NOVEL WEB 352. Stone Tablet
At last, after Mag finally deflated and finished lecturing them on the superiority of birds, he settled down and faced the tablet. Clearing his throat, he began to read. There was a singsong quality to his reading that made it simultaneously easy on the ears and hard to listen to, like trying to piece the meaning out of birdsong, or pry apart the lyrics of an easy-listening song that just made him want to relax. It was completely out of sync with the actual contents of the tablet, which, as Mag read them, shaped into a dire warning.
"For those who have come this far, turn back. There is nothing worth pursuing past this point. Naught but despair and destruction await you. For those who forge on, do it knowing you charge to your own death, for no gain at all. There is no treasure, no hidden inheritance, no object of value in this barren valley. Only death and pain lie within."
Ike raised his brows. "That's not ominous."
"You think whoever made this sign was trying to keep people out?" Wisp asked.
"I was picking up that vibe, yeah."
She glanced at him, grinning a little. "But why would they make it so hard, with that wall, and the fog, and this tablet, unless there was something to hide?"
"You know, you're making a lot of sense," Ike agreed.
"Or maybe they're trying to stop people from dying stupidly," Mag pointed out.
"That much effort? To keep idiots from dying?" Wisp shook her head in disbelief.
Ike pointed at Wisp. "She's got a point. I wouldn't go to this extent to keep idiots from being stupid."
Mag glared at them. "You two realize you're the idiots, in this context?"
"What, did you think we didn't know?" Wisp scoffed.
"We're idiots, and we're gonna go find whatever this guy has hidden behind all this effort," Ike agreed.
Mag stared at them. "You two are crazy. No, stupid. No… crazy stupid."
Wisp started to walk past the tablet, then paused and looked back. "So? You wanna go find the super-secret loot that guy went to so much effort to hide, or are you just gonna hide back here?"
"There is no loot! The stone tablet says—"
"The stone tablet, written by the same guy who set up all these defenses, who obviously has something to hide? Come on. You're trusting the person with the most ulterior motives," Ike pointed out.
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Mag quieted at that. A thoughtful expression came over his face. "You think he was lying? To hide something?"
"Sure. Can't think of another reason they'd bother with all this," Wisp replied, nodding at Ike.
Ike nodded back. He wasn't sure if there was anything back here, but this whole defensive setup was suspicious. A sign, he'd understand. Maybe a wall, with some scary looking spikes on it. But a wall that came alive and attacked those who approached it? A puzzle in the fog, with misleading sounds to lead those who passed through astray and right into the jaws of those stone people? If they were trying to keep people alive, they had an odd way of going about it. Lots of ways people could die, while they were being 'kept alive' by the stranger's warning. Without the stone tablet, he'd simply presume he was looking at a mage's defenses. With the stone tablet, he was sure of it. There was absolutely no reason to build so many aggressive 'defenses,' unless, of course, the person building them had something to hide. Something valuable to hide, something that he would like to see with his own eyes, or even get his hands on. These defenses were over the top to keep people out. In fact, if they were actually trying to keep people out, why not put the warning tablet outside the murder wall, in clear view of everyone? Instead, it was buried in here, behind the murder wall, where no one could see it. That smacked of someone hiding their valuables to Ike, rather than a legitimate warning.
Whatever it was they were hiding, it was just sitting back here gathering dust. Completely useless to whoever had built this whole complex and the whole rest of the world, too, while they were counting. Hiding it back here, refusing to let the world have… whatever it was they were hiding, wasn't it a total waste? Better that he come by and liberate whatever it was, rather than let it rot away back here forever.
Besides, who knew? This was a new region, one that had been conquered by Lord Brightbriar. Maybe there were more pieces of him back here. He wouldn't say no to picking up a few more overpowered skills the old hims had nurtured to insane levels before heading over to Brightbriar's city to say hello to the old man. If he was going to take on the person who'd been carving off pieces of some higher being to create children for fun, he wasn't going to do it without a maximum of preparation. Brightbriar was at least Rank 5, if not higher. Strong enough to live for a long time, and do some truly insane bullshit, as Ike had discovered for himself. He wasn't someone Ike could take lightly. Whether it was an item, an inheritance, or some other 'child' Brightbriar had created, he needed to acquire it to even have a chance of opposing him.
He followed Wisp past the stone tablet and deeper into the land beyond.
On the near side of the tablet, Mag hesitated. He glanced at the text again, and a shiver ran down his spine. This wasn't good. The tablet didn't seem like it was lying. Whether it was trying to hide loot or not, the words on the tablet felt dead serious to him.
"Hurry on, now."
Mag whirled.
The land behind him was empty. Not a single thing was disturbed; neither a footprint nor a grain of dust was out of place. He looked around, left and right, then ran after Ike and Wisp.
Behind him, the fog closed in. A quiet voice chuckled to itself from the depths of the fog, the bare outline of a shadow visible for a split second. "Run along home, now. Wouldn't want the little birdie getting away."
Mag spun again, but only found fog looming behind him. Shaking his head, he chased after Ike and Wisp. Whatever this was, he knew he didn't want to be alone.