Chapter 8 Chapter 7 The Great Treasure Room

In the past, performing duties in the daily ceremonies did not seem to be so tedious, trivial, and lengthy as it is today.A dull and sneaky little girl, a restless trainee, a stern and cold priestess—their lives are a mysterious complex of jealousy, distress, narrow ambitions and weak enthusiasm All in one—these women who accompanied her every day and made up the world she knew, seemed pitiful and disgusting at this moment. But she who serves great power, who is the priestess of the night, is free from narrow-mindedness.She doesn't have to worry about the drudgery of daily life.Here, as long as you pour more fat on the plate of lentils than others, you will be happy for a long time.But she doesn't have to live that way.There is no day in the ground, there is always only night there.

And in the endless night, the dark male prisoner, the operator of the dark art, was tied to the iron chain fixed in the rock, waiting for her who didn't know if she would come or not, waiting for her to bring water, Go to him with bread and life—or with knife and butcher's bowl and death, according to her whim. She never told anyone about the prisoner except Ke Xiu, and Ke Xiu told no one else.Now, he has been in the painting room for three days and three days, but Ke Xiu never asked Arha about it.Maybe she decided the prisoner was dead long ago, and Arha had told Manan to drag the body into the ossuary.Although Ke Xiu is not the kind of person who takes things for granted, Arha told himself: It is not surprising that Ke Xiu keeps silent, she wants everything to be kept secret, and she does not like to ask questions.In addition, Arha had told her not to interfere with the affairs of the first priestess, so Ke Xiu just obeyed the instructions completely.

However, if the man should have died, Arha couldn't order someone to prepare food for him, so apart from stealing some dried apples and onions from the cellar of the big house, he had to figure out the rest by himself.She pretended to eat alone, and ordered breakfast and supper to be brought to the cottage, but she ate only the soup herself, and took the rest to the Painted Room in the Great Labyrinth at night.She's used to fasting for a day or up to four at a time, so she doesn't see it as a problem.The guy in the maze ate up the bread, cheese, and beans she brought, not much, but like a frog eating a fly: smack!In a blink of an eye, everything is clean.Obviously, he could still eat five or six servings; but he solemnly thanked her as if he were a guest and she was the hostess, and prepared for him the rumored feast in the palace of the god king, full of barbecue, Bread and brioche, and wine in crystal glasses.

"Tell me about life on the Inner Islands?" She brought down a small folding stool made of ivory with crossed legs, so that she would not have to stand when interrogating the prisoner, nor would she have to sit level with him on the ground. "Well, there are a lot of islands there. They say that the archipelago alone is four times forty in size, and there are four more border regions beyond the archipelago, but no one has sailed through the four border regions, and there is no There is no way to calculate how many islands there are in total. Each island is different, and the most impressive of these may be Havnor, which is the largest island in the center of the world. The center of this large island has a wide bay full of ships. That is Havnor The city. The towers of the whole city are built with white marble, and the houses of every prince and merchant have additional towers. Mosaic. The prince's flags come in various colors, flying on the white towers. The tallest tower hangs the "Sword of Eriyabai", forming a small steeple facing the sky. When the sun rises, it is the first place to welcome the sun, and the sword Glittered in the sunlight; and when the sun went down, the sword would still glow golden in the twilight for a little while."

"Who is Eriyabai?" she asked tacitly. He raised his eyes and looked at her, didn't say anything, but smiled slightly, and then said thoughtfully: "You can indeed hear a little about his deeds here, but you probably only know that he has been to the four islands of Karg. You know the story How many?" "I know he lost his staff, his amulet, and his power, just like you did." She replied: "Then he escaped the high priest who defeated him, fled to the west, and was killed by the dragon at last. In fact, if he fled into Here in the mausoleum, there is no need to trouble those dragons."

"It is true," said her prisoner. She sensed that Eriabah was a dangerous topic and wanted to stop there. "People say he is the Dragon Lord. You say you are too. Then tell me, what is the Dragon Lord?" She asked with sarcasm, but his answers were blunt and clear, as if convinced that her questions were harmless. "'Dragon Lord' is the person the dragon is willing to talk to." He replied: "or at least it has to reach this point. It's not like most people think about using some clever tricks or tricks to control the dragon, because the dragon is not controlled at all. The key is this: when you meet a dragon, is it willing to talk to you, or is it trying to eat you. If you can make it take the former action and give up the latter, you are the dragon master."

"Dragon can talk?" "Of course! They speak the oldest language, the language we have to use in our illusions and spells, and we have learned it very hard and mostly use it incompletely. No one has ever learned that language completely, even Not even a tenth. Humans don't have time to learn, but dragons can live a thousand years... so you can probably imagine that they are worth talking to." "Are there dragons here on Etuan Island?" "I think it has been gone for several centuries, and there are no dragons in Karigor Island. But it is said that there are still many dragons in the deep mountains of Hurhu Island, the northernmost island of your empire. As for the inner ring islands, they are all inhabited now. In the far west, there are uninhabited and rarely visited islands in the far west. When they are hungry, they will fly to the eastern islands to prey, but that is not the case. I have been to an island and saw dragons gathered on Flying there, they spread their huge wings and circled, like yellow leaves in autumn, flying high above the western ocean." This scene was vivid in his memory, his eyes were fixed, as if penetrating through the dark murals, and seeing through the wall , land and darkness, saw the endless open sea stretching toward the setting sun, and saw the golden dragon churning in the golden wind and smoke.

"You lie," the girl snapped, "you make it up." He stared at her in amazement, "Why should I lie, Aerha?" "To make me feel like a fool, stupid and gutless; to make you wise, brave and powerful, and a dragonlord, and this and that. You've seen the dragon dance, you've seen Havnor you know everything; and I know nothing, I have never seen anything. But what you say is a lie! You are nothing but a thief and prisoner, and you have no soul , don't ever try to leave this place. It doesn't matter if there are oceans, dragons, white towers, you'll never see them again, and you won't even catch a glimpse of sunlight. I only know darkness, the subterranean night, But it's real, and it's all there is to know at last. Silence and darkness. You know everything, wizard; and I know one thing, but it's a real thing!"

He lowered his head, resting his long copper-brown hands on his knees.She saw the four scars on his cheeks again.He goes deeper into the darkness than she does, and he understands even death better than her... A resentment caused by him suddenly surged into her heart, and instantly stuck in her throat.Why is he sitting there, defenseless, yet so strong?Why can't she hit him? "I let you live," she blurted out suddenly, without any forethought. Yes, I just need some tricks and tricks, so I have to get rid of you, understand?". "clear." "Very well, let's get started."

He buried his head in his hands for a moment, and moved his posture.The hoop made him uncomfortable at all times unless he was lying flat. Finally he raised his head and said with a serious face: "Arha, listen to me, I am a mage, what you call a wizard and warlock. I have some skills and powers, that's true. But in this Taikoo It is true that my strength is very weak, and my skills are not at my command. Although I can perform illusions for you and let you see all kinds of wonders, but that is the smallest part of witchcraft. When I was a child I can play illusions. I can even perform those illusions here, no problem; the point is, if you believe in those illusions, you will be afraid, and if that fear turns to anger, you may want to kill me. But If you don't believe in those illusions, you'll think of them as deceitful tricks, like you just said. I'll still die as a result. But at this moment, my purpose and desire is to continue to live."

This made her laugh, and she said, "Oh, you'll live a while, can't you see that? What a fool! Now, let me see the illusions. I know they're fake , will not be afraid. Even if they are true, I will not be afraid. You just start. Your precious flesh and blood are safe for the time being, at least tonight." Hearing this, he laughed just like she did just now.The two played with his life like a ball, throwing it back and forth "What do you want me to show you?" "What can you act on?" "Anything can be done." "I can brag!" "No, I'm not bragging," he said, clearly stabbed: "I'm not bragging, anyway." "Show a few hands that you think are worth seeing, anything!" He looked down at his hands for a moment.Nothing happened.The tallow candles in her lantern were burning steadily, and the flightless human figures with bird wings in the dark paintings on the wall stared at them with dark red and white eyes.There was no sound around.She sighed in disappointment, even a little sadness.He is too weak, he can only talk big words, and can't change anything.He was nothing but a good liar, not even a good thief. "Forget it," she finally said, pulling up her skirt to stand up.The woolen dress made a strange rustle as she moved.She looked down and stood up in surprise. The heavy black dress she had worn for years was gone, replaced by a sky blue silk gown, bright and soft like the evening sky.The dress bulges from the waist into a bell shape, and the skirt part is inlaid with small pearls and fine crystals with thin silver threads, bursting out with soft sparkles, like April rain. She stared blankly at the magician in front of her. "Do you like it?" "This!!" "I saw a princess once at a sunday feast at the New Palace at Havnor, and she had a dress like this," he said, eyeing the dress with satisfaction. "You want me to show you what you think is worth seeing. I'll let you see yourself." "Get it—get it off." "You gave me your cloak," he said reproachfully. "Can I not give you anything? Well, don't worry, it's only an illusion, see!" He didn't move a finger, and indeed he didn't say a word, but the gorgeous blue silk dress was gone, and she was still wearing a coarse black dress. She stood still for a while. "How do I know," she said at last, "that you are who you appear to be?" "You don't need to do that," he said, "I don't know what I look like to you." She pondered again. "You may have lied to me, tricked me into believing that you are..." She cut off her words, because he suddenly raised his hand and pointed upwards, very quickly.Thinking he was casting a spell, she hastened back toward the door; but she followed his finger, and saw the small square on the dark domed roof high up, the spy-hole between the treasures of the Two Temples. The peephole was dark, and she could see nothing, and hear no one in it; yet he pointed out the small hole, and gazed at her questioningly. The two stood there holding their breath for a long time. "Your magic tricks are just stupid tricks for children," she said clearly. "It's all a trick. I've seen enough of it. You're going to be fed to the Nameless, and I won't do it again." She took the lantern and went out, and slammed the iron door latch.After that, she stood outside the door, flustered.What should I do next? How much did Ke Xiu see or hear?What did they talk about just now?She couldn't remember.It seemed that he didn't say a word of what he wanted to say to the prisoner.The man talked about dragons and towers and names for the Nameless, he talked about wanting to live and thanked her for giving him a cloak and all that, and his talk always made her flustered.He didn't mention what she expected him to say, and she didn't ask him about the amulet.She still wears the amulet, hidden on her chest. Since Ke Xiu has been eavesdropping, it might be better not to ask about the amulet. Well, what does it matter, what harm can Ke Xiu do?When she asked herself this question, she already had the answer in her heart: It couldn't be easier to kill an eagle in captivity.The man was chained in a gabion, helpless.The Priestess of the God-King had only to send her servant Dolby to strangle him during the night; or, if she and Dolby did not know the way to the Great Labyrinth, simply blow the poisonous ashes through the spyhole into the Painted Room.She has many boxes of that evil poison, bottles and cans, some can be mixed with food, some can be mixed with drinking water, and some can produce poisonous gas, as long as she inhales that kind of air for long enough, she will definitely die.The prisoner may have no heartbeat tomorrow morning, and then the matter will be over, and there will never be light in the vault. Thinking of this, Arha quickly walked through the narrow rocky passage to the entrance of the tomb, where Manan was crouching like an old toad in the darkness, waiting for her.Since Arha went to visit the prisoners several times, Manan was deeply disturbed, and she refused to let him go with him, so the two agreed to let Manan wait at the entrance.Now she was glad he was there, close at hand; at least she could rely on him. "Manan, listen carefully. Now go to the painting room and tell the prisoner that you are going to take him and bury him alive under the tomb." Manan's small eyes lit up. "Speak loudly. After you finish speaking, break the chain and take him to..." She paused, wondering for a moment the best place to hide the prisoner. "Take him to the grave," said Manan eagerly. "No, fool. I just want you to say that, not really to do that. Wait a minute..." Which place is safe and can hide from Ke Xiu and Ke Xiu's spies?Only the deepest places in the ground are safe, that is, the most sacred and secret places in the domain of the unknown, and Ke Xiu may not dare to go there.However, didn't Ke Xiu dare almost anything?She may be afraid of dark places, but she is the kind of person who can suppress her fear and never stop until she reaches her goal.In the past so many years, from Sar, from Arha in the previous life, or even from his own secret exploration, it is impossible to know how many labyrinth paths Ke Xiu has mastered.Arha suspects that Ke Xiu knows more than she pretends to know.But there is a well-kept and well-kept secret channel, which Ke Xiu definitely has no way of knowing. "You have to take the prisoner with me, and you have to go in the dark. When I bring you back here, you dig a grave in the vault, put the coffin into the empty grave and fill it with soil. Make sure someone If you look for it, you can find the grave. The grave has to be dug deep, understand?" "I don't understand." Manan said stubbornly and anxiously: "Little man, this kind of strategy is not smart. It's very bad. There should be no men in it at all! You will be punished!!" "You old fool, do you want to have your tongue cut off! Do you dare to instruct me how to do things? I obey the orders of the dark forces, and you must obey me!" "I'm sorry, little mistress, I'm sorry..." They return to the painting room.When she arrived, she waited in the tunnel outside, and Manan went in and undid the chain from the latch on the wall.She heard the man's deep voice ask, "Where are you going, Manan?" and the husky tenor replied unhappily, "My mistress says you will be buried alive in the grave under the tombstone. Get up!" She heard the heavy voice The iron chain rattled like a whip. The prisoner came out, his arms bound by Manan's belt.Manan followed and pulled him, which looked like a puppy on a short leash, except that the collar was around his waist and the leash was made of iron.The man's eyes turned to her, but she blew out the candle and walked off into the darkness without a word.Immediately, she walked at her usual slow but steady pace as she did when she entered the Great Labyrinth without lights, flicking the walls on both sides with her fingertips along the way.Manan and the prisoner who followed were much more clumsy than her due to the constraints of the chains, so they could only drag and hobble forward.But they had to walk in the dark, she didn't want any of them to know the way. Out of the painting room, turn left, skip two openings, then turn right at the four-way road, and then skip an opening on the right; then there is a long side bend, and then a long descending staircase.The steps are slippery and too narrow for normal feet.The farthest she had gone before was at the end of the steps. The air here is relatively stale and smelly, it feels stagnant, and it also has a pungent smell.But she knew the direction, and even the tone of Saar's original story, she clearly remembered: after the steps (she heard the prisoner stumble behind in the dark, and Manan's gasping as he tugged at the chain to get him up sound), when you reach the bottom of the steps, turn left immediately and go straight, turn right after passing through three openings and go straight.The tunnels all curved sideways and sloped in one direction, none of them were straight. "Then go to the edge of the Pit," Thal's voice said in the darkness of her mind. "That edge is narrow." She slowed down, bent over, and stretched out a hand to touch the road.The tunnel goes straight for a long distance from here, giving passers-by a false sense of certainty.Suddenly, her hand that kept groping in front of the rock face found nothing.At first there was a rocky edge, and beyond that there was nothing.On the right, the rock face of the tunnel drops straight down to the bottom of the pit, and on the left, there is a protruding long strip, a one-handed banner that is not as wide as a person. "Note that there is a huge pit here. Face the wall on the left, walk close to the side of the rock, and slide your feet. Manan, tighten the chain... Are you all on the ledge? The ledge is getting narrower and narrower. Don't put your weight on it. On the heels. Well, I'm over the ditch, give me your hand, come on..." The tunnel runs in a short zigzag shape and incorporates many side openings.As they passed through certain openings, the sound of their footsteps elicited a strange hollow echo; even more strangely, a faint inward draft could be felt.Those side corridors must all end in the kind of giant pit they just passed.Perhaps, there is a hollow in the low-lying area of ​​the Great Labyrinth, a deep giant cave, and the tomb is really insignificant in comparison.Maybe it's still a big black hole pointing down into nothingness. But above the huge pit was the dark tunnel they were entering, which became lower and narrower, until even Arha had to bow his head.Is there no end to this road? The end suddenly appeared, and it was a closed door.Arha leaned over, and due to his a little haste, bumped his head and hands.She groped for the keyhole first, and then fumbled in the belt hoop for the little unused key, the silver key with the handle shaped like a dragon.That's right, it's this one that can spin.She opened the door to the great treasure room of Etuan Mausoleum.A dry, acrid, stagnant air sighed out through the darkness. "Manan, you can't go in, you wait outside the door." "He can go in, but I can't?" "Manan, if you enter this room, you can't come out. This commandment is for everyone except me. Except for me, no other mortal body can leave this room alive. Do you want to go in?" "I'm waiting outside." The melancholy voice said in the dark: "Mistress, mistress, don't close the door!!" Cowardly by Manan's vigilance, she left the door ajar.This place really fills her with bewildering fear, and she still doesn't trust the prisoner even though he's tied up.Once inside the door, she lit the lamp.Her hands were trembling, and the air was not circulating here, so it was difficult for the candles in the lantern to light.But when they walked down in the dark for a long time, even the small yellow candle looked bright; under the light of this candle, the big treasure room was full of moving shadows, oppressing them eeriely. There are six large boxes in the room, all made of rock, and a thick layer of dust has accumulated on them, like mold growing on bread.Apart from the stone box, there is nothing in the room.The walls are rough and the roof is low.This place is very cold, the kind of airless and bone-deep cold, which makes the blood flow in the heart seem to stop.No cobwebs, just dust, because nothing lives here, not at all, not even the little white spiders that are rare in the Great Labyrinth.The dust is very thick, and each grain of dust may represent every day that passes here without time and light.The sun, the moon, and the years are all reduced to dust. "This is the place you are looking for, the great treasure room of the mausoleum." Arha's voice did not tremble: "But once you enter, you will never be able to get out." He didn't say a word, his face was peaceful, but there was something in his eyes that moved her: a look of betrayal, desolate and desolate. "You said you wanted to live, and this is the only place I know where you can continue to live. Sparrowhawk, Ke Xiu will kill you sooner or later, or ask me to kill you. But she can't get here." He still didn't say a word. "Anyway, you never want to leave this mausoleum. Haven't you figured it out? But it doesn't matter. You've already entered... the end of your journey. What you're looking for should be here .” He sat down on a large stone box, looking tired.The dragging chains hit the rocks, making a screeching sound.He looked around first at the dark walls and shadows, then at her. She turned her face away and turned to the stone box.She didn't want to open the stone box at all, and she didn't care at all what kind of magical item was contained in the box. "You don't have to wear an iron chain in here." She went to unlock the iron belt, and also untied the belt that Manan had tied around his arm. "I must lock the door, but I will trust you when I come. Since you know you can't leave, don't try? I am their avenger, I do their will, and if I let them down, that is, if you Breach my trust, and they will avenge themselves. You must not hurt me or lie to me while I am here, just to get out of this room. You must trust me." "I'll do as you say," he said gently. "As soon as I get a chance, I will bring you some food and water. The amount will not be too much. The water will definitely be enough, and the food will not be too much for the time being, but it will be enough to keep you alive; I am getting more and more hungry, you Understand? I have to draw Ke Xiu's attention first, and I may not be able to come back in a day or two, maybe a little longer. But I will be back, I Baotan. Take this water jar and put it away, I can't come back soon Come back, but I'll be back." He looked up at her with a strange expression, and said, "Take care, Tenar."