Chapter 42 — The Stone Tablet
Aren couldn’t take his eyes off Doran. The words he had just heard kept repeating in his mind. An old stone tablet. Ancient writing. People searching for it. The Civilization Legacy System had never reacted to something like this before. Whatever was happening in the eastern forest was connected to his memories. He just didn’t know how.
"Where is the tablet now?" Aren asked.
Doran looked at him. "They took it."
"Did you see what was written on it?"
"Not clearly." Doran touched his injured shoulder. "It was dark, and we were trying not to get caught."
Aren nodded. "Then tell me everything you remember."
Doran thought for a moment. "The tablet wasn’t very large. About this wide." He held his hands apart. "Black stone. Smooth surface. No cracks."
Aren’s eyes narrowed. "Was there a symbol?"
Doran looked surprised. "Yes."
"What symbol?"
"A circle." Doran paused. "Inside it was something that looked like a bird."
Aren’s breathing slowed. A bird. His memories had shown him a golden dragon. Not a bird. So perhaps it wasn’t the same civilization. Or maybe there had been more than one.
"What else?"
Doran shook his head. "Nothing."
Aren looked toward the forest. The strangers had found something before he did. That bothered him. Not because they had an ancient tablet. But because they seemed to know exactly where to look.
---
Chief Aldren gathered the other leaders inside the meeting hall. The atmosphere was completely different from the previous night. Nobody was joking. Nobody was arguing. Doran’s report had changed everything.
Chief Harok stood with his arms crossed. "You’re saying these people aren’t Black Fang?"
Doran nodded. "I didn’t see the Black Fang mark."
Captain Reth leaned over the table. "Could they be hiding it?"
"They could." Doran looked at him. "But their weapons were different."
"Different how?"
"Their blades were narrow." He pointed toward one of the swords hanging from a warrior’s belt. "Not like that."
Aldren frowned. "Did they look like raiders?"
"No." Doran’s answer came quickly. "They moved like soldiers."
The room became quiet. Aren looked at the map. "So they’re organized."
"Very." Doran continued. "They had someone giving orders."
"Who?"
"I don’t know."
"What did he look like?"
Doran hesitated. "Young."
That surprised everyone. "Young?"
"Maybe around your age." Doran looked at Aren. "He didn’t look like a chief."
Aren didn’t respond. A young leader. An unknown group. An ancient artifact. And a hidden location somewhere in the forest. Too many questions.
Chief Aldren tapped the table. "We don’t know their purpose."
Chief Harok shook his head. "Then we should attack first."
Several warriors nodded. Aren finally spoke. "No."
Harok looked at him. "You think we should just wait?"
"I think attacking people we don’t understand is exactly what they want."
Harok frowned. "And what makes you think that?"
Aren pointed toward the map. "They didn’t attack Stone River. They didn’t attack the council. They didn’t attack our villages. They’re searching for something."
Captain Reth slowly nodded. "And if we attack them, we may push them away before we learn what they’re looking for."
Aldren looked at Aren. "Then what do you suggest?"
Aren stared at the eastern forest. "We find the place where they found the tablet."
Doran immediately shook his head. "That won’t be easy."
"Why?"
"Because I don’t think they were following us." Aren looked at him. Doran continued. "They already knew where they were going."
The room fell silent. That single detail changed everything. They weren’t searching randomly. They had a destination.
---
Later that evening, Aren returned to the guest quarters. Lira was sitting beside the small window, sorting herbs. She looked up when he entered.
"You’re thinking too much again."
Aren smiled faintly. "Is it that obvious?"
"Very." She placed the herbs aside. "What happened?"
Aren sat down. "Doran found people in the eastern forest."
"The strangers?"
"Yes."
Lira became serious. "They had an ancient tablet."
She stopped moving. "Ancient?"
Aren nodded. "With writing."
Lira looked toward him. "Do you think it’s connected to your memories?"
"I don’t know." He rubbed his forehead. "But the system reacted."
Lira had heard enough about the strange system by now not to question it. "What did it show?"
"Ancient Writing."
Lira was silent. Then she asked something Aren hadn’t expected.
"Can you read it?"
Aren looked at her. "I haven’t seen the writing yet."
"That’s not what I asked."
Aren froze. Lira watched him carefully. "Can you?"
He thought about it. "I don’t know."
---
That night, Aren couldn’t sleep. The village was quiet. Only the occasional footsteps of guards could be heard outside.
He closed his eyes. The memories came again. A stone road. Tall buildings. People carrying baskets. A massive gate. The golden dragon. Then another image appeared. A different place. A dark stone chamber. A group of people gathered around a table. On the table, a black stone tablet.
Aren opened his eyes. His heart was beating quickly. He had seen it. Not clearly. But enough. The tablet from his memory looked almost identical to Doran’s description.
Aren sat up. The Civilization Legacy System appeared.
════════════════════════════
MEMORY FRAGMENT DETECTED
Ancient Artifact
Similarity: 87%
Memory Synchronization: 29% → 30%
New Knowledge Unlocked: Ancient Script Recognition
════════════════════════════
Aren stared at the message. Ancient Script Recognition. He looked around the dark room. There was no tablet. No writing. Nothing. Yet somehow, he knew that if he saw the symbols again, he would understand them.
Aren slowly stood. He needed to find that tablet. Not tomorrow. Not after the council. Soon.
---
The next morning, Aren found Doran near the eastern gate. The scout was already preparing to leave.
"You shouldn’t be moving yet."
Doran shrugged. "My shoulder works."
"That’s not what I asked."
"It works enough."
Aren sighed. "You’re impossible."
Doran smiled. "Where are we going?"
Aren looked toward the forest. "The place where you found them."
Doran’s smile disappeared. "You really want to go?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Aren lowered his voice. "Because I think the tablet is connected to something much bigger."
Doran studied him. "You saw something."
Aren didn’t answer. That was enough.
Doran picked up his spear. "Then we’d better tell Aldren."
Aren nodded. They walked toward the meeting hall together.
---
Neither of them noticed the figure standing on the far side of the settlement. A hood covered the stranger’s face. He watched Aren disappear into the hall. Then he turned away.
His hand slowly reached beneath his cloak. A small piece of black stone rested in his palm. A single symbol had been carved into its surface. A circle. And inside it, a bird.
The stranger whispered something in a language no one in Stone River understood. Then he crushed the stone in his hand. Dust slipped between his fingers.
"He’s awake."
He disappeared into the crowd.
Far away, in the eastern forest, something answered. A deep sound echoed between the trees. Not a roar. Not a howl. Something older. Something that had been sleeping for a very long time.
And now, it was beginning to wake.
End of Chapter 42