walked back into the tunnel that had led them onto the ledge.

They could not have seen it from the ledge – for it was simply too dark, and their x-readers offered only meager lighting – but spread before them on the cavern-floor, were the ruins of an ancient city, the larger counterpart to the ones they had seen on the outside, and the sounds of their battle had stirred something within; something far worse than any gigantic subterranean lizard.

xxxxx

The three members of Team Stax were barely able to contain their excitement – particularly Maya – as they walked through the tenth of the white stone arches, and into the ruins of the ancient city. ''Beautiful,'' Maya gasped, her amber eyes wide, as if they were straining to take in all the sights the place had to offer, at the same time. Her expression turned to one of lament then. ''Too bad we don't have time to explore any of this.''

''Don't worry, My,'' Ky said, ''once we're done questing, we can come back and have a look around.'' That said, he took up his x-reader. ''I'm not getting a signal. Maya, see if you can sense the relic.''

With a nod, Maya went down on one knee, pressed one hand against the paved street, closed her eyes and concentrated. A few seconds later, a vision came to her. She could see a dark room, containing many rows of shelves, laden with countless scrolls and scroll-tubes. The floor of the room was also littered with scrolls and scroll-tubes, and in its center, there stood a statue of an old man, with his beard worn long, and dressed in a voluminous robe and sandals, and with several scrolls tucked under one arm. Maya could feel strange vibrations coming from it, and with her mind, she reached for the statue, but as her mental hand touched it, a profound dizziness descended upon her.

Maya opened her eyes, and realized that she was lying on her back on the paved street, Ky and Boomer bending over her, concerned looks on their faces. ''Maya, are you okay,'' Ky asked, offering the young woman his hand. She nodded and took his hand, and Ky hoisted her to her feet.

''Did you see the relic?'' Boomer asked.

''Yes, or at least I think I did,'' Maya replied, ''I saw a statue, and it was giving off some majorly strange vibes, but they did not feel like anything I have felt before. I don't think we're tracking ordinary kairu here.''

''Black-kairu?'' Ky asked grimly.

''I don't think so,'' Maya replied, ''black-kairu felt wrong, felt unnatural. Its difficult to explain, but this did not feel like that, it just felt different; different from what I'm used to sensing.''

''Can you track it?'' Ky asked Maya.

''It's not what I'm used to tracking,'' Maya replied, ''but I should be able to adjust my tracking-sense to accommodate.'' She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, as she concentrated. Her eyes snapped open then, and she pointed along a paved street of white cobblestones, ''this way.'' And off they went, making their way through the streets of the ruined city, stopping whenever they saw a statue, scrutinizing it closely, and then, after realizing that it was just an ordinary statue, they went on.

About half an hour later, they came upon a scene of destruction, that sent pangs of burning anger through them, particularly Maya, whose appreciation for architectural beauty was the most profound. Before them lay piles of broken rubble; white chunks of stone polished to a faint gleam, and some pieces sporting imagery, or rather pieces of imagery, inlaid in gold. It was not hard for the three friends to discern that these bits and pieces had once been a gate, and, from the motes of dust hanging in the air, they knew that the devastation had taken place only a few minutes earlier.

Maya walked over to one pile of rubble, and reached down, open palm touching a chunk of stone. She closed her eyes and concentrated, before almost immediately opening her eyes again. ''A kairu attack was used to destroy this gate,'' she remarked.

''How do you know?'' Boomer asked.

''I can feel it in the stone,'' Maya replied. ''When an attack hits a surface, it usually leaves behind an energy signature; too faint for most people to read, but with my kairu-sensing ability, I can detect it, and judging by the size of this particular signature, I can surmise that a red attack was used to destroy this gate.

''Cool,'' Boomer exclaimed, ''I didn't know you could do that.''

''What can I say,'' Maya said, hands on her hips, head tossed back, ''I'm full of surprises.'' She looked at the entrance to the mountain then, and a determined look came over her face. ''We should keep going,'' she remarked, and motioning to the piles of rubble, she added: ''and if we're lucky, we can catch the vandals who did this.''

All that said, the three members of Team Stax resumed their hunt for the relic, stepping over the piles of rubble, and entering the tunnels, that led down; down into the dark depths of the mountain.

To be continued...