You have discovered the Ancient Temple of the Queen - Ruins! The location has been marked on your Map and you have gained 100 Survival and Perception XP.

Congratulations, Survival has reached Level 3.

You know, when I wanted something to break up the monotony of my walking, this wasn’t exactly what I had been expecting. Perhaps some kind of thin woods a bit away from the riverbank, or maybe an abandoned house. Even a minor settlement that I might have to fight my way out of was on the list.

Looking up at the ruins I see several off-white pillars rising up from the ground, some of which disappeared into the clouds above. They seemed to be the remains of some sort of entryway to the main building that the System described as the Ancient Temple of the Queen. On the ground between each pair of pillars lay a cobblestone path, etched with faded symbols I that couldn’t quite make out stretched towards said entrance.

The architecture of the temple proper was missing some rather large chunks in various places. Wooden beams could be seen spanning the roof of the building on the inside. Some were in relatively good shape, whilst others were so rotten it was a wonder they hadn’t simply turned to fungus.

At some point, it probably was a stone building lined with similar, but smaller, pillars and a triangular roof, based on what I could tell. Half of those pillars still stood tall, but the rest were either missing chunks, or barely stubs of stone that rose up to my knees, if even that high.

The triangular face of the roof looked like it had once been etched with a work of art, but now it was weathered by age, if the name of this place, given to me by my Observe skill, was anything to go by. Below the face, that was once likely some sort of mural to welcome worshippers in, was the entrance itself, with one door still standing, shut tightly. It was essentially worthless, however, since the other door appeared to be lying about a hundred paces away, on the side of the ruins furthest away from the river.

Following the cobblestone path up to a set of steps, I peered inside the structure. There did appear to be some windows lining the upper half of the walls. Those that weren’t shattered were covered in a heavy coat of dust, so much that there was no conceivable way for light to make it through. Oddly, the majority of the windows seemed to be intact, which meant there was actually only a meager amount of illumination inside.

My wand was already summoned, and I had a full MP bar thanks to how long I had stood around simply marveling at this place. With a flick of my wrist, I quickly manifested a [Witchlight], watching as the darkness receded. Very quickly I noticed that the Witchlight actually followed my eyes, levitating this way or that based on where I was trying to peer into the darkness.

I was careful to keep it away from the walls and floor. Sure, they were all stone, but I’d rather not ruin my best chance at shelter I’d found all day. Additionally, it became pretty clear that there were a number of stone pews lined up, facing away from the doorway I stood in. This was very clearly a place of worship. The Queen was surely some sort of goddess, but of what? And who worshipped her in this far-off place where there wasn’t a village in sight?

This seemed to be the only structure in this area. There weren’t any half-standing walls from abandoned housing or even something as simple as the foundations for other buildings. The path to this place only started at the pillars, and just gave way to the dirt and grass of the surrounding landscape at one point. Interestingly, the grass didn’t seem to grow over the cobblestone. Perhaps the faded etchings in the walkway had something to do with that?

Hearing Sadie growl and Monty hiss brought me back to reality. They only did so as a warning to me. Was there someone living in this temple? My eyes darted back and forth for any sign of movement, my Witchlight keeping pace as it zipped around the room.

A hissing that didn’t come from Monty reached my ears a moment before I was knocked down the dozen or so stairs I’d just climbed a minute ago. One moment I was looking into the temple, and the next all I saw were a pair of red eyes and a pair of sharp teeth that looked like they’d kill me if I looked at them too hard.

Giant Rat

An extremely large rat, grown to unusual size due to the influence of Igazi. Its teeth are sharp, and it attacks anything if it gets hungry enough.

Luckily for me, I still had my shield in between this thing and me. The hissing had turned into whimpers of pain, and I could only assume that I managed to catch its skin in the spikes. Gathering up all my strength, I pushed my shield with both arms and managed to throw it a few paces away, on its side.

Quickly scrambling to my feet, I noticed several large holes in the things underbelly. I also noted that my pets had arrived and went about their usual feeding frenzy before the rat could even get back to its feet.

With a sigh, I glanced at the screen. I guess I had activated [Observe] without realizing it. Still, that particular Ability seemed to be quite strange. It had told me things about the Greenskin, Razorboar and now this Giant Rat that I know for certain I couldn’t have figured out on my own. Is it possible that the System had access to my memories and was using those to fill in the blanks?

I hadn’t really thought about it much, but Eve did know who I used to be. The System probably did too. And if the System could use that information to aid me whenever I used certain Abilities, then that might have to be something I utilized. Whoever I was before seemed to know quite a bit about monsters, at least. Oh, and magic. Also, he had some skill with the sword and the reflexes to properly use this shield.

If Abilities were my way to connecting more with my past, then I really needed to do my best to use them. If I was really lucky, it might even help me remember anything about who I was. Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully.

My pets seemed happy to eat the thing that tried to eat me, so I just dusted the dirt off my clothes and looked back up at the temple. Was there something else in there? I really wanted to use this place as a shelter until I could get a better handle on my situation, but what options did I have to dispose of other things?

Witchlight apparently followed my eyesight, but even when I was focusing on the rat trying to eat me, it didn’t suddenly slam into it. Maybe that was because it would’ve also set me on fire? I still wasn’t sure if it would set the temple on fire either.

Gale Slash was really useful, but there was no telling how much collateral I’d cause if I tried using it inside the temple. Those stone benches might just break a wall, or maybe even crush me. That was a no-go.

My best bet was to go in with my sword and shield, pets in tow, and hope I wasn’t overrun. If I could lure anything inside out here in the open, then I could use my magic more effectively. I just needed to make sure that I wasn’t ambushed like that again. My HP was already moving back up - even if very slowly - but getting tackled like that had taken me down to 85% health. If the rat had actually managed to bite me… surely, I’d have lost a limb.

They still hadn’t finished off the rat, and probably would be eating for a fair few minutes at least. That would give me some time to prepare, though I’m not sure exactly how I might prepare.

Why not make a spell you can use inside?

I jumped when I heard the voice. It wasn’t Eve’s, and it certainly wasn’t my own thought. Looking around quickly, I couldn’t see anyone else. My pets also didn’t seem to be on edge. There wasn’t anyone else here.

Still… It wasn't a bad idea. If I could figure out a different spell that wouldn’t destroy the temple but would still give me a way to attack from a range, it would be the best bet. How would I do that though? I could only make a Combat Ability if I was in a fight.

What about Gale Slash?

The Voice that wasn’t mine spoke up again, and I jumped a little less. What about Gale Slash? Was there something special about it?

Wait, I see. I used Gale Slash when I wasn’t in a fight, but it took using it in one for me to get the Ability. So, I could just experiment a bit and try to figure out something that would be useful, then get the Ability once I went back inside.

What would be good though? Clearly my wand was off the table. I didn’t want to burn the whole place down and coming up with a fire-based Combat Ability would all but ensure that. My fan would almost surely do something similar, considering Eve’s comment about how Gale Slash was just a low-level spell.

So, that left the amber orb for Metal Magic, the ironwood staff for Wood Magic and the Sharkfang Dagger for Water Magic. Water Magic seemed obvious enough, but something about Metal and Wood Magic seemed… off to me. Could I use [Observe] to get any ideas?

Metal and Wood Magic

The naming conventions are a bit odd, but Metal and Wood Magic are actually a lot broader than they first appear. In actuality, these two manipulate all aspects of earth, with Metal manipulating inorganic materials such as dirt, stone, minerals and, yes, metals. Wood Magic manipulates non-sentient organic materials, such as flora, fungi and flesh.

I see. So, I could use the amber orb to control stone. Well, there was plenty of that around here. Even so, it might not be a great idea to throw rocks at the old walls of the ancient ruins. That might also cause it to come crashing down.

So, that left Wood and Water Magic. There was the river off in the distance, or the water in my skins, that I could use to try and come up with something. Or I could try doing something with the grass on the ground, or the nuts and berries in my inventory.

I almost immediately threw out whatever ideas I was having with Wood Magic. I could experiment with those later, but for now it was much better to try something that would have a greater effect.

With that in mind, I made my way back towards the river as soon as my pets had finished their meal, leaving nothing but the skeletal remains of the rat behind. I had found my shelter, and I wasn’t about to let a rodent infestation - if there really were other ones in there - keep me from securing it.

The charcoal wand went right back into my inventory in a flash of blue light, and was soon replaced by the Sharkfang Dagger. It was a rather large knife, probably about as long as my hand, and clearly made from an actual tooth. The fang was curved, with serrated edges and it glowed with a blue energy. The hilt was a straight handle, bound tightly in leather strips. Both the hilt and ‘blade’ were etched with all manner of symbols.

It was finally time to start those experiments I was so looking forward to.