Galvian and I exchanged a look.

This is what we trained for, resolving situations before they occur, efficiently, unseen, unappreciated and without questions. I didn’t understand why this was the correct thing to do, but Commander Paranam always knew, and that was good enough for me.

If he sent us here, it can only be because he sees something we do not.

We nodded at each other and started walking away from the temple at a brisk pace.

We avoided busy corners and continued down the most vine infested streets available until we reached the outer city and found the stables.

As we began preparing the horses, I worried about how we would get through the treacherous forest, but then a blond haired mann approached us.

“Yee need a guide.”

His words were not formulated as a question, but as a fact.

He handed me Galvian a small piece of paper which he quickly read before throwing in his mouth and turning to me.

A grey market runner it seemed.

“We do.”

Galvian answered right away. The man nodded and went to fetch his horse.

We headed into the thick forest. As we walked, the man continuously prayed to Alenia as he cleared the path to the abandoned temple. It almost came at a surprise that he needed so much concentration when Galeishia had done it so effortlessly.

Perhaps there was more to her than we had realised…

Or maybe it was just the difference in a mann and kins blessing power. The church may have worked hard to tell us mann and kins were made equal, but that sure didn’t seem to be the case when it came to godly powers.

After what was a much more gloomy walk in the forest than our previous one, we finally reached the front of the sanctum.

Somehow the stress of the situation did not reduce the awe the place inspired. The waterfalls flowing from the building’s walls shone in the early afternoon sun.

“This is where we part ways.”

The man announced.

“Uh?! How will we get back?”

Galvian asked, echoing my own thoughts.

Were we that disposable?

“Da miracle of the labyrinth stops its work here. Ye can go eastward or southward, take yer pick.”

Without another word, he headed back the way he came, leaving us on our own in front of the gigantic stone structure.

I looked on to the stone bridge with apprehension.Why was it that we were to deliver this here of all places? We solemnly crossed the bridge and entered the dead god’s home.

The place remained the same as our last visit, with one exception.

A lone silhouette standing at the centre of the structure facing away from us toward the bottomless pit.

The figure seemed like that of a woman, but as we approached something in my stomach tugged at me. As though I was gazing upon something forbidden.

We walked all the way up to her and only then did she face us.

Her appearance was alien.

Uncanny.

Her traits did not feel like they belonged to mann or kin or even the material world for that matter. She had veiny and sickly white skin, a mop of ratty greyish-brown hair. Her eyes were narrow, yet one could tell the irises were unnaturally stretched horizontally, almost like those of a goat. Her posture was unsteady as though she didn’t typically stand on her own two feet for long, and yet they were anchored firmly on the ground.

Her outfit was a simple leather vest covering a long-sleeved white shirt and a long blue skirt. A fashion style one wouldn’t be surprised to find in Evergreen for certain, but in the depth of an overgrown ruin, in the middle of a thick forest, miles away from civilization, the outfit was anything but normal.

“You made me wait.”

She declared with an irritated expression clearly plastered across her face.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Uhm… Sorry?”

Galvian responded tentatively.

“Don’t care.”

She turned to me.

“You have the stick?”

Was she seriously referring to the Holloways cane as a ‘stick’? Was she unhinged?

Regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, I nodded and pulled the rod from my coat and extended it toward her, but she didn’t reach for it.

“Good. Follow me.”

She walked away without even so much as a glance back at us.

Puzzled, I continued carrying the stick as she led us in a familiar direction and then down a familiar entryway.

This was the place Galeishia had shown us.

Once we reached the altar room, the strange woman stood slightly to the side and pointed at the central piece expectantly.

Unsure what else to do, I slid my hand down the side of the altar and let my finger search for something and found the small rectangular indent Galeishia had probably used. I pressed down and the wall in front of us revealed the cavern filled with water gates, wheels and other strange mechanical contraptions, including the large spinning dials at the back.

Although its movement kept the same rhythm, the words had shortened so simply “Totnieb”... Soon.

Whatever it was counting down to, it was drawing closer.

Confused at the situation, I turned to the woman, who pointed with her chin at the altar.

“The stick, shove it in there.”

I followed her eyes to the centre of the altar where a slot remained empty. The gap was just wide enough to fit the object in my hand. With some hesitation I began inserting the rod.

The golden artefact had barely begun disappearing into the stone when it felt as though something gripped it from within. An incredible force began spinning the octagonal handle making me lose grip. The sound of grinding rocks and metal began echoing from within the stone and after spinning for a moment more, the rod was yanked down by an inch, sending a tremor running through the very floor of the room forcing me to hold on to the altar so I wouldn’t lose footing.

I looked back at Galvian who looked back at me with an equally confused expression before his eyes widened as he looked beyond the altar.

“Hersia! Look!”

He said as he pointed the dials. They were spinning wildly, only stopping for a fraction of a second forming words so fast I couldn’t register what was being spelled.

I glanced to my other side where the strange woman had been and found her holding a book and scribbling wildly as her eyes were glued unblinking to the dial.

The rod meanwhile continued spinning before once more sinking downward, sending another shockwave running through the structure.

The words continued spinning with new forms, the water flowing more rapidly through the water gates, the water wheels loudly creaking from the strain it caused on them.

“What’s it saying?!”

I screamed toward the woman so she would hear me above the cacophony going on around us, but she ignored me and continued scribbling, a strained expression on her face.

The stick sunk once more, this time the sound of grating rocks echoed within the cavern as previously unseen floodgates off to the side began pouring in large amounts of water over the floor around the mechanisms.

From the rate at which the water level rose it wouldn’t be long before the whole water gate system was flooded, and the room soon after.

“We have to leave!”

Galvian yelled. I nodded in agreement, and turned to the woman to tell her the same, but she was still scribbling.

“Ma’am! We’ve got to go!”

“You do that. I’m busy.”

She said nonchalantly.

The rod once again sunk strongly, this time triggering an harmonic and strident sound. Like a thousand people singing at once.

“This place is gonna go, Hersia! We HAVE to leave!”

Galvian repeated as he began nervously stepping back toward the exit.

I walked to the woman and grabbed her by the arm. In one swift motion she loosened my grip and shoved me back with the flat of her palm. She finally turned toward me and looked straight into my eyes.

The wide goat-like pupils dilated as she said her next words.

“You already left.”

I felt as though something smacked me in the lungs making me double over to catch my breath. As I looked up, I realised that I was back in the main hall, my leg burning as though I had just ran with all my strength, and at my side Galvian in a similar state.

“What in Seeir’s name was that?!”

I said as I glanced back to the door that led to the altar.

A strong tremor ran through the ground forcing me to hold on to Galvian for balance.

“Let’s try to find out, AFTER we’re out of this place.”

He said between two breaths.

“Y–Yeah.”

I responded in agreement.

I stood straight and looked toward the centre of the hall. Where the bottomless pit once stood, a jet of water rose as a single column toward the ceiling, filling the place with a fine mist and unnatural rain as it hit the tree clinging to the dome on its way out.

We ran toward it only stopping briefly to glance at the unbelievable sight before turning toward the exit.

Outside the cacophony of the inside sounded like an impossible melody. An otherworldly song.

We ran across the bridge before turning back one last time to witness the once crumbling sanctum.

As though purifying itself, the falls that once lazily slid along its walls had turned into torrents of water, ripping away at the vegetation that had once clung to the structure. And with every vine that was ripped from its shell, the song became clearer, louder.

“Holy father of gods…”

I couldn’t help but mutter.

As I looked at Galvian to see if he was seeing the same thing, but instead I noticed movement in the east. Blond hair, earth-brown skin. Alenia-kins. And as I looked at them, I locked eyes with a woman who I recognised. Galeishia. A fleeting smile ran across her lips as words traced themselves on her lips.

“Bettah sta’t runnin’!“

She winked before her expression changed to anger as she turned to her companions and screamed.

“SEARCH THE PLACE! TIS’ WORK OF DEM THIEVES FOR SURE!”

By Meiriem’s love–

I pulled on Galvian’s sleeve and dragged him toward the forest before they could spot us.