Hastur Temple

"Boss, this is Vinayak's place."

Two red-painted straight-frame motorcycles pulled up to the entrance, and Wu Heng and his two men climbed off.

The dark-skinned youth pointed toward the dilapidated shack, which was constructed from nothing more than wood and black stone.

Wu Heng surveyed the ramshackle house. The protagonist, Vinayak, had been spending all the gold coins he obtained on hedonistic pleasures rather than investing in a new home.

"Vinayak, Boss Raghav is here to see you."

The henchman with the yellow braid pushed the door open obsequiously with his left hand, his right arm wrapped in a plaster cast, and shouted into the house.

Wu Heng waited quietly at the threshold; he was, after all, a man of manners.

"Raghav, why are you here? Didn't you say you were out of rupees for the time being?"

Vinayak Rao spoke, looking out of place in his black suit and brown shirt compared to his neighbors in their simple cloth garments, his thick handlebar mustache twitching.

He was curious; he had rejected Raghav's request for a business partnership just yesterday, so why was he back today?

Accounts meant little to him; only the gold he could hold in his hands brought him peace of mind.

"I may be out of rupees, but the foreign officers aren't. They're rotating out tomorrow and are willing to pay a twenty percent premium to exchange for a large quantity of gold."

Wu Heng walked straight into the house as he spoke. Hearing this, Vinayak hurriedly followed and sat down on a stool.

"How much gold do they want?"

Vinayak's expression turned eager. A twenty percent premium was a golden opportunity to get rich, though he didn't have many coins left himself.

"How much do you have?"

"I have about 2.8 pounds of gold coins."

"Vinayak, that's nowhere near enough. Gino alone needs at least three pounds. I'll come by tomorrow morning; I hope you seize this chance."

Wu Heng patted Vinayak on the shoulder, turned, and walked back outside, his two henchmen trailing closely behind.

"Boss, why are we leaving? Aren't we looking for the treasure?"

The yellow-braided man asked, looking puzzled.

"What's the rush? Vinayak will lead us there soon enough."

Wu Heng pulled a display screen resembling a smartphone from his pocket, a yellow dot blinking incessantly on its surface.

"Boss, what is that?"

The dark-skinned man asked curiously.

"That yellow dot is Vinayak."

Wu Heng watched the dot on the screen sway back and forth, offering a casual explanation.

"Oh."

The yellow-braided man and the dark-skinned man felt like they understood, yet they were still somewhat confused.

They waited for about twenty minutes.

"Hey, it's moving! The yellow dot—no, wait, Vinayak has started moving to the left!"

The yellow-braided man pointed at the screen with his bandaged hand, shouting in excitement.

"Let's go."

The three men mounted their motorcycles and followed behind Vinayak. Halfway there, a light, drizzling rain began to fall from the sky.

After tracking him for thirty minutes as he rode westward, the yellow dot on the screen finally came to a halt.

Before them stood a temple wall built entirely of square black stone blocks, ten meters high and a hundred meters long. In the center of the wall was an arched gateway fitted with a pair of weathered wooden doors.

This was the temple the villagers of Tumbbad had built for 'Hastur,' the firstborn son of the Goddess of Prosperity, now fallen into ruin.

Wu Heng noticed a motorcycle parked beside the gate; it must have been the one Vinayak rode.

"Lock your bike to his and bring the rope."

"Understood, Boss. That way, Vinayak won't be able to run even if he wants to."

The dark-skinned man gave a habitual, sinister grin.

Entering the temple, they found a three-story stone courtyard. The walls were painted with rows of women in red hooded robes, their faces smeared black, their dead, hollow eyes seemingly staring fixedly at the three men.

Wu Heng held the tracker and bypassed the pavilion, arriving at a square stone platform of about fifty square meters in the backyard.

In the center of the platform sat an ancient, dilapidated black well, with a hemp rope tied to the edge, the other end disappearing into the depths.

"Vinayak must be down there looking for gold. So that's where the Tumbbad treasure is!"

The dark-skinned man exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the rope.

"Give me the rope."

Wu Heng tied one end of the rope to a stone pillar and fastened the other around the waist of the yellow-braided man.

"Boss, this..."

The yellow-braided man looked bewildered.

"It's fine, I know your hand is injured. Jacob will go down first, then you. Don't worry."

Wu Heng tested the knots to ensure they were secure, then signaled to the swarthy middle-aged man, Jacob Parr.

"Once you're down, find Vinayak and tie him up first. I'll follow right after."

Hearing this, the man with the yellow braid excitedly approached the well. He would be the first to touch the treasure. Jacob, the swarthy man, nodded in understanding and began to feed the rope.

"Good brother, hurry up! Who knows how many gold coins Vinayak has already fished out down there?"

The yellow-braided man, despite his injured hand, actually began to urge him on.

"I know, I know. What are you worried about? He's just fishing them out for us anyway. It's not like he can run away."

The swarthy man suppressed his excitement, mimicking Wu Heng's tone and expression as he spoke.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the well.

Vinayak was scrambling urgently up a crimson passage formed of flesh and muscle.

Below him on the rope was a creature without skin, resembling a Blood Corpse.

It wore a crown crafted from gold, with golden ornaments adorning its scarlet arms and shins. It hissed incessantly, its mouth full of fangs, as it climbed the well wall in pursuit of Vinayak.

The monster's eyes were filled with a deep, ravenous hunger. This was the God of Greed, 'Hastur'.

Just as the monster was about to grab his ankle, Vinayak tensed his arm muscles and pulled himself up with a mighty heave, vaulting out of the Well of God.

He spun around and slammed the heavy metal well cover shut with a loud clang. He sat on the lid, his expression panicked, listening as the frustrated hissing from beneath the cover gradually faded away.

He pulled a dozen gold coins from his pocket and weighed them in his palm with satisfaction, the panic on his face replaced by a greedy grin.

A scraping sound came from the well shaft. Vinayak's smile vanished, and he quickly looked up toward the ropes.

Beside the rope he had been tied to, another rope had appeared. A middle-aged man with a yellow braid was slowly descending, his feet coming into view.

Vinayak's expression turned grim. He quickly ducked behind the Well of God, his eyes scanning the area until he picked up a stone.

"Vinayak, I heard the noise. Don't hide."

"Jacob is coming down right now. We have the ropes; you can't escape!"

The yellow-braided man landed, speaking loudly as he surveyed the environment at the bottom of the well.

He hadn't expected the space at the bottom to be so large—it was practically an underground safe room, though it was filthy, aged, and draped in cobwebs, making it look eerie and terrifying.

"Damn Shahu! Did Raghav send you to track me? Where is he?"

Hearing this, Vinayak stood up angrily to ask.

He knew the space was limited and that there were people watching the ropes above, making escape impossible. He dropped the stone, grabbed a handful of dust to stuff into his pocket, and stepped out.

"The boss is obviously up top, too. Vinayak, just surrender."

The voice came from the passage as Jacob, the swarthy man, descended the rope.

Once he landed, both ropes in the shaft were slowly pulled upward, leaving the three men trapped at the bottom of the well.

"The gold coins are piled up right in here. There's as much as you could ever want. Isn't that what you came for? Let Raghav come down too; I'm willing to share the treasure with you all."

Vinayak patted the metal well cover beside him. He felt anxious seeing the ropes disappear—his retreat had been cut off.

"Ah, the ropes! Boss!"

The yellow-braided man let out a low cry.

The swarthy man shot the yellow-braided man a look that suggested he was an idiot, then turned to Vinayak.

"The boss said from up there: stay where you are and let us tie you up obediently. Only then will he lower the ropes. Otherwise, the three of us can just wait down here while he goes to find more men for support."

As he spoke, the swarthy man picked up the rope slung over his shoulder and walked toward Vinayak.

Vinayak slumped like a deflated tire. He stood still, letting the yellow-braided man bind him tightly like a rice dumpling, leaving only his head exposed.

"Boss, the man is tied up."

The swarthy man shouted toward the passage, and the two ropes were lowered once more.

Wu Heng stood outside the well, testing the hardness of the wall. Certain that he could climb up using his own strength even without the ropes, he slid down the line.

Would you be willing to trade your collection and recommendation votes for two pencils?

*

*

Dear readers, remember to keep up with the updates! I got really hyped writing the next few chapters—please, let me take you along for the ride!