The Penumbra Paradox - ONC 2023

Chapter-3 The Zoramaic way.

Chapter -3, The Zoramaic way.

"Snap that thing off, right now." The chieftain pointed at AVAH as she floated above them, scanning the structures below her, in what looked like a gap between the rocky mountains on either side.

The walls of the canyon had formed over aeons of years of sedimentation. Walls on either side wound with each, every bulge, every protrusion mimicking  gap on the other wall, like the joints in a jigsaw puzzle. 

When looked up, the ruddy cave walls rose higher and higher, almost touching calm blue skies covering the valley like a blanket. There was a sort of calmness to the way how colours morphed in the skies, clouds dwindling away and reforming. Arya didn't quite comprehend the effect it had on her eyes, some sort of cooling comfort dripping through her sight to her heart, familiar yet so strange. Was the earth like this before the moonfall?

"Amazing." Benji clicked a dozen of high definition photos using his personal tablet.

"AVAH, time to sleep. Come on, let's get you recharged for a while."

AVAH descended down slowly, still 3D scanning the insides of the cave.

Before entering the backpack, where the charging device was installed, AVAH communicated via Arya's ear device. "I'm going to be in stealth mode while I recharge. Sorry Arya, I cannot override Silas's programming in me."

"There are some rules you have to follow while you are here. Well, the easiest of them is, don't try to oversmart us, we are well aware of your true intentions."

Arya and Benji checked out each other via corners of their eyes.

So, in a nutshell, Arya's words had never convinced the chieftain when the bargains were made. In that case, why did Oja let them in? For decades they have refused any sorts of activities with non believers or the government, even with all the chaos going around in the world.

"Alright ma'am." Benji mock saluted with a half baked and pushy smile.

"Right. Now my men will show you your quarters. While on your way you are going to see restricted areas, some closed doors. Do not attempt to be sneaky . And mind you, no questions. Did I make it clear?"

Benji could see a sparkle of curiosity in Arya's eyes already and instantly knew they were in trouble. Curiosity always killed the cat.

Arya and Benji nodded slowly to Oja's orders.

"Follow me, this way." A burly man with a cross bow on his shoulder led them towards a branching gap inside the cave.

Firstly, a right turn. The branch-way was dim lit with some sort of glowing lanterns stuck to the walls. The air was thick and humid, had some sort of sweet yet disgusting odour to it, like petrichor, but a little too intense for their olfaction. It gave Arya a strange headache.

Then there was a left turn, meters and meters of walking, closed doors on either sides and then another left and then ducking through an archway.

At this point, Arya and Benji were so confused that they forgot counting the branch-ways or even if they counted, it was not consolidating into their memories. 'Hopefully, AVAH is on the job.'

After about a few minutes of walking, the dark branchway widened into another cave. The ground was sandy, sky was still blue above, the wall had some fresh water seepage which was carefully stream lined into wooden collecting bins using the old world metal scraps. The stream's pitter -patter echoed inside the cave.

The tribesman outstretched his hand towards a bunch of domes built on the sandy ground inside the cave. They were wide at the bottom and tapered towards their tips.