That morning, the back courtyard of Arkana Nusantara Institute was already bustling.
A white field vehicle was parked near the warehouse door.
Several equipment crates had been arranged behind it.
There were excavation toolboxes, documentation equipment, survey gear, tents, and several storage chests.
Dipa arrived at the back courtyard of Arkana Nusantara Institute at around 6:30 a.m.
Several team members had already arrived ahead of him.
Their departure was scheduled for 7:00 a.m.
While waiting for the last member, Dipa helped inspect the equipment they would be taking.
He had a backpack slung over his shoulder.
He wore a long-sleeved field shirt, dark pants, and lightweight boots.
Inside his backpack were a change of clothes, a raincoat, a water bottle, a flashlight, a notebook, stationery, gloves, and several personal items.
A camera bag hung from his shoulder.
A few minutes later, several more people arrived.
A man stood near the vehicle, inspecting the contents of one of the large crates.
He was Bima Pradana, the field commander.
He was responsible for leading the physical excavation of the site.
In the real world of archaeology, excavation wasn't simply a matter of digging into the ground carelessly. It was a highly measured, systematic, and extremely careful process of stripping away layers of soil.
His main duties were creating excavation squares, leading detailed digs, and reading the stratigraphy (soil layers).
Dipa knew him.
Bima was older than him, around forty, with a sturdy build and a calm-looking face.
He wore simple, dusty field clothes and boots covered in dirt stains.
When he saw Dipa, Bima smiled.
“Dipa,” Bima greeted him softly.
“Mr. Bima,” Dipa replied.
They shook hands with smiles on their faces.
“Long time no see,” Bima said.
“Last time was in Central Java, right?” he asked, trying to remember.
“That’s right,” Dipa answered briefly.
Bima went back to inspecting his crate.
Inside were small shovels, hand hoes, brushes of various sizes, measuring tapes, boundary ropes, wooden stakes, and special bags for storing finds.
Dipa watched.
“That’s very thorough,” Dipa praised him as he examined the contents of the crate.
“You only realize how important a tool is when you’re missing even one of them in the field.”
Bima gave a small laugh.
“We’re not just digging here. Every find has to be recorded and placed according to its position.”
Dipa nodded.
Not long afterward, another vehicle stopped in the courtyard.
A woman got out carrying a large bag and a flat case.
Dr. Sintha Mahendra.
Dipa knew her from several previous research projects.
Sintha was an epigrapher.
The flat case contained special paper for taking rubbings—estampage paper, or dluwang—along with extremely soft-bristled cleaning brushes, used to avoid damaging the ancient stone, and a bottle of special epigraphy ink.
The large case held a macro camera for photographing the details of carved letters, an ancient dictionary, an LED flashlight with angled lighting to bring out the shadows of faint carvings, latex gloves, and a mild chemical cleaning solution.
She also studied ancient writings on inscriptions, stone, metal, and other historical artifacts.
She was also responsible for paper inking, or estampage, the process of taking impressions of inscriptions.
“Dipa?” Sintha called, waving.
Dipa turned. “Dr. Sintha.”
Sintha smiled. “Still fond of arriving first?”
“Not first. I’m just afraid of being late.”
“Good. Don’t get left behind this time.”
They shared a quiet laugh.
From the other side of the courtyard came the sound of a case being dragged along on wheels.
A man arrived carrying several pieces of electronic equipment.
Riko Wibisono.
He worked in archaeological geophysical surveying.
That meant he was responsible for ensuring the physical security of the ancient site and the team’s safety.
He was the team’s eyes before excavation began.
He set one of the devices down near the vehicle.
The equipment he carried was used to read underground conditions without having to immediately excavate the entire area.
Examples included Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), geomagnetic instruments, and laser scanners (LiDAR).
He was also responsible for scanning the ground to detect whether there were secret tunnel cavities, hidden ancient burial chambers, or ancient traps buried beneath their feet.
Dipa examined the device.
“That one’s for finding structures underground?”
Riko nodded.
“More or less. We can see indications of something hidden beneath the surface.”
He patted his equipment case. “If we’re lucky, we’ll know where to dig.”
“And if we’re not lucky?” Dipa asked.
Riko smiled. “Then we dig even more.”
Laughter rose from behind them.
A few minutes after they had gathered, a young man appeared carrying two large bags at once.
His name was Dimas.
He was responsible for documentation and mapping.
In his hands was a DSLR camera with a macro lens, while another bag contained a foldable drone unit with a remote control, spare batteries, memory cards, a tripod, a geodetic GPS device, and aerial-mapping equipment.
“Don’t let anyone stand in front of the camera,” he said.
Bima turned. “Why not?”
“Because if someone goes missing later, I’ll be the one blamed.”
Everyone laughed.
Dipa began to feel that the morning’s atmosphere was lighter than he had expected.
A few minutes later, Mawar arrived carrying a thick folder and a tablet.
Unlike the other members, she wasn’t carrying much field equipment.
Mawar was responsible for the project’s funding and administration.
She made sure their permits, budgetary needs, and travel documents were all in order.
Mawar opened the thick folder she had brought and took out several stamped documents.
The papers bore the official logos of the ministry and funding institution.
“These are the permits to enter the cultural heritage area and the first installment’s budget approval,” Mawar said as she handed the documents to Bima. “All the signatures from the local bureaucracy are complete. We won’t be bothered during the excavation.”
Bima accepted the papers, skimmed them, and nodded in satisfaction.
Mawar then switched on the tablet in her left hand.
The device’s screen displayed a digital map of the Jayaraksa hills, filled with red coordinate lines. “In addition, the sponsors are requesting a visual progress report every night. They want to make sure the money being spent matches the results in the field.”
Dipa, standing near them, glanced at Mawar’s tablet screen.
He felt slightly uncomfortable seeing so many modern coordinate lines mapping that ancient territory.
Mawar then looked at Dipa. “Are you ready?”
“I think so.”
“If anyone wants to buy coffee on the way, don’t use the project funds.”
Dipa laughed. “Yes, ma’am, Treasurer.”
Mawar raised an eyebrow. “Don’t call me that!”
Laughter rang out again.
Dipa looked at each of the people standing before him.
They had met before during various research projects.
Some had even worked on the same projects, though they had never all been part of one team.
But that morning was different.
That day, they weren’t merely researchers who happened to be in the same place.
They were a team.
A team heading toward a place that, for seven centuries, had remained only a vague name in history.
Bima looked at his watch again.
“Is everyone accounted for?”
Mawar raised her hand. “Documents complete.”
Dimas raised his camera. “Documentation ready.”
Riko patted his equipment case. “Survey ready.”
Sintha lifted her small bag. “If we find ancient writing, I’m ready too.”
Bima turned to Dipa.
Dipa nodded. “Ready.”
Bima smiled. “Then let’s go.”
The vehicle doors closed one by one.
The engine began to rumble.
At exactly seven in the morning, the research vehicle left the courtyard of Arkana Nusantara Institute.
Dipa sat in the middle with several team members.
The research equipment had been neatly arranged in the back of the vehicle.
Bima sat up front as team leader, while Dimas occasionally checked the camera he had brought.
Their destination was about three hundred sixty kilometers from the city where they worked.
It was a remote area in the east, beyond a range of hills that for years had been known only as forest and plantation country.
That was where the previous survey team had discovered a stone structure later suspected to be connected to Jayaraksa.
The first part of the journey went smoothly.
Their vehicle traveled along a busy highway.
The city buildings gradually thinned out, replaced by rice fields and small settlements.
Several hours later, they stopped briefly at a roadside restaurant.
They ate, refueled, checked the vehicle, and then continued on their way.
The farther they went, the more the road began to change.
The asphalt, which had once been wide, grew narrower.
The houses became sparser. Trees began to dominate both sides of the road.
Bima studied the digital map on the screen.
“From here on, we’re entering the hills.”
Dipa looked out the window.
The road began to climb and wind.
“Is it still far?”
“About two hours.”
Riko, sitting in the back, chimed in. “After the last village, we’ll start losing phone signal.”
Dimas gave a small laugh. “So we’re really entering the forest.”
Before long, the asphalt road ended.
Their vehicle entered a dirt road barely wide enough for two vehicles traveling in opposite directions to pass each other.
Several sections were filled with rocks and potholes caused by rain over the past few days.
The vehicle shook.
Dipa held on to his bag to keep it from falling.
Mawar sighed. “If it’s like this every day, I’m going to lose my waist.”
Bima laughed from the front seat. “We haven’t reached the site yet.”
“Don’t scare me!”
The vehicle stopped in a small village at the foot of the hills.
A man around fifty years old was already waiting by the roadside.
He wore a light jacket, long pants, and shoes that looked like they were usually used for walking across rocky terrain.
As soon as Bima got out of the vehicle, the man hurried over.
“Good morning. Are you the Jayaraksa research team?”
Bima nodded. “That’s right. And you are?”
“Mr. Wira. I’ll be accompanying you to the site.”
He then turned to the other team members.
“Come on, everyone. We can rest for a bit if you’d like. The road gets difficult from here.”
Dipa got out while looking toward the hills. “Is it still far, sir?”
Mr. Wira pointed toward a narrow road leading into the forest.
“By vehicle, it’s about an hour from here. But the vehicle can only go as far as the clearing up above. After that, we’ll go on foot.”
“How long will that take?”
“About forty minutes, depending on the condition of the road.”
Riko looked toward the trees. “Is this area always like that?”
Mr. Wira smiled. “It’s harder during the rainy season. The ground gets slippery. Some sections also often experience minor landslides.”
Sintha opened her notebook. “Have you been to the site before?”
“Several times. But I’ve never gone too far in.”
Dipa turned to him. “Why not?”
Mr. Wira fell silent for a moment. “People here rarely go there.”
“Why?”
“Not because they’re afraid,” he replied quickly. “People used to think it was just ordinary forest. Besides, the road is difficult.”
He pointed toward the hill.
“According to the village elders, there used to be a large building there. But no one knows what kind.”
Dipa followed the direction he indicated.
“How do you know the name Jayaraksa?”
Mr. Wira shrugged. “From the elders’ stories. They said there used to be a nagara beyond that hill.”
He smiled faintly. “Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know. I only know the way there.”
Bima patted Dipa on the shoulder. “Then we’ll leave the matter of the road to Mr. Wira.”
Mr. Wira only gave a small laugh. “As far as the road goes, God willing, I know it by heart. But as for what you’ll find there…”
He looked again at the silent forest standing before them. “…that’s not my part.”
Dipa gazed in the same direction.
For some reason, ever since he had seen that hill, a strange feeling had risen inside him again.
As if that place were waiting for him.
According to the initial survey report, the journey from the village to the site would still take about an hour by vehicle before continuing on foot.
Bima returned to the vehicle.
“From here on, we won’t be able to drive fast.”
Dipa nodded.
The vehicle began moving again.
An hour later, they finally arrived at a small clearing among the trees.
There were no buildings.
No major roads.
Only a few tents belonging to the initial survey team, set up near a hill.
Dipa got out of the vehicle.
He drew a deep breath.
The atmosphere here was completely different from the city.
There was only the sound of wind, insects, and trees moving slowly.
Bima stood beside him.
“Welcome.”
Dipa stared at the hill before them.
“Jayaraksa?”
Bima nodded.
“According to the initial survey results, the center of the ancient structure lies beyond that hill.”
Dipa fell silent.
For some reason, as soon as he heard that name again, his chest felt tight.
Jayaraksa.
For a few seconds, the place he had never visited felt...
Strangely, like something he had once left behind—a name that had continued appearing in his mind for the past several days.