THE others awoke a few hours later, rubbing their heads as if in pain.

“Tūmbṃār,” asked Iḷēhaḥ, “do you know where are we? I can scarce remember what happened before.”

“We passed through this huge hall, with waterfalls of magma on all sides and wide bridges!” said Tūmbṃār in a joyous tone. “And when we made to the other side, there was this huge carving on the walls that showed the snake sacrifice with all the Gazhigam moving toward the fire where Athizhska tried to stop the King Frajhaḥspaṃār! You should’ve seen it! I haven’t seen anything more grand than that in all my life! Not even the palaces we’ve seen could compare to it!”

“My! You know even the name of that King,” said Iḷēhaḥ. “Who told you of him? Was it Hvesykhiḥ?”

“Aye!” said Tūmbṃār as he patted Hvesykhiḥ, who remained silent.

Yūrmatṛtha stood atop the snake. He rolled his head, and stretching his arms, said, “I suppose we have passed the first of the halls of our forefathers,” and then a snap in the neck, before continuing, “there are six more to come even grander than what you have seen, sir Tūmbṃār! While we do not take to jewels and gems like the other Ṃārhaḥn, we find beauty in the grand structures that were wrought in old times. Were it in our power, we would restore all those great halls, but I suppose if and when we return to the Heavens, these halls should crumble and dissolve into the depths of time. And none more shall remember them.”

“Nonsense!” said Tūmbṃār. “I’ll at least remember them! I didn’t go on this adventure to just forget all the things I’ve seen and heard.”

Yūrmatṛtha laughed and patted the boy on the head. “Well, at least I am glad to hear those words!”

“I must ask, what was with that heat?” said Nakthaḥm, prickling his neck with his nails. “I feared we would ignite and burn to ash at a moment’s notice. I should assume to be quite used to such heat.”

“If that’s how you felt, Nakthaḥm, imagine the pain Vrihkhaḥ and I must’ve felt in that inferno,” said Sanyhaḥmān panting with his body spread. “If only I could shed this fur right now! You’d wish that too, wouldn’t you Vrihkhaḥ?”

The wolf whimpered with his tongue out.

“How much longer is there to go, Yūrmatṛtha?” asked Feyūnhaḥ. “I don’t think we’ll be able to bear such things for much longer.”

She turned to Aiṛth, who laid on the surface, her clothes damped with sweat. She tapped her mask, but no response.

“It looks like she’s still unconscious. What a curse it must be to have to wear such clothes in a place like this! I sometimes wonder to myself how the Servants bearing such robes walk like that during the Summers and Monsoons. Unlike the priestess here, the ones in Siḍhrehḷūr show no hint of weariness or perspiration in such times and go about their days as any other person would. I wouldn’t mind trading some of the powers for that,” she said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“It shall still be quite some time before we make it to the giant—perhaps on the order of days?” said Yūrmatṛtha, much to the dismay of the group. “But have no fear. We should not have to bear such heat any longer. The path will ascend from here and the air will grow cooler and a little damp, but once we reach the second hall, it will be pleasant, especially with the flowing magma gently heating the area.”

They were relieved to hear that. Yūrmatṛtha then said to Tūmbṃār, “I wish I had the means the bear the heat; were it not for Hvesykhiḥ, I would surely have perished traveling through that area.”

The boy grinned and said, “I guess that’s one thing I can be thankful to my teacher for! There was one time he had me sit on top of a fire pit and harden my body as much as I could so that I wouldn’t get burned. I think I sat on it for around seven days before I gave up.”

“Seven days!” shouted Iḷēhaḥ in surprise. “What of food and rest?”

It seemed even the others were surprised, save for Nakthaḥm, who merely laughed.

“I meditated in that spot and focused my attention to just below my belly button. I think there was some earth that was hardening my skin underneath when I did that, but if ever my concentration broke—which was often—my skin would burn and I’d start jumping on the pit like a madman, until teacher calmed the heat and hit me on the head. Strangely, I didn’t feel hungry either, and now that I think about it, my body remained quite normal. I wonder if someone was feeding me without my knowing. I know for sure it wouldn’t have been teacher!”

“Aside from food,” said Iḷēhaḥ, trying to stifle her laughter, “the sage is more of a taskmaster than I thought!”

“Ey! I told you many stories of that gruesome training in the Cedar Forest!” said Tūmbṃār pouting. “You didn’t think he was a taskmaster then?”

Unable to contain herself anymore, she burst into laughter and hugged him. He tried to pull himself from her, still pouting.

“’Tis true I was listening, but I did not think him to be one to try to roast you alive! Well, at least I think we all know what it feels like to be cooked on a spit,” she said as she giggled and patted Tūmbṃār.

Sanyhaḥmān was reminded of his dreadful encounter with the cannibals, and he felt none too well on remembering that.