Secret Of the Sighing Mountains (The Quest Trilogy) (7 page)

“Welcome to Mt. Chimpu. I am Master Shengdu. You will refer to me simply as ‘Master’.” he smiled.

“Today, my dear friends and disciples, you have all gathered here because you aspire to complete your as-yet-unknown Quest’s. A brave decision indeed… and one made by few at the right time. You are all now officially…
Sequestors
. That is what a seeker of his Quest is called.

So, you all have finally discovered the secret of the Sighing Mountains. As you may have guessed, the Sighing Mountains is the entrance to your training ground, and your training ground … the entrance to Quniverse. But more on that later.

In order to face the challenges that lie ahead of you, some of you have luck on your side. Others have talent.  But what I intend for all of you to have, is preparation.” he peered at the new and eager faces around him.

“What is a Quest?” he asked, softening his voice.

“Your Quest is a mission. It is your calling in life and the fact that you are here is proof that you are willing to accept that challenge. Have you ever played games in your homes, young ladies and gentlemen?” he inquired to nobody in particular.

“This is not a game, we are not at your respective homes and once you enter the Seekers Pass, nobody can leave until they have completed their Quest. You all know that, I assume?”

Somebody shrieked and fainted.

“Well… not everybody I guess.” Master Shengdu corrected, as two huge men in soft blue robes came rushing forward and carried a boy away.

“In trying to complete your Quest you will encounter many extraordinary and life-threatening situations and it is my duty, and responsibility, to prepare you as best as possible to face these situations. Fight them. Overcome them. You will be staying here for a duration of three years, during which you will be trained to perform tasks ranging from something as simple as lighting a fire using firewood,  to complex tasks such  as fighting, defense and stealth techniques. All this will enhance your capacity for survival and improve your strength, speed and agility.

I hope you will all take your training seriously and at the end of three years, I expect to see a worthy bunch of friends, competitors,” he paused and looked around at the expectant faces, “or foes.” he completed meaningfully.

Several confused glances were exchanged and people began to murmur softly when Master Shengdu’s voice boomed across the hall again, cutting off all conversation.

“Mt.Chimpu is not a playground. It is your training ground. Once you are done with all of this, you will enter Quniverse. What is Quniverse? It is simply the place where all of your Quest’s will take place. Quniverse is like an alternate reality, an alternate existence that is connected to every part of the universe. It is beyond my, or anyone else’, capability to explain to you Quniverse in all its entirety, so what little I have offered is what you must accept.

When your training here is finished, we will have a ‘Naming Ceremony’ to which you are all invited. Those who do not appear willingly will be dragged to it unwillingly. Attendance, as you may have guessed, is compulsory. But with good reason. You see, it is at this ceremony that the completion of your training here at Mt.Chimpu will be acknowledged. You will each receive a small token, or gift, from me. You will also,” he paused to add drama and lowered his voice to a whisper, so that everyone had to strain to hear what he was saying, “receive your Geeya’s.” he finished.

Excited whispers erupted all around the hall but stopped immediately when Master Shengdu cleared his throat to speak again.

“Your Geeya will aid you during your journey to complete your Quests. Each individual’s Geeya will be unique to them. Also remember, only you can see and hear your Geeya. Nobody but you.

That is not all, though. You will also receive the most important thing of them all… you will receive your Core Names!” he said, chuckling softly at the wide eyes looking back at him.

“Now, I am sure I have you all dying with curiosity and fairly excited. So I will stop here – a lesson in patience right from the beginning, hmmm? Make yourselves at home. Your rooms have been allotted and the list has been put up outside on the wall, next to the doors of this Gathering Hall. Please find out your respective room numbers and welcome your roommates, for you will have to tolerate each other for the next three years.” He smiled happily. “Be off, now!”

Everyone stood still, staring at Master Shengdu.

Master Shengdu frowned, “Go on…scat!! Or I’ll start your first class right now!”

Everyone turned in unison then, and hurried to the doors.

Outside the doors to the hall, people were milling about, looking for their names on the list, moving on with their backpacks as they found their designated rooms. Diego made his way slowly to the list. The crowd parted automatically to let him through as he moved forward. Everyone was standing around an invisible circle one foot away from Diego, searching for their names on the list. He found his and Sierra’s names and his eyes followed the line forward to check out the number of the room they had been allotted.

“Room number seven, second floor.” he said softly, and turned to leave.

Once again, the crowd parted willingly to let him through. He headed straight for Sierra who was hanging around the back of the crowd, checking out all the girls
.
He had a wide grin plastered across his face as he stood there, admiring a tall brunette with a pert derrière, bending down in front of him to pick up her backpack.

He looked up to see Diego making his over and straightened his features into a more acceptably somber one.

“You look like an idiot. If that was your aim, congratulations! You were a complete success at it.” Diego remarked dryly.

“Just tell me which room, what floor.”  said Sierra irritably.

“Room number seven, second floor. We’re together.”

Sierra caught the owner of the pert derriere watching him, checking him out. He combed a hand through his hair and waited. She looked him up and down; then shook her head regretfully. Sierra’s brows snapped together in disbelief and he lurched off the wall.

He flexed his muscles in different angles, posing hilariously like some kind of bodybuilder. She threw her head back and laughed, then took a notebook out of her bag and scribbled something on it.  Handing the note to Sierra, she left with two other girls. Sierra opened the note to look at its contents and grinned. He had just received a full ten.

He suddenly remembered Diego and spotted him a long way off already heading up the stairs.

“Hey! Wait up, D!” he said, sprinting after him.

They reached their room and found the door slightly ajar. Sierra pushed the door open and walked right in, scowling to himself. The door crashed on the wall behind, coming off one of the hinges.

“Darn!” cursed Sierra turning to assess the damage done.

“Is okay, I can fix that.” said a nasal voice from behind him.

Sierra turned around to look at whoever addressed him but could see nobody.

“Down here.” said the small voice.

Sierra looked down then and saw a round face with the most enormous glasses perched on a wide flat nose. The boy looked no more than twelve. He had small eyes pinched at the corners and he was smiling widely at Sierra, exposing teeth that looked too big for his face.

“I’m Ashitaka. Pleased to meet you. I can fix that.” he said helpfully, extending a plump hand.

“Provided you can reach that far.” said Sierra, taking the hand and shaking it. “I’m Sierra.”

“Sierra, very nice.” said Ashitaka. “You are friends?” he inquired, looking at Diego.

Diego, who had walked in ahead, was assessing their room. It was narrow, with twin bunk beds lined against each wall. There was only one study table and desk provided and one armoire with a mirror. Save for these two items of furnishing, there was nothing else in their room. Diego eyed the top bunk on his left, with his hands resting on his hips. Two bags were placed on it, indicating it was taken. Calmly, he dumped the bags on the bunk below and proceeded to place his things on the bed instead.

“I guess I’ll take the lower bunk then.” Ashitaka said, forlornly eyeing the bunk where Diego had just dumped his bags.

“That’s my brother, Diego.” Sierra introduced with a sigh.

Ashitaka turned to Diego. “Pleased to meet you, too.”

Diego turned to look at the small hand extended towards him. He ignored the greeting and the extended hand. Ashitaka put his hand down dejectedly.

“Have the two of you heard about what the other students, I mean sequestors, are referring to as Master Shengdu’s ‘Chamber of Secrets’?” inquired Ashitaka.

“Not really, what are you talking about?” asked Sierra, intrigued. Diego turned to look, too. Ashitaka’s round face beamed at having gotten their attention.

“From what I heard, it’s the coolest place here. Filled to the brim with super secret stuff. Stuff that Master Shengdu has collected over the years here. Apparently, there’s gadgets, weapons, even magical stuff …” he breathed the last word with wonder. “Nobody knows its location, though. That’s why everyone jokingly calls it ‘Master Shengdu’s Chamber of Secrets.’ You know, from Harry Potter?”

Sierra looked at his brother with a raised eyebrow. “Sounds like something to watch out for, huh?”

Diego gave him a small shrug and then turned to climb up onto his bunk.

“I can fix the problem in your bed.” said Ashitaka, managing a quivering smile at Diego’s broad back.

Diego paused. “What’s wrong with my bed?” he asked.

“It’s not mine anymore.” replied Ashitaka, and then burst out laughing at what he obviously thought was a good joke. Diego gave an angry snort; Sierra rolled his eyes and turned to place his things on the top bunk opposite Diego’s.

Ashitaka looked at the back’s of both of his new roommates, and turned towards Sierra.

“Our fourth roommate will be late in joining us.” he said, trying to draw them into a conversation once more.

Both Sierra and Diego ignored him.

“He is down at the doctor’s chambers.” he continued hopefully.

“Why is that?” asked Sierra, curious despite himself.

“He’s the one who fainted today during Master Shengdu’s welcome speech.”

Sierra’s eyes bulged. He exchanged a look with Diego.

This could not be happening. Three years in the same room with Ashitaka and that pansy who fainted? Great. Just great.

He walked out of his room needing to get some fresh air, unwittingly flinging the door open once more. It crashed into the wall and the second pair of hinges came off.

“Aw, crap!” he muttered.

Sierra broke into a run. He could hear Ashitaka yelling a promise to fix it even as he turned the corner towards the stairs.

*****

CHAPTER 8

There was a quiet knock on the doors of all dorm rooms at five a.m. the next morning which of course, nobody responded to. This was followed five minutes later with a few more thuds of greater intensity, to which some sequestors groggily responded to by complaining. Five minutes later came the pounding of a gong so loud that the sequestors scrambled out of their beds and ran for the bathrooms. By five forty five, all ninety eight sequestors were assembled in the gathering hall and darting nervous glances around to make sure the gong had woken no dead. Master Shengdu walked in shortly, dressed in plain white robes with a blue border.

“Good morning, sequestors.” he greeted in his calm manner, almost putting them all back to sleep again. “Sleepy? I understand. It is not quite the hour you are all used to waking up to.”

“Not quite the hour?” grumbled Sierra who had only just tumbled out of bed and come straight to the gathering hall. “It’s the middle of the night for Pete’s sake!”

Master Shengdu flashed a sympathetic smile in his direction and Sierra frowned. The old guy couldn’t possibly have heard him, could he? That too, when he was standing here, right at the back of the crowd. Master Shengdu’s smile turned into a grin and Sierra’s frown deepened. Could the guy read minds too? What next? He’d lower his fangs and reveal he was a vampire?

Sierra received a sharp whack to the back of his head and turned to scowl at his attacker. Diego was glaring back at him.

“What?” hissed Sierra, rubbing the back of his head.

“Just how bloody sleepy are you?” Diego hissed back.

“Whaddaya mean?”

“You idiot! You’ve been muttering out loud every single thought that’s crossed your empty brain this past minute! You even called Master a vampire!”

All sleep fled from Sierra’s eyes and his ears turned red with embarrassment. He made a sulky face and turned away from Diego. All eyes in the hall were on him. Great. Sierra felt the urge to lift and wiggle his pinky finger and make a hasty exit, but the idea felt too childish to actually carry out so he just stood his ground, resolutely ignoring all eyes and shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

Master Shengdu relieved him from further torture by beginning to speak again, thereby drawing all the attention back to himself.

“Your training will start from today itself. You have been called early today because some matters need to be discussed and explained. From tomorrow, you will be given the wake-up call much later…”

Sighs of relief could be heard which abruptly stopped when Master Shengdu went on to add, “At five thirty a.m. Please be here at six sharp. No excuses or tardiness will be tolerated.”

There was a scream at one corner and then a dull thud indicating someone had fainted. Sierra and Diego exchanged telling looks while Master Shengdu coughed and cleared his throat as two tall, bald men rushed towards the site of the offending noise.

“What an interesting batch.” muttered Master Shengdu before continuing, “Moving on, sequestors, first thing in the morning, you will all have a forty-five minute session of yoga to relieve you of stress and to balance the energies of the body.” Here master Shengdu paused, giving the gathered sequestors a chance to scream and faint, should anyone feel the need to do so. When no such incident happened, he carried on;