The Great Basalt Portal didn’t look like any doorway built by mortal hands or royal master builders.
It stood fifteen paces in height and eight paces in width, a titanic slab of massive stone black dark rock-gabbro embedded directly into the living granite roots of the mountain. Its surface was fully empty of mortal ornamentation. No dragons curling through stylized clouds, no gold-trimmed stone carvings praising the immortal ancestors. No bronze lion heads clutching iron door rings. The entire face had been planed to a surface finish so smooth and true that the light from Lin Tao’s lantern reflected across its dark surface like grease on still water.
At the exact sharp-angled center of the monolith, carved three inches deep into the stone, was an emblem consisting of three linked equilateral triangles.
Lin Tao stopped five paces from the base of the portal. He set his glowing-bronze lantern upon a stone base, took off his land-mapper satchel. Then he knelt on the cold floor to retrieve his brass measuring tongs, a steel feeler gauge set, and a brass tone check punch.
Tie Shan walked to the right flank of the gate, resting his calloused palm against the cold black stone.
