Chapter Text
How splendidly fascinating..!
He’d never gone quite this far into the ruins before, and judging from the thick layer of dust accumulated behind the hidden passage he’d very much lucked into finding… neither had anyone else. True, though many had explored the imposing Ruins of Arca many, many times, there were still discoveries (or rediscoveries) just waiting in the crumbling enigmatic structure. Adjusting his glasses, Klug stepped forward, leaving the first footprint in who knew how long on the untrodden stone.
… But for being a hidden passage, it seemed rather… disappointing. Living spaces, by the look of it, but long ago ransacked. Musty splintered wood, many pieces which bore some traces of ornate carvings, may have at one time been impressive pieces of craftsmanship. Honestly, though, even had they been whole, they wouldn’t have caught a great deal of his interest. His focus was on arcane artifacts and books, spell tomes to be exact. He was an aspiring mage, not an anthropology student.
What he really wanted was something, anything to give him an edge. Being at the top of his class meant everything to him… but it was a short fall to the unenviable place of second or, stars forbid, the lowly position of third. For now, Klug was the best within the confines of his school, but… he needed to improve. Ancient magic or enchanted items related to that could only help his chances.
Still, he couldn’t help feeling his stomach sink as he poked around the shattered remains. Everything here had been left in, well, ruins. Perhaps it was for the best he hadn’t found a trace of anything interesting… like the rest, it would probably be in tatters. Disheartened, he sighed, breath kicking up a minor plume of dust that caught in his nostrils, making him sneeze and almost drop the lamp he’d been carrying. Fumbled, but caught. If it shattered, well, he could always use magic to light the way, but expending energy on something so trivial seemed a waste.
Only one door remained, a small but solidly built one that looked to be reinforced by iron banding. Interesting, maybe, but there were many similar ones throughout the ruins. What stood out was the heavy bolt set crudely into the wood. It didn’t match the other corroded metal parts. Sitting slightly askance, it looked to be a more 'recent' addition to the original components. Beside it, a small placard had been hung from a spike driven into the stone itself, looking similarly conspicuous. As much as he tried, though, whatever had been written or painted onto the shabby-looking sign had faded into complete illegibility. At one time, it might have been important, but now… well, it was impossible to tell.
Surely it was nothing dangerous, right? The passage was merely bolted rather than locked, and apart from possible structural damage surely nothing within could be that much of a hazard. Most likely a storehouse, Klug figured, perhaps the remains of a wine cellar or something similar. Taking the rusted bolt, he jerked at the protesting metal, a sickening metallic scraping sound setting his teeth on edge. Hinges creaking like something from a horror novella, the curious academic peeked inside, his green eyes going wide as he inspected this new, shadowy space.
This, this was what Klug had hoped to find! On the floor, an ornately drawn but partially obscured magic circle lay, fractured gemstones placed deliberately at its edges. At its center, unusually, sat a thick, heavy-looking tome. Fascinated, the student knelt down, huffing as he tried to blow away some of the thick dust that had gathered over the old linework. He dared not touch it, unwilling to risk smudging any part of the intricate script.
It took hours to clear away the offending particles, but oh, the effort was worth every moment!.. though, he was loathe to admit the nature of the construct still eluded him. Some elements he could recognize, but… the way they were combined, and interacted with the complicated scriptwork were outside his understanding. It had been, in part, an enchantment of sorts, a potent spell focused solely on that mysterious book. Whatever its purpose, the circle’s use was obviously finished… the cracked stones made that much obvious. The gems had been a vital focus, an aid to channeling the specific energies that the circle depended upon to work. Now, it was a broken circuit and completely inert.
Harmless, in other words.
To go to such trouble to enchant an object, but to simply leave it here, collecting dust behind a barred (but unlocked!) door… why? Though, the Ruins were full of unexplained mysteries, such as how its original inhabitants just seemed to, well, vanish. One unused book infused with arcane energies seemed minor in comparison.
Heavens… it seemed a waste for such a tome to remain here, in the darkness of this hidden storeroom. Something inside him ached to simply touch the thing, to know what the reddish-looking cover felt like. But… had it been left here for a reason? The faded sign implied it, as did the bolt. Still, there was no power in the circle it rested within. Removing the thing wouldn’t trigger any kind of trap or protective spell.
Still careful not to brush the linework, he reached for the abandoned bound treasure, lifting it cleanly from its resting place. As he’d suspected, nothing strange happened. Lips twisting into a self-satisfied smirk, he chuckled softly, feeling silly for even hesitating to pick up the heavy bound object.
… Then, he opened it. Then, he understood.
Leaving it abandoned had been a deliberate act.