Chapter 166: Remnants of a Past Age

Chapter 166: Remnants of a Past Age

Chapter 166 Remnants of a Past Age

Coming out of the dusty town, a line of carts headed west to load their cargo at sea. The crates glowed with chains of rough spatial enchantments.

The stones paving the streets of Higharbor had to come from somewhere

The ivory rock stolen from the Vastaire ruins was easily recognizable across the upper city. It adorned mansions and important public buildings, shaped into statues for the heroes of Meria. The monumental docks welcoming people into the capital were the most blatant example. Yet it remained a limited resource.

Importing from the mainland was expensive, and there were no marble or alabaster caves in the archipelago. The geography of the islands was flat except for the occasional hill like the one Grey Quarry had been built on. Ordinary constructions and houses had to settle for more modest materials: granite, limestone or basalt. None of them were fancy rocks, but they got the job done for the rising middle class of Higharbor.

Well, that place sucked. Oli grimaced at the rocky hill behind them. Id rather sleep in a barn than go back to that dusty inn again.

I can still feel the stone powder in my clothes, Uli rubbed his shirt with a scowl. I told you we should have stopped at a village before the town.

Then wed be miles farther from the ruins. No, we should have walked further up and camped under the stars. We've brought tents anyway.

It wasnt that bad, Ana muttered with little conviction.

The twins gave her a long look and spoke as one. Yes, it was.

Ana hung her head low. She appeared to have forgotten about the bribe. Perhaps Lou had calmed her righteous rage for justice while he wasnt looking.

Would it have been better to argue with her?

The group wasnt as brainwashed as Kai had first feared, still, they never voiced any criticism directly at the Republic. Not even the twins who had made their dislike apparent. It was always the rude people, the corrupt guard, the general neglect of the town, never the institution governing over them.

Why would anyone live in a place like that?" Uli and Oli got a shiver of repulsion, agreeing in their dislike.

Well

I dont think they had much choice in the matter.

Heads turned towards him, mostly with perplexity. He couldnt undo years of biased instruction, but that didnt mean he had to shut up.

To not falter under their attention, Kai pulled on Improvisation and his forgotten political bone. I talked with the cook at the inn last night. The town was just another tiny settlement before the relocation. Most of the people who live there now had little say in choosing their new home.

Now he had the attention of the whole group. Flynn gave him a mindful look while Lou wore his impassive mask, his thoughts were anyones guess.

Why dont they just move to some other place if they dont like it? Uli asked with a frown, echoed by his brother. They dont have to stay there if they want to move someplace else.

Ana nodded emphatically. All citizens are free to move to any approved settlement within the archipelago. Her words carried the tone of a rehearsed line.

I think youre underestimating how hard and expensive it is to move. Kai kept his voice mild. If they had told him that while his family was stranded in Greenside, the answer could have been a little different. It can take weeks or months to find jobs in a new town. You also need a house, food and other essentials. Not many people can afford that, especially if theyve got a family to take care of.

Change was always scary and hard for most people. Till the discomfort surpassed their personal threshold, the misery they knew was better than the uncertainty of a new place. He suspected the quarry miners had to sign some kind of contract to make things harder, though the people at the inn were tight-lipped on that.

Many probably did leave, Lou broke the tense quiet. The streets were quite empty for a town of that size. I heard working in the quarry pays well. But yes, they should invest more to keep the place livable.

They?

Do you remember how tall those ruins were? Are these as big? Oli wondered out loud after a brief silence. In a blink, they went down memory lane on their trip as children.

They should be bigger, Kai answered vaguely.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

Larger than the temple of the Seven Moons in the upper city?

See for yourself and tell me. His father's notes contained some rough sketches of the ruins and many, many observations. The journal in question rested now in his backpack, easily within reach.

Why should I ruin the surprise?

Should we set up camp? Kai asked.

Yes, Mister Fun, lets go set up camp. Flynn teased.

Lou offered no back up, ruffing his hair with one big palm. Its good youre trying to be responsible.

What does that mean?

Fine, we can deal with it later. Ill meet you here for lunch. Kai took his notebook and pen and thrusted his bag to Flynn. Dont let it get wet, and scream if you need help. Ill know it was you.

Is this enough fun? I just wanted to take care of the boring stuff first.

Kai strode towards the ruins, twirling his dads enchanted pen. Ivory pillars surrounded him on all sides, broken boulders created hurdles on the disjointed walkway. Rellan had walked these same paths years ago. He couldnt get the grin off his face.

I didnt expect them to be so vast. Where do I even begin?

The written pages could never do them justice. To think he had worried theyd get bored. A week would never be enough for a complete exploration. More so if the structure continued underground, and he had to dig through the sand.

I need to plan this out.

He had memorized the map his father drew, but he was having a hard time reconciling those messy strokes with reality. The ruins extended in all directions, and a flat paper couldnt properly represent them.

Kai wandered the ruins till the discordant information fit together in his head. When he was confident he could tell his way around, he picked one of the structures he knew had access to the underground complex.

The doors had long sunk into the ground, but there were broken tops and windows like the ones the twins used. Taking advantage of his small size, Kai squeezed through a hole close to the ground. The sides of the entrance were smooth and sharp as if the masons had just finished laying the stone.

He poked his head inside to look around, he was close to the ceiling. The floor was about two meters down, not a problem if he wasnt entering headfirst. Kai hooked his legs on the window to shorten the jump and landed on a handstand, flexing his arms to absorb the impact.

His landing echoed in the chamber. Alas, there was no one to cheer his grand entrance. Standing upright, Kai analyzed his findings.

An unblemished white room except for a thin layer of sand and a few hermit crabs skittering away. No glyphs or signs of any kind on the flawless walls. The ruins were definitely more impressive from the outside.

There was a hole in the floor and one in the ceiling that gave access to the adjacent floors. On the wall, a regular series of square punctures in a rising arc might have once housed the stairs. Evidently, they had not been made from the same durable material.

Kai turned his attention to the passage on the floor, another similar jump. The majority of the Vastaire's writings were discovered underground. That was where he had the highest chance to find something his father had missed.

The height wasnt a problem, he should then be able to make his way up even without Empower. Hopefully, the twins wouldnt be too reckless in their exploration. Ana might struggle to cover the distance without a rope, though the holes of the stairs aligned with the entrance to climb up.

Kai hopped down, landing in a crouch. The layer of sand was noticeably thicker, and the air was humid. Sadly, there were no glyphs on the walls of the chamber or any other meaningful findings.

Any interesting pebble or splinter must have been looted thousands of years ago.

There was no chance to find anything that wasnt etched or chained into stone. Unmoved by logic, a corner of him couldnt help but hope he would get lucky.

Somethings odd.

Kai took a second to put his finger on it. The mana was marginally denser, the difference was close to unnoticeable even with his high skill level. Such tiny changes could be due to natural fluctuations.

Is it because were underground?

Eager to prove his theory, he headed for the passage and groaned. The next level was partially flooded.

Of course it is, you dimwit, were below sea level.

He didnt want to ruin his new notebook, or his dad's pen. His eyes fell on the silver ring on his finger. He had promised himself not to use it unless absolutely necessary, but there was hardly a safer place than this. Apart from them, there was no village or person for miles and miles.

A strand of mana linked him to his spatial closet, where an item in particular screamed for his attention. Chewing his cheek, Kai took out the Fate Fulcrum. The sun was shining, there were no awakened beasts or people for miles, and he would only be using a tiny charge.

There might be a way to increase his chances after all.