Zhang Xiao fought hard against the sickening dizziness. If his foundations hadn't been so solid, he suspected he would already have passed out.
Seemingly only an instant later, he felt his feet hit the ground hard, sending up a great splash of water.
Before he could react, thick hemp ropes slithered up his calves like snakes, twisting and coiling around him until he was bound tight.
"Aha, Zhang, you're here!"
His vision, blurred by the high-speed spinning, rapidly cleared.
He was in a long, dimly lit chamber.
Stone pillars carved with great, entwined serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in the darkness overhead, casting long, eerie shadows across the chamber and its mysterious green haze.
Shallow water covered the floor, and green moss had spread across many patches. Unknown little insects writhed in the water, making the sight particularly revolting.
Silence surrounded him. Occasionally, a drop of water fell onto the still surface, sending ripples spreading outward.
Directly before him stood a statue as tall as the chamber itself, set against the dark wall at the far end.
Zhang Xiao had to crane his neck to see its enormous face: an ancient, monkeylike face with a sparse, long beard that reached almost to the hem of its sculpted wizard's robes. Two enormous gray feet stood on the chamber's smooth floor.
A man stood between those feet. As he spoke, eerie flames suddenly flared on the serpent pillars, casting a cold white light that illuminated the entire chamber.
Zhang Xiao narrowed his eyes and tested the strength of the hemp ropes around his body.
Hmm, very strong. I can't break free of these ropes. But who needs brute force when you've got magic?
"Lockhart? Or Tom?"
"Lockhart" wore black robes utterly unlike his previous taste in clothing. His face held