Chapter 28: Hastar's Temple
"Boss, this is Vinayak's house."
Two red straight-frame motorcycles stopped at the door, and Marcus and his two companions got off.
The dark-skinned thug pointed to the dilapidated house, built only of wood and black stone.
Marcus glanced at the run-down house. The protagonist, Vinayak, had spent all his gold coins on pleasure and hadn't bought or built any new houses.
"Vinayak, Boss Raghav is here to see you."
The yellow-haired henchman politely pushed open the door with his left hand and called out into the house; his right hand was wrapped in a plaster cast.
Marcus waited quietly at the door; he was a man of good manners when it suited him.
"Raghav, what brings you here? Didn't you say you didn't have any more rupees for the time being?"
Vinayak Rao, dressed in a black suit with a brown shirt, sporting a thick mustache, stood out from his neighbors in their patchwork clothes.
He was curious. He had rejected Raghav's offer to partner in business yesterday, so why was Raghav here again today?
Money was irrelevant to him; only having gold in his hands could put his mind at ease.
"I'm out of rupees, but the British officers have them. They're changing shifts tomorrow and are willing to pay 20% more in rupees to exchange for a large amount of gold,"
Marcus said as he walked into the house. Hearing this, Vinayak quickly followed and sat down on a stool.
"How much gold do they want?"
Vinayak asked anxiously. A 20% higher exchange rate—this was a golden opportunity to make a fortune, but he didn't have many gold coins left.
"How much do you have?"
"I have about 2.8 pounds of gold coins."
"Vinayak, that's far from enough. The deal alone requires at least three pounds. I'll come find you tomorrow morning. I hope you seize this opportunity."
Marcus patted Vinayak on the shoulder, turned, and walked toward the door. The two henchmen guarding the door quickly followed.
"Boss, why are we leaving? Aren't we looking for treasure?"
the man with yellow hair asked, puzzled.
"What's the rush? Vinayak will take us there soon."
Marcus pulled a device resembling a smartphone from his pocket, displaying a constantly flashing yellow dot.
"Boss, what's this?"
the dark-skinned middle-aged man asked curiously.
"This yellow dot is Vinayak."
Marcus casually explained, watching the yellow dot on the screen move slightly back and forth.
"Oh."
The man with yellow hair and the dark-skinned man seemed to understand, but not quite.
They waited for about twenty minutes.
"Hey, it's moving! The yellow dot, no, Vinayak is moving to the left!"
The man with yellow hair pointed at the screen with his bandaged right hand and shouted excitedly.
"Let's go."
The three of them got on their motorcycles and followed Vinayak. Halfway there, a light drizzle suddenly started to fall.
They rode westward for thirty minutes before the yellow dot on the screen stopped.
Before them was a temple wall, thirty feet high and three hundred feet long, built entirely of square black stone blocks. In the middle of the wall was an arched doorway with a dilapidated double wooden door.
This was the temple built by the villagers of Tumbbad for Hastar, the eldest son of the goddess of prosperity, now in ruins.
Marcus saw a motorcycle parked beside the door, presumably the one Vinayak had ridden over.
"Lock your motorcycle to his, and grab the rope."
"Got it, boss. That way Vinayak won't be able to escape."
The dark-skinned middle-aged man gave a habitual, sinister grin.
Entering the temple, they found a three-story stone pavilion resembling a courtyard. The walls were painted with rows of images of women in red hooded robes, their faces painted black, their lifeless eyes seemingly fixed on the three.
Marcus, holding the tracker, bypassed the pavilion and arrived at a square stone platform of about five hundred square feet in the backyard.
In the center of the platform was an ancient, dilapidated black well, with a rope tied to its edge, the other end leading directly down into darkness.
"Vinayak must be looking for gold down there! So this is Tumbbad's treasure!"
the dark-skinned middle-aged man exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the rope.
"Give me the rope."
Marcus tied one end of the rope to the stone pillar and the other end to the waist of the man with yellow hair.
"Boss, this..."
The man with yellow hair was a little confused.
"It's okay, I know your hand is injured. Habib will lower you down first, then he'll go down. Don't worry."
Marcus checked that the rope was secure and then gestured to the dark-skinned middle-aged man, Habib.
"After you go down, find Vinayak and tie him up. I'll come down after you."
Hearing this, the man with yellow hair excitedly came to the well. He would be the first person to access the treasure. The dark-skinned middle-aged man, Habib, understood and began to work the rope.
"Good brother, hurry up! Who knows how many gold coins Vinayak has already retrieved down there?"
The man with yellow hair, despite his injured hand, actually started urging him on.
"I know, what are you worried about? He's helping us retrieve it. He can't possibly run away."
The dark-skinned middle-aged man suppressed his excitement and imitated Marcus's tone and expression.
At the same time, at the bottom of the well.
Vinayak was rapidly climbing upward along the crimson passage formed by flesh and blood.
Below him was a monster without skin, like a walking corpse of raw muscle.
It wore a golden crown, its scarlet arms and legs adorned with gold ornaments, and its mouth full of fangs hissed incessantly as it climbed the well wall, chasing after Vinayak.
The monster's eyes were filled with an intense hunger; this was Hastar, the god of greed.
Just as the monster was about to grab his ankle, Vinayak's muscles bulged, and with a powerful pull, he leaped out of the God's Well.
He turned and slammed the heavy metal well cover shut, sitting on it with a look of panic. A resentful roar came from beneath the cover, then gradually faded.
He pulled out a dozen gold coins from his pocket, patted them contentedly in his palm, and his panic was replaced by a greedy smile.
A hissing sound came from the well. Vinayak's smile vanished, and he quickly looked up at the rope above.
Beside the rope he was tied to, another rope appeared, and a middle-aged man with yellow hair slowly descended, his feet exposed.
Vinayak's expression darkened, and he quickly ducked behind the God's Well, glancing around before picking up a stone.
"Vinayak, I heard something! Don't hide!"
"Habib, come down right now! We have the rope; you can't escape!"
The man with yellow hair landed on his feet, surveying the well's bottom as he shouted.
He hadn't expected such a large space at the bottom of the well; it was practically an underground vault, though incredibly dirty and covered in cobwebs, making it seem eerie and terrifying.
"Damn Shahu! It was Raghav who sent you to follow me! Where is he?"
Vinayak, hearing this, angrily stepped forward and asked.
He knew the well's space was limited, and someone was guarding the rope above; there was no way to escape. So he dropped the stone, grabbed a handful of dirt, stuffed it into his pocket, and then stepped forward.
"The boss is up there too, Vinayak. Surrender!"
A voice came from the passage, and the dark-skinned middle-aged Habib also descended the rope.
After he landed, the two ropes in the well were slowly pulled up simultaneously, making it impossible for the three people at the bottom to climb out.
"The gold coins are piled up in here, you can take as many as you want. You want gold coins, right? Let Raghav come down too, I'm willing to share the treasure with you."
Vinayak reached out and patted the metal well cover beside him. He was anxious when he saw that the ropes were gone—this cut off their escape route.
"Ah, the rope... Boss!"
The yellow-haired man even exclaimed softly.
The dark-skinned middle-aged man looked at the yellow-haired man like he was an idiot, then said to Vinayak:
"The boss just said up there, you stay still now, let me tie you up nice and easy, then he'll let the rope down. Otherwise the three of us will wait at the bottom of the well while he goes to find more men to help."
As the dark-skinned middle-aged man spoke, he picked up the rope that was slung over his shoulder and walked toward Vinayak.
Vinayak deflated like a punctured tire, his body slumping. He stood motionless, bound tightly by the yellow-haired man like a mummy, leaving only his head exposed.
"Boss, he's tied up!"
the dark-skinned middle-aged man shouted toward the passage, and the two ropes were lowered again.
Marcus stood outside the well, testing the hardness of the well wall to make sure he could climb up using his own strength even without the ropes, before sliding down.
He'd been to Hell and back. A cursed well in India? That was just another Tuesday.
Time to meet this Hastar face to face.
(End of Chapter)
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+10 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/DarkFoxx (20+ advanced chapters)