Page 1 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure
1
ELUHEED
July 2, 1840
Rain clouds hovered over Mount Ararat's steep slopes as Eluheed made his way up the familiar path, hoping it wouldn't start raining before he reached the cave. At these elevations, sudden thunderstorms and heavy precipitation could create dangerous conditions even for an experienced climber like him.
He wasn't worried about hypothermia, but icy conditions could mean slipping and falling, and there was a limit to what his body could repair.
It was too late to go back, though. Besides, he'd already missed the summer solstice by nearly two weeks because of the weather, and he could delay no longer.
This was the time when the veil between worlds was supposed to grow thin, and there were certain rituals he was obligated to perform.
After all, he was a shaman even if he was temporarily displaced.
Eluheed chuckled bitterly.
What had been supposed to be a temporary displacement, a way to save and hide the most precious of treasures, had turned into a very long exile, and he'd lost hope of ever going back.
For better or for worse, this was his home now.
A hawk circled overhead, its cry echoing off the mountain's face, and Eluheed paused, watching its flight pattern with the practiced eye of one who knew how to read nature's signs. Except for the worsening weather, nothing seemed amiss.
Just a hunter seeking prey among the rocks.
He continued the ascent, his boots finding purchase on rocks he'd climbed countless times before, each step bringing him closer to his hidden treasure. The cave entrance lay another hour's climb ahead, concealed behind a wall of rocks, the narrow opening visible only to someone who knew exactly where to look.
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet trembled, and Eluheed froze. The tremor lasted only a heartbeat, so slight that he was tempted to dismiss it as his imagination, but he knew better. These mountains had been his home for hundreds of years, and he knew them well. Tremors were common, but the question was whether they would intensify or die out.
Fifty-seven years prior, the mountain had erupted, as it also had four centuries before that. He'd survived on both occasions, but only by sheer luck. Many hadn't.
His charges were in no danger, though, even if it got much worse. This mountain was as close to their natural habitat as itgot, and they were built to withstand whatever it could unleash. Nevertheless, Eluheed quickened his pace.
Another tremor, stronger this time.
He climbed faster, his legs carrying him up the slope that would challenge a mountain goat. His leather satchel bounced against his side as he leaped from boulder to boulder, no longer caring if there were any other climbers on the mountain to witness his unnatural agility.
The cave was close now, perhaps two hundred meters above. He could see the distinctive rock formation that marked its location. He'd built it himself, making sure it was unmistakable, so he could always find it.
Then the world around him exploded into chaos.
The earthquake struck with a force that threw Eluheed to his knees. The mountain groaned, a sound that seemed to come from the very heart of the earth below. Rocks the size of houses broke free from the slopes above, tumbling past him in a deadly cascade.
Eluheed pressed himself against an outcropping, shielding his head as debris rained down. Through the thunder of falling stone, he heard something that made his blood freeze—a deep, resonant crack from somewhere far below, as if the mountain itself was splitting apart.
"No," he breathed, though the word was lost in the cacophony.
The shaking intensified. It wasn't merely an earthquake now.
The mountain was awakening.
Eluheed had lived long enough to recognize the signs. Volcanic gases began rising from the new fissures, sulfurous and choking. The temperature climbed, and he could feel the heat through his palms where they pressed against the rock face.
He had to reach the cave.
Fighting against the bucking earth, Eluheed struggled upward. A boulder crashed down where he'd been standing moments before, pulverizing into dust. He leaped over a widening crack, barely catching the opposite edge as the gap yawned wider behind him. His fingers dug into crevices as he hauled himself up.
The cave entrance was just ahead, still sealed, still intact. Relief flooded through him. If he could just?—
