Section 6
The several story building, Neolithic structure, partially in ruin from age, ancient stone design with sigils and carvings, size similar to a city building in modern times
Stone fists hammered the walls as Karim and I sprinted through the hall, dust choking the air, my left leg screaming in pain, i hoped it was not broken, the fall really banged me up when I land on rocks. Three golems loomed behind, their strides relentless, and the fourth stood barring the exit, a wall of granite where freedom should have been.
These giant beasts were not just after us but destroying the building for some reason. We had to get out before this building became our tomb.
For a heartbeat, despair froze us. Then Karim spotted the fractured column beside the door. With a sharp tug, He pulled me toward it. We ducked under the swing of the nearest golem, its arm smashing the weakened stone. The column gave way in a deafening crack, toppling into the guardian at the door.
The crash buried it in rubble, just long enough. Karim shoved the doors wide, and the two of us spilled into the night air, how long had we been inside, I looked behind us the stone golems were moving much slower as if their weight had finally caught up with their mobility. the sound of enraged stone echoing behind us as we fled into the dark. They were moving with greater speed before. The ringing in my ear from the noise inside stopped where once I thought we were running we are simply walking. The noise had impaired our perception.
I listened to the stone handle off and on for the next few days as we traveled around the ruins of an ancient stone city looking for artifacts. The mysterious voice had not said anything as if had just been a voice in my head all along and I just imagined someone was speaking to me. Karim had taken the stone book from that stone building. each stone tablet like page was pretty thin lots of imagery. Karim said it would carry a nice price for us.
We camped out in the ruins. we had plenty of supply from the the Elephant Guards big food baskets. we had rested for a short time before something disturbed our peace. The night air tasted of dust and iron, The same from inside the machine building. Freedom was too sharp to savor. karim and I pressed on in the middle of night with hanging lamps and torches lighting our way, barel. Our carriages bumped under the uneven ground we move slowly making sure we did not get a wheel caught up the fallen ruins. Weaving through toppled arches and half-buried courtyards until the ruins thickened around uslike a forgotten labyrinth.
“A mastodon…” Karim muttered, the word breaking as it left his throat. “But they’re—”
I asked. “What’s a mastadon?”
A sudden tremor rolled underfoot—slow, deliberate, nothing like the golems’ staccato thunder. Karim froze. From between two leaning spires, a shadow emerged, massive and upright. Torchlight caught on tusks long as spears and eyes glinting with an ancient, weathered intelligence.
The voice was deep, resonant, more like stone shifting than flesh speaking. The words were indiscernible to me, nothing I had heard before. The figure loomed closer, towering over us, even as we sat atop our carriages, fur matted with dust and age. “Yoor be kaun!”, it shouted at us in anger, like the trumpet of an elephant when charging.
We instinvtively turned our carriage and began to pedal away but our movement were slow on the rough terrain, and we would be easily overtaken by the creatures’ large strides. we dismounted our carriages preparing to run. As we had touched the ground a large net fell over us. weighted cords slammed around us heavy and pushed me toward my carriage. Karim shouted, but another net—woven from sinew and stone-fiber—dropped over him and his carriage, tightening as if alive.
With ease, the giant fur like elephant dragged us along with our carriages.
I was getting close to being crushed by my own carriage. the size of creature was much taller than any elephant. Karim suggested that this was Mastodon. The mastodon’s gaze hardened. “Trespassers!”, That word we did understand among the other foreign language words. “We didn’t mean to trespass”, I shouted. it turned but continued dragging us as it didn’t fully understand or didn’t care.
From the shadows between two broken towers emerged a cave entrance. Stone-carved armor, lay at the entrance. Tusks gleaming like curved blades were on the ground. It’s height eclipsed the entrance and it bent down pulling us in. Its presence bent the air around it, as though the ruins themselves bowed.
Karim and I were placed in a stone prison with walls too high and smooth to climb. The mastodn slid over a lid as precaution. We watched while the creature went through our carriages like tresure chests. It piled up the items, accused us of stealing. The Mastodon found my stone block and handle. With the item in hand it marched over toward our prison, thundering steps rattling our cage.
The mastodon froze. The air grew taut, as if the cave itself were holding its breath. It crouched low staring us with giant stern eyes, tusks gleaming inches from the torch light it wore around its neck. it touched the relics massive finger while it rested in the palm of its hand. The carvings flared faintly, pulsing once like a heartbeat. It asks us where we got this from. I explain that it was in some ruins not to far from the Elephant lands. I wasnt sure it would understand.
The Mastodon gazed at us as we both tried to tell him, gesturing with are hands trying to point out a faraway area. His anger intensified as if we were playing games with him, letting out a loud trumpeting noise from his long elephantlike trunk. He shook our cage still demanding. It was of no use, all that happened was a rattling in our teeth. The Mastodon stormed off, the mastodon let out a low, guttural call that rolled through the cavern like a tremor. we didn’t know if it would be back as if vanished into the dark and cloud stygian abyss of the cave.
We could here distant — three, maybe four voices, deep and resonant, echoing from unseen tunnels. Shadows shifted beyond the cave mouth as other towering forms emerged: a mastodon draped in ragged cloaks of moss and bone, tusks etched with runes that faintly glowed.
Behind the mastodon was a group of elephant guards from the village. This did not look good at all. I wondered how we were going to explain the missing guard, would they believe my story. “Bind them,” the Mastodon commanded. “Their crimes must be weighed before the council.”
Karim looked fearful. He knew what that meant, maybe he had been before this council before. Karim had a lot of secrets. From out of the shadow the Mastodon that had captured us appeared, carrying the stone relic handle.
Ropes woven from sinew and obsidian fibers tightened around my wrists. Karim struggled, but one of the elephants pressed a hand to his shoulder — gentle, but immovable, as though the mountain itself restrained him.
Then, a sound — soft at first, like wind beneath a door. The relic, still clutched in the mastodon’s hand, began to hum. The air vibrated with a low tone that wasn’t quite sound, wasn’t quite thought. The mastodon was surprised staring it in amazement.
The handle relic vibrated, rattling in the Mastodon’s hand. Its surface cracked with threads of pale light, and from within came a voice — layered, distant, almost mournful. the handle came off of its resting base. I heard it call my name.
The mastodon recoiled, tusks scraping the cavern roof. “Blasphemy,” it hissed. It used to fingers to pinch the handle and put it back on the base. the stone relic would not coorperate, slipping from his grip.
It told us all in the cave, Wanderers of dust… I have waited for usurpers. The seals must be broken. The golems stir because they must hide the secrets. You are not thieves — you are summoned.”
I had no idea what that meant, wandders of dust? we have traveled through the desert. Karim and I exchanged a stunned glance. The relic’s light bled into the cavern walls, painting the mastodons’ faces in ghostly white. The stone book in Karims carriage began to make noise as well.
For a heartbeat, the cavern seemed to breathe. Even the mastodons, and elephants stood frozen — caught between faith and fear.
The relic pulsed once more, brighter this time. Then it fell silent, leaving only the crackle of fungus-light and the sound of my trembling breath.
Something more thunderous came. The few elephant guards went to check outside of the cave. There to meet them were stone golems crawling out of the ground. A grinding crack split the air. One of the far pylons—an old support column wrapped in mosslike lichen—twisted, then wrenched itself free of the surrounding rock. Stony shoulders unfurled, shedding centuries of dust. Two glowing eyes—no pupils, just shifting embers—blinked awake.
A second pylon snapped open as well, revealing another towering stone figure. And then a third.
Before anyone could move, the nearest golem lunged, its immense granite fist smashing down like a falling hill. The mastodons scattered, bellowing in alarm. A dozen torches clattered across the stone floor, sending sparks skittering like fireflies. Quckly the elephants engaged in battle though being outmatched
The mastodons who are taller than the elephants grab large mace like weapons against cave walls, assisting the elephants, pushing back the golems, managing to knock off chunks of rock from the stone golems. The elephants were at a disadvantage having only swords to use against the golems.
I ran for the cave entrance with Karim not far behinds. A mastodon nearly crashed into me as as a golem’s sweeping arm crashed into its side, sending the enormous creature crashing into the cavern wall. The shockwave nearly knocked me off my feet.
Our way to freedom was blocked, the cave entrance covered in battle. Ahead, a cluster of broken columns formed a rough archway leading deeper into the ruins. If we could reach it we would be free of getting crushed.
A golem stomped into our path, stone toes cracking the ancient floor. Dust rained in choking sheets. The monster’s massive arm lifted. A mace slammed over head and onto the golems head crushing the stone cranium. The Massive strike hurt the Mastodons arms as if it had punched the stone with its bare fists. The creature told us in broken english to go to the temple it pointed down the tunnel.
HTML temple it said we should go there. I had no idea where that was. Karim knew he told me he had passed by that area before. We should take this stone handle and base there. The Mastodon gathered its strength and pulled the mace from the Golem.
Karim and I went through a narrow gap between fallen blocks, deeper into the ruins, leaving our carriages behind.
We ran with torches in hand as more of the cavern gave way from the thunder of battle.
Behind us, mastodon war-cries echoed in counterpoint with the golems’ grinding, mechanical roars. The entire cavern became a battlefield of ancient enemies—flesh and tusk versus unyielding stone. Shadows lurched wildly along the tunnel walls as blasts of force and stone-rending impacts erupted again and again.
A collapsed pillar blocked our way. We scrambled up the rubble, fingers slipping, breath tight. Karim gave me a boost up, then hauled himself up after.
We dropped down the far side, landing on a slanted slab that slid a few feet before wedging against debris. The air grew cooler—damp with the smell of untouched tunnels.
We paused for a moment, listening for any sounds of battle or possible Golems in the area. The war raged on, but the sounds were muffled now—just distant bellows, grinding stone, and the occasional booming collapse.
Small amounts of dust fell. Karim did not think we were safe yet. we pressed on.
“At least we are free”, Karim said to me. I noded in agreement. I asked if the Elephants or Masodons or Golemes would find us down here. Karim was unsure. This was one place he had not been. He had never taken a detour to this area before. It’s not a trade route.
I listened to the handle is made faint odd noises but didn’t speak. I said we should keep moving maybe it will reveal something to us the further we go. Karim agreed.
Together we slipped deeper into the forgotten maze, leaving the monstrous battle behind, at least for the moment.
The long stretch of tunnel we had been on opened up into a cavern. I felt the same as I had before that ghostly ancestors were watching while the area remained dark against our torches.
The cavern widened further, opening onto a ledge overlooking a wide, fast-moving subterranean river. The water glowed faintly turquoise, illuminated by streaks of mineral-rich algae swirling through the current.
Across the cavern, mastodon statues stood into view at the along with structures of an ancient civilization. Karim shared a story about Mastodons, one of the stone age civilizations that was thought extinct.
I scanned the rocky shore below. A long-dead tree—bleached ivory-white—lay half-submerged near the edge, its sprawling roots tangled like a natural raft.
I asked Karim if he thought we could ride that tree down the river. Karim was unsure looked that the thing might be too heavy and sink.
We decided to test it out.
We clambered down a slanted path carved by ages of dripping water. Pebbles slid under our feet. The mastodon loomed above as if trying to capture us—most of the statues carried a weapon so big as if they could break off the statues at any moment.
I reached the tree just as karim slid down the rocks. We shoved at the log. It shifted a few inches. The wood might be lite enough to float. Karim kicked at it and pushed with his legs.
The log lurched into the current—dragging me with it. I was hooked on a branch. briefly I was pushed underwater. Pulling away from the branch I rose up. chilled by the water.
Cold water shocked my system. It was still refreshing I felt cleaner. Karim pushed as much of the tree into the river as he could. The river seized its prize and spun it away from shore. Karim clung to some roots. I grabbed on to some thick branches, checking my satchel was still with me and had the artifact.
The log moved dragging branches and roots along the river side. The river flow was faster than it appeared.
The driftwood scraped stone, branches snapped, I thought I would lose my hold on the tree. The jolted, turned longways down the river, then shot forward through a long, twisting chute. The current pulled them deeper and deeper into the earth, I feared the way may be going away from our escape of the caverns. Strange glowing fish darted alongside in streaks of blue light. Ancient murals, half-eroded by centuries of moisture, flashed by on the tunnel walls—depictions of towering beings offering stones to kneeling figures.
A fish smacked Karim in the back of the head as it lept from the water although it didnt phase him. I though about laughing but I was hit in the face with another leaping fish.
The relic shard in my satchel was loud enough to hear among the river current. It glower brighter than ever, pulsing in rhythm with the river’s flow. I was in no predicament to listen to the voice. However it was a sign that we may be going in the right directon.
We plunged around a final curve, and the tunnel opened into a vast chamber where the river fanned into a slow-moving pool. Stony pillars reached up like the ribs of a slumbering giant. Soft blue light emanated from a pedestal rising above the water’s surface. An artficial channel created a was for the water to leave the champer. The tree drifter toward the channel. At the far end day shown on a small point, a way out.