Page 93 of He Who Sleeps

“This room isn’t cold,” Emerson said and looked to Carter. “Feel for a draft.”

"There's no basement on the plans," Carter said, tapping the back wall. "Maybe there's a staircase behind here...aha." He pressed a small section of the wall and it sprang forward to reveal a small handle. "Interesting." He took his phone out again and switched the light on. "Let's go." With a grin back at the others, he turned the handle and the whole back wall of the pantry swung open into darkness.

“Hold up, Indiana,” Emerson said. “Why are you not feeling cold?” He looked to Rix. “Are you still feeling cold? Clammy? Wet?”

“The fuck?”

Emerson sighed and shook his head. “God influence, speaks in half answers,” he said. “Cold, clammy, Wet... Could be walking into a watery room...”

“No, not clammy, not wet...just cold. And yes, still cold.”

He looked to Carter. “Lead on, Doctor Jones...”

"Your concern for my wellbeing is so touching," Carter teased, giving him a sappy grin. He ducked under Emerson's swat and headed into the darkness, descending some concrete steps that led down in a steep spiral. "Anyone see a light switch?" he asked.

“It wasn’t concern for your wellbeing. Finn would have our nuts if something happened.” He laughed as Rix grumbled behind them.

“I’m not touching anything...”

Emerson laughed. “Is there anything to touch? Carter, shine that over this way,” he said and pointed. “Light switch?”

The light glinted off a chain hanging against the wall and Carter shrugged. "One way to find out." Before either of the others could stop him, he reached over and pulled the chain. There was a click and a metallic pinging sound, and then a lightbulb buzzed into luminescence. "Bingo!" He reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into a large, cold room lined almost entirely in massive stones.

“Root cellar?” Rix asked, standing at the bottom stair.

“Maybe? Though I didn’t know it was here, and there’s no stores here,” Emerson said. “What else do you feel?”

Rix frowned. “Nothing.”

“So we are either in the right place or the wrong. Though I doubt He Who Sleeps would play hot and cold with us.”

"I'm wondering if this is some sort of secondary cover in case someone stumbled onto this room," Carter said thoughtfully, peering around. Going back to the stairs, he poked around a bit and then whooped triumphantly. "Yes!"

There was another click and then the grinding of heavy machinery as whole sections of the floor slid away and islands of shelves began rising out of the ground. "Holy shit!" Carter breathed. "We've hit the motherlode. Even if the Elders tried to clean this place out, they'd never have discovered this."

“My father...” Emerson said as he stood back with Rix. “Where the fuck did he get these books?”

"No idea," Carter said cheerfully, studying the nearest bank of books. "Some of these are old! Look at this!"

Rix walked past them and went to a farther side of the stacks.

“What?” Emerson looked to Carter.

"The Origins of He Who Sleeps," Carter said gleefully. "The priests would give their nutsacks to get their hands on this!" He paused. "Unless... Do you reckon your dad might have stolen these from the temple? Or that the priests maybe gave them to him for safe-keeping during whatever happened all those years ago?"

“Either is possible,” he said with a frown. “Rix, what are you doing?”

Rix turned to them with a book in hand. “Rites and Observances,” he said as he opened it. “And they are not the rites we learned. Like at all.” He looked up. “The feminine...” He slumped then and went to his knees, gasping.

“Rix...” Emerson said as his friend shook his head, as if shaking off cobwebbing. “You okay?”

“What the fuck?” Rix frowned. “That felt weird.”

"The God is maybe still connected with you." Carter put the book down and went across to Rix. "Damn...you're looking pretty pale there, brother. Maybe it's time to wrap this up and go find the others."

Rix frowned. “I think I need a drink...”

“Water is just up the stairs,” Emerson said.