TBATE - Not Bound By Fate

Part 21

Jasmine and I, along with Regis inside my core, were with Varay in front of the mansion where the ruins were found. The briefing we received earlier today gave me a pretty good idea of what type of aether art was used to protect the site. I'm pretty sure it's a Spatium art that warps the tunnel to make whoever reaches the main exit appear on a different one, but never the one that would lead to a deeper area.

As I thought about ways of disarming the art we reached the small camp that was being used as a base of operation for the archaeologists underneath the mansion. Waiting for us down here was Bairon who was tasked with protecting the people but also making sure no one who isn't supposed to know about this investigation doesn't get too close.

"I've brought the adventurer I told you about Bairon." Varay said announcing our presence.

"So I can see. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm Bairon Wykes. I was told you would be of great help in this situation." He said while extending his hand.

"Note. I hope to live up to your expectations." I introduced myself and went for the handshake.

"If you two would please follow me, I would like to get working on breaking this spell as soon as possible." Bairon said, clearly tired of being stuck down here.

"Of course. Jasmine?"

"I'll sit this one out, you're the specialist in this case. Just let me know when you're done."

I gave her a nod and followed Bairon to the entrance of the tunnel. As we got closer I could feel the concentration of aether getting higher. I didn't waste the chance and started absorbing it even if my core was full. The reason for that is that even after two years I still didn't understand why I lost the extra layers but gained the increased capacity. Regis, who was inside my core every time I experimented on it, couldn't figure it out either.

After a few minutes I was pulled out of my thoughts as we had arrived at the entrance.

"Here it is. We tried everything we could, but no matter how we disrupted the mana it stayed strong." Bairon explained.

"I see. How long is the tunnel?"

"Not that long. It takes about a minute of walking to reach the main exit and a minute and a half to reach the other six."

"Is there any writing or symbols on the walls?"

"None were found so far. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just trying to figure out if this is a puzzle or a trap."

"A puzzle?" Bairon asked, his curiosity clearly piqued.

"The ancient mages were quite fond of testing people as a way to teach them their magic."

"And where did you learn that? As far as I know there are not enough vestiges of their culture left behind to know how they taught."

"Look at you talking more than you should. What if Agrona learns that you actually know something about the Djinn and aether because of it."

"It's fine. In fact, it will be good for us. He'll end up underestimating me anyways, so why not give him some information to create an even bigger false sense of security?" As I said that to him I could feel he understood my reasoning and even agreed to it.

"Context clues I found inside a few dungeons here and there." I answered Bairon and could see him contemplating what I said. "If that answers your question, I'll be taking a look around the tunnel to see if I can figure something out."

"I'll stay here. Let me know if you need anything or when you find how to progress."

"That's weird. Shouldn't he follow you to make sure you don't steal anything or something like that?" Regis asked.