Chapter 16.

  ‘I’ve been tricked.’ Ksid complained as everyone
hastily gathered once again in the lounge. His eyes
blazed with rage.
  ‘There’s nothing we can do about it.’ Enigma tried to
reassure. ‘It’s not your fault. It was meant to happen.’
  ‘I know it was meant to happen. I just can’t believe I
could be fooled in such a way.’
  ‘What exactly happened?’ Power asked.
  ‘I person resembling Enigma came into my room and
“borrowed”, the Platinium Stone.’
  ‘Velyaha?’
  ‘It has to be.’
  ‘What now?’ Terrol asked.
  ‘We do the obvious.’ Ksid replied.
  King Seth walked into the room. ‘I know that what you
are faced with now ith firtht priority, but, we have yet
another problem.
  Ksid blood pressure began to rise. ‘What is it now?’
  ‘We’re about to be caught in the middle of a thiege.’
  ‘A siege.’
  ‘That’th right. The opposing army were thpotted a few
minutes ago. There’th thomething real thtrange about them
I’m told.’
  ‘How so.’
  ‘We’ll, you may want to have a look for your thelf.’
  Enigma and Ksid, putting present matters behind them, 
journeyed to a tower on the city walls, overlooking the 
plain lands. They were accompanied by Seth and a few 
guards, who were curious to see what they were up 
against.
  ‘My goodness.’ Ksid couldn’t believe what he was
seeing. ‘Get your city into battle mode. If they aren’t
here on friendly terms, then your in for some big
trouble. 
  The army came in full force, stretching a great
distance across the land. A few torches were lit, with 
several fires also burning out of control in the grass. 
  ‘That’s no ordinary army.’ Enigma noted.
  Ksid snorted. ‘Of course. Do you think a normal person
could fly like they do? That’s Velyaha’s hoard.’
  ‘That must mean we’re in for some real big difficulties
- especially if their as tough as some  of the one’s we’ve
run into.’
  ‘Come on. Let’s get back to the palace. These walls
will be covered in soldier’s soon.
  By the time they got back, the men were assembling in
the courtyard. People moved about frantically in the city
stocking up on items, preparing for a long haul.
  Power looked on quietly. ‘Is it as bad as it looks?’ 
  ‘Worse.’ Ksid answered, moving out of the way of some 
reckless men. ‘They must have been planning the attack
the whole week we were up in that mountain. I still can’t 
believe we wasted all that time up there.’
  ‘It wasn’t waisted.’ Enigma said. ‘About half. We got 
the stone, then lost it. Now they’re attacking us. On the 
other hand, we’ve got the Barbarians and the Gargoyles on 
our side. And this time, they can’t loose from mortal 
wounds. 
  ‘Is battle what you wish us to do, Conscripted Boy?’
Animal queried.
  ‘If it’s not to much trouble.’ Enigma said, taking up
the offer. ‘That’d be great. I’m sure the cities soldiers
will be more confident with you fighting by their side.’
  The rest of the group joined them.
  Orpten watched on nervously. ‘So which problem do we
tackle first?’
  ‘All three.’ Ksid simply said. ‘Enigma, Power, Terrol,
Ice, and Iikin will go after Velyaha and the stone. The
Gargoyles and Barbarians will stay here and fight, and
you Reenoco and Arem will come with me. I’m taking you
home. 
  ‘Don’t you think I’m going home yet.’ Arem protested.
‘I’ve come along way so far. I’m not quitting now.’
  ‘It’ll be very dangerous.’ Enigma cautioned.
  ‘Fine, you can go ahead.’ Reenoco smirked. ‘But don’t
expect us to.’
  ‘I wasn’t expecting you to go. In fact, I wanted you to
deliver a note to my father. It should hopefully help
Ksid.’
  ‘It’s settled then.’ Ksid approved. ‘We leave today.’
  ‘One little problem.’ Ice pointed out. ‘How do we get
past the army?’
  ‘We’ll get you through.’ Animal offered.
  ‘What about the horses?’
  ‘We’ll have to leave them here.’ Ksid replied. ‘You 
won’t need them where I suspect your going.’
  ‘Where are we going?’ 
  ‘I don’t know. Where ever the Platinium Stone leads
you.’
  ‘How are we supposed to follow it if we can’t see it?’
Enigma asked.
  ‘Can’t you feel it?’
  ‘Now that you mention it, I feel something.’
  ‘The stone is powerful, more powerful than anything on
this earth. Lord Serenity created it with a good majority
of power. Just use your own powers to track it down and
follow it where ever it goes.’
  The king came over once he was done instructing the
generals what he wanted to happen ‘You leaving tho
thoon?’
  ‘I’m afraid we have to, King.’ Ksid replied. ‘Don’t
worry though. I’ll leave you with a few of our friends.
I’ll even do you an extra favour by going to the other
three major cities and getting backup. They should be
here in a few weeks.
  ‘Well. It wath nice to have you all here.’ he 
farewelled them. 
  ‘We may return.’ Ksid promised.
  ‘May?’
  ‘May. There’s no telling what’s going to happen.’
  With a few last farewells, they gathered their
belongings. Once again riding in the Barbarians belts,
they prepared themselves for the gauntlet that awaited
them. 
  Instead of climbing down like they had on the upper 
part of the mountain, the group were given the trill of 
being in the front seat as the Barbarians galloped down 
it’s side, head strong. They picked up more and more 
speed, simply wiping out everything in their coarse like 
an avalanche. 
  The Gargoyles remained at the city. Their happy “good -
bye’s” were adjoined by a “good riddance”. Though bitter
with the ancient sorcerer, they were still obliged to
their jobs. 
  They soon reached the foothills after a half hour of
straight sprinting. The giant humans had a lot of
stamina.
  As the approaching army came into view, the general
sound of swords being withdraw from their sheath’s filled
the air. The shout’s of “charge” commanded from their
leaders, sent men into a frenzied attack. They started
ploughing ahead at big men with snarls and growls of
their unknown heritage.
  They continued to run at full throttle for the next
several kilometres until they finally clashed in the
middle of the horde.
  The Barbarians swung their giant blades back and forth,
like ploughing through wheat. The opposing men flew up
into the air as they got in the way of giant feet, and
the flying creatures that dare annoyed them were swatted
away like insects.
  They still continued their pace until the army had
returned out of sight. 
  ‘Adieu friends.’ Animal said. ‘We hope that you shall 
return.’
  ‘We’ll try.’ Enigma replied. ‘What’s going to happen to
the temple now. I mean, there’s nothing left of it, but
there’s still a force field around it.’
  ‘The Gargoyles will most likely join us in salvaging
the place. We have no home other than that, so it’s the
most logical thing to do.’ Animal’s language and fluency
was getting better by the minute. ‘Take care. We’ll
destroy anything we encounter pursuing you on the way
back.’ Then they turned and began thundering back to the
action.
  Arem sighed. ‘I’m going to miss them - even though they
did try to kill us.’
  ‘Now, I want you all to promise to be careful.’ Ksid
demanded. ‘All I want you to do is get that stone back,
nothing else. 
  ‘We’ll be fine.’ Enigma rolled his eyes.
  ‘Don’t go off trying to kill our enemies until I 
settling the petty squabbles in Korutiania. Power, I want 
you to make sure Enigma doesn’t do anything stupid whilst
I’m gone.’
  Power nodded.
  ‘And Arem, do what Enigma say’s. I don’t want you to
get yourself killed. I’m in enough trouble with your
father as it is, knowing that I’ve spent the past weeks
with you, and not bringing you home.’
  ‘You’ll be fine.’ she smiled. ‘Just give him this.’ She 
handing him a sealed piece of paper. ‘It should explain 
everything.’
  ‘Where will we meet you once this is all over?’ Enigma 
said, looking over the vast open space.
  ‘I want you to find a tree with the ring of roses and
the battle axe in the middle. Take them under ground. If
you can’t find one, just concentrate on it. My followers
will lead you to it. But that’s if I don’t come along to
help you first.’
  With the last few wishes of good luck, they parted
reluctantly, Ksid heading south - east towards Hadui,
whilst Enigma’s group heading due south.
  Iikin smiled worriedly. ‘Did anyone care to think that
this whole ordeal in Korutiania was just a diversion to
separate the group.’
  ‘Many times.’ Ice replied. ‘But we’ve got Enigma on our
side.’
  ‘Thanks.’ Enigma lied. He really didn’t want them to
rely on him all the time.
  The sun scorched the ground in a cloudless sky. The
wind rolled across the grass constantly, making a few of
the members nauseous. The nights were somewhat cooler
however, but it was a change from the extreme
temperatures that dogged them on the mountain.
  Power was sceptical in their chase. He had a good
reason though. They were following an object they
couldn’t see, and couldn’t here. They were relying on a
sense that only Enigma could feel.
  ‘Are you sure about this?’ Power couldn’t help himself. 
They had already journeyed the first few weeks, and were 
now standing at the edge of the world renowned 
Neekkentian Forest. ‘If we are chasing Velyaha, then what 
better way to set up an ambush than in a forest.’
  ‘Power’s right.’ Iikin agreed. ‘We’re bound to run into 
a few of Velyaha’s henchmen.’
  ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.’ Enigma
tried to explain. This forest goes from one side of the
continent to the other. There’s no way around it. We’ll
just have to be extra careful.’
  Sure enough, they hadn’t gone more than half a day
before running into an attempted ambush. 
  They ducked down low, as they watched the men scramble
to get into place.
  ‘How many do you think there are?’ Arem whispered to 
Power.
  ‘About ten.’ Power hissed back.
  ‘I have an idea.’ Enigma announced. ‘Here. Hold my
hand. When I stop glowing stand up, and throw me as hard
as you can at one of the men over there.’
  ‘Enigma?’
  ‘Just do it.’ Power took him by the hand. Enigma’s body
began to glow a dull blue. He shrank and shrunk until he
was a stone about the size of Power’s palm.
  ‘What ever you say Enigma.’ Power stood up quickly and
took aim. He tossed Enigma as hard as he could.
  In mid flight, Enigma changed once again, sprouting
wings form his side’s to guide him.
  He charged through the first man, then changed 
direction, beating his wings a little to gain speed. 
Colliding with the next person, he repeated the process, 
changing direction, until the whole group had been 
knocked unconscious.
  He flew back towards his friends, diving to the ground,
and changing back to his original form as he rolled.
  Arem looked on in amazement. ‘What on earth was that?’
  ‘Self - manipulation.’ Enigma smiled. ‘It did the job,
didn’t it?’
  ‘Yes, but you could have used a little more class than
that. I mean a stone with wings?’
  ‘It was the best I could do at the time.’
  She shook her head with dis - belief.
  The men wore the same cloths; brown trousers with black
boots, a loose black, buttoned - up shirt with matching
belt underneath a navy blue cloak, and a rapier, bow and
quiver to give it the finishing touch. They each had
matching scars on the sides of their faces.
  Ice examined their cloths carefully. ‘Who are these
men?’
  ‘That’s the uniform of the cult.’ Enigma turned over
one of the men’s left hand, revealing the full mark of
the Revolution. ‘The marks on their hands prove it.
However, the marks on their cheeks suggest that they’re
Sharks.’
  Terrol began tying them up. ‘So, can we expect to see
more of them along the way?’
  ‘A lot more.’
  They ran into three more groups that same day. Even 
though none of them were very successful, it was still 
enough to slow Enigma down.
  ‘Isn’t there something we can do about this?’ Enigma 
demanded.
  ‘The only thing I can suggest is that we disguise our
selves as one of their men.’ Iikin offered.
  ‘Is there anything else?’ Enigma replied.
  There were no other idea’s.
  ‘Personally, I’d like to fight my way through.’ Power
informed him.
  ‘I can’t let you get hurt.’ Enigma told him honestly. 
‘You may have a lot of stamina, but I don’t think the 
rest of us could keep up. Besides we may need the 
strength if we come up against anything bigger than what 
we’re faced with now. Iikin’s idea will have to do.’
  They pillaged the next group of ten that they came
across, stealing all the accessories they needed. Enigma
had to alter some cloths, mainly for Power as he was the
tallest of the group. Their original clothes were bagged. 
  The idea seemed to work pretty well. They casually
marched passed all the other groups, with a few greetings
exchanged.
  They stopped during the night only for a few hours, not
bothering to set up camp. 
  ‘I think we’re making up some real good time.’ Enigma
admitted one night as he was sitting awake with Arem on
watch.
  ‘Yes.’ she agreed. ‘We are making some good time, but 
we’re going to have to make up for lost sleep when it 
comes time to stealing back the stone.’ She pulled out 
Betra. Immediately, Kolga came running over from Iikin to 
greet him. They happily played on the ground, chasing 
each other like little children.
  Enigma looked on with a smile. ‘I had a pet mouse
once.’ he reminisced. ‘Her name was Atrebor, named after
a special friend of mine that I once met as a slave. She
had a lovely, soft, white fur coat. The mouse that is.’
  ‘What happened to her.’
  ‘Well, Atrebor the mouse was taken away from me by
Ksid. He said she was needed for something, I’m not sure
what it was. I’ll have to ask for her back next time I
see him. Atrebor the person was captured trying to escape
the Sanctuary, she almost got away too. Her dress got
caught when she was climbing the fence. I suspect that
she got flogged. Unfortunately I never saw her again.’
  ‘I’m sorry. Sometimes I feel like I’m a slave. A slave
to the people that is. Probably nothing compared to what
you’ve been through. What’s it like being enslaved?’
  ‘It’s an experience that I’d wished I’d never lived
through.’ Enigma shuddered. ‘Every time I think about it,
I see a bad side to both stories. If I hadn’t have become
a slave, I wouldn’t have met up with such nice people,
but I’d still have my family. But because I once was a
slave, I’ve got great friends, but I don’t have a family
any more, and Sly’s been captured.’
  ‘You really liked Sly, didn’t you.’
  ‘Only as a good friend. It didn’t go much further than 
that. After I’d desecrated the Sanctuary, I got captured 
again. Sly and I escaped together. Then we hid. We built 
a house along the Revai River in the Great Mountains.’
  ‘Then she got captured?’
  ‘Basically. It was the Master, my last boss, who 
captured her. At least I now know who to go after. How
about you, what’s your story.’
  ‘I don’t have much of a story. I grew up in my father’s 
kingdom, learning the trick’s of the trade, being taught 
how to rule. I never did quiet catch on. For 
some reason, something inside me keeps telling me that
everything is not all that it seems to be - like I’m not
really who my parents say I am.’
  ‘Can you remember back to when you were really little?’
  ‘Yes - well, sort of. Actually I can’t recall any of
it. I know it was there, but I just can’t recollect.’
  Enigma picked up Kolga off his foot. ‘If you start
having nightmares about it, just tell Ice. She’ll sort it
all out.’ He poked the rodent gently in the stomach. ‘Is
it me, or is Kolga getting chubby?’
  Arem looked closely. ‘She’s getting chubby. We’ll have
to tell Iikin to hold back on the snack’s a little.’
  Still, they had no trouble with any other cult members
the whole way, and soon, they’d come out the other side
of the forest into the green meadows of the country of
Assarii. As a precaution, they remained disguised as cult
members.
  The Platinium Stone began to head off in a south
easterly direction, and they soon reasoned where it was
headed.
  Sleep wasn’t as impaired as the previous nights. Their 
routines caught up with them quickly. A cow or two was 
hunted down for food that’d last them hopefully, the rest 
of the way. 
  They rounded the tips of the River Firestream, across
the border into Bosloi, and then straight towards the
bridge across the Great Gauge of Neekkent. 
  ‘I can’t believe how long this is taking.’ Terrol said.
  ‘You should cherish this time.’ Enigma replied. ‘We
could be walking into a living hell, and we may not get
away from it for God knows how long.’
  The bridge across the Great Gauge was very strong, made
of wood and metal. Many teams of cattle, and merchants
moving between cities had crossed it. It was so well
travelled that the King of Bosloi had ordered a toll be
paid for crossing.
  ‘A toll!’ Terrol was outraged.
  ‘If you don’t like it, then you can go around the Great
Gauge.’ a burly soldier at the beginning of the bridge,
said. ‘I don’t know what your worried about anyway. Cult
member’s are aloud to cross free of charge. All you have
to do is show me your markings.’
  ‘Our markings?’
  ‘You know. On your left hand.’
  Enigma looked worriedly at Power, and then at the
others. Then all of a sudden, they began to bolt towards
the other side.
  ‘Hey!’ the soldier yelled in pursuit. The guard’s on
the other side of the bridge were alerted, blocking the
way with their swords in hand. 
  Enigma dashed out in front of the group. They had a 
very long way to cross, which gave Enigma enough time to 
act. He pulled out his diamond sword from hiding, the sun 
reflecting off it far brighter than a mirror. 
  As he approached, the soldier’s darted after him. Like
a feather, he swung his sword around, slicing their
blades in half as easily as a hot knife through butter.
It made a smooth cut too. Giving the men a chance to
surrender themselves, instead of killing them, he pushed
them over the bridge’s side to free fall into the angry
waters below. 
  The soldier’s pursuing from behind were quickly
dispersed of as well. 
  Power looked around. ‘Is that all of them?’ 
  ‘Everyone except that one.’ Ice said, pointing to a man
preparing to gallop away on a horse on the other side.
  ‘Give me a shot at him.’ Arem said, picking up a decent
size stone that lay to one side of the bridge. She had
good aim and a steady hand. The rock twirled through the
air, and came to a sudden halt, is it struck fatally, the
targets head.
  ‘Good shot.’ Terrol congratulated.
  ‘It was, wasn’t it.’
  They walked the rest of the way across. 
  ‘I suspect that we’re going to get that reaction the
rest of the way.’ Iikin said. ‘All the soldiers we come
across will be asking to see Thanatos’s mark and when
they find out that we don’t have it, we’ll soon have a
whole army on our tails.’
  ‘It’ll be okay for you and Terrol.’ Power replied. 
  ‘Not quiet, I’m afraid.’ Iikin pulled his left glove
off. There was only a quarter of a full mark left. ‘Soon,
thanks to Ksid, it’ll be totally gone.’
  ‘But your still liable to that illness type reaction
you get sometimes, aren’t you?’
  ‘The chances of it are half of what we started out with
when we first met you. With the full mark, you don’t
suffer the reaction’s, mainly because your mind is
totally corrupt. I think we should be able to with stand
it.’
  They by - passed Zoc, heading instead towards Cult
Mountain. Terrol was becoming more and more reluctant. He
worried greatly about the horror’s with in the mountain
that he had suffered. Iikin had suffered the same fate,
but he was showing more of a solid state of mind towards
it. He knew what he was getting himself into, but he’d
faced his fear long ago.
  It wasn’t long before the towering mass of rock stood
out on the horizon. A cold chill suddenly came about them
as it’s evil presence welcomed them to what could be
eternal damnation.
  ‘Bleak.’ Ice said in awe. ‘Very bleak.’
  ‘Enjoy the outside while it lasts.’ Terrol apprised.
  The weather began going down hill as the giant titan 
came closer and closer. It rained relentlessly at a 
constant pace, not accompanied at all by lightning, 
thunder or wind. Just rain.
  Arem pulled her dripping hair back away from her face. 
‘Is it alway’s like this?’
  Terrol looked around nervously. ‘Sometimes. Actually, 
most times.’
  Power had good penmanship. He drew the mark of Thanatos
on each persons hand, to counter the reaction they
received from the soldier’s on the bridge. The mark was a
feline eye, set inside the crest upon a shield. Iikin and
Terrol’s marks were completed. 
  Enigma despised the mark. He knew that it was only an
image of it, but he still hated wearing it.
  Soon, they stood at the edge of the Cult Desert. 
  Terrol peered across it with steel eyes. ‘From now on,
we must be extremely careful. The desert is guarded by
vicious animals that have also undergone the
transformation.’
  ‘Plus we have to watch out for quick sand.’ Power
added, looking up at the torrential clouds.
  ‘There’s no sand in the desert, Power.’ Terrol
corrected him. ‘It’s a dirt and stone type of desert,
barren of all greenery.’
  With self - encouragement, they moved forward into the
bare desert in a huddled group. On Terrol’s advise, their
weapons were re - established. Enigma gave Arem his
tomahawk for protection. 
  The water drenched ground turned the dirt into an ankle
deep slush that often sat them on their backsides as they
slipped.
  The first night came. They got an inaugural taste of
the dangers that lurked within the darkness. 
  An extra set of foot steps had suddenly accompanied 
them.
  ‘What was that?’ Arem asked with fear.
  Enigma gave the group sight. What suddenly appeared
around them startled him. Four desert creatures, looking
much like dogs had quickly and quietly surrounded them.
They stood the height of a bull, with fangs protruding
precariously out of their powerful jaws. Each had a long
mane running down the centre of it’s neck.
  ‘These are the desert hounds.’ Terrol whispered. ‘These
ones must be the ancestors of the ones in the future. In
the future they have bright green glowing eyes. That’s
the only thing that’s different. All the sharp piece’s
are still there.’
  ‘How do the cult members get in and out of the mountain
with these things lurking around?’ Enigma hissed.
  ‘Because they are cult members. These dogs can sense
it. We’re foreigner’s, so we’re the people it’ll attack.’
  ‘How do we go about killing them?’
  ‘Very carefully.’
  Enigma, Iikin, Power and Terrol took one hound each. 
The men pounced on the count of three, creating a 
simultaneous attack the mongrel’s weren’t ready for.
  Enigma thrust his sword into one of the dog’s belly,
grounding it swiftly, getting it’s huge carcass out of
the way. The sword unusually, did not stain with blood.
It separated from the surface of the blade, the same way
water and oil don’t mix.
  Power, broke the neck of one of the hounds, creating a 
sickening sound. Terrol, knocked out his appointed 
opponent, then ran a sharp finger through it’s tough, 
leather like skin. Iikin did something similar, but 
instead of knocking it out then running it through, he
combined the two in one like he’d done once before,
creating one big impact, knocking his antagonist into the
air with a bay.
  Terrol wiped down his finger. ‘Let’s get out of here
before the rest of the pack come along and find out what
we’ve done.
  Enigma found hurrying along senseless, but made no
attempt to point it out. They were running from one
danger into an even bigger danger. 
  Several more hounds had to be disposed of that night.
Their rapid pace soon broke into an all out run. 
  The dawning of the day didn’t bring the encounters to a
stop, though with much more light, it did give them
enough time to prepare themselves. 
  By midday, the base of the mountain was reached. With
one threat behind them, they had to come to terms with
the next threat in front of them. 
  Arem struggled to catch her breath. ‘Is it here,
Enigma?’
  ‘Definitely. I can feel it.’ 
  ‘There’s an entrance not to much further up.’ Terrol
said. 
  The ground gradually sloped upwards. A track had been
worn deeply, weaving back and forth between the rocks
that protruded from it’s side.
  An entrance had been carved into the side of the 
mountain. Two soldiers guarded the double wooden doors. 
Spears, bows and arrows were their defence. They wore 
black boots, pants and shirts that crossed over in the
front. Their heads bore the skull of the desert hound,
covering their face’s totally. A vicious look was what
they wanted to portray, and that they did.
  ‘Those are catacomb guards.’ Terrol explained as they
hid behind a boulder. ‘Iikin, would the ritual’s have
been different now than they are in the future?’
  ‘My research tells me that it shouldn’t have.’
  Weapons had to be put away - including gauntlets. Then,
in two lines with Terrol and Iikin at the front, they
marched in step, right up to the mouth of hell.
  ‘Who goes there?’ the left guard demanded.
  ‘It is I, Punch.’ Terrol replied with a bow.
  ‘Punch?’
  ‘If you say so.’ Together, Iikin and Terrol threw their 
fists delivering devastating blows to the stomach, then 
removing their masks to finishing off the job, knocking
them out. 
  ‘Do catacomb Guards have high rank’s amongst the
Revolution?’ Arem asked.
  ‘That they do little lady.’ Iikin answered.
  ‘Then why do these ones get the honour of standing out
in the weather all day?’
  ‘I’m not sure. You can ask them, if they wake up.’  
  The two futuristic men went through another dress 
change. As the Catacomb guards were highly respected, 
they reasoned that it may in fact help them along a 
little. Once bearing the leather and skulls, they tossed 
the two guards down the mountain for the hungry mutts at
the bottom.
  Terrol slammed the skull over his face. ‘We should get
through the temple unquestioned - that is unless we don’t
run into any temple priests.’
  ‘Can the priest’s sense that we’re not really cult
members?’ Enigma questioned, shifting his blade beneath
his cloak.
  ‘They shouldn’t be able to. Also, I’d like you to be
right behind us so you can direct us. You too Arem.’
  They nodded.
  ‘Keep your eyes lowered and don’t look up, even if
someone speaks to you. If a higher rank asks any of you a
question, we’ll try answer for you. Let’s look after each
other people.’ Although fear was still his enemy at the
time, he found being in command exhilarating, bringing
back memories of his military day’s. It wasn’t much, but
it was enough to keep his mind off his present troubles.
  The doors swung inwards, revealing a cold, dark
presence inside. They walked along a corridor until they
came to a great hall. Corridors carved in all different
directions. The inside had been cut away a great deal,
much like the Barbarian’s dome. The top of the cavern
seemed endlessly far. In actual fact, they were looking
up the middle of what had to be the worlds largest stair
well.
  Groups waddled in different directions in the same 
format that Enigma’s group was; two Catacomb Guards at 
the front, and the minor’s in two lines at the back.
  ‘Enigma, up or down?’ Terrol asked under his breath.
  ‘Up.’
  They began up a stair case that had also been cut out
of the wall. It spiralled in a square shape, along the
wall, with intricately cut railings, leaving a view of
the foyer every step of the way. 
  There were several halls and doors at every level. They
kept on climbing.
  Eventually, they reached the level passed the ceiling, 
where they were met with three metal doors, each with 
Thanatos’s mark.
  ‘Left.’ Enigma commanded.
  They were greeted with the revolting screams of the 
transformation chambers as they entered, closing the door 
behind them. Terrol and Iikin strained to breath. 
Concealing his hand under his cloak, Enigma turned them a
dull yellow. The delightful thoughts of Lord Serenity 
began to run through each members mind.
  ‘Thanks.’ Terrol acknowledged. ‘I think Velyaha
purposely brought the stone in this direction, thinking
that it’d give us trouble.’
  A red robed man suddenly came out of a side door. ‘Are
these people for transformation?’
  ‘No priest.’ Terrol replied. ‘These people have been
called.’
  He sniggered. ‘Then they are honoured. Now go.’
  ‘Yes priest.’ They hurried on.
  ‘What are we honoured with?’ Power asked, making sure 
first, that the priest had gone.
  ‘Death.’ Iikin answered over his shoulder. ‘Supposedly 
for good service towards Thanatos.’
  ‘Then how do you get the job of “Catacomb Guard”?’
  ‘That job is inherited. I know that it doesn’t make
much sense. If Thanatos needs the minds of people, then
why would he insist that some of them be killed?’
  They came to the end of a long corridor where they were
once again halted by two Catacomb Guards.
  ‘They have been called.’ Terrol said, not bothering to
wait for them to speak. Hastily, they let them pass.
  ‘I’ve never been this far before.’ Terrol admitted as
they climbed another set of stairs. ‘I’ve only heard
stories of it. The people who’ve been called go up these
stairs to some sort of place where they must pass a test.
I wouldn’t have a clue what it is though.’
  They walked right into another room at the top of the
stairs. It was pitch black. Nothing could be made out.
  ‘Welcome.’ a familiar voice greeted.
  The room suddenly lit up in a blast of light, as two
pit’s of fire ignited. 
*  *  *