Alina's fingers raced over the ancient carvings, tracing the celestial patterns with growing urgency. The slab was more than just a chart—it was a mechanism. But how did it work?
Behind her, Kael blocked a strike from one of the robed figures, his sword ringing against the enemy's blade. The second attacker circled, waiting for an opening.
"Alina, *now would be a good time!*" Kael growled as he parried another blow.
Alina's mind raced. If this was a key, then it needed something to activate it.
Her eyes darted over the symbols. Constellations… Alignments… And at the very center—
A circular indentation.
*It's missing something.*
Her breath hitched. The star map wasn't complete. Something had been removed—something crucial to unlocking whatever the ruins were hiding.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the courtyard, unnatural and heavy. The second robed figure raised a hand, and Kael was suddenly thrown backward by an invisible force, crashing into the base of a fallen column.
"Kael!" Alina shouted.
He groaned, trying to push himself up, but the attacker was already moving toward him, dagger in hand.
Alina acted on instinct. She reached into her cloak and grabbed the only thing she had—her small bronze astrolabe.
She had used it for years to map the stars. It wasn't ancient, but—
She didn't think. She placed it into the indentation.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then, the carvings along the slab *glowed.*
A pulse of light rippled outward, and the air itself seemed to *hum.*
The robed figures hesitated, their gazes snapping toward the glowing stone.
Kael used the distraction. With a sharp movement, he kicked out, knocking his attacker off balance before surging to his feet.
Alina stumbled back as the symbols shifted, rotating in a pattern she could barely comprehend. The glow intensified—
And then the ground beneath them *shook.*
The ruins were waking up.
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