The ancient ruins beneath Ebonreach had a cold, lifeless air to them, as if the very stones had been untouched by sunlight for centuries. Lyra's footsteps echoed faintly as she led the way down a twisting staircase carved into the rock. The faint glow of her magic illuminated the damp walls, their surfaces slick with moisture and streaked with faintly glowing moss.
"You're sure this is the way?" I asked, gripping the hilt of my sword.
"As sure as we're going to get," she replied, her tone clipped. "Cerys' map points to this route, but these passages shift over time. The magic in the ruins warps everything—the walls, the air, even the light."
"Comforting," I muttered, ducking under a low-hanging beam.
The passage narrowed, forcing us to move single file. The oppressive weight of the stone above and around us felt like it was pressing down on my chest. My hand brushed the pendant beneath my shirt, its warmth steadying me.
Lyra slowed as the tunnel widened into a small chamber. She scanned the space carefully, her expression tense.
"It's too quiet," she said. "For a relic as old as this, I expected more... resistance."
"You think someone's already been here?"
"Maybe," she said. "Or maybe the magic guarding this place has weakened over time, just like Cerys said."
Her voice carried a note of doubt, and I couldn't blame her. The idea of an ancient relic being left unattended in a city like Ebonreach seemed unlikely.
"Why hasn't anyone else found it?" I asked.
"Because they didn't know where to look," Lyra replied. "This chamber wasn't part of the original catacombs. Cerys discovered its existence through her research. According to her, it was sealed off centuries ago and only became accessible recently."
"That still doesn't explain why no one's taken the relic."
"Maybe we're about to find out," Lyra said grimly.
The passage opened into a larger chamber, its vaulted ceiling disappearing into darkness. The walls were lined with ancient carvings—spirals, stars, and runes that glimmered faintly as if alive. At the far end of the room stood a stone archway, its surface etched with more runes that pulsed with a faint blue light.
Beyond the archway was a smaller chamber, barely visible in the dim glow. At its center stood a pedestal, and on it rested the relic—a small, cylindrical object no larger than a dagger hilt. Its surface was inscribed with intricate patterns that seemed to shift and shimmer in the faint light.
"There it is," I said, stepping forward.
Lyra grabbed my arm, stopping me. "Not yet. Look."
She pointed to the runes on the archway. They pulsed faintly, but the light was erratic, flickering like a dying flame.
"The magic's failing," she said. "That's why the relic hasn't been taken. Whatever wards were protecting it are breaking down, but they're still active enough to be dangerous."
"How dangerous?"
Lyra didn't answer immediately. Instead, she drew her sword, its blade catching the faint light as she stepped closer to the archway. The air around her seemed to ripple, the faint hum of magic growing louder as she approached the runes.
"There's a barrier," she said, her voice tight. "Weak, but still strong enough to react to magic."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning you can't brute force your way through it," she said, glancing back at me. "We'll need to disrupt the runes to pass safely."
We spent the next few minutes studying the carvings on the archway, trying to decipher the patterns in the flickering light. The runes were old, older than anything I'd ever seen, their shapes unfamiliar and alien.
"I don't recognize these," Lyra admitted, her frustration evident. "They're not part of any warding system I've seen before."
"Could it be pre-Shattering magic?" I asked.
"It's possible," she said. "If that's the case, we'll have to rely on trial and error."
"That sounds risky."
"It is," she said, her tone flat.
Lyra drew a small dagger from her belt and stepped closer to the archway. She held the blade carefully, its tip hovering just above one of the glowing runes.
"If this doesn't work," she said, glancing back at me, "run."
"Comforting," I muttered.
She pressed the dagger's tip against the rune. The reaction was immediate—a burst of blue light and a sharp crack that echoed through the chamber. The rune dimmed, its light flickering before fading entirely.
"Did it work?" I asked.
"Halfway," Lyra said, her voice tense. "There are more runes to disrupt, and the barrier's still holding."
I stepped forward to help, my sword in hand. The runes seemed to pulse faintly as I approached, their light brighter now than before.
"The pendant," Lyra said suddenly. "It's reacting to the runes."
I touched the pendant at my chest, its warmth pulsing in time with the flickering light of the carvings. "What does that mean?"
"It means you might be the key to disrupting them," she said. "Try channeling the energy into the runes."
I hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. But the pendant's warmth grew stronger, as if urging me forward. I pressed my hand to the nearest rune, focusing on the energy I could feel coursing through the air.
The reaction was instant—a surge of heat and light that made my heart race. The rune dimmed, its glow fading to nothing.
"That worked," Lyra said, her voice tight. "Keep going."
One by one, we disrupted the runes, each flickering out as the barrier weakened. The process was exhausting, the effort draining more energy than I expected. By the time we reached the last rune, I was sweating, my breath coming in short gasps.
The final rune flickered and died, and the hum of the barrier ceased. The air grew still, the silence heavy and oppressive.
"It's done," Lyra said, lowering her dagger. "Let's get the relic and get out of here."
I nodded, stepping toward the pedestal. The relic's surface shimmered faintly in the dim light, its patterns shifting like liquid. I reached out carefully, my hand trembling slightly as I lifted it from the pedestal.
The moment I touched it, a surge of energy coursed through me—a sensation both exhilarating and terrifying. The pendant at my chest flared brightly, its warmth turning to heat that made my skin prickle.
"Aric!" Lyra called, her voice sharp.
"I'm fine," I said, though my voice was unsteady.
I turned back to her, the relic clutched tightly in my hand. "Let's go."