Ancient Ruins

Asa walks down an empty hall. Chairs are stacked against the walls and cobwebs hang from the ceiling. The tiles beneath his feet are scuffed and cracked. This base has been abandoned for at least 20 years. Why did Commander Deshpande call him here of all places? He stops in front of a door with a sign next to it.

103 Conference Room. This is the place. He takes a deep breath and twists the knob.

Inside, Commander Deshpande sits, backlit by a smart screen. He’s an older man, probably in his 50s. His strong, grey eyes are topped by thick, salt and pepper eyebrows that seem to amplify his jet black hair.

He has a strong jaw with a well kept beard. Deep wrinkles crease his dark skin, only adding to his strongly masculine air. He’s wearing the Defence Commander uniform, navy blue and in pristine condition. Asa can’t tell from this distance, but if he had to guess, he’d say he smells like wood and tobacco with a subtle hint of cologne.

His secretary stands beside him - a tall man with thick, black-rimmed glasses and a stern, clean-shaven face. He doesn’t seem angry or annoyed, just serious, like a man who understands the gravity of his position. His brown hair is styled into a small, professional quiff and his arms are folded stiffly behind his back.

They’re doing their best to hide it but both seem on edge. The commander sits on a folding chair and his interlaced fingers rest on a white folding table. These surroundings heavily contrast his office with its craftsman made hardwood furniture and fancy, embroidered curtains (complete with pleated swags).

From the very second Asa enters the room, the commander’s eyes are on him. His gaze is dignified and resolute, made with calculated purpose and absolute confidence. There’s no doubt that wherever he looks, he does so intentionally. Asa can’t imagine he’s the sort of man who makes mistakes. The commander peers at him from under the brim of his hat, solid but not intimidating.

Something about his piercing gaze is comforting, like the feeling of being around an old friend. How charismatic, Asa thought, I have to be careful to not say something too familiar.

The commander doesn’t seem like a mean-spirited man, but Asa’s nerves are still frayed. He had only just graduated defender training a few weeks ago and was already being called to a meeting with a commander - a secret meeting, no less. The fact that he seems friendly might actually put Asa more on edge, because it hides an intensity lurking just under the surface.

“You’re here.” Commander Deshpade states, dryly. His weathered voice makes Asa’s heart skip. He’s not sure whether it’s from anxiety or from admiration of this charismatic superior officer with a ton of experience and wisdom. Maybe it’s both.

“Please, take a seat.” He offers hospitably. Asa pulls out one of the folding chairs and winces when its pads rub the floor and produce a shrill squeak. He sits.

“I’m sure this isn’t the sort of setting you were expecting. Litora has been bugging the buildings that are currently in use, and we cannot afford the information I’m going to tell you now to fall into their possession. The mission I’m giving you is urgent, so I’m going to keep the formalities light.”

I’m being set on a mission urgent enough that a commander meets with me personally and it involves Litora? Asa thinks to himself.

The secretary opens a map of the Sand Belt on the smart screen. He zooms in on a section of grassland and then zooms in further to focus on a tiny village called Soleeh. The commander continues.

“This is Soleeh. It’s a secretive community of descendants from the ancient peoples. They get their resources from cities on the outskirts of Litora but otherwise avoid outsiders. We have intel indicating that an important object may be stored in the ancient ruins within the village.”

“We want you to go there, alone, and steal it.” Asa’s eyes widen.

“We have no record of anyone with your ability and, as far as we know, you’re the only one who can get into the ruins without leaving evidence that you were there. I didn’t want to send someone so inexperienced, but we couldn’t find any other options.”

“We’ll send the route to your tablet and walk you through it. It goes through the areas with the least likelihood of surveillance. We’ll also give you supplies and the funds for travel, of course. Litora’s airports are heavily monitored, so you’ll have to do a lot of it on foot or by personal vehicle.”

“You are to hide the fact that you’re military and, under no circumstances, will you tell anyone why you’re there. We’ll give you a backstory and I expect you to memorize it.”

“May I speak, sir?” Asa sheepishly interjects.

The commander gives a curt nod. “Yes.”

“What is this object? And why do I have to go alone?”

“An outsider going to Solleh by his own choice will be suspicious enough by itself, but one traveler would draw a lot less attention than a couple of travelers. It’s easier to dismiss one guy as some crazy person than it is two.” He pauses. “As for the object, I can’t tell you. In the case that you’re captured, we can’t risk you leaking information.”

The commander’s face is grim. Such a young and inexperienced defender getting tortured and/or killed on a mission like this isn’t only a possibility, but it’s likely. As much as he doesn’t like it, there’s simply no other way for them to stay under the radar.

Asa’s stomach flips when he realizes the commander’s implication. After the meeting, his mind is buzzing. This is way more serious than what I expected for a first mission. Since we’re at peace, I thought I’d just get some safe and easy work and also get access to cool military technology.

His heart starts to flutter. But, I had been hoping to go on an adventure, too!

However, this mission also poses some concerns. He had known that Inizio and Litora had a strained relationship ever since Dogukan took over as Litora’s chancellor.

His father, Chancellor Murat Aslan, hadn’t been a great dude, but he understood that not being at war benefitted his people and his leadership had allowed for a time of peace between the two nations. Dogukan, on the other hand, was both a megalomaniac and a complete loose cannon.

All members of the country’s cabinet were to be appointed by him and him alone. This had been the norm in Litora for a few generations now (politicians used to be elected), but that didn’t explain why he had turned Litora into a surveillance state.

The government had installed cameras in nearly every city and monitored everyone who came through them. An undercover mission in a surveillance state… This is going to be rough.

☼

Asa opens his eyes early in the morning. Defender training taught him precise control over his internal clock and when he wakes up. Before going to sleep, he sets a time in his head and awakens at that time without fail. For today, he chose a time just a bit before sunrise.

Baaya, who rises early, is still sleeping. She snores away in her cot, layered with quilts and with one socked foot sticking out from the covers.

It’s only morning to Baaya once she’s woken up, so I guess it’s fine for me to stay a little longer. He thinks to himself with an opportunistic smile.

Blankets fall aside as he slowly rises from his spot on the floor. He grabs his bag as quietly as possible and sticks Mimo in it (without turning him on) then tiptoes to the exit, careful not to cause the worn floorboards to squeak. As he closes the door behind him, he glances at the wadded nest he made on the floor.

He feels bad for making Baaya fold his blankets after she was kind enough to let him stay, but there’s something much more important he has to do, something he can’t risk waking her for.

Asa silently thanks the old woman, then heads deeper into Soleeh.

Grass crunches under his feet. He walks at a pace that’s brisk, but subdued enough not to stir any of the villagers. He admires the view of the village, taking in the cozy homes and peaceful landscape like it’s his last chance to do so. There’s a large possibility that it is. He passes by a large stone platform, about 5 feet tall and 10 feet wide.

It’s in the center of the town square and is probably a stage to make announcements to the community. After walking for about 15 minutes, the sun is starting to rise. The ruins gradually come into view.

A young woman blocks the entrance. She has long, blue hair and wears an ankle length dress with gold armlets and a jeweled diadem on her brow. Her face is stern and she seems like someone important.

As Asa gets closer, she stands firm as a wall, eyeing him down. He sheepishly approaches her. “Hello, ma’am. Who might you be?”

“I am Afra.” she states, with an imposing sense of authority about her. “I am the priestess that guards this place. I have lived here my entire life, and this is my sacred duty. The better question is who are you?”

Asa is once again feeling like an intruder. It seems he overstepped. “I’m Niklaus. I need to enter those ruins.”

“And why should I allow that?”

“The item in there, it’s very dangerous…”

She cuts him off. “I’m aware. That’s why I don’t let anyone in, especially not a stranger.”

“I understand why you don’t trust me, but the item needs to be placed under special protection. If it’s left here, someone much worse will come and take it by force.”

Her eyes widen a touch, then return to their normal icy gaze, narrowing with skepticism. “Who would that be?”

He looks conflicted. “I… shouldn’t tell you that… I’ve already told you too much.”

“If you can’t tell me that, then there’s no reason I should let you in.” She crosses her arms. She’s clearly getting heated.

“I’m…” He hesitates. “I’m supposed to be on a secret mission. I wasn’t supposed to tell you anything.”

“Then why did you? What kind of ‘secret mission’ is this if you were just going to tell me about it? Your story isn’t adding up.”

“...”

“Anyways, even if your story did make sense, I’m the only one who can open this door. Ultimately, what you want doesn’t matter, because if I don’t want to let you in, you won’t be let in.” She gestures to the switch, a glass orb protruding from the stone. There’s some kind of decorative holder at its base, chiseled with ancient designs. The orb has microchip-like grooves weaving beneath its surface.

Asa places his hand on the switch. “What? That won’t do anythi…” Glowing tendrils travel down his arm and into his hand, making contact with the orb. They resemble roots, veins, or maybe cracks – running through his body like it’s broken china. Light emerges from the switch.

The stone doors rumble as they scrape along the ground. Dust and sand particles fall from its frame, sprinkling down to the ground and joining the dirt gathered at its base.

Afra stares at Asa’s hand, genuinely stunned. “How… How did you…? Only descendants of the priestesses can do that!”

“It was my job to steal it from you, but I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to give you a choice.”

Her eyes meet his. “Who are you?”

“I can’t tell you that.” His tone is somewhat regretful. He would’ve liked to learn more about Afra, and maybe his ability too, but he can’t tell her any more than he already has.

She sits silently for a moment, still gawking. After a few seconds, she regains her bearings. “I guess… If you’re a descendant of a priestess, I can allow you to see it.”

He relaxes, unable to suppress a relieved smile. Afra hesitantly approaches the door, then enters. She glances at Asa over her shoulder. “Follow me. I can help you make it there safely.”

“Alright.” His voice has taken on a happier tone, one with a slight giddiness.

“Do not stray from me. I don’t want to have your death on my conscience.” She warns as she strolls down the musty, dark corridor. Tealish-green lamps light the way, but only dimly. Whatever electrical system is powering them must be old and corroding.

“No problem! This isn’t the first time I’ve been in ancient ruins and it probably won’t be the last either.” He follows her, walking in a manner just as casual. He isn’t deterred by the eerie atmosphere in the slightest.

“You are a priestess, aren’t you? You’re too nonchalant about this to be a normal person.”

He can’t help but flush awkwardly in response to being called a priestess. “I don’t want to tell you anything else about myself, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to tell you I’m not.”

“Oh, sorry. A priest is the male version, right? In my village, only girls can use this ability, so I got used to saying ‘priestess’. Is it different on the outside?”

“I wouldn’t really know that, because I’m not a priest either. I just like to explore ruins in my free time – have ever since I was little.” His voice carries a strange note of pride, considering that it’s not the sort of thing people would generally think of as an accomplishment.

“No way!” She cries, exasperated. “How were you able to open the door then? I’m going to go crazy trying to figure this out…”

“Maybe I can tell you someday, when the threat is gone.”

“I want to ask what the threat is, but you probably can’t tell me that either…”

“I don’t know what it is for certain, but I have a suspicion about what it might be. And yes, it’d be unwise to tell you.”

“Man…” She deflates, slouching a little. “I wonder if this is some kind of test.” She mutters. Her eyebrows knit together in a frustrated arc.

For a priestess, she’s pretty childlike, thinks Asa.

A few more minutes pass before they arrive at a ledge. Past that point, all that can be seen is a long, empty abyss. The two look down into it in awe and reverence. Who knows what’s down there. If one of them fell in, they’d probably never be found…

Asa suddenly feels something cold slither up his leg. “Ah!” he yelps, jumping backwards.

Afra turns to him in concern. “What’s wrong?”

Asa glances around. Nothing has changed, and the cold feeling is long gone. I must’ve just been freaked out by the long drop. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He answers, pulling himself together.

“Alright, then.” She says, transitioning back to the situation at hand. “This is the dangerous thing I warned you about.”

“How are we supposed to get across? I don’t even see the other side.”

She smiles. “There is a way.” She then holds her foot out over the pit, and steps forward.

“Hey!” Asa yells. His arm shoots forward, reaching out to grab her, but… she isn’t falling.

Some sort of small forcefield has materialized beneath her foot, the same color as the lamps they saw earlier. She looks behind her, smiling widely. “Pretty cool, huh? The forcefield only triggers for a priestess. Everyone else will fall right down.”

Asa stammers a bit, completely dumbfounded as his brain struggles to catch up. He gets his mind to slow by crouching down and examining the strange forcefield. “I’ve never seen this kind of trap before!”

“The other ones didn’t have it?” Afra asks, interest peaked.

“No! I’ve seen spikes, trapdoors, arrows… but not this! This is a new one!”

“Huh!” She responds, skipping forward a few steps then turning around. “The outside world sounds interesting!”

“Hmm… Do you think I could… you know?”

“That’s what I was thinking. Go ahead and try it, but don’t put too much weight into your step. Just in case.”

Asa gingerly touches a toe into the blackness and small waves of light ripple through the forcefield like a raindrop in a puddle. His eyes light up. “It’s responding to me.”

He places the rest of his weight onto the outstretched foot and the forcefield grows to accommodate. He’s standing above the abyss very securely. The field is as solid as the floor itself. He takes a few cautious steps forward, then joins Afra’s side.

“Shall we go?” She asks.

“Yeah.” He answers.

The two continue forward. It’s pretty daunting to walk into stark black with no way to see their goal and the only lights being the ones beneath their feet. Asa stays close to Afra, who isn’t phased at all. She looks straight ahead, making confident strides as if she’s done this a million times before.

The pit continues on and on. Soon, the platform they came from is no longer visible and there’s nothing but the empty, silent void. With Afra so focused on navigating the dark, conversation has grown sparse and Asa can’t help but look down.

There isn’t much to see. The only lightsource is the one that’s pooling underneath his boots, and that doesn’t do much. Still, he can make something out.

The dim light reflects off of a surface, forming a green line. Then, another. And another.

More and more green lines appear, a consistent presence as they walk along. They’re in rows that are placed one after the other, row after row after row. That’s when it hits him.

Spikes. There’s a bed of spikes below them. A shiver runs through his body. “I hope this place’s power system doesn’t fail.”

Afra’s silent for a second, processing his implication. “You know, I haven’t thought about that before.” She says, dryly.

The priestess of these ruins hasn’t considered that? He thinks, feeling more unnerved than before.

While Asa was looking down, he hadn’t noticed something coming into view in front of them. A room, lit with the same greenish-teal. He blinks a few times as his eyes adjust.

It’s small and sparse, practically empty. All the room contains is a person-sized capsule that’s the sole source of light. It’s on some kind of ridged platform that’s about four feet in height, and it extends into the ceiling.

Afra plants one foot on the engraved stone tiles, body rigid and movements awkward. She eyes Asa, patiently waiting for him to make it off the forcefield.

He places one foot on the stone, then another. He’s much more delicate than Afra, but still wobbles a bit once on solid ground. He looks up at the capsule…