The space within expanded forth, the shining gold pillars reflecting the glowing orb’s light well enough to cast the entire space in subtle hues. How much would all of it be worth back home, even if they were only plated? Aside from that wealth, there wasn’t much to speak of, save for a single stone altar with three indentations held within.
It was set before a wall covered in murals depicting armies facing raining fire, of soldiers being cut down by shadows like the one they just fought. Moreover, an angelic being hovered over the spreading carnage as if in judgment of their battle. Yet, the closer she looked, the more she realized that the wall wasn’t just part of the structure, but seemed as though it might be another door.
“Well, if that isn’t sealing away some great evil I’ll eat my bracers,” Bria said.
Neth-amii stepped forward, stopping before the altar. “There’s inscriptions. The Old Tongue, the language is not one I am able to translate.”
“Again, not giving me the best vibes here,” Bria reiterated. “This reminds me too much of the plot of that game I mentioned, where the hero had to defeat a sealed evil.”
“Why try to defeat an evil sealed away?” Neth-amii asked, though her focus was still on the inscriptions. “Would it not be better to simply leave it be?”
Bria shook her head. “All that does is leave it for a future generation to deal with. What if the seal fails and the world ends because nobody could stop it? The heroes of that story stood firm against evil so that their children could live in peace.”
“Noble,” Neth-amii said. “Do you think of yourself as such a hero?”
That question had Bria laughing out loud, the sound almost startling her. “Heavens no. I’m just some random person who fell through a hole in the world. There’s nothing chosen about me. Those heroes were fated to fight evil, I’m just some guy from an island in the middle of nowhere.”
“If not us, then who?” Neth-amii asked. “I’m not saying it needs to be us, mind you, I’m just presenting the other side of the argument. We don’t even know if that is the case here. We will need visit Brookvale’s archives to investigate these inscriptions. Give me a few moments to copy them down then we shall return to the surface before planning our next steps.”
“Sure,” Bria said, stepping off to the side.
The room was as boring as could be. She had little interest in the gold along the walls, and Neth-amii was dealing with the only thing of note. Or so she thought. The stone door loomed large, and despite the great mural that stood the test of time, she could see the remnants of something else carved in the corner of the door.
“Neth, when you’re done over there come check this out,” she said.
“Sure, almost got it all,” Neth-amii said, closing her leather journal. “There, that’s all of it. I just hope my shoddy handwriting doesn’t mess with the translation later.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Bria said, pointing at the wall. “See this here? Someone carved something.”
Neth-amii squatted beside Bria, a bit closer than she was expecting. “It appears to be some form of drawing? It’s so faded that I can’t quite make it out. There’s words too, but again, they’re so faded I can’t even begin to guess what lines belong where.”
“Probably a warning of that impending doom,” Bria teased.
Neth-amii swatted her shoulder. “Do not curse us, Bria, not unless you wish to be the hero of your own story.”
“Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad,” Bria mused, not actually considering it. “You’d have to come with, of course. Can’t have a hero without their sidekick mage after all.”
The second swat came far more forcefully than the first, enough to actually inflict a single point of damage. Bria rubbed the mark with a pout, then channeled a [Heal] just to be dramatic. Mana recovered slowly, but she had noticed that a single point came back every half hour or so.
Neth-amii rolled her eyes, then stood. “Come now, before you gain further delusions.”
Laughing, Bria joined her, leaving the mysterious room behind. The journey back was largely uneventful, save for a single lone Green Slime that she managed to defeat with a simple kick. The ding in her mind let her know just how far she had come since arriving, and it had only been a single day.
When they finally reached the surface, Bria was thankful to see it was dark out. Sunlight might have actually blinded her after such an extended time down in the depths. The sky was crisp and clear, with the stars on full display, but that wasn’t what had her staring in awe. No, that would be the planet hanging in the night sky with a great ring orbiting its center.
Well, if Bria needed a reminder that she wasn’t on Earth anymore, that would certainly do it. She stood there, just staring up at the vista for far longer than she would like to admit, but there was nothing quite like it. Maybe, if she could return, a camera might be part of her kit. If nothing else, there was probably an author who would use it for a cover image.
“What now?” Bria asked after a long moment.
“Sleep,” Neth-amii said easily. “I have a spare bedroll you can borrow for the night, then we shall determine our next course of action. If we are to venture to Brookvale, I’ll need to assemble travel supplies. That will take a few days, so perhaps you could return home and let your family know you are alive.”
Just the thought of returning home nearly shook her, but she wasn’t sure why. The implication of those words was that Neth-amii would wait for her to return. There was no indication of sealing the portal as she had suggested before, so why did the thought shake her so deeply?
“Why does fear grip your heart?”
Bria started, jumping in place at the sudden question. Worse, Neth-amii had moved close. Too close. Those purple eyes seemingly gazed through her, as though they could behold the truth that laid hidden underneath. Or something like that. Bria had never been the best with words, but there was something about the woman that had her waxing poetic.
“I know I insisted earlier on your return, but I had spoken rashly,” Neth-amii continued softly, her voice barely above a whisper as she pulled Bria into a gentle hug. “You began to remind me of myself when I was younger. It led to a change of heart.”
“Then, you’re not closing the portal behind me?” Bria asked.
“I’d need you to surrender the amulet first,” Neth-amii said. “Something I won’t be asking any longer. You are free to come and go as you please.”
“Not quite,” Bria said, letting out a sigh. “The amulet didn’t belong to me. I took it as part of a show for some tourists, er, guests, on the island. I had permission to use it in the show, but not to run off to another world with it.”
“You believe they will take it back?”
A mute nod followed. Mister Ruiz would be furious over everything, and Bria very much doubted that Boris and Nikolai would be friendly after stealing from their employer. Even if she played up that it had been an accident and returned the amulet, the damage was already done.
“Could you return with me?” Bria asked. “It would lend weight to my story, if nothing else. I’m just afraid they’ll take it and I’ll be stuck there forever.”
Humming, Neth-amii tapped her chin. “We certainly cannot be having that. Unfortunately, that amulet is bound to you. You cut yourself at some point, smearing your blood across it. I cannot use it any more than another might. I’ll be needing my own amulet if I am to return with you in the future. Hopefully there is one available in Brookvale’s archives.”
Relief crashed into her. She had a reason for Mister Ruiz to keep her close. If he wanted to learn more about the ruins, and what laid beyond them, then he would have to work with her. With that bit of good news, Bria felt the fight leave her in full. Her legs wobbled as she struggled to remain upright, and was vaguely aware as Neth-amii helped steady her.
“Rest,” the Shrine Priestess said. “You can shoulder these burdens another day.”
Closing her eyes, Bria let herself drift off, knowing that she was in good hands.
***
The following day came all too soon as the light of the sun pierced the window. Bria rolled over, grumbling, but knew that she was awake. She tried to ignore the faint smell wafting from the fireplace, but it was alluring and she hadn’t eaten dinner.
Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she rolled back over. Neth-amii sat beside the fire with a large skillet, stirring around something close to potatoes and onions. Bria’s stomach chose that moment to announce herself, which set her cheeks ablaze when Neth-amii laughed.
“Welcome back, you slept half the day away.”
“I must have needed it then,” Bria said, pulling herself up. She wasn’t used to sleeping on the ground, but there was something about it that she found pleasant. Not enough to give up a proper bed for good, but the appeal was there. “What’s that you’re cooking?”
“Potatoes and onions, with a bit of carrot mixed in,” Neth-amii said. “I do believe one of these originated from your realm, though history disagrees on which one.”
“We have all three,” Bria said, moving beside the Priestess who passed her a kettle from the flame. “Thanks.”
Tea was poured and the pair settled in to eat. It was nice, and Bria knew it would be the last moments she would get with her new friend for a few days, if not longer. She didn’t want it to end, but there wasn’t much point sitting around with her if she could return home and get supplies there.
The problem was money. Bria didn’t have much saved up, but she also didn’t want to ask Neth-amii if she had some spare gold or silver lying around that she could sell back on earth. No, Bria would just need to hope that Mister Ruiz would be willing to help out with supplies in exchange for learning about what awaited on the other side.
He would likely want his own amulet in time, which complicated any plan for Neth-amii to return with her in the future. Well, that was something to be dealt with at a later point. For now, Bria needed to deal with the immediate problems.
“Is there anything I should bring back with me?” Bria asked.
“Dried foods would be appreciated, or anything that will keep as we travel,” Neth-amii said. “I’ll try and hunt something edible and smoke it while you’re gone.”
“Canned food then,” Bria said with a nod. “My world has a lot of food preservation techniques that might surprise you.”
“Runic magic can preserve foods, but those enchantments work best when stationary. My own larder has several that keep the food within from spoiling.”
Another interesting bit of magic that she would need to study eventually, because that sounded exceptionally useful. “What about water?”
“We can summon that with magic,” Neth-amii said, forming an orb of liquid above her hand. “Summoned elements do degrade over time, but water is safe enough to drink for even an extended duration.”
“Noted,” Bria said. “I’ll see about finding more gear while I’m at it.”
“Good idea,” Neth-amii said, hesitating for a moment. “It’s been good. Meeting you, that is. I’ve not had a visitor worth mentioning in over a year, and I apologize again for the hostility I showed you when you first woke.”
“It’s cool, you were rightfully wary of me after all.”
“Right,” Neth-amii said, fidgeting slightly. “Be safe, over there. From what I’ve read there’s no mana, which means no recovering what you use, and no leveling.”
“There’s no monsters either,” Bria said, hiding the discomfort she felt at the thought. “At least, none that I’ve ever seen.”
Which might have changed following the activation of the portal for all she knew. There was a chance that she would be returning to a destroyed village and no parents. It was what happened in the game, after all.
Speaking of the portal, it was right across the room from her now, the magic flaring to life as she approached. Neth-amii was right at her side, a small bee perched on her shoulder. She took Bria’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“I’ll see you in three days,” Bria said. “At least, that is my hope.”
“Three days,” Neth-amii agreed. “Be safe, and fruitful travels.”
Stepping up to the portal, Bria gave her new friend one last glance. “Thank you, for giving me this chance.”
“Always,” Neth-amii said. “Women simply must look out for one another.”
Nodding, Bria stepped through just as what was said registered. Back on the other side, it was once again dark out. Time didn’t seem to be quite so even between the two worlds, but the true shift remained to be seen. Regardless, Bria had three days to get things straightened out back home before she left on what promised to be a proper adventure.
It also gave her three days to figure out why Neth-amii had said that women needed to look after one another. It wasn’t as though Bria was a woman…
Right?