Indiana Jones & the Urne of Nurhachi - chapter 2

Posted by Krede from vlb-209-120.ppp.uni2.dk on August 10, 1999 at 10:23:49:

Chapter 2

Indy walked up to the double doors and expected to do some heavy lock-picking but to his surprise he found them unlocked. This was usually not a good sign, it meant that somebody had been there before him and maybe gotten away with what he seeked. Indy placed one hand on each of the doors and pushed. They were heavy and Indy had to push of all his strength. When the doors opened there was a surge of dust escaping from the innards of the palace.
The doorway opened into a long rectangular hall with a high ceiling. It was remarkably bright inside but that was because of the carefully carved windows that made it possible to light up the hall with sunlight. It was very quiet and Indy could feel the pressure of time weighing down upon him. It was a feeling he was very familiar with,
just to breathe the same air as another human being had thousands of years ago made him remember what had made him choose archaeology as his way of living. And each time it made him glad that he did, even though it had meant losing contact with his father for almost fifteen years. For a few seconds he just stood there enjoying the feeling but he knew he had work to do and time was of the essence, strangely enough it always was for him. On one side there was a row of Chinese demon statues looking menacingly down on him. Indy shrugged and took a step forward, as he did he mumbled to himself ìHmm, this is almost too easy. I better be carefulî. Just as he had finished the sentence, he felt
the tile go down a quarter of an inch and heard a low ìclickî. His reflexes took over and he jerked back, just as a long spear flung up from a hole in the middle of the tile. It would have virtually impaled him if he had not moved. Not daring to step back and catch his breath Indy sprung forward and lunged himself into a mad dash across the tile floor. Spears continued to spring from the floor inches from Indy¥s legs. After dodging a particularly high spear, Indy came to a halt and a spear sprung up from the tile below him and stopped just a few inches from his crotch. Grateful that it had not gone further, Indy rolled his eyes ìJesus!î he mumbled and took a careful step forward unto the stone floor without tiles. ìWhat the hell was that? Traps, in a palace?î this was certainly unexpected for him. Traps were common in tombs but he had never expected traps in a palace. ìThey must have been built after Nurhachi diedî he reasoned. Suddenly there was a creaking sound that made his stomach turn. His entire body tensed as the anticipation of another trap sprung to mind. Then the creaking stopped and Indy relaxed a bit. Without warning the floor split into two halves like a trap door and sent Indy flailing arms and legs, trough the hole. Again Indy¥s reflexes took over and he managed to get his trusty whip untangled. With a single motion he swung it and the tip wrapped around the last spear that had nearly made him human shish kebab. It was just in time, the whip tensed and Indy¥s fall came to a sudden halt. Groaning he sustained the pain in his shoulder as the whip stopped him from plunging into the darkness below. Stars and bright spots were dancing before his eyes. He forced himself to look down and saw a hole filled with spikes just a few feet below him. He realised that he had been luckier than others as the hole was littered with impaled skeletons. On one spike somebody¥s head had been impaled through the right eye socket, and the pale cranium was now looking up at Indy, grinning in silence. With a painful effort Indy managed to swing to a platform beside the hole. His shoulder was still aching from that gunshot wound he had gotten earlier that year, during that awful ordeal with the Omega Book. He landed hard on the floor and almost sprained his ankle. As Indy untangled his whip from the spear above he looked around for the first time. He was apparently underneath the palace now, because the walls consisted of carved bluish Ice. The ice was mesmerising to look at, it had the specific colour of very old ice. It was transparent but then again it was impossible to look trough, white new ice made long vertical streaks down the surface. Indy¥s heart was still pounding hard, both from the physical exertion and the adrenaline flowing through his veins. Indy looked up at the trap door some fifteen feet above. ìI can¥t get up that way, there must be some other way out!î Indy turned and noticed a nook in a wall. In the nook a narrow passage was leading away from the spike filled hole and the small platform. Indy squeezed into the passage and went forward. Anything was better than staying there and his bet was that Zhaba would not come to rescue him anytime this century. Indy hoped that Zhaba was still there, he could have left but Indy had not payed him yet and odds were that Zhabas greed had a better hold of him than his fear. Indy had to go sideways to fit in the passage but it was sloping upwards and the walls were no longer ice but carved rock. Indy figured he was moving up into the lower part of the palace again. The narrow passage
ended in a dimly lit underground hall. The granite walls were decorated with eastern style armour and weapons; crossbows, samurai swords and axes. They would make an excellent addition to the new Orient section Marcus was working on at the Museum, but Indy did not have the time or capacity to bring this stuff back. At the end of the hall there was a staircase going up. Indy made his way quickly to the staircase. The stairs were old and Indy almost tripped when a big chunk broke off under his heel.
ìWhoa! this place is fragileî he exclaimed and decided that he had better watch his step. Indy ascended the stairs into a rectangular room. It was bare except for a pile of rubble and some wooden logs that lay scattered across the room. Indy noticed nothing of this, his eyes were focused on the back wall and on the small shelf cut into the rock which held a small jar of some kind. Indy was amazed at his luck ìI¥ll be... this is what I¥ve been looking for!î. Indy rushed over to the shelf and inspected the small jar.
It was the urne of Nurhachi, no doubt about it. It was definitely late Manchu dynasty ceramic artistry. The greenish urne was intricately decorated with flowers and a small bird with a rose in its mouth sat on the top portion of the urne. Indy grinned ìAt last! The urne of Nurhachi,
you¥re coming home with me old boy. Indy opened his satchel and put the urne inside. ìLao will surely t....î Indy stopped as he felt something hit the crown of his fedora. It was a small pebble. Indy suddenly shuddered he had not even thought that there could be a final trap waiting for the lucky bastard who would come so far as to find the urne. ìYou big idiotî he hissed at himself. A loud cracking noise filled the room as Indy looked up and saw a wide crack in the ceiling. It was splitting the ceiling in two sending dust and a rain of pebbles down upon Indy. Soon the ceiling would come crashing down on him, squashing him.
Indy looked around frantically trying to find a way out. His first thought was to run down the stairs but a giant rock had fallen down and blocked the doorway. The shover of rocks increased and Indy knew he had to do something fast.
Then his eyes fell upon a big wooden log lying on the floor, Indy knew that the idea that sprung to mind at that moment was insane and even suicidal but it was his only option.

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: Chapter 2

: Indy walked up to the double doors and expected to do some heavy lock-picking but to his surprise he found them unlocked. This was usually not a good sign, it meant that somebody had been there before him and maybe gotten away with what he seeked. Indy placed one hand on each of the doors and pushed. They were heavy and Indy had to push of all his strength. When the doors opened there was a surge of dust escaping from the innards of the palace.
: The doorway opened into a long rectangular hall with a high ceiling. It was remarkably bright inside but that was because of the carefully carved windows that made it possible to light up the hall with sunlight. It was very quiet and Indy could feel the pressure of time weighing down upon him. It was a feeling he was very familiar with,
: just to breathe the same air as another human being had  thousands of years ago made him remember what had made him choose archaeology as his way of living. And each time it made him glad that he did, even though it had meant losing contact with his father for almost fifteen years. For a few seconds he just stood there enjoying the feeling but he knew he had work to do and time was of the essence, strangely enough it always was for him. On one side there was a row of Chinese demon statues looking menacingly down on him. Indy shrugged and took a step forward, as he did he mumbled to himself ìHmm, this is almost too easy. I better be carefulî. Just as he had finished the sentence, he felt
: the tile go down a quarter of an inch and heard a low ìclickî. His reflexes took over and he jerked back, just as a long spear flung up from a hole in the middle of the tile. It would have virtually impaled him if he had not moved. Not daring to step back and catch his breath Indy sprung forward and lunged himself into a mad dash across the tile floor. Spears continued to spring from the floor inches from Indy¥s legs. After dodging a particularly high spear, Indy came to a halt and a spear sprung up from the tile below him and stopped just a few inches from his crotch. Grateful that it had not gone further, Indy rolled his eyes ìJesus!î he mumbled and took a careful step forward unto the stone floor without tiles. ìWhat the hell was that? Traps, in a palace?î  this was certainly unexpected for him. Traps were common in tombs but he had never expected traps in a palace. ìThey must have been built after Nurhachi diedî he reasoned. Suddenly there was a creaking sound that made his stomach turn. His entire body tensed as the anticipation of another trap sprung to mind. Then the creaking stopped and Indy relaxed a bit. Without warning the floor split into two halves like a trap door and sent Indy flailing arms and legs, trough the hole. Again Indy¥s reflexes took over and he managed to get his trusty whip untangled. With a single motion he swung it and the tip wrapped around the last spear that had nearly made him human shish kebab. It was just in time, the whip tensed and Indy¥s fall came to a sudden halt. Groaning he sustained the pain in his shoulder as the whip stopped him from plunging into the darkness below. Stars and bright spots were dancing before his eyes. He forced himself to look down and saw a hole filled with spikes just a few feet below him. He realised that he had been luckier than others as the hole was littered with impaled skeletons. On one spike somebody¥s head had been impaled through the right eye socket, and the pale cranium was now looking up at Indy, grinning in silence. With a painful effort Indy managed to swing to a platform beside the hole. His shoulder was still aching from that gunshot wound he had gotten earlier that year, during that awful ordeal with the Omega Book. He landed hard on the floor and almost sprained his ankle. As Indy untangled his whip from the spear above he looked around for the first time. He was apparently underneath the palace now, because the walls consisted of carved bluish Ice. The ice was mesmerising to look at, it had the specific colour of very old ice. It was transparent but then again it was impossible to look trough, white new ice made long vertical streaks down the surface. Indy¥s heart was still pounding hard, both from the physical exertion and the adrenaline flowing through his veins. Indy looked up at the trap door some fifteen feet above. ìI can¥t get up that way, there must be some other way out!î Indy turned and noticed a nook in a wall. In the nook a narrow passage was leading away from the spike filled hole and the small platform. Indy squeezed into the passage and went forward. Anything was better than staying there and his bet was that Zhaba would not come to rescue him anytime this century. Indy hoped that Zhaba was still there, he could have left but Indy had not payed him yet and odds were that Zhabas greed had a better hold of him than his fear. Indy had to go sideways to fit in the passage but it was sloping upwards and the walls were no longer ice but carved rock. Indy figured he was moving up into the lower part of the palace again. The narrow passage 
: ended in a dimly lit underground hall. The granite walls were decorated with eastern style armour and weapons; crossbows, samurai swords and axes. They would make an excellent addition to the new Orient section Marcus was working on at the Museum, but Indy did not have the time or capacity to bring this stuff back. At the end of the hall there was a staircase going up. Indy made his way quickly to the staircase. The stairs were old and Indy almost tripped when a big chunk broke off under his heel.
: ìWhoa! this place is fragileî he exclaimed and decided that he had better watch his step. Indy ascended the stairs into a rectangular room. It was bare except for a pile of rubble and some wooden logs that lay scattered across the room. Indy noticed nothing of this, his eyes were focused on the back wall and on the small shelf cut into the rock which held a small jar of some kind. Indy was amazed at his luck ìI¥ll be... this is what I¥ve been looking for!î. Indy rushed over to the shelf and inspected the small jar.
: It was the urne of Nurhachi, no doubt about it. It was definitely late Manchu dynasty ceramic artistry. The greenish urne was intricately decorated with flowers and a small bird with a rose in its mouth sat on the top portion of the urne. Indy grinned ìAt last! The urne of Nurhachi,
: you¥re coming home with me old boy. Indy opened his satchel and put the urne inside. ìLao will surely t....î Indy stopped as he felt something hit the crown of his fedora. It was a small pebble. Indy suddenly shuddered he had not even thought that there could be a final trap waiting for the lucky bastard who would come so far as to find the urne. ìYou big idiotî he hissed at himself. A loud cracking noise filled the room as Indy looked up and saw a wide crack in the ceiling. It was splitting the ceiling in two sending dust and a rain of pebbles down upon Indy. Soon the ceiling would come crashing down on him, squashing him.
: Indy looked around frantically trying to find a way out. His first thought was to run down the stairs but a giant rock had fallen down and blocked the doorway. The shover of rocks increased and Indy knew he had to do something fast.
: Then his eyes fell upon a big wooden log lying on the floor, Indy knew that the idea that sprung to mind at that moment was insane and even suicidal but it was his only option.

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