Chapter 29: The God's Well
"Good friend, we meet again."
Marcus walked to Vinayak, who was lying on the ground bound like a cocoon, lifted him up with one hand, and gently leaned him against the well.
"Raghav, is this how you treat your friends? There's no treasure here. I'm just cleaning out the ancestral basement."
Vinayak's eyes were filled with resentment, but he kept glancing at the well cover beside him as he spoke.
He had long considered this temple his ancestral home; not buying a house meant he believed he owned this place with its infinite gold coins.
And Marcus and his companions were, in his eyes, robbers who had broken into his treasure vault.
"Boss, this guy's not being honest. Look at his eyes."
"Tumbbad's treasure is definitely in this well. Let's go down and find it!"
the man with yellow hair said impatiently.
Hearing this, a hint of smugness lurked deep in Vinayak's angry eyes.
"Since you're in such a hurry, why don't you go down and look for it first? I'll catch up with an old friend."
"Here, take this. Stick it right at the edge of the lower entrance of the passage."
Marcus didn't refuse. He gestured to the dark-skinned middle-aged man with his eyes, then handed the man with yellow hair a stick-on wireless camera.
This thing and the tracker were small items from a modern tech starter pack, which also included two walkie-talkies, a mechanical claw, a small robot, and a series of other technological gadgets. This was why Marcus had bought this package.
"Okay, okay."
The man with yellow hair nodded eagerly. Now, his heart was filled with greed and desire for unlimited gold, and he even forgot his respectful tone.
The dark-skinned middle-aged man quickly tied a rope around the man with yellow hair's waist, opened the heavy metal well cover, and lowered him down.
"Aren't you going down to take a look? Maybe there really is treasure. Be careful your subordinates don't hoard the gold."
Vinayak said sarcastically, but a hint of expectation lingered deep in his eyes.
"Good friend, the treasure isn't urgent. After all, we'll need you to go down first."
"Now, let's talk about 'Hastar.'"
Vinayak's attempt to lure Marcus directly into the God's Well was seen through, and Marcus directly exposed him without bothering with further pretense.
"You actually know!" Vinayak exclaimed in shock.
"Of course I know, I just wanted confirmation."
Seeing that the man with yellow hair had already gone down, Marcus turned on the display screen in his hand.
The interior of the God's Well was a blood-red mess, like the gutted belly of an animal, with fascia and blood vessels wrapped around the fleshy walls.
The man with yellow hair felt scared down there. There was nothing around him except for the crimson expanse, but he felt that something was hiding nearby, watching him.
"Habib, pull me up, there's nothing here."
The man with yellow hair shouted urgently toward the top of the passage.
"Boss?"
The dark-skinned middle-aged man turned to look at Marcus when he heard the voice.
"Don't panic, the gold coins are down there. Let me talk to Vinayak first about how to get them,"
Marcus said to the display screen. His voice was clearly transmitted into the God's Well from the camera's position.
He then said to the dark-skinned middle-aged man,
"Put the well cover back on first. I need to say a few words."
The dark-skinned middle-aged man quickly complied, and the metal well cover was replaced, pressing down on the rope.
"Vinayak, why can Hastar eat dough dolls but fear circles drawn with flour?"
Marcus asked the protagonist, who had been completely exposed and lost all hope of escape.
"Raghav, you win. I'll tell you everything, but I want to cooperate. We can find gold coins together; they're unlimited."
"Okay."
"Alright, then I'll tell you. The Goddess of Prosperity revived Hastar and hid it in the God's Well, which also made it unable to accept the faith of mortals."
"Hastar monopolized the goddess's wealth, and the gods, driven mad with jealousy, couldn't find it, so they joined forces to curse it. It will be burned by food and suffer the torment of hunger forever."
"But it still has a way to avoid the curse and alleviate its hunger: it can eat the food offered to it by mortals."
"Flour scattered on the ground is unclaimed and will burn Hastar. The small dough figures made from it are offered to it, so it can eat them."
Vinayak simply told everything in one breath, hoping that Raghav would abide by the cooperation agreement for the sake of their friendship.
"If we don't bring food down, will Hastar attack?"
Marcus felt his guess was pretty much correct. He glanced at the screen; the yellow-haired thug was frozen in fear at the bottom of the well, hearing strange breathing sounds.
However, after so long, the yellow-haired thug remained safely at the bottom of the well, and Hastar hadn't appeared.
"Generally not. Legend says it's closely connected to the goddess's womb and often alleviates its hunger by sleeping. Only food can lure it awake."
Vinayak recalled everything his great-grandmother, who had become a monster, had told him.
"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you again, friend."
Marcus gestured to the dark-skinned middle-aged man and had the yellow-haired thug on the screen untie the rope, tying it to Vinayak's waist, who was bound like a cocoon, and slowly lowering him into the God's Well.
"Quick, see this flour ring? Seal the gap in it!"
Vinayak shouted to the yellow-haired thug as soon as he reached the bottom of the well.
"You think I'll just follow orders because you say so? You'd better just tell me where the gold coins are."
Seeing someone come down, the yellow-haired man's courage grew, his eyes filled with greed.
"Finish the flour ring, Shahu."
The voice came from the camera.
"Yes, boss."
The yellow-haired man quickly dropped his arrogance and filled in the gap in the flour ring.
The dark-skinned middle-aged man also followed to the bottom of the well.
Marcus, holding the monitor, watched for a while, confirming that Hastar showed no intention of appearing. He then listened closely to the passageway outside the well. Finding no outsiders, he slid down the rope into the well.
In the movie, although Hastar doesn't eat people, it bites them. Anyone bitten by it will live a long life, but will also suffer from festering sores all over their body, endless hunger, and physical strength inferior to a normal person—like a slug that's half-dissolved by salt but refuses to die.
Marcus put the 10 exorcism talismans he bought for 200 survival points at the lighthouse into his pocket. According to the Lighthouse's assessment, they had a weak exorcism effect, but as a Cursed One, he only felt a slight warmth from them.
Then, like a special forces operator rappelling, he quickly slid down the rope to the location of the camera inside the God's Well. The lighthouse mark on his hand transmitted a message:
[Completed Story Mission One: Entered the God's Well, gained 1000 survival points, exploration progress and story score increased]
After sensing this message, Marcus instantly gripped the rope with his feet and exerted force with his hands.
He quickly climbed up to the well opening, then threw the rope into the well and closed the metal well cover.
He could hear the confused shouts from below, muffled by the heavy metal.
"Boss? Boss! What are you doing?!"
Marcus dusted off his hands. Three greedy men and one cursed demigod, all trapped in a hole together.
Let's see how that works out for them.
(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)