The Gods of Jueses: Quest for the Golden Spark

-BRAYAN-

Wednesday
How to know how much time has passed in an inter-galactic-ancient-maze-fully-equipped-with-dangerous-monsters-every-half-a-mile full of eternal darkness? Only the Nerds can answer that. I am assuming its Wednesday. Somebody told me that time doesn’t flow the same in here so maybe a week has passed, or a day, or perhaps just a second. But, I don’t care. I will just assume today’s Wednesday. Now, let me get back to the point. One thing which Deco was right about the Fortress: it's dangerous. Very dangerous.
But first, before I forget, I had a...how to put it? Yeah! Creepy dream last night. At first I thought I was simply awake as all around me was dark. But then I realized the walls were made of some black stone harder than marble. I was sitting on a magnificent black throne inside a courtroom. And not just any throne. The highest throne: The Throne. Other seats were occupied by skeletal courtiers. And they all moved. One of them rose and bowed.
'My Lord! Decoletantus failed in slaying the boy. They are going to enter the fortress soon. What shall we do?'
'Nothing.' I said, against my will. The voice was not mine. It was a familiar, evil voice; it was Starkrow's. 'Just wait and see the game being played. They haven't even figured out the prophecy yet. They don't even know how to find their way out of the fortress once they get in. Just make sure they have no other way to get to the five Gems except through the heart of the fortress. That way they'll die the most painfully. That would be so much fun. Watching their wailing souls, crying to be rescued...'
'As you command, My Lord. We ourselves will go and ensure that'
I could feel the Lord getting uneasy. 'No. None of my courtiers will disgrace themselves by going there. Send that gorgon. What was her name again?'
'Shilpkar, my Lord,' a courtier hissed.
'Dismissed.'
As soon as he said that, all the skeletons crumbled into a pile of bones. Then even those disintegrated. I felt my mouth opening, but the voice which came out was Starkrow's, ‘Wake up, Brayan. You need to give some information to your friends,'
I sat bolt upright; horrified by my vision.
'Look who is finally awake,' came John's voice. He and Jas were eating cup noodles.
'Where did you get these from?' I gasped.
Jas lifted her handbag and unzipped it. She took out another pack of instant noodles and a flask with hot water. The bag was hardly big enough for a water bottle to fit in. How did these went in? My look would have been pretty dumb, because for all I knew Jas smiled at me, and said 'Extension spell!' Yeah, like that was obvious. How does this girl get so much time? Especially with all that eternally long homework?
I accepted the noodles and, as we ate, narrated my dream. By the time I finished both of them were staring me like I had gone back in the Jurassic age and wrestled with a T-Rex. But they won't understand how fun it was.
'So you are saying that we are standing in between a cliff and a cave?' John said.
'Exactly.'
'Well then. We have no option but to go inside this fortress.' Jas interrupted.
'Ah! That reminds me Jas, how do you know we need to go inside this fortress?'
'This is the Apantontas Frouiro; the answering fortress. It has the answers to all questions, hidden deep within; in its heart. But no one has ever found out the way to get there. I even have a map,' she said, and took out a rolled piece of paper out of her handbag. Then she unrolled it. I expected a figure of a sort of a maze, with some crisscross lines here and there, but what came in front of my eyes was something completely the other end of line. It seemed like some infant was handed crayon and a sheet of paper, a kid who knew all sorts of strokes very well but couldn't decide what to draw. In front of me was a piece of paper with lines everywhere. It had thick lines, thin lines, long lines, short lines, straight lines, curved lines; going from everywhere to everywhere. I looked at John who was looking as confused as me.
'This is its entrance.' said Jas, pointing towards the end of the line at the bottom of the page. 'But nobody knows where its heart lies.'
'This fortress is designed by Atina, right?' I asked Jas, sighing at the obviousness. Such complications are creations of just one in the world.
'Yup,' she replied.
'So why don't we just ask her?' John suggested.
'Nerds don't help much in our matters, no matter how much important they are.' I sighed.
'That sounds rude, you know,' echoed a harsh, childish feminine voice. We turned around. Behind us was standing a girl of about fourteen, but her expression was much harsh for her beautiful face. She had a wheat-ish complexion, mesmerizing brown eyes and just perfect thin lips. Her hair was silky black, left loose on her shoulders. Her aura was screaming 'I am a Nerd.' No doubt about it. She was Atina. The Nerd of Nerds.
'It's not always that we help you Jueseans. You are no kids. But we do help you...er...John, hasn't anyone taught you manners?'
I looked towards John, who was now looking towards the ground, blushing.
'Her highness, Atina.' said Jas, and bowed. I and John followed her lead. 'We need your guidance. How do we-' she was interrupted.
'I know what you need. But even we have our hands tied. Helping someone...it needs power. We at the very edge of a war. That is why I came here; this quest is important even for us. It was your destiny. This quest has chosen you. Then let the path of your destiny guide you further.'
'Then why did you come here?'
'Just to give you a message. This quest will lead you to a place where you shall meet someone. Trust him. You will need him later. Your quest will not prevent the war. It will merely increase our chance of winning. Just keep in mind; this fortress is full of perils unknown to all the mankind, even Jueseans. Once you get inside, you will be offered many choices, many paths. The right path is only one; the path of your destiny.'
SCREECH!
'Oh yes! I almost forgot! Shilpkar is near. She is a gorgon, just like Medusa. Her vision turns any mortal to stone. Once you enter the fortress, you can't turn back. If you come back out, she will be here, waiting for you.' she said and materialized. For one last time, her voice echoed 'Let the path of your destiny guide you.'
Silence followed for a moment or two, till the voice of the Gorgon came again.  SCREECH!
'Let's better get going. ‘John advised.
'Yeah!' Jas and I said in unison. We entered the fortress.
Magnificent.
If the fortress has to be described, the perfect word would be magnificent. It looked like a haunted house from the outside, but from inside, it had bright red walls with yellow paintings. They showed just one thing- the map of the fortress. We walked ahead and stared at the beauty of the walls. Jas's map wasn't as magnificent as those at the walls. But what was it doing on the walls? And why so many?
'Hey!' John said. 'Look! Every map indicates its exact position!'
'What?' Jas said. She walked an inch closer to the wall and inspected the maps. I did the same. At first, I saw nothing. But then I found it. From each map, one small point was missing; the point at which the map was located.
'It's like GPS. A clue,' I said.
'No. More like a challenge. The maps show their real location, but even with that nobody has ever found its heart.' said Jas.
'How many have gone in?' John asked.
'Including us three? One thousand four hundred fifty nine...and a half.'
Me and John exchanged looks. And a half?
'Don't ask. The point is why. Why did nobody ever found the way?' Jas asked.
Hmm...Good question. Why. John broke the silence once again.
'Ahhh...guys, I think I know.' He said. I turned towards him. He was looking in the other direction; the one we came from. 'These maps right here-' he pointed towards the wall on his right. '-say that we are...about thirty points from the entrance. But that map there...' he said, pointing towards a map that was two maps ahead of it, in the direction I was facing. 'Those show that we are halfway through the fortress.'
How did he saw something so small from so far? I walked towards the map to find out he was right. When did John got ultra-sharp eyes? And from when did he start noticing?
'He is right.' said Jas. 'maybe these maps are meant for confusing.'
We walked ahead. After about ten steps John paused. Since we had entered this fortress, this guy has been acting weird. Sharp, but weird.
'What now?' I asked
'Recheck the maps we were just inspecting,' he said.
'Why?'
'Just do it.' he ordered. I went back towards the maps and what I saw was like a bolt of lightning hitting me. 'But...'
The map which showed we were thirty points from the entrance now showed that it was located in the completely opposite end of the line.
'Now you understand?' asked John.
'Understand what?' Jas interrupted.
'These maps aren't meant for confusing. ‘John started to explain, 'After every four maps, this fortress is divided into some sort of rooms. When we cross one, the room shifts its place. We are now nowhere. The next step can land you anywhere, at the end, at the beginning or at nowhere.'
Whoa! This guy has really changed. Or perhaps I didn't notice he had the instincts of a detective before. Whatever maybe the case, it’s good for us.
'So how do we find its heart?' I asked.
'Remember what Atina said?' John looked at me, 'Let the path of your destiny guide you.'
'Just that we don't know what it means,' I muttered.
'Let's pause and think about it.' John said.
A familiar SREECH! Echoed as soon as he said that.
'Pausing, not a good idea,' I said.
'Agreed, ‘said Jas.
John gestured for us to move. We ran. After a while we stopped to catch some breath.  In front of us the path split into three. All alike.
'What now?' asked Jas.
'Anybody got any hint about that path of destiny part?' John asked.
'Not yet,' Jas and I said in unison.
'We have no other options I guess,' said John 'Either we sit and think about that, or we walk and try all the ways,'
'Stopping? Not a good idea,' I advised.
'We can at least do one thing.' Jas suggested, ‘we can at least mark what paths we chose.'
Smart move.
'So, which one, huh?' Jas asked again.
'What do you say Brayan? ‘John asked.
'Me?' I stared at the three ways. All looked the same.
'Er...I don't know...perhaps the right one?'
'What are we waiting for then? Jas, mark it.'
Jas went near the wall and touched it. Immediately the Aperio symbol appeared on it. We went that way.
And that was a mistake. We walked for what seemed liked miles (must have been a lot more than that) the passage darkened. Suddenly I got a glimpse of something on my rights and found out it was another passage.
'Where does this goes to?' I asked. Jas and John paused and looked back in my direction. Which one...where did this came from?' asked Jas. Obviously, she hadn't noticed it. I noticed the path splitting into three, all of which looked alike. I checked the map on the walls, which confused me even more. The place where we were was in the middle of the fortress, but the first on the path towards the right showed that it is located just one mile from the start.
'Have we been here?' I asked.
'Perhaps,' replied John.
'There is just one way to check' said Jas. She went to the three roads and checked if the right one had our mark on it, and sure enough, it had.
So, we are again back at the same place. But I was wrong. The path that went straight ahead showed that we were going ahead of the way we had come. Man! I'm gonna go insane this way. But then something happened that made this look like nothing. The passage we took led us to a place I didn't want to see again; the beginning.
'Really?' shouted Jas, looking towards the roof. Maybe she was cursing Atina. Perhaps Jas was cursing all the Nerds, or perhaps just looking for an answer on the blank roof.
'I am in no state to walk anymore.' I sat down. John followed. 'Me too,' Jas said.
We sat and ate some pizza (and the most surprising part- it was hot! Where did this girl find the plug for a microwave?)
We discussed about all odds and ends- how our befriending John was a plan to bring him here. how Professor Wolfbane gave it final touch up. How all his strange actions were just to verify if John was The Gems or not. We also told him how his parents were descendants from the Nerds, indirectly. We also taught him some tricks to be used in emergency- like how to vanish from the spot when situation seems out of control (commonly known as running) and stuff like that. In turn John told us how he had visions about Jueses Gemises, the planet Jueses and the most frightening of all- Starkrow. That reminded me of my own vision of Starkrow, how I had been him... The thought gives me a splitting headache. Better not think about it.
In the end we apologized for all the inconvenience caused in between saying our curses to our fate, the Nerds and things like that. I didn't know that a girl like Jas knows so many bad words.
Now time for my two favorite words- Signing off.