ic Snakebite In: Hidden Treasures of the Himalayas! (IC)

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Cassie clucked her tongue in delight, her fingers tracing their way through the engraved story. It was beautiful. 

 

The puzzle was puzzling, as was only right. She could turn the rings, but in what order? The wrong combination could send out a flurry of poison darts, or send a rolling boulder down to crush her bones. Possibly it could even permenantly disrupt the time continuum and create a splintering of alternate realities each more hellish than the last. 

 

She cracker her fingers. 

 

"Fortune favours the bold..."

 

Closing her eyes, she sent her consciousness through time to the past, to see what the history of this puzzle held...

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

How far back could one's mind go? It's hard to say. How far back did one need to go? That was even more difficult, and not the same question at all! What was she going to find? It was hopefully enough to give her an idea of how to solve the puzzle!

 

Several Months Ago

 

the Professor, dutifully studying the inscriptions. His sherpas sitting nearby, checking packs and preparing food.

 

"How fascinating. These indicate a culture was here even before the originally believed natives...or maybe at the same time? This is a different style of craftsmanship entirely...these interlocking circles..." he wasn't necessarily trying to solve the door; or maybe he was but he was taking it slow. He was taking pictures and copious notes about everything to do with this gate; it had lit a fire under his observations, that much was for sure. "There must be something behind this door, at the very least...Now to try and figure out the timeline of this..."

 

Several Centuries Ago

 

A procession of court officials, royalty without titles and courtiers without protection, were pressed supplicant in front of the great, sealed door, mounds of treasure and jewels scattered around them on litters and in jars.

"Please! Oh great spirits!" They were speaking ancient Chinese, but Snakebite knew that language! "We wish only to place these treasures out of the hands of those that would misuse or abuse them! We have no request for salvation or revenge, we only want to protect these treasures." What were these treasures? That, Snakebite could not place at this moment. What would be so important that you'd offer them up to unknown gods to protect them from others? If that was important, she couldn't figure it out at this moment.

 

There was silence. For a long, unbearable time.

 

Then the door started shifting. And Cassie watched it rotate. Rotate into the position she needed it to be, because it split in half and slid open with the grinding of gears. Someone was walking through the door from the inside, but she couldn't tell who; the vision was fading rapidly, so fast that she was back in her body before she knew it, once more facing the current door.

 

It was easy enough to replicate the pattern of the door, to once more progress into a place that had not had visitors in century, now receiving it's third in just a few months.

 

Cassandra opened the door to a warm, almost tropical feeling area; the tops of great trees reached slightly above a thick, heavy mist that hid the bottom of the land below. And way above; the Temple.

 

It was radiant, like a second, glowing sun, the apex of the temple had a singular golden disc that slowly rotated, that single disc as large as the footprint of the entire village she had landed in. The entire temple was full of streams of flowing water, spinning wheels, smooth marble and glass. In the sound of the wind, a thousand thousand chimes let out ringing sounds, swirling around the warm air that filled the area. Above Cassie's head was a stone bridge over the trees; it wouldn't be that hard to get up there, and from there, she would behold the temple in all it's glory, and finally, maybe, be close to the end of this adventure.

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Cassandra took a moment to appreciate the view. Several moments. 

 

Curiousity chewed away the awe. 

 

How?

 

An artificial sun creating a micro-environment. A jungle? Who would have the power - scientific, divine or supernatural to create such a thing?

 

A shiver went up her spine. Lemuria?

 

The jungle heat might suggest so. 

 

Propelled by the thought, she made her way up to the stone bridge to further assess the landscape. All the time her snake-eyes alert for danger, or intrigue. Perhaps some clue, some writing, rune, or inscription? Or perhaps some juicy artifact that might provide glory at the British Museum. And help her quest, obviously. That too. 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The Bridge To the Temple was peaceful, the stones echoing as she walked. But at the front of the temple was once more the Yeti creature; wrapped in a cloak.

 

But only for a moment before it threw back the cloak; a humanoid creature cloaked in heavy, white fur. It's hands ended in claws. It could have been quite threatening, but the creature made no motions to attack or threaten.

 

"...You've shown surprising resilience and tenacity. I can no longer bar the path from one who has done so much to reach it." The Yeti said. It didn't even sound sullen. It almost sounded happy. "Welcome to the Sunbright temple. Do not eat the food; if you eat the food, you can never return to the outside world. The other two are already trapped, so if you wish to meet them, just keep that in mind. I'm sure your professor would be more then excited to tell you everything about this temple; he's learned all of it."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"And pleased to meet you, Mister... ah.... Mister Yeti?"

 

If it was even a mister. 

 

There was no way to trust it. Not yet. But Cassandra surely was not going to eat the food, no matter how delicious. 

 

"The path too... what? And why would you bar it?" she asked. "I admire your dedication and your tenacity, too. But why? Why keep this splendour hidden? Is there something more dangerous than poison apples in this garden of Eden?"

 

 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"Mr. Yeti is fine. All of the others are in meditation right now, last I checked, so I believe I'm the only one you'll see." again, his tone isn't really hostile, mostly neutral. It's almost like you could call him 'intrigued'. He looked up at the giant temple and seemed to think on the massive rotating disc at the top of the tower.

 

"The path is blocked because when we formed this sanctuary, it was for peace and contemplation." The Yeti explained as he walked forward. "Homo Sapiens from Atlantis, Lemurians from the Serpent Kingdom, Utopians and Ultima. People from each race have found themselves here amongst the Yeti, unwilling to deal with the conflicts of the outside world, burdened by the feeling of aggression and violence throughout the world. Here, they can not leave, but they do not age, contemplating the mysteries of the universe under this disc, which was brought by the Preservers, who also uplifted us Yeti. We are the only ones who can come and go so freely; for others, to stay, to linger, binds you to this place forever to meditation and contemplation. Not in the way of hell; but rather in forcing you to reach enlightenment, and from there ascend beyond the mortal coil." The Yeti explained, moving his claws like hands as he explained.

 

"Thus, if you call it Eden, you could think of the inscription on the inside of the Avalon; 'Only Those Free of Sin May Pass', and to consume here, or to place down roots, you acknowledge your sin, which must be shed by reaching enlightenment."

 

He stopped.

 

"Does that make sense, tenacious descendant of the Lemurians?"

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"Sin? I have plenty of sin. And to be honest, I am not sure I want to give it up. It makes me who I am..."

 

It was honest. She was no villain, but sometimes Cassandra Crow could be wicked. There was something of a trickster god, inbred with a thieving bird about her. And without that, Cassie would no longer be Cassie. 

 

"Besides, staying in one place forever is not for me."

 

Tenacious Lemurian Descendant. For a moment, Cassandra forgot about the professor. 

 

"What do you know of the Crow line?" she asked. "We have always been witches, cunning folk. Sometimes worse. The curses, the third eye... does the blood of Lemuria run in our veins?"

 

And what would that mean?

 

 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"Then you should only visit, and not stay. It is not a place for those with connections to the outside world, or those who want to remain them." He said, leading her down corridors. The frescos on the wall show the history of this place; the Preservers arriving, and leaving the giant disc and the Yetis- created from goats on the mountain-, people of different races reaching this temple to retire and rest. The fresco indicates this isn't the only one of these temples in the Himalayas; perhaps the mystical Shambala Vale exists somewhere else? But not here, with the Sunbright Temple.

 

"I do not judge how one lives, nor what one is connected to. In time, you will fade from this world, as all have before you. The only thing that will matter is what you have done with your life before that; that you are satisfied with it should be your goal. Enjoy your Sin, your hunger for treasure." he held out a palm and that darn wooden rat appeared in his palm. "No one succeeds at every test, Cassandra. If they did, why would this place exist. There are a thousand thousand paths in life; this place is but one; your failures make you as much as your successes."

 

He was so different now; lacking the anger and rage that she had seen in her memory of him destroying the professor's room, or when he destroyed the bridge to try and stop her from moving forward. Were one of these two ways a show, or did he have two conflicting spirits within him.

 

"As for your ancestry, as for the Crows..." he gestured to a door nearby, sealed and wrought. "If you wish to learn that answer from this place, he sits in there; he has been waiting for quite some time, always on the verge of moving beyond this plane of existence. Perhaps you can help him finish his ascension. Or delay it. Perhaps he has answers for you, or perhaps he does not." the Yeti almost seemed to smile under his thick fur.

 

"Your choices are your own, Cassandra Crow. I exist only as a guide to offer them, as I have to many travelers."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

The tension in Cassandra's shoulders eased slightly. "I am no prisoner then? I can leave when I want?"

 

"How long is too long?"

 

The thought of treasure evaporated. Whatever her greed - for glory not gold - it was naught compared to her curiosity. 

 

"Then I shall stay for now. Gold, greed, they are not the sum of me. I wish to meet the loremaster, or whoever he is. Someone who knows the past better than me is someone worth meeting. He knows of my own past? Then doubly so... but..."

 

"The professor? Is he safe here? I must see him too..."

 

And, she thought to herself, who is this Yeti. Who is he really? This calm philosopher was not the maddened beast she had seen his visions. This version she trusted, but could she trust this Yeti to remain true to this nature?

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"As I said, yes. You may leave whenever you want, as long as you do not rest here; do not take anything from the denizens of this place. No bite of food, no comforting bed, no letter or object; if you take nothing, then you can leave whenever you want. But, at the same time; the chances of you managing to return her will be quite low when you do leave; the valley will shift, and everything you did to get here in the first place won't be the way to get here again. So do not view it as a place you can visit, then leave, then return later. All your curiosities and goals should be handled now." he was being quite serious about all this.

 

"And as for your other questions; yes, the Professor is safe. But he has taken rest here, taken food, and taken objects. He is not able to leave; he will remain until he has ascended beyond his mortal coil. But you can speak to him and confirm his safety, and any words he wishes you to tell others. But remember, take no objects from him." he reminded her again.

 

"As for the one who knows your history..." he placed a heavy paw upon the sealed door, and it slowly creaked open, enough to let Cassie in. "You may speak to him; he has been here a very long time." 

 

It truly was like a completely different creature from the one who had smashed the bridge, destroyed the hotel room, and the like. What could that even mean?

 

"I will go and fetch the professor while you talk to the being in here. Remember. Take no gifts. It is not that they are trying to tempt you into staying, it is more that they often forget the rules themselves, given enough time."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"Take nothing? I can do that," said Snakebite, confidently despite the lack of confidence. I mean, it sounds the right thing.. in principle.... but shiny things can be shiny....

 

"Right then. No gifts. Nothing. Zilch. Zip. The number of things that I will take is zero, and zero will be the number of things that I take."

 

She gave two thumbs up. 

 

Despite her genuine concern for the professor - and the desire to see him alive, well, and full of interesting insights - the itch was overpowering her. The need to scratch at her past. She could propel her mind far into the past, but only so far. And certain areas were a howling blackness, a dangerous black pit of insanity. And her heritage was one of them. She had been bitten by a Lemurian artifact, poisoned with a Lemurian toxin, something that would have killed most. And yet she survived. Did she, and the Crow family, have some taint? The same taint that gave most of them some Eldritch sight, and the particular mixed fortunes that ran through her family for generations. 

 

"Lets see the Wise Man then!" she said, a speck of impatience crawling over her lips. 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

With the Yeti heading off to fetch the professor, the adventurer entered the sealed room.

 

If she was expecting a grand, sweeping hall, a massive treasure, gilded walls and ceilings, that was not to be.

 

This room was 10 feet wide, 10 feet tall, and 10 feet long. It had essentially nothing in it but a simple cloth pillow for meditation, which a being wearing robes was sitting on. It would seem like the room hadn't been disturbed in a long time, but there was no foulness or stagnation associated with it; it simply was, as it always had been, as it always will be.

 

The being on the pillow was a humanoid snake, skin utterly lacking in pigment, a representation of an age so advanced. They were roughly human sized, their eyes closed in meditation. They shifted slightly under their pale blue robes, their tongue flicking out.

 

"...I ssssssmell my own blood, diluted to sssssscraps, but certainly ssssstill there...And in the sssssshape of a human as well." his voice slithered out. There was no hostility from this being, nothing but a feeling of emptiness- a good emptiness, of inner peace and a relaxing void. It simply was, as it always had been, as it always will be. He breathed out slowly.

 

"Sssssso, you wish to know your ssssstory? I will not tell you, I will not give it to you. But, if you happen to be here while I reminessssece about my hisssstory, then, who isssss to ssssay what you learned?"

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

There was no doubt in Snakebite's mind who this serpentine figure was. 

 

"Lemurian..."

 

It was a whisper. Awe, shock, entrancement. So long a slithering thought in her head, referenced in dusty tomes and oral myths. And here it was, in the flesh. She had never seen one before. 

 

How? What? Why? What was this thing and how had it come to be here? And why? And a dozen dozen other questions, all fighting to reach her lips first. She pressed her lips thin against each other and spoke in a calculated slow tone. 

 

"Yes. Yes, I would hear you story."

 

She sat on the floor, kneeling, waiting. 

 

 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"...What I sssssay may not be true, jusssst to be clear; there issssssssometimes a gap in my memory, that happensssss when you get old; perhapssss I have forgotten ssssomething, or remember it wrongly." The old snake said.

 

"I wassss not an original; by the time I wassss born, the Lemurian Empire wassss already decadent and fallen. They experimented on human sssslavesss, created foul magicssss, and warred with the Atlanteansssss. I ssserved there assss well, violence wassss in my nature." the snakeman closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly.

 

"Sssstill...I wasss never ssssatisssfied with my nature. I sssssought to change it. And sssssomeone took pity on me. A human woman, desssspite all that the Lemuriansssss had done to humanssss. I ssssought to leave violence behind. To become better than I wasssss." he leaves a lot out here; he leaves out a good deal of his history in between. Does he not remember, has it faded, or is it private? It's difficult to say. Maybe he wants to leave her some mystery in her life.

 

"...I eventually outlived that woman, and when sssssshe left, I found my way here. Away from warsssss, away from sssssorrow. Ssssso long have I ssssat. Alwaysssss a sssssstep from the end of the journey." He mumbled. "There issss a path forward for me. I jussssst haven't found it yet."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"Atlantis and Lemuria, the war? I have heard of it. Myths, legends, dusty old tomes that would fall apart if you looked at them too long. But there are strange and obscure books in strange and obscure libraries. I wouldn't mind getting the mysterious Erasmus Murk to lend me a few of his books, I can tell you... never met the man...."

 

She shook herself out of that rabbit hole. 

 

"A bad time for everyone. That's the one universal of war. Nobody has a good time. Humans, Atlanteans, Lemurians... you. Maybe one of the experiments..."

 

Was that it? Some ancient experiment? Was that the Crow family?

 

"You are strange. Even for your own people. Why? How? Can one change one's nature? I ... err... am asking for a friend, you see?"

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"To change onesssss nature...." he mumbled, his head shaking back and forth hypnotically in thought. "Your nature, your life, your habitssssss...think of them asssss a rut. Each day you roll a boulder up a hill. The eassssiessssst path isss the one you've worn clean." He sighed, a deep, rolling sigh l.

 

"You have made your own rut...but that doesssss not mean you are trapped. You musssst ssssssimply take the extra effort to pusssssh your boulder out of your rut and make a new one. It will be hard, and easssier to fall back into your firssssst path...but with enough effort, you can forge a new path, to take your boulder to a new mountain...ssssomeday, I wissssh to find a new mountain peak of my own."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"I am not a fan of ruts. Or being in them," said Cassandra. "But the worst ruts are the ones you don't see. I daresay that's your point..."

 

She frowned. It was food for thought. 

 

"...and it's a good one. One I will consider, although I would think it quite the devil to avoid a rut you can't see. Still, if it was easy everyone would do it. And few do. Seems it has taken you centuries, and you don't strike me as creature lacking will."

 

She dragged herself back to the creature, away from introspection. There was a time to fully contemplate enlightenment, and it wasn't now. "What mountain peak are you seeking?" she asked, words cautious, slow. 

 

The creature seemed a good sort, but Lemurians were, by all accounts, deceptive. What if his new plan was Lemurian domination of the world? Or even the world's destruction?

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"....If I could ssssssssee it, I would tell you." he said, curling in on himself in a meditative position. "After a few thoussssand years, I've come to ssssimply enjoy the climb." he said. "...That'ssss what I like to ssssay anyway. Ssssometimessss I do wissssh I had finally asssscended a hundred yearssss ago." he admitted. "Then I get caught up in my passsst, and the passsst drags me down forever." Then he stopped and looked at her again.

 

"...But then, because I wassss sssstill here, I got to meet you, Casssandra. Ssssso perhapsssssss, inssssstead of wisssshing I had passssed, I can insssstead be happy that I happened to be here. And isssssn't that sssssuch a nice thing?" he did his best to smile with his snake face. It wasn't great, but it was a clear smile.

 

"...Sssso, my peek issss....being better than yesssterday. That'ssss a good one, I think."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"The climb? I suppose I enjoy that too...." said Cassandra. "The fall, not so much. But what is a climb without a fall now and again?"

 

"As for the peak, sounds like you are never going to reach it. Although I guess that's the point, isn't it. We aren't meant to be satisfied, we are mean to strive..."

 

She shook her hair, wanting to free herself from philosophy. Dig to deep, you never know what you might find. Something unpleasant, no doubt. 

 

"Back to the present. What about the professor? I want to check he is... well..."

 

And that he truly wants to stay here. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Its a good place. But I have to know...

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"Sssspeak to the Yeti. He'll take you to him. I do not leave thissss room. It isssss my place of relaxation." The snake-man said. "...Sssso, you are right thought, to sssstrive is to be alive. Sssso, I will keep ssstriving. If you are leaving, then go with joy. Keep sssstriving. I will not tempt you with a gift, I will not offer you anything...I ssssimply sssssay, I hope that you continue to ssstrive." The snake said.

 

Speaking of the Professor, though, the Yeti was back, standing at the edge of the room; he was unwilling to enter it, standing outside the door-frame while Cassie talked to the Snake. The professor was with him, a bald head and some roughed up explorer's khakhis.

 

"If you are done, Cassandra, you should leave him be for now." the Yeti said. "The person you wished to see has gotten here." He didn't 'bring' them, because bringing them would be a gift. In this place, after all, you could not take a gift, or you would be forced to stay.

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Cassandra slowly stepped out of the room. 

 

A lingering thought in her head - would she come back? No doubt a couple of dozen questions would manifest in her skull as soon as she left this place, but none seemed to appear now. She would surely kick herself later, and... could she return?

 

"Good striving, then..." she said to the Lemurian as she left and turned to face the Yeti and the Professor. 

 

"Professor! Good to see you alive. I confess I feared the worst. Are you well? Are they treating you fine?"

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The professor looked, if anything, a bit healthier than the last time that Cassandra had seen him; there was a good flush to his cheeks, he had a stable gait, he just seemed..healthier.

 

"Oh Cassandra. I'm sorry that they sent you out here all over my ridiculous self." He said seriously. "I'm quite sorry. I don't mean to give you an apology, I just wish to say I am sorry." he explains. "I did finally find the Yetis, and the Sunbright Temple, at least!" he chuckled. "I'm fine, definitely fine. For a given meaning of Fine at least." he admitted. "Some minor problems going on obviously, but that's how it is, there are always problems." he said, unconcerned at least in some level.

 

"They are treating me fine, of course. I've gotten to learn a lot about this temple, about the histories of all the cultures who put this together, all that...I've found my life's work, after all, the research and treasure that disappeared so many years ago from my country during the throes of rebellion. It's...well that's perfect for me." he sighed. "Though, I suppose now we have the problem that no one will see my research."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"Minor problems?"

 

Cassandra had a hunch they were not minor, even if the Professor looked jovial. 

 

"Quite the treasure trove you have here, Professor. From an academic point of view. Possibly a spiritual one too, although I imagine for man of your dedication the two are entwined."

 

She looked at the Yeti. "Can anyone see his research? Can it be taken out of this temple?" she asked, although she rather suspected the answer would be no. 

 

"This place is a secret, yes? But why so? Does it have any threats?"

 

Under her breath, she whispered to the Professor in Latin... "Are you in danger? do you wish to stay here?"

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The Yeti and the professor thought about the individual questions before answering. No one seemed to do anything fast in this place; if they had infinite time, they were going to use every last second of it, it seemed.

 

"I do not suppose it would be a problem for his research to leave here. But I'm not sure it would be much good; the idea of a man who died on an expedition speaking about ancient unknown histories of the world, snake people and yetis and aliens from beyond the stars? I would think it might end up being known simply as the curiosities of a man who lost himself and died of exposure in the mountains. This is not to say I will stop you, simply that you may need to temper the expectations of what will happen when you bring this back. After all, Shambala Vale is also only known in whispers and legends. If it will accomplish a goal the professor wished for in life, and if it brings you peace, you may take it wherever you wish." he said. "Perhaps it would be better kept in your own archives, for safe keeping. That way if another wishes to visit us, to find this place forgotten by time, they can come and speak to you." then the Yeti scratched it's cheek in an extremely human gesture of pondering. "As for keeping it secret...well. It is for the best. There are things we have been asked to do that we do. Those that uplifted us asked us to keep this place a secret. To keep that great wheel." He gestures up towards the giant spinning wheel. "Turning, to never let it fall. I do not know if we could continue to do that if we opened our doors far and wide. And if we did, then...I think we would lose something in it. This place should be peaceful; only the people who need to come here, who would make the journey because they need to, should be able to get here. This place is for those people, not for anyone who simply wishes to.

 

"As for me..." The professor said. "Well...I can't say I'm unhappy. Even if it's cost me quite a lot, in the end, I've succeeded on my journey. So what is there to be concerned about, or what is there to worry about? I can only complain so much when I've been successful...that's what all us academic types want to have right? That it's okay for us to pass away, as long as we've discovered that we're right, we'll take any consequence." He explained. He acknowledge her statement in Latin and responded in kind.

 

"I am fine here. Even if I could leave, I do not think I would want to. There's so much to explore here still, so much to learn and enjoy. I will likely not return from this place. But I'm okay with that."

 

The Yeti looked back at Cassandra.

"If it bothers you that this place is so secretive, I am more than willing to allow you to have that honor. If you think someone should come here, should find peace in this temple, I invite you to tell them to come here. We will welcome them with open arms if they can pass the trials, the same as you did."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Something about this place - it was like an itch. Not wrong, just itchy. Maybe she was allergic to this place; to much peace was, for Cassandra Crow, a discontent. She would not stay, it would be a prison. But for others? Maybe it was a contentment. 

 

Cassandra Crow would never be content with being content. 

 

One thing she did want to know, however. 

 

"This wheel," she asked. "What is its purpose? You sound like you have some purpose here, keeping the wheel turning, but what is it? Simply a symbol, a ritual, its purpose merely to provide purpose? Or does it serve some other function? Keeping the time of the universe flowing properly?"

 

"And if it comes to that, how do you keep it moving? And what would happen if you failed? Just asking as I am quite attached to the nature of the universe and would hate to see it stop. Although I imagine if time stopped I would never be aware of it. Perhaps it has stopped several times already."