Revolutions

72 - Teqosa

The sun warms my face as I come into consciousness, bringing me back into the waking world. Involuntarily, I wince as a searing pain throbs inside my head, like a hundred war drums pounding their rhythms in anticipation of battle. But despite the physical discomfort, I'm eternally grateful to have made it to this point, to have narrowly escaped the collapsing tunnel with my life. The treacherous journey I've encountered at this living labyrinth has been greater than I could've ever anticipated, and I'm thankful to still be alive after overcoming the challenges.

However, I'm not out of this place yet. Inspecting the scene around me, I've reached a rocky clearing devoid of the countless shifting trees that previously surrounded us. There appears to be a small accumulation of stones in a miniature representation of tremendous craggy formations that stand tall and proud far off in the hazy distance. The air is thin and dry with a slight chill, as if I'm on a high plateau in some arid region. Have I been transported from Qantua to another destination?

I dust myself off, looking over to the confused llama lying from exhaustion on the stony ground. Its wool has streaks of scarlet trailing down its front legs, and as it stands up to test them, the llama immediately drops back to the ground, defeated as it takes labored breaths. Despite its injuries, the animal is too valuable to put down, especially knowing I'd be subjecting myself to Upachu's wrath if I return to Hilaqta without his beloved creature. I can only hope it recovers quickly so that I'm not carrying it and the cart for long distances.

While the llama rests, I walk over to the stone formations that reside a few dozen paces away from me. Tiny clusters of tree saplings sprout from various points among the rocks, and small finger-sized streams of water trickle through the space. Inspecting them, they appear to be untouched by human hands, their surfaces not smooth, but rather jagged, rugged, and misshapen. Yet the way in which they have been positioned in this area feels unnatural, as though they've been placed here my some larger hands. Was this formed by the Timuaq?

Curious by these strange formations, I look them over, attempting to identify any indication as to how they arrived here. As I inspect the stones, there appears to be similar glyphs to what I've seen at previous locations in this enchanted place and on the papyrus, faintly etched into the surface. There is a significant amount of them, carved into the rocks in long lines of symbols, and then one large glyph above the flurry of others. Many of them are unrecognizable to me, and to my dismay, there are no illustrations as to what they represent like what I encountered at the start of my time here. The dizzying swirl of various lines and curves confuses me as I attempt to decipher what these long stretches of glyphs indicates, to no avail.

Disappointed, I begin to drift back to the llama, to join the animal in its defeated sulk. Before I reach it, however, I pause in contemplation. I've managed to distinguish certain characters and symbols before—it's how I was able to reach this point in the quest. Perhaps I can use clues from the words I know to help me decipher the ones I do not. I may not get the swath of text completely correct, but I can at least get close. I've gotten this far, and I am no quitter, so there's no excuse in stopping and turning back now. Besides, where would I turn to anyway?

With a newfound determination to solve this riddle, I turn back and charge over to the rock formation. What are the glyphs trying to get me to do, to understand? There are a few words that I'm able to distinguish, the ones I learned before: Wind, Sun, Water, Cloud, Moon, Mountain, Fire, Tree, Pachil. I find them in various locations amidst the slew of other unfamiliar glyphs, but there's something about their placement that piques my interest. Perhaps it has something to do with the words chosen to be in conjunction with one another that raises my suspicions and curiosities.

Just beyond the formation of stones is one low, isolated rock that rests near the now collapsed mouth of the tunnel from which we emerged. It's entirely out of place, located far from the collection of other tall, slender stones that jut up from the ground like pillars. Yet on this rock, more glyphs are carved into its surface. How is this short, stubby stone related to the others a few paces away?