Chapter 103
The next morning
A cool mountain breeze drifted through the clearing as I pushed aside the tent flap to find the world still wrapped in shades of blue and grey, the first hints of dawn only just beginning to brighten the eastern sky.
Rhaevan was already awake. Of course he was.
He stood near the dying embers of last night's fire, the living map spread across a flat slab of stone while its silver lines shimmered faintly in the early light.
I walked over, suppressing a yawn. "Please tell me you slept."
"I did."
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "For how long?"
"Enough."
"...That wasn't a number."
"It rarely is."
I sighed. "One day I'm going to make you answer a question directly."
"I look forward to that day."
"I don't."
A faint smile crossed his face before he rolled the map with practiced care. "The map revealed a little more overnight." He pointed toward a narrow pass cutting through the lower slopes of the Ashen Crown. "We'll begin there."
I glanced toward the mountains. They looked no less intimidating in daylight; if anything, the black cliffs appeared even steeper beneath the morning sun.
"I suppose it's too much to hope the First Fragment is waiting just inside the entrance."
"I suspect so."
"Pity."
Within minutes, the camp had disappeared. The tent vanished into Rhaevan's spatial storage, the fire was extinguished, and the ground was scattered until little remained to suggest anyone had spent the night there.
He adjusted his cloak before looking at me. "Ready?"
I took one long look at the mountains. "...No." Then I smiled. "But let's go anyway."
The climb began gently enough-for approximately seven minutes. After that, the mountain apparently took my physical fitness evaluation as a personal challenge.
The trail narrowed into uneven volcanic rock, forcing every step to be carefully placed as loose stones shifted beneath my boots with alarming enthusiasm.
"Who," I muttered while climbing over another jagged outcrop, "builds important ancient civilizations on mountains?"
Rhaevan chuckled a few steps ahead without turning around.
And then, my clumsy self stepped onto what looked like a perfectly stable rock. It immediately rolled beneath my foot.
"Whoa-"
I caught myself before falling, windmilling my arms with all the grace of an intoxicated duck. "...I meant to do that."
"So I assumed."
The path continued climbing, and climbing, and climbing.
We continued walking. A few minutes later, I stumbled again, catching myself before losing my balance entirely.
I noticed, however, that Rhaevan had changed position: he was no longer walking several steps ahead as he usually did. Instead, he had quietly fallen into step beside me, close enough that if I slipped again, he'd be able to catch me before I hit the ground.
He didn't mention it. Neither did I. But as we continued climbing through the silent mountains, I found myself smiling ever so slightly. He really was terrible at saying he cared-fortunately, he seemed considerably better at showing it.
By midmorning, we'd searched three different locations.
The first had been a narrow fissure splitting the mountainside.
From a distance, it had looked like the entrance to a hidden cavern; up close, it was little more than a deep crack disappearing into solid rock.
Rhaevan examined every inch of the stone, running his hand across the weathered surface while quietly murmuring a detection spell.
Nothing.
"No enchantments," he concluded. "No hidden chambers. No signs anyone has been here in centuries."
I peered into the darkness anyway. "So... definitely not our mysterious First Fragment?"
"I'm afraid not."
I sighed. "One down.... Several thousand suspicious rocks left to investigate."
The second location proved considerably more interesting.
A cluster of enormous black stone pillars stood upon a natural plateau, each one rising nearly twice my height.
They weren't arranged randomly; together, they formed a rough circle, and every pillar bore the same strange carving: three interlocking crescents enclosed within a larger circle.
I frowned. "I've seen that symbol before."
"So have I." Rhaevan stepped closer. "The outer ring resembles the markings on the compass." He traced the air just above the carving without touching it. "But the inner pattern is different."
"Another Ardentian symbol?"
"Possibly."
He searched each pillar carefully-the ground, the surrounding stone, the spaces between the monoliths. Nothing reacted. No hidden doors, no ancient mechanisms, no concealed passage.
Eventually, he stepped back. "It isn't here."
I folded my arms. "So... my ancestors enjoyed decorating random rocks."
"I suspect these served another purpose."
"What purpose?"
"I don't know."
"...Comforting."
He gave me an apologetic look. "I wish I had a better answer."
"I'll settle for honesty."
We left the stone circle behind.
The mountains grew quieter-not simply silent, but still. The wind no longer whistled through the cliffs, and even the occasional mountain birds had vanished, leaving only our footsteps echoing against the black volcanic stone.
I found myself lowering my voice without meaning to. "Does it feel..." I searched for the right word. "...strange to you?"
Rhaevan nodded. "It does."
"What is it?"
"I can't tell." His eyes swept slowly across the landscape. "But something about this area... feels deliberate."
I looked around. The mountains stretched endlessly in every direction-empty, desolate, and ancient-as though we had wandered somewhere the world itself had quietly forgotten.
Without realizing it, I rested one hand against my satchel. For some reason, it suddenly felt warmer than before.