"Please forgive me."

Phoenix apologized over and over to Tiffany about what happened. He didn't think the hiking trip would be too dangerous and now was rethinking the rest of the trip. She decided to not tell anyone about 'the endangerment of a minor'.

If she got a new vape.

Phoenix refused and now they were arguing while the Adventure Club was waiting inside the lobby of Flaja Temple to go on a guided tour. It was a nice change of scenery, even if it was dark and musty, from the near-death experience outside. They sat on old, creaky, wooden benches, got out their packed lunches and ate their sandviĉo, frititaj terpomaĵoj, and drank some suko. Most of the temple was lit up with various candles, and the entire place smelled like wax and incense. The only thing modern about it seemed to be the plumbing, heating, and few uses of electricity in the souvenir shop.

One of the old rooms in the temple had been remodeled into a souvenir shop. They sold small fire spirit keychains, fire-themed AIA software to change its shape and color, and weird candy only made in the region. Everyone inside the temple who ran it was old, inconceivably so, much to the confusion of all the visitors.

Max did not understand why they did not make themselves look younger. Anyone could get a Derma-Shot every ten years to keep their skin looking young and avoid wrinkles. It was even subsidized by the government. It was weird to see this many old people in one place, or people that appeared to look old.

Someone's curiosity got the best of them and asked the question.

It was Kylan.

Kylan left his food on the bench, wiped the crumbs off his face, and shamelessly approached an old woman who was sweeping the floor.

"Why are you old," Kylan asked.

"Kylan, you can't just ask someone why they're old," Phoenix shouted. "Get over here!"

"Stop yelling inside the temple, it's rude," Kylan yelled.

Phoenix felt a blood vessel about to pop from the incredulousness of it all. His left eye twitched and he strode right over to Kylan, then grabbed him by the back of his jacket. The old woman became distressed and clutched her broom close to her body when Kylan tried to get free from Phoenix.

"It's okay," the old woman said. "He is only curious. We're used to the question."

Phoenix let go of Kylan and gave him a death glare.

"So, why are you old," Kylan asked again.

"We decide to age in a normal lifespan, as the All-Father intended because it is the natural way of life. To change the Threads that flow through nature, time, and space itself would eventually destroy all the Ten Paths, and life itself."

"I didn't expect something that deep," Kylan replied. "Whoa."

Seraphina was skeptical of the woman's entire spiel and rolled her eyes. She saw the old woman as only an old religious nutjob, wearing a weird white and red religious robe, in the middle of the mountains. She leaned into Tiffany and whispered to her.

"Even if it were true, how would a few people getting old stop all that," Seraphina whispered.

"She's right," Tiffany said. "I saw so many things earlier today. Maybe changing your body is wrong."

"That's bullshit," Eric said. "Should I have died, or survived and been a vegetable, drooling until someone accidentally tripped on my plug?"

"Th-that's different," Tiffany replied.

"Go easy on her," Max said.

"Mind your business and stop listening to our conversation," Seraphina said.

"Get better whispering skills," Eric shouted.

"Heeeey," Phoenix said.

He slid over on the wooden floors and sat between them.

"The tour guides are here. Let's go. You can split off into different groups, okay?"

"Gladly," Aster said. "I think we're all just tired."

The Adventure Club split up into two groups and followed the tour guide around Flaja Temple. All of them were nervous to see the ghost of Paciĝo and her husband. The tour guide told them, that even if they saw the two of them, it would be okay.

"I have heard they are both friendly and quiet," she told the group.

"Wait, what happens if we're in a group and we see both of them? Who's our fated lover," Seraphina asked.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Everyone in the group awkwardly looked at each other and an unsettling feeling came over the group.

"...Oh...let's not worry about that for now," the tour guide said.

She laughed uncomfortably and led them down the hall.

"Something feels weird," Eric said.

"Yeah, this place is old, think about all the people that died here," Aster replied. "Scary."

"No. Stop. Listen."

Aster and Eric slowed down and stopped at the back of the group. Eric looked around the large hall in suspicion and opened the door to the left. There was nothing but darkness. Aster fumbled around for a candle in the dark while Eric turned on his night vision view. He took his hands, cupped them around his eyes, turned them twice in a circular motion, and Eric could see in the dark.

Once Aster found a candle he snapped his fingers and it lit up.

The room they entered had no furniture, but paintings all over the walls, and a statue of a naked woman in the corner. Another large door was on the other side, and Eric walked right over to it, following an invisible path. Aster grabbed him by the arm and tried to stop him.

"What are you doing," Aster asked.

"I can hear a heartbeat," Eric replied. "I've been hearing it for a while, I'm going crazy."

"So you decided to follow it!?"

"Yeah," Eric grunted.

Eric shook himself loose and opened the next door. Inside was a woman who looked very familiar. The dark room was illuminated by a bright sword she held in her hand, and her body seemed to glow in the dark. Aster was convinced she was a spirit of the forest because she was barefoot.

"Do you need help getting to the other side," Aster asked.

"I'm not a spirit," she replied. "I'm Princess Rhiannon."

Aster almost dropped his candle when he immediately bowed and gave many apologies. Eric gave a quick hello and Aster was mortified at the lack of decency.

"Humble yourself," Aster said.

"I see her around sometimes at weird rich people parties my family drags me to," Eric said. "Don't make this weird. "

"Oh, I don't mind," Princess Rhiannon said. "I do need help though. I'm looking for the Stormweaver. I have his sword."

"You came to the mountains to return his sword!?"

"He needs his heart. I wouldn't want him acting strange without it."

"Max is already pretty strange, we didn't notice a thing," Eric assured her. "Just follow us back."

The door to the right opened, and in walked two people, Kylan and Seraphina.

"What are you two doing here," Aster asked.

"I went to the bathroom and got left behind from the group," Seraphina said. "Then this guy told me he saw you two go in here so I went with him."

"You can't go off without us and see the best parts of the temple," Kylan said. "That's not fair!"

"We weren't... never mind. Let's just find Max," Eric said.

Eric decided to go the way Princess Rhiannon had come because Seraphina's group had already left, so the group must have circled around back to the other side of the temple. He reasoned that the doors must be a straight walk to the other side.

His guess was correct, and after walking through about three rooms, they entered a hallway on the eastern side of the temple. They walked south, hoping to find them on their way back to the front of the temple, but instead, they found the Duke of Fadeno.

Eric was now sure he was a magnet for strange people.