Reclaiming Relics by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: All characters in this story are fictional. They are my creation and intellectual property. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely a coincidence. They are not meant to resemble anyone else's characters. This piece contains underaged characters. Some details have been fictionalized for simplicity sakes. You have been warned.
The next morning would arrive before long. Miraj would awake to the familiar sight of the rising sun peering through his window. The pooka sat up in his bed and looked out the window. The sandstorm had all but quieted down. Small piles of dirt could be seen mounded up around the perimeter of the buildings around his home. He knew that the town's shovelers would be out and about later on in the day to clear the roads where some of it had accumulated.
Miraj turned around and proceeded to get out of bed. He was still a little drowsy from the night before as lazing about all day had made it difficult for him to go to sleep. Dragging himself down the hall, he considered what he wanted to have for breakfast. Heading into the kitchen, he rifled through the pantries and just decided on some yogurt and granola with some fruit on top. It was a simple meal but one that he knew would get him through the day.
He ate his breakfast and cleaned up after himself. The teen wasted no time in going back to his room to get changed into his temple regal. He knew he had lost a bit of time yesterday due to the whole weather situation. The pooka wanted nothing more than to get things back on track so he didn't fall too behind on what he needed to do. One thing was for sure, he needed to get started in training Samir sooner rather than later.r
The rabbit didn't bother to grab his turban since there weather seemed to be calming today. Putting his shoes and socks on before heading out. Once outside, he was all too glad to see in front of him as the dust storm was nowhere in sight. He began to make his familiar trek back to the Ziggurat of the Standing Sun. Looking into the distance, he could see the thing towering into the horizon as it was easily one of the largest structures in all of Karbad.
Miraj made his way to the Ziggurat. The trip to it today was much quicker than yesterday as he didn't have the same strong wind blowing against him. Once he arrived at the structure, he couldn't help but look at it. Each level of the platformed pyramid had layers of dirt and sand scattered about it. It seemed he and Samir were going to have to do a bit of cleanup today before they did anything constructive.
The teen made his way up the stairs to the top of the Structure. A light breeze carried about his face, which brought a sense of calm to the place. He could see the hanging gardens in the distance and even the few sproutlings of greenery around the top had been covered in sand. Miraj decided that he would see if Samir was already at the temple. He proceeded to the temple's residence and made his way down the stairs leading to the central part of it.
The rabbit found that even the stairs leading down had accumulated some sand. Once at the bottom of it, he found Samir was already there. The younger boy was sweeping out some of the sand that had found its way down there.
"Ah, you're here already. That's good Samir. Well…I can tell you see our biggest issue right now is cleanup. So I'll help so we can make it go quicker." The older rabbit said to his younger protégé.
They started cleaning the piles of sand that had made their way into the residence. There wasn't much of it inside the place so it didn't take very long to get into piles. The most difficult part was getting the sand out of the residence and back topside. They collected it into small garbage pails and carried it out that way. Once it was out, it was just a matter of removing it from the mouth of the residence to the spot where they'd been piling it all.
The top of the structure was a much bigger task. The sand was all over the place and covered many of the sanctuaries within. Miraj made his way over to the small streak that ran through the place. The water was still pushing through it but was now building up near a spot where the sand had dammed it. The pooka scooped out the dirt and immediately the water started to run again. Within no time the sand that collected throughout it washed away.
Miraj considered his next action. He thought it would be a poor idea to feed the sand into the water to dispose of it that way. The teen decided against it. Looking back he saw that Samir was still hard at work so he got back to it as well. He began sweeping up the sand that had collected across the surface of the structure. Starting at the outer rims so they could work inward and just push it off to the ground below.
The whole ordeal of cleaning the topside of the Ziggurat took several hours. The most difficult of which was the removal of sand around the oasis and the ceremony site. Once they were done, it was already lunchtime. Miraj decided to treat Samir to something since the boy had worked so hard. Both of them were hot and sweaty from the beating desert sun. Miraj made his way over to where Samir was to propose the idea.
"Hey, Samir. It's just about lunchtime. Do you want to hit one of the food vendors, then we can get to training you on something?" The rabbit asked the younger boy.
Samir nodded before wiping the fur from his eyes. The jerboa boy put his broom away and joined his friend by his side. The two of them began to walk down from the Ziggurat and to the town streets. By this time of day, the streets were busy with people. It was much more congested than the day before. The two of them walked through it, minding their way so they didn't knock into anyone else.
Soon they arrived at Vendor Row, the place where the local vendors set up for lunchtime. Each of them was set up in rollable carts with small umbrellas or awnings that provided shade to both the vendors as well as the patrons. Miraj had been down this street many times and the variety of it never failed to surprise him. The rabbit looked around at the various offerings and considered what they could get for lunch.
Miraj soon came across a vendor he had not seen before. A smaller pavilion with no covering to speak of. A small desert gopher sat within, wearing a rather ornate robe over his small frame. The pooka and his protégé made their way over to the food stand. The gopher fellow craned their neck towards them as they approached.
"Oy, fellows. Can I interest ya in some provisions?" The man rubbed his hands together lightly in anticipation of a sale.
In front of them, there was a paper menu with each of the offerings the place made fresh. Miraj looked at them. Many of them seemed foreign but he was interested in them all the same. He selected a fried fish dish for himself and Samir picked out a chicken one for himself. The pooka paid for both of them and soon the little gopher man went back and started cooking both of their meals. Moments later, he returned with them and some broiled vegetables on some paper plates.
"Thank ya for your patronage. Enjoy young fellows." The gopher bowed deeply.
Miraj and Samir took their plates and walked away from the pavilion. The pooka led them over toward the eating area of the vendor row. Several long tables were lined up next to one another. Only some of them had people sitting at them so it wasn't very hard to find a place to sit. The two boys sat next to each other at the table. Both of them began eating before long. One of the public servants was going around and handing water to the patrons, free of charge.
The pooka and jerboa were all too glad to take the water as neither of them had bothered to get a drink. They continued through their meals, sitting in silence among the chatter echoing through the area from the other furs around them. Both of them were quite hungry so they worked through their meals rather quickly. Making sure to clean up after themselves when their plates were cleared.
The rabbit nodded to the younger boy. "Let's head back and train you on some things for the remainder of the day."
Samir understood and fell behind the older male. They made their way back to the Ziggurat. Heading back up the stairs to the top, where Miraj led the cub to the site of rituals. The ritual altar was the only place on the Ziggurat with the idol of the Standing Sun. The Standing Sun itself…an embodiment of an old gold whose worship had fallen into antiquity. Yet the relic remained as one of the most prominent and popular figures for those who visited the ziggurat.
"This is the Altar of The Standing Sun. The very site for which this ziggurat is named. As you can see there is an idol on that podium. There is no prayer necessary. Instead, we pay respects by bowing to the bearded lady." Miraj bowed and waited for his protégé to do the same.
The bearded lady was a more colloquial term for the god who represented the standing sun. An old greyed Canaan Dog. She was called bearded because her fur was so long that it reached the ground.
"Follow me." Miraj motioned for the younger cub to follow him.
Samir followed behind once again and followed Miraj to the next spot he had in mind. The rabbit took him over towards the small stream of water that passed through the ziggurat.
"These are the streams of life. It is part of our responsibility that these waters do not run dry. They represent the very well-being of the ziggurat and the order we serve." The older teen smiled at the younger boy.
The jerboa nodded. Miraj took him over to the far edge of the ziggurat. It was one of the better views of the desert beyond. It wasn't so much that it was important, he just wanted the boy to see it. Samir couldn't help but wonder at the marvels of the vast sandy desert as it stretched far beyond where his eyes could see.
"Let's start with the basics. You're most important duty as the Oracle will be to serve the people of Karbad. Since we have no visitors right now…we can start with the ritual of recognition."
The younger cub looked at him with a confused look on his face. "What's that."
"The ritual of recognition is one where you must use astrological signs as a way to predict
events before they happen. I have never experienced this myself but I know the previous oracle considered it to be very important." The rabbit tried to explain it in the most simple way possible.
Samir hesitated before responding. "And…how do I do that?"
Miraj touched him on the shoulder, motioning for him to follow. He took the other boy back down to the residence. A large bookshelf was within where the literature kept by the order was maintained. A few books lined each of the shelves, some of them larger than the others but all of them bigger than anything Samir had ever read.
"Can you read?" Miraj asked since it wasn't a super common skill in the town.
Samir nodded. "Yeah."
"This is the Celestial Calling. The book used by the previous Oracle to read the stars. I can help you try to decipher it but ultimately this is a task that you would be responsible for." The rabbit opened the book and brought it over to a chair to show the cub.
Samir looked at it a moment. There were diagrams of the stars with lines drawn in between each of them to show some of the constellations. He saw no directions other than the descriptions of each of them. Just looking at it made him confused.
"So…what am I supposed to do with this? It just looks like sketches made from the stars." The boy said with a hint of anxiety in his voice.
The rabbit touched the boy's shoulder as if to calm him. "I am not entirely sure. But we can figure it out when the time comes. The previous Oracle only told me that the stars spoke to her. I wasn't sure if she was just making it up or not. Perhaps it is not as important as she made it out to be."
"Okay, what else can you show me?" The cub asked seeming relieved that the whole prophecy thing wouldn't be expected of him.
Miraj thought about it a moment and remembered one thing he always saw the Oracle doing. It was a simple enough task, called sectioning.
"One other thing she used to do was called sectioning. Sectioning is a matter of archiving artifacts and maintaining their upkeep in the ziggurat's vaults." The rabbit had only been in the vaults a few times in the past.
The jerboa's eyes eyebrow arched in curiosity. "The vault? That sounds interesting."
"Come follow me and I will take you to the vault." The teen got up and motioned for the younger boy to follow him.
The two of them walked to the back of the residence where there was a small door leading into an alcove. Inside the alcove was a storage space. Miraj lit a candle so they could see inside. Within there were all sorts of artifacts from places all over. Samir started to look through some of them. Many of them were older things he didn't recognize but others seemed like toys to him. Especially a small sphere-like shape thing that very much resembled a ball.
Samir picked it up and attempted to bounce it. Surprisingly enough the thing rebounded off the floor with ease. Miraj quickly sprinted over, believing the thing would be broken if he didn't act quickly enough. Yet the moment he got close enough to it and was just about to grab it, the ball slipped from his hand. Instantly the orb gained speed and repelled throughout the room, making no sound as it did so.
The rabbit started to panic, feeling like something in the room would break if the ball hit it. Samir giggled at it as he watched the ball bounce through the room. Each time the ball hit something, it sprang off with little impact. The ball continued to bounce back and forth with no signs of showing down before Miraj tried to tackle it. The thing finally came to a stop under the weight of his body.
"You're no fun." The cub said with a frown on his face.
The rabbit got up, holding the thing in his hand. "It isn't a toy. Nothing in here is."
"Seems like a toy to me." The rodent said defensively.
Miraj rolled his eyes and put the ball back on its stand. "Right."
"So what is it I'm supposed to do in here? It looks like everything is already in a specific place." Samir looked around at the various objects and there seemed to be a vast amount of them for the size of the room they were in.
The older teen thought about it for a moment. "The last time I went on a quest to find an artifact…I'm not sure what she did with it. But I imagine she just cataloged things."
"That sounds boring. Why can't I go on quests?" Samir pouted a bit at the thought of doing something fun instead.
Miraj sighed. "I mean I guess we could but we'd have to figure out a quest. Except the Oracle never went on them and…."
"But…it would just be this once. I promise!" The cub chirped happily.
The pooka figured it probably wouldn't matter much one way or the other. "Alright, let's see what we can figure out."
The rabbit led the boy back out of the vault and into the main part of the residence. Miraj knew that the quest book was something the order kept as a means of keeping busy. It was something that cataloged all of the rumors heard around Karbad into one place. He went to the bookshelf and pulled it out before opening it. Looking through it, Miraj wanted to find something that seemed easy enough for both of them to tackle.
Eventually, Miraj came across something that caught his eye. A quest to the Cave of Wonders. A place he had been many times in his younger years. It was a fabled location only a short distance from the city. The goal was to find the Chalice of Khalil. He showed Samir a drawing of the object and determined this would be the quest they would undertake.
"Grab a bag and put some provisions in it. This will take us the rest of the day." Miraj pointed to the area of the residence where such things were kept.
Samir went about putting some stuff into a bag. The rabbit made sure that there was enough inside to last them the day. Lugging the thing over his back so that they could head out. They were ready to leave now. The two of them made their way out of the residence and back top side to the pinnacle of the Ziggurat. Trekking across it until they reached the stairs on the other side of it.
Miraj began heading down with Samir in tow. The two of them began to head into the desert. The boy skipped as they went along, seeming all too excited to get things underway. The older teen couldn't help but chuckle at the cub as he occasionally looked over toward him to make sure he was still following along. The two of them continued into the desert as they made their way towards the Cave of Wonders.
The Cave of Wonders was just past the place known as the Paradise of Param. The place was a bit of a misnomer. It was one of several wastelands in the Arabic Desert. A place so hot that only cacti grew and other plants sprouted but all but withered. Some bones of long decomposed carcasses littered the area. Miraj and Samir traversed through the area as they avoided the various boundaries throughout it.
The entrance to the cave wasn't far beyond the Paradise. The Cave of Wonders was a well-known landmark in the region. Old legends told that Aladdin's Lamp which had summoned the Djinn of Eternity had been found there. Yet no signs of the thing had ever been seen since. Many treasure hunters had braved the place but the lamp had never been seen again. Even still, Miraj knew he was not here for this object.
"We have arrived in good time. We should have enough time to collect the Chalice and return you home for dinner. Are you ready for a challenge?" The pooka figured the place would be littered with traps.
Samir nodded. The boy felt like he was ready for anything. He wasn't worried about his safety or anything of the sort. The thrill of adventure was the only thing on his mind. The two of them headed into the Cave of Wonders. The entrance to the cave sloped downward with the two boys treading at a sharp angle. Miraj looked over to the Jerboa who was grabbing onto the wall as if to gain traction so he didn't lose his footing.
They continued on their way down until they arrived at a pit of sand. Within the pit of sand were several snakes. Miraj was not afraid of them but the moment Samir saw them he quickly latched on to the older boy for protection.
"Come on, it will be fine. Just watch your feet and don't step on them. They aren't poisonous anyways." The rabbit knew from the tales of the place that the snakes weren't overly aggressive or deadly.
Even with these words of reassurance, the boy continued to hang on to his friend. Miraj began to wade through the snake pit, careful to not step on the snakes. Making sure that the cub did the same thing, which was much easier since the cub was right on top of him. Once they were past it the boy looked back, seeming all too glad that the obstacle was behind them. Miraj tugged on him upon seeing that the boy was still distracted by the snakes.
Samir soon turned around and they continued on their way down the declining slope. After a while of walking, they pushed into an area where a wooden bridge overlooked a body of water below. The isolated room lacked much lighting but it was enough to see that the panels of the bridge were rickety and old. The rabbit began to walk beyond it without hesitation, not even bothering to look back as he assumed the cub was still following him.
Once he was on the other side, Miraj gazed back. Sure enough, Samir was still on the other side of the bridge.
"Oh come on…don't tell me you're afraid of this too. It's just a bridge. You saw me cross it without an issue. What's the problem?" The teen wasn't the most sensitive person in the world.
The boy didn't even realize he was afraid of heights. Getting ever closer to the bridge before completely stopping. The pooka went back over to help him, offering his paw to the other boy hoping he would take it so they could move on. Samir was all too glad to take the help. Having no issue in getting across as the teen guided him over the bridge. Once they were over it, he looked back at
it with a sense of pride despite needing a helping hand to get across.
They continued past the bridge into an area where the dirt had led to clay tiles. Torches lit every corridor, making it easier to see where they were going. Each of them appeared to have been baked in the sun despite not having seen the sun for some time. Every so often they would turn a corner with no other option to go in a singular linear direction. After a while of walking, they came to the end of the corridor and were faced with a wall in front of them.
Amir stepped forward from behind the older teen. He reached out and touched the wall. His hand glided over the various clay tiles on its surface. Suddenly one of them pushed in and the wall collapsed to the ground.
"Nice job." Miraj wanted to make sure his compatriot's efforts were acknowledged.
The two of them pressed onward past the wall. The moment they hit the other side of it, one of the floor tiles pushed in, making a loud clicking sound. Miraj's heart sank as he felt certain this was a trap. A loud crashing sound erupted behind them as a boulder began barrelling down towards them. The rabbit took hold of the boy's hand and began to run as fast as he could down the small alcove.
Miraj and Samir ran without looking back. The sound of the imminent boulder behind them seemed to get louder and closer with each passing second. The rabbit could see a turn in front of them hoping that would at least slow the boulder down. Sprinting as fast as they could towards the turn, making it just as the boulder crashed through the end of the corridor making an opening they could go through.
They remained there for a moment, both of them catching their breath. Miraj was the first one to stand upright, once again patting Samir on the back as if to urge him to continue forward. The jerboa nodded and followed behind in suit. The rabbit led him into the shattered opening as he was all too curious to see where it led. After all, this was supposed to be an adventure and he wanted Samir to experience it as well.
The inside of the opening was a bit darker than the hall they'd just come from. The light from the hallway barely filtered into it. Still, it was illuminated enough that they could see their way. The dirt path twisted and turned going ever further downward ever lower in descent. Both of them maintained a hand against the wall as the slope of the decline was a bit more aggressive than they were used to.
Eventually, the slope eased into a more straight-lined plateau. The small dirt path emptied onto a platform made of earthen tiles. Dirtied by the passing of time with some moss growing overtop it. The overgrown greenery made the tiles look more green than they were. Miraj looked down as they stepped onto it. The two boys had to mind their steps as they walked across it. The ever-present vines continued to tug at their feet as they waded through it.
"Be careful…watch your feet." The older teen warned his protégé.
Samir nodded and followed closely behind. The younger cub was by no means intent on making a fool of himself. Rather he wanted nothing more than to impress his master. After all…this was life as he knew it now and he wasn't about to sully it. They made their way through the thick underbrush of greenery. The vines twisted and turned as they pushed through it with some of them tugging at them as they continued past.
The pooka and jerboa made their way through the small room to the other side. The vine-filled corridor spilled into a staircase that led up. Miraj thought it was strange to see a staircase here but since there was no other way forward he continued even despite his concern. Samir followed without hesitation and the two of them began to climb up the large spiraling staircase. Around and around they went as they scaled several rings of the stairs.
When they came out on top of it, they found themselves back out in the much more open area. A large chasm with a small pool of water at the base of it. The water was entirely still with not a single ripple running over it. There seemed to be no way to the other side other than to go through it. Miraj looked back to make sure that Samir was still following him. The smaller cub remained right behind him seeming to have kept up without an issue.
The rabbit continued forward, making careful strides through the water which was not deep enough to go beyond his thighs. Samir decided to cling to the older boy just in case the water got a little too deep. They sloshed through the water, their feet sticking to the somewhat muddy bottom below. When they came out the other side of it, the two boys couldn't help but shake their bodies in an attempt to dry themselves of some of the water.
Miraj gently touched the other cub on the shoulder to nudge him forward. They pushed into another hall that continued to lead upward. The hall soon led back outside on top of a wall. They found themselves at a higher elevation than they expected. The desert sun still rose overhead gazing down on them with its ever-burning heat. In front of them was nothing but a closed-in door, it seemed they had come to a dead end.
Miraj touched the door and the area surrounding it to make sure there was no hidden lever. "Looks like we need to go back."
Samir looked over to the side, not quite looking over the ledge. "There appears to be a drop-off here."
The rabbit came to look at it. Sure enough, there was a small slide leading down the side of the wall. He smirked as he looked at it.
"Looks fun. Ready to head down and see where it takes us?' The pooka asked the younger boy who nodded back at him.
The cub sprinted forward before launching down the slide. Miraj chuckled at him and followed before long. The two of them glided along the smooth surface as the air rushed past them, pushing their fur against their bodies. The slide wasn't very long ending in the very pit that the wall sectioned off. Once they came to the end of it, Miraj looked upward and realized there was no way back up.
Still, it didn't matter. They only needed to push forward. They continued forward through the pit. The sandy ground spread and shifted a bit as they pushed through it. Making their way to the other side of it where a large door kept them from pushing onward. Engraved on the front of it were some old runes that Miraj didn't recognize. The rabbit was certain that this would be the room holding the relic.
He touched the wall, running his fingers along the thin carvings of the rune. From looking at it, it appeared to be a much more arcane form of Arabic. Some of the symbols he understood but it wasn't enough for him to make out the message that was being shown. Miraj decided to see what Samir thought of it.
"Take a look at it and see what you can figure out. I'm pretty sure we need to get past this door to reach the room of relics." The teen stepped to the side to allow the younger boy a chance to look at it.
The jerboa got as close as he could to the wall without touching it. Just as Miraj did, he rolled his finger along the carving. There wasn't anything distinguishable about it. To him, it looked like any other engraving he'd seen. He looked back at the rabbit, seeming confused with why Miraj had let him take a look at it. The older teen looked at it again before stepping back to get a more wide view of it.
The gate was a large stone structure. Several sandstone blocks made up the arch that topped the door. Some of the stone was crumbling but not enough that it jeopardized the integrity of the structure. Overhead on the keystone was another old Arabic symbol. A sign that had long since made its made back into the everyday lexicon language. It read "Light" and just seeing that gave Miraj an idea.
He reached into the bag he brought with him. Within was a small metallic knife that he had kept in case they needed to cut something. Taking it out, he flashed the thing in front of Samir who stepped back a bit. Miraj rotated the blade so that it was flat into his palm. The sun gazed down upon it causing a slight beam of light to reflect off it. The beam bent back against his face before he shifted the knife so that the ray of light went in the direction of the keystone of the arch over the door.
The light spilled into the concaved engraving of the keystone. It began to shine even brighter, taking on the shape of the symbol itself. Within moments a rumble soon started to sound as the stone gateway started to shift to the side. After a few minutes, the stone covering that had sealed off the room was now completely open. Samir looked over at the teen seeming in awe that he figured it out but the teen gave him no reaction to his success.
Miraj and Samir made their way inside the room. A few flaming torches blazed on the side of the room providing enough illumination for them to see what they were doing. Sure enough inside the room was the chamber of holding. It was a place that very few travelers got to see. Within were several statues of sphinxes and long-forgotten effigies of gods or goddesses whose worship had long passed into history.
At the center of it, a podium where the Chalice of Khalil sat. The Chalice of Khalil was a well-known cultural relic, one which had no monetary value to it and so the various adventurers who had made it this far had never bothered to take it. Miraj stepped up ever closer to the podium. A small platform led up to it with the altar stretching on top of it. The pooka thought this would be way too easy for him and considered the possibility of a trap.
Samir wasn't nearly as hesitant about it as he hopped right up on the altar, as he assumed this was the object they were looking for. The older boy reached forward to stop the cub but it was too late. The jerboa had the chalice in his paw. Seconds later the podium began to collapse into the ground. Miraj
looked around them, all too certain that a trap had been sprung by the loss of the weight on top of the altar.
Moments passed and nothing happened. Gazing behind them, Miraj realized the door had now shut and they had no way out of the place. He figured that the collapse of the podium had caused the door to shut. The rabbit walked up to the place where the altar was. The only sign of it was a small indent on the floor. Stepping on it achieved nothing. The floor did not move to accommodate the pillar just beneath him.
Miraj thought to himself for a moment. He figured there had to be a way out of the room they were in. Looking around none of the walls looked suspicious as to hide anything.
"I am going to start looking for a hidden button. I suggest you do the same." The pooka told the younger boy to save some time.
Both of them began running their hands against the wall. They found the walls to be smooth, almost pristine to the touch despite looking much older than they appeared. They continued to feel and touch each of the walls until they had completely covered the room.
"Hmm…nothing here. Maybe we should look on the floor to see if there are any out-of-place tiles. Step on any that you find." The rabbit was running out of ideas and was willing to try anything.
They split up the room and began going through each of the floor tiles. It took a bit longer than either of them realized but once they were done, Miraj was starting to feel frustrated.
"Any ideas? None of the usual things have worked so far." The teen tried to remain calm to not cause panic in his young friend.
Samir wasn't sure what to suggest. "No…I don't."
Miraj looked around the room one more time, just for good measure. Gazing up at the ceiling looking for any sense of a hint. Sure enough a small rope from one of the corners of the rooms. Immediately he felt stupid for not noticing it before. He headed over towards it and stood right underneath it. He wasn't quite big enough to reach it so he decided to give Samir a boost.
"Come over here right quick. Let's see if pulling this rope does anything." The rabbit waited for the boy to join him.
The rodent came over as quickly as he could. The teen lowered his hands, cupping them as to act as a step for him. Samir slowly stepped on top of it with one foot as Miraj lifted him. The cub was just light enough that the pooka could manage his weight without struggling too much. The boy stretched as much as his body would let him, just managing to pull the bottom of the rope. A bell sounded through the room, echoing through the chamber.
One of the walls to the side of them collapsed, leading into yet another sand tunnel. The two boys high-foured before heading into it. The path twisted and turned as it led upward and out of the chamber. Continuing until they started to see the light of day again. It seemed that they had found their way out of the Cave of Wonders. Miraj took the chalice from Samir before they continued on their way back to Karbad.
The sun was already beginning to set on the horizon and the red-gazing sunlight peered at them from the distance. Miraj smiled at Samir and the cub smiled back at him. The rabbit was glad that the excursion had gone well. They soon arrived back in Karbad. Already the moon had risen and was providing the illumination of the street along with the candle-lit lanterns that burned brightly.
Miraj decided to take Samir home. It was already getting late and he didn't want the boy's parents to get worried about him.
"Where do you live again?" The pooka asked because he couldn't quite remember.
Samir pointed down one of the main street's alleyways. "Down where the hooka parlors are."
"Oh alright." The teen knew exactly what he was talking about.
The two boys walked through the alley into the district known as the black light district. It was called this because hooka parlors partook in using black light to keep insects from their otherwise dark interior. It was a place popular among foreigners and those locals who partook in the habit. The area around it always smelt strong so people who didn't like the smell often avoided the place.
Miraj and Samir continued past the hookah parlors and to the residential area where the Jerboa boy's home was. The rabbit showed him to the door and wished him well. They parted ways, leaving the pooka to his own devices. Miraj hoisted his bag over his back, deciding to drop it back off at the temple before going home. He made his way to the Ziggurat and climbed up the familiar staircase to the pinnacle.
He dropped off the bag inside before heading out and down to the streets below once again. Making his way home as his stomach growled reminding him that it was time to eat. The teen picked up pace and rushed home so he could make something to eat. Once he got home, he wasted no time in taking off his temple regalia so he could get relaxed. Putting some food on the open stove before taking a bath.
The rabbit was all too glad to relax in the tub. It had been a long day and his body was somewhat sore from walking around. However, he didn't spend very long in the bath since he knew he had food cooking still and didn't want it to get burned. After he felt like he had cleaned the filth of his body, he got out to dry himself. Making quick work of his usual routine so that he could get to his meal.
Once he was dressed and ready for bed, he ate his food. A vegetable-based dish of Koshary, a regional favorite and one that he didn't partake of very often. Waiting for the thing to cool down was always difficult. A few minutes later he was finally able to dig in. The dish was hearty and filling. He savored it as he worked through the meal and washed it down with a cool mug of milk.
Miraj finished before long and went about cleaning up after himself. Making sure the scraps were left outside for the local stray animals who lived in his community. The rabbit hated nothing more than wasting food and knew the animals appreciated his scraps. After all, there were more than a few times when the animals showed up at his home begging. He didn't always give in but there was more than one occasion where he did.
He stepped back inside to the warmth of his home. The desert didn't always get cold but the night was an entirely different beast. Dropping to temperatures that the locals weren't fans of and the pooka was no different. Miraj made his way back to his room considering what he needed to do tomorrow. There was so much he didn't know about the role of an oracle and he wanted to be a good mentor to Samir, who knew even less than he did.
The teen knew he had been trusted with this responsibility and it still weighed heavily on his mind. He told himself he'd make sure that he'd do as best as he could. The rabbit slipped into bed, pulling the sheets over him. His mind still swimming with thoughts of the inevitable responsibilities the following day would hold. Yet he knew none of that mattered now and that he needed to rest.
Miraj shut his eyes and tried to empty his mind of the thoughts that fluttered about. He tossed and turned for a while until he just lay there. He wanted nothing more than to sleep but he couldn't quite his thoughts. He opened the window in hopes the cooler air outside might be refreshing to him. The breeze slowly seeped in making his room cooler within moments. The pooka again shut his eyes in hopes of sleeping.
The rabbit took a good while to fall asleep. His mind only fell to the fatigue of constant thought and worry about his failures. Only when he fell to dreamland did his mind find relief in a more positive setting. Visions of himself and Samir working side by side to better the city of Karbad and serve its people, almost as if were a fantasy of the very tenants for which he served every day. Only then…could his mind truly rest and be at ease.
