Chapter 18 – The Ruins
The sun was just beginning its slow ascent over the horizon when Kaelin met Aria by the academy’s western gate. A crisp breeze carried the scent of damp earth and pine as the city began to stir behind them. Aria, wrapped in a thick travel cloak, adjusted the straps on her satchel before offering Kaelin a small, eager smile.
“Professor Elric should be here any moment,” she said, glancing at the large clock which sat above the main entrance to the academy, and then down to the distant figure approaching from the main entrances’ steps. “Are you excited?”
Kaelin huffed, shifting her own bag on her shoulder. “I guess, yea. I’ve not had a chance to go outside the capital since I got here.”
Aria gave her a knowing look. “You need to get away from all the glaring students for a while. Also, I'm hoping this’ll get you more into the whole archaeology side of this. I know the other places rejected you, but you could at least pretend to enjoy it.”
“Wha- Of course I love this club!”
Before Kaelin could give a proper argument, Professor Elric arrived, a tall man with greying hair and an air of quiet intensity. He carried himself with the ease of a seasoned scholar, his coat lined with reinforced stitching – a peculiar sight for an academic. He nodded to them both, then gestured toward the stone road leading out of the academy district.
“Our objective is to examine the ruins just beyond the western forest,” Renard explained as they walked. “It’s an old site, predating most recorded settlements in Erundal. Due to the limited value of such sites, we’ll be the first people going in, so we’ll proceed with caution.”
Aria, undeterred, nodded enthusiastically. “We’ll be careful, Professor.”
“Are there not monsters in the western forest?” Kaelin asked.
“No no, the eastern forest does have some, mostly around trainee level. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine around here. And Kaelin, don’t tell anyone you got this from me, but that’s where your mid-year will be.”
“...” Kaelin stood, stunned. A professor leaking the content of the exam?
How odd...
The journey took half the morning. The city gave way to rolling plains, then dense woodland. Birds chirped overhead, their calls interwoven with the rustling of leaves. Kaelin found herself relaxing despite herself. Aria filled the quiet with conversation – talking about old artifacts, theories about the ruins, and Professor Elric’s past expeditions. Kaelin listened, occasionally adding a dry remark but not minding the chatter.
By midday, they arrived at the ruins.
The remnants of the old structure lay partially hidden beneath creeping vines and layers of soil. What remained of the stonework was weathered, but the ruins gave off an undeniable sense of power lingering in the air. Faint carvings lined the entrance – symbols Kaelin didn’t recognize, yet they sent an uneasy sensation through her fingertips.
Aria, already setting up her notes, turned to Renard expectantly. “What’s the plan, Professor?”
He knelt by one of the carvings, brushing away the dirt. “First, we document as much as we can out here before we explore deeper. If you see anything out of the ordinary, do come and say something.”
Kaelin nodded, stepping back to scan the building. The air felt thinner here, though they had climber up a mountain to get here. She flexed her fingers, clenching her fists. She checked that her connection to the threads was sound, but nothing felt immediately off. Still, the sense of unease never quite left her.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Hours passed. Aria sketched diligently while Renard made notes, occasionally muttering to himself. Kaelin, restless, found herself watching Aria more than anything else. The other girl was fully in her element, her passion for history evident in the way she carefully traced each rune and detail with such enjoyment.
At some point, Aria glanced up at Kaelin. “You know,” she started hesitantly, “I was surprised when you agreed to come.”
Kaelin shrugged. “Didn’t have anything better to do.”
Aria smiled faintly. “I’m glad. I know things have been difficult for you lately.”
Kaelin’s posture stiffened. “If this is about Daniel –”
“It’s not,” Aria interrupted gently. “I mean everything. The academy, the students, the way people treat you. I just... I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t belong.”
Kaelin blinked. She hadn’t expected that.
Aria sighed, setting her notebook aside. “Anyway, I wanted to ask... Next Saturday, I was thinking about going into the city, would you want to join me? I don’t exactly have any friends to go with, so it’ll probably just be you and me.”
Kaelin hesitated, then glanced back toward the forest. A part of her still resisted the idea of letting anyone in, but another part – the part that had begun to trust, that same part taking an interest in Zephyr, considered it.
“I’ll think about it,” she said finally.
Aria beamed. “That’s all I ask.”
***
The ruins extended deeper than they had first expected. While Aria and Renard continued documenting the surface carvings, Kaelin wandered into a collapsed section of the structure. She traced her fingers along the jagged stone, following a faint pull in the air. There was something hidden here, something old.
A small passage had opened beneath the rubble. Kaelin crouched, squeezing through the gap and into the shadows below. Dust swirled in the dim light filtering in from a hole in the ceiling above. The air was thick with the scent of aged parchment and a mix between burnt leather and a solvent, a smell which made her skin crawl.
Shelves lined the walls, filled with crumbling tomes. Most were too damaged or worn to decipher, but one stack, stuffed into a hideaway behind the bookshelf, a hideaway which was slowly falling apart to be revealed. Once the stack of books caught her eye, she couldn’t take them off. These books were in surprisingly good condition, especially in comparison to the other texts in the room. Kaelin brushed off the cover of the first and flipped it open.
Her stomach twisted.
The cover read - ‘How to Torture: Book 1 – The Magical Method’
The pages were filled with meticulous diagrams – descriptions of magical techniques with horrifying consequences. Spells designed to trap a person in an endless loop of their own memories, forcing them to relive their worst moments without end, for as long as the caster could hold it.
Some were even crueller, warping a victim’s perception of time so that seconds stretched into eternity, creating unbearable suffering within moments.
One even demonstrated a way of taking years off someone's lifespan. Although this required a minimum of 5 High-tier essence mages, and three Mid-high tier time mages to pull off, the outcome was truly diabolical.
Kaelin swallowed hard, her fingers gripping the brittle edges of the paper. This wasn’t simple history. This didn’t belong in a museum, no. This was knowledge no one should have.
She should have left them. Hopefully no one would have come back to this place after they’d explored it and declared it empty.
But no.
Curiosity got the better of her.
She gathered them up and slipped them into her bag.
A voice called from outside. “Kaelin? Where did you go?”
Kaelin tensed before responding, forcing her voice steady. “Just checking This room over here. Nothing much down here.”
Aria’s footsteps grew closer. Kaelin quickly stuffed a few of the others into the space left in her pack and hurried back, making sure to shift a loose stone over the gap as she climbed out. When she emerged, Aria tilted her head curiously.
“Find anything?”
“Best I got were some old books. Can’t even read them. I have the few which didn’t disintegrate in my backpack, but I can’t carry any more.”
Aria sighed. “Figures. Come on, Alric’s wrapping up.”
Kaelin nodded and followed her back to the entrance, the weight of the books pressing against her back. She kept her expression neutral, her fingers resting lightly over the strap of her satchel. Whatever she had found, it wasn’t meant for Aria’s eyes.
And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to leave it behind.
