Eyes of the Dragon

Chapter 14

A short while later the pair made their way back to the main gallery. The eastern passage had contained three dead ends, one room full of zombies, and another room that looked like it had once contained zombies. As they stepped back into the main gallery, Tian said, "Now we know, the red line means do not enter."

"No argument here, friend, but at least we know what's back there now."

Tian shook his head and walked to the northern archway. He looked down the passageway and noticed that burning lamps lined the walls at periodic intervals. Motioning for Chase to follow him, he led the way down the hall. It was not as long as some of the other halls had been, and soon enough opened into another large room.

The room was decorated with the broken remains of ornate carvings and fountains. It was some sort of antechamber, and had fared worse than some of the other rooms. Miniature cave-ins had damaged much of the architecture and decor. There was a passageway going to the east, but it was clearly blocked by debris. To the west was another passageway that had been cleared.

In the center of the room was the most noticeable figure, a soldier squatting to take care of 'personal' business. He was facing away from the entrance that Tian and Chase had used, but turned as they entered the room. When he saw the two of them his brow furrowed in confusion, but then his gaze fell on Tian and then went from curious to alarmed.

Chase followed his gaze and looked down to the monk's chest where his talisman had fallen free during the fight with the zombies. The emerald set in the talisman was starting to glow with a green light. Nudging his friend, Tian looked at Chase, "What?"

"Look down."

Tian did, "It must be reacting to the proximity of the Eyes."

"Just great! Can you make it stop?"

"Too late," Tian replied as the guard struggled to pull up his pants. Running at the man with amazing speed, Tian was not fast enough to stop the guard's cry, "Intruders!"

He did catch the man with his pants down, and land a kick to his head that sent the man flying into the waste that he and his companions had left over the last week. Between the kick and the landing, the man was knocked unconscious. From where he stood Chase clucked disapprovingly, "That just seems...unfair."

"No time," Tian interrupted, "come on!"

The pair rushed down the short passageway to the west. It was only around forty feet long, leaving little doubt that the guard's cry had been heard in the quiet temple. As they reached the large double doors to the next room, Tian could hear chanting echoing through the chamber behind the doors. With the element of surprise lost, he tore off the tabard and kicked the doors open boldly.

Chanting grew louder as the door flew open. In the room they could see an expansive chamber lit with numerous bronze candelabras. In contrast to the rest of the complex, the rubble had been completely cleared. A dais stood in the center of the room. Unlike the rest of the room, the dais was made of black marble and the silver motes in the stone seemed to twinkle as though a reflection of the night sky.

Standing on the dais were three figures completely cloaked in black cloth. Tian recognized them as being similar to the undead creatures they had fought earlier. They had their arms raised in the air towards the middle of the dais. As they stood there, they chanted in a dark, resonant tongue that seemed almost song-like in quality. The very sound of it filled the pair with dread.

In the middle of the dais an emerald glow seemed to emanate. Looking closer, Tian could see the Eyes of the Dragon glowing brightly in the center of the bizarre ritual. They sat in two depressions on the stone, their inner light swirling around in wispy strands through the air. The talisman on Tian's chest burned brightly in response to the presence of the Eyes.