Sentari: ICE (23 page)

“Where did she go?” asked Ariana.

Dengrid looked at Ariana. “My name is Dengrid. Who might you be?” asked Dengrid.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Ariana, and this is Te’oma,” said Ariana.

“Te’oma,” said Dengrid. “That is a very ancient name. Your father must have been a student of history,” continued Dengrid.

“I don’t really know,” said Te’oma shyly.

Dengrid was silent for a moment. He just stared at Te’oma with an unrelenting gaze. “I don’t know what happened to Jade,” said Dengrid, breaking the silence. “I never saw her again. She left without saying goodbye. I guess that was my fault,” said Dengrid, with sadness in his voice.

“Well, what do we do now?” asked Ariana, rather abruptly.

“Now, we wake everyone up and return to our city. We have been asleep longer than we’d intended,” said Dengrid.

With a grunt and a groan and a little help from Julius, Dengrid managed to get to his feet. “First we need to get in contact with the others at the Karnic outpost,” said Dengrid.

“The what?” asked Julius.

“It’s a small building, not far from here, by the ocean. From there, the walls to this prison can be opened,” replied Dengrid.

“This outpost, it wouldn’t be made up of stone pillars underground would it?” asked Te’oma.

“Yes. Have you been there?” asked Dengrid.

“Yes I have, but I’m afraid it’s just ruins now. No one has lived there for a very long time,” replied Te’oma.

Dengrid sighed. “That outpost is the only way to release our people and open the doors. I’m afraid, without access to that station, we’re stuck here,” said Dengrid.

“There must be another way out of here,” said Ariana.

“This was a prison, young lady. It was designed to keep people in,” replied Dengrid.

“I remember, when I was younger, my father saying something about the quest of redemption,” said Julius.

“Of course,” said Dengrid, as he hobbled his way along the hall. “Your grandfather was one of the few people to ever complete it. Long before I was born, someone much smarter than me developed the quest. It was designed to give prisoners the option of either seeing out their time here, or embarking on the quest and earning their way back into society,” he continued, gathering more pace as he walked down the hall.

“So what is this quest?” asked Te’oma.

“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s different for everyone,” said Dengrid as he started tapping away at a screen at the end of one of the chambers.

“So, when do we leave?” asked Julius eagerly.

“I suggest you take some time to rest before you leave. When you are ready, stand at the far north wall and say these words, ‘I accept the quest of redemption,’ and the doors will open for you. I will stay here and start waking the others, one by one. Once you complete the quest, head back to Karnic. Access the main control panel. If we’re lucky, you may be able bring life back to this city.”

There was a silence amongst them as they digested what lay before them. Julius stood next to the father of the woman he loved. “Is there any way to find her?” asked Julius solemnly.

“I searched for her for a very long time but I could not find her,” said Dengrid. Julius’s heart sank. “There is only one hope. There was a machine in the old city. It contains all of our ancestors’ collective knowledge. If there is a way to find Jade, and I’m not saying there is, it will be there,” said Dengrid.

“I don’t even know where the old city is,” said Julius.

“Julius, I fought your love for my daughter for a very long while and, in that time, I learnt one thing – nothing will stop you two from being together,” said Dengrid. “I’ll tell you what my father told me. The city lies across the sea, through the maze of golden shores and crystal water; at the farthest vein, it waits.”

***

Surprisingly, the heating in that area of the prison still worked, and lining the walls of the hall were beautifully soft couches that must have been there for the guards long ago. The three had each pulled a couch over to the doors at the northern wall, where Dengrid had told them to go. They lay on the couches and tried to get some sleep, but all they could do was look at the doorway and wonder what greeted them on the other side.

After many hours, Te’oma sat up on his couch. He took one of their small sacks out and opened it. They were down to their very last rations. He grabbed a small piece of bread. The bread was starting to grow mould on it. Te’oma was so hungry that he picked off the mould and quickly ate the bread. It tasted awful and took a long time to slide down his throat, but he knew he needed the strength.

He slid a piece of bread over to Ariana’s couch. “Here. We may as well finish this off before we go,” said Te’oma. Te’oma had a swig of the water; it was one of the few things in their sack that still tasted half decent. Ariana grimaced as she chowed down on the mouldy bread. Te’oma passed the water bottle to Ariana. “Here, this will help it slide down easier,” said Te’oma. “I have to go to the little boys’ room.”

Ariana smiled. “Just make it as far from here as you can. I already feel sick from the bread. I don’t need your stink making me feel worse,” said Ariana.

Te’oma walked down the hallway. He looked down at the seemingly endless rows of faces staring back up at him from the isolation chambers. He wondered who these people were and what they had done that cursed them to a life of nothingness. Part of him wanted to open all the chambers and give them a second chance, but another part of him wanted to see them suffer and that evil building inside scared him.

He walked all the way to the other end of the hall. He could barely see Ariana or Julius. He had just faced the corner and started to do his business when the Shadow appeared next him. Startled, Te’oma stepped back, so afraid that he could not even cry for help.

“I can help you,” said the Shadow.

Te’oma looked at his pale skin and dead eyes. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I’m here to help,” said the Shadow.

“I don’t understand,” said Te’oma.

“Oh, but I think you do,” the Shadow replied. “Surely you’ve noticed something’s different about you now. You can feel it coursing through your veins.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Te’oma.

“Drake is dead. I serve his power, the power that is now yours,” said the Shadow.

“Drake’s dead?” said Te’oma, shocked.

“I swore an oath to serve the power Drake held. Now, you have that power, I am here to serve you,” said the shadow.

“Great, get us out of here,” said Te’oma.

“I can’t take you out of here, but I can help you through the challenge. Enter the doorway and I will see you on the other side,” said the Shadow.

“What about Ariana and Julius?” asked Te’oma.

“I only serve you,” said the Shadow, as he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Te’oma was unmoved momentarily. Shocked, he looked down at his pants and noticed that he had got urine all down them. “Damn it,” said Te’oma, as he tried to wipe it away. Te’oma walked back to Ariana and Julius. His mind was still racing from his conversation with the Shadow. Julius and Ariana were waiting at the doorway. Te’oma walked up to Ariana. “Are you sure you want to do this?” asked Te’oma.

“It’s the only way,” said Ariana. She sniffed the air. “What’s that awful smell?”

Te’oma kept his mouth shut, hoping she didn’t realise it was him.

“Should we go?” asked Te’oma, trying quickly to change the subject.

Te’oma pulled Ariana close. The two embraced for a long time. Not a word was said; none needed to be. Ariana looked up at Te’oma and put her hand on his face. She kissed him gently. “Whatever happens, make sure we stay together,” said Ariana nervously.

Ariana stepped up to the door, “I accept the quest of redemption,” said Ariana with authority. Suddenly, the doors swung open. A blinding white light beamed through the doorway, blocking their view. Ariana shielded her eyes with her hand, then stepped into the light. Julius followed closely behind her.

Te’oma waited alone, staring at the blinding light. The Shadow appeared next to Te’oma. “I’ll help you where I can,” said the Shadow.

“I think this is something we should do alone,” said Te’oma.

“I am here to serve you, whether you like it or not,” said the Shadow as he disappeared.

Te’oma steadied himself, then walked through the doorway. The light went out and the doors slammed shut.

“The strongest people are the ones who never let go of their inner light.”

Escape

The beaming white light that blinded Te’oma, Ariana and Julius started to fade. As their eyes adjusted, they saw they were standing in a narrow tunnel. The tunnel was round and the walls were smooth, but very cold to the touch. The roof was illuminated but Te’oma was not quite sure how. In the distance, he could hear the sound of running waters.

The tunnel veered around the corner to the right. “Is that water?” asked Julius.

Ariana started walking down the hallway, impatient as always. “There’s only one way to find out,” she replied. As they followed the tunnel, the sound of the water grew louder. The condition of the hallway deteriorated the further they walked. The smooth walls turned to jagged rock; the lights above were cracked and broken as the height of the tunnel shrunk.

They reached a dead end; at their feet was a small but raging stream. Jagged rocks blocked one side of the stream, on the other side it bored down into the darkness.

“Great. So now what?” asked Ariana.

“Isn’t it obvious?” said Te’oma, looking down at the stream.

“Oh no, I’m not getting in there,” said Ariana.

“I don’t see another way,” said Julius. “Besides, you’re usually the first one in with these sorts of things.”

Ariana rolled her eyes. “Nothing’s ever simple, is it?” asked Ariana, as she dipped her hand into the water. “It’s actually not that cold,” she said, reaching her hand in further. “Nor is it that deep.”

They all sat down at the edge of the water, contemplating what they had to do. They all knew they had to do it, but none of them really wanted to. Te’oma struggled with his feelings. He had a growing feeling of anger and fear inside him. It was like a torch building from his stomach and he didn’t know why.

Ariana suddenly got to her feet. “Come on, let’s do this. How hard can it be? We get in the water, go shooting down the tunnel and then we’re out,” said Ariana.

“You really believe it’s going to be that easy?” asked Julius. “This was a prison. They wouldn’t have made it easy to escape.”

“Maybe the challenge is a myth, just there to keep people in line. Any way you look at it, that water is our only option,” said Te’oma, standing up next to Ariana. “I’m with Ariana. Let’s just go.” He was more than happy for something to take his mind away from his growing anger.

Julius reluctantly got up. “Well, by all means. After you,” said Julius as he gestured towards the water.

“Ok,” said Te’oma bravely. He stepped towards the water and slowly dipped his foot in. He gained more confidence as he realised that it really wasn’t very cold. He firmly planted his foot down. “See? Nothing to it,” said Te’oma, right before his foot slid out from under him and he fell face first into the stream.

The raging stream quickly pulled him down the tunnel and into the darkness. He tossed and turned, trying desperately to get his head above the water. The stream turned sharply left and right. He was thrown around like a tree branch in a storm. He finally managed to get his head above water. The tunnel was small and very dark.

Te’oma was whisked down the stream at an incredible speed. Every time the tunnel changed direction, he was slammed into the walls.

Eventually, the tunnel began to straighten up. Something in the distance caught Te’oma’s eye. There was something hanging from the roof. Before he had time to think about it, the object was right in front of him. It was a stalactite. He quickly ducked his head below the water, just scraping the tip of the stalactite and cutting his cheek. He stayed below the water, holding his breath for as long as he could.

Te’oma lifted his head out of the water and, up ahead, saw three more stalactites, protruding into the water below. There was no way around them. Te’oma lifted his hand up, bracing himself for impact. As his fear reached fever pitch, the fire in his belly grew until it felt like it was consuming him. Suddenly, his hand caught on fire only a few feet from the stalactites. He reached forward and fire blasted from his hands, destroying the stalactites instantly.

Before he could contemplate what had just happened Te’oma was pulled under water. The stream was widening and as the tunnel opened into a cave. Te’oma kicked upwards, struggling to keep his head above water. It had become so deep that his feet could not even reach the bottom. Up ahead, the water seemed to end abruptly. On the roof of the cave were small lanterns, lighting the way. Te’oma was pulled underwater. The current tumbled him around and around and wouldn’t let him go. Just as he had consumed every last bit of oxygen in his lungs, he burst out of the water. He gasped for air before opening his eyes. He looked down to realise that he had gone off the edge of a waterfall and was falling through the air. The waterfall was massive, at least twenty meters high, and below were sharp, jagged rocks.

He plummeted through the air, heading straight for the rocks below. He braced himself for impact and, just as he was about to slam into the rocks, he stopped. He opened his eyes to see that he was being held up by the Shadow. “You can thank me later,” said the Shadow, as he disappeared. Te’oma dropped onto the rocks with a thud, but it was much less painful than if he had fallen all the way from the top.

Te’oma quickly got to his feet. He looked up to see Ariana screaming, as she fell. He quickly manoeuvred himself underneath her and caught her in his arms. Before she could say anything, Te’oma laid her down on the rocks and ran over to catch Julius.

The three climbed down the rocks and onto the banks of the waterfall. Ariana looked at Te’oma, dumbfounded. “How did you do that?” she asked. Te’oma didn’t reply. Both he and Julius were too busy staring at what lay before them.

Ariana turned around and saw a ten-metre-high wall built into the side of the mountain. The wall was made from thousands and thousands of tiny diamonds. The diamonds were held together on one giant block of gold. A single lantern hung above the wall, its light scattering across the gems. Above the wall were Intari symbols. “What does it say?” asked Ariana.

Julius stepped forward and looked closely at the symbols. “I have never seen these symbols before. Our language has changed a lot over the years, but this text looks very old,” he said.

“What do you think it is?” asked Ariana.

“My guess is that the way out of this place is through that wall,” said Julius. Te’oma stayed quiet. He knew he could probably just smash his way through the wall, but he couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t right – that he was not meant to be using this power.

Next to the wall lay two small single beds, with sheets and pillows. “Looks like we could be here awhile,” said Te’oma, pointing at the beds.

“And, great, there are only two beds – looks like you boys are going to have to share,” said Ariana. “I don’t know about you guys but I could do with some rest, and to get out of these wet clothes.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Julius.

“You guys go ahead. I’m not really tired,” said Te’oma, staring at the diamonds.

“You won’t get any arguments from me,” said Julius.

“We can take it in shifts, trying to work out the puzzle – or at least stare at the wall while the others sleep,” said Ariana.

Te’oma kissed Ariana goodnight. He couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eye. He looked everywhere except at her.

“What is it?” asked Ariana.

“Nothing,” said Te’oma abruptly.

It wasn’t long before Ariana and Julius were fast asleep. Even though it was Te’oma’s turn to work on the puzzle, he couldn’t help but stand at the base of the waterfall and think about what had just happened. He knelt down at the water’s edge, took a handful of water and washed his face. Through the ripples in the water he noticed something. There was a small line of diamonds running through the bottom, just like the ones on the wall.

Te’oma followed the line, which ran under large rocks. He climbed over the rocks and followed the line through the raging waterfall. On the other side, the line ran up the wall, then towards the cave. It stretched up about four metres to a platform that stuck out of the wall and stopped there.

Te’oma was wading through the water looking for a way up, when something brushed against his feet. He reached down into the water and grabbed what felt like a stick. He lifted it out of the water, only to realise that it was a human bone. He dropped the bone back into the water and scrambled back to the rocks. As he did, he stepped on dozens more bones. There must have been a lot of bodies under the water.

Te’oma sat down on the rocks and caught his breath. He looked up at the ledge and wondered whether the people below died trying to get to the ledge or whether they died of starvation, trying to solve the puzzle.

The hours passed and Te’oma continued to stare at the ledge. It was seemingly impossible to get to. The Shadow suddenly appeared, sitting on the ledge above. “What are you waiting for? Come up here and leave this place,” said the Shadow.

“There’s no way up there,” said Te’oma.

“Maybe not for them,” said the Shadow.

“Te’oma! Te’oma! Where are you?” yelled Ariana in a worried tone. The Shadow quickly disappeared.

“I’m behind the waterfall,” said Te’oma, but Ariana did not hear him. Te’oma walked back over the rocks and walked through the waterfall. “Over here,” said Te’oma. Ariana was visibly relieved when she saw him. “Come over here and look at this,” he said.

Te’oma led Ariana through the waterfall and showed her the ledge above. “I think it has something to do with the puzzle, but I have no idea how to get up there,” said Te’oma.

“I think I might have an idea,” said Ariana. She scurried back through the waterfall to the base of the diamond wall. “When we first arrived, I was amazed at how beautiful the wall was and the skill and craftsmanship that had gone into it. Then I saw the lantern hanging above, all cracked and damaged. I wondered why they went to such lengths to make something so beautiful, only to have something so ugly hung in front of it,” said Ariana.

“What’s that got to do with the ledge?” said Te’oma.

“Why would they leave something so obviously out of place unless it was for a reason?” said Ariana, as she started to climb the diamond wall, using the diamonds as tiny hand and foot holds. “If I’m right, then this should do it,” said Ariana, as she jumped away from the wall and grabbed onto the base of the lantern. She hung from the lantern and looked down at Te’oma.

“Was something supposed to happen?” said Te’oma.

Ariana looked up at the lantern and gave it a big tug, but nothing happened. “I guess I was wrong,” said Ariana but, just as she said it, the lantern jolted and began to rise up higher, pulling Ariana with it. The flow from the waterfall slowed and then stopped completely.

Te’oma looked back and saw that the ledge had lowered down to the ground. “That’s it, you did it,” said Te’oma.

“Help me down,” said Ariana. Te’oma stood below her. She let go of the lantern and Te’oma caught her in his arms and gently put her down on her feet.

However, as soon as Ariana released the lantern, it lowered again, the ledge raised up off the ground and the waterfall began flowing once more. “It’s a three-person job,” said Ariana.

“Let’s wake Julius up so he can help,” said Te’oma.

“No need,” said Julius, sitting up in bed behind them. I’ve been watching you two work out the puzzle. Very impressive,” said Julius. He leapt to his feet with renewed enthusiasm. “Right,” he said. “Te’oma, you go over to the ledge. Ariana, I’ll boost you up to the lantern.”

Te’oma stood beneath the ledge waiting for it to lower. The Shadow appeared in front of Te’oma. “You know you can’t trust them. Why don’t you just leave yourself?” said the Shadow.

“Just go away,” said Te’oma. The Shadow smiled back at him, then disappeared in a cloud of dust.

The roaring water above stopped falling down. Te’oma saw Ariana hanging from the lantern as the ledge lowered. Te’oma watched it as it came to rest at his feet. It was not quite as big as it looked from below. Te’oma stepped onto the ledge. “Ok, I’m ready,” said Te’oma. Ariana dropped down from the lantern, landing safely in Julius’s arms.

The water poured over the waterfall’s edge again as Te’oma was lifted up by the platform. The Shadow appeared in front of him, floating in the air. “Last chance,” said the Shadow. Te’oma turned away from him and did not respond. The Shadow disappeared.

The ledge reached the top. Ariana and Julius watched on from below. “What can you see?” asked Ariana. Te’oma looked into the small opening behind the ledge and saw a small wooden lever. He reached his hand in and grasped it. He pulled as hard as he could, but it did not budge. He reached in with his other hand and pulled. The lever started to inch forward. He pulled it all the way down and it locked in place. The cave started to rumble and the water instantly stopped flowing. Te’oma turned around to see the diamonds on the wall spinning around. One by one, the diamonds disappeared.

Suddenly, the ledge that Te’oma was standing on began to extend, until it reached the top of the diamond wall.

Julius and Ariana waited below, watching the diamonds disappear. “Quick, get down here, Te’oma,” said Ariana.

“The wall’s almost gone. I can see daylight through it,” said Julius.

Te’oma looked on from above as the diamond wall completely disappeared. Julius and Ariana stepped through the space where it had stood moments before. A cold blast of air came rushing towards them; for the first time ever, they welcomed the wind’s icy touch.