Altair took his time walking back to his room to observe more of the Academy. The walls were all covered in the same script he identified as ancient Vorgulian. Short of that there wasn't much else to see. Everything was made out of the same black basalt, and with the lingering sulfur smell in the hallways and rooms, he knew it was definitely carved into an inactive volcano. It was also unnaturally warm in the Academy, but there must have been some sort of temperature regulation as the heat was not enough to be unbearable, but was still uncomfortable at the same time.
As he was about to enter the hallway that lead to his room, he turned around and decided to test his luck and look at the pit in the center of the huge chamber. He slowly made his way over and, confirming his suspicions saw that it was indeed the center of the volcano, lava and all. The heat was immense and he quickly took a few steps back from the sweltering furnace.
All the sudden he heard a scuffing sound on the stone floor and turned around just in time to see a black clad figure barrel into him. He let himself fall right before the pit with his assailant directly on top of him.
"Stop! What are you doing!?" Cried Altair, feeling the burning heat on his face from the open pit.
The assailant said nothing and continued to try and force Altair into the pit. Altair managed to knock him to the side with a well placed elbow giving him the time he needed to draw his dagger from his boot. Ramming the dagger into his assailants neck, he quickly got up, withdrew the dagger and threw the body into the pit. Offering his first sacrifice to the dormant volcano.
A loud rumble followed soon after and a visible light came from the pit. Altair's body glowed for a brief few seconds and then everything returned to normal.
"What in the actual fuck" cursed Altair, gasping for breath with the near death experience. "I guess it really is going to be like this."
The Acolyte had no way of knowing, but he would soon learn that the pit was there to receive the sacrifice of Acolytes that were found to be unworthy. Altair had just made the first one in quite a while with the dark god bestowing upon him a blessing. There would be many sacrifices, but most would go unanswered. The unnamed dark god was a fickle being, never seen or heard from. Most Templar assumed it to be nothing more than a legend, but there were a select few that would argue that point.
Altair nervously stepped back into the hallway and then back to his room. It was left the exact same way as he found it, but he decided to search the place just incase someone left something nasty laying around. Now that he had almost been killed twice in two weeks, he would no longer take chances.
After a fruitless search, he got back to the translation of the book. Getting better at recognizing some of the characters, he made quick work of the first few pages and realized it was some sort of meditation technique. He wasn't quite sure how that would help him whatsoever, but he wasn't fool enough to throw it to the side. After all, it had to be in the book for a reason.
He excitedly started copying the technique to the ancient parchment when his door mysteriously opened. He quickly went on guard but realized there was no one there. Figuring this was their way of summoning him out of his quarters, he put his things away and prepared to find the next open door.
He cautiously walked out into the hallway and went back towards the open pit. Entering the grand room, He saw another door open and made for it quickly as he remembered his last experience in this room.
Entering the door led to another hallway that he cautiously walked down. It looked the same as everything else, complete with black basalt floors, walls and ceilings covered in ancient script. He came to an open door and quickly stepped in. The door closed shut behind him, and trying the door, realized that there was no way out the way that he came.
The next hallway he entered was dark, Altair couldn't see anything within a five foot radius from the door. Taking the dagger out of his boot, he cautiously walked forward into the pitch black hallway that led into nothingness.
Putting a hand out to touch the wall, he continued to step forward, doing his best to not make a sound as his leather boots struck the floor with an audible sound every time they hit the floor. He adjusted the way he walked and took extra care to probe the ground in front of him before committing his full weight to the foot.
The dark never bothered him, absence of sight may drive others crazy, but being an orphan and having to do all sorts of things just to survive, he could think of a lot worse than walking through a pitch black hallway.
Hearing the sound of something coming towards him, he suddenly stopped and waited. Pressing himself against the wall and making his figure as small as possible, he held his breath and waited for the figure to come closer. He could hear whoever it was using the same method he did, dragging a hand along the wall to help keep your footing and walking a straight path. This particular individual you could hear from a mile away though, so there Altair stood and waited.
The figure took its time, often stopping to listen before going forward again. Altair knew that his presence hadn't been discovered and so he continued to wait against the wall.
Five minutes later, the time had finally come. The figure was using the opposite wall to keep his bearings and walked right past Altair without him even knowing he was there waiting in ambush.