Cursed Times - What Now?

Chapter 25 - A Magical Expedition Part One

The grey corridor sloped downwards ever so slightly, taking them deeper into the Earth. Clad in stones that were perfectly smooth, lining the corridor with uniform precision, the underground passage did what the dusty corridor at the excavation did not. It curved, making it hard to track their progress. At least they were able to appreciate this architectural achievement: While she spotted no obvious source of light, the slabs illuminated themselves.

At one point, Metjen's father stopped to probe the wall with an implement that looked suspiciously like a screwdriver. 'This is really weird, is there something in the stones that makes them shine like that?'

His son pulled him back, but neither did anything happen nor did the screwdriver yield any samples. Instead, the tip broke off. The professor shrugged and pocketed his damaged tool.

Trueth examined the ceiling. Unlike the temple, it bore neither paintings nor hieroglyphs, reminding her of a modern art gallery sans art. Unsure of what to make of this place, she trotted along the sparkly grey for an unknown period; unknown as their watches had stopped working.

'I can't sense any magic,' Metjen said. 'If somebody placed a veil it's a very special one. Building this place must have required a lot of sun-flow and lifeblood.'

'Meaning?' Trueth asked.

'Meaning somebody didn't survive for long afterwards. Several somebodies, I would say. Even Iseret would have trouble to conjure this up, even if she sacrificed the odd tourist.'

Now both the professor and his son grinned at her, so she flipped them the bird.

The new corridor certainly was well ventilated and devoid of scents or sounds other than the scuffing of their shoes on the smooth stones. Trueth wondered whether this was yet another amazing example of ancient Egyptian construction work or whether Aliens had constructed this building. Or both. And it was huge. Trueth was getting more hungry and thirsty by what felt like little fractions of an aeon and she wished the end of this endless corridor would come into view. Preferably one displaying the sign for the ladies' facilities.

'We must have reached the Nile,' Metjen complained.

'I didn't count our steps, but in terms of distance we might be getting close. With all those curves, I would not be surprised if we ended up under the step pyramid,' the professor said.

Unfortunately, there was no sign saying 'pyramid here'. Still the corridor led on, but in the distance she spotted another wall. This time without hieroglyphs. At eye level, there was a small indentation like a reversed stamp. It looked like—

'A scarab!' 'The ring,' Metjen and his father shouted in unison.

This was unfortunate as they had neither the ring nor a replacement scarab in their pockets.

Trueth thought it inconsiderate of the builders to change their access mode all the time. The first wall blocked intruders very effectively, especially while that curse had still been active.

Metjen tried different spells, some of them involving the more unpleasant deities of the underworld. This got him a severe dressing down from the professor but no results. He combined forces with Trueth, who directed healing jets and pyrotechnics towards the wall, to the increasing disgust of Metjen's father. The obstacle remained stubbornly solid.

'We'll need that bloody ring.' Metjen ran his hands through his greasy hair once more.

'Glad you realised that before you brought this whole construction crashing on our heads,' the professor said. 'This corridor has existed for thousands of years. No need to rush.'

'To be honest, I do need to rush,' Trueth said.

The professor turned around and strode back the way they had come. 'This time I'll count our steps. I suspect we did not walk half as much as we thought.'

He was right. The return journey appeared to be much shorter.

Just as Metjen was about to exit, Trueth held him back. 'What if centuries have now passed?'

'Sorry?'

The professor appraised both of them and sniggered. 'Nothing is impossible with you two. If this happens, we will be rather late for dinner, won't we? I, however, think the little problem with the watches is due to the effects of clever engineering. Or magic. Or whatever.'

Metjen glanced at his companions, examined the obstacle in front of him, shrugged, took a deep breath and flowed through the wall.

'Ah, it still works,' the professor observed correctly. Trueth asked him to hold on again. She took a deep breath herself, wondered whether this was necessary, and willed the wall away. She then threw herself at the obstruction with so much vigour it made her stumble through the hot fizzle. Had her passenger not kept her buoyant, she would have fallen.

Outside, the sun was still setting. Trueth checked her wristwatch. It worked. Not even three minutes had passed since she had last looked at it.

The professor mournfully contemplated the wall.

'What's wrong?' Metjen asked him. He was so excited he could not stand still. Instead, he was moving around impatiently, gesticulating the whole time. 'We've made an amazing discovery. We only need the ring and ,hey presto, we break through that wall.'

His father pinched the bridge of his nose. 'I'm not sure what we have here. Okay, it's absolutely mindboggling, I agree, but I can't show it to anybody. They will send nice men in white coats to help me sleep better.'

Metjen slumped onto the nearest wall and put his head in his hands. 'We discover a place that appears to escaped from one of Trueth's fantasy films. I'm sure we'll find some answers to our questions when we get through that second wall--and all you can say is it isn't archaeologically correct. Trouble is, you might be right.'

He rose. 'Let's go home. I should be bloody happy, but I'm knackered.'

Trueth sent them ahead. Now they were safe, she could finally take care of her little problem. 

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This chapter is dedicated to @LaraBlunte. Lara writes historical fiction, has travelled the world - and I thought this exploration would be right down her street. Make sure to check out her novel 'The Last Earl'.