Chapter 26: The Skull Room

Legend says: if you drink from a skull, your vision will sharpen up, your thoughts will deepen into the eternal thinking.

…. But not from any skull,

…. Not any liquid you could put ur hands on

Down at the Moorial Caves, reports of a hidden catacomb with the bones of a complete royal dynasty was hidden due to their powers to whom ever drank from the skulls of the shamans that lived in the area and amongst the tribe. A mysterious plague wiped off almost the whole population. Only few survived.

The ones that survived tried to keep the tradition, but fell short of expanding their gift: seeing the future past many generations and past back many generations.

Their present, already cursed, felt short of expanding and evolving on their gifted powers….

It was also revealed- to few people that the magic book' with all the laws, tricks, teachings, potions, curses; all possible and questioned, to have been buried underneath the big layer of bones collected during their splendorous epoch, somewhere, out there.

Where?…..

Obviously, it sounds like a juicy and exciting exploration task for Ada and Garrett….

Another expedition to be carried out with 'The Soup Fly'; an opportunity for both expedition-driven couple to explore new worlds, lives and cultures.

….and find the mysterious book of curses and potions and other stuff from this mysterious short/lived gifted tribe.

Indeed, the perfect fountain of youth and eternal life forcthe one that finds this precious gold book of wonders. Forever young, never getting old, overcome illnesses, live longer than anyone else...

Dangerous envious thoughts.

Live longer than anyone else.

Never age.

Might be kinda boring, but interesting….

A scuffle st the end of the tunnel Ada and Cree heard alerted them both. They slow down once a sudden breeze turned off their torches. A soft whistle - perhaps an alert to others in the cave? Announced intruders in unknown territory. Some bats flew out of the cave spooked by the smell of the burning torch and the unfamiliar voices of this exploring couple.

The flame in the torch left a black smoke as it danced excited by the friction with the spider webs hanging from the cave ceiling. Taken by surprise some insects and spiders, blinded by the light and heat of the torch, just gave up to the warm and bright torch, just dropped to the floor, joining the swarming of the unlucky ones already fallen, trying to join the others to stay away from the cold.

An awful crackling of shells could be heard as Ada and Cree walked along the cave's trail, accompanied by the dripping filtered from the lake above the surface. Clean clear filtered water….

Sometimes the crackling of the torch flame got mixed with the stepping on bones - of some of the inhabitants of the area, sometimes scaring the rats feasting on the dead bodies or whatever could survive in the area, got to the end of their life's…. Mother natures way of cleaning all the unnecessary matter no longer needed.

A life thar creates, produces and dies….

And dispose in their own specific way.

There's enough for everybody, every specie, every taste and race.

After many turns and cuts, and false turns, Ada and Cree got to what it seemed to be entering to another open area. Inside, what it seemed to be another little building carved in the white stone, a temple, with two tall figures at each side of the main entrance.

Spears and shields on the floor adorned the side entrances of the structure.

Because it looked very dark, Cree needed to add more fuel to the torches to light up the open area they both entered in.

Partially blinded by the darkness of the room, the dripping echoed clearly by, as some scuffle could be heard at the distance. A white rat, scared of the new invaders ran away, pushing and destroying some skulls and bones in the process. Some more bones started to have fallen to the floor, initiating a rumbling noice that reminiscent of a little earthquake. A fine dust started to fall from the top of the structure, causing a type of worrying in the curious couple. They started to look for shelter as the rumble became stronger.

In the middle of their chaotic wondering due to the strong shaking g of the cave, their torch lighted up on their last effort to keep alive lighting up for the last time.

What the flame cleared up the area where they where was impossible to believe. Piles and piles of skulls, ones of top of others forming a wall of skulls, others with leg bones, others with rib cages, femurs, vertebrae, from the floor to the top of the ceiling of the room. Where they ended up, piles and piles of piles of bones, all catalogued and placed together by their type and length, colour and shape…..

Ada's eyes wide opened as Cree scratched his head as they both witnessed the largest collection of human bones they have ever seen.

But another sound called their attention..