Chapter 47 The Heir
For several seconds, nobody moved. The guards were still standing around the northern gate, but their attention had shifted toward the strange carving.
THE HEIR HAS RETURNED.
The words were simple. Their meaning wasn’t.
Doran stepped closer to Aren. "You know what it says."
Aren kept his eyes on the mark. "I can read part of it."
"Part?"
"The system translated it." He stopped himself.
Doran noticed the hesitation but didn’t press him. Instead, he examined the carving. "Whoever made this wanted us to find it."
Aren nodded. "That much is obvious."
---
Chief Aldren approached with Harok and several other leaders. "Can you read the rest?"
Aren shook his head. "No. The writing is too damaged."
Harok touched the edge of the carving. "These marks look old."
"They are," Aren said.
Harok gave him a suspicious look. "But someone carved them recently."
Aren nodded. That was the strange part. The script belonged to an ancient civilization, yet someone living in the present had used it. Someone who knew it still existed.
Aldren turned toward the guards. "Search the entire northern wall."
The warriors immediately spread out.
"Check the watchtower."
"Look for footprints."
"Search the ground outside the gate."
Within moments, the area became busy. Aren remained where he was. He couldn’t stop thinking about the word. Heir. He had no family connection to the ancient civilization that he knew of. At least, none that he remembered. His only memories were fragments. A city. Soldiers. Stone roads. A golden dragon. Fire. Death. Nothing about an heir.
Doran lowered his voice. "Do you think they’re talking about you?"
Aren looked at him. "I don’t know."
"You’ve been having those memories."
"Yes."
"And now someone leaves an ancient message saying the heir has returned."
Aren exhaled slowly. "I know how it sounds."
Doran folded his arms. "It sounds like trouble."
"That too."
Doran almost smiled. "Good. At least we’re thinking the same way."
---
The council returned to the hall. This time, nobody sat comfortably. The discovery at the northern gate had changed the atmosphere completely.
Harok placed both hands on the table. "We need to decide whether these people are connected to the attack."
"They probably are," Reth replied.
Varek shook his head. "Not necessarily."
Harok’s eyes narrowed. "You know too much for someone who claims to be a traveler."
Varek didn’t answer.
Harok stepped closer. "You knew about the tunnels. You recognized the symbol. You knew about the people searching for the ruins." His voice hardened. "So tell us what you’re hiding."
Varek remained silent for a moment. Then he slowly removed the black cloth wrapped around his wrist. Underneath was a small scar. A circle with a line through it.
Aren recognized the shape immediately. "The same symbol."
Varek nodded. "My people have carried it for generations."
"Why?"
"Because we were once Keepers."
The hall fell silent. Harok stared at him. "You said the Keepers were an old group."
"They are."
"And your people?"
"My ancestors were part of them." Varek looked down at the scar. "They believed the ancient civilization had destroyed itself because its knowledge became too powerful."
Aren listened carefully. Varek continued. "They weren’t trying to rebuild it. They wanted to make sure nobody could."
Doran frowned. "And the Seekers?"
"They believe the opposite." Varek’s expression hardened. "They believe the civilization fell because someone betrayed it."
Aren looked up. "Betrayed it?"
Varek nodded. "They’ve spent generations searching for proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That the old civilization wasn’t destroyed by war." Varek’s voice became quieter. "They believe it was sealed."
The word struck Aren immediately. "Sealed?"
Varek nodded. "Something happened before the civilization disappeared. Something so dangerous that the survivors closed the main city and buried its location."
---
Aren remembered the vision. The massive gate. The soldiers. The voice. Do not open it. His breathing became shallow.
Doran noticed. "Aren?"
Aren ignored him. The memory was becoming clearer. Not enough to understand. But enough to hurt. A stone gate. Two towers. A crowd standing behind a line of soldiers. Someone was crying. Someone else was shouting. Then a man in armor turned toward the gate. Aren couldn’t see his face. But he heard the words again.
Do not open it.
The memory vanished. Aren placed one hand against the table. Varek was watching him.
"You saw something."
Aren looked at him. "How do you know?"
"Because I’ve seen that expression before."
"Where?"
"On other people who remembered."
Aren’s eyes narrowed. "There were others?"
Varek didn’t answer immediately. That hesitation was enough.
"How many?"
"Not many."
"Are they alive?"
Varek looked away. Aren understood. Probably not.
---
A loud crash suddenly came from outside. Everyone turned. Aldren grabbed his spear. "What was that?"
Another crash followed. Then shouting.
"Fire!"
Doran was already moving. Aren followed. They rushed into the street and saw smoke rising from the eastern quarter. One of the storage houses was burning. Warriors were carrying buckets toward it while villagers hurried away from the flames.
Aldren shouted orders. "Get everyone clear! Don’t let the fire reach the other buildings!"
Harok ran toward the storage houses. Aren stopped for a moment. Something was wrong. The fire was too small. It had been started deliberately. The flames were concentrated around the doorway. Not the walls. Not the roof. The doorway. Someone wanted people to go inside.
Aren turned toward Doran. "Don’t let anyone enter."
Doran understood immediately. He shouted toward the nearest warriors. "Stay back!"
A warrior ignored him and rushed toward the building. The moment he stepped through the doorway, a sharp sound came from inside. He fell. Doran sprinted forward and dragged him back. A small dart was buried in the man’s shoulder.
"Poison?"
Lira, who had been helping move the wounded, immediately knelt beside him. "Move." She pulled the dart free and examined the tip. "It’s coated."
Aren looked toward the burning building. "They wanted someone to enter."
Doran nodded. "And they knew we’d try to save the supplies."
---
Aren’s eyes moved across the street. The crowd. The warriors. The rooftops. The shadows between the buildings. Someone was watching.
Then he saw movement. A figure slipped between two houses. Aren immediately ran.
"Aren!"
Doran followed. They cut through a narrow alley and reached the other side just in time to see a person disappear behind a wooden fence. Aren climbed over it. Nothing. Only an empty path leading toward the southern wall.
Doran landed beside him. "Gone."
Aren looked down. There was a footprint in the mud. Small. Fresh. Beside it was something else. A piece of black cloth. Aren picked it up. The same symbol had been stitched into the fabric. Circle. Bird.
Doran’s expression hardened. "They were inside the settlement."
Aren looked back toward the burning storage house. "Not just inside." He held up the cloth. "They wanted us to chase them."
Doran frowned. "Why?"
Aren looked toward the northern gate. The ancient message. The tunnel. The fire. All of it was beginning to feel connected.
"They’re testing us."
"For what?"
Aren didn’t answer.
---
A cold wind moved through the alley. Somewhere beyond the walls, a horn sounded. Once. Then twice. Doran looked toward the eastern forest.
"That isn’t ours."
Aren’s expression changed. The sound had come from outside Stone River. A signal. A response. Someone in the forest was communicating with someone inside.
Aren slowly closed his hand around the piece of cloth. "They’re not just searching for me."
Doran looked at him. "They’re preparing for something."
Aren nodded. "And whatever they’re preparing for—" his eyes shifted toward the dark forest, "—Stone River is standing directly in the middle of it."
---
Far beyond the walls, hidden among the trees, a figure lowered a small horn. Another person stood beside him.
"The message was delivered."
"And the fire?"
"It worked."
The second figure looked toward Stone River. "What about the boy?"
The first figure smiled. "He remembered."
A pause followed. "Then it’s time."
The two figures disappeared into the forest. Neither noticed the faint golden glow that briefly appeared between the trees behind them.
End of Chapter 47