Chapter 28

After performing the ablutions of washing their hands and feet, the men donned their packs and headed out of the room. Expecting to turn left and return to the stairwell, they were confronted with a new passage that took them to the right. The walls were the common stone, and the ubiquitous light lit the way. None of them said a word as Danel led the way.

They came to a wide staircase, one that belonged in a grand hall or a monarch’s palace. The stairway did not resemble the usual stairways of the Library of Ibados for this one was ornate patterns of different marbles, both the steps and the rails. The caps on the rails did not glow blue with the power of the Library of Ibados. All three remarked that the staircase was different, leaving Danel to suppress a shudder of fear as he recalled their speculations while they rested in the Chapel of Ablutions, as he had decided to label the last room.

Still, he felt the staircase was an indication that they were close. He elected to allow inertia to propel him down the stairs. Instead of the usual rhythm of twelve stairs, mid-landing, and twelve more stairs, this wide staircase was twenty steps to the mid landing, which was itself split into two steps. Their footfalls echoed on the walls as they descended.

At the midpoint landing, Danel leaned forward and bent his head to view the bottom of the staircase. He saw the same number of stairs that ended on a stairwell of the same assorted marbles. Two large wooden doors with cast iron handles stood to block their way. The wood was made of thick planks with great iron rivets. Oddly, the wood was smoothed and perhaps sealed, but it was not polished. These were not ornate doors.

“All clear to the bottom,” Danel declared. Silently, they continued their descent to the bottom of the stairs. They stood and examined the doors.

“They look sturdy,” Janner said. “Are they locked?”

“There is only one way to answer that question,” Danel said, stepping forward.

“No, allow me,” Rahim said, easing Danel aside. “Save your foolish chances for when you really need them. Luck is a terrible thing to waste.”

Danel did not protest. He returned to the first stair to wait while Janner shifted and brought his weapon to bear. “The door pushes outward,” Rahim declared before grasping the large circle of iron. He pushed and the wood groaned. He pushed harder and the wood groaned louder. Rahim turned and leaned his shoulder into the door while bracing his feet to aid more power to his effort. The door moved a tiny bit, then it moved more. Rahim released his stance, and stood, rolling his shoulders. He leaned back to the task a little lower and with a grunt gave a mighty push. The wood protested as the door slowly opened, but not all the way. Rahim plugged himself in the gap and using that leverage, managed to open the door wide enough for a man to pass through easily, even with a backpack.

Danel stepped into the room and found himself standing in a rotunda with an obelisk in the middle. On the side of the carved rock, he could see the Obelisk was inscribed with one word that began at the top and finished at the bottom, one letter underneath the other. Danel could not read the alphabet; he did not recognize it.

“There are two chambers, one to the left and one to the right,” Rahim said. “Each of the doorways is protected by a gargoyle above it.”

“Gargoyles,” Danel spat with bitterness.

“What’s with the gargoyles?” Janner asked.

Danel crossed his arms. “In the Second Level basement, the gargoyles first warn visitors that there is hazardous material in the rooms. If the material gets loose, the gargoyles will sound an alarm.”

“What kind of hazardous material?”

“Plague,” Danel said simply. “I don’t see a basin for disposing of the plague though. The hazard may be something else entirely. We should examine both chambers.”

Danel walked towards the chamber, glancing upward to view the next side of the obelisk. The word inscribed was in a different alphabet, one he knew. His breath caught in his throat.

“What?” Janner asked, looking from Danel’s face to the erected stone.

“The inscription reads: Ibados.”

“Truly?”

Danel did not answer. Instead, he walked around to the next side of the obelisk and inspected a third alphabet. “Ibados.” He turned to the last side of the obelisk and observed the rudimentary pictograms. He had no doubt what these pictograms meant. He whipped out his journal and copied the letters on each side.

“Is this the grave of the Blessed One?” Rahim wanted to know.

“Grave or memorial,” Danel said. “The block upon which the obelisk rests appears to be one huge, carved piece of black marble. It could be the lid of a grave, but no one is ever going to lift it to find out.” He looked up from his journal. “What’s in the chambers?”

“I can’t explain it,” Rahim said. “I thought at first the right chamber was an embalming table. The shape and placement are too impractical for natron salt treatments. You must come see.”

Danel put his journal away and followed Rahim into the chamber. The room looked like it was carved out of the living rock instead of being built by placed stones. There were niches that held bowls, pestles, mortars, jars and other implements of alchemy. All were empty. The block in the middle was perplexing. The hollowed-out bottom was carved in the approximate semblance of a human body, but the sides were high, and the body did not lay flat. The brace for the neck was high enough to keep the head above the sides. The body could be soaked, but not the head.