Magika [Completed]

Chapter 14

It was late afternoon when they arrived at the broken tower. The glow of the setting sun stretched every shadow, transforming the plateau into a dusky mosaic.  The grass bowed to the evening winds and the singing of insects died down. 

Aldeheid eyed the tower up and down, peeped around the side, expecting another monster to jump out and try to eat them. They entered through a gaping hole on its eastern side. Giant slabs of stone littered the grass, some covered with ivy and cracked by weeds.

They picked through the wreckage and emerged in a cavernous circular room. It was illuminated by a shower of sunlight from high above their heads. A thick pillar with steps winding around it stood at the center, and the ground around it was cracked, with bits of foliage peeking through. The walls were smooth and covered in the swirling intricate letters of their ancient tongue.

Aldeheid ran his fingers over the words, his lips moving soundlessly as he read them. "Traverse the realms... Is this a gate?" His eyes followed the writing all the way up the wall to the ceiling.

"It was," Kitaya said, as she surveyed the room. "Never seen one before?"

He shook his head, and she eyed him for a long moment.

"I see. Well, this one is broken, has been for hundreds of years. Its destruction seems deliberate, and its power has been stripped."

Aldeheid hopped from Alvere's back to study the chamber, wondering what it was like before it was destroyed. The amount of power it would take to transcend realms. It must've been incredible. "Kitaya, about that thin space we passed through. Is it anything like this? Like a gate?"

"Hmm." She tucked her hands behind her back and looked up. "No, using a thin space is like walking through an open door. A gate works more like a teleportation spell. Can you summon the box, please?" she asked before he could question her further.

He did as she said, and the object in question thumped down between them a moment later. Only there was something fixed to its top – a folded piece of parchment sealed with golden wax. It was held down by a single pin in one corner.

Kitaya carefully loosed it and turned it over in her hands, studying every inch of its surface.

Meanwhile, Aldeheid was wondering how it got there in the first place. Unless... "Someone else has a key for this?"

"Indeed." She broke the wax seal, and her eyes roamed the page. "You're in luck. We'll be meeting some people who may know where Mellidius is. He may even be with them."

"Truly? When? Who?" he asked her frantically. After such an abysmal start to the day, this good news was refreshing.

"Relax," she said, as she rummaged through the box. "It won't be until we return to earth and there's still no guarantee Mellidius and Shara will be there."

Aldeheid's heart plummeted. She didn't know. He brought his brows together. Of course she didn't know. When he'd gone to her house, she'd said she hadn't seen Mellidius in a long time. "Uh... Kitaya. Shara won't be there." He could feel her eyes burning through him, but he refused to meet her gaze.

"Why would you say that?"

"She died, Kitaya. Some thirty-five years ago. Mellidius didn't return to the Bastion for a long time after it happened. And when he did, it was to say good-bye." Aldeheid couldn't blame his mentor for leaving. A capeless magician was no use to anyone. He himself was the finest example of that.

Kitaya was quiet for a long moment, and when he looked up at her, she seemed to be in shock.

"I'm sorry. This must be a horrible way to find out."