NOVEL WEB Chapter 15: The Ancient Ruins
The excitement in The Drunken Duck was palpable as Lunessa shared the quest details with her party. Within minutes, they had all accepted the mission and were making their way back to Guppi's stall to collect their promised equipment advances.
"One piece of quality gear for each adventurer, suitable preparations for dangerous work," Guppi said, his throat sac inflating with merchant pride as he gestured to a collection of items laid out on a side table. "Choose wisely, choose well—these investments must serve you in the trials ahead, challenges to come."
Lunessa immediately claimed the shadow-tempered daggers, their dark metal feeling perfectly balanced in her hands. Ironstride selected a tower shield with reinforced steel bands that would provide better coverage than his starting equipment. Nira's eyes lit up as she spotted a focus crystal that would boost her spell power, while Serein chose a staff carved from living wood that still had small leaves growing from its surface. Spudicus, true to form, grabbed a repeating crossbow with multiple mechanical components that he immediately began examining with obvious delight.
"This is going to be so much fun," he said, testing the crossbow's loading mechanism. "Look at all these moving parts! I bet I could modify this to—"
"No modifications until after we complete the quest," Ironstride interrupted firmly. "We need reliable equipment, not experimental explosions."
The journey to the ruins proved more eventful than expected. The monsters inhabiting the area around the ancient site were noticeably stronger than the tutorial zone creatures they had been fighting, most registering around level 8. Packs of dire wolves with matted fur and glowing eyes stalked them through the forest, while giant rats the size of small dogs scurried between the trees. The occasional fanged deer would leap out from behind fallen logs, their antlers crackling with some kind of natural magic.
But with five party members working together, the encounters were manageable and provided excellent experience. By the time they reached the outskirts of the ruins, everyone had gained two levels, bringing them all up to level 8 and making them feel much more confident about tackling whatever lay ahead.
"There it is," Lunessa said, pointing through the trees as the ancient stonework came into view. "Just like Guppi described."
The ruins were impressive in their scope and decay. What remained was clearly the skeleton of an old fortress, its ancient stone walls rising from the forest floor like the bones of some massive creature. Moss and ivy had claimed much of the structure, but the craftsmanship was still evident in the precisely cut blocks and elaborate architectural details that had survived the centuries.
Several building foundations were visible within the outer perimeter, their walls rising just high enough to hint at the complex that had once stood here. Towers that had probably once soared above the treeline were now reduced to crumbling stumps, their upper sections scattered as rubble throughout the interior courtyard.
Lunessa moved closer, her Keen Senses trait allowing her to pick out details that might have escaped the others' notice. The stonework was definitely ancient, but there were inconsistencies in the wear patterns that suggested this place had seen violence relatively recently in its long history.
"Look at this," she called to the others, gesturing toward a section of the outer wall where a massive breach had been carved through the stone. The opening was large enough for the entire party to walk through side by side, and the edges of the gap showed clear signs of extreme heat damage.
The stone around the breach wasn't just broken—it was partially melted, with smooth, glass-like patches where something had subjected the ancient masonry to temperatures hot enough to liquefy rock. Streaks of slag had flowed down the wall like frozen tears, creating bizarre sculptural formations that caught the afternoon light.
"Whatever did this wasn't messing around," Nira said, running her fingers along the melted stone. "This kind of heat damage doesn't happen by accident. Something really wanted to get inside this place."
"Or out," Serein added quietly, his bark-textured skin taking on a slightly darker tone that suggested unease.
They moved through the breach in formation, with Ironstride taking point behind his new shield while Lunessa scouted ahead using her enhanced stealth capabilities. The interior courtyard was a maze of fallen stones and overgrown vegetation, but the basic layout was still discernible. A central keep dominated the far end of the complex, while smaller buildings lined the walls like attendants gathered around a throne.
They had barely taken a dozen steps into the ruins when their first real challenge materialized.
A grinding sound echoed across the courtyard as ancient mechanisms activated in response to their presence. Stone sentinels, each standing nearly eight feet tall and carved from the same material as the fortress walls, began emerging from alcoves and concealed positions throughout the area. Their eyes glowed with pale blue light, and runes etched into their surfaces pulsed with magical energy.
Stone Sentinel - Level 9
Type: Construct (Guardian)
Behavior: Defensive protocols activated. Eliminate intruders.
"Looks like we're not the first ones to think this place might have treasure," Ironstride said, raising his shield as the nearest sentinel began advancing with mechanical precision. "Everyone stay sharp—constructs don't feel pain, so we'll need to actually break them."
The first fight showcased exactly why their party composition worked so well together.
Spudicus immediately began deploying his arsenal of gadgets, tossing small devices that sparked with electrical energy as they attached to the stone guardians. Some released nets that tangled the constructs' movements, while others erupted in controlled explosions that sent cracks spider-webbing across their rocky frames. When his gadgets were on cooldown, he switched to his new crossbow, sending precise bolts into the joints where the sentinels' limbs met their torsos.
"Come on, you overgrown lawn ornaments!" he called out cheerfully, reloading with practiced efficiency. "Let's see how you handle some good old-fashioned engineering!"
Nira was in her element, cackling with delight as she unleashed a continuous stream of flame that turned the ancient courtyard into her personal forge. Her fire washed over the stone sentinels in waves, heating their rocky bodies until stress fractures began appearing along their surfaces. When her flame spell went on cooldown, she switched to hurling concentrated mana bolts that struck with concussive force, each impact sending chips of stone flying.
"This is so much better than tutorial mobs!" she shouted over the roar of her flames. "These things actually fight back!"
Ironstride stood like an immovable wall between the constructs and his more fragile party members, his new shield absorbing blow after crushing blow from the sentinels' massive stone fists. He called out taunts that somehow compelled the magical guardians to focus their attacks on him, then responded with perfectly timed hammer strikes that targeted weak points in their construction.
"Over here, you pile of rocks!" he bellowed, deflecting a strike that would have flattened anyone else. "Let's see what you're really made of!"
From the rear of the formation, Serein kept everyone healthy with precisely timed healing spells while occasionally contributing to the offense by causing thick vines to erupt from the ground and entangle the sentinels' legs. The combination of his nature magic and healing kept the party fighting at peak efficiency.
Lunessa darted between the constructs like a shadow given form, using her Shadowstep ability to appear behind them for devastating sneak attacks. Her new shadow-tempered daggers seemed to find every crack and weak point in their stone armor, while her Shadow Flurry ability let her deliver rapid combinations that left deep gouges in their rocky frames.
The first group of sentinels fell within minutes, their broken forms crumbling back into ordinary stone as whatever magic had animated them finally dissipated.
"Well, that was invigorating," Ironstride said, wiping stone dust from his beard. "Everyone still in one piece?"
After confirming that no one had taken serious damage, they began exploring the nearest building—what appeared to have been some kind of barracks or living quarters. The interior was disappointingly empty, containing nothing but dust, debris, and the occasional piece of rotted furniture that crumbled at the slightest touch.
"Nothing here but atmosphere," Lunessa said, emerging from what had probably been a storage room. "Whoever lived here either took everything with them or someone else cleaned the place out long ago."
The pattern repeated as they systematically cleared the outer buildings. Each structure required them to fight past more stone sentinels, and each provided excellent combat experience but absolutely no treasure or useful loot. The constructs seemed to be the only inhabitants of the ruins, and while they provided a good challenge for a level 8 party, they didn't drop anything more valuable than stone fragments and the occasional minor magical component.
"Starting to wonder if Guppi's information was accurate," Serein said as they finished clearing what appeared to have been a workshop of some kind. "This place is definitely ancient and definitely magical, but so far it's been more fortress than treasure vault."
"Maybe the good stuff is in the keep," Spudicus suggested, gesturing toward the larger structure at the far end of the courtyard. "You always save the boss room for last in these kinds of places, right?"
Lunessa nodded, though something about the ruins was nagging at her. The construction was definitely ancient, but some of the damage patterns didn't match what she would expect from simple weathering and decay. There were signs of deliberate destruction, strategic damage that suggested someone had been looking for something specific.
"Let's see what the central building has to offer," she said. "But stay alert. I have a feeling we haven't seen everything this place has to offer yet."