Kaskia: A Hero's Awakening

Chapter 13

"Rina!" Aiden yelled as he watched his sister vanish from sight. Ignoring excruciating pain, he frantically ran to the corner of the room where she disappeared. "What happened to her?!"

"It must be a secret entrance to the temple." Jr. said, crouching in the corner, running his fingers across the wall, feeling for anything that could have opened the trap door.

As soon as Jr. said the word temple, Aiden bolted out of the building, heading for the entrance of the pyramid. Ignoring all protest from the group, he held his wound and ran, pushing his body past its limits, fighting the pain surging throughout his body.

"Jr., Grape, stay here and try to open that door." Squishy stated, picking up a piece of wood that was still on fire. "Arlington, come with me. We have to catch up to Aiden."

Aiden ran through the darkness of the desert, struggling to keep his balance as his feet sunk into the sand with each step. He headed for the opening to the temple, hearing Squishy and Arlington calling for him to wait for them. As he reached the entrance, Aiden knew he wouldn't be able to go any further without some sort of light, the corridor waiting in complete darkness.

"Here." Squishy said, handing Aiden the flaming piece of wood. "See those torches on the wall? Light those. We will find her. Please don't rush, there might be traps inside."

"Oww..." Rina muttered, rubbing her head as she used a wall to get back to her feet. Using the wall to feel her way through the darkness, Rina heard Ellie whimper behind her. "Are you ok Ellie?" She asked, receiving a quiet yip in response. Raising her hand, Rina imagined where it would be within the darkness, picturing a small flame hovering inches above her palm. Seconds later, a blaze burst into existence, illuminating the hallway where she landed. The corridor was made of sandstone stretching in two directions, both paths waiting in darkness. In front of her, she saw a torch resting on the wall. Pointing her hand towards the tip, Rina focused on transferring the flame from her hand to the torch. Unsure if it would work, Rina watched as the flame floated from her to its new home, igniting the torch on the wall.

"Which way should we go?" Rina asked Ellie as she took the torch from its resting place. She watched as Ellie sniffed the hallway in both directions trying to figure out the best path to take. After a few minutes, Ellie finally barked facing the hallway to her left, indicating her choice.

Ellie and Rina walked cautiously through the temple, following Ellie's nose when picking different corridors to travel through. They found many rooms, sealed shut by heavy wooden doors. Rina assumed they were sealed from the inside or by magic somehow. After failing to open the first few doors, she ignored all others that they passed. Feeling as if she was in a maze, she wondered if they would ever make it out. The only thing keeping her from going in circles, was lighting all the torches she passed, illuminating the trail behind her. She felt like the temple went on forever, passing dozens of sealed doors until she finally saw one open at the end of the hallway. The room seemed to glitter from the torch she carried. Rina ran towards the glimmering room, hoping that it was the way out, only to be disappointed by finding a room full of treasure.

Rina stood at the entrance to the treasure room, jaw dropped, staring at all the gold, gems, and trinkets that littered the room. Lifting the torch higher, Rina began walking around the room, taking in all the items, Ellie walking close to her, hair on edge. Rina's attention was drawn towards a wooden desk sitting in the far corner of the room. A desk that didn't seem to belong in a room full of glorious treasure. The desk was void of any treasure or items except a single scroll resting neatly at the center. Picking up the scroll, Rina saw a green symbol, a green circle with eight triangles evenly distributed around the circle as a seal to the scroll. Curious to see the contents, Rina broke the seal and unraveled the parchment. She stared at writing in a language she could not read, writing that began to glow before fading off the page. She stared at the scroll confused, turning it over to see the other side. She screamed as the paper burst into flames, sending her flying backwards into a pile of gold coins.