Beyond the Metal Doors

Tullos, Kryos and Frederique go deeper into the Ancient Temple, what mysteries await them down there?

When they first started to climb down the stairs they didn't expect to be so many steps. They thought they would quickly reach the lower level, which would most likely be some sort of catacombs like in the old hero tales, and continue for a little bit more exploring before returning. Tullos was already expecting to find some sort of untold treasure at the bottom of the stairs while Frederique was quite skeptical about this.

By now they had been going down on those never ending stairs for more than half an hour and Frederique was certainly showing signs to be frightened of a possible tunnel collapse or something worse. The walls and ceiling of the small corridor were littered with cracks and missing pieces that fell as time passed. At times they stumbled upon full missing steps or even full sections that caved in, leaving nothing but small cracks through which they could pass. It was at those spots that they noticed something peculiar about this tunnel. Behind the solid stone there was a layer of metal. Why it was encasing this entire tunnel and who built it here they didn’t know nor bothered to ask. Step by step they headed deeper and deeper under the ground.

“Young master, we have been going down on these accursed steps for more than half an hour. Who knows where they might lead us! I beg of you, let us return and let the other grown ups do the searching instead of us. Who knows what perils might await us at the end?” begged Frederique who was certainly not comfortable with this weird tunnel. Metal that covered it up like a cage of some sorts, weird crystals in the walls that lit the way in, that strange writing back on the surface. All of these were mysteries and questions that the middle aged man would have rather not try to answer.

“You are a coward Frederique! Where is your sense of courage? Your passion for the unknown?” asked Tullos with a grin of excitement on his face.

“Probably in my other pants my lord, should I go get them? I'm sure if we climb back up and return to the village for the night I'll find my courage to continue tomorrow? Maybe after we tell the village head and we form a real party?” whimpered the man.

“Sigh. You are no fun Frederique. But I won't stop now! I am certain that we will find great treasures down there!” said Tullos with a smirk on his face.

“But my lord... Oh very well, but I don't like this at all! Something tells me we shouldn't be down here...” said Frederique as he looked at the walls around him as if afraid something might jump out of them and strangle the very life out of him.

Tullos shook his head left to right. He couldn't believe that his father hired such a wimp to protect him. On the other hand Kyros had been quiet for a while now. He didn't seem to be frightened or whimpering like a certain grown up in their group. Curious of this, Tullos approached the young boy and asked him:

“Kyros! Do you share the same thoughts as Frederique?”

Blinking as if awoken from a dream, Kyros first looked at Tullos and then at Frederique. It took him a moment to realize what he had been asked and then shook his head.

“No, Tullos I strangely feel a deep connection to this place, like we are supposed to be here.” he said and then touched the wall next to him. “There is something here that is calling out to me, to us...” he continued to speak with a rather serious tone in his voice and a meditative look in his eyes.

The first thing that Frederique picked up from the young boy's words was the fact that he had used the young master's name to address him directly without the required titles or honorifics. The rest of his words which sounded rather serious and beyond his age were ignored completely. For a slave to address his master directly was unthinkable and because of that Frederique spoke out:

“Kyros! How dares a slave address the young master by speaking directly his name?! It should be master Tullos or my lord Tullos! But never by the young master's direct name!”

Both of the children were surprised by the man's reaction, especially Kyros whom just a while ago was calmed down by him when he was afraid of the horse. At first he didn't understood what he had done wrong and looked down to the ground in submission. Kyros remembered that the young master allowed him to call him by his name and he did so before, but he did not realize that for Frederique this was the first time something like this has happened.

There was no way that Kyros would speak out to the man, so Tullos was the one to do so. After all, he was the one that allowed Kyros to address him by his name and he would certainly not allow him to go back to being called young master or the like. Tullos, unlike the children of other big merchants or nobles, wasn't too fond of being called like that.

“Frederique! That's enough!” Tullos said as he raised his hand in front of the man.

“But young master...”

“No buts Frederique! I was the one who allowed Kyros to call me without any of those boring honorifics! I don't like them anyway and I also told you to do the same a lot of times!” said the young child as he scolded the middle aged man.

“But young master, you surely have to understand that one in a position such as yours has to...”

The old man's words were cut off midway by the child as he glared at him.

“Even you are using these words wrong Frederique! I am not a lord to be called my lord, nor am I a knight to be called sir! And while I am my father's son and I should be called young master by those hired by father and also by his slaves, I dislike to be called in such a way!” he said it loud and clear for Frederique to hear him.

“I understand young master...” the man bowed his head in submission.

“Good! If I say not to use that then don't! So what do you call me?” he asked.

“Youn... Tullos?” asked the man with a bit of reluctance in the tone of his voice.

“Good!” replied Tullos as he showed him a happy smile. “Now let us move on! We need to find the treasures at the end of these stairs.

“Sigh... as you wish youn... Tullos.” said Frederique, correcting himself at the very last moment.

Kyros did not actively participate in this conversation. He had no right to say anything and besides he didn't know if there even was something that he could say. The young master was the only one that could decide how to be called and when. It was his right and both Kyros and Frederique knew they had to listen to him. From another point of view though, Kyros was preoccupied with something else. Ever since he entered this weird hidden tunnel, he felt an uneasy force that was pulling him further and further inside. It was a force that he knew he didn't need to be afraid of, but at the same time he knew that this force was incredibly dangerous. The others however didn't seem to be able to notice this though. Maybe he was the only one that was so strongly pulled into the depths of this possible nightmare.

About twenty minutes later they finally reached the end of the stairs. Frederique sighed in relief, however the moment he looked back and saw how many steps he would need to climb in order to get back to the surface, he paled and dropped on his knees.

“This is impossible young master Tullos!” he whined as he already forgot the child’s request.

Tullos however ignored the old man. He was more fascinated by the door in front of him. It was a door made of metal and with a size and shape he had never seen or heard of before. Then again he was only twelve years old so you couldn't say that he had seen much in his life. Kyros was in a similar position. They both looked with big eyes and were amazed by this construction. The door was around 4 meters (13 feet) tall and 4.5 meters (14.7 feet) wide. Its color was similar to a knight's steel shield and upon touch it gave off a similar cold metallic feeling. There didn't seem to be any lever or way to push or pull the door open, but the perfectly vertical crack in the middle suggested that they were actually sliding doors, just like those at the entrance back on the surface.

“What a strange thing to find... It's metal, but it certainly is a door of some sorts.” said Frederique as he approached the metal door while the two children were just staring at the entire thing. “I think we should head back now young master. Look, there is no handle or lever! We can't open it, so it would be best to return to our homes and maybe enjoy a peaceful and relaxing night without needing to worry that a monster or trap might fall on us? I'm sure your mother made an excellent Suki pie as well! You wouldn't want to miss on that would you young master?” asked humbly the middle aged man, although it was clear that he was really frightened of all of these weird things.

For a moment Tullos seemed to be seriously pondering about Frederique's proposition about going back and enjoying the pie his mother made, however in front of such an amazing find, would it have been the right thing a true adventurer would do? Tullos shook his head and tried to forget about the delicious pie for the moment and instead focus on the task at hand: opening the door.

“No! We shall continue! Mother's pie can wait another day, but a treasure and adventure never waits!” he stated proudly and then patting the door with his hand he asked “Now how do we open this?”

As Tullos wondered about this, Kyros noticed something strange on the right side, it looked like a small box stuck to the wall. He approached it carefully and took a better look at it. There was some writing on it and some weird colored vines coming out from the bottom part. The vines were covered with dust and didn't seem to be part of something alive. Kyros reached out and then pulled one of the vines that had red and yellow stripes on it. He heard a click inside the box and then the vine came loose. Startled he dropped it and jumped back. He looked at the box carefully, waiting the critter that made that noise to come out of it.

“Kyros? Did you find something?” asked Tullos surprised by the young slave's reaction.

Kyros pointed at the colored vine that was now dangling under the strange box.

“What's that?” asked Tullos as he approached it curiously.

“Young master, I don't think you should be touching that! You don't know what it will do. What if it is some sort of dangerous trap?” asked Frederique from all the way where he was standing right next to the stairs.

Tullos ignored the man and then poked the colored vine with his finger, but there was no reaction from it except a seemingly harmless dangle. Looking up, he then saw the writing and noticed that it was in the Kyoran language.

“Open. Close.” Tullos said as he read out loud what was written on the box.

“Open? Close? Is it referring to this door?” asked Kyros.

“I think so.” said Tullos and then reaching out he pressed his hand on the part that said 'open', but there was no reaction.

“Is it broken?” asked Kyros.

“Maybe.” replied the young master and then suddenly noticed the weird vine coming out of the box “Ah! It might be because of this!” he said and then poked the colored vine again, “I think it needs to get back in there.”

“Be careful Tullos, Frederique might be right and this might be a trap.” Kyros said a bit worried for his safety.

“Yes yes, please let us return then young master. No use to stake our lives for something like opening a door!” the man begged again.

“Hm.” Tullos ignored Frederique once more and instead focused on how to push the vine back in the box.

Tullos reached out and grabbed weird vine by the end. He noticed that it was metallic, just like that door. The vine itself upon touch had a sensation the boy never felt before. It was like metal but not metal, it could bend easily and it certainly wasn't from a plant. This new discovery made his eyes gleam with joy as he had finally found something that no one else managed to discover before! Thus, without further delay he stuffed it back inside through the hole under the box.

“There!” he said with a smirk and then reached up to press on the word again, but there was no reaction this time either. Disappointed, he made a pouting face and then crossed his arms at his chest. “It didn't work!” he complained.

“Phew!” Frederique exhaled with a bit of relief. He was the only one that seemed to be glad it didn't work.

“Why didn't it work?! Why?” Tullos whined and then hit the box with his fist. “Why?! Stupid thing!” he said and hit again.

The second strike was enough to loosen a metallic plate from its lower part. It dropped to the ground, revealing some of the insides of the box. There were a lot more colored vines in there and other pieces of metal that neither of them could tell what use they had.

Surprised by this, Kyros and Tullos both took a closer look at the box while Frederique cursed the luck of the two kids.

Why don't the gods listen to me and let us go back home? I'm sure nothing good will come out of this “adventure”! I beg of you mighty gods in the sky that watch over us, don't let those brats find a way to open this metal door! Frederique thought as he prayed in his mind to all the known gods.

His wish however would not get fulfilled as young Tullos noticed something peculiar with the vines and the metal pieces of the box. Each of the vines seemed to be coming out or going back into one of the metal pieces. There were a few free holes in which the end of the dangling colored vine seemed to be able to fit perfectly. Wishing to test his curiosity, Tullos picked up the vine and inserted the metallic end into one of the small holes in the metallic part. There was click as it connected and then suddenly the words on the box lit up.

“Magic!” said Tullos with big eyes and before Frederique had a chance to whine again, he pressed on the word 'open', but still it didn't work. “Why?” he asked surprised.

Kyros looked at the box as well and noticed that there were two bumps under the letters. “Maybe you should press this?” asked the boy as he reached out and pressed the bump under 'open'. Suddenly another click was heard and the doors started to move. The two big metal pieces started to slide left and right, brushing off all of the dust they had gathered over the passing of centuries. However the system wasn't able to fully open the doors so they got stuck midway, the 'open' button then turned red and started to blink.

“It stopped.” said Kyros.

“Let's go in!” Tullos said excited as he rushed through the gap between the sliding doors. Kyros quickly followed him in.

“Wait young master! What if it actually closes behind us?” asked Frederique as he skittishly followed them through.

On the other side of the sliding doors they were met with an out of the world view. This entire room was a bit bigger than the door, maybe by 1 meter (3.28 feet) or so in height and around 4 meters (13 feet) wide left and right from the door, at a total of 12.5 meters (41 feet) width. The floor was plated with metal, the walls as well. Wherever they looked they saw only metal. Square parts of the ceiling were bright as a fire lighting up the room, some were broken showing that they were made of glass, while others flickered as though the light was having an intense battle with the darkness that surrounded this entire place. The three noticed that the furniture was also very weird. Throughout the room there were a lot of boxes scattered around. A few of them were broken and they could see similar colored vines connecting the pieces found inside of them. Some were bigger and others were smaller. There were what appeared to be chairs on wheels and desks made of weird materials.

“This must be a den of demons... these things... I have never seen such things before...” said Frederique with a whimper as he looked at all the strange things in the room and carefully followed the boys deeper inside this room. Between the three of them he was the most frightened, but the two children showed no fear, if anything they showed excitement. Kyros even seemed to have lost his humble attitude as a slave that waited patiently for his master to order him around and right now was actually looking around at all that weird stuff.

“These are bones aren't they?” asked Kyros as he approached one of the tables on which laid a big skeleton in a strange armor. Judging by the holes in the armor the being that wore it before was impaled multiple times with some sort of weapon.

Tullos approached him and looked at the strange bones. He reached out to touch them but then Frederique immediately grabbed his hand and stopped him.

“Young master, don't disturb the dead or you will be cursed by them! This thing could have been a demon or worse!” said the old man.

Tullos looked up at him and glared. “You believe too much in such things!” he retorted.

“But young master...” said Frederique as he let go of his hand, startled by the sharp tone in the child's voice.

“The dead won't curse us.” Tullos said with a calmer tone.

“How do you know young master? If its true and it does curses us, you don't know what might happen! We could even lose our lives!” said Frederique quite truly afraid of such things.

Tullos looked at the old skeleton and for a moment he wondered if the old man might actually be right? No... he thought as he shook his head. This is only an old superstition and... I can feel it. Nothing will happen if I touch this skeleton... thought the child and then reached out once more for the skeleton.

“Tullos!” said Kyros and his words stopped the young master from touching the old bones. Frederique exhaled in relief.

“What is it Kyros?” he asked, but still looked at the oddly shaped bones. They were definitely not human. They reminded him of the bones of the lizard he once ate in the city a year ago. They looked similar, but he doubted they could be of the same species.

“I found another one of those strange doors.” said the boy.

Tullos immediately turned his attention to Kyros and saw him on the other side of the room in front of a big door, similar to the one they managed to open earlier. On the right side there was a metal box with the words 'open' and 'close' on it. However above the room there was a sign written in the Kyoran language. It couldn't be read because parts of it were broken and the others covered by a thick layer of dust.

“Let's open it!” said the Tullos.

“Let's not young master...” suggested Frederique as he approached the two children. He looked up at the sign above the room and wondered if that wasn’t actually some sort of warning or curse.

Kyros reached for the bump on the metal box and then pressed it. The door slid open and granted them access to another room. Exited the children went in and shortly after they were followed by Fredrique. Once inside they gazed their eyes upon something they could not have imagined before. Although beautiful in a astonishing way and attractive beyond measure, that which laid in front of them was also something that could have been meant to make their hearts clench in fear. It was something that was truly out of this world.

“May the heavens protect us...” said Frederique as he trembled in fear at the sight that laid before his very eyes.

“What is this?” asked Tullos and no matter how courageous and fearless he seemed for a child, he was still a child nonetheless. Tears swelled in his eyes and he fell down on his behind. His hands started to tremble as well, but although his body reacted in such a way, his heart laid still, like a warrior facing a worthy opponent against whom the smallest mistake could lead to his doom.

The only one that wasn’t so affected by this strange sight was Kyros. Although his body had been seized by fear for a moment, his heart pounded strong and he made a step forward. He raised his hand up and he looked at what was in front of him.

“She's... beautiful...” said the child.