The map was examined by the Geographic Information Systems department and surprisingly came up with a crude match of an area. The Department of Gender Studies thought it would be worthwhile to mount a research expedition to see if this would lead to the source of the Centaur myth or discover additional information to help researchers divine the myth.
The research group visited several of the villages where they were practically stonewalled by the village elders in each village and had to listen to repeated dire warnings of unescorted adventurous tourists going up into rugged and wild mountains, being injured and some never heard from again. But at night, in the drinking taverns, they were regaled with fantastic and lurid Centaur stories by the younger generation.
The youth of the villages found all the members of the research group exceeding attractive, as more drinks were poured the more they strove to embellish the tales as all got pleasantly intoxicated, a welcoming contrast mixing with village people of their own ages in comparison with the dour village elders they had talked to during the day. The female researchers used their gender to its fullest advantage as they attempted to gleam every bit of information they could. As the night wore on the more lurid the sexual aspects of the tales grew. Oddly enough, it was the younger women villagers that enhanced the details the most…
Comparing notes they found all the stories and tales were similar to each other and one important common distinction was found – each village had an ancient, unused trail that led deep into the mountains where it terminated at the same common spot as the other trails from the villages. From this point a single trail lead onward.
After the last village, they closely examined their maps and discerned a way to intersect where they thought one of the trails may be. They drove several miles from the nearest village so as not to arise the ire of the village elders who had warned them not to waste their time on a silly myth, nor to let curious villagers learn they were still pursing leads. The village elders also warned them that even though it was late summer, it often got very cool to cold in the mountains with occasional snow flurries this high up in the latitudes. They drove as far as they could up an old logging trail. From here they had to hike for two days in the rugged beautiful terrain, camping out near hot springs both nights where they could relax in the heated pools.
They found an ancient unused trail and followed it further up in the mountains, they came upon two more trails and after triangulating on the maps, determined these three trails must have originated from different villages, further adding credence to the tales they had been told.
Several more miles they hiked coming upon a few more trails that they were also able to determine by the maps came from other villages. Then they reached a narrow valley, at the head of which lay a hanging valley. The trail appeared to lead to the hanging valley and they followed until they reached it. From here the trail ascended steeply up to the hanging valley.
Once they reached the top of the hanging valley, they saw it gently sloped upwards but the shifting mists from the numerous hot springs prevented them from seeing the extent of the valley. For about two miles they hiked through gently falling snow passing numerous hot springs which accounted for the perpetual mists, the valley gradually narrowing till it was only two hundred yards, then, it drastically narrowed till they found themselves at the beginning of a narrow dark cleft at the end of the valley wall. A towering plume of mist seemed to be emanating from within somewhere deeper in the cleft. For several hundred yards they followed a faint man-made trail thru the cleft as it got even steeper. The trail ended at a solid rock face and to the entrance of a small cave, the cave showed evidence of being previously worked. The entrance was dark and they could not see how far the cave went.
They pulled out flashlights and went inside, more evidence the cave had been worked was present and as they rounded a corner, saw a massive ancient iron door blocking the tunnel passage. The door hung from equally massive hinges and they approximated it must have weighed at least three tons. The iron door was secured with a crude and ancient but sophisticated locking mechanism which prevented the door from being opened from the other side. They also realized it was not a cave. It was too regular. It was a crudely carved tunnel.
Surprised, they discovered the locking mechanism was in good working order and were further surprised on how easily the massive door swung open and not rusted in place. Upon opening the door they were immediately staggered by a blast of heat and humidity. While it had been around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, it had risen to eighty degrees upon opening the door and entering the tunnel. They had to immediately strip off their coats and layered clothing. They found a small rock, one of the few loose rocks in the entire cave to block the door open. Once their clothing had been stowed they hefted their packs and continued on thru the tunnel.
Just as they got several dozen paces away from the door they heard a loud groaning noise then a high pitched metal shriek coming from the door. They turned around just in time to see the door slam shut, pulverizing the rock, and then heard the locking mechanism engage. Some hidden feature they failed to notice acted as a failsafe to close the door after a certain amount of time. Undaunted, they continued on, confident as all were expert climbers and they had brought plenty of climbing and rappelling equipment.
They noted the tunnel was carved from an existing channel, the floor grooved by once flowing water. The tunnel curved repeatedly but eventually they could see light at the end of the tunnel and hear something as well. As they got closer they could discern it was running water.
They stepped up the pace and as they rounded the final corner, they emerged into a vastly larger space, stopping in sheer amazement at the sight.
The cavern was huge, a massive space that the hanging valley concealed with its mists as an actual mesa, the walls sloping inwards to form almost a dome of rock overhead. But it was not complete; there were holes in the stone ceiling which sunlight poured thru and mist from the geothermal springs escaped. A lush green forested landscape lay before them; thick mosses grew on the ground and trees, an abundance of ferns. As they emerged onto the high ledge, they could see the source of all the water, a large steaming lake was in the corner of the cavern, hot springs lined one edge of the lake, with a stream issuing from a narrow cut of the lakes edge that ran through the center of the cavern, to a waterfall that dropped precipitously where the stream then disappeared into the chasm wall.
One of the students was using binoculars to scan the far edge of the cavern. Suddenly she let out a loud gasp and whispered softly ‘It’s true, it’s really true’ and then she shouted “This Is It! There’s a Centaur statute on the far slope!” Dr. Bar Refaeli took the proffered binoculars and looked in the direction and then she saw it – a partially obscured but still immensely large statue of a centaur.