"Felix," Chan whispered and Felix slowly opened his eyes. He sat up, blinking awake and he looked around the cave. Moonlight was shining in through the opening and the fire had died down, leaving only a faint orange glow. The rain had gone from a heavy downpour to a lighter rainfall, the droplets smattering against the rock of the cave that sheltered them.
"What are you..." Felix trailed off, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the sleep.
"I found something," Chan said, voice still hushed to not disturb their companions. "I need to show it to you."
Felix frowned but he stood up. Chan gave their companions a quick glance before he gently took Felix's hand and begun to pull him deeper into the cave. Felix, brain still muddled from sleep, just followed Chan. The cave walls were rough, created by nature and age and the tunnel ahead of them seemed almost endless.
"I couldn't sleep," Chan begun and Felix nodded, brain finally starting to catch up with him. Everything was dark and without a lightsource, Felix's vision slowly faded over to monochrome as his eyes adjusted. He still couldn't see far ahead of them, but what he saw was all in grayscale.
"So you decided to walk further into the cave without knowing what you would find?" Felix asked, raising an eyebrow. Chan turned around to look at him, sheepish smile stretching on his lips.
"Exactly," Chan said, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "I didn't go... too far though. We found a really deep cave, but I wanted to bring you with me."
"Okay?" Felix said, furrowing his brows again.
"You'll see what I mean," Chan said, offering Felix a smug grin before turning to look ahead again. The tunnel was still round, edges rough and uneven as they continued to walk. Beside from their gentle footfall, Felix could hear the distant sound of dripping water ahead of them.
The tunnel slowly opened in front of them and a large, rectangular room presented itself. This was such a contrast to the tunnel they just left. Every angle in this room was so obviously man made, carved into the stone with utter precision. Felix couldn't see how far the room stretched itself in front of them, no matter how much he squinted and tried. He could see a faint bit of light in the far end of the room.
"I think this has been a temple," Chan whispered and Felix took his off the silver light source to look at Chan. "Look at the floor," he continued and Felix did as told. Countless of runes covered the floor. Felix let go of Chan's hand, crouching down to brush his fingers over the runes. The stone was worn in some places, possibly after years and years of people walking the same path.
"I can't... I don't recognize the language," Felix said, keeping his voice hushed. He didn't want to disturb the peace in the chamber. Whatever was here or had been here had to be respected. Chan crouched down beside him, running his fingers over the symbols. "It looks kind of like Elvish," he mused and Chan hummed. "But older?"
"There's some influences of draconic too," Chan added and Felix furrowed his brows. "But they're not enough that I can make out what it says."
Felix stood up and Chan followed suit, immediately reaching for Felix's hand.
"Did you go further than this?"
"I didn't," Chan said, shaking his head a little as they began to walk again. Their footsteps were echoing softly in the vast hall. Felix could only have imagined how grand it must have been before it was abandoned.
"Is this from before the Eruvafendë?" Felix asked, eyes still wandering around the room. If this was before the Eruvafendë, before the veil protecting them from the other realms was wrapped around their world, this place must have been stunning. It wasn't uncommon, according to the stories, that the deities visited their worshippers and their temples during the first age. But after the veil was established, their influence was blocked out.
