Something of Revolution

There was once a man who went by the name of Amadeus Grimmir, a man praised throughout the nation of Seria. Grimmir was a man of justice, who had slain countless beasts and evils during his time. Gradually, Grimmir gained ample respect from the people of Seria, eventually becoming the king’s most trusted ally. Shortly after Seria conquered the remainder of Advena and became its center, King of Seria, Magnus Invidia, ordered the usage of a certain object. This certain object bore an unknown power unforeseen by the human race. This object, a unique, ominous object, had the strength to revolutionize the globe – the strength to change life on Advena itself. The way the object functioned was foreign to the human race; though, however unknown it may be, the power of the object was clear. It had an unsettling, yet charismatic feel about it. The object was, by every stretch of the imagination, unique. There was no doubt about it.

Amadeus Grimmir sensed this immense, grandiose presence as he gazed at the object, held within the palm of the king. Eyes widened, in a sudden change of heart, Grimmir snatched the object from the king. Recklessly charging down the marble staircase, which led away from the king, Grimmir’s palms shook uncontrollably. “Surely”, he thought, “Surely, this object bore the strength to revolutionize the world”. That was the only certain truth he could think of. It was the only thing that made sense to him. He could change the world and reform it in his own image. His fantasies could become his reality – his fate.

Amadeus Grimmir ran and ran. He escaped from the king’s magnificent fortress and broke through the stalwart defenses of Seria’s capital gates. He traversed great plains, majestic mountains, and vast, perilous deserts. Within the thin grasses of a nameless field, Amadeus Grimmir discovered an overgrown, forgotten ruin. He delved deeper and deeper within the light-forbidding, darkest corners of the ruins. The ruins seemed to be endless, as he traveled for hours upon hours before reaching its end. At the ruin’s end, Grimmir closed his eyes, holding the object of revolution against his bosom. With a single chant, Grimmer sealed the object away within the blackest, darkest depths of the ruin. Since that event, the object of revolution has remained unseen, its story passed down only through folklore.


"I think this is our destination." Aria spoke beneath her breath. The intensity of the sun's rays had taken a toll on the girl's stamina. Gently brushing her golden hair off of her face, Aria wiped the sweat off of her brow as she examined the ruins in front of her. Her stern, blue-green, turquoise eyes narrowed. Never before had she seen such an abnormal collection of stones and rocks. Stacked upon each other in such an abnormal fashion, small rocks awkwardly supported the weight of magnificent boulders. Especially in a windy location such as the Folkvangr, one would certainly expect such unbalanced pillars to tumble.

Removing a strip of parchment from the satchel at her side, Aria cleared her voice and spoke aloud, "Due east of Capital and north of the Emptied Ocean lies the great plains of Folkvangr. Within the center of the plains, you will find obscure ruins - dubbed by The Exalted One as the 'Freyja Ruins'. It is your mission to retrieve the magnificent artifact sealed within the ruins and return it to The Exalted One." Turning to her small assembly of men, Aria rolled up the parchment and stuck it back into the satchel, "Church, Owve, Kuraiss. Search the northern edge of the ruins for an entrance and work your way west. Stay alert, for it's likely that traps are present. Got it?" She saluted her men, and with a hearty 'Aye sir!', the troops ran off to their assigned position and began to shuffle through the dirt and stone in search of the entrance.

Aria, ever since she turned the age of eighteen, had served loyally as a military officer for the Royal Army. Though she had earned great trust by King Invidia, she still only controlled a small group of men (often referred to by her as "lackeys") and not much else.

"Caldwell, I'd like you to search the eastern and southern points with me. We must hurry. If we fail to find shelter before nightfall, our crew may fall pray to the beasts that scour the land during dark hours." Aria ordered, gently maneuvering up the ruined, mossy stairway at the southernmost portion of the structure. Her eyes carefully grazed the land in search of traps. The unstable structure of the ruins had increased her alertness, worried that at the slightest false movement, the large pillars may collapse atop her crew.

Lacie stepped forward, observing the great Freyja ruins with a single sword out. The sword was made from silver, and blood was dripping down from it. Behind Lacie lay a rather large beast that she had slain in order to get to the ruins. With a cloth, Lacie wiped the blade clean and sheathed the silver sword. On her back sat another, much larger steel sword. Each sword was effective against a certain type of enemy. The silver sword was imbued with special properties that allowed it to carve through beast's armor like butter. The steel sword did essentially the same with human flesh and armor.

Lacie herself was equipped with a dark blue, reinforced dress, the essential points of her body guarded by white armor plates. Her light blond hair was tied back into a magnificent bun, held there by a single blue ribbon, only her bangs were allowed free. Her emerald green eyes scanned over the ruins with great curiosity.

"What a magnificent sight! The ruins of Freyja have always been the center of fairy tales and legends! And here I see them with my very own eyes!" Lacie said, her beautiful soft voice proclaiming magnificently. "Oh, how very exciting," Lacie said again, her smile widening.

Lacie heard another voice, one that was not hers now. Curious, she listened in on the feminine voice. So, there were other people here as well? Not that she was surprised, it wasn't rare for visitors to come to these ruins. Although, only those who were powerful enough to repel the beasts in the area could come here. Lacie managed her way here by herself without any problems, her expertise in fighting was enough to carve a path of blood.

But what really interested Lacie, was not the other visitors themselves, but their objective. Lacie's eavesdropping earned her excellent information as to the visitor's purpose. Perhaps she should go over and warn them about sharing such information.

The next think Lacie heard was something about finding an entrance into the ruins. Lacie knew, there was not a direct route into the heart of the ruins. One could go inside the initial room, but that was as far as ordinary people could get. Lacie, however, knew of a secret entrance, which was hidden from sight. Just by looking around, one wouldn't be able to find it. The searcher had to know what they were looking for in order to find it.

Lacie wanted a closer look at these visitors, maybe they could help her complete her own goals if she helped them. That seemed to be quite the fair trade in Lacie's mind. After all, no warrior of this age would ever want to be indebted to another warrior. With that in mind, Lacie moved forward, looking for the visitors by following the sound of their voices.

Throughout the entire expedition, Daniel wore an expression that was well-known to be his signature face. Not many knew the fellow well; he wasn't one that could be easily drawn into conversation. Anyone who might even know him just a tad or maybe had observed him whilst he was unawares would know that he was actually rather excited to be sent to the ruins. He was a man of an unknown past; he didn't even know where he came from. Inside him dwelt the ability to use special powers--ones of whose origin he was not sure. Even without a past, he was a man of rational thought, so he decided to put the powers to use and join the military.

So here he was at last, on an expedition to a destination of which he was excited to see. Previously, he had only read about ruins in books, but the time had come for fiction to become reality. Well, they were non-fiction books, so it was time for non-fiction to become reality. Don't ask questions.

"Yes, ma'am," Daniel muttered his response as he received his orders. He was always quiet, so different from the other shouting buffoons. He hadn't received much sweat for it; he was always respectful and followed orders. He was just quiet about it.

With solemn steps, he trailed after his commanding officer, his eyes peeled for anything she might've missed, but he doubted she would miss anything. She had way more experience in the military than he did. He was a new fellow--an upstart. His staff rested in one hand, for he had taken it off his back when they started looking for the trapdoors or whatever led into this place. It was beasts that he was worried about. They had a nasty habit of appearing where they weren't wanted.

Anemone sighed as she wandered across the vast plains of absolutely nothing worth of interest. She was hoping to be able to practice her combat abilities here, for she had heard stories about extremely vicious beasts prowling the area. But so far, other than the trail of blood she's been following for a while, there has been no signs of wildlife of any sort. All she could find along the place were plants, plants, and more plants.

"I can't believe it, several hours out here and nothing to swing my sword at." Anemone shook her head, "Well, if we follow this road of red stuff we're bound to find something right?"

Slightly irritated, Anemone unsheathed one of her swords and twirled it around in her hand, then swung it at the air to the side. A few seconds later a patch of grass and flowers not too far away from the girl suddenly flew up and got carried away with the wind, leaving a bare blotch of dirt where it used to be. It was as if the grass and flower had been sliced clean off.

After sheathing her curved blade, Anemone immediately unsheated it again along with her other sword upon hearing sounds. It sounded like people speaking, and sure enough, not too far away were a group of people standing in front of what seemed to be an ancient piece of architecture. Anemone watched them split up, and turned to look at her companion.

"What do you think Ashe? Should we follow these people?" Anemone asked.

"Did we really have to come out here?"

Ashe trudged along behind her friend, grumbling in her mind about the entire expedition. She much preferred to stay back in the city so that she could pick up a job. Things were slow right now and she swore if that Rose got a job she'd cut her friend's head off. It was her idea to come all the way out here to slay monsters, not Ashe's.

When her friend stopped to ask her a question she raised an eyebrow. Looking ahead at what appeared to be a large ruins looming in the distance. Her eyes sharpened on the stone building, moving past her ally without a word spoken. Weighing the pros and cons in her head, she nodded slightly, and began to walk towards the towering structure.

"It could prove to lead to some... interesting events."

Aria was a very goal-oriented individual; whenever the Royal Army presented her with a mission, she immediately took a direct course of action with the rest of her miniature crew. She rarely asked questions which held little impact on the procedure in which the mission was carried out. As long as the course of action in which the goal was achieved, the goal of the mission, the effects of the goal, and the rewards of the effect were presented clearly to her, she held no doubts and proceeded with the mission.

This was not one of those missions, however. Without telling her the effect and reward, the highest degree of the Royal Army had forced her to accept it. Declining the mission would result in her immediate degradation of several ranks in the military. To Aria and her immense pride, being downgraded meant accepting defeat. It meant failing to accomplish what she told herself she would accomplish. The honor and pride she brought to the Eivstraelis household would be gone. Then, at that moment, she thought, What will happen to my family if I retrieve this ancient artifact for The Exalted One? What will happen to me? Why is this mission so important? Aria's eyes narrowed as she heard the incessant babbling of two nearby females. Judging by the maturity of their voices, around 20 years of age. Maybe less.

"Caldwell. Watch your back. Those girls might do something stupid." She spoke confidentially, "Do you remember what I told you and the lackeys about the beasts in these parts?" She didn't give him time to reply, "Remember, the Kennigs sniff out saliva. If those girls let pollen get into their noses and they sneeze a little, they might attract them. They'd swoop right down at them!" She frowned with disapproval and continued to whisper at her silent 'protegee'. She never knew if he actually listened; she just liked that he was so quiet and accepting of her orders.

"We don't want them getting pecked at. If we let the Kennigs eat at them, as members of the military, we'll get in trouble for watching them from the sidelines and not helping. It'd be a burden for us all, you see. It would distract us from our goal."

Lacie managed to find the source of the feminine voice that she had heard earlier. It was quite easy to follow, since the girl who spoke seemed to be a bit of a chatterbox. That might end up getting her killed in an area such as this, perhaps Lacie should warn her? Or maybe she could just ignore them completely and watch from a safe distance.

She actually planned on doing just that until she heard the other woman keep speaking. Since Lacie was already listening in, it couldn't hurt to continue. The strangely dressed woman spoke of Kennigs and troubles they could bring. She also spoke of their goal, but did not expand on that. Lacie only knew a general idea of what this girl and her partners were up to.

Perhaps they were a group of thieves. No, that couldn't be right. They weren't dressed for the part. Lacie eyed them carefully, observing ever so closely. She couldn't decide what these people were, so Lacie decided to lay back for a bit longer and continue to observe the small group.

Daniel froze up, but didn't look behind him. How clumsy. Aria was able to detect people that weren't from the military nearyby and he hadn't? He certainly had a lot to learn. However, when his commanding officer mentioned the beasts, that was something he had remembered firmly. It was something that could not have been taken lightly when learning about them; after all, some confrontations were best avoided, so if you knew how to stay clear of the beasts, you could achieve your goals much faster. But Aria was concerned that the other people, obviously not well-trained, were going to do just that: attract what was better left alone.

"It has been noted, ma'am," Daniel responded, his muscles tensing slightly. The grip on his staff tightened. "Should we ignore them for now or engage them?" From what he could tell, Aria was leaning towards engaging. Leaving them to do as they so desired would only mean trouble for themselves and the military operation. Anything that endangered the expedition could not be taken lightly either.

Anemone sighed and pulled her sword out of the ground, following her friend up. She didn't expect them to be discovered so quickly. And apparently from what the woman just said, these people were in the military, something that she herself never cared much about. Maybe it was because this was actually the first time Anemone has had a run-in with anything military related. And this thing the woman said about beasts, Anemone took a mental note of it but didn't take much mind, she's been itching to try her sword at something around here anyway.

"They noticed us Ashe, I blame you for this." Anemone said half-jokingly, she was thinking of whether to just come out now or wait and see if these people would turn a blind eye.

She stopped short as her friend teased. Taking half a second to go over the short statement before turning to the younger girl. Eyes rather sharp, as if in a scolding manner, she took a couple steps back. Another half second was all it took for Ashe to shake her head slightly in disagreement, hand on the blade at her side.

"We wouldn't be here if you hadn't insisted. Now I suggest you apologize."

Aria smirked as a sense of accomplishment overcame her. She liked it when her 'students' listened to her and learned from her. It made her feel special and important, though she figured she probably shouldn't let it get to her head too much. Forcing herself to express a stoic and well-tamed demeanor, Aria continued to quietly scheme with Daniel, "Engaging them now would save us from wasting even more time with them later. They look armed, though. Proceed with caution."

Slowly turning toward the two girls with discretion, Aria quickly made eye contact with both of them. She then hastily removed her military identification card from her satchel and presented it before the two women. Adjusting her grip on the card to make the official seal of the Royal Army visible, Aria declared, "We are members of the Royal Army of Capital, please remain still and remove all weapons from your person! Any attempts at resistance will result in the immediate activation of a binding spell!"

Purposefully spoken in a louder tone, Aria's precautions grasped the attention her three other lackeys. Darting over to Aria's location with ease, the three soldiers hide behind a collapsed pillar of disheveled stones, remaining attentive and alert. As soon as Aria's sounded her signal, the three would immediately activate a joint-effort binding spell.

Now, this was certainly interesting. The two women Lacie had deemed unimportant and ignored were confronted by the group she was interested in. How very interesting. And out of that, Lacie received a very good piece of information about the group she observed. That woman, the male, and the three others with them were all from the military. Lacie understood now why they were there.

Regardless, Lacie remained silent and continued to observe from her hidden location. She did not want any part of that conversation a single bit. If she did get in, it may just attract more beasts. Kennigs were attracted to saliva, that much was correct. But they also hated loud noises. That military personnel was attracting a large group of beasts at this very moment.

Lacie would not confront the military directly. If the beasts did come, she would fight to kill any who decided to get in her way. After all, Lacie was not one for being ordered around. And, thanks to Lacie's experience, she would be able to stay completely unnoticed by the other groups. Lacie may decide to reveal herself later.

And it sounded like Ashe was still pissed for the fact that Anemone dragged the two of them out here so she can practice her sword. But why was that a bad thing? Anemone was sure Ashe needed some practice too, and maybe having her lighten up a bit would help too. She was always so serious.

Yup, just as Anemone had thought, these people were from the military. Anemone sighed and shrugged her shoulders, nothing she could do about it now, might as well just comply with the woman's demands. Last thing she wanted was to get on hostile terms with the royal army. She sheathed her swords and dropped the onto the ground besider her then stood still, smiling at the woman.

"See. Now we have to deal with them."

Ashe glared at her friend for only the slightest second before turning to face the woman. Her expression softened and she politely moved her hand from her blade and nodded in respect. She would not get into a fight with the army, it would be a stupid action to take, one that could cause problems for her back in the city.

She looked up a couple second later, moving her arms to her side. One hand on her blade, she quickly drew it and dropped it, quite displeased. That was a brand new blade, one she had just bought yesterday. Now disgraced with dirt and grime, she should have refused to drop it. Mentally sighing, she knew that wouldn't have been smart.

"What is it you need with us officer?"

"By order of The Exalted One, unauthorized personnel are hereby restricted from entering the Freyja Ruins." Aria asserted. Inserting her military identification card back into her satchel, she continued, "I'm afraid I'll have to force you to leave the premise, but first..." Her voice dragged off, eyes quickly grazing the area in search of other intruders. She saw nothing of suspicion. "What business do you have here, this far out in the wilderness?"

Turning to her 'protegee' Daniel, she spoke with him in low tones, "Caldwell, please continue to search for the entrance with Church. The rest of the lackeys and I will keep this situation under control." With a chivalrous salute, she granted Church's permission to depart, who performed accordingly, returning to the ruins with haste. Bestowing her attention to the intruders once more, arms crossed over her bosom, Aria's judgmental visage awaited their responses.

"As you say, ma'am," Daniel replied hastily in his gentle voice, saluting back before trudging off to the ruins to search for the entrance once again. He arrived at the southern stairway in no time; they hadn't traveled too far from the spot, and he began to ascend. Unfortunately, he forgot how far they had searched, so he had to keep his eyes peeled the entire time for traps, proceeding with the utmost caution. He honestly had no idea what he was looking for in regards to the entrance. The largest possibility was that of a trapdoor of sorts. He knocked gently on certain stones, prodding and pressing with his fingers to see if he could unconver some hidden button or switch, but all to no avail.

"Well, this is hopeless. At least the view is nice," Daniel said to himself, taking in the view of the area before starting his descent. He had lost sight of Church and figured he was probably investigating the section that he and the others had been investigating earlier. "North and work west, she had ordered. Guess we were to work east then." When he reached the bottom of the stairway, he felt his way along the side of it, completely made of stone. He wondered if the person who hid the artifact here even had time to set up traps. It still didn't hurt to be cautious.

"Would be the last thing I needed," he said miserably, shaking his head before feeling the wall with the palm of his hands, and worked his way along. There were piles of rubble around, and segments of broken walls. He dug through the debris and investigated the walls, but the results were inconclusive. "I know they're supposed to be ruins, but shouldn't there be a main entrance somewhere? Ancient peoples and their structures, I swear..."

"I'm sorry. We had no intention of heading to the ruins. We only came for a little training, and unfortunately traveled a little off course. I hope you can see this is just a misunderstanding."

Ashe focused on the woman with a polite and respectful personage, not wishing to be rude or cause a problem. That didn't stop her from looking back to her friend and glaring at her again. She swore if Ane said something that contradicted her, she'd skin her alive when they got out of this. And she planned to get out of this.

Looking back to the woman, she looked to where her little lackey ran off. Closer to the ruins. What reasons would the Capitol's Royal Army have to close off the ruins? Why would they be out here? Sure there were beasts, but that is what mercenaries were for. It didn't make much sense, and that bothered the Spellblade. Raising an eyebrow, she carefully took a step closer to the woman.

"Pardon my asking, but for what reasons are the ruins closed off? And what does the Exalted one fear so greatly that he need send part of his army to a place such as this?"

"Yes, we're just hired swords that have a lot of free time on our hands." Anemone added, "So we came out here for a little walk and maybe sink our blades into some beasts around here. And that's when we ran into you guys."

Unlike her stern friend beside her, Anemone still had a smile on her face and she appeared rather relaxed despite being confronted by the military. It was this thing about Anemone, she was always pretty carefree, despite being a mercenary and all. It was quite a contradiction to Ashe's personality, and Anemone often tells her companion to relax and have some fun once in a while. But most of the time she doesn't listen.

She averted her attention away from the military woman in front of her to observe the ancient structure a bit more, and found nothing of interest to it. It made her wonder why the royal army would send troops all the way out here.

"Yes well, please pardon my friend here. She's a bit too, serious and doesn't know how to relax." Anemone said, "Although, I am curious as to why the military would be here studying an ancient piece of artwork."

This day kept getting more and more interesting for Lacie. But, this day was almost over. The sun was just past the moment of it's final light. If she did not get to some shelter quickly, the surface would be overrun with all manner of beasts. Beasts much stronger than a few characters from the military could deal with. This place was especially an area that attracted monsters. The very scent of the ruins attracted them, some managed to even find their way inside. No doubt there would be nests underground.

So, either way she went, there would be monsters. However, there would be much less numbers underground than on the surface. Even if the beasts are more powerful underground, Lacie knew she would last a much better chance of survival underground. The only problem was convincing the military faction here. Lacie knew these military types. These were the kinds of warriors who did not want lesser "civilians" to put themselves in danger, no matter how powerful the "civilian" was.

Lacie put on an uneasy smile, she was by no means a civilian. What land did she have to return to? Ever since she escaped from the pits of hell, there was no place she could call home. But, that place taught her to fight. It made her stronger. Even so, she could not hold off a horde of dangerous monsters at night. Such a thing would be foolish to attempt at her level. Even with the assistance of the military, they would be killed and eaten.

It was about time Lacie made her appearance.

"My apologies, but we've been ordered to withhold our purpose here from the public." Aria remarked, her eyes fixated upon the sinking sun. She couldn't afford to remain atop the surface any longer; doing so meant death to her whole crew. "If you do plan on hunting beasts out on the Folkvangr at night, let me warn you. These beasts are of an entirely different caliber than what one might expect. Now, if you'd excuse us." Aria saluted the strangers, turning her back on them as she confronted her two remaining lackeys.

"Be sure to keep your eyes on them," She whispered in secrecy, "They seem interested in the ruins." Aria recalled the parchment mentioning something along the lines of disallowing all outsiders from coming in contact with the artifact. Keeping that thought in mind, she kept a careful eye on the mercenaries. Their curiosity just might get the best of them. "Kuraiss, Owve, please return to your stations and continue searching."

"Aye sir!" They both ecstatically replied, scurrying back off to join Daniel and Church in the rubble of the Freyja Ruins.

"Please don't encroach upon the Royal Army's private works. It would be much appreciated." Aria turned back toward the mercenaries and spoke, "Remember, you should find shelter before twilight's end!"

Ashe's eyes sharpened as the woman spoke of withholding information from the general public. She didn't like the sound of this. The government keeping such information as why the royal army was dispatched was highly suspicious. However, such suspicions did not stop her from bowing her head in respect as she had done earlier.

"Thanks for the advice."

She waited for her to walk away from them before moving back over to her blade and returning it to its sheath. She waited another moment before moving over to her friend, the sharpness of her eyes still held. Her voice dropped to nothing but a whisper as she looked back at the large ruins.

"We'll be following them Ane. Be sure to keep quiet, and well hidden."

Lacie had already started walking closer to the military and the two other women. She watched them interact as she got closer, and as the military resumed their search. The woman in command must have dismissed the two wanderers. Lacie made sure that she became noticeable to the group before speaking to them.

"You'll never find the entrance that way," Lacie said gently, her voice soft and light as always. "If you don't know what you are looking for, you'll never find it. That goes for this place as well. It's a sort of strange magic that these ruins emit."

Lacie paused for a moment, letting her information set in. Before the military or the other group could reply to her, Lacie placed a hand on her chest. "Forgive my manners, my name is Lacie. I've traveled these lands for many years and have heard many things. As such, I know how to enter these ruins." Lacie then swung her arm around slowly, pointing to the setting sun behind her. "Your time is short, if we do not hurry, all of us will die here. Military personnel, what will you do?"

Alerted by the sound of footsteps, Aria's movements reached an impasse. Turning toward the sound, Aria met eye-to-eye with a blond-haired woman with bright, emerald-green eyes. Her hair was neatly and intricately tied into a bun, held together only by a single blue lace. The armored dress she wore gave her a sophisticated, composed look. An elegant, polite aura emanated through her words as she spoke to Aria.

When did this woman show up? She thought, Out of the blue? Just like that? It's a possibility- No! Her eyes widened as a sole realization entered her mind, She's been watching us silently from the foliage! I was careless! I should have remained more alert! But, I can't just accept aid from this woman. If this polite, emerald-eyed maiden were to get injured due to my own circumstances, I'd never forgive myself!

Hiding her frustration behind her lips, Aria's teeth clenched with irritation, I hate to admit it, but this woman is correct. If we stay out here any longer, each and every one of us would fall pray to the encroaching darkness! The pros weight out the cons; protection of human life bears immense priority over keeping unauthorized personnel uninvolved!

"Lacie," Aria gazed at the woman intently, "I look forward to working with you in the future." With those final words, Aria held her hand out in front of her body, intending to shake hands with the woman.

Lacie smiled sweetly at the woman, taking the other woman's hand with her own armored glove. With a quick, small shake, Lacie released her hold and looked over at the two other travelers who had wandered off. Calling out to them in a small voice, Lacie attracted their attention saying, "You two warriors, you must come here as well. You will not find another shelter in time that darkness approaches, so you must also follow me."

Lacie turned back to Aria again, flashing her a quick smile and walking around her. The military personnel had passed the first exam. "I'm glad I did not have to resort to anything drastic," Lacie mentioned, "I'm not one for falling prey to beasts of the night." Lacie moved around and behind the ruins.

"You see, if you search the ruins, you'll never find the entrance, no matter where you look," Lacie began, moving more into the forest behind the ruins, "That's because the entrance is not within the ruins, but within the forest itself. Grimmir would have never placed the entrance so close to the ruins. Stick close to me, it's going to be very dark in the tunnel we're about to enter."

Lacie led the military faction and the two other warriors to an area far away from the ruins. She turned around a tree and stepped back to allow the others get a closer look. The tree she had stopped behind was much more open than the front side. It was a small tunnel that led down into the ground, into complete darkness.

"Once you go inside, keep moving forward, no not stop, do not turn around," Lacie said, "If you do, there is a high chance you will get lost."

Daniel had reached an eastern stairway. The wall along the ruins was devoid of anything, being traps or secret entrances. It was rather disheartening. The piles of rocks and segments of weathered stone walls were also searched fruitlessly. It was all pointless. The sun was getting low. He was about to start his ascent when he realized that the leader along with what appeared to be some civilians were moving off into the forest. Why was the leader following that one civilian? There was something up. He whistled for Church who was nearing the south end. It seemed he was already aware that they should probably follow. Daniel nodded and approached.

"Well, it's obviously something important. Let us move," he spoke swiftly and moved after the group. It would be best for military officers to take up the rear should the civilians try anything unruly anyway. Upon stopping, all became clear. The girl had known of the secret entrance and was showing it to them. He wasn't sure what to do. It was obvious that they, as officers, had to follow the actions of their commander. If Aria was to enter the tunnel, than so would they. It would be better to do that anyway, seeing as how the beasts seemed to get rather unruly at night. Strength in numbers, and all that.