Ilys looked at the ruins that she and Kara were about to enter. “Remember what I said: we leave if it becomes very dangerous.”

“You’re being paranoid,” Kara chuckled. “There’s nothing in there that we can’t handle. Maybe a few skeletons or spirits, but that’ll be easy for us.” She saw her sister give her an angry look. “What?”

“Wondering if I have enough discipline to not punch you,” Ilys grumbled, entering the ruins. The large entry hall of the sepulcher had some broken urns and skeletons lying on the stone ground. A large stone altar stood in the middle of the room with old, worn books and broken vials scattered over it.  “That doesn’t bode well.”

Kara looked around the room, using her staff to push some shards away. “Do you think someone is here?”

The Earth Elf female examined the room. “Someone was here.” She pointed at the corridor to the next room. “See? The cobwebs have been torn down. It’s obvious someone was here not that long ago. Is there an artifact or something else in this ruin that would bring a treasure hunter here?”

The other female shrugged as she continued looking around. She looked at the stone walls, seeing carvings of people kneeling to a tall figure. She assumed it had to be one of the Incarnates, but didn’t know which one it could be. “Not that I know of. From what I read, this ruin is considered unexplored because anyone who’s come here never returns.”

“And you’re just mentioning this information to me now?” Ilys snapped, glaring at her sister. “When were you planning on telling me this?”

“It’s not that serious,” Kara insisted. “I’ll exorcise all the spirits I can. We’re a lot stronger than a treasure hunter.”

Ilys shook her head and scoffed in disbelief. “Might I remind you again of what happened last time? We got separated from Dol and Sal. I got a concussion and a broken arm, and we ran into a large group of skeletons.” The thought of it sent a shudder down her spine. She hadn’t been conscious when that happened, but Dolion and Sal told her Kara barely managed to keep up a shield by the time they got to the main chamber. 

Kara rolled her eyes. “But we didn’t die! We’ll be more careful this time. I promise we’ll leave if it’s too much to handle.” 

The two of them walked down the corridor. Ilys walked in front to keep a lookout for traps or if anything or anyone showed up. “Just stay behind me and listen for anything behind us. No telling what we’ll run into.” 

The Snow Elf lit the tip of her staff with her magic to provide some light. She saw more carvings on the wall that were similar to the ones she'd seen in the entry hall. People kneeling and praying to the same being at the center of the wall. That same being holding an orb above himself, but she couldn’t look too closely at the details since they were walking. Her nose twitched a little from the smell of dirt and dust in the thick air. 

The further down into the ruin they went, the denser the air got. Kara felt a little short of breath as they walked through different chambers. Most of them were filled with closed sarcophagi or old stone tables littered with urns. Some roots covered the ceiling, having grown from the cracks, and a few had wrapped around the rusted chandeliers. They entered a chamber filled with more sarcophagi, but this one had a lot of skeletons scattered on the floor. Kara looked down at the floor and saw some glowing liquid next to a table. “Look at this,” she told her sister.

Ilys knelt and dipped her finger in it, bringing it up to close for examination. “Ectoplasm,” she informed. “A powerful spirit must’ve been exorcised not that long ago. Whoever came here must’ve been a mage or priest. Wonder what they were doing here…?” Mages and priests often didn’t go into ruins like this unless they were looking for artifacts or purifying the place of evil or restless spirits. From what she’d seen as a sellsword, they preferred not to go alone into ruins like this unless they had protection from those who could fight without magic. Most of them usually specialized in non-combat magic, and those who did often didn’t use it in closed places like this. 

“Whatever they were doing, they didn’t do anything to stop the mysterious light and noises coming from this ruin,” Kara muttered irritably, walking further ahead. She felt the ground sink a little when she stepped into the next corridor. She gasped as she was yanked back. Large metal spikes appeared from the side walls where she almost walked. She and Ilys watched the spikes slowly retract into their original place, sighing in relief.

Ilys released her sister and stepped over the pressure plate. “You need to be more careful,” she scolded. “Those spikes would’ve taken you out had I not been paying attention.”

“Why would anyone set up traps in a ruin like this?” Kara wondered.

“Ruins like this weren’t created as places to visit back then. They were created either as a tomb for some high-ranking individual. A good number of their riches and guards were buried with them. Or they were used to house a powerful artifact,” Ilys informed her as they kept walking. “Naturally, they want to keep all intruders out. Those who were buried here were enchanted to come back to life if anyone came here. Traps are a sort of backup to them.”

She walked into the next chamber. A gate blocked the way to the next room, and Ilys saw a lever with a puzzle next to it. “I’ll try to solve this, but look around to see if there’s anything to help or give us a clue about the person here or the object that’s causing the noise and lights.”

Kara walked around the room, seeing old tomes scattered on the tables and floor. Rusted candle holders were toppled over with old wax next to them. Nothing of use to help them. She saw more wall carvings of the same being holding the mysterious orb over their head. They must’ve been very important. She thought to herself. She walked back over to her sister, who was still moving the small tiles of the puzzle around. “Can’t you use your powers to crush the gate or something? It’s surrounded by rocks and dirt,” Kara suggested.

The Stone Elf snorted at that as she continued moving the pieces of the puzzle around. “As easy as you make that sound, these ruins were built by Ancient Luxivitans. They often set up traps for all elves who try to use their powers to get further inside. If I try to use my magic to remove this gate, I could accidentally trigger something to make this ruin collapse on us. Why do you think they built these places underground?”

The Snow Elf sighed and continued looking around the room. “When did you learn so much about Ancient Luxivitan architecture? Father Hammond never taught us anything about it.”

“The world doesn’t revolve around Father Hammond and Corny’s teachings,” Ilys told her. “Dol, Sal, and I learned more about it during one of our visits to Ironpool Valley. Their library isn’t large, but most of their books are about the architecture of ancient ruins.”

“Can’t you just surround yourself with heavy rocks to crush the spikes? Surely they’re not that strong if you have heavy rocks surrounding you,” Kara asked.

“I just love how you make things sound so simple,” Ilys quipped. “If I were to just create heavy rocks from the dirt, that’s easy. But to move them underground? When it already costs a lot of energy to move them above ground? No, that’s too draining.” 

The Snow Elf blew a curl away from her face. “I didn’t think stamina was much of an issue for you.”

Ilys rolled her eyes. “And it’s clear you don’t explore ruins like these often. It’s about conserving energy. We don’t know what could be in these ruins. I’m not skilled enough to create magic out of thin air, unlike you. I have to use the earth around me. One wrong move could cause this place to collapse.” She finished the puzzle, and Kara saw it was the same being that had been carved into the walls. Ilys pulled the lever down, and the gate opened. She grinned at her sister. “Good thing I looked at some of the carvings on the wall. Thought whoever those people were worshipping was important.”

“Good job,” Kara complimented and followed her sister down the next corridor. She saw Ilys press herself against the wall and signaled her to do the same.

“Dim the light,” Ilys whispered.

Kara did as she was told, looking around to see what her sister was looking at. “Is someone here?” she asked quietly. 

Ilys pressed her index finger on her lips, signaling Kara to stay quiet. She slowly walked into the next chamber. A small camp area was set up in the corner of the room. A bedroll rested near a circle of stones with burnt wood and ash in the center of it. Not too far from the bedroll was a large brown backpack and books scattered on the floor with empty wine bottles and bowls. She sheathed her dagger and began rummaging through the sack, seeing a few more books and clothes.

“Don’t go through someone else’s stuff!” Kara hissed. “What kind of person camps in a ruin like this?”

“A scholar by the looks of it,” Ilys told her, pulling out one of the books. “I’ve seen this book in Ironpool Valley. It’s all about the ancient ruins in Luxivita. Most of these books are about ancient artifacts and ruins, but that doesn’t explain why a scholar would come to this specific one. Something doesn’t feel right…” She looked at the door to the next room, hearing strange sounds coming from it. It sounded like something was scratching the door, and someone was breathing heavily.

Kara looked at the stone doors and back at her sister in slight fear. “Do you think whoever is here is…doing that?”

Ilys nodded, readying her dagger. “Stay behind me,” she ordered. She lifted her free hand towards the stone doors and focused her powers on them, opening them with her magic. If she kept her focus on them and not the area around them, they wouldn't have to worry about triggering any traps or causing the ruin to collapse. The doors scraped loudly against the floor as they slowly opened.  Once fully opened, Ilys saw scratch marks and blood on them. It was clear that there was someone there. She didn’t see anyone there, and it was too dark to see any further. “Kara, make the light brighter.”

The Snow Elf nodded and bit her lower lip nervously as she cast the spell to brighten the light.

A figure ran towards them, screaming and flailing. It ran into Ilys, making both of them fall to the ground. She grunted, feeling the wind get knocked out of her and dropping her dagger. An emaciated man was on top of her, and his eyes had a wild look to them with their unblinking stare. His bloodied fingertips dug into her arms as he shook her.

“There is no hope! We are doomed! DOOMED!” he screamed. “We’re all gonna die!”

Just as he finished saying that, he pulled out a knife and brought it down to stab her.