Velkrith appeared at sunset.
No doubt they found it because it was famous and our research Robin has lots of knowledge.
And immediately… nobody liked it.
The town rested beneath enormous dead trees twisting across the sky like giant black claws.
Fog covered nearly everything below knee level while crooked buildings leaned toward each other across narrow stone streets.
No laughter.
No merchants shouting.
No children running around.
Just silence.
And eyes.
People watched the Red Threads from windows without speaking.
Deep slowly walked closer toward Dhruv.
“…I feel spiritually unwelcome.”
“You say that everywhere,” Deepika replied.
“Yeah, but this place agrees with me.”
Robin quietly observed the town while holding Disar’s route map beneath her coat.
“This used to be an old hunter settlement.”
Deep glanced around.
“What happened?”
Robin’s expression stayed calm.
“Nobody knows exactly.”
“That’s comforting.”
Dhruv looked toward the enormous dead trees surrounding the town.
Even the wind sounded strange here.
Low.
Almost whispering.
The squad continued deeper through Velkrith carefully.
Wooden signs swung slowly overhead while messenger birds completely avoided the skies above the town.
That felt wrong too.
Deepika suddenly stopped walking.
Everybody looked toward her.
She narrowed her eyes toward the road ahead.
“…We’re being followed.”
Deep immediately panicked.
“BY WHO?”
“Quiet.”
Robin glanced subtly toward one of the rooftops.
Movement.
Gone instantly.
Hunter.
Maybe multiple.
Dhruv rested one hand against Veyra.
“Keep moving.”
Nobody argued.
Night fell quickly inside Velkrith.
The squad eventually rented two small rooms inside an old inn near the edge of town.
The innkeeper looked terrified the entire time.
Not hostile.
Scared.
Like he wanted them gone before something noticed them.
Deep placed both hands on the counter dramatically.
“You know, your town’s atmosphere is deeply concerning.”
The innkeeper whispered immediately:
“Don’t stay outside after midnight.”
Deep blinked.
“…That’s the worst sentence possible.”
The old man refused to explain further.
Robin noticed something before anybody else.
His hands were shaking.
Badly.
Deepika spread several maps across the room upstairs later that night.
A small lantern glowed between them while rain tapped softly against the windows.
Dhruv leaned over the table.
“So where’s Grandpa’s location?”
Deepika pointed toward the southern edge of Velkrith.
“Here.”
Robin frowned slightly.
“That’s outside the town walls.”
Deep leaned back in his chair dramatically.
“Of course it is.”
“Can we ever find clues in normal places?”
“No,” everybody answered together.
Fair enough.
Robin carefully unfolded Harun’s original map beside Disar’s route markings.
Then her eyes sharpened.
“…Wait.”
Dhruv looked toward her immediately.
“What?”
Robin pointed toward overlapping symbols near the marked location.
Three circles.
One line crossing downward.
Ancient hunter language again.
Deep sighed loudly.
“I hate ancient people.”
Robin ignored him.
“It says…”
Her fingers traced the faded markings slowly.
“…’the house beneath the earth.'”
Silence.
Deep looked exhausted already.
“That sounds unbelievably cursed.”
Deepika adjusted the compass near the maps.
“Coordinates match the southern ruins.”
Dhruv looked between both girls.
“So we go tomorrow morning?”
Robin shook her head immediately.
“No.”
Everybody looked toward her.
Robin’s expression grew more focused now.
“The route markings only align tonight.”
Deep blinked.
“…What does that mean?”
Robin stood and walked toward the window.
Outside, fog drifted slowly through Velkrith beneath pale moonlight.
“The symbols correspond with moon positioning.”
Deep stared blankly.
“You are terrifyingly smart.”
Robin ignored that too.
Deepika crossed her arms thoughtfully.
“If she’s right… then waiting means losing the entrance.”
Dhruv immediately stood.
“Then we move tonight.”
Velkrith after midnight felt dead.
Not quiet.
Dead.
The streets emptied completely while thick fog swallowed the roads beneath silver moonlight.
The Red Threads moved carefully through the southern ruins beyond town walls.
Old stone structures rested broken beneath giant dead trees while cracked statues stared upward toward the sky.
Robin walked at the front now beside Deepika.
Researcher and navigator.
Perfect combination.
Robin translated symbols.
Deepika guided direction.
Neither interrupted the other.
Dhruv noticed that.
Actually… the entire squad had started moving together more naturally lately.
Like real hunters.
Deep whispered quietly while adjusting one of his gadgets.
“If ghosts appear, I’m blaming all of you.”
“Noted,” Dhruv replied.
Robin suddenly stopped.
Everybody froze.
Ahead of them stood an old ruined house half-buried beneath tree roots and collapsed stone.
Small.
Rotting.
Ancient.
And directly above the doorway… the same symbol.
Three curved lines crossing one circle.
Dhruv stepped closer slowly.
“This place?”
Robin nodded.
“The markings match.”
Deepika studied the surrounding terrain carefully.
“No footprints.”
Deep sighed with relief.
“Great.”
“So nobody died here recently.”
Then—
CLICK.
Everybody froze.
Deep slowly looked downward.
“…Why did the ground just click?”
BOOM.
The earth exploded beneath them.
Hidden traps.
Stone spikes shot upward from the ruins while massive chains burst from underground walls.
The Red Threads scattered instantly.
Dhruv grabbed Robin and vanished invisible just before spikes tore through the ground beneath them.
Deep screamed while accidentally activating two gadgets simultaneously.
EXPLOSION.
Smoke blasted through the ruins.
“WHY ARE THERE ALWAYS TRAPS?!”
The chains whipped violently through the fog.
Ancient hunter defenses.
Still active.
Robin reappeared beside Dhruv breathing sharply.
“Don’t touch the marked stones!”
Deepika immediately noticed the pattern.
“The symbols trigger pressure traps.”
Deep shouted from behind broken rubble:
“WHY WOULD PEOPLE BUILD THIS?!”
Robin answered calmly:
“To keep hunters out.”
Fair point.
Deepika moved fast now.
Precise.
Navigator instincts.
She observed the terrain carefully while avoiding marked stones across the ruins.
“LEFT SIDE.”
“Safe route.”
Dhruv followed instantly.
Robin too.
Deep tried copying them and immediately stepped wrong again.
CLICK.
“…I hate archaeology.”
A giant blade swung from the ceiling ruins toward him.
Dhruv disappeared instantly and yanked Deep backward before impact.
The blade smashed through stone where Deep stood moments earlier.
Deep stared silently.
“…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Robin suddenly crouched near the buried doorway.
Her eyes narrowed toward faded symbols carved beneath the roots.
Different language.
Older.
She touched the markings carefully.
Deepika guarded beside her immediately while scanning the fog around them.
“Can you read it?”
Robin stayed quiet for several seconds.
Then slowly smiled.
Small smile.
Rare smile.
“I can.”
Everybody immediately gathered around her.
Robin brushed dirt away from the ancient writing.
Then read aloud softly:
«”When kings buried truth beneath the earth… only those who sought the journey instead of the crown could enter.”»
Silence.
The words echoed strangely through the ruins.
Dhruv looked toward the buried doorway.
Grandpa definitely found this place.
Robin continued studying the symbols.
“There’s a response mechanism.”
Deep sighed.
“Of course there is.”
Robin ignored him.
Then carefully reached forward and wrote beneath the ancient text using loose stone dust against the floor.
One sentence.
Simple.
The moment she finished—
RUMBLE.
The entire ruin shook violently.
Deep immediately panicked.
“WHY DOES EVERYTHING EXPLODE AFTER SHE READS SOMETHING?!”
The buried doorway slowly split apart beneath the roots.
Stone groaned loudly while ancient mechanisms awakened underground after decades of silence.
Then— darkness opened beneath the earth.
A hidden staircase descending deep underground.
Cold air rose from below carrying dust and something older than the town itself.
The squad stared silently downward.
Dhruv slowly smiled.
“We found it.”
The lantern light flickered softly across the underground entrance.
And somewhere beneath Velkrith… the secrets of the Seven Stones waited in the dark.
END OF CHAPTER 24