Jack stepped further into the cave they used as the basecamp. It was not dark now. Unlike when he first entered the place. The students had placed a lot of [Self-illuminating Orbs] on the walls.
Jack could see Leon Drake near the center of the cave. Talking seriously to Professor Enderson.
Jack knew that in the previous expedition to Tideless Island, Leon had been the 'Inheritor of Fate'. Basically, he would be a protagonist of this world. Soone who could pull terrible troubles and great opportunities just by existing. Whatever he discovered could be a serious matter.
"What's this about a map I heard, Leon?" Jack asked imdiately.
Leon took out a roll of tanned, dark leather. It wasn't parchnt. It looked heavier, thicker, and had a slight iridescent sheen to it under the light.
"I took it from the lizardman shaman we encountered during our escape." Leon explained. "He wasn't like the others in his tribe. He was wearing jewelry made of polished obsidian and using fire magic. Not too strong though."
Professor Enderson adjusted his spectacles. "I've checked. It's definitely not lizardman work. The precision is top-notch. The topography is perfect. And it had words written in Crowelpe script."
"Ancient Crowelpe." Dr. Crafton chid in. His spectacles reflected the orb light. "The language of the Dark Elves. Very likely connected to the dark elf girl, the host of the Shadowling Queen."
Jack took the map and spread it open. It was exquisite. The ink had a faint, tallic sheen. The landscape of this island in the. Purplesky Realm was laid out with startling accuracy. Matching the scouting exploration Reina took with her Silver Hawk drone.
The central forest they had crossed... The western, red grassland where the battle had just occurred... The northern swamp... The eastern hills... And the southern rocky plain...
"The lizardn definitely didn't make this." Jack agreed with Professor Enderson's judgent. "They’re scavengers. This is the work of a settled, high-functioning society."
"Precisely." Dr. Crafton also agreed. "And look at these three markers. They aren't just landmarks. They are labeled with specific nas."
He stepped beside Jack and pointed to a spot at the border of the central forest and the northern swamp. "This translates literally to 'Dark Elven Village'. Likely the heart of their local civilization."
He moved his finger to the southern rocky plain. A place thal looked like stone ruins. But they had known from the Silver Hawk drone's scouting to be the nest of stone golems.
"This one is 'Golem Factory'." Dr. Crafton said. "It implies the mass production of arcane constructs. The stone golems we saw previously were very likely artificial creation."
Finally, he pointed to the western-most edge of the grassland. Near the very cliffside that bordered the mist sea. The closest to their current location.
"And this... it says the 'Shadow Palace'." He continued. "There is a high chance that it is related to the shadowlings."
The students had gathered around. Keeping a respectful distance from Jack, likely intimidated after seeing his rakshasa transformation. But they were also interested to see the map.
Nick Glaiver, one of the more outspoken students, cleared his throat. "Professor, if these places exist, should we investigate them?"
"No!" Dr. Crafton imdiately replied. "Those places can be very dangerous."
"The kid's not wrong, you know?" Jack said in calm tone. "We need information about those places. It is our best thod for survival."
"We're not sending students into a 'Shadow Palace' or a factory full of unknown constructs or a village that might be hostile to humans." Dr. Crafton said firmly.
"But Mr. Night is not wrong." Professor Enderson argued. "We cannot ignore this. These places could be a potential danger. So, we need further information about them. Besides, if we return with just samples of grass and lizard scales, we've failed as scholars. These sites could hold the key to the entire history of the Purplesky Realm."
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Jack looked at Reina. She imdiately knew what he was thinking.
"We don't need to go there physically." Jack said. "Not yet. Did you all forget we have a perfect way to scout in a safe way? Reina's silver hawk."
Reina had already reached into her spatial bag and pulled out the Silver Hawk again. A masterpiece of Jack's steamrune engineering.
The bird was crafted from polished silver colored tals. Its wings were feathered with thin, enchanted tal plates. Its eyes were two glowing sapphire rubies that functioned as high-intensity lenses.
With a few deft movents, Reina activated the drone. The Silver Hawk's wings whirred to life. A low hum filling the cave. It took flight. Darting out of the cave entrance and into the purple sky of the realm.
Reina pulled out a flat, rectangular monitoring tablet. It was a cool arcane device. Rimd with similar silver colored tal of the hawk drone.
"I'm sticking the feed to the wall." Reina said.
She tapped a rune on the side of the tablet. A shimring projection appeared on the smooth surface of the cave wall. It was a high-definition view from the hawk’s perspective.
The students gasped. Even the professors looked impressed. Reina hadn't shown them this projection ability of the tablet before.
The drone climbed high. Leveling out above the red grasslands.
"Head west first." Jack instructed. "Let's see this Shadow Palace."
The drone accelerated. Through the projection, they saw the red grass swaying like a sea of blood below. A few grassland animals were caught in the view.
As the hawk approached the western-most point, the landscape changed. The grass gave way to charred, blackened earth.
Then, they saw it.
The Shadow Palace wasn't a sprawling castle. It was a singular, towering stone building. Constructed from a dark rock that seed to absorb the light. Thick, pulsing violet vines wrapped around the structure. There were no windows. Only narrow slits that looked like eyes.
"It looks... empty." Nick Glaiver whispered.
"Empty doesn't an uninhabited." Jack muttered. "Nor does it an safe."
Reina made the hawk circle the building. The silence from the projection was palpable. There were no birds in the sky here. No animals on the ground. Not even plants, other then the violet vines, could be seen near the blackened earth surrounding the palace. It radiated an aura of profound wrongness.
"Look at the entrance." Jack pointed to the screen.
A massive stone door stood slightly ajar. Beyond it was nothing but absolute, pitch-black darkness. Jack's own danger senses tingled just looking at the image.
"The dark elent density inside that building should be off the charts." Dr. Crafton noted. His voice was trembling slightly. "It's like a localized vacuum. It's drawing energy from the surroundings."
"Definitely a dangerous site." Jack said. "We've seen enough to know we don't go there without a heavy plan. Let's move on. Go south. Find the factory."
Reina adjusted the controls ntally. The Silver Hawk swerved. Flying back over the grassland. Toward the southern rocky plain.
A few mont later...
The transition was abrupt. The red grass stopped at a sharp line, replaced by a wasteland of jagged dark grey rocks. It looked like a sprawling site of ancient stone ruins.
"I don't see a building." Chloe Chase said. Squinting at the projection. "Just rocks."
"Rock golems." Jack responded. "We know them already. Reina, drop the altitude. Hover over that cluster of boulders near the center."
The hawk descended. As it got closer, the 'rocks' beca clearer. They weren't just random stones.
They were shaped. So had the vague proportions of humanoids. Others looked like multi-legged arachnids made of granite. Thousands of them were scattered across the plain. Half-buried in the dust.
"Those were the products of the factory." Leon Drake observed calmly. "The question now is... where is the factory?"
Suddenly, one of the 'boulders' shifted. A massive, foot of stone lifted and slamd back down. Sending a cloud of red dust into the air. Then another moved.
It was an entire field of dormant monsters. But they had already known about that. They had seen these rocks movie before.
"The factory might not be on the surface." Jack concluded. "It might be underground. It has been churning these things out for years. And they might have just been... waiting."
"A literal army of golems." Professor Enderson whispered. "If soone were to take them out of the realm..."
"Then our world would have a very bad day." Jack finished for him. "Reina, last stop. Let's see the village."
The hawk turned north. Crossing back over the central, amber-leafed forest.
As the drone reached the edge of the northern swamp, the trees grew even taller. Bigger. Their roots subrged in murky, bubbling, orange-colored water.
There, nestled in the branches of the titan trees, was the Dark Elven Village.
It was a haunting sight.
Elegant, winding walkways made of a dark purple wood connected the massive trunks. Houses were carved directly into the living bark. Decorated with intricate lattices and banners.
But the wooden walkways were rotting. And the banners were rags fluttering in the damp breeze.
"It's a ghost village." Reina said softly. "Abandoned long ago for so reasons."
The hawk flew between the levels of the village. They saw abandoned houses, an empty marketplace, an empty plaza with dry fountains, and balconies where high-backed chairs sat facing the swamp. Empty. It was as if their owners had just stepped away for a mont and never returned.
"No signs of a struggle." Jack noted. "No scorch marks, no broken walls. They didn't fight a war. They just... left. Or faded."
"Or were taken." Leon added.
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