The dome of a single-storied building was peeking above the leafy horizon. The undergrowth hid it at first, their leaves a match for the green mould growing all over it. It had four points rising from its corners, and whitened vines like bony arms were hugging it.
Hamar thought it looked like a special surround for a well, and then he thought it looked more like a family burial place for rich people. When he thought that, he could see further down its front that a dark doorway with a point at the top was open like a wailing mouth.
He quickly looked to other corners of the garden instead, and focused on rubbing more spit on his forehead and along his arms. And shivered.
This square seemed purpose-built to house this curious building. Hamar didn’t want to be drawn to it, but he somehow was, as if any intruder would be honour-bound to make its acquaintance.
Dutifully, cautiously, he pushed his way ahead.
Within a few yards of it, no more bramble clawed at his legs. The old tiles immediately in front of the archway were oddly empty of weeds and moss, as if they’d been tended, – swept. But that seemed hardly possible.
The sunny afternoon sky carried on smoothly above him, the thorn branches gently nodded, as they must always have done over this ominous vault. Were there abandoned treasures inside it? Hamar dared himself to go look in the open mouth. Gingerly he stood in the doorway.
Other than a patch of sunlight from the open door the interior was as dark as night. He could see nothing apart from the front edge of a carpet.
Carpet? Carpet in a place so old that any carpet would surely be rotted away by now? And what carpet!
No dust hid the carpet’s vivid colours, – scarlet, purple, sharp orange, bright water blue, – intense colours such as only palace carpets would have, and with strange designs he’d never seen before. He risked putting his toes to it.
It was as soft as kitten fur. He peered into the dark.
He took another step, making sure to keep one hand on the door frame in case he needed to shove himself back out fast. The place smelled like the underside of a rock when it’s flipped over. Then he let go of the frame and went all the way in.
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