The Chronicles of Shamballa

Chapter LV: Ghosts of the Lost Kingdom

Carey looked around the cavern with a torch. There were strange paintings and scriptures painted all over in languages that he had never seen before. In fact he doubted that they would even be considered as languages for they appeared to be so simplistic and yet they seemed so mysterious and exotic.

"What are these writings? They must be here for a reason..." he wondered.

After a few minutes of wandering about in the empty caverns, he stood in front of what seemed to be passages leading everywhere. Small doorways and entrances about four feet tall and five feet wide that were crudely carved out of stone. Somehow he felt a sense of foreboding danger and he decided not to explore any further. He turned around and decided to meet up with the others. But as soon as he turned his back, he felt something on his shoulder. He slowly turned to look and saw a bony hand placed on his left shoulder. He jerked it off and let out a cry and as soon as he did, he saw the hand collapse on the floor. He shined his torch and saw a gruesome sight- a human skeleton was lying on the ground and not only that, the entire floor was covered with hundreds of human bones and skulls. He couldn’t take it anymore and ran towards the exit to meet with the others. Whatever the place was, he understood that it was not safe.

On his way back he saw the Princess and Ram Babu approaching him. They had clearly heard his cry and came looking for him thinking that he was in some sort of danger. Carey stumbled and gasped until he reached them and panted heard with the almost burned out torch in his right hand.

“This – this place- is- it is a dungeon- people have been here before,” he said trying to catch his breath.

“What? What do you mean?” asked the Princess placing her hand on his back.

“I mean, I might have been wrong, there is danger up ahead,” he replied.

“What danger?” asked Ram Babu.

“I saw skeletons- human skeletons up ahead, I think this is a lair of some mountain lion or a bear!” he replied.

“Or the Yeti, Sahib!” remarked Ram Babu.

Carey did not respond. For the first time he knew that Ram Babu might have been right to assume that the Yetis have murdered those people and probably eaten them.

“What do we do now? We can’t turn back!” said the Princess.

“No we won’t turn back, but we do need to be careful, I suggest Ram should stay here near the exit with the Yak, and you and I should go check out the dungeons,” Carey suggested.

“But Sahib!” Ram Babu remarked.

“Don’t worry Ram, stay here and wait for our return, if we don’t return by daybreak, assume the worst and return with the Yak to the village and tell them everything, do not- I repeat, do not come looking for us,” Carey explained.

He knew that it was a dangerous mission but he sincerely hoped that somehow his reincarnated powers would help him survive the dangers up ahead and lead him to the final piece. After preparing themselves for the mission, Carey and the Princess went towards the dungeons while Ram stayed close to the exits with his Yak, lighting a small fire to keep him warm. He prayed to the Gods for their safety and watched them disappear into the depths of the unknown. From where he was sitting, he could see that the darkness of the night had engulfed the entire valley and there was nothing but snow and harsh winds outside. The small fire he built could barely withstand the winds that came flowing through the entrance of the cave. But he cleverly moved the yak towards the entrance so that it would block the winds and protect him from the cold. The Yak was built to withstand the cold, he was not. This was the first time in his life that he had seen snow and he did not like it. His thick furry jacket and the warmth of the fire kept him alive in the sun zero temperatures. If he were stranded alone outside, he would have never made it. He worried about his master and thought about the pirate Raza, was he still alive and if so where was he?

While Carey and the Princess ventured bravely into the unknown, there were others who were slowly approaching his location. The Dutchman- who had spotted the wrecked train in the valley had now taken shelter in the same train and looked for clues to help him understand where they went. He thought it better to spend the night in the dead engine instead of dying outside in the cold. On the other hand, the witch was on their trail too along with her puppet- the zombie rebel leader. They had entered the outer reaches of the valley and were still approaching even in the harsh cold. Their horses blew embers of fire from their nostrils and the witch herself was unbothered by the cold. Her magic allowed her to go on for days without food or rest. Things were not looking good for Carey but he knew he was really close to the end of his journey. Shamballa was within his reach.

“Mr. Carey, what time is it?” said the Princess.

“Time? Why?” replied Carey.

“I have lost sense of the outside world, it seems that we will never reach the end of this journey,” she replied sadly.

“It is 1.00 a.m. and please don’t give up now Princess, I can feel it in my bones- we are very close,” Carey said.

“Ah! Close, I wonder what has become of my father, is he still alive, if not then what is the point of all this?” she replied.

“Princess Meena, you are the only thing that has kept me going for so long, I know things have been hard but I need you to hold on for a little longer,” he said.

Both of them went deeper into the dungeon but there seemed to be no end of the tunnels.