My exclamation went off like an explosion in the tunnel and I felt everyone stir at the news.

“WHAT!” Tony’s voice went off like a cannon as he ran over to me and peered over my shoulder. I looked up just in time to see his eyes take in the spiderwebbed black and red brick and light up like the stars, “The lads right we have stone work!!”

Conversation in the tunnel exploded as the news spread like wildfire and rightfully so. Ruins were the true dream of any one stuck slaving their life away in the mines, only a handful had been discovered since Iron Hold's creation nearly a century ago.

They ranged in size from a small room to a massive partially entombed hallway with drapes and tattered carpets. But the one thing they all had in common were the supposed ‘artifacts’ insides, which could be anything from an old half rotten chair to a sword made out of pure mithril. But no matter the quality, turning in an artifact meant instant freedom and all outstanding debt cleared.

Why the ruins and their artifacts were so important to the wardens and enforcers no one had been able to piece together. But then again the chances of running across a ruin were so rare hardly anyone talked about them.

A rare smile spread across Gunther’s face, as he bellowed, “All drills and picks on deck! We have a ruin!”

A thunderous roar echoed through the tunnel with the stampede of boots across the tunnel floor. Knowing what was coming I quickly got out of the way as Tony and his crew picked up the drill and moved it to the side.

Not even a minute later the sound of picks digging into basalt rang through the air as those with hand drills went about widening the tunnel so more people could work to uncover the ruin. We could only hope to dig around the wall until someone discovered an entrance. The red and black stones were essentially indestructible with the little tools we had. But with the amount of hands working on unearthing the ruins it was only an hour before a call rang out that a door had been unearthed.

More excited than I had ever been before I ran over wondering if the door itself could be turned in for an artifact when I came around a bend in the tunnel and caught sight of the supposed ‘door’.

Instead of a rickety piece of wood hanging on rusted hinges, a massive gate of dark ebony metal with terrifying depictions of fanged humanoid creatures was embedded in the surrounding basalt.

“Holy hells.”

I looked over as Henderson walked up next to me, still limping slightly from the accident as he joined the small crowd that was forming in front of the gate, “How are we supposed to get through this thing?”

Instead of answering him I looked over at the boss standing in front of the gate, his arms crossed and face set to an incredulous mask. Then with bated breath I watched as he outstretched his hand and ran his calloused fingers across the metal.

A low groan reverberated through the tunnel as the gate jolted on its hinges before slowly swinging open revealing what lay beyond. Leading from the gate a wide pathway of cracked and overgrown flagstones crossed an expansive courtyard before stopping at the bottom of a grand staircase made from polished black stone.

Picking my head up I stared at the massive structure the stairs led to and frowned as something familiar about its structure tickled the back of my mind, “Is that…a church?”

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I didn’t respond verbally to Henderson’s question but I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement. While the pitch black stone decorated with decals of skulls, bones, demonic figures and cracked blood red windows, were the exact opposite of what one would expect a church to look like. The overall architecture was nearly identical to the blueprints I had studied during my apprenticeship. But something about the courtyard seemed off, and my eyes kept glancing at the gate as if it was hiding some great truth.

“Boss I don’t think we should go in there,” My voice echoed in the silence and I felt everyone's eyes fall on me, “Something about it doesn’t feel right.”

“It doesn’t feel right?” The mocking voice of Tony echoed off to my right and I tried to ignore the pulse of anger that rippled through me, “Maybe you've been spending too much time in your workshop, Ramos tinkering with your little toys.”

“Tony that’s enough,” Frankie’s voice cut off the man-child who only grinned as he shared a silent laugh with the rest of his crew. Frowning, Frankie turned away from the group to stare at Gunther, “The calls up to you boss.”

There was a long moment of silence as the air filled with anticipation before Gunther let out a long sigh.

“Alright boys, we’re going in.” The boss' voice sounded muted in the large space barely carrying more than a few feet and this time no cheer went up to explore the otherwise once in a lifetime find.

Taking the first step Gunther walked through the ebony gates, his pace cautious as his eyes darted around. Frankie was next followed by those closest to him and so on as people slowly filed into the ruins.

Nearly at the back of the group I was one of the last to step through, carning my head up as I passed through the gates I stared at the looming cavern ceiling overhead studded with a forest of stalactites.

Stopping in my tracks I looked back at the gate as the last of the group walked past me and entered the courtyard, without a word being shared between them drowning the ruin in silence.

Peering at the ebony gate I moved closer to get a closer look at its detailed surface. Lost in the momentous event of finding a ruin I had overlooked the fact the gates had opened on their own at the slightest touch but I hadn’t seen any mechanism that would allow the multiton doors to move in such a way. Which only left one possibility.

Reaching out hesitantly I ran my fingers across the freezing ebony metal. I could tell even from a distance that the countless details and pictures carved into the surface were masterfully done but feeling the carvings made it painfully clear the effort that went into creating the fortifications.

Moving my hands to the very edge of the left gate I pressed my fingers into the metal ignoring the biting cold that seeped into my skin as I looked for something. But after nearly a minute of running my hand across the metal back and forth until the cold made my fingers go numb I didn’t find anything.

I almost gave up, but at that moment the finger nail of my pink caught on an practically invisible curved line carved into the metal. Pressing into the line I ran my pinky along the groove tracing it across the gate as it continued to curve forming one side of a massive circle with the opening facing where the gate would join together when closed.

Reaching into my tool belt I pulled out a piece of chalk that I crumbled in my hand before smearing the fine white powder over the gate revealing countless lines engraved into the metal, some no wider than a single hair.

Trying to piece the full picture together with only seeing one half my eyes nearly popped out of my skull as I took note of the countless circles set into the anchor forming one half of a massive array. But as my eyes reached the very middle of the gate I noticed a single inscription that lay encircled by everything else.

Even with only half of the circle in front of me I could recognize the basic pattern for a relay inscription. It was one of the few that could run on the ambient level of aether in the air meaning it didn’t need a magicite crystal to function. As all it did was send a signal from the relay to a paired receiver inscription.

A pit formed in my stomach as a horrific idea blossomed in my mind, turning around in a flurry. I stared down the courtyard just as Gunther reached the macabre church stairs.

“Boss, we need to get out of here!”