The question hung in the air. The stunned travelers were silent, staring at the stone face of the smiling Vaimos. The sky had grown sullen, and a puff of smoke escaped from the crater high above.

  "I warned you," Dob said, slowly rising and brushing snow from his scratched, furry knees. "Vaimos is angry. And if we don’t fulfill his task, a curse will fall upon our entire clan…"

  "That’s enough!" Kairu cut him off sharply. "Everything is under control."

  Yuf cast a gloomy glance at him. The others remained hesitantly silent, as if still unsure whether what they had just seen was real or a hallucination. But Kairu’s harsh voice snapped them back to reality.

  "All right, here’s the deal," he said firmly, sweeping his gaze across them. "There’s no point standing around talking. We came here for the artifact. Dob, you’re taking us to the cave to find this… Altar of Fire. You don’t have to go inside… if you’re that afraid of Vaimos. But we have to move. What’s wrong, can’t you take a single step?! I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of this winter and this endless journey. The sooner we finish, the better."

  "The chieftain’s son and heir should not be afraid," the druid said darkly. "I’ll go with you… but remember: this won’t end well."

  "Yeah, yeah, fine! Lead the way. Take us to that… cave."

  The druid turned away and began walking along the trail, veering toward the mountain slopes.

  They reached the place in about half an hour, climbing even higher into the last pine grove that had managed to take root at such an altitude. Beyond that lay only bare gray rocks and snow. Kairu once again thought that old Aok hadn’t made a mistake with the guide. Dob navigated these mountains brilliantly and found the cave very quickly.

  It was a small crevice among the rocks, sheltered from wind and blizzards by massive boulders, like a mouth behind a row of crooked fangs. Anyone who stumbled upon it while hunting in the mountains would likely ignore the human-height opening that led into darkness. Only a very attentive observer would notice the weathered ornate pattern and strange inscriptions etched into the stone surface at this spot. But Kairu noticed them and realized they were in the right place. A sharp feeling of déjà vu flashed through his mind.

  "How do the druids know there’s a shrine here?" he asked quietly. "And that it holds Scarlet’s tomb? You’re all terrified of this place."

  "Legends… they outlive real events," Dob answered cryptically, standing at the entrance. It was clear that despite his show of courage, he was nervous. "Thirty years ago, Petros showed the way to the Wolf Clan. Before that, druids used to enter to pay homage to Tornir two thousand years ago. Then it was abandoned… forgotten, and fear took root in our hearts. When the kings of men hid the Star of Vaimar here, they shared the secret with the druids’ chieftains, knowing druids would never reveal the location to conquerors. But in two thousand years, the secret became a legend, and only thirty years ago did the people from the south remind us that the past shouldn’t be so easily forgotten."

  "Petros found the exact location thirty years ago," Konrad added. "Before that, I suppose random hunters or shepherds might have wandered in here, but I doubt they ventured far inside… Most likely, they died before they could find anything precious."

  They lit their torches.

  Inside, it was quiet and empty; the light from outside pooled on the gray, dusty stone floor. This wasn’t a room carved into rock by skilled masons. It was a natural cave, once hollowed out by underground waters that had eroded the mountains for millennia. The floor was uneven, littered with small stones, and crystals of unknown minerals sparkled on the walls in the torchlight. The travelers slowly moved forward, squeezing through a narrow corridor that led ever deeper. Fire danced along the walls; Kairu, Yuf, and Dob led the way, followed by Konrad, Ashley, and Rita, with Remiz and Viggo bringing up the rear, constantly glancing over their shoulders. An eerie, otherworldly silence hung around them.

  Then the passage ended, and they entered a small grotto with a low ceiling. Here, there were signs of human presence. Two arched passages led deeper into the darkness, and skulls hung on stakes driven into the walls.

  "This is the vestibule," Dob whispered, approaching one of the tunnels and stepping inside. "The shrine is still far ahead, but here is where those who didn’t know the way met their end. At the end of both tunnels were werewolf dens, and if anyone missed the right turn in the darkness, those fanged, bloodthirsty guardians awaited them… We’ll turn here," he said, stopping at a tall archway where a passage branched off. In the thick wall beneath the arch, on both sides, were niches—likely where doors had once been hidden that sealed the way.

  "There were gates here," Konrad guessed. "Someone opened them before us… Someone already passed through this way."

  "Just…" Dob said pleadingly, visibly trembling. "Please, let me bring up the rear and cover you from behind. I don’t know the way past this point anyway, and I’ll be of no help."

  Kairu didn’t argue and stepped through first, Yuffilis following him.

  A stench of rot and dampness hit them. The corridor walls, leading into the darkness, were coated with centuries of grime. Stone idols stood along the sides—shapeless tall boulders that, upon closer inspection, revealed round faces, hands, and hooded cloaks. Transparent crystals glittered faintly in the ceiling.

  A sudden gust of icy wind swept through the corridor, chilling Kairu from head to toe. He flinched, staggered, and his heart froze with fear.

  "The tomb of Saint Scarlet…" Ashley murmured. "As I recall, he was venerated by both druids and the ancient Nocturns… And saints like him were usually buried with soldiers, slaves, chariots, and weapons. But he, apparently, was laid to rest without such a retinue of protectors, because the Nocturns needed him as the guardian of Octarus. Do you understand? Once Scarlet finds peace, we’ll receive the Star."

  "Interesting tactic," Rita snorted, shivering. "I’d even say—original. The sanctuary of Aktos was simpler, even if we were met there by a turand and a lich."

  They slowly stepped through a low arch into a chamber of perfect cubic shape, with columns wrapped in malachite serpents standing in the corners. Here began the structures carved by humans using ancient magic, for no other force could have made even a crack in the solid rock of this mountain range. The center of the hall was lost in shadow. Yuf swept his torch in a circle, revealing a floor paved with stone tiles and some kind of structure hanging near the ceiling.

  "Stay close to the walls," he warned. "There may be just as many traps here as in the shrine of Aktos."

  The corridors and halls flowed smoothly into one another, digging ever deeper into the earth, leading onward in a tangled yet unbroken thread. In the next corridor, arches branched off to the right and left, revealing vast chambers with benches and statues of saints—places where people who lived here two thousand years ago had once prayed to their gods. But these halls didn’t interest Yuffilis and Kairu. They moved forward cautiously, lighting the way with their torches. With every step, their hearts trembled at the thought that death could be waiting around any corner.

  "Retribution awaits us at every step…" Dob whispered fervently from behind. "Waiting for us to slip and lift the veil…"

  "Oh, shut up!" Rita snapped. "Viggo, Kairu, Remiz—admit it, when we were wandering through the Shrine of Aktos, things were worse! But we made it out!"

  "Better if we’d never gone in at all," Viggo grumbled. "But you’re right. Damn those ancient Nocturns, who knows what was going on in their heads. Why all the gloom and doom?!"

  "Quiet!" Yuf hissed.

  They froze, clearly hearing something creaking beneath their feet... And while those in the back nervously glanced around, Yuf and Kairu calmly swept their torches over the floor around them, revealing dust, bones, and skulls. The flickering light reflected off empty eye sockets, white teeth, and broken ribs. Ashley slowly pressed her hands to her face, clearly struggling with nausea.

  "A mass grave," Konrad grimaced. "A fairly traditional decoration for a place guarding something incredibly valuable to these fanatics."

  Rita picked up a round metal object and held it up to the torch. It was a fragment of a shield.

  "The crest of the ancient nocturns," she said. "The Sun and the Kraken… I suppose many hunters once came searching for Octarus."

  "And paid the price," Yuff said quietly. "Now—silence! Do you hear it?.."

  And they did. A slow-building sound, rising in strength and clarity until it could no longer be dismissed as fear or imagination. A long, savage howl.

  "Ghosts!" said Dob.

  Yuffilis turned, shining his torch into Dob’s face. He paused, took a deep breath, and rasped:

  "No. This is something material now. Something we can face—with fire and sword."

  "And bow," Rita added defiantly.

  "Let’s go," said Kairu. "We’d better hurry."

  They walked along the wall of the next hall toward a door on the far side. Then came a long staircase with steep stone steps, followed by a corridor. Upon entering, Kairu suddenly felt a dull ache in his chest, as if something had struck him from within. The memory was shrouded in gray fog, but the physical pain was very real. Sarcophagi stood in niches along the walls.

  Kairu lagged slightly behind, instinctively touching his jacket, unable to resist. He pulled back his cloak, lifted his shirt slightly, and cast a quick glance at the greenish scar that crossed his ribs on the left side.

  But the corridor was empty, and there was no sign of the ghostly green glow from that shattered tomb where the monstrous creature had once lurked. The torches burned with normal orange flames, bringing back warmth—and the strength to move on.

  Yuffilis struck the lock from the next door with his sword, and they passed under an arch adorned with hieroglyphs into the next part of the necropolis.

  Now Kairu distinctly felt a chill and the touch of icy wind. It swept away the stale air of the dungeon, filled his tired lungs with a refreshing breeze, and fed the dying torch, which flared back to life with a sharp crackle. At the end of a tunnel leading off to the right, pale daylight could be seen... Konrad, Yuf, and Kairu hurried toward it and, around the corner, found a small bright room with two narrow arrow-slit windows—so narrow that not even Kairu or Rita could squeeze through. Through them, a steep mountain slope, a cliff, and the distant earth below were visible.

  "I know this place," said Konrad; they pressed greedily to the slits, peering into the white haze of a winter midday. "This is the northern slope… A cliff and a lowland, and beyond that, only more mountains. To the east, the terrain rises—you can reach it on foot, climbing up from the ice desert itself. Snow wolves often approach from that side. There must be other exits nearby, too. And look, clouds are gathering," he pointed to the pale sky, completely lacking any sign of the sun. "My gut tells me a serious blizzard is coming soon."

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  Another staircase led to the next hall. Light filtered in through tiny arrow slits near the ceiling here, too, and their eyes had adjusted enough to the gloom to make out the faintest details of the interior. Against the far wall, elevated on a platform, stood an enormous golden throne. The walls were covered with barely distinguishable frescoes of religious symbols.

  "As usual, stay along the edge," Yuf warned, moving along the hall’s perimeter toward the throne. Directly behind the throne’s back, set into the wall, was a small, closed door. Kairu reached toward it, but Yuf grabbed his hand:

  "Easy! You see daylight and forget where you are?"

  With that, he drew his sword and carefully pried at the mechanism above the door handle. The lock clicked, and the door suddenly swung open. Kairu wasn’t in the doorway, but instinctively jumped back.

  A loud whistle pierced the air, and a dozen tail-fletched bolts shot out, slamming into the throne’s back and punching clean through it.

  There was a tense silence for several seconds. Yuf risked a peek, cautiously examined the corridor, and slowly stepped through, squinting into the darkness ahead.

  "See?" he said. "Let your guard down for a second, and they try to kill you again."

  In the center of the next small room stood a device connected to mechanisms in the wall, and to hinges that supported the door. It was a wooden crossbow mounted on a rusted metal stand. The door was slowly swinging back under tension from springs, and the awestruck travelers watched as gears clicked steadily, a chain rotated a crank, and a new bolt was drawn into the crossbow. Konrad carefully wrapped one of the bolts in cloth, picked it up, and examined it:

  "Looks like it’s poisoned…"

  "The ancient nocturns were definitely centuries ahead of us in technology," Ashley murmured. "But when it comes to the art of killing, they were so far ahead, I’m afraid we’ll never catch up."

  The others said nothing, carefully stepping around the crossbow.

  "I wouldn’t want to catch up to them in such matters," Rita replied grimly.

  Yes, Kairu thought, there’s no point in catching up in the art of killing. But that also means many secrets will remain well-guarded—by weapons ancient, yet still functioning as reliably as ever. Hidden under a veil of gray library dust, in the undeciphered squiggles of dead languages, beneath the monolithic stone of two thousand vanished years. Despite everything, that’s an enormous span of time. And to uncover the truth, the very beginning, one would need just as much time. And the weight of years, the distance between eras, would only grow, as new layers of long-forgotten mysteries form at the surface.

  But who would want them—at such a price?..

  The next corridor was long and dark. They passed slowly under the archway, and the torches revealed something horrifying that made the blood freeze in their veins… A moment later, the first wave of fear receded, and Kairu exhaled in relief: it was nothing more than fragments of enormous stone statues, which had evidently once stood along the walls. Now, chunks of white marble were scattered across the floor—arms, legs, heads, and entire torsos lying around, creating the impression of a gruesome battle that had once taken place here.

  "Yeah, someone definitely passed through here before us," Konrad muttered. "And it looks like they made our job a lot easier."

  Dob, bringing up the rear, stepped out of the passage. Yuff moved forward, and at that very moment, with a loud crash, a metal grate fell behind the travelers, cutting off their way back. Kairu flinched and turned around. His heart sank again, and cold sweat trickled down his back.

  "Stay calm!" Konrad barked; his voice echoed multiple times through the tunnel. "Don’t panic! There must be another way out! We’ll make it!"

  But from the tremor in his voice, Kairu realized the monk barely believed his own words.

  "Let’s go," Yuffilis said uncertainly and took a step forward.

  Kairu still didn’t like this place. Those severed heads and hideous fragments seemed to stare at him with dozens of cold, stone eyes, and he could feel their gaze even at the back of his neck… He moved forward after his friend, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

  Step. Another shaky step. In the darkness, the torch’s flame trembled, casting uneven shadows across the floor and walls… Seconds dragged on like hours, fading behind them as they left the iron grate behind. Kairu kept walking. His heart pounded. The statue fragments remained still.

  Just near the exit, Kairu noticed something else among the rubble. Several skeletons in armor lay on the floor, some with crushed bones. Rusty swords and crossbows were scattered nearby, along with a few bolts. Viggo approached one of the skeletons and leaned over it, examining the worn insignia on the dented cuirass.

  "The Ardrai Fighters’ Guild," he said. "Looks like they were the ones who fought the statues here. And judging by what’s left—there are far more broken statues than human remains—I’d say they won."

  They passed through, bursting with relief into the next chamber and stepping onto the stairs of a massive staircase leading onward, toward the goal of their journey.

  Rita gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, and Viggo exhaled heavily. Yuffilis and Kairu moved forward, staying close to the gilded railing of the enormous marble staircase. They had once again entered a crypt—its deepest part, holding the cave’s greatest treasure, so carefully guarded by the druids’ magic.

  At the center of the hall stood a colossal golden sarcophagus.

  It must have been that only kings, priests, or saints were buried like this in ancient times. Kairu didn’t know what Scarlet had accomplished in life, but one thing was clear: his deeds had earned such a majestic grave. The final resting place stood several dozen feet high, reaching the ceiling. Its sides were adorned with bas-reliefs, precious stones, paintings, and inscriptions. Around it stood five massive stone idols on golden pedestals, each holding an extinguished torch. Yuf brought his torch close, lighting the floor cautiously.

  Suddenly, the torches flared to life, illuminating the chamber evenly, revealing walls covered with frescoes and statues of falcons surrounding the staircase. In front of the sarcophagus stood a small stone platform, like an altar, bearing a carved ornament and hieroglyphs.

  The travelers slowly descended, surrounding the tomb. Rita approached it, while Ashley examined the sarcophagus from all sides. Konrad, seemingly less interested in their destination than the rest, glanced around and muttered:

  "Where the hell is the exit?.."

  Kairu looked around—and his blood ran cold. The hall was a dead end.

  "Stay calm," Yuff said quietly. "We’ll figure it out. We’ll find what we need… Konrad, are there inscriptions?"

  "This is it," Konrad murmured, leaning over the stone altar. "The language of the ancient nocturns… ‘Tomb of Saint Scarlet, faithful servant of Vaimos, last of the Seer-Priests, guardian of Octarus. Year 1237.’ So, we’re in the right place—and this is the Altar of Fire." He nodded toward the platform and the ornament. As Kairu stepped closer, he saw the familiar symbol: the Sun and the Kraken. In the center of the solar disk was a small, shaped indentation, as if a piece was missing…

  "Kairu!" Rita gasped, examining the indentation. "The brooch!"

  "I know," Kairu nodded, staring at the slot in the altar. He quickly dropped his backpack and unzipped his jacket. The precious pouch with their most vital belongings, including the Lake of Aktida, he had taken to wearing strapped directly to his body, so he would never part from it.

  Now he pulled the brooch from the pouch. On its reverse side curled a fine silver filigree, and strange details were etched along its edges. Kairu had spent hours studying it since April, ever since they’d left Mainor.

  He slowly raised the brooch over the altar and lowered it into the indentation. His throat went dry.

  A soft click sounded. The brooch’s details fit perfectly into the shaped slot.

  For several seconds, the group stared in stunned silence at the stone surface, and then the ornament began to move. The delicate filigree transformed, folding into new hieroglyphs. Everything around them began to tremble; the eyes of the idols surrounding the sarcophagus suddenly flared with light… Rita gave a thin scream and grabbed Kairu’s arm. He stood his ground, bracing against the floor, trying to understand what would happen next, and where to run to survive…

  And then a portion of the wall behind the sarcophagus shifted and slid aside, revealing a passage forward. The shaking stopped. The idols’ eyes dimmed—and then, all at once, they crumbled into dust. Konrad coughed violently, clutching Ashley’s arm. She instinctively reached for the water flask at her belt, unscrewed the cap, and brought it to the old man’s lips.

  "Damn it all…" Yuffilis muttered. "So what? Is that it?"

  Kairu turned his head. The brooch on the stone pedestal shimmered faintly with a ruby glow. Above it now floated an inscription in the language of the ancient Nocturns.

  "Konrad, can you read it?" Kairu asked.

  "‘First Temple. Island of Darius. Latitude 32.78,’" Konrad said.

  They exchanged glances. Rita quickly pulled a sketch from her backpack—the one she had made in the Sanctuary of Aktos last fall—and jotted down the coordinates.

  "That’s north of the Archipelago, but south of Talaska," Remiz said thoughtfully. "In the seas no one sails, off all the trade routes… It’s really far."

  "Well, that’s it," Konrad said. "Now you know where to go next."

  "Let’s go," Kairu said quietly, tugging Rita’s hand. "Time to get out of here while the passage is open, before Scarlet changes his mind."

  "I’m alive!" Dob muttered as if surprised. "I survived the trial sent to me by the gods!" His voice echoed down the newly revealed tunnel behind the sarcophagus of the ancient saint.

  Still not quite believing that the nightmare was coming to an end, the travelers slowly circled the tomb and entered beneath the arches of a high tunnel. It led them forward without twisting, without branching, filling them with hope that this path might truly have an end. Then it took a sharp turn. The travelers cautiously descended another ancient stone staircase and moved forward along a wide corridor, along the walls of which were tiny arrow-slit windows. Slowly swirling snowflakes drifted inside, covering the icy floor, and through the narrow openings, they could see mountain slopes. A fairly gentle descent wedged between massive stone cliffs, and a gloomy sky already sinking into the darkness of night. Over the North-Vaimar Ridge, a blizzard had begun. The outlines of the slopes disappeared into gray whirlwinds, and the wind carried from afar the mournful howls of wolves.

  Suddenly, the wind blew from ahead, searing them with its icy breath. The druid was no longer walking—he was skipping ahead, catching up with Kairu. Yuff kept slightly to the side, still carefully inspecting the floor for traps.

  "I don’t like this," he muttered, but so softly only Kairu heard him.

  "What’s wrong?"

  "They’re letting us go far too easily, don’t you think?"

  Kairu shrugged.

  "Someone was here before us. You saw it—the Ardrai Fighters’ Guild. What were they doing here? Either way, some of the traps were already triggered by someone else."

  "Could be… But I won’t relax until we’re on the surface. Hey, where’s that damn druid?! Dob!"

  "What?" came a voice from ahead. Dob had already run into the final small chamber. Ahead was the arch of a doorway and… a square of dim evening light. But this time, it was real light.

  "Your wish came true," Kairu smiled.

  Yuff waved his hand.

  "Go catch him and slow him down. We should show at least some caution!"

  "Dob! Stop!"

  Kairu crossed the chamber in a few bounds and grabbed the druid by the shoulder. Dob slowed down, but still took a couple of steps forward, when suddenly Yuff screamed, his voice rising into a frantic shriek:

  "Stop where you are—don’t move, both of you!"

  Kairu turned—and suddenly understood. The floor trembled again. Dob stumbled and tumbled forward, dragging Kairu with him. Kairu reacted instantly. Some instinct told him he wouldn’t make it if he tried to jump back, because at that moment, the ceiling above them collapsed.

  They fell, scrambled, rolling away from the massive stone slabs crashing down from above with a deafening roar. By some miracle, Kairu managed to grab Dob by the collar and pull him back just before the stones reached them. A few smaller rocks painfully struck his back and leg as they both scrambled toward the far corner of the small chamber. The roar was so loud it made their ears ring, and a huge cloud of ancient dust rose. Kairu and Dob began coughing, falling to the ground, and covering their heads with their hands.

  Then it ended as suddenly as it had begun. The cave-in shifted a few more times, then froze into a monstrous heap, cutting off the underground halls and the exit. Muffled voices came from the other side; someone groaned in pain.

  "Kairu! Dob!"

  "Konrad!" Kairu shouted, running to the rock pile.

  "Are you alright?"

  "I think so. Even unharmed," Kairu replied, glancing at the moaning Dob.

  "Damn that druid!" came Yuff’s voice.

  "Aok was just as brainless in his time—remember, Ashley?" Konrad noted. "Well, now we’re in a proper trap. What a fantastic day."

  "We need to clear the rubble," said Viggo.

  "Sure… we’ll be done in a couple of weeks," Rita responded sarcastically.

  "Wanna bet we finish by morning? I saw the rocks—not that many of them…"

  "Ashley’s injured, Viggo. Her leg’s broken. She got hit hard by a rock."

  "Ahh!" Yuff let out a hoarse cry.

  "What’s going on?" Kairu asked, alarmed.

  "Snow wolves, damn them… Climbed in through the window—two of the beasts… Viggo, check if there are more!"

  "There’s a whole pack of them!" the Kald shouted. "Rita, help out—get your bow and cover the window! Okay… they’ve pulled back for now, but they’ll be back. I know how they hunt."

  "Alright," Kairu sighed in relief and looked around. A substantial snowdrift had built up at the exit into the snowy dusk. They were under a low arch—some sort of vestibule of the shrine. Nearby was an archway with snow swirling behind it, and in the corner, clutching a musket, lay a skeleton. Kairu slowly approached, crouched down, and tugged at the weapon. The fingers reluctantly let go, as if even in death the man didn’t want to part with it. Two powder pouches hung at his belt, and the hammer was cocked. The musket looked like it had been ready to fire, but the shooter had died before he could pull the trigger. In the skull, right between the eyes, was a clean bullet hole.

  "Kairu?" came Konrad’s concerned voice.

  "It’s alright. Just… a skeleton. Fur clothing, no armor."

  "So?" The monk’s voice held a note of confusion.

  "He has a new-model musket—like the ones goblins and Saelin soldiers used. And—he was killed, Konrad. Shot between the eyes from the same kind of musket." Kairu crouched down, examining the skeleton. "He’s wearing a silver signet ring. Letter ‘V’."

  There was a moment of silence. Then Ashley’s voice:

  "Konrad, do you remember?.."

  "Hard to forget," the monk muttered. "So he died here… and we were searching in Ardrai… Kairu, I’m not sure yet, but I think… it might be Professor Vergilius. One of our companions from that expedition. Looks like it really was Saelin who killed him."