Chapter 218: Another Gate

"What is beyond this... Gate?"

"Our allies," the queen answered behind Ned with a voice hinted of worry.

"So you want me to help you with what exactly?"

"Open the Gate, interpret the remaining symbols—I know you could, I've seen it, and hear it—and we'll leave the hunters for the moment—I think its time to take a break—and I believe you're looking for someone?"

Ned was standing with his hands on both his waists. The tattered clothes he was wearing couldn't help the coldness creeping his body.

As Ned analyzed the Gate. The structure was different from the one in O'rriadt. If the Gate in O'rriadt was forced with an array and fueled with the energy on both worlds, then the one in front of Ned could only be open through a series of combinations of lock that needed to be connected with the right symbols and fueled with mana—a massive amount of mana.

Ned swiped the inverted triangle symbol then connected it with another intricate symbol that resembled a word that means 'green'. As the two connected, a light (in green) blazed given by the inverted triangle then it went dimmed after a series of hong-hong sounds.

The Queen's mouth went gaping as Ned connected a symbol that took them decades to understand.

"What did you do?" She said.

"Interpret you say, right?" Ned said and was followed by his eyes gleamed with something.

How many could you interpret, ICE?

[Half of it. The rest of the language is racial.]

What race?

[Goblins or Orcs or Driden.]

Which is which? Ned asked as his eyes rested at the symbol at the far end. The symbols were carved of images, like sticks, and scratches, and eyes of different sizes.

[Goblins.]

That's it, Ned thought. He spun to face the queen. "The other symbols I couldn't read," Ned said.

The goblin symbols were at least 10% of the total symbols carved within the Gate. Ned must interpret at least 70% of the unidentified symbols. The 20% was already interpreted by the queen's workers?

"Di you do this?" Ned said, finger pointed at the symbol that was already connected. The symbols, this time, were a series of images and if interpreted mean that the Gate will light green before opening. The rest Ned wasn't sure yet until he fully interpreted them. Which, if he fully immersed himself would take a month or so. Without Ned, the rest of the symbol would take Sas Koron another decade or so. A time they do not have.

"Now. I need things from you."

The queen let the silence lingered for a moment then spoke, "Tell me."

"I want my ring back," Ned said, it wasn't a plea, but more of an order.

"Hmmm." The Queen hummed, somewhat confused. "Must be Moloatiss doing. Done. Anything else?"

"Is the man named Roy, here?" Ned said as he walked closer to the queen. Something inside her that Ned was being pulled, or something inside Ned that pulled him toward the Queen. Either way, Ned doesn't like it.

The Queen said, "Was."

Ned said, "What do you mean?"

The Queen said, "Moloatiss will tell you everything. For now, let's go back."

As she said those words, her dark eyes looked over Ned's shoulder, at the Gate.

"Is it worth it?" Ned asked. "Is it worth it?" Ned said again. "That you trusted the moment you saw me and said those words? Why do you trust humans, yet, used them for your goal?"

"I was once an elf, yes," Sas Koron said. "If only I trusted Absmirs at that time... I wouldn't be here. Like this. But, as time passed, I think the Maker made me like this for a reason."

"And what is that?"

"To maintain balance. When the Gate opens, thousands and thousands of beasts will appear. Not even humans could stop it."

Ned nodded. "So you want to call assistance."

Sas Koron nodded. "It would be better if I could do it soon. That is why, as a Queen of the beast here in the Du'kki mountain, I must unite beasts of this island."

"How are you with uniting the beasts?"

"Almost done," she said, "we're having a hard time uniting beasts on the surface. That is why Gogmurch is needed. Without him, controlling thousands of goblins has been proven difficult. As you can see, my beastian form is an Arachne. And I have complete control over my children. But my people are not enough to wage war or defend my territory. I must tell you, I'm not the only Lord here."

Ned examined the Gate for one last time while listening to the Queen. Ned assumed that the Gate's source of power would be the mana stones being mined in the mountain.

And as Sas Koron confirmed, the mana stones weren't known to the surface, yet. Especially humans.

Ned might find answers beyond the Gate about the Marks as the symbol was somewhat the same as his Mark of the Knight. If so, why would a language he known light years away be here? What were the connections?

The Gate was an arc standing at almost 13 meters and with a width of almost five to six meters.

The Gate was already underground the Du'kki mountain even before Sas Koron discovered it. She took a lot of effort to maintain, and build her country of beasts underground.

For some reason, she was hesitant to share her past.

As Ned examined the Gate while the Queen stood with anticipation behind him. Just like the human body when conjuring spells, he determined that the patterns needed to be connected first before filling it with mana.

With correct connections, the mana will circulate within the patterns and the Gate would open.

The Gate was like a massive array. With enough mana to activate it, anyone could form a connection between worlds. Whoever made the Gate in Du'kki was a mystery to Ned. And why here? Why in Du'kki?

Ned's thought broke as the door behind the queen rattled. It was an old man—human—who came running to meet the queen.

Ned knitted his brows seeing the old man.

He wasn't controlled by the parasite. In fact, his face was drawing red with excitement as he entered the chamber.

"Queen," he said, exasperating. He stopped and saw Ned.

He wasn't sure how to respond to his current situation. He was an old man with a white beard tucked in under his chest. He looked scholarly with his white robe, lined with yellow and beaded with stones that shone to be tiny pieces of mana stones.

"You have another subject." Noted the old man.