TOPIC: The Children of Fear

Friday 21st September 1923

A bad omen?
Next afternoon, on the way over to Wang’s office, black clouds roll across the sky and, accompanied by rumbling thunder, a storm of hail stones lashes the city. Such a storm is unseasonable and of rare ferocity. It passes quickly and under a brighter sky the investigators meet up at Wang’s office at Yenching University.

Travel Plans
Wang is delighted that the investigators have agreed to travel. He has spent the morning making arrangements. Three automobiles with drivers will suffice for passengers and baggage and will pick you up in the morning. Wang provides a wooden coffer full of silver dollars and a box of flags to fly from your baggage train; your national flags may prove enough to deter would-be bandits on the road. Wang also hands over a letter from the office of General Wu Pei-fu, the Jade Marshal himself. The letter is a travel permit which may allow you to pass military check points unhindered. Unfortunately the further from Peking you travel, the less authority the permit will likely carry. Wang informs you that a military escort will also accompany you as far as Sian.

Langdon Warner
Asked about Warner, Chang informs the investigators he has travelled alone to Tun-huang to study the ancient wall paintings and carvings there and experiment with a new method of preserving murals. He is being sponsored by the Fogg Museum of Harvard University. On request he provides a photograph of Warner; it shows Warner and Chang together. Before returning to the topic of travel plans Wei Chen asks about the impressive library of books Chang has on his shelves. Wei Chen is most pleased to borrow a book of the printed works of the celebrated eighth century poet, Du Fu.

How far?
Sian is three days drive from Peking along roads of questionable quality. At Sian, Wang recommends accommodation for travellers at the Kulou House. To continue from Sian to Tun-haung, you must travel along the trail of the ancient silk road. A reputable Sian merchant named Mi Han is the best person to see about mules, carts, supplies, porters, cooks and everything else you need to assemble a caravan to take you the thirty or so days along rough roads to the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas.


Saturday 22nd September 1923

The road to Sian
As promised the investigators are collected from their addresses. Two cars for the conveyance of the investigators and one car filled with the baggage. At Tiananmen Square a dozen soldiers in two military transports join the cavalcade. The soldiers, lead by a sergeant, are young and obviously less than impressed at being given a baby-sitting detail. The vehicles exit the city, cross the Marco Polo bridge and head west.



Tuesday 25th September 1923

At the gates of Sian
The three day journey is uncomfortable but uneventful. The countryside changes through vistas of wondrous greenery, forests and barren plains until arriving outside Sian. Light rain has turned the dirt road into a squelchy morass and the fading sun is beginning to sink low to the horizon. Crowds of people, many driving animals and carts are rushing to make it inside the city gate before sunset. The sound of the six hundred beats booms out from the city drum tower. On the six hundredth beat, the gates will be closed and will not open again until he bell tower sounds at dawn.

Entering the city
The sergeant of the escort, accompanied by Wei Chen who bears the travel permit, negotiates entrance to the city. The military guards on duty at the gate are initially wary of admitting foreigners just as they are set to close. After swift negotiation the cavalcade rolls into the city as the six hundred beats end and the gates are shut behind them. The vehicles and escort deposit the investigators outside Kulou House and then leave, though their departure for the return to Peking is presumably delayed until dawn.

Sian
Founded as Fengou in the eleventh century on the banks of the Wei River, the city name was later changed to Chang’an (the City of Peace) and later still to Sian (Xian). Sometimes referred to as the Rome of Asia, the walled city marked the start of the Silk Road and its huge gates would be shut at sunset at the end of 600 beats from the drum tower and would not re-open until dawn signalled by the sound of the bells ringing out from Sian’s great bell tower. When the city was closed, travellers would have to wait outside among the ancient tombs of the dead.

A city of commerce and faith, Sian is characterised by narrow streets filled with the throng of multi-cultural traders. Its architecture includes Christian churches, mosques, synagogues, Hindu shrines, Buddhist temples, Zoroastrian fire-temples and tall pagodas. The city is also famous as the final resting place of the monk, Hieun-Tsiang, who in the seventh century travelled to India to collect Buddhist scriptures and returned with hundreds of them. The scriptures remain in Sian and scholars study them still today and translate them from Sanskrit.

A sixteenth century retelling of Hieun-Tsiang’s travels, titled Journey to the West, is one of China’s greatest literary masterpieces and employs fantastical elements to describe the travelling monk and his disciples, including the legendary Monkey King who accompanied Hieun-Tisiang on his sacred mission as an atonement for rebelling against heaven.


Kulou House
The guest house is neat and tidy and has a generous courtyard. Inside the investigators wait to speak with the concierge in order to secure rooms. Currently the concierge is being harassed by a guest, an aging white American who is complaining about a missing item of property. Indignant at the suggestion that perhaps he may have simply mislaid it, the man none-the-less is forced to accept assurances that the missing piece is bound to turn up and the hotel staff will keep an eye out for it. Unsatisfied, the man turns away with a snorted “hurumph!” and heads towards the bar, limping due to a crocked knee.

Thaddeus Johnson
The concierge is pleased to book single rooms for all of the investigators and calls for porters to move their baggage. The American gentleman? Ah yes, that would be Prof. Thaddeus Johnson. He’s upset that he cannot find his walking cane. Arsala Khan enters the bar and engages Professor Johnson in conversation. He is a professor at Miskatonic University, Massachusetts and is in Sian for three weeks to study the great repository of sacred Buddhist scriptures in the city. He is perturbed that his walking cane has gone missing. He picked it up many years ago from a Boston store and is dear to him. The stock is hazel wood and the hand-piece is green soapstone carved in the vague effigy of an octopoid creature. He is sure he hung it on the back of a chair in his room last night, as is his habit, and this morning it was gone.

A good night’s sleep?
After three days travel, and two nights under canvas in the countryside, a good meal, a hot bath and a proper bed promised a bit of luxury for the weary investigators. But each has disturbed dreams, a reflection on the visions experienced when the magic lantern went pop several days ago. In addition, Vincenzo dreamed of graffiti in an unfamiliar language on a wall, dripping with blood – whether the writing was in blood or whether the wall itself was bleeding, he couldn’t tell. Wei Chen too dreamed of something new – a small child moving in the darkness – a dream that felt so incredibly real.


Wednesday 26th September 1923

The missing book
In the morning, Wei Chen awoke to find the Du Fu text he was reading before sleep is missing from where he placed it on the bedside cabinet. Search as he may, the book could not be found. During his search Wei Chen discovered three small clay coins beneath his pillow.

II

Wednesday 26th September 1923 continued…..

Morning and moaning
Wei Chen marched down to the foyer to register a complaint regarding the disappearance of the Du Fu text from his bedside. Clearly the book must have been stolen in the night. The Concierge, keen to allay such allegations, assures Wei Chen that though his complaint is taken seriously, he will arrange for a cleaner to tidy his room and find the book whilst Wei Chen is at breakfast.

New Friends
The guesthouse, being rather busy, has laid a breakfast table for six, requiring the travellers to share with two other guests. Seated next to Vincenzo was a striking young woman named Yana Grigorievna Rasputina, a Russian national fleeing the turmoil of revolution. Yana exudes an aura of mysticism. She joins polite conversation but remains guarded about how much personal information she’s willing to share. The other newcomer, is a hoity-toity British officer who introduces himself as 'Bolly'. Arsala recognises him immediately and the two strike up a conversation. Bolly, unlike Yana, is keen to talk about himself – in fact it seems difficult to stop him. The investigators breakfasted well on congee, noodle soup and steamed dumplings. Throughout breakfast there was a faint but unmistakable whiff of brandy around the table.

Bolly
Lt. Col. Sir M.B. Gawain Rutherford-Hill VC GC KCB, affectionately known as “Bolly”, moved to Peking only recently. Travel is an occupational necessity for a man of his calibre; a charismatic British Army officer whose keenest interests, aside from duty, include society, alcohol and carnal relations. Bolly arrived in Sian from Peking just a few days ago having been despatched there on a diplomatic errand to hand-deliver an important letter to the Mayor of Sian. The hush-hush mission had been hastily arranged by his superiors soon after the occurrence of the sensitive international incident surrounding the deflowering of the French Ambassador’s daughter. Bolly remains unaware of the contents of the sealed envelope but has been mentally prepared for the fact that his mission may require him to remain absent from Peking for a few weeks (until the furore at the French Embassy dies down).

Clay coins
Arsala went over to sit with Thaddeus Johnson in the breakfast room. He asked whether the professor’s walking cane had re-appeared (which it hadn’t) and mentioned the missing Du Fu book. Arsala then mentioned clay coins. Prof. Johnson put his hand in his jacket pocket and produced five clay coins, just like those left under Wei Chen’s pillow. Johnson found the coins in his pocket last night and doesn’t know how or when they were put there. Yana examined the small clay coins - she recognised them as pan liang - grave goods, or spirit articles as she refers to them.

Post-breakfast investigations
At the end of breakfast, staff apologise to Wei Chen but no book has been found in his room. McAllister and Vincenzo conduct their own search of the room and by a miracle (a roll of 01%) discover bare-foot human prints near the window. The footprints are small. Very small. Wei Chen receives a tip-off from a waiter: Items have gone missing from another guest house in the city – the Pilgrim Hotel. The waiter knows the porter there – Li Chun, who apparently witnessed something.

Pilgrim Hotel
A short rickshaw ride away, along the road to the west gate, the investigators arrive outside the Pilgrim Hotel. It is similar in design to Kulou House, with a range of low buildings arranged in a square around a central courtyard. Wei Chen marched purposefully to the reception desk, and casting aside pleasantries, demanded an audience with Li Chun. Suspicious that the visit must be on some private affair that had no right to be taking place in front of his guests, the hotel manager sought to recommend an interview with one of his employees should take place elsewhere. Wei Chen obstinately refused to move. Li Chun was called for.

Li Chun
Li Chun, his voice low and discrete, admitted a theft had taken place recently at the Pilgrim. A porcelain pillow taken from a guest’s room. The guest has since moved on but was upset at losing a possession of great sentiment. Wei Chen, his voice loud and clear, pressed for more information. Li Chun informed him that a few clay coins were left behind in the guest’s room. He admitted also that he saw a small child in the alley behind the hotel scampering away with the porcelain pillow. Of course at the time he didn’t realise a theft had taken place. Though he knows nothing more, Li does suggests to Wei Chen to check out a local vendor who sells souvenirs and charms from his street stall – Li hears that the merchant, Sai Na, has apparently had some genuine antiques on his stall recently.

Sai Na
Following instructions provided by Li Chun, the investigators find Sai Na’s stall - a handcart set up near the God Temple half a mile back along the west gate road. Hanging above the stall, red silks embroidered with Chinese calligraphy proudly announce Sai Na – purveyor of fine religious tokens and artefacts. Sai Na, a portly middle-aged man wearing traditional robes, sells what is best described as a pile of old crap. His stall is brimming with cheap bric-a-brac which Sai likes to call lucky charms and souvenirs. McAllister engages with Sai Na and after dismissing most items soon lets his attention rest upon what he recognises as a genuine Qing dynasty jade vase – at least a hundred years old. McAllister tries to tease information about when and from where Sai procured the vase. Sai Na refuses to be drawn on it and keeps up his sales patter. Eventually, with McAllister obviously keen on genuine antiques, Sai Na said he had a few discerning items kept in his warehouse. He invites McAllister to his warehouse address to view the items – this evening, 8 o’clock.

Street urchin
Arsala is keen to visit Mi Han’s emporium in Sian to arrange for transport and provisions for the onward journey to Tun-huang. Bolly is keen to deliver his vitally important letter to the town hall (having only just remembered he still has it, despite arriving in town a few days ago). Everyone else elects to accompany Arsala. Before they take another step, McAllister notices a street urchin lift Vincenzo’s purse of silver dollars and the chase is on. The child, a small undernourished girl in rags of about ten years of age is caught. Yana draws a pistol on the thief and threatens to blow her brains out if she doesn’t hand the purse back. Realising she’s a starving child and not the mastermind of a criminal organisation stealing people’s sentimental belongings, the gun is eventually lowered at the insistence of the less impetuous investigators. Yana’s intimidating gaze however remains firmly fixed on the child. Bolly is the voice of reason and reassures the child that the crazy-gun-lady didn't really mean it and he hands over a few coins for food. The grateful child bestows the blessing of Kwan Yin upon the kind alcohol-stewed man and disappears into an alleyway.

MORE TO FOLLOW…

Still Wednesday 26th September 1923…..

The secret mission
Bolly took a rickshaw to the town hall and requested to be shown to the Mayor’s office. The young male clerk at the desk informed Bolly that the Mayor was an important and busy man. Without an appointment an audience with the Mayor was not possible. Bolly became insistent, he had a letter that must be delivered by him personally. Bolly oozed with personal charm and flattery – whatever it took to persuade the clerk to relent. Eventually the clerk agreed to meet Bolly after work for a date and agreed also to fetch the Mayor.

International Relations
Angry shouting in Chinese preceded the approach of equally angry footsteps and soon the Mayor came into view. Bolly, in an overbearing display of British pomp, bowed slightly and presented the letter in its sealed envelope. Bolly continued to speak but the Mayor, who spoke no English, just stared at him. When Bolly finished, the Mayor replied in an outburst of angry Chinese, which Bolly could not understand. The clerk was forced to translate, but his translations into English didn’t match the ferocity and overall wordiness of the Mayor’s speech. Perhaps it was just a cultural thing. The Mayor stomped out of view – unopened envelope in hand. There was a distant sound of paper tearing. Bolly smiled, uncertain what he should do next. He backed away towards the exit and lied that he’ll meet the young man for their date when he gets off from his shift.

Mi Han’s Emporium
In the Muslim Quarter the investigators find Mi Han’s business premises. Mi Han seemed to sell everything and anything but most of all, he was the best man in the city for arranging a caravan: mule-drawn mappas, porters, cooks, tents, provisions and all manner of sundries including the kitchen sink (well an iron tub to wash the pots and pans in). Arsala insisted that a good guide would be needed – Mi Han offered to send his own son Mi Hu along with the caravan. Everything will be arranged and ready to leave two days from now.

Sai Na’s Warehouse
Everyone returned to Kulou House and washed for dinner. The six hundred beats of the drum sounded out across the city and the sun went down. After a hearty meal Bolly sat back, the smell of brandy was overwhelming, and when Bolly lit his cigar everyone expected him to go up in flames. Meal, drinks and cigars done, the investigators set out to Sai Na’s warehouse. The address turned out to be a smaller version of the building style of Kulou House. A single-storey range of buildings around a small cobblestone yard. The entrance was guarded by a wooden gate large enough to wheel a cart through with a smaller wooden door set in it for personal use. McAllister knocked. Sai Na answered.

Stolen goods?
To the right of the yard was obviously Sai Na’s family home – his wife was clearing away dinner things and kids were shouting and screaming. Sai Na produced a ring of iron keys and opened the door to the shed on the left of the yard – his warehouse. Inside, the shelves were brimming with crap, but on a table were set a few genuine antiques – including the jade vase seen earlier and a porcelain pillow. McAllister renewed the line of questioning about where the goods were obtained but Sai Na ignored him. A deal was struck for the vase and the pillow. Not knowing what else to do, he left with his purchases.

Look what I just spent all our money on!
Back in the street, McAllister shows everyone the Qing dynasty jade vase and the antique porcelain pillow he just bought. Vincenzo is not pleased that their precious silver dollars had been squandered on expensive things that are no use to them. McAllister tossed the jade vase to Bolly. Bolly stood with his hands in his pockets and watched the vase smash into a million pieces on the ground. Oh well – it’s the porcelain pillow that’s important. Surely this is the stolen piece from the Pilgrim Hotel? Vincenzo suggests perhaps Sai Na has business records and they could access them to find where he got the pillow? Arsala replies: Does Sai Na look like the sort of person to keep records?

Return to the Pilgrim Hotel
The manager at the desk didn’t look too pleased to see Wei Chen standing in his reception area again. And this time he’d brought stolen goods with him. The manager, certain Wei Chen was going to extort money for the porcelain item in his hands was on the verge of sending for the police. To his surprise, Wei Chen, with the rest of the investigators grinning behind him, was here to return the stolen item as an act of benevolence in the hopes that the hotel would be able to reunite it with its owner. The manager confirmed this is indeed the stolen piece and that happily the owner has left a forwarding address in the event of the item being found.

As one door opens, another one closes
The clatter of rickshaw wheels halted outside Sai Na’s home once more. McAllister banged urgently on the gate. Sai Na answered. "Right!" exclaimed McAllister, "We know you’re dealing in stolen goods and we want answers”. Sai Na slammed the gate shut in his face.


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III

Wednesday 26th – Thursday 27th September 1923

A late night walk
McAllister, Bolly and Arsala watch Sai Na’s house from a dark alleyway across the street. Their patience is rewarded when shortly after midnight Sai Na emerges and walks briskly away. McAllister and Bolly follow their quarry all the way to the city’s imposing east wall. Arsala retreats to Kulou House to fetch Wei Chen, Yana and Vincenzo. At the base of the wall, Sai Na disappears into undergrowth. Trailing shortly behind, McAllister discovers a hole in the wall behind the greenery. It’s a bit of a squeeze but passing through he witnesses Sai Na disappearing between some of the burial mounds outside the city limits. Having lost sight of their quarry, McAllister and Bolly lay in wait. Within ten minutes Sai Na comes into view once more – before he was empty-handed but now he is carrying something wrapped in cloth. Bolly pounces from behind and knocks the merchant out cold.

You’ve got some explaining to do
McAllister and Bolly drag the unconscious dead-weight back to the city. Arsala having fetched the others, see the two men struggling in the street with the inert body. Everyone passes into a dark alley and Sai Na is dumped on the ground. The cloth-covered package Sai Na was carrying turns out to be a mirror in an antique frame. As the merchant recovers consciousness he is threatened and cajoled into explaining his actions. He offers to lead the investigators to the burial mounds and show them.

The tomb
The investigators are guided into a tomb, inside which are two chambers with multiple burials. In the second chamber, on a stone slab, are several items. Among them Wei Chen recognises the Du Fu text stolen from his room and there is a walking cane matching the description of the one belonging to Professor Johnson at Kulou House. There are other items accompanying the burials and pots full of clay coins. There are also many terracotta figures in the chamber, three feet tall, servants to the dead as they pass into the afterlife. Sai Na confesses has been stealing grave goods to sell on his stall to feed his family – an act that has to be carried out with care.

Terracotta terror
As soon as Wei Chen moves the Du Fu text and Vincenzo lifts the walking cane, the terracotta figures animate and attack. In the close confines of the burial chamber the investigators are forced to fend off two dozen assailants that crowd around them clawing, snarling and drawing their small blades across their flesh. As each figure is destroyed, turned to dust and clay fragments, another takes its place. Sai Na shouts out “You must return the items! “. Replacing the book, cane and mirror turns the miniature warriors back to inanimate form. Vincenzo is badly wounded, Yana and Bolly make matters infinitely worse with their clumsy attempts at first aid. Wei Chen destroys the inert terracotta warriors and once more takes the book. Vincenzo, almost passing out in pain, takes the cane.

The last night in Sian
Back at Kulou House everyone remains shaken up by their terrifying experience. Wei Chen at least, is happy now that he has recovered the Du Fu text. Thaddeus Johnson is overjoyed to be reunited with his walking cane. That night, everyone suffers more strange dreams.

Thursday 27th September 1923

Departing Sian
After breakfast the investigators meet up with Mi Hu and their caravan. The caravan consists of several mappas stuffed with all manner of gear and provisions. Many porters and cooks have been employed for the journey. The caravan passes through the city gates and Sian is left behind for the long road to Tun-haung, a thousand miles westward past Langchou and the Kansu Corridor between the mountains.

On the road
The thousand mile trek to Tun-haung by mule-drawn mappa takes 34 days; during which you are robbed by corrupt soldiers and Bolly cops for a dose from a serving girl when staying at a filthy kung-kuan (a roadside traveller’s rest) near Langchou. Along the way, at small town’s and kung-kuans you see multiple times, Russian graffiti with a disturbing message that Yana translates as “They are come. The end is upon us. For they are come”.

Wednesday 31st October 1923

Tun Huang
Tun-huang, sometimes known as Shazhou (Town of Sand) has through the centuries been a border town, ofttimes Chinese but sometimes under the occupation of the Tibetan Empire. The town exists close to both desert and mountains. Arrival at the town of Tun-haung brings the promise of rest and a proper bed. Wei Chen however believes there’s no time to lose, and stopping only a few short hours to arrange for fresh mules and provisions, the caravan sets out on a desert trail - fifteen miles to Chi’en-fotung (the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas).

Langdon Warner
Close to the desert, in a fertile valley is Chi’en-fotung. The caves, carved into high rocks, are a place of wonder. Descending from a cave entrance via a rickety wooden ladder, a red-haired man with an excitable countenance rushes to greet you: “I’m Warner” he announces. He shakes hands vigorously with everyone while he continues: “Did Wang send you? Great! Come quickly, there’s no time to lose”. Given a tour of the nearest caves, the interiors are wondrous – there are centuries’ old Buddha statues, and the walls and ceilings covered in carvings and paintings – some restoration work (rather crudely done) is apparent.

The telegram
Warner, out of earshot of the investigators’ caravan, explains the urgency in his telegram. There is only one permanent resident at the caves, an old man named Yuanlu, a self-appointed custodian of Chien-fotung. Warner says Yuanlu told him that Russian soldiers, fleeing the revolution passed this way a few weeks ago and stayed at the caves for a few days. He overheard talk that they’d discovered a secret chamber full of treasures and that they’d concealed it, intending to return to it when they could. “We must find it first!” insists Warner. “There are a thousand caves to search – that’s why I need urgent help. Imagine what we might find!!”


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IV

Wednesday 31st October 1923 ctd…

Searching
The investigators spend several hours exploring caves looking for evidence of recent occupation by Russian refugees. Eventually Russian graffiti – much of it names, ranks and dates of soldiers – but also the repeating phrase—They are come. The end is upon us. For they are come is found. Evening draws in and everyone retires to camp, but the discovery of Russian graffiti provides an area to focus on when the search is renewed next morning.

A disturbed night’s sleep
Everyone spends the evening socialising around the camp fire. Warner, having had very little company for weeks, asks if he may join the camp for the evening. Soon everyone turns in for a night’s sleep. Some of the investigators are woken by a stifled cry – they run over to Warner’s tent to find him sat up, sweating and hyperventilating; Warner apologises profusely for waking them, simply a bad dream— that’s all.


Thursday 1st November 1923

Morning
Over breakfast it seems Warner is not the only one to have had a bad dream—the same dream! Warner, a couple of the porters and McAllister and Bolly too. A dream of a tremor, fluttering black wings, talons scratching at their faces before the black feathers burst into a shower of pink and white blossom; then as the petals fall to the floor they turn into blood that soaks away in the cracks in the ground. Dreams of the Russian graffiti dripping blood are experienced too. The investigators also meet Yuanlu, an aged Chinese man, the self-appointed guardian of the valley. He is old and polite and just returned from nearby towns where he seeks food. Warner discretely asks you not to mention anything to Yuanlu about seeking a secret chamber of treasure.

The concealed door
After breakfast the search of the cave is renewed. Shorty before midday Wei Chen brings an interesting piece of Russian graffiti to Yana’s notice. A cryptic clue. Using the clue, the investigators find in an adjacent cave a concealed door behind crude (and quite recent) mud plaster in a recess between paintings depicting a red Buddha and a merchant’s caravan.

The secret chamber
Breaking through the plaster and forcing open a stone door, you reveal a secret chamber filled with centuries-old artefacts. There are signs of recent disturbance—a few items have been piled close to the entrance as if hand-picked and made ready for extraction when someone comes to retrieve them. Amongst the most notable items are—a curved blade (katari, ritual flaying knife), a black polished stone in a thin gold rim (a melong), a skull cup (literally a cup fashioned from a human skull), and a 6ft staff topped with three skulls below a trident (a khatvanga). Warner is as giddy as a child on Christmas Morning.

Beyond the chamber
A life-sized Buddha rupa, covered in gold leaf, rests against one wall – Wei Chen feels a slight breeze, drawing his attention to a crack in the wall behind the rupa. The faint sound of a bird cawing can be heard in the space beyond the crack. With much strength the investigators force the rupa to one side and break through the old mud brick wall. As the bricks fall, dust is thrown up and the ground shakes. A large crow flutters up into one of the investigators faces before flying away.


MORE TO COME.....

The murals
Shining flashlights into the cavern beyond reveals walls painted floor to ceiling with murals and in the centre of the cavern is another life-sized figure – seated in lotus posture. The investigators enter and gawp at the murals in wonder. The mural seems to tell a pictorial story in many scenes. The protagonists in each scene are depicted in ancient robes but the faces are clearly those of the investigators themselves. By the robes, the art style and pigments used for the paint, Wei Chen estimates the murals date to the eighth or ninth century—and yet your own faces in every scene are unmistakable.

The lama
In front of the seated figure is a peach as if left in offering, and next to the figure is a pile of hundreds of peach stones. It is Yana who first notices movement. Like a statue coming to life, cracks appear on the figure's face at the corner of the mouth and then eyes slowly flicker open to reveal staring pale blue eyes. The living statue rises to its feet. Dressed in robes of indeterminable age that at first looked to have the hue of stone, but now looked pale orange. “Welcome” the figure says, “My name is Tenzin Kalsang. I have been waiting for you for quite some time.”

Shambhala
Tenzin Kalsang has been waiting in this cavern for many centuries. He is the artist responsible for the murals in this chamber. He has seen all these things in his dreams; he has seen you save the universe, as you have done so many times before, and will do so again. He explains that his dreams are sent to him by the Lords of Shambhala and he always knew you would come one day. Shambhala is a pure land. Its lords oversee the golden city, the city of peace, at the heart of Shambhala—residing as regents until the Kulika King rises to defend the universe from evil.

Agartha
The King of Fear is the ancient enemy of the Kulika King. The King of Fear and his armies reside in Agartha, the rival kingdom to Shambhala. The universe has been born, destroyed and reborn anew many times in an endless cycle as the world progresses through the four yugas (ages); always ending with the Kali Yuga (the current age of our world). If, before the end of the Kali Yuga, the Gates of Agartha should open, the King of Fear may emerge too soon for the Kulika King to oppose him. The King of Fear will then gain dominion over the world and all life within shall be either extinguished or forced into agonising servitude to the King of Fear.

Your destiny
From his dreams, Tenzin Kalsang knows the Gates of Agartha are opening too soon. This must not be allowed to happen. It is your destiny to join the lama on his journey to Agartha to seal the gates. Will you fulfil your destiny? You will need some things for the ritual. Seven ritual bowls that once belonged to Padmasambhava (founder of Tibetan School of Buddhism). They are said to be left at the place of his birth: Lake Danakosha. Unfortunately nobody knows for sure the true location of Lake Danakosha. Also, you need to collect some instruments from Sitavana. You will also need the ritual itself. Luckily it’s on a manuscript in the previous chamber you uncovered. Oh, dear. It appears to have gone missing.

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