They stepped out of the bushes.
A large clearing free of trees, and a series of small to large wooden homes. An abandoned village.
The team slowly emerged out of the bushes, shocked by their discovery, Calliope took out her map and hastily opened it.
"This was not documented on the map…" She muttered, confused.
A dirt path lay in front of them, as if welcoming the team to this place.
The huts were heavily damaged, seemingly abandoned for many years. Colton noticed some were even on the verge of completely crumbling, or already destroyed. Vines ran across the homes while grass consumed the remaining dirt paths and portions of the buildings.
"I wonder if there are people here." Celestine walked up to one of the homes, peering into a hole in the wall.
From Colton's observation, he noticed that they weren't just simple houses. Some resembled blacksmith stations, some farms, and even one seemed to resemble an armory.
But at the center was a single building surrounded by fences, almost two floors tall. With destroyed windows letting air inside.
Next to the building though was a tall but thin watchtower, the ladder up heavily damaged, missing many sections.
"You reckon there may be some valuables here?" Marcus asked, looking around with a smirk. He was about to step into one of the larger homes before Quill pulled him back.
"Stick to the mission, we do as Calliope says." She ordered. Her demeanor started to grow on Marcus, but he wasn't angry or annoyed enough to cause a fight.
As they neared the building at the center, they got a look at the many wooden buildings surrounding it, a set that caught their attention.
The walls seemed to have been torn apart, ravaged by something, as if a creature had clawed its way inside to get something. Or someone.
"Quill, Marcus, investigate it." She pointed at the buildings. The two immediately ran off.
The sight of it all made Colton confused, with only a hundred more questions of what this world had in store.
Once the team reached the center building, they took out their weapons, cautious as they walked closer to the broken door, able to see a few glimpses through the broken parts of it.
Calliope pushed the door open. As it slowly creaked open, it suddenly fell off, slamming into the aged floorboards beneath it, letting off dust into the air.
"Torch." Calliope took the torch and led the team inside, with Quill and Marucs still busy.
Inside was a short hallway, dark with the smell of dead lumber in the air, and the scent of grass. At the end of the hall was a stairway.
On both sides were a pair of doors, unknown to where they went. Small drawers rested near them, almost covered fully in vines and other plants.
The ceiling above was barely holding on, bits and pieces of it already on the floor.
"This place looks like it's gonna collapse any minute now." Myo remarked.
She opened the first door, raising her sword near the opening in case something still lives there.
Inside were sets of cupboards and drawers, with a furnace in one of the corners. A small kitchen.
"Perhaps this place may have a few books that could benefit us. It may be best to scavenge this area if they have left anything."
"I doubt there's anything left behind, but I'm down to take stuff." Myo spoke, getting to work immediately.
The team began their search, opening the drawers and finding any book left by whoever was here before.
In the end, they only found one. A cooking book.
"We will continue searching the rest of the rooms. Move." Calliope commanded, waving her torch to the doorway.
The team searched the remaining three rooms, finding only a small amount of books in the end.
Calliope was disappointed but took a long breath before leading the team to the stairs.
"These books mostly revolve around administration and governance. Along with a few buildings. May be beneficial to the kingdom." The books were sent to her storage.
The stairway was worn, Colton thought if it could even hold their weight. A few steps were missing, only adding to his worry.
They slowly walked upwards, trying their best to not weigh down the stairs and cause it to break.
As they got to the top, they found a door just at the top of the stairs, it looked more detailed than the ones below.
Slowly pushing it open, they were greeted to a single large room. In the middle was a table with a few overturned chairs . At the other end of the room was a square window, destroyed with a few shards still stuck in place.
Just in front of it was a long square desk, filled with clutter and filth on the outside. Cobwebs could be seen in the corners of the room, with some stuck to the furniture scattered around the room.
"Resting quarters, most likely a meeting room as well." Calliope explained. She neared the table while the others continued searching everything in the room for a book or something else.
As Calliope drifted her hand across the table, she noticed something.
"Interesting…" She began wiping away the thick layer of dust that had grown on the table.
Once she was finished, she found a mess of papers with stamp seals on each of them, marked in a variety of colors.
"It seems the village was more formal and perhaps more developed." She picked up the pieces of paper, reading each of them. Her eyes slowly widened with each paper she read.
"What is it?" Colton asked.
"Seems to be a few reports. All revolving around a flower. Perhaps the one we're after."
"That's good news right?" Celestine asked with relief, hoping that they may finally leave the forest.
"The harvest has been fruitful this season, the field of flowers should prolong longevity of multiple villages. Please perform checks on all citizens for logistics and rollout." She explained.
"Prolong…Longevity?" Celestine questioned, confused by what Calliope just read.
Calliope held onto the papers, walking towards the desk to see what it had.
She grabbed a few dusty papers from the desk, reading silently for a few seconds.
"Interesting, it seems these ones detail a specific family. Most likely royalty, or the family that oversees these supposed villages."
"What family is it?"
"It seems it's one that we may have met already."