“By the Grace of His Breath!” Growan explained loudly, using a phrase that betrayed his commoner upbringing. Drake did not say anything, but was also impressed by the sights around him as they both entered the cavern that was the entrance to the ruins. The long narrow tunnels they walked in was lit periodically by torches and Growan has also pulled out a torch as he led the way. From the soft light of the fires Drake and Growan were able to see sides of the, only to see that it was not like any cave they had ever seen before.

The sides of the tunnel were smooth as though polished, and flat, moving downwards and upwards to form perpendicular angles with the ceiling and floor. On the ceiling Drake could vaguely make out figures of men and some symbols along with them but he could not discern their meanings. The floor was decorated too, with subtle carvings as though the floor was not meant to be walked on.

The two walked forward without pausing, although Growan swung his head left, right, and up with his mouth agape at the sights. He asked loudly, “Do you think that all the ruins are a magnificent as these?”

Drake had no idea, and only with trained restraint was he able to keep from being a slack mouthed fool like Growan was. Still, his eyes wandered around as well, comparing the magnificent skill it must have taken to construct such a place to the skills he had witnessed during the construction of several of his family’s estates. He doubted this place could be reproduced.

“All the ruins bear their own kind of majesty.” A loud excited voice called out behind them. The two stopped to turn their heads around and saw a small torchlight coming down after them in the tunnel. Soon, the woman who held the torch appeared too, a full gray head of hair and large bright eyes her two most significant features. She carried with her a large bag and around her neck was an amulet similar to the one that Growan wore.

She stopped to catch her breath with he came up to Drake and Growan, clearly, the old frail woman had down her best to hurry down the path. But she stood stood brightly and nodded solemnly to Drake, “Greetings young Master, I am Kloenoll, I’m from the Royal Tabernacle.”

Drake’s eyes narrowed and he replied quickly, “The Royal Family does not have any rights in this land own by my Father.”

Kloenall laughed and waved her hand, still catching her breath from his journey, “I know, i know, that is why they sent me, only a poor researcher, and not a priest. I am here only to study the history, the Royal Family knows that this territory belongs solely to the house of Foendell.”

Drake kept a frown on his face, but did not press the woman further. Growan stood politely off to the side. “Would you like join us on our trip down?” Drake asked reluctantly.

“Yes please!” Kloenall replied eagerly. She added with a laugh, “It would be much better for an old woman like me to be accompanied by you two strong youngsters in case i keel over.” she laughed again before finally settling herself. “We should go!”

The three started again, with Kloenell actually in the lead and marching steadily. She did not waste time looking around and move moved with a quick purpose. Drake could see Growan fidgeting as though in some inner struggle. Drake sighed and said to him, “You have the right to speak.”

“Thanks you, young master,” Growan replied without hesitation. He asked loudly, “Sir Klownall, may i beg you for some questions regarding these ruins? you said you had been studying them for a while now?”

“Yes,” Kloenall replied happily, “This is my third excavation i have been able to witness firsthand, the second whom i’ve had the joy of watching as they progressed. The things we are able to learn about the past form these structures are too incredible, it is my life’s greatest joy to be able to be see this excavation.”

Growan seemed to digest his words with awe and did not speak again. Drake asked after a moment, “What have you learned from this sight so far then? What do those pictures mean out there?”

Klownall looked back at Drake with a mischievous glint in her eyes causing Drake to scowl. “Need I remind you,” Drake continued, “The knowledge gleaning from this sight also belongs to our family.”

Kloenall just laughed again, “Indeed you are correct, young master. Then let me tell you what i have learned to answer your question. Nothing!”

Slightly taken aback, Drake replied irritably, “Nothing? What does that mean? Some scholar you are.”

“I have learned nothing, it is true,” Kloenall replied happily, “But what it is that I haven’t learned has given me much more knowledge than I ever dreamed of before!”

Drake scowled again, keeping it permanently on his face. The three turned a corner, looking at a deep stair well. Past an impressive arch separating the tunnels and the lower regions. Along the stairs were now intermittent soldiers, each carrying torches and guarding the way. They looked up at the trio but did not hinder them.

“I am not in the mood for riddles, Sir Kloenall.” Drake said in what he thought was a dignified voice.

“But that is exactly what this place is, a big riddle!” Kloenell continued brightly.

Drake merely “hmphed” and looked away, no longer expecting a clear answer.

Growan seemed to have gained back his voice and bit eagerly on Kloenells bait. “What do you mean, Sir Kloenell?”

“Well, how well do you know your history?” Kloenel asked back, briskly turning into teaching mode. Growan was suddenly tongue tied because of course, he had no formal education outside of his brief and regimented militia training. History was not taught there. To Growan, the excavations were nothing more than buried treasures to be found in any open field.

Drake did know more, but had decided he no longer wanted to play at Kloenel’s game and he did not speak.

Kloenell, chuckled again and then said, “I see, then listen carefully because this knowledge found from a private tutor,” she said looking over at Drake for a moment before turning back, “Or found at our tabernacle would cost you more than your year’s wages.”

Growan’s eyes widened and he sputtered out, “Th- thank you for generosity!”

“You’re welcome,” Growan said sincerely, “Here is something you can gnaw on for the rest of your days over the field. And do not be ashamed of that, it is the original riddle that we scholars have been gnawing over ourselves for generations and is the very reason I came here! You see,” she added his voice getting husky and low, “On the most simple and basic level, we all ask ourselves this question. Why did the powerful civilization from ages ago that left us these magnificent ruins and wondrous artifacts disappear? Where did they go? If there were so powerful as their breadcrumbs they left us suggest, then how could they simply disappear?”

Kleonell shrugged and turned back to look at Growan who appeared to have never had such a deep thought before in his life as he had on now. After a moment when it seemed like an answer was expected from him, Growan replied unsteadily, “Perhaps a powerful enemy?”

“Perhaps,” Kloenall replied appraisingly. Then she turned to Drake. “What do you think, young Master? Surely you have given it some thought before now.”

Drake frowned, but answered appropriately, “Several theories include Growan’s answer, but also the idea of a plague wiping them out, or commercial warfare. Some have even suggested that our god wiped them out directly for some reason or other, but the priests strongly deny that.”

“And to even suggest such a thing would be considered sacrilegious,” Kloenell replied very seriously for a change.

Drake shrugged and added, “As a scholar you should appreciate the need for an open mind. But to move on, one of the more fantastic ideas is that the civilization simply became so powerful that they simply either became gods themselves or ascended to some other form of existence.”

Kloenell laughed raucously at Drake’s last suggestion. “Such an idea could only come from the nobles,” she added between chuckles, “to dream of such a thing. The barriers between the mortal and immortal realms are much higher than that i am afraid.”

Drake scowled once again and added, “I did not say these were my theories, only that they are some prevailing theories.”

“I am sure, I am sure.” Kloenell added lightly. “but in the end, by careful study of the ruins we have found so far we have been able to determine that none of these theories could have happened! I won’t go into any details but take my word for it here when i say that although they had superior tools in this ancient past, they were much the same as we are today. There were humans, like us, and magicians and priests, like the magicians and priests we have today. Additionally, they, like us now, are also closely connected with our neighboring territories, through trade and culture, similar to us. Once we understood that to be the case, our academy soon sent people to our neighbors with whom we had traded with before and also currently trade with now to see what they could learn about our past! And do you know what they learned?”

Drake thought it was a rhetorical question, but the silence hung in the air for several septs down the stone staircase. Finally, Growan asked, “What did they find?”

“Nothing, of course!” Kloenell replied, throwing her hands in the air wildly. “Their records show the same information that we were able to dig up over centuries of excavating in old ruins! No new information, just that suddenly, for unknown reasons, the ancient civilization we had here just disappeared. No mention of it ever came again, no mention as to what could have happened, no mention of any plague or army, or even, “ Kleonell snickered, “Ascension. There isn’t anything saying that they mysteriously disappeared in the first place! It was as if the recorders of that time simply forgot about the existence of our territory.”

Kleonell let that information sit on Drake and Growan. The staircase they had been walking on abruptly ended, ending up on a sudden landing. In front of them was another tunnel and Drake asked, suddenly nervous, “How far does this cavern go?”

“Seems excessive, doesn’t it?” Kloenell asked knowingly, “But it is only a little further ahead.” Drake looked back at Grown who had pulled out his orders again from his sleeve and nodded back to Drake, confirming Kloenel’s words. “But this brings us back to my riddle that this place gave me.” Drake nodded wearily. “Since we could not gain any information from our neighbors, and besides they would not give us free unrestricted access to their records of course, we could only study more closely our own records, the ruins in other words. Hence, we were so excited by this new discovery, we thought we had a chance to learn more about our history.”

Suddenly Kloenell sighed as they continued down the long and now very narrow tunnel. “But things here are outside of my expectations. For my first few weeks here I could hardly believe what my eyes were seeing and the reports I had given back to the tabernacle were met with ridicule. But what could we do? Your father would not allow any additional members of our team here, so i could only continue to report the truth I saw and convince them i hadn’t gone senile.”

“This is your new riddle?” Drake asked, interested despite himself.

“Yes,” Kloenell replied waving her hands around, “All of this, everything here from the architecture, structure, symbols, paintings, everything here does not match anything we’ve ever come across before. I am proficient in ancient linguistics and this writing is definitely not our language. I do not study the rocks,” she said knocking his hand against the stone walls, “But at this point I can only guess that these too does not belong to our territory. I believe that this place is not a ruins excavation as we understand it to be. Whoever made this thing, it wasn’t our ancestors, so far from helping us solve our own riddle it instead poses a completely new one to us. One that is beyond me of course. I have resolved to simply record everything i see, hear and feel in hopes that those better than me can theorize better answers.”

Drake contemplated Kloenells answers before asking, “Is what you say true?”

Kloenell raised her hands in the air again, “I swear on the Holy Shroud, it is all true. I am not so humble as to exaggerate shortcomings.” Her voice slipped down sadly.

“Have you told the Captain of this?” Drake asked seriously. “If what you say is true, he should know.”

Kloenell nodded, “I have told him, but I do not think mind does not care to understand the subtleties of the meaning. There is still a good probability of finding the artifacts he is looking for here and that is what he is mostly concerned about. The Mages you have hired are excited too, it is rare to see them so. They would not care to stop to listen either. It does not matter much anyway i am confident we will witness a most extraordinary discovery regardless.” They reached the end of that last tunnel, only to have open up into a large open room, almost as large as the ballrooms in Drake’s Father’s palaces. “I certainly will not miss this chance.” Kloenell breathed.

Drae was stunned at the sight, he could not have imagined such a large open space could exist this far below ground. Hundreds of small torches were used as light for the room, but they could not together even reach the height of the ceiling. The walls were smooth like the wall of the tunnels and they too had wonderful faint pictures but the entire room was a sphere with its walls curving around so that no corner existed.

But all those details were meaningless before the real treat of the room, the pearl for the excavation. At the far end of the room stood two glorious doors, so tall and majestic as if they alone were able to contain behind them the all the floods of all the oceans. Drake stared dumbly, as so did Growan, almost forgotten behind them. Kloenell’s eyes twinkled.

Inside the room already were many soldiers, officers and men conversing and waiting, and alternately giving evident looks towards the door. Drake asked wirely, “Somehow, i always imagined that these excavation involved more dirt and digging. This one seems to just present its treasures in the most obvious way.”

Kloenell laughed. “They usually do, but do not say that this is too easy or you might offend the magicians. I understand that the barriers here have been most difficult to cope with.” as She talked she casually pointed towards a small group of people who were situated with the officers. They wore distinct purple robes and had beady blue eyes. For the most part they looked human but Drake new that any interaction with a magician made it clear they they were not so. A few turned to look at them when they entered but turned away immediately without care.

The Captain was also in that group and had looked over to Drake too. When he saw them he hurriedly motioned him to come join them . His eyes were full of weariness and concern and he seemed to be argueing with the mages.

Drake stepped forward to join the captain and Kloenell and Growan followed nonchalantly. Growarn was Drake’s escort after all and was supposed to be with Drake while Kloene just did as she pleased mostly. When Drake entered within earshot of the group he could hear one of the magicians hissing loudly, “Who do you think it was that put in the effort to get us here in the first place? You pitiful humans? No, it was us, us with our divine blood. Do not pretend to be over us, Captain. The barriers are starting to rise again Captain, I have told you, there are spells on this place we cannot break. At any moment I fear that this whole place will be transported elsewhere and will be lost to us!”

The Captain spoke back angrily, “Perhaps I do. You are being blinded by your desire here, but do not forget that you are under the pay of the house of Fendell and i have been appointed as their representative. You say the barriers are started to erect again, and that is your field of expertise. I am here to safeguard the interests of my Lord.”

Drake pulled up next to the Captain in time to catch a part of the magicians sneer, “And does your lord’s interest include losing this opportunity due to your stupidity? We are not cheap you know, wonder if the house of Fendell can pay for our services after coming home empty handed from this?”

The crack at Drake’s house stirred him and he immediately butted in angrily, “Perhaps you are right magician, perhaps the house of Fendell cannot afford such insubordinate mercenaries.”

The magician looked shocked to hear Drake interrupt the conversion but then immediately turned to rage when he heard the entirety. His brethren seethed in reply, “Who dares insult our order…”

The Captain quickly entered in again before Drake could say anything, “This is our Young Master, a member for the house of Fendell and the son of your employer. Please watch your tongue.” he turned to Drake and said quietly as the magicians fumed, “We are in a delicate situation right now, please restrain yourself. You should know it is not good to provoke a magician.” Drake nodded and stepped back slightly.

The lead magician stared down at Drake directly, letting his companions argue and rage for him momentarily, his beady blue eyes looking to pierce through Drake. Drake shivered lightly under the gaze and looked away. The angry conversation continued, but Drake distanced himself of the proceeding, staring at the large ornate doors.

Several minutes later, the Captain detached himself from the group, letting his subordinates sort out the leftover problems. He came up to Drake with a sigh.

“What is going on?” Drake asked curiously, “Why are the magicians so angry?”

“I want to delay opening that door, that’s what.” The Captain said flatly, pointing toward it carelessly. “However, the magicians are insisting that the barriers they had pulled down for the last two months are going to start rising again. They don’t like the delay and they really don’t like the idea of having to do all that work again.”

Drake pondered his words and looked at the door again. He asked, “Why do you want to delay opening it. Aren’t all the treasures inside?”

“It’s too unexpected,” The Captain replied bluntly, “The only information we got about this place was whatever the magicians decided to share with us as they plowed forward through the magical barriers. They knew this place existed with this huge foreboding door, but all they said to us last night was that they broke through to the end.”

Drake looked at the door but reply back simply, “So what?”

The Captain actually chuckled halfheartedly, “Just look at it! It’s a huge ass door in the middle of what supposed to be an ancient ruin! I don’t like it, all my instincts are telling me to hold back.”

“You are saying this only because you feel that way?” Drake asked, disapprovingly.

“As a soldier,” the Captain said wisely, “I have learned to listen to my instincts. But also, no, I have brought someone here to help me with me decision.” he suddenly winked at Drake he looked back confused before he looked back and called out, “Sir Kloenell, can I speak with you a moment?”

Kloenell had been holding up a parchment up to a near wall and was seemingly tracing the symbols onto it with charcoal. She looked up as she heard her name and then with a sigh, put down her tools and came over to Drake and the Captain.

“Sir Kloenell,” The Captain asked pointedly, “what can you tell me about this door?”

Kloenell shook her head, “Nothing!” Drake rolled his eyes while the Captain gave her a sharp glare. “Let me elaborate,” Kloenell said quickly, rubbing her thin hands together. “I have never seen anything like this in any of the previous ruins I’ve been to or heard about. These characters,” She said, pointing up towards the top half of the doors, “Are not in any language used here ever, or in any of our neighboring territories. There is nothing here that I recognize that could help indicate the reason why these doors are here or what might be behind them.”

The Captain nodded and turned to Drake with a soft smile. He replied, “There you have it. Before this was a simple excavation of ruins that everybody is familiar with, we all know what to expect. But now we have something completely different. Before I decide to charge in I want more information and I’d also like to discuss this with your father before I put his men at risk.”

Drake frowned. He asked, “But there is probably artifacts in that room. And didn't I hear that magician say that this whole place will disappear soon?”

The Captain glanced over at Kloenell who shrugged. The Captain relied easily, “There could be nothing in there, or worse. And yes, they had mentioned that as a possibility before. That would explain why we hadn't discovered this place before now. But they cannot give me a timeframe as to when I might actually go away again. It could be later today, it could be next year, it could be a century for all they know. This is simply not a risk I can take right now.” Drake didn’t reply, but looked back up at the doors. The Captain snorted, “you look disappointed. Were you not telling me earlier how much you wanted to get out of here, how you were not interested?”

“You were the one who told me this would be a meaningful and extraordinary experience. And now I am here, how can I not be disappointed?”

The Captain smiled ruefully. “That is true.”

Suddenly, the lead magician called out to Drake with a loud voice. “Young master Drake. Tell me young master, tell of the house of Fendell.”

Drake looked back at the magician that called out to him. He stepped forward and cast a glance at the Captain.

The Captain asked darkly, “What are you doing? What is the meaning of this?”

“‘tis merely a question for the Young Master,” the magician replied back with a sneer, “Can the young Master not even speak for himself?”

On cue a bit of anger came to life inside Drake and he stepped forward and said, “I can speak for myself, what is it you want, magician?”

“Tell me about your house? is it Powerful? Is it feared? Does it have a long and rich history of courageous fighters and men and women of action?”

Drake could hear faint mocking in the magician’s voice and he gripped his fists tightly. He replied back with a steady glare, “Yes. And those who know it, know not to trifle with its members.”

By now, all the conversation in the group had ended and their attention was on Drake and the Magician. The Magician replied back with a tight smile, “I am sure. And I suppose you must consider yourself one of those Men. With your flabby appearance, amature handling, and bloated tongue, as the third son of your Father, I am sure your achievements and merits speak for themselves. I am sure that is why your Father sent you here rather than your two formidable Brothers, your worthiness as a successor to his house.”

Drake felt stunned at the unprovoked and cruel personal attack. Had he not been wearing the ring his Father had given that protected again spells, he might have thought he had been a victim of their sorcery. He dimly felt the Captain’s hand being placed on his shoulder and a soft warning in his ear but he was not able to pay them any heed. He replied back through gritted teeth, “You dare insult me, you thinly veiled mercenaries. What land do you hold to be able to say such things to me? You are far below to be able to say anything, you are simply blind sailors of the lands, going wherever the money takes you. I am from the Noble house of Fendell and we do not suffer disrespect from any person, divine or mortal.”

“Your actions speak for themselves!” the magician said with an evil smile, “All mortals, especially the nobility, are like sheep to us, they bleep bleep their words of dignity, honor, and courage. But when when faced with the real opportunity for greatness they stand idly by, unable to recognize the world for what it is.”

Again, Drake felt blindsided by the remarks of the Magician, not so much enraged anymore but dumbfounded. He had literally never before been abused with such words. He could belatedly hear the Captain and other men yell back, defending Drake and the house they had all sworn loyalty to, but he hard a hard time grasping the situation. Dimly, Drake couldn't help but wonder, “What is this magician getting at?”

The Magician roared out his name in order to be heard over the clamoring, and Drake could tell he had used his magic to amplify his voice and overpower the sounds of the soldiers. As if a spell of dizziness was broken, Drake suddenly felt his senses zooming in on what he was saying, “Young Master Drake! Right now you have the chance to prove yourself, not only to your Father, your brothers, and your whole house, but most importantly, this is your chance to prove to yourself that you are indeed worthy to be of the Fendell name. Take the courage that you know runs in your veins and wield it like a mighty horse! Let it take you to where your destiny is calling you to. You are part of something greater right here Drake. Do not let this chance escape you or you will be doomed to your mediocrity for the rest of your life!”

There was silence in the air, but Drake saw that it was only the result of the spellwork, he could see soldiers yelling and pointing, but he could not hear the sounds. Drake thought in the back of his mind that while the magician couldn’t perform spellwork on Drake directly, or even on the soldiers directly due to the amulets they wore, they could work their magic on the air surrounding them.

All Drake could see now was the magician bearing down on his his bright blue eyes looked at if the heavens were with him. When Drake did not reply the magician immediately pointed down his finger at Drake accusingly and began shouting, “Coward! Coward! Mud! Slime! Filth! Bastard Child! Unwanted son! Lowly sheep! Coward!”

Drake could still feel the Captain next to him, speaking to him, but although the Captain was within the sphere of influence that Drake’s ring provided, Drake couldn't hear him.

As the string of one sided insults continued to pour down from the magician, Drake finally snapped, his feelings of rage and humiliation catching up to him. He shoved the Captain away from him and screamed back unreasonably at the Magician. “I am NOT a coward!!”

“Then prove it!” The Magician screamed back.

Drake whipped his head around, his face red and his eyes bulging. The Captain looked back in mild horror, dreading Drake’s next words.

“OPEN THE DAMNED DOOR!”