Snow drifts gave way to a large gaping rectangular shaped hole at the base of the mountain. On closer inspection, black stone pillars were precisely cut and engraved with intricate designs into the cliff face to form an entrance to the temple far larger than any human Markos had seen. With as large as the entrance was, he hadn't seen it on the approach. He looked towards the way they came and only saw an uninterrupted line of snow drifts and powdery gusts of snow swirling in the emptiness of the otherwise white landscape. Squinting back into the darkness of the temple entrance he could make out a huge door. They has no hope of moving so large with just the three of them.
Caelyn investigated the emptiness beyond the pillars. "I think this whole this is maraium."
"Is there a mechanism to open the door?" Markos rubbed the back of his neck as he looked between his companions.
"Something like that." Iliana stopped at the pillar on the right side of the entrance. She pulled the hood of her cloak down as she gestured towards the opposite pillar. "I need you both to touch the symbols on the left pillar."
Caelyn moved to the other side and waited for Markos to join him.
"How will this work with us wearing maraium and the cave being maraium?" Markos asked, squinting at the carvings.
"Remember our conversation about resonance?"
"Marium and heartstone are found together. Two halves of a whole and all that, but we've got all this stuff that makes it harder to pull on the Word." Markos watched Iliana curiously as he raised his hand to a carving on the pillar while Caelyn mirrored the movement.
"Go ahead and touch it," Iliana instructed as she touched the pillar. When the others did the same she closed her eyes and sang a single note. The air vibrated with the note as the sound bounced through the doorway. Stone scraped against stone as the symbols beneath their hands moved deeper into the pillars. Slowly, the large door pulled apart, granting them access.
"See?" Iliana beamed. "In we go, I can sense them deeper inside the temple. I don't think they got in this way."
"Probably a secondary entrance then?" Caelyn pulled two large sphere s from his pocket and whistled shrilly. They rose from his hand and illuminated. He pointed into the darkness beyond the door and the spheres of light floated inside.
Markos looked at Caelyn perplexed, though his expression was hidden behind his visor.
"Just some experimental technology, think of them as portable lamps. Let's head in unless you want to stay in the snow?" Caelyn lifted his visor to wink at Markos before lowering it again. He moved after the lights to scout ahead.
Iliana waited two heartbeats before she followed after Caelyn through the gap in the doors disappearing into the chamber beyond.
Markos glanced around the entrance, uncertain if it was wise to leave the horses unattended for now but he suspected that once they determined it was safe, they'd bring them inside. Nothing else outside caught his interest before he determined it was fine for him to enter after the others. He had many questions but he was still young in the order and his mentorship would span years.
The air inside the temple wasn't stale or damp as he suspected it'd be. It smelled of roses and was warmer. It'd be comfortable to go without the heavy fur but he wasn't sure just how long the temperature inside would remain with the doors open. Elaborate abstract carvings phosphoresced as the spheres traveled past.
"Why are they doing that?" Markos identified serpentine shapes and perhaps, deer on the walls.
"These walls are heartstone. It absorbs the light from the spheres and will glow for a time," Caelyn explained with his rifle unslung and barrel pointed toward the ground. He checked around the corners before beckoning for the others to follow.
Markos took the rifle as sign he should do the same. He loaded and packed a maraium wad into his rifle before bringing it up. "Goddess of death surrounded by beauty you can only admire in the light?"
"She's also a fertility goddess and mother of the hearth. Mara holds many roles." Iliana commented gently while examining a relief. "I wish I had more time to study these. This temple hasn't been visited in years from the feel of it."
The chamber lead them downward into the cave. He heard the familiar lapping of water against stone. Caelyn turned left as the chamber forked, leading them towards the source. More pillars jutted from the cavern floor amongst a stream. Steps lead them deeper into the temple's heart but the bottom steps were submerged.
Iliana paused at the top of the steps, pursing her lips together. "The inner sanctum is further that way in the water."
Markos eyed the water for signs of life. It was winter but it was warm in the temple, were there water snakes nesting at the bottom. The last thing he wanted was for someone to get bit by a snake. "Careful, there might be critters in here too. They should be hibernating but this isn't normal."
Caelyn raised his visor as he slowly descended. "Not that I don't enjoy taking a swim with you Iliana, but do you know how deep this goes?"
Iliana tapped her chin as she was two steps into the water. "I'll check but I'll need to recover soon." She knelt until her hands broke the surface of the water. She took several long, deep breaths as blue light flowed from her hands into the water. The light swept through the water and traced all edges of the temple structure.
Once they reached the bottom of this flight of stairs, they'd be waist deep before the steps dropped another flight in the middle of the chamber. Thankfully, nothing but stone and light filled the chamber below. Iliana withdrew from the water and sat on the landing. The light faded from her hands but the floor below remained illuminated.
"I've never seen this much heartstone before." Her face was streaked with sweat. Markos offered her a water bottle that she gladly accepted.
Caelyn stared towards the center of the chamber. "This is a bad place for plate and flintlocks." He patted Markos on the shoulder before moving past them. "Iliana, you recover. I'll pull the horses inside. Markos, you stay with her."
"Will do." Markos removed his helmet and sat down beside Iliana while Caelyn retreated out the way they came. He listened to the fading bootfalls before looking at Iliana. "You alright?"
She wiped the sweat from her blanched face. "I will be. If you'd like, you can help me.... but I should explain first."
"Anything." Markos moved closer to Iliana with a reassuring smile.
"Part of who I am means I can replenish myself from other sources of the Word or heat. I draw power from sunlight, from a fire, but more directly from heartstone or... people." Iliana gently bit her lower lip as she locked up at him. "I can also give that power back to others. It's why touching an ember is... well."
"So that's why... It's dangerous then? That's why you are explaining?"
"It can be if I take too much without giving any back. I could be just as dangerous as an aphotic and drain the life from you."
Markos blushed, though the thought of dying in such a fashion was on the top ten of his list of ways to die. "I trust you. Please, go ahead." He swallowed as he watched her. She was shyer about approaching him than she'd been before.
Iliana moved closer and leaned forward, tenderly kissing his lips. The familiar taste of honey welcomed him as he returned the affection. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled herself into his lap, pressing against his cuirass. If it bothered her, he couldn't tell. He felt a hunger rise up to move further. She shifted in his lap, wrapping her legs around him.
The sensation bubbled up inside him, straining for release. He ran his hands over her back and down the curve of her spine. Pulling her more firmly down, it became more urgent but suddenly he couldn't move. He was suddenly standing outside of himself as the sensation burst and everything went black.