Myla looked at her chronoband. It’d only been about ten minutes since they’d entered the spiral staircase that led down to the Daejic Temple basement. Yet, it seemed as if they’d been walking downstairs much longer than that—in silence. Ugh! She glanced over her shoulder. There was no hint of natural light reflected against the stone walls anymore.They were too far down the stairwell. It was difficult to tell how far down, though.

She cleared her throat. “There really is no one down here, is there? It’s so...quiet.”

“Yep,” Karawn said.

“Haven’t you ever wondered why the Daejic Advizars bother to keep this accessible if it’s so dangerous?”

“Sometimes.”

“And…?”

Karawn let out a long sigh. “Well, before Malik and I became GWs, we use to talk about stuff like this. We thought maybe it’s just some ancient king’s tomb, some ruler of the long gone Kawa’kai civilization that built this temple. The monsters in the catacombs story was probably made up by our Dekas, just to keep the Daejic pupils from desecrating sacred ground. Ha! A lot of good that has done. Huh?”

“Uh huh, right.” She perked up. It wasn’t typical for Karawn to talk about some controversial Daejic subject in a public place. Though it wasn’t very ‘public’ down here. It’s unlikely anyone would hear them now. “But why bother keeping this stairwell open if it wasn’t something associated with the Daejic?”

“Well, wait a minute.” Karawn snapped his fingers. “Don’t ya recall around ten years ago, Elon Gauld announced that he was gonna do something no Arch Advizar had dared before? Have this place sealed up.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right! I remember now.”

“And remember all the strange and unexplained events? The unexpected collapse of the basement chamber on some of the demolition crew. Killed several roags, I think. After that, Elon mysteriously abandoned the project.”

“I remember that too.” She nodded, then lowered her voice. “I bet you didn’t know that Elon Gauld came down here alone after that fatal incident, to investigate the occurrences and try to disprove any false superstitions.”

“Nope. How did ya find that out?”

“Medikar Laah shared it with me”—she glanced behind her—“in private, so don’t tell anyone.”

“You know me Myla. I won’t. So what happened?”

“Well, there really isn’t much more to the story. Just that Elon Gauld returned unscathed. And you know the rest. The project was dropped just like that. Seems that Elon Gauld has never brought it up since. So, don’t you find that strange?”

Karawn was silent before he stopped and pivoted to face her. Now at head level with her, his steel-gray eyes stared deep into hers. A grave tone entered his voice. “There are many things I’ve started to wonder about the Daejic Advizars. Especially our Arch Advizar. Now more than ever, Myla, I’ve begun to question the real motives behind my missions. I feel like my missions benefit only certain groups. If ya know what I mean.”

“Is this what’s been bothering you? Your last mission to…wherever?”

Karawn pursed his lips and looked away. Then seconds later he returned his gaze to her, his tone of voice was even more foreboding. “Yeah, one of a recent few. But this isn’t the time or place to discuss it.”

With obvious finality, he spun back around and continued down the ancient, carved-stone stairwell.

Myla bit her lips and followed. Now her prior suspicions were confirmed. Something from Karawn’s recent missions did bother him. Oh Coraalon! She wrung her hands, then placed one over her heart. This was a dangerous direction for Karawn to head. To question the intent of the Daejic Advizars was serious, something considered near treason. It always resulted in some sort of disciplinary action. In some extreme cases, a public lashing. She shuddered. So barbaric! Yet, it was no longer a surprise why he kept his thoughts hidden. But what had happened?

Below her, Karawn’s nine mottled slate-blue and turquoise head-tails jostled with each step. She frowned. The answers to her questions would have to wait. Karawn’s mind was a steel cage. There were certain things he kept hidden from her. Said it was best for her not to know, for her protection. She flattened her lips. Sometimes it’d be nice if he’d clue her in on them. Yet, what would she do with the information? She rolled her eyes. Worry and lose sleep, of course. And that’s probably why he didn’t tell her.

In silence, Myla followed him down the stairs. She checked her chronoband. They’d been walking for about twenty minutes. Had to be near the bottom by now. She breathed in deep, then scrunched her nose. The air was even more stale and musty than before. They had to be close.

With her next step, her stomach churned—for no apparent reason. Another sudden dizziness swept over her. She reached out to steady herself against the wall beside her, but at the last minute stopped herself. The wall moved. She held her lumestick up to it. Then wrinkled her nose and recoiled. Oh Coraalon’s curse, gross! Beetles and other slithering bugs, some the size of her fist scattered away from the light. Buried themselves deeper into the green moss and slimy mold that grew thick upon the wall. She glanced down at Karawn’s back. He hadn’t stopped. And she wasn’t going to request it. So, with a disgruntled sigh, Myla continued forward, down another step—

“Aiyee!” The stair under her foot crumbled away. She slipped forward. Yet, somehow managed to reclaim her footing, without touching the wall. What luck!

“Myla!” Karawn rushed back up to her. “Are you okay?”

“I guess so. The stairs…I can’t tell which ones are solid and which aren’t. They all look the same. And the wall…ew, gross!”

He smiled and held out his hand. “Take my hand, and follow my lead.”

She wiped her sweaty palm off upon her pants, then placed her hand in his. “Thanks. I’ll do my best.”

Again, they continued down the stairwell in the dim light. And as Karawn suggested, she followed his lead. Her feet landed on solid ground now. Under her breath, she grumbled. At least Karawn’s Daejic Warrior skills proved useful. Unlike her Mystik skills, which proved useless so far.

Myla stepped down, but this time missed Karawn’s lead. The soft rosestone step disintegrated under her foot.

“Aiyee!” She slid down, this time straight into Karawn’s back. For the love of Coraalon! Snap out of it! Focus on the now and pay attention to Karawn’s footing. Or continue to slip up and look and feel like an idiot.

Karawn grunted low. Somehow he maintained his footing and balance, despite her tumble into him. He turned and wrapped his hands about her waist. “Hey, are ya gonna make it?”

“Oh, it’s just these stairs! I hope that the catacombs aren’t as bad.”

“I hope not too, but good news. I believe we’re almost to the bottom.” He released his hands from her waist. Then held his hand out to her. “Let’s keep moving.”

Myla nodded and grasped his strong hand. Then followed his lead down the remainder of the way. Sure enough, after several more steps down and around another bend, they arrived at the bottom. She stepped down behind Karawn onto the landing and let out a little sigh of relief. Thank Coraalon. Solid footing again.

Karawn turned and looked down at her, then gestured to the massive ornate gilded door, again flanked by two Custodians. “See, we’re here.”

“Great…more Custodians? Oh, so creepy!” Her eyes studied the silent automatons. The Custodian’s dark glass lenses seemed to follow her every move. She hugged her arms around her own body. “Do you know if they’ve ever missed a recognition in error?”

“Nope, I don’t. But I’m not too crazy about them, either.” Karawn pulled out his datadev and obtained the door code. He brought his finger up to the keypad, then paused and shot her a ridiculous smile. “I’ll try not activate them with the wrong code. Unless…ya want me to check and see if they’re working.”

“Oh Karawn. Stop it!”

Karawn shrugged. “Just trying to lighten the mood Myla.”

“Well, it’s not working. So far this mission has been a disaster for me.”

His playful smile fell away. “Yeah, I’m sorry.”

With a serious look upon his face, Karawn turned and punched the code into the keypad. The gilded metal door inscribed with an ancient dialect and other undecipherable symbols screeched. The rusty gears and inner mechanisms, forced to respond, complained. It continued to screech as it slid along ancient rails, until it stopped. Now open.

Karawn held his hand up to her. “Stay here.”

Her eyes darted past him into the dark chamber. “Fine by me.”

Karawn stepped through the entryway with caution. The ancient lighting system within the basement chamber flickered on. Pretty amazing. Especially, since it had never been replaced—as far as she knew anyway. Karawn disappeared from her line of sight, but was only gone for a minute.

He returned and gestured to her. “Come on. It’s safe. Nothing here.”

“What do you mean ‘nothing here’? Were you expecting something?”

“Honestly Myla, I don’t know what to expect. Never been down here before.”

“Oh…well, okay.”

Myla swallowed down her nerves. Well, here goes that next step…

Before she lost her nerve, Myla stepped through the entryway into a massive underground chamber. Her eyes widened with wonderment. So this was the basement of the Daejic Temple. What an archaeological marvel! She looked about. And so majestic. Even though the chamber was in obvious ruins. Scattered about were large piles of rubble. Broken pieces of the ancient ceiling and walls had fallen. They now littered the stone tile floor of the massive chamber. To her left was a walkway that ran between two rows of towering columns. Her eyes followed along the walkway to a huge mound of stone debris in the dark distance.

She walked over to where Karawn stood, near the start of the walkway. “What do you think this place was used for?”

Karawn shrugged his shoulders. “Your guess is as good as mine.” Then he walked away.

Ugh! Can’t stand those flippant responses. Now one thing was becoming very clear. Karawn hadn’t turned out to be much of a conversationalist during this mission. Was he always this way on his missions, or just with her? She furrowed her brow. Something told her, it was best to leave that mystery alone for now.

A glint of something sparkled within a nearby column. Curious, she walked over to investigate it. Aha, the glint came from semiprecious stones embedded within the column. She ran her lumestick along its deteriorating surface. Some stones were missing. But even more curious were these faint black markings that appeared amid faded paintings and the semiprecious stones. They looked to be some ancient script. She stared at the symbols. Too bad her Mystik Sonarum couldn’t decipher ancient writings and symbols. It’d be a real useful skill at times like this.

"I never quite imagined this place in this way. I wonder what all these paintings and symbols mean?” She looked over at Karawn.

He grabbed his canteen, opened it, and chugged down some water. Then wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "I don’t know, but I suspect it’s another thing our illustrious Arch Advizar keeps secret from us. Water?”

She shook her head. “No thanks.”

“You really should—”

There was a thunderous rumble. Followed by a loud crack.

Myla looked up, her hand flew to her mouth. She froze. “The ceiling! It’s giving way!”

Stone and dusty debris fell around her as she felt a hard shove back. It was Karawn. He’d reacted lightning fast.

“Oomph!” She fell back onto her rump. Clear from the danger. But Karawn…?

Dust lingered in the air. She coughed and peered about, then spotted him. Not far away, Karawn laid on the ground near—

“Aaahhh! My leg!” Karawn roared out as he sat up.

“Karawn!” She hopped up and ran over to him. Then stopped. Her stomach churned. Oh, this looked bad. Karawn’s lower right leg was trapped under a rather large slab of stone ceiling. “Your leg is—”

“YEAH! I know!” He gritted his teeth, his face contorted with a look of excruciating pain. After several quick raspy breaths, he spoke in a forced, controlled manner. “I’m gonna lift this. But need you to move my leg clear of it…just in case I can’t. Think you can handle that?”

Myla knelt down beside him, opposite the huge stone slab. “Yes, but it may hurt you.”

“Having this on top of my leg will hurt me more.”

“Good point.” She swallowed hard. Karawn knew what he was doing. He just needed her to move his leg. That was all.

She shuffled across from him and knelt back down. With caution, she squeezed her hands under the stone and around his pinned leg, then nodded. “Okay. I’m ready when you are.”

Karawn placed his hands under the stone slab. Then with a loud grunt, lifted it. Through clenched teeth he growled, “Now!”

She quickly slid his right leg to the side. “It’s clear!”

A pained look spasmed across his face. He grimaced and bit his lips, then released the slab. It crashed down to the stone tile floor and cracked into several pieces.

Shocked and speechless, Myla stared at his arms and hands. Karawn was obviously strong, a GW. Yet, to be able to pick up that giant slab of rock…well, it was unreal. And with the pain he must be in—

“DAMMIT!” Karawn bit his lip, then examined his lower right leg and winced. “I’m hurt bad, Myla. My Sonarum sang to me, but not soon enough. Though I guess it’s still better than either one of us getting crushed under all that.”

Her eyes followed the direction his finger pointed. Not far behind him was a massive pile of stone and ceiling tile. She swallowed hard. It was where she once stood. And still would be, if Karawn hadn’t reacted so incredibly fast.

“Uh huh. If it wasn’t for you, Karawn…another second of hesitation, and we’d both be—” She cut herself off. Oh Coraalon! To even think about what could’ve been, made her sick. So it was best to bury the thought away. Now it was her time to be useful. Finally. To use her Mystik abilities. And help him.

Myla focused on Karawn’s injured leg. “Can you move it at all?”

“Well…let’s see.” Karawn furrowed his brow and stared at his injured right leg. A look of strain followed by severe agony flashed across his face, even before he moved his leg. He slammed his fist into the ground. “NO! The pain…it’s impossible!”

“Where does it hurt?”

He pointed to his lower right leg. “There and there, and…gumpf! All of it!”

“Okay. Calm down. Let’s take a look.” She unfastened his karvorskin combat boot and began to pull it off.

“Grrrr…ow! Hey stop! That hurts.”

Myla stopped and threw her hands up. “It’s got to come off so I can heal you. Either I can take it off, or you can.”

“Rrrrr…fine! I will do it.”

“Fine.” She knelt back on her haunches.

Karawn’s jaw tightened. With apparent caution, he removed his black combat boot, followed by his bonto cloth foot-wrap.

Bile rose up her throat, she swallowed the sour contents back down. Oh Coraalon! The sight of his injury was revolting. The large calf bone above his swollen right ankle poked out against the bruised dark-purple skin. A sure sign that it was broken.

“Dammit! Not good.” Karawn grimaced and looked at her. “Now what?”

“I’m going to heal it. But first, we’ve got to set the bone straight.” She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Karawn. This will hurt…again.”

“Figures. And I don’t have any strong pain killer in my survival med pak to numb it. Gumpf!” He gritted his teeth. “Can’t ya just heal it as is?”

“No, the bone won’t mend right. Not even with my Sonarum.”

“Well then, guess I’ve no choice…just be quick about it.”

She repositioned herself at his feet, to be in line with his broken leg. “Just lay back and try to relax. I’ll be quick.”

Karawn grumbled something under his breath, then laid back and closed his eyes.

She studied him, then placed her hands in position about the broken bone. Alright, steady now. She called upon her Sonarum. It whispered to her. She followed its guide. Her delicate aquana hands moved fast with precision.

There was a distinct snap.

“AAAAHHHH!” Karawn yelled. “That jalkin’ hurt!”

“I told you it would!” She shook her finger at him. Then lowered it. Getting into a shouting match wouldn’t help matters. She softened her expression. “The good thing is, the bone is set in place. Now I can heal it.”

“Great. So, is that gonna hurt too?”

“No, not normally.” She cleared her throat. Karawn didn’t need to know the gruesome details of what could go wrong. Hmm, odd how he acted like this was his first broken bone—kind of a surprise, considering his GW profession. She shot him a reassuring smile. “Though you may feel a strange tingle, but it shouldn’t hurt.”

“Yeah right…tingle, suppose I can deal with that.”

“Just stay still and don’t say anything.” She repositioned her hands over his right calf bone and again drew upon her Sonarum. It sang within her, then resonated out of her hands. She closed her eyes. In her mind’s eye, she envisioned Karawn’s injury. Second by second, it began to heal. First the swelling disappeared. Then the purple tinge faded and his bone mended itself, while the skin returned to its natural blue-green color.

Again her Sonarum whispered. The injury was healed. She opened her eyes and examined his right leg. Sure enough, it was just as her Sonarum had whispered and was envisioned in her mind. Healed to perfection.

“All done.” She gazed down at him and beamed.

“Not so fast. First, gotta test it out.” Karawn sat up, then lifted his right leg and rolled his ankle around. “Wow! Just like new. So, has anyone told ya?”

“Told me what?”

He placed his hands on each of her shoulders and leaned in. Then smiled. “You’re amazing!”

She lowered her eyes. “Ah, thanks. I’m glad I could do it. Sometimes it doesn’t work.”

“You should give yourself more credit Myla. You are amazing.”

She blushed. “Thanks Karawn.”

“You shouldn’t thank me. It’s the truth.” Karawn glanced down at his chronoband, his smile fell away. “Damn, we really need to get going. Give me a second to get my foot-wrap and boot back on.”

“Alright.” She stood up and brushed the dust off her pants. “If you feel any pain. Let me know.”

“Believe me, Myla. It’s great—just like new.” Karawn smiled at her again. Then turned his attention to his right lower leg. He rolled the long strip of bonto cloth around his foot up and over his pants to his mid-calf, then slipped his wrapped foot back into his boot.

Myla watched Karawn fasten his combat boot. That was a close call. And hopefully the last. She wiped her brow. That heal was a big drain on her Sonarum—the special song within her that was needed to guide them through the catacombs, to the pupils, and back out again. Unfortunately this special energy within her was limited, just as it was in all Daejic. So, it would need to be conserved from now on for the purpose of pathfinding.

She turned her back to him and called upon her Sonarum, then released it. Thank Coraalon, they should be fine. There was just enough Sonarum in reserve for the pathfinding task. But if they needed to heal anyone else, she’d have to rest first. Let her Sonarum replenish itself.

Something rustled behind her. She spun around. Then relaxed. Oh, it was just Karawn. He stood before her. Looked good as new, as if nothing had ever happened. Except, there was that obvious look of concern plastered on his face.

“You okay?” Karawn asked.

“Yes…” She waved him off. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just a little drained. But I’ll be fine.”

“Well, let me know if ya need rest. And drink some water, Myla. I insist.” He held out his canteen to her again. Somehow Karawn saved it from spilling or getting crushed when the ceiling collapsed.

“Oh, alright.” Myla nodded, grabbed the canteen from his hands, and drank from it. Had to admit it did taste good. Seemed to give her a little boost of energy. She sipped it several more times and handed it back to him. “Thanks. I’m good. Now stop worrying about me. I’m okay.”

He nodded and accepted the canteen back from her. Once more, he gulped some more water down. Then wiped his mouth on the back of his karvorskin bracers and returned the canteen to his utility belt. “Okay. Guess it’s time to open that door now.”

Together they walked over to the fancy gilded metal door that led to the ancient Forbidden Catacombs. Within these catacombs somewhere, five Daejic pupils were lost. Hopefully, they were still alive. Though they should be as long as nothing got to them. They’d been missing for only a day.

"Guess this is it." Karawn shrugged and looked back at her. Once again, he grabbed his datadev and turned it on to search for the code. The device sputtered and went dead.

“Damn this thing! I made sure it was charged before I left this morning. Should work.” Karawn smacked the side of it to the palm of his hand.

Myla bit her lip and held back her laugh. But couldn’t hide her smirk. This was Karawn’s typical method for fixing tek. Like he stated before. Tek just wasn’t his thing.

“Ya piece of featherface chinsie gumpf! Work dammit!” Once again he smacked it. Then, as if that was all it needed, the screen flickered back on.

With a ridiculous look of bravado, he smiled at her. “See, like magic.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Right.”

Karawn’s amusement faded. He again became serious while he obtained the code from the now cooperative datadev, then he punched it in.

Similar to the prior gates and doors in the Daejic Temple, this gilded door to the Forbidden Catacombs opened with screeches and whines. Yet that was where the similarity stopped. She peered into the tunnel and shivered. A heavy gloom hung about it. This tunnel was so damp, dark and musty. Even more so than the spiral stairway. She clenched her teeth. This mission to find the missing Daejic pupils, it was almost like a really bad dream. And maybe it was. Maybe any moment she’d wake up beside Karawn in her comparta bed. Her now stolen amulet, not really stolen, but on her nightstand.

“Hey, I’d say aquanas first”—Karawn flashed her his typical warm and charming half-smile—“but not this time. I’ll go first, Myla.”

Her fear faded. Oh, that smile of his was so irresistible. No darkness or gloom could stand up to it, or so it seemed. She reached up and caressed his cheek. “I’m happy to let you. I don’t need to see with my eyes to guide us. I will let you know what direction we should go."

His dashing smile vanished. And just as fast, he grabbed her hand and yanked it down. Reacted as if her touch burned him. “We shouldn’t right now. Ya don’t know if the Custodians are recording us.”

“I—” She stopped and bit her lip. There was no point in arguing. Karawn was right. Those creepy Custodians could be recording them.

Karawn released her hand, held his lumestick before him, and stepped forward into the catacombs. The darkness of the tunnel enveloped him. Seemed to swallow his tall, strong silhouette as if it were a hungry demon.

No more than ten-ped inside the tunnel, he turned to look at her. "Coming, or ya afraid of the dark?"

"Of course I’m not afraid of the dark! It’s the things that live in the dark.”

He lowered his voice, just so she could hear him—as if there was anyone else, other than the Custodians. "That’s why I’m here. No worries, I will protect you."

She swallowed hard and stepped forward into the catacombs. The darkness was suffocating. Seemed as if it wanted to snuff the lumestick in her hand and her life out all at once. One last time, she peered over her shoulder. The light that seemed dim in the chamber prior, now appeared to be like sunshine compared to this dark tunnel. But that didn’t matter. There were Daejic pupils to save. And that was what she was going to do, regardless of her fears.

So with no further thought, she held up her lumestick and trotted up to her guardian Ghost Warrior. “What are you waiting for? I’m ready, let’s go.”

Karawn glanced down at her with one raised eyebrow, then smirked. “Which way shall we go, Deka Ad’uar?”

She placed her hands on her hips. There were only two obvious routes. The one was the way they had just come. She frowned up at him. The time to joke was over. Time to get down to business. She pointed her lumestick into the foreboding gloom before them. “Just straight ahead, Commander Kross.”

He nodded. Then with a determined expression set upon his face, Karawn turned and led the way into the catacombs.

She squeezed her hand tight about her lumestick and followed him into the yawning darkness. This was the last place in this galaxy she ever wanted to go. But that was irrelevant now. What mattered, as always, was the mission at hand—rescue the missing Daejic pupils.

Next Chapter: Chapter 5