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The Quartz Key Chapter Sixty
by Lianne Burwell
March 2003
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The first morning after becoming the unwilling guests of 
the Imperial Guard, Nemir found himself fighting his 
frustration. Why Limon and his troop were traveling so far 
from the capital was never explained, but they seemed eager 
to return to it. They did not travel unbearably hard, but 
they rode through all but the hottest part of the day at a 
steady pace, not making camp until close to sunset. At the 
pace they were setting, they would reach the Capital before 
too many days had passed.

Strangely, though, as the days passed, Nemir began to calm. 
Once again, fate had stepped in to change his path, and 
while it was not a change he would have welcomed, perhaps 
it was for the best. He would see the capital; a place he 
would have ended up in eventually. He would see what it was 
he would be facing. And then he would leave and continue on 
his way. Surely their forceful hosts would not be able to 
continue watching them once they had reached the city.

And his curiosity was definitely aroused as he listened to 
the captain wax poetic about the city at the center of the 
empire to Markus as they rode, describing the sights that 
the man would see.

The Captain took great pleasure in his conversations with 
Markus. He seemed to find the man fascinating, and he asked 
many questions about what the north was like. Markus 
described the vast forests and snow-capped mountains in 
great detail until they all felt as if they had seen them 
for themselves, even though they still sounded like places 
in a dream or fable.

By the time the fifth day came, they were into the 
farmlands that surrounded the capital. Clay pipes carried 
water from the nearby lakes to irrigate the fields, 
resulting in a sea of green as far as the eye could see. 
Fishing boats sat serene on the lake, and as they watched, 
nets were pulled into the boats, glinting with silver that 
moved. The landscape was serene. Almost, Nemir was able to 
forget that the God-King ruled these lands closest to his 
home with an iron fist, or so he'd always heard.

And late in the day, in the distance, there was a glint of 
light, almost as bright as the sun.

"What is that?" Markus asked, pointing towards the beacon.

Limon squared his shoulders and stared towards the light 
with an expression of awe. "The temple of the God-King is 
capped in gold. Seeing the sunlight reflected from it tells 
travelers that they are almost home."

"So, we arrive today?"

The Captain laughed. "Not today or tomorrow. But we should 
reach the city by noon, the next day. Then you will see 
true greatness."

"I look forward to it," Markus said seriously.

>>>~~~<<<

That night, after they had eaten and set out their 
bedrolls, Nemir went to check the horses. For a brief 
instant, he was tempted to swing himself up onto Karsa's 
back and run, but even this close to the capital, Limon 
still set two guards at night, saying that even here, wild 
animals could still be a danger. There was no place to run, 
and no way to escape.

In less than two days, they would be in the heart of 
danger.

He just wished that he could escape the feeling that 
someone was watching him.

>>>~~~<<<

Mid-morning on the second day, they rode over a small rise 
and saw the capital spread out below them, shimmering in 
the rapidly rising heat of the day. Limon waved them all to 
a stop, and waved expansively towards the city. "Behold the 
heart of the kingdom. A true jewel in the world," he said 
proudly.

Nemir could only stare, for what he saw was the city from 
his half-remembered dreams, with the pyramid at the center, 
and the temple roofed in gold at the top of the pyramid. In 
the distance, at the far side of the city, he saw the cliff 
from which he had first seen it. It was beautiful. It was 
confusing.

"Nemir!" Dansen hissed in his ear. He realized, suddenly, 
that the other has started down the hill, following the 
road that became one of the boulevards leading to the 
central square, and had stopped to wait for him.

He blinked, and shook his head. "My apologies," he said, 
riding down to join them. "I was... overwhelmed," he added  
in complete honesty.

"Quite understandable," Captain Limon said generously. 
"Many are affected that way the first time they see the 
city. Now come, there is much much more to be seen."

"An inn, perhaps?" Markus suggested. "A bath and sleep in a 
bed is very appreciated."

"Soon, I promise. But you must see the temple first."

Markus exchanged quick glances with Nemir and Dansen before 
obediently following the captain. The temple at the center 
of the city was closer to the God-King than any of them 
wanted to get, but there were no protests that would not 
seem suspicious.

Not for the first time, Nemir wondered to himself how it 
was that a troop of the God-King's finest soldiers had just 
happened to be traveling along the same road as them. They 
had not been on one of the main travel routes, and their 
road did not lead directly to the city. Had their presence 
been mere coincidence, or deliberate?

The pyramid loomed larger and larger as they rode down the 
boulevard towards it. The sides, surfaced with smooth 
stone, gleamed slickly in the sunlight, and the shine off 
the gold roof of the building at the top was almost 
painfully bright from this distance. Shops and carts 
clustered along the side of the paved road, selling 
everything from flowers and food to clothing and furniture, 
and both the sellers and the shoppers turned to watch them 
pass.

The buildings were constructed of a sand-colored stone, and 
as they approached the center of the city, facings of 
polished marble began to appear, along with ornate 
carvings, matching the pattern of smaller cities, such as 
Ajantha, where the richest buildings were closest to the 
center, and the Palace.

But the closer they got to the pyramid, the less Nemir 
noticed these details. Instead, his attention was taken 
entirely by the impressive structure. It was huge, just as 
he remembered from his dreams, and he marveled at how long 
it must have taken to build it, and how many workers would 
have been needed.

From his angle, approaching the base, he could no longer 
see the building at the top of the pyramid, sitting at the 
center of the flat area where the point had been removed, 
although he could still see the light glinting from its 
roof. For a moment, he wanted to find a way up there to see 
if the view from the parapet was also the same as his 
dreams, foolish as that thought was.

Captain Limon led them to the impressive temple building 
that was pressed up against the base of the pyramid. It was 
open on the other three sides, the interior shielded from 
view by painted columns that held of the roof and the gauzy 
curtains of a pristine white that hung in between them.

In front of the temple stood several statues, more than 
four times the height of a man. Each portrayed a handsome 
man, with chunks of lapis lazuli set for the eyes, but 
having assumed that they were statues of the God-King, 
Nemir was surprised to realize, as they got closer, that 
each was of a different man. Why, he did not know, and he 
did not bother to ask.

A long ramp lead up into the temple, flanked at the bottom 
by two obelisks carved and painted with scenes of the God-
King's deeds. One band depicted the conquering of the 
southern clans, he noted as he passed.

The interior of the temple was filled with a diffuse light 
coming through the curtains, with pools of light coming 
from the skylights in the roof of the temple. Priests moved 
through the space in pursuit of their duties. None of them 
so much as glanced at the strangers in their midst, even 
though Nemir felt filthy in his layer of road dust compared 
to the cleanliness of the temple.

The interior of the temple seemed to demand silence. Even 
the sound of metal against metal from the armor of the 
soldiers seemed like an affront to the sanctity of the 
temple, even one devoted to...

The thought faded away as the glint of yet more gold caught 
Nemir's eyes from the back of the temple. Forgetting about 
his companions, Nemir followed it. Far from the light of 
the sun was a single statue of a seated man. Looking up at 
the grave face, covered in gold, he felt a flash of 
recognition. It was a face he had seen many times, in his 
dreams, just like the pyramid.

Another spark of light demanded his attention, and he 
obeyed. He moved around the side of the statue's base to a 
small opening in the back wall, lit by torches. No one 
stopped him, so he followed the passage until he reached 
the end. There he found the base of a stairway, leading up 
into the pyramid proper.

Nemir stared up into the darkness, wondering what he was 
doing. A small voice within urged him to turn around and go 
back the way he had come. To find some way to evade the 
vigilant captain, and to leave the city with Markus and 
Dansen. Judas was in the south. South was where he should 
be traveling. Why was he here?

But instead, he started to climb.

>>>~~~<<<

Nemir climbed for what seemed like a lifetime. When the 
light first appeared in front of him as he turned one of 
the periodic corners in the stair, he thought it might be 
an illusion. The passageway was so narrow that he could not 
even stretch his arms out to the side. The ceiling was so 
low that he could touch it easily. Markus would not have 
been able to pass.

And it was completely unlit. Not a single lamp or torch 
broke the darkness, which was why he did not believe his 
eyes when he saw the glimmer in the distance.

But as he continued to climb, the light grew brighter, 
until it took the form of a rectangle, growing more 
distinct with every step. Despite his exhaustion, Nemir 
sped his steps, seeing an end in sight.

He burst from the darkness into the afternoon sun, nearly 
blinded by the brightness. He crouched where he was, 
covering his eyes. Tears streamed from them, but bit by 
bit, they readjusted to the light. Once he was no longer 
blinded, he straightened up once more, only to find that he 
was no longer alone.

END CHAPTER SIXTY