Chapter 10: What Was Left Behind

"That path drops down ahead," Edrin said, pointing with his bow.

Vaelira stepped forward, squinting. The trees thinned just a little, and the ground slopped into a shallow valley. Rocks lined the edges, slick with moss, and the air felt colder down below.

"Looks like we found our way in," she said.

Thalen adjusted the strap on his shield. "I don't like the feel of it."

"Neither do I," Edrin sighed.

They moved down the slope slowly. The forest around them was quiet — too quiet. No birds, no rustling leaves. Just their boots brushing against wet earth, the soft crunch of roots and broken twigs.

Vaelira glanced around. The trees here leaned in strange ways, like they'd grown toward something that wasn't there anymore. Some were hollowed out, but still standing.

"The Codex... It feels heavier now." She said. "It's not like before. It's focused now. Like a weight pressing on the threads."

"Focused how?" Thalen raised an eyebrow.

"Like something ahead is pulling magic toward it."

They reached the bottom of the slope. A clearing opened up, and set into the earth was a crumbling stone stairway, half-covered by roots and vined. The steps sank into darkness, old and worn smooth by time. It wasn't just a cave.

"Someone built this," Thalen said quietly.

Vaelira nodded. "And they didn't want it found."

Edrin stepped beside her, bow ready. "Think Marwyn came this way?"

"Maybe. If she did, she didn't leave signs behind."

They stood for a moment. Silence pressed in.

Then Vaelira took one slow breath and stepped forward, gripping the staff in her hands. "Let's go."

Thalen led with his shield raised, Vaelira behind him, and Edrin took the rear, bow ready. Thalen raised his mace up.

"Soltheria, light our path ahead. So that we might not get lost in the darkness."

It worked. His mace lit up and worked like a torch, showing them the way. Vaelira looked over at the runes on the walls and shook her head.

"Runes... The deeper we go, the more codex is bleeding. It. It just feels so wrong."

Edrin looked ahead.

"Did you ever see something like this happening?"

"No. I heard about it — from the Elder, from my parents. But I never paid it too much attention now." She paused and bit her lip. "Maybe they were right after all."

"Nothing better... or worse than first time experience." Edrin chuckled, followed by Thalen and then Vaelira.

The moss on the wall was in some places obstructing the runes as She kept glancing at them, trying to make sense of their shapes. They were forming into symbols that were hard to discern.

"Those aren't... ones I ever saw."

"And we don't really have time to study them." Edrin said.

"No, we don't"

The stairawy turned into a narrow hall. The air was colder here, and each breath left a small cloud.

"Smells like old stone," Edrin muttered, brushing his fingers along the wall. "And something else. Can't place it."

Vaelira stayed close to the center, eyes scanning every surfrace. The runes were more frequent now, carved into stone and flickering in faint colors. Some gloved pale blue. Others pulsed with a dull red.

"Don't touch them," she said quietly. "Some of these... I think they're traps."

Thalen slowed his steps, raising his mace. "How old do you think this place is?"

"Older than us for sure." Vaelira said. "Who knows, maybe older than the forest above us."

A few steps later, the hallway opened into a chamber.

It was wide — walls covered in more runes, some reaching all the way up to the ceiling. In the center stood a broken pedestal, chunks of it scattered across the floor.

Edrin stepped in first. “This looks like something was torn out.” “Maybe a seal,” Vaelira said. “Or a focus point. If this was part of a ritual… it didn’t end cleanly.” Thalen frowned. “And whatever was here, it’s gone now.” “Yeah,” Vaelira said quietly. “But not far.” She knelt by one of the scattered stone pieces, brushing away the dust. There was a rune carved into it — jagged, incomplete.

Her hand hovered above it, but she didn’t touch.

“It’s not just the codex that’s leaking anymore,” she whispered. “Something’s feeding off of it.” Edrin didn’t say anything. But his grip on the bow tightened.

Thalen stepped closer to the pedestal. It looked old, broken — one side cracked down in the middle. The top was wide and flat, but the center was hollowed out, like something had once been placed there. Vaelira ran her fingers along the edge. “This wasn’t just for show. It was used to focus on something. Maybe a ritual.” “Looks like someone smashed it,” Edrin said, pointing to the crack. “Maybe on purpose.” “Or maybe it broke under strain,” Thalen added. “Too much power running through it?”

Vaelira didn’t answer right away. She was staring at the runes etched into the stone — faint, chipped, but still glowing just a little.

Some of them shimmered with that same blueish pulse she’d seen in the threads outside. But they didn’t match anything she knew.

“These runes… They’re not from the standard Lexicon,” she said slowly. “I can read some of them, but others—” She stopped. One of the symbols looked almost familiar. Not from her studies — from something she’d seen.” “The echo bloo,” she nodded. “It had something like this near the center.” Thalen stepped back from the pedestal, glancing toward the dark hallway ahead. “So whatever this was… it’s connected.”

“Yeah.” She nodded, then turned. “Let’s keep moving. There’s more ahead.” They walked further down the corridor, then the hallway opened up.

Set into the far wall was a massive door — tall, wide, carved into dark stone.

Runes ran along its surface. Some were glowing faintly. Others were dim, cracked, or scrambled like broken lines of thought.

Edrin gave a low whistle. “That’s not something you see every day.” Vaelira stepped forward. Her voice was quieter than before. “This… this is it.” She raised her hand. The codex pulsed behind her eyes.

And the runes began to shift.

Vaelira placed both hands against the stone. It was cold. Too cold. Not like a normal rock, but like something drained the warmth from the air around it.

She closed her eyes.

The codex answered — faint and slow. Not a flood of runes like before, but scattered pieces. Broken thoughts. Half-finished words.

She focused on one. Then another.

The threads around her shifted. Some reached toward the door, others pulled away like they were afraid.

She breathed in slowly. “Vel’arun… no, not that one,” she said. “It’s reacting too strongly.” Thalen and Edrin stood back, watching. Neither said a word.

One rune flared too bright. Vaelira flinched. The magic snapped back against her fingers — a sharp sting, like biting ice. She hissed under her breath but didn’t move.

“Careful,” Thalen said, stepping forward.

“I’ve got it,” she replied. “I just need to—” The runes shifted again. This time, two of them aligned. The door pulsed with blue light.

She pressed her hand harder against the stone, narrowing her focus. The codex shimmered behind her eyes, racing past her mind faster now. She caught the shape of a phrase. Not words, but meaning. SHe pulled the energy forward, slow and steady.

Her lips moved. “Thaelin varos... endra mar.”

The light in the runes gathered at the center of the door.

One final pulse.

And then — silence.

The runes held steady now. All of them. Like something had clicked into place.

Vaelira opened her eyes.

The door opened with a long groan, stone scraping stone. Dust swirled in the air.

Vaelira stepped in first, holding her staff tighter than usual. The chamber beyond was wide — maybe a hall once, though most of it had collapsed. Roots hung from the ceiling. Moss spread across the cracked floor. But there was still magic here. She could feel it in her skin.

Edrin followed, bow low. “Looks abandoned.” “It is,” she said. “But not empty.” Thalen moved up beside them, eyes flicking across the walls. Strange shapes were carved into the stone — faded, broken, but still visible. Murals. They showed figures standing beneath a sky of floating runes. Some reached upward. Others were caught in lines of light.

Vaelira stepped closer to one. “These aren’t just decorations. This was… an attempt. They were trying to connect to the Codex.” Thalen frowned. “Like you do?” “No. Not like that. This is different.” She touched a chipped part of the wall. “They weren’t reading the Lexicon. They were trying to change it.”

“Even for me… It sounds like a bad idea.” Edrin muttered.

Vaelira didn’t answer. Her eyes stayed on the figures in the mural. One of them had their arms raised, threads wrapping around them — too many. More than any one person should be able to hold.

She took a slow breath. “Be careful. There might still be traps.” They stepped further inside.

Then the runes on the floor lit up.

“Wait —” she said, but too late.

Light burst upward, surrounding them in a soft shimmer.

The room twisted.

And then… it wasn’t ruined anymore.

They were standing in the same chamber — but whole. Runes glowed. A figure stood at the center, hands lifted, threads dancing in the air like lightning. A memory.

An echo.

Vaelira didn’t move. She barely breathed.

The figure at the center wore robes — but not like any seen before, not even the old elven ones. Simple cloth, loose sleeves, dark hair pulled back. A mage, definitely. But not a name she knew.

The echo didn’t seem to notice them. He turned slowly, eyes locked on the threads swirling above him.

His voice was calm, but strained.

“It’s working. The Lexicon is listening.” More runes flickered in the air. Symbols Vaelira couldn’t fully read — some warped, others pulsing like they were alive.

The mage reached out with both hands. Threads wrapped around his fingers, up his arms, glowing brighter.

“It answers,” he whispered.

Then the light shifted.

The threads stopped swirling and instead tightened — around him.

He blinked in surprise. “No… not yet…” The runes began to flicker wildly. One by one they broke — lines twisting, symbols collapsing into sparks. The threads pulled harder.

“It’s not listening,” Vaelira whispered. “It’s pushing back.” The mage screamed.

Magic burst from the floor — too fast, too bright. The chamber shook. Walls cracked. The figure was swallowed in light.

And then it ended.

The glow faded. The ruin returned —broken, moss-covered once more. Only the quiet was left.

Thalen let out a slow breath. “By Soltheria…” “Not a trap,” Vaelira said. “A warning.” She looked back at the spot where the mage had stood.

“They tried to force the Codex to obey. Tried to shape it. And it… I think it destroyed them.” Thalen was still staring at the floor. “This… you shouldn’t bend the will of a God.” Vaelira didn’t say anything, she just kept staring.

None of them speak for a while.

Only the sound of their breathing filled the broken chamber. Dust drifted in the air like it had never settled.

Then Edrin stepped back. “Let’s keep going. If someone else made it in… they’re seeing this now too.” Vaelira nodded, though her fingers still hovered near the cracked stone. She looked at it one last time — then turned away.

They moved deeper. The hallway narrowed again, uneven stone under their feet. Roots grew from the cracks, winding through the floor like veins.

“Still no signs of a second way in,” Thalen said.

“If Marwyn’s here,” Edrin responded. “She didn’t come through the door we opened.”

Vaelira stayed quiet. Her eyes kept scanning the walls. The runes had faded here, almost rubbed out by time. But some still pulsed when she looked too long. Just for a second — then gone again.

They passed a small alcove, filled with broken stone. At some point it might have been a shrine, or maybe just storage. Now, only shattered bowls and a cracked statue remained. It looked like a mage — hands outstretched, but the head had broken clean off.

The corridor turned again. Light from above faded. The air was colder here. Not just underground cold — something deeper settled into the stone.

Edrin held up a hand and crouched. “Wait.” They stopped behind him, he brushed the dust aside — carefully, slowly.

A bootprint. Not full, but enough to tell.

“She’s close,” he said. “Real close.” Vaelira leaned on his arm, eyes narrowing. The print was fresher than the one in the forest.

“She came this way,” she said. “And recently.”

Further ahead, they found more signs. The remains of a ward — lines of chalk mostly rubbed away. A spell crystal, cracked down the middle and burnt dark. Scorch marks along the floor, where a spell must have failed or fizzled out.

“She was trying something,” Vaelira muttered. “Maybe testing the room. Or hiding her trail.” Thalen knelt by the edge of the wall. “These marks… some of them were drawn in haste.” “She was nervous,” Edrin said.

“Good,” Vaelira added. “Maybe she’s not so smug after all.” The passage turned one last time. Ahead, they saw faint light.

Not sunlight. Something softer. Pale blue, like frost on water.

They stepped inside a small chamber. Runes were carved along the floor here, and moss had grown between the lines. It wasn’t as broken as the other rooms.

There was a pedestal at the center.

Vaelira slowed. Her eyes scanned the walls again. And that’s when she saw it — a faint shimmer.

Something flickered in the shadows. Then gone.

“Wait,” she whispered.

Thalen raised his shield, but nothing came. No sound. No movement.

Then Edrin pointed to the floor beside the wall. A small, folded paper.

He picked it up, turned it over. “A note.” Vaelira stepped beside him as he opened it.

Edrin blinked, then let out a long sigh. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” “What?” Thalen asked. Edrin handed the note to Vaelira.

Then, she read it out loud.

“Always two steps ahead. Try to keep up.” Vaelira crumpled the paper slowly. “Marwyn.” Thalen blinked. “She was here?” “Looks like it,” Edrin clenched his fist. “And of course she left a note.” “You remember her from previous ruins… she loves this kind of style, “Vaelira said. “I’m honestly surprised she didn’t sign it with a flourish.”

“Maybe she ran out of ink showing off,” Edrin chuckled.

Thalen gave a small shrug. “At least she didn’t set a trap.” “Yet,” Vaelira said. “She probably thinks this whole ruin is enough.” Edrin nudged a loose stone with his foot. “I don’t like how quiet it is.”

They looked toward the pedestal now. The glow was still there. Then, they moved.

It was small, round and low to the ground. Part of it was chipped on the side, and old vines had once covered it. But something burned them away. The stone still looked blackened in places.

And in the center… was a broken staff.

The wood was dark, split clean down the middle. One half was missing. The part that remained had faint carvings — old and worn. It gave off a weak glow. Like magic still clung to it, even now.

Vaelira didn’t speak.

Thalen stepped closer, but didn’t reach for it. “Looks fresh… Do you think Marwyn?” Edrin moved beside him. “Probably but… that mark. Near the grip. Doesn’t that look like—” Vaelira was already lifting her own staff.

She held it next to the broken one. Her staff was whole, polished and steady. But near the middle, right above where her fingers rested — three small runes were etched in a ring.

She looked back at the broken one.

The same runes.

Same shape. Same order.

Her hand tightened around her staff.

“It matches,” she whispered.

“Is it… related?” Edrin asked.

“I don’t know. But this piece — it came from the same place.”

For a second, nothing happened.

Then the broken staff gave off a faint glow.

And in her hands, her staff answered.

A single pulse. Like a breath held too long.

Thalen “By Soltheria… They are related.” Edrin just gazed between them, Vaelira silent.

Her fingers didn’t shake.

But her thoughts sure did.