Chapter 14 – Ruins of the Ancient Capital

“It’s behind the throne,” Aerie said, pointing at the large throne seat at the end of the room.

Daniel looked around, glancing up at the ceiling, checking to see if there were any other nasty surprises awaiting them. Seeing nothing but marble wall, he began to move towards the throne, his hand rubbing the left of his chest. That reminded him– Daniel pulled up his shirt for a moment to see the brand on his chest.

Seared into his flesh in dark red was a foreign insignia, of what looked like a chalice and a sword, although he couldn’t quite make out what the insignia depicted with certain accuracy. Aerie also flew in to take a closer look.

“Hm… I don’t recognize this,” she said, shaking her head while looking at the insignia. “Did you get this just now, when you evoked the [Emperor’s Decree]?”

“Yes,” Daniel replied, wincing as the scorching brand on his chest pained him as he moved his arm.

Pulling his shirt back down, he walked until they reached the throne. The base of the marble throne seat had just enough width for a grand seating of a human, but the backrest extended up unnecessarily by at least twenty feet, giving the throne an imposing stature, hanging over like an overgrown tree that cast an ominous shadow down into the room.

Daniel looked behind the throne, and just like the faerie said, there was a shimmering red portal that looked ready to swallow him whole. The portal murmured and rippled, an ocean of red magical fluid that warped space-time, inviting him to step through.

“Are you ready?”

“I’m ready,” replied Daniel. Taking the faerie into his hand and cupping her near his leather makeshift breastplate, the newly minted merchant took a deep breath and dove into the portal.

The feeling was unpleasant to say the least, as his body contorted and stretched, then compressed, then stretched again in an oscillating pattern as he traveled through space-time.

An excruciating five minutes later, Daniel finally re-emerged on the other side, getting deposited onto the ground like a pelican just spit him out.

“Ugh…” Daniel groaned, hand on his head. Aerie fluttered her violet wings in his hand, and he let go of the voluptuous pint sized faerie.

Pillars of crumbled stone architecture lay near them, as they stood on a large platform. Perhaps this was once a temple like the Parthenon, but weather and time had eroded its former splendor into ruins. Wind whistled through the ruin pillars, as an eerie quiet enveloped the area, and a heavy fog permeated the region, limiting visibility.

“Are you sure this is the capital?” Daniel asked. When Aerie said that the portal would take them to his tribe near the capital, he assumed that the capital would be a bustling human city. It must have slipped through his mind that what once was the capital for the emperor was now long abandoned ruins.

“Yes, this is the capital,” Aerie replied, flapping her radiant violet wings. “I’ve never been to this side of the portal before, because it’s a one way journey.”

[You’ve received messages.]

Notifications began to build up on Daniel’s screen, so he opened up his message inbox.

Eric: you there?

Eric: where are you

Eric: we’re at Raskal, let us know when you’re out of the tutorial. Man you’re slow af, we’ve been waiting for almost an hour

Daniel is typing…

Daniel: don’t wait up for me, I went through a different portal and ended up somewhere else. Catch up with you guys later, if you stay together long enough

His friends Eric, Felix, and Donovan always went into games with the intention of sticking together, but it was almost an inevitability at this point that they’d split up. All of them preferred playing and exploring at their own pace, and they all had different interests, so it was a natural course of events.

Daniel was also guilty of wandering off from his friends, and this time he departed from the squad earlier than usual, although not by his own will.

DUN.

A heavy footstep shocked Daniel back to his senses. Glancing around, he took refuge behind a pillar.

“What was that?” Daniel whispered. The way that there was not a soul in the ruins gave the ancient capital ruins a haunted feeling.

“I don’t know,” she replied, dipping into Daniel’s shirt through the collar and peering out with her two small hands grasped on the collar. She was so small and delicate that Daniel felt fiercely protective of her, almost like a paternal instinct.

DUN.

This time, it was even closer.

DUN.

Emerging from behind the wall ruins ahead was a stone colossus, with wild moss growing over its shoulders and runes etched into its appendages.