Free Revelation by Michael Duncan Page A

noticed that they could see to the very bottom of the pool, hundreds of feet deep. The basin was wide and shaped in a perfect circle. Rising up from the water in the exact center of the pool was a tall, stone obelisk carved out of the same grey granite which formed the entire underground network. Emanating from the pinnacle of the stone monument like a fountain was a brilliant shower of light which rose up into the air and spilled its illuminating glow throughout the room. They could see no source for the light, it seemed to the three companions that the light simply was.
    “Captain!” exclaimed Lorik. “Have you ever seen such a sight?”
    “No, Sergeant, I can’t say that I have.” Aaron was just as astonished as his sergeant, unable to fathom the display.
    Braden stood in awed silence, staring up at the spectacle with a look of fear and delight.
    Aaron’s strong sense of duty and responsibility brought him back to the matter at hand. He looked at his fellow travelers as they marveled at the pillar, and the light that issued from above it. “Lorik!” he commanded.
    The sergeant snapped back to attention and faced the captain. “Sir.”
    “We’ve gawked enough at this. Garam is missing and we must discover which way he went. There are tunnels leading out of this room, find the one that he used!”
    As Lorik looked around, he counted seven other passages that emptied into the large room. “It might take some time, Captain.”
    Aaron thought for a moment, he appreciated his sergeant’s patience as it steadied his own nerves. “Then get to it. In the meantime, Braden and I will take a closer look at this pool.”
    The three of them ate a quick lunch, washed down with water from their flasks, and began their tasks. Lorik quickly went to work and began with the first door left of the passage they came through. Groping around the floor and looking at all possible signs of passage, the sergeant was near to a bloodhound when it came to tracking. His keen eyes, trained through years of experience, would not miss a mote of dust out of place or a discarded thread of hair. The large, round room, however proved to be a challenge even to his practiced eye.
    As Lorik busily examined the various tunnels that exited the room, Braden and Aaron cautiously stepped around the water’s edge. The rim of the massive basin was smooth as glass, unmarred by any crack or blemish in the stonework and untouched by the decay of time. The water was still, crystal clear, and cold to the touch. No apparent spring fed the pool as it shimmered in the dazzling brightness of the light above it. Aaron gazed in awe upon the construction and pondered what society could have possessed the skills to create such a place.
    “What a wonder it is,” Aaron whispered to himself as he circled around the large pool.
    “What’s that, Captain?” Braden asked.
    He had almost forgotten that the dwarf was still with him. Aaron turned and looked at his companion. “Nothing,” he said, “I’m just amazed at the sight of this room… of all that I’ve seen. I’ve never believed the ancient myths of the Elder Days, but I’ve seen too much to dismiss them any longer.”
    “Indeed, Captain,” Braden replied to Aaron, “it is possible that there are mysteries far beyond our knowledge that are nonetheless true.”
    “Well,” Aaron responded with mock surprise, “you’re a philosopher as well!” He looked down at his dwarf companion. “Can you also decipher these markings upon the floor?” Aaron pointed to a spot on the granite floor that was marked with several deep inscriptions of gold. The writing was in the same style as that of the plaque which guided them to the large, circular room, but Aaron couldn’t make sense of any of the symbols.
    Moving to join the captain, Braden stared long at the markings. “These are ancient,” he said, “but as for their meaning, I don’t know.”
    Both Aaron and Braden stopped their investigation when Lorik