Quinn Chapman and the Altar of Evil V

Our ascent was long and arduous by any standard and my chest heaved for want of air. Amala went before me, lithe as leaf on the wind. Her heritage of the mountains bequeathed upon her the unique ability of being able to breathe the rarified air of the highest peaks in the world. I was not so fortunate. Mountaineering was not outside my area of expertise, but it was now some years since I had last been at such altitudes.

In spite of my physical prowess, I lagged behind my beautiful companion as we struggled over the last steps and onto a small plaza. Here we caught our breath and examined our surroundings to find our second sign of a lost civilization. For the plaza had indeed been cut from the rock by the ancient Shang Shung, just as the stairs were. At the end of the square there was a chasm in the stone, a natural fissure that led onwards to the valley. Standing upon either side were two hideous six-armed demons, figures from the Bon cult mythology. Each stony hand wielded a Phurba dagger that pointed in opposite directions. Their glaring eyes and snarling, fanged mouths screamed a warning, that none should enter here. 

Amala shivered upon catching their demonic gaze and I felt a growing apprehension as I looked into the multiple blocky faces of these evil spirits. Yet, it was Amala that led us on into the dark breach of the mountain side.

We passed through the narrow defile, hemmed in by the cloying proximity of towering cliffs and the threat of avalanches from above. I glanced upwards continually searching for any signs of falling rock, my ears strained for any sound of collapse. All I heard was the melancholy sighing of the wind and the dripping of water. 

Nearing the end of the channel revealed a sight so wonderful that I struggled for words to describe it. The lost Silver Palace of the Shang Shung Kingdom glimmered in the illumination of the rising sun. The path we were on widened into a massive amphitheater, surrounded by towering cliffs of gray, faceless stone. Cut into the mountain side, and sprawling out from it, were vast ruins of shimmering silver stone. Arches and columns sprouted from the ground; grand avenues led to swirling fountains in the heart of expansive forums. Here were the thousand rooms of the great palace, here was the resting place of one of the greatest treasures in history.

My heartbeat quickened with the excitement of treasure once again, but I knew it was now for Amala that I came. I watched her captivating figure slip down the stairs, and she turned back to me beckoning me on with a finger. I could do nothing else but follow my raven-haired Queen into her kingdom.

"There is the great temple," Amala said, pointing to the looming structure built into the mountainside. "It is there we will find the treasures of my kingdom. It is there we will find the Gongpos."

"Surely we cannot waltz in the front door so easily?"

"There are tests and traps for the pilgrims. Deadly traps for the unfaithful."

Amala led us into the city, which once glimmered at a distance, but now took on a threatening darkness as we crept into its ruins. An ominous silence pervaded the stone thoroughfare as we picked our way through tumbled mossy blocks, and I felt as if eyes were upon us from some hidden locale. We passed silent fountains and through crumbling arches, heading toward the temple. 

Before we could reach the main plaza that was set before the temple stairs, a horrible cry echoed throughout the hollows of the old city. A feral menace crept upon us from somewhere out of time, beasts twice the size of a man and ten times as strong. Huge, hulking monsters with pointed skulls and glowering jowls leered at us from between the columns. A wheezing and grunting danced back and forth between the monsters, a language of some sort. 

I hefted my revolver, but Amala placed a delicate hand on my arm, drawing it down. There was no way to combat such ferocious adversaries with only a single gun. We were hemmed in, being forced toward the temple. Each time we hesitated the beasts lurched forward, roaring and beating their chests. Not unlike the mighty gorilla of central Africa.

I could think of no escape save being drawn into the trap set by the Gongpos. I pulled Amala across the central plaza and as we passed the silent stone fountain the world went mad. 

The sharp thunderous cracks of gunfire again assailed us, throwing up chips of stone and clouding the thin air with dust. I pushed Amala over the rim of the great fountain and followed her, diving in just before a spray of bullets crossed the tiles on which we had just stood.

The monsters roared in anger and confusion as they were stung and bitten by the lead of German guns. For surely it was Captain Braune and his minions that caught up to us after following secret paths presented to them by their Gongpo ally. 

We crawled around the fountain pool until we reached the other side. The statue at the center blocked us from view as we shot forward towards the temple. I glanced behind to see the Gongpo priest holding high a glimmering jewel that emitted a haunting green light. Each time the feral apes made to approach the German column, they were thrown back by the stone. I knew not what devilry this was, only that we must get away. 

Primeval roaring and the shouts of men echoed through the city, chasing us up the steps to the temple. A huge leering face rose up before us at the apex of the stairs. Slavering jaws and ham sized fists stormed towards us. I pushed Amala out of the way and fired my revolver from the hip. The bullet struck the creature in the chest and it stopped, lifting a mighty hand to the bloody wound. A look of confusion crossed its ape like countenance before the horror fell dead. Never before had these monsters encountered the might of modern man and thus they could not comprehend defeat. 

“There they are!” Screamed the German Captain Braune. He had made his way through the mayhem, accompanied by several of his soldiers, and was pointing towards Amala and I. 

A fusillade of rifle fire cratered across the stone of the temple stairs. The hot lead threw chips of rock and clouds of dust into the air. The Germans below shouted and pushed up on us, led now by Klaus.

Amala and I ducked behind a great column, awaiting our chance.

When the rifle fire ceased, I attempted to run for the shelter of the temple archway. Before we made it a few steps, I turned just in time to dodge another mighty fist, this time from the beast, Klaus. His own bellowing roar echoed in my ears like an incoming freight train. I brought my revolver up only for it to be kicked from my hand by Klaus’ boot. 

We traded blows, his were slow and powerful and my own were quick and precise. I was forced back, unable to weather the strikes of his mighty thews. 

I threw a right, then a left, but each hit was like a bee stinging an elephant. Amala screamed from somewhere behind me and I espied a murder of black robed priests swarming toward her. The sickly light of their gem held the beasts at bay as they came on.

Klaus grabbed me, lifting me off my feet, before throwing me across the threshold of the temple portico. 

I crashed upon the unforgiving rock, my breath knocked out of me as the world began to tremble. As I gasped for air, I instinctively rolled away, expecting a kick from Klaus. Yet the giant stood back and fought to keep his balance with the increasing fury of the geological phenomena. Behind him, the Germans shouted and the apes bellowed, surprised and confused by the quaking ground. 

Taking no more than a second to assess the situation, I launched myself at Klaus. I threw the entirety of my weight into the center of his chest. Klaus grunted in pain and staggered back. His boot heels dangled over the edge of the top step, and he whirled his arms attempting to gain balance, but the tremors were too much and gravity asserted itself.

I did not watch as the monster fell into the crowd of apes, but I heard the grotesque roars of delight as the beasts tore into the man. Gunfire erupted once again, the sharp cracks of the German rifles pursued us into the temple. 

I dove for my pistol and rolled to my feet on a dead run. With some supernatural aim, I fired. The missile of lead flew true and tore through the very hand that held the strange glowing gem. The Gonpo priest shrieked in pain and fury as blood sprayed from his hand and smattered across the steps. 

The great apes were aroused by the sound of wounded prey and stormed toward the priests as a charging horde. I left them to their fate, knowing there were more of them and knowing that I had to get Amala away. 

I caught her up in my arms and together we charged through the oily haze of smoke emitting from burning braziers within the great hall of the temple. Amala knew the way by heart, never pausing to search for direction as she led them to the secret entrance into the Gongpo’s lair.

We came to a large alcove on the left side of the hall and were faced with a solid wall of stone. I ran my hands over and around the surface and could find no seam or crack indicating a doorway. There were, however, a series of intricate carvings depicting the peoples of the Kingdom coming to an altar to give sacrifice. Above those people were larger reliefs of the same six-armed demons we saw at the entry to the hidden valley. Their clawed hands met in the center of the wall, forming a triangular shape between their index fingers and thumbs. Here there was a recess in the stone, as if something was meant to be placed there.

I looked at Amala as she pulled down the front of her blouse, exposing the seductive curves of her breasts. From its sensual nest, she drew forth a triangular amulet of silver in which was set a gleaming ruby. 

“The key to my kingdom and the royal seal of the Shang Shung.” Amala whispered as she placed the medallion into the waiting hands of the demons. “It will open any door, even if you cannot see it. My people were great stone masons.”

The amulet settled into the stone as if it were pulled and the sound of clanking gears and counterweights echoed through the naive. My eyes went wide as the solid stone wall drew apart with the ominous grinding of stone. A gust of warm, fetid air blew out from the passageway, carrying the stink of brimstone and unwashed bodies.

“This way leads to the sanctuary of the Gongpos and the old mines, which were the source of our wealth.”

I dashed back out into the hall and pulled one of the torches from its bracket, hoping it would last. Amala pulled her amulet from the keyhole and the doors began to close as we then entered the underworld, hand in hand. 

If you forgot what the hell happened in the other chapters of The Altar of Evil, check them out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. Stay tuned for the exciting next chapter of 

Quinn Chapman and the Altar of Evil

NOTE: THESE STORIES ARE ONLY LIGHTLY EDITED AND ARE MORE OF A FREE WRITING EXERCISE. I AM CURRENTLY MAKING THEM INTO A COMPLETE PULP NOVEL.