The Chronicles of Shamballa

Chapter LIII: The Hollow Mountains

Carey stood back up and the three of them had a laugh. He was mocked by the Princess for being so clumsy. While they moved up the valley of cold and thick snow, the sun was setting in the west beyond the icy mountains. Carey paused a while and squatted while maintaining a steady eye over the horizon. Meena and Ram Babu watched curiously, wondering what he was up to.

“What is it Mr. Carey?” she asked.

“It’s wild! Ha! It’s beyond wild!” Carey smirked as he pointed towards the hills.

The others watched curiously towards the same direction. The sun was setting between two mountains- almost ten kilometres away and as it set did so, they saw a peculiar spectacle. There was a wide gap between the mountains and the setting sun glowed orange as it dipped between them. The three of them kept watching and then they saw it. The sun dipped down and the space- the gap between the two mountains looked like it was glowing. The rocky edges of the mountains together with the gap between them formed the shape of an upwards facing horizontal moon- a sleeping moon, plainly speaking. They saw it as clear as day- the shape was so perfect that it almost seemed that the moon was resting between the edges of the mountain.

“That’s where we need to go!” said Carey standing up and smiling.

“Wow! This is unbelievable! How on earth did nature create such a spectacle?” remarked the Princess.

“C’mon we need to reach to the base of that mountain range before dark, I can make out some caverns out there, it should keep us safe from the cold!” said Carey picking up his satchel and struggling through the snow.

“Eh! Sahib, you are right, I don’t trust these strange lands, the guardians of the mountains are out there, maybe there are watching us right now!” remarked Ram Babu leading the huge Yak behind him while keeping a suspicious eye around him.

“The Abominable Snowman- the Yeti you mean? I’m sure they are just trying to scare us away,” remarked Carey.

“But they took Raza, Sahib?” said Ram.

“Yes, they did, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that crook found a way to negotiate his life and flee from their captivity, or maybe the Yetis will kick him out themselves if he annoys them too much!” said Carey jokingly, Ram didn’t reply.

“Abo-abominab- ah! What is the meaning of that word? I have never heard of it before!” said the Princess walking alongside.

“Abominable- meaning scary, frightful, fearsome, disgusting and illusive, that’s what the early explorers like to call the snowman,” explained Carey.

“Well? Have they ever caught one?” asked the Princess naively.

“No, I don’t think they ever have, hence the name, but you and I both know that they are out there, and they do not like trespassers in their land,” replied Carey recalling the earlier night and the ghastly encounter with one of them said beings.

They didn’t speak much for the remainder of the journey but struggled through the thick snow to reach the base of the mountain range. The darkness was falling like a carpet across the valley, slowly dimming the lights around them. They hurried for it was easy to lose direction in the darkness and fall prey to the cold. The temperature barely rose above 10 degrees even during the hottest day of the year but it went below zero every night- instantly freezing everything. At this temperature, an exposed human being would succumb to hypothermia within a couple of minutes and die. Which is why it was imperative for them to find a shelter before the darkness completely sets in. The wind was slowly picking up speed, they could see the base of the mountain and some sort of cave in it. It was risky to venture into such a cave, there was always the fear of snow leopards in and around the area but they had no other choice.

“Mr. Carey, what is your plan? Where will we find the last piece?” asked the Princess.

“According to my research, it should be right underneath that crescent shape of the moon we saw earlier,” replied Carey, “You see the map indicates that the piece should be somewhere in a mountain but there are no further instructions, so going by the previous assumptions, the shape of the moon made by the gap should be the location, I assumed that the piece should be either on the top of the ridge- meaning right at the centre where the two mountains meet or it should be underneath the shape. And since there doesn’t seem to be any proper place on top, the piece should be naturally located below- there- you see? We are headed towards the base of the mountain and if you draw a straight line from the centre of the gap to the base- it falls directly upon?”

“Those caves! Yes! Mr. Carey, you are an absolute genius!” said the Princess.

“Well, I do what I can, but right now, we need to hurry, just another kilometre.” Carey replied modestly.

It took them almost three hours to cross the valley and reach the base of the mountain and when they reached it, the snow began to fall. A five foot hollow entrance stood at the base of the mountain. The three of them looked at each other and walked into the cavern, not knowing what lies inside. At first it seemed that there was not much space inside but when Carey kicked the snow away, the whole cavern shook violently and gave way to a huge entrance up ahead. Carey lit up a blowtorch and looked curiously at the darkness. He could feel a small draft of wind touching his face which meant that there was an exit on the other side. He walked ahead clearing the snow and soon found himself standing underneath a huge cave, the Princess followed him and held his hand as he stood gazing at the surroundings. Ram somehow managed to pull the great Yak inside too. A while later, they realized that the cavern led many miles up ahead and there were many paths and entrances.

“We should settle down here, the air inside is surprisingly pleasant!” said Carey finding himself a place to relax.