The density of monsters grew as Lilith made her way farther into the north, and with the disappearance of the Scar behind her, and the mountain in the far distance, she noticed the groups of demons clustering together. They were pacts of demons with leaders. Every now and then, a fight broke out, one group against another. They were vicious, biting and ripping apart each other's limbs. 

“Is this it?” Lilith asked herself, while checking her surroundings. It was a small temple which stood by itself. There was no hint of any other buildings in sight outside of it. Wiping her brow, she cautiously double checked the building before entering.

A familiar feeling washed over her entire body. Although a comforting feeling, It was as if she walked into a different domain, separated from everything else. It was hard to explain, and to this day, no one has figured out how it works or why the elves of old created these natural barriers. But they have held true for as long as they have and people consider them the safest places around the world.

The barrier ensured the temple stayed in near pristine condition. Being separated from the world, they were the only locations, or at least from what Lilith gathered from entering, that had any type of greenery in the north. The only damage the temple sustained were roots that randomly appeared from the ground and spiraled up as if it was holding up the building. Marble benches lined up to the left and right of the entrance. Some broken, but only slightly. The only two differences between the temples that Lilith knew of, and the one she was in now. Instead of a podium at the end of the walkway, there was a pair of stairs leading down.

The second difference she had never known of was a statue. “Were the Elves always religious?” Lilith asked herself. An enormous statue rested in the back of the room. It was the first time she had ever seen such a figure, be it in books or in person. Lilith was aware of the Elves' worship of nature, but she did not know of their connection to a Goddess. Even as a statue, she seemed otherworldly. Long hair with vines that interweaved with the strands of her hair. Ears identical to an elf alongside… flower earrings on each ear while more vines maneuvered around her body, sprouting flowers. What surprised her even more was the condition it was in. Practically new and seemingly untouched.

“An elf Goddess? Based on nature?” She questioned herself. Even though it was the only thing that made sense. Since there was nothing more she could do but stare, she took out her notebook and wrote what she saw in as detailed as possible. Even drawing a quick sketch, even though it wasn’t the best thing she's ever drawn or ever will. 

After finishing her notes, she went downstairs, and as if it was welcoming someone home, the lights lit up with each step she took. Then, when reaching the bottom of the staircase, the lights scattered in all directions, lighting up all the hallways.

This wasn’t her first time entering Elven ruins, as some people cleaned up the ones south of the Scar and used it as either bases or unique types of inns. It helped to travel to places that weren’t commonly traveled. This one differed from the ones she was used to. Instead of a more open floor plan, it instead had hallway after hallway with doors lined up on each side and resting on the very first door was a note addressed to who Lilith could only assume as herself.

…..

Dear whoever may see this,

Hello, my name is Arthur. I’m an unknown mage headed to the far north. If you’re currently in search of me, then you’ve come to the right place! These ruins are the first place I plan to visit on my journey north and after doing some research, I’ve decided on my next destination. It’s a bit farther to get to compared to these ruins, but it’s by far the safest. Go down the hallway and enter the 4th door on your left. I have left another letter, a map, and a book there to help.

P.S. 

If you have the time, I suggest you go around and see what’s in these doors. There’s a lot to learn and explore.

Arthur

……

When Lilith opened the 4th door mentioned in the letter, she found herself in a library far larger than she expected, filled with books that were in near mint condition. “Did the dwarves not care?” Lilith questioned, but the answer was obvious, considering the only ones who went out were warriors, not scholars.

The several torches and candles resting on the tables lit up the moment she entered, and in the middle of the library sat a table far larger than any‌ other in there. It was empty besides the letter, book, and map Arthur left for her. 

…..

Dear whoever reads this,

Hello, 

It’s Arthur again. 

When I came across the library, the books on display amazed me. Although a lot of them I couldn’t read, since they were in elvish, the ones I could far surpassed anything I could imagine and some of the elvish written books seem to hint at things in the future. The issue is, I can’t read it! So, I took a few of them with me. If I survive and can make it back after all of this, I will find a way to decipher these books, even if I need to beg the elves to help me.

Besides that! Since you don’t need to worry about all of that, the map next to this letter is an updated map of the ones the dwarves had crafted themselves. I’m amazed they never came across this information, but I also doubt they ventured into the library to begin with. The green dot with an arrow is the place I plan to head to next. It’s straight north and, as I mentioned, it will most likely be the safest place available. The other places that are marked are other options, so if you make it to the first one, and there isn’t a letter, then I would suggest trying one of these other spots. That said, I doubt it will come to that since Elven ruins are extremely reliable. 

A fair warning. I plan to map out a path with the safest route possible and if, for some reason, one of the places I pick doesn’t work, there will hopefully be a letter directing you to the next location. Other than that, the pathway to my end goal might be quite obscure and lead you into weird directions, but it should be fine.

Now, as for the book. It’s the only one in common tongue that goes into detail about Elven ruins, or as they mention it in the book, the lost civilization. I would suggest bringing it along on your trip to understand the ruins better, which could help you in the future. I began to read it myself, but I figured it would be wise of me to leave it in the hands of the next person since I’m more than strong enough to stay alive.

P.S.

There is a kitchen I have found in the left hallway from when you enter. It’s the 6th door down. Not everything is edible there, but there are a few things that are worth it.

I shall see you in the next letter!

Arthur

…….

“This man’s pretty confident in his skills and his personality is oozing from the paper.” Lilith was now sitting down at the table with her head resting against the palm of her hand, with the paper lifted slightly with the other. She gave it a small toss to the side and brought her attention to the book in question. A green and brown cover adorned with leaf decorations. One in each corner and the words Elven History written in a gold plaque that rested in the upper middle of the book. 

The library was as quiet as it possibly could be, so when opening the book, every bit of noise echoed throughout the room. The pages had a thicker texture than the ones she was used to, and the ink was as black as the night sky, without a single smudge visible. Everything about the quality of the book screamed upper class, and maybe beyond, yet it was a book that anyone had access to. A book that was sitting in a regular library and a book that anyone else during those times would probably read. In the current world, it was special. It held a lot of information that no one -or at least, most people did not know of. Yet, it seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary for back then.

Lilith skimmed through the book. She planned to read it, but she had a bit too much on her mind currently to do so. “First things first,” she said, closing the book and putting it away alongside the letter and map. “The kitchen.”

The rest of the day was peaceful. Going to the kitchen to grab all the edible food she could and checking out the extra rooms, which led to laboratories, storage rooms, study rooms and more. They were rooms she would love to explore and see more of, but there just wasn’t enough time. Maybe in the future, she told herself when this delivery was over. As long as she prepared herself, then there wouldn’t be an issue. The library, though, intrigued her the most. As Arthur mentioned, there were a lot of books in a language she didn’t understand, and the more she looked, the more she noticed the missing spots where books used to be, meaning they must’ve been the ones he took. 

While skimming the spines of the books, one of them stood out the most to her. Although she couldn’t read it, she could tell it was religious. Or at least, it had similar motifs anyone would expect involving religion. She could only guess that it had a connection to the statue of the Goddess upstairs. “Let’s take this,” she said as she tossed the book into the abyss. 

Laying on the rug, she spread her arms and legs in all directions, staring at the ceiling. “Ah, right,” reaching into her jacket pocket, she took out the notebook. “Tada!” Unbuckling the strap, she sat up, crisscrossed, and took out the pencil she had.

…..

Day 2:

Not much different happened since the first day besides making it to my destination. The Elven ruins turned out to be a religious place! There is even a statue of a goddess sitting there as well. A Goddess I’ve never seen before with elf ears. They seem to have worshiped this Goddess, and I plan to bring back a book which I think is related to her. As for what’s inside, there are a ton of books in the library and it would definitely be a good idea to come back.

I think I might know why there are fewer demons than expected. They aren’t as united as we expected, and since there isn’t an abundance of food, or, well, humans to eat, they’ve turned against each other. Maybe that has always been in their nature? I’m not sure, but they constantly fight with each other.

They also seem to act on instinct more so than anything else and only listen to someone who can bring them together. This could explain why the demons followed the one Lily and Jack told me about.

Anyway, although I didn't do this on day 1, I thought it would be interesting to mention my train of thoughts and feelings outside of what had happened.

I think that we, as a human race, are wasting time not looking into the north. I can see why it can be worrisome if the demons caught onto humans and actually grouped up to attack, but there’s a lot of lost knowledge hiding away here.

Maybe when I come back, I can somehow push people to explore the north a bit. If they can also improve this barrier, then I’m pretty confident the risks would be very minimal, if any. The only worry would be a freak accident.