Black Moon Temple Part 2

They had been walking for what seemed an age to Aardrin. The stairway beneath the temple's trap door had looked long and deep to begin with, but the further they went without finding the bottom, the longer it seemed to become. The narrow passage was suffocating and cold and there was no hint of what might wait below' the stone walls were bare of any carvings or runes like there had been on the outside. It was infuriating, and difficult to remain calm.

Sybil walked before him with her pistol still drawn, no happier than her husband at the turn of events. The steps were incredibly narrow, uncomfortably small for their feet, and they had to walk at an almost sideways angle to keep from stumbling (and stumble Aardron had already done quite a few times). The single torch left to them after their entrapment still had some time before it would burn out- but it would only last so long, and then what?

"Do these bloody stairs have an end?" The blonde-and-red haired man grumbled beneath his breath.

"They have to eventually," Sybil said, "We've not been climbing down for an hour yet, love."

"Seems a lot longer. All your maps and notes didn't say anything about this?" he asked, keeping one hand on the wall and holding aloft the torch with the other, "I don't like it, Sybil."

Sybil assured him again she'd read nothing about this stairway in her studying. "All my papers said about the temple is that it's secret, and dangerous."

"Danger draws you like a moth to a flame, doesn't it?" Aardrin asked, and he couldn't help smiling at the indignant glance she shot at him over her shoulder… but, "You have a penchant for getting yourself into trouble, love. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Good thing I have you with me then, aye?" She turned back to the stairs, which marched on down into darkness. She was still worried about their crewmates. What had become of Darby and the others? They had vanished after what sounded like a short scuffle of some sort. Something strange was going on, and she felt that she had bitten off more than she could chew with this particular treasure hunt… yet they could only forge ahead as always, especially now. Going back was certainly not an option.  

Sybil was lost in her ponderings and silent musings when she felt one of the small steps suddenly move beneath her foot. She jerked back, alarmed that the stairs were crumbling. Aardrin reached out with his spare hand and grabbed her shoulder in a flash to balance her, but the stair hadn't broken- it had merely shifted downward, like a lock clicking into place. For a moment the pair of them stood in breathless silence, then a sound of faint rumbling could be heard.

Aardrin could feel the stairs beneath them trembling, and with a sinking heart he turned to look over their shoulders as the noise of falling rock became loud. In the farthest reaches of the dancing torchlight he saw movement.

"Down! Run!" he commanded loudly, turning back around. Sybil cursed in horrified recognition and did as he said- but it was impossible to run very quickly down those narrow steps, and the falling stones caught up with them within seconds, bumping and crashing down the steps around them. There were rocks of every size and shape ; they slid beneath Aardrin's feet and slammed into the backs of his legs, throwing him off balance instantly. The torch flew from his hand as he pitched forward, shifting his weight and hurling himself against the wall of the stairway to avoid taking Sybil down with him. "Aardrin!" she cried as he went rolling and sliding away amidst the rush of earth- then the stones were throwing her down as well, bouncing and falling against her back and shoulders, and smacking her in the head.

It was a harried and terrifying tumble,  the rumbling and booming so loud it sounded like the entire passage was caving in. They couldn't tell which way was up and which was down, the light of their torch lost, the cries of their voices lost in the noise and confusion. By the time the sliding rocks ceased falling and the crashing had dulled to a patter, Sybil was lying at an odd angle on the steps. She was pinned beneath one large rock and covered with several smaller ones, aching and dizzy. She was unable to tell if the darkness before her eyes was the darkness of the cavernous stairway or if she'd been knocked blind by their fall- and she had the strangest sensation of lying in water.  

Aardrin was not far above her on the steps, face down. A groan issued from his lips as he blinked himself back to consciousness. Instinctively he assessed his own state. He groaned again as he pushed himself up, gritting his teeth against the pain of movement and sending a few small stones skipping and skittering away in the darkness. Somewhere along the way down a particularly large rock had found his left leg, and though it wasn't broken, it was most certainly wounded- twisted, maybe cracked. That's not to mention the various bruises, scrapes and cuts, and the blood dripping  down his brow from a nasty knock to the head. Still, despite the painful throbbing, and all the aches and stings, his first concern was not himself.

"Sybil?" he managed worriedly, reaching out with his healer's senses. It was utterly dark now that the torch had been lost, and he could not see her- but he could sense she was nearby. "Love, where are you?"

"Bloody hell," he heard her voice down below him. She sounded angry and in pain,  "Down here, blokey- bloody stuck under a rock. And there's- there's water down here."

"How badly are you hurt?" he asked, breathing a sigh of relief to hear her speaking, her words not quite registering, "Just give me a moment, I'm coming…"

He made a conscious effort to heal his leg quickly so he could get to her- pushing aside the stones and rocks and shifting into a more or less comfortable position. The healing magic produced a soft green glow, which he was used to. It gave almost no light at all, but it shone enough for him to see movement a few feet away. It was lucky the bone wasn't broken- it would have taken far too long to heal. As it were it took a good enough amount of time just to get his leg to where he could walk on it.

"Stay still," he told his wife when he was finally done, and began moving toward her. The leg still ached, but he couldn't wait any longer. Moving forward blindly, Aardrin was slow- he certainly didn't want to start another rock slide and bring more boulders down on top of them- and finally his fingers found Sybil's soft hair. "Alright, love," he said, standing and attempting to find firmer footing- and cursing in surprise when his foot did step into cold water.

"What in blue blazes?" he muttered, bewildered- but first things first. Grasping the rock that was weighing down on Sybil's arm he grunted and hefted it up just enough to move it away and drop it. The movement sent more stones sliding and bouncing- some making splashes and plunks. Letting out a deep sigh from the effort of moving the stone after healing, Aardrin knelt at her side. He reached out for her arm but touched her face instead, nearing poking her in the eye as she sat up. "Oh! Sorry… " he said, running his hands gently down to her arm. He could tell at once it wasn't broken- also a big relief, a miracle at - but it would have a fair amount of bruising.

"I'm alright, blokey," she mumbled, wiping a trickle of blood from her chin and hating the darkness, "Where did that rock shower come from? I must have set off something when I hit that step…"

"Aye, It must have been some kind of trap." Aardrin said, distracted by checking her over with his hands and healing senses for any serious injury- since he couldn't see to tell. She seemed for the most part to be like himself- banged up and scraped from their fall but nothing broken. "Whoever this temple belonged to, they obviously didn't take kindly to uninvited visitors."

"And what about this?" she splashed in the water at her side, which had properly soaked her already, "The stairs keep going down, as far as I can tell, straight into the water. Temple must go below the lake- but that doesn't do us any bloody good! "

Aardrin was already badly shaken from their previous experience; the thought that the stairs went down in an endless underwater tunnel made him shudder. "Let's not lose hope yet," he said, "Don't panic, love. We'll figure out something."

"I'm not bloody panicking," Sybil protested, though she felt very near to it.

Aardrin concentrated then on healing the worst of their hurts, though he knew he couldn't afford to heal them completely- not when he needed to conserve as much energy as possible. The green glow lit up in the pitch darkness and seemed bright to Sybil's eyes- but it was only enough to show a little glisten on the surface of the water, and couldn't give any hint of a way out of their predicament. Their torch was long gone.

When he was done, even though he hadn't done any major healing, Aardrin felt exhausted. Sybil knew he would and she sighed morosely. "Let's just sit and rest and think a while, blokey," she said, rubbing his back gently when he sat beside her. She pillowed his head on her shoulder; his nearness was comforting in the blackness, and as he rested from his efforts she began to ponder their situation.

Had this secret passage been made as merely a false lead to death by the builders of the Temple? It seemed odd- why would anyone go to so much trouble to hide a trap? The more she thought of it, the less sense it made. Sybil's eyes wandered to where she knew the cold black water was waiting.

* * * * * * * * *

The first thing Darby noticed was that his head had a powerful ache. It throbbed in his ears and he felt dizzy, sluggish and unable to think. He tried to recall what had happened on the temple stairs, but the memory was a hopeless blur. Opening his eyes he blinked slowly, squinting against a bright orange light. He was aware of sitting with his back to some sort of wooden post, arms bound tightly behind it.

"You awake, Tom Cat?" came a familiar voice, and the pirate turned his head to see who had spoken- the movement causing another rush of dizziness. Blinking, he realized it was his crewmate, John.

"Aye, getting there," Darby groaned, "What's goin' on?"

"Don't bloody know for sure," John muttered, "Captain was wrong about the island being deserted."

The blonde man followed John's gaze to the tall fire dancing before them. Standing and sitting in several places in the light of the flames were several people; men, women, and children. Their skin was the color of cinnamon and their hair dark. Most of them were dressed in leather and fur garments that offered little covering, and by the feathers, bones and shells in their hair it was obvious they were the island's tribal dwellers.

"Damn," Darby growled, pulling against his ropes, "Have you learned anything from them?"

"No." John shook his head slowly. Darby noticed he was bound to a wooden post the same as himself. "Exceptin' the Captain and Aardrin, we're all of us here and alive- for now. Best I recall, they're still in the temple. These buggers shot us with poison darts- that's what happened on the temple."

As he spoke Darby did become aware of an ache in his neck, like the pain of a bee sting. It made sense… but knowing how he'd gotten here did little to ease his worries. Did these people intend to kill them? Maybe eat them? He had no idea where on the island they were, and worse, he had no idea if Sybil and Aardrin were alive. Jane had stayed behind to keep command of the ship… how long would she wait before sending a search party?

"Things ain't lookin' too cheery," he commented to John, just as one of the villagers came toward them. It was a tall thin man wrapped in a fur cloak. There was a streak of red painted under one of his eyes, and he regarded them with a wary stare. Darby and John didn't say anything, wondering what the man planned to do.

"How did you find us?" the man suddenly asked. His accent was thick but there it was plain as day- the native was speaking English.

"A map," Darby answered, "Where's our Captain?"

"The woman and the tall one are in the Heart," the man said, holding up his long, thin arm and pointing to the left. Above the line of tropical trees Darby could just make out what looked like the tip-top of the large stone temple. "None come back from the Heart. You will not see them again."


* * * * * * * * *

While Sybil had waited for Aardrin to rest from the efforts of using his healing magic, the darkness seemed to have grown deeper and colder. The dark she was getting used to- as unnerving as it was to be totally blind, for the moment there was no sound but their breathing-  but the cold made the idea forming in her head even more unpleasant than it already was.

"Hoy, love," she said, breaking the deafening silence,  and kissing the top of her husband's head, "You alright?"

"Getting there," Aardrin mumbled, sitting up and stretching, "Could have done without being pounded by a ton of stones… but it could be worse. And you?"

"Aye, could be worse," she agreed. She had some aches but nothing worth mentioning. "I've been thinking- maybe the stairs don't keep going down. It's possible that there's an under-water passage out of this God forsaken stairway."

"I suppose it is possible." Aardrin's voice betrayed his uneasiness, "But diving and searching for a passage under water with no light to speak of?"

"What else can we do, love?" Sybil squeezed her arm around his waist, "We've gotta try something to move forward or sit here and wait for something to happen. I'd rather not keep waiting."

Sybil stood and stretched. "I'll go," she said, slipping her pouch of supplies from her belt- it held what was left of their food and though it was protected against getting wet, she didn't want to risk it. "Here, love," she said, putting it into his lap (when she found it).

"Do you really think I'd let you take the first try?" Aardrin said and stood as well, though he grimaced when he did so, "There's no bloody way, Sybil."

Although she couldn't see him, she could well imagine the exact expression on his face. Concerned, worried, annoyed- and still in pain by the sound of his voice. "You're still not totally rested enough for it, are you?" she asked, "I'm a strong swimmer, and I'll be alright."

"I'll not have it," he growled, and put the pouch down, reaching out to find her with his hands. Gripping her arms gently but firmly, "Either you let me go, or we both stand here and fight about it 'til these stairs crumble to dust."

Sybil would have glared at him if she had been able to see him, but of course she couldn't. With a sigh and scrunching up her face in annoyed defeat, "Fine," she said, "But you keep track of yourself. If you don't come back in a few minutes, I'm coming in behind you."

"Aye, Captain," he replied with a slight smile, and found her brow with his lips for a reassuring kiss. "Love you, darling."

"Likewise," she responded, and hugged him tightly, then could only sit back down and listen as he moved away from her, toward the water's edge.

Aardrin moved carefully, holding onto the wall with both hands as he followed the stairs down into the water- being careful of the many stones and rocks which still littered the way. When the water came up to his shin he gasped at the deep chill of it. "Damn!" he grumbled, "It's bloody cold!"

"You sure you want to do this?"

"Aye," he frowned, and continued. The water crept up to his knees, then his waist, and his chest- and still he hadn't felt the ending of the stair. Finally, with a sigh, "I'm going under," he warned his wife- and after drawing a deep breath he did so, following the stairs further down. Feeling with his hands and feet he went deeper, forcing himself to remain calm and not think about the horrible possibilities as the water and blackness surrounded him. Inch by inch he moved downward, his chest becoming tight… until his foot found level ground. Aardrin moved forward cautiously, with no way to see what dangers lay ahead- but as he swam he found that the passage went up again at a slight angle, the walls like those of a cavern but smooth… but his breath was already running out. What should be do? Continue forward and hope he would find an area above the water, or go back where he knew he could breathe? Gritting his teeth he used his healing abilities to give himself an extra boost and continued on, quickening his speed. The man's lungs began to ache as he kicked his powerful legs, and he feared that he had made a fatally bad decision- until suddenly be broke through the water into an open space. Gasping and sputtering he fought to breathe, his leg throbbing at the effort of swimming- but he was off the stairway!

"She was right!" he said gladly, to no one in particular, and heard his voice echo. Whatever area he had come into must be a vast place indeed. Still, he had to get back to Sybil and let her know- and he did as soon as he'd caught another deep breath. She was still waiting nervously, and the journey back through the dark waters wasn't easy. It was freezing cold and numbing to the limbs- but finally they were both of them in the open cavern, swimming forward and looking for some solid and dry surface.


Aardrin found it quite by accident when he swam right into a rocky shore, scraping his knuckles painfully- but he quickly found that it was what they'd been hoping for, and after a blind struggle he'd gotten both himself and Sybil upon it. For a while they just lay flat, dripping wet, cold, and trying to gather their senses.

After several long minutes, the healer moved his eyes around the dark place- though what he hoped to see, he didn't know. Suddenly he fancied he saw a point of light- small, barely there at all, floating at least a hundred feet away. Rubbing his eyes he sat up and looked again, thinking maybe staring into the endless darkness was affecting his vision- but no, it was still there!

"Sybil, love," he said, "Look there, to the right- d'you see that?"

"What?" Sybil turned her head and at once knew what he meant. "It's a light!"

She sat up quickly, cursing at the dizziness it caused, but too eager to move forward to care much. "What do you think it is?"

"Maybe where a spot of moonlight is breaking through- or sunlight. Seems like we've been down here for days. I couldn't guess how long."

Aardrin got to his feet slowly and helped Sybil up. They'd lost their weapons- except for a knife in his belt- but he didn't dare draw it now, when he might stumble and fall with it in the darkness. Carefully and slowly they moved forward to the patch of light, wondering what waited for them there- if it would be an answer to the riddle of their predicament, or a false statement of hope…