Chapter 11 Chapter 11
The future wasn’t simply changing anymore, someone was changing it.
Beside him, Gareth scratched his beard.
“I don’t like this.”
Kael nodded.
For once, they completely agreed.
The old hunter pointed toward the footprint. “You think whoever left this is still here?”
“Maybe.”
“Wonderful.” Gareth sounded deeply unhappy. "I was hoping this place would only contain monsters."
Kael glanced at him. "Only monsters?"
"And maybe an ancient death trap or two."
"That sounds worse."
"At least monsters make sense."
Before Kael could answer, a scream echoed through the corridor.
Both men froze.
The voice bounced off the ancient stone walls.
“HELP!”
Silence followed, then another shout arrived.
“IF SOMEONE IS OUT THERE, I’D LIKE TO INFORM YOU THAT I’M CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A MINOR PROBLEM!”
Kael blinked.
“What kind of person describes screaming for help as a minor problem?” Gareth asked.
The voice returned.
“I HEARD THAT!”
The old hunter frowned. “He’s surprisingly loud.”
The voice sounded offended.
“I’M UPSIDE DOWN!”
Kael exchanged a glance with Gareth. Then both headed toward the shouting.
The deeper they traveled into the ruin, the stranger the situation became.
The voice never stopped talking.
Sometimes it complained, sometimes it argued with itself. Sometimes it seemed to forget nobody had answered.
“I’D LIKE EVERYONE TO KNOW THIS ISN’T MY FAULT!” A pause followed, then the same voice added. “I’M MOSTLY CERTAIN IT ISN’T MY FAULT!”
Kael was already developing a headache.
Several minutes later they entered a circular chamber.
Then they stopped.
A teenage boy hung upside down from the ceiling. A thick rope wrapped around one ankle while ancient mechanisms protruded from the walls around him.
The boy swung gently back and forth.
His brown hair hung toward the floor, his face was red.
His expression was annoyed. The moment he spotted them, his eyes lit up.
“Oh, thank the gods.”
Kael stared and Gareth stared as well.
The boy smiled.
“Can you help me down?”
Kael folded his arms.
“You triggered the trap.”
“It attacked me.”
“You stepped on it.”
“It started the fight.”
Kael immediately regretted meeting him.
Beside him, Gareth nodded.
“Leave him there.”
The boy’s smile vanished. “What?”
"I vote we leave."
Adrian looked horrified.
"You can't vote on that."
"I just did."
"That's not how voting works."
Gareth shrugged. "Seems to be working fine."
The teenager looked horrified.
Kael rubbed his forehead. This conversation had lasted less than thirty seconds and already he was tired.
“What were you doing here?” Kael asked.
The boy brightened.
“I’m a treasure hunter.”
The silence that followed was painful.
Kael looked at the trap, then at the rope and the upside-down treasure hunter dangling from it before slowly returning his gaze to the trap.
Gareth folded his arms.
"You're not making a strong case."
The boy looked offended. “You don’t know that.”
“You’re hanging from the ceiling.”
“Temporary setback.”
“Gravity appears to disagree.”
The teenager sighed dramatically. “Nobody appreciates how difficult my profession is.”
Kael was beginning to suspect treasure hunting wasn’t actually his profession.
“What is your name?”
“Adrian Falk.”
“Age?”
“Seventeen.”
Gareth frowned. “You’re the same age as Kael.”
Adrian looked excited.
“Really?”
“No,” Kael said immediately.
Adrian ignored him.
“We’re practically brothers.”
“We met ten seconds ago.”
Kael considered walking away, the temptation was strong.
However, they still needed information.
“How did you find this ruin?” Kael asked.
Adrian hesitated.
That hesitation caught Kael’s attention.
The boy looked away, glanced at the wall and then the ceiling before suddenly remembering he was hanging from it.
Finally he sighed.
“Fine.” His shoulders slumped. “I got lost.”
Gareth looked confused.
“You got lost?”
“Technically.”
“Technically?”
Adrian nodded. “I was running from a wild boar.”
"A wild boar led you here?"
"In my defense, it was a very determined boar."
"That's your defense?"
"You didn't see it."
"It was a boar."
"A terrifying boar."
The old hunter slowly looked toward Kael and Kael slowly looked back, neither knew how to respond.
Adrian continued.
“I ran through the forest then I ran up a hill, then I fell down another hill…. and I accidentally found a hidden entrance.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
That wasn’t possible. According to his memories, there was no second entrance.
Not in this location, not in this ruin. Something about Adrian’s story bothered him.
“What entrance?”
Adrian pointed. "That one."
Kael frowned.
"That corridor shouldn't exist."
Adrian blinked.
"That's a strange thing to say about a corridor."
The corridor shouldn’t exist. He knew this ruin, at least he thought he did.
But the passage Adrian indicated wasn’t part of any memory.
A chill ran through him.
Another change, another crack in the future. Before he could investigate further, Adrian cleared his throat.
“Now that we’ve established my tragic circumstances, can somebody help me down?”
“No,” Gareth answered instantly.
The teenager looked devastated. “Why?”
“Because this is funny.”
Adrian turned toward Kael.
"Please tell me you're the reasonable one."
Kael looked at Gareth.
Gareth looked at Kael and neither answered.
Adrian's face fell. "That is not a reassuring silence."
Kael looked at the trap, then at Adrian and finally at Gareth, weighing his options before concluding that neither of them was likely to make his day any easier.
For a brief moment he considered agreeing with the old hunter.
Adrian seemed capable of getting trapped again almost immediately.
Still, they needed answers.
Eventually Kael stepped forward.
“Fine.”
Adrian looked relieved.
“Thank you.”
“Try not to move.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
Several minutes later, Kael carefully disabled the ancient mechanism.
The rope loosened.
Adrian dropped, the teenager hit the floor aard. A loud thud echoed through the chamber.
Finally Gareth looked down.
“Good landing.”
Adrian groaned. “I think the floor attacked me too.”
The old hunter laughed.
However, the laugh coincided with Gareth accidentally leaning against part of the wall.
A clicking sound echoed through the chamber and everyone froze.
The wall began shaking, dust poured from the ceiling. Ancient gears started moving somewhere beneath the floor.
Adrian pointed accusingly.
"You broke something."
"I touched a wall."
"Aggressively."
"There is no aggressive way to touch a wall."
Adrian pointed. "You just found one."
The rumbling grew louder. A section of the floor slowly split apart.
All three stared.
Then a hidden staircase emerged from the darkness below.
Silence filled the chamber, even Adrian stopped talking.
Kael slowly approached the opening.
Ancient air drifted upward.
His pulse quickened because this staircase wasn’t supposed to exist. And whatever waited under it had remained hidden for centuries until now.
