In the Valley so Deep

Ryland hastily threw the woven sa'gra mat over the golden tablets. "Tahlee, you're early!" He rose from the dirt floor to greet her.

Tahlee pressed her cheek into his in chaste greeting. She scoured the hut with her eyes before settling on the lumpy mat cover. "What did you do now?"

Ryland widened his eyes in mock surprise. He formed his mouth into an exaggerated "O". "Whatever do you mean?"

Her mouth was a severe line. She stared at him until he felt himself wither. She said, "You went back, didn't you?"

He couldn't meet her gaze. He carefully looked at his bare feet. "Maybe?"

Tahlee gave an explosive huff. "You're not supposed to go there. The ruins are forbidden. What if you got caught? You'd get Shunned."

"Nobody is going to see -"

"Ryland! It's dangerous. The ground is poison. There are things there."

"I know. That's why I go." Ryland could see the little vein on Tahlee's temple. "I am very careful."

"The old gods still walk there."

"There's nothing there. Just peaceful grass and lopes grazing between the old stones and twisted metal. But," he lowered his voice, "by the cliffs there are walls, a sort of house. I found some things while digging there. Do you want to see what I found?"

"Is it safe?"

"Of course it's safe. It's just old words on metal plaques. Look." He pulled the sa'gra weave aside and picked one up. He held it out like an offering to Tahlee.

She took half a step back and squinted at it. "Can you read it?"

"Of course I can read it. The priest taught me how. Well, I can read them but I'll admit, I'm not sure what the words mean. There are a lot of them that don't make sense." He turned the one in his hand to look at it. "This one says 'Restroom'. I'm not sure why they would have a room to rest in."

Tahlee looked thoughtful. "I don't think this is a good idea. I think you need to get rid of them. If the Elders find out, you'll get Shunned right away and you know what that means." She quickly drew her finger across her throat.

Rylan bit his lower lip. "You wouldn't leave me, would you?"

"We're only trothed. We're not married yet."

"Tahlee!"

She shook her head. "I wouldn't want to, no." Her head hung, hiding her eyes.

Ryland took her chin in his hand and lifted it. He looked in her eyes and leaned down and kissed her lips. He smiled at her. "We only have to get the final blessing from the priest and we'll be married. What do you want for our wedding night?"

She smiled mischievously.

* * *

Tahlee had left. There were still a few hours left in the sun before it disappeared beyond the cliff. She had extracted a promise from him to get rid of the forbidden rectangles as soon as possible and he had agreed. A promise is a promise.

He fetched a woven basket and looked at the plates. There was a dozen of them, all the same size. Some had several words carved into them, some only one. A couple had symbols that he didn't understand. He had arranged them in two lines, searching for meaning but it eluded him. He could read the words, he just didn't know what they meant. It seemed so tantalizingly close.

"Pile."

Of what?

He shook his head.

He had told Tahlee that he would dump them into the river that divided their valley. The thought rankled him. They would be lost forever if he did that. And while he didn't believe demons walked along the top of the cliffs ready to eat him, there were definitely things in the water that would. He frequently saw them sunning themselves on the banks, long scaly bodies with huge mouths full of teeth.

Where could he put them?

Inspiration hit. He would bury them behind his hut. He loaded the plates into the basket and looked for a shovel.

* * *

It was the day. The wedding was to take place in a few hours. Well-wishers and friends greeted him and smiled as he went about the village to get ready. He was almost done with his preparations. He had even managed to sneak a trip to see Tahlee where he reassured her with what he had done with the plates.

She had nodded before being whisked away by her mother. An admonition followed that it was bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony. Ryland got back to his preparations.

Soon, they were done and he sat in his hut, chewing on a yatta root, the sweetness a small treat. He thought about the ruins at the foot of the cliff and wondered if there were other ruins across the river. He wanted to search the broad valley, looking for a way to climb the steep cliffs that went all around their home. Who knew what was up there? The old priest had said only a passageway to death.

He briefly imagined him and Tahlee crawling over ruins yet undiscovered.

He finished his snack and got dressed.

The village was empty, all gathered in the Chief's long hut. He pulled the fabric that stood in the doorway aside and went in. Everyone looked at him, faces blank and impassive, staring at him. It gave him pause.

The crowd parted. A corridor formed for him. The Chief was at the other end with Tahlee to the side. The sight of her filled him with gladness. He confidently strode to her.

"I am ready." Ryland smiled at his bride to-be.

She did not return his smile. Confused, Ryland looked at the Chief.

His face was hard, granite given human form. He gestured with his hand. The old priest hobbled forward, dirty basket in his hands. He dumped it at Ryland's feet. Twelve golden plaques clattered to the ground in a heap.

Ryland's stomach dropped. "I, I was going to get rid of them."

The old priest raised an accusing finger at him. "You went to the forbidden place. When the gods fought Selena atop the cliffs, their fire burnt the heavens. Our forefathers hid their faces lest they be blinded. Except one, who refused. He went to that place and joined the battle."

Ryland's ire rose. "The legends say he turned the battle."

"Young fool, Selena cursed him. She destroyed the place, made it to melt down around him, poisoning the very ground. It stands as a monument to death." Murmurs came from the crowd.

"That's not true! It is green with life! Things grow there. I've seen it with my own eyes!" Gasps filled the hut.

The Chief held his hand up. Silence dropped heavy on all. "By your own admission, you have been there. The customs must be maintained. Know this, Ryland, that your hubris has condemned you. You are Shunned."

As one, the entire congregation turned their backs to him.

"Tahlee?" he said to her back.

She held the back of her hand up, in silence.

Ryland gathered the metal rectangles in the basket and walked out.

* * *

He ended up where it had started, the Forbidden Place. Was this always the price to pay for wanting to know? Things didn't always have to be like this. Perhaps future generations would visit the ruins, maybe even send young boys on a pilgrimage here to become men.

He sighed and dumped the plates. He tried to remember where he had found them. He picked one up.

"Moon Defense Powerstation 23," said the inscription. He rolled the strange words around in his head. What was a moon that you would need to defend from? Were there 23 others of these ruins in the valley? He sadly shook his head. He might never know. If the other villagers caught him now, he would be killed. He placed the placard just outside of the ruins where he had found it.

Soon, all the plates where deposited where or, at least, close to where he had dug them up. All but one. The last one was some distance away, by the cliffs. He looked at the incised letters.

"Turret Access"

He walked out of the old stones toward the nearly vertical cliff. At the spot for the sign, frustration overcame him. He flung the metal sheet into the ground.

Clang!

Surprised by the sound, he bent down, hands brushing away dirt. A smooth, hard surface unlike any stone he had seen lay beneath the earth. He wiped more of the covering off.

A broad section with no joints at all stretched from the ruins to the cliff. He got a stick and determined the extent of the path. It led to a rockfall at the base of the cliff. He rolled stones off the heap.

Darkness lay beyond. Curiosity filled him. He crawled into it.

A square room with a stairway zig-zagged into the dizzying heights. Faint daylight came in from somewhere far above.

Ryland started up the stairs.

They must reach all the way to the top, he thought. They seemed endless. He stopped many times on the landings in the diminishing light of day.

He came out of a hole in the ground. The sun was orange, setting against the far rim. Ryland could see the whole of the bowl where his village lay below in the deepening dark of the valley. Behind him was a slanted wall building made of the same strange stone with a solid door. Beyond that was a metal construction. Its shape reminded him of the valley below.

Ryland went to the door. Experimentally, he grabbed the handle on it. The door swung out. Magical lights came on, illuminating a short staircase going down, ending in a hall.

With a gulp, Ryland went in.