Chapter Five:
Tekke Site
They had just left the forest
where they had been camping,
and morning had already come.
Hanna was walking forward,
eyes only on the map,
trying to find the Tekke Site entrance.
She kept walking forward,
focused,
when suddenly
she started to float
and walk through the air.
Jane had gently grabbed her
and lifted her off the ground.
When Hanna was about to complain,
she looked ahead
and saw a cliff.
Jane looked to the left
and pointed
to a narrow descent
between the edge of the cliff
and the forest.
"I think the path is over there."
Hanna, wide-eyed,
looked at the cliff
and then at Jane,
who set her back down.
"Thanks." She smiled brightly.
"Let's go,
the entrance should be down there.
From what Hank said, based on the location,
it might be an old mine
that opened up from erosion
or something like that."
Jane narrowed her eyes.
"Hank?
Who's Hank?"
Hanna stopped mid-step.
"Ahh, right,
you were in the infirmary at that time,
because of the bruises from the Lynts that day.
Hank is that old guy I almost fried,
on our first day at the Vault."
Jane tilted her head.
"And he helped you read the map?
I'll have to thank him later."
Hanna gently pulled Jane's arm.
"Yeah yeah,
we'll think about that later.
We have to find the entrance
and try to get as far as we can through the stages.
If possible, all of them,
since we're the first ones to take this mission."
Jane let herself be pulled
and started walking.
"Okay,
but put the map away for now.
That descent is really steep and narrow,
and as far as I remember,
you don't fly."
Hanna smirked.
"Fine…
come on."
They descended the steep ramp
until they reached the bottom of a ravine.
And even though morning had just started,
very few rays of light were reaching
the floor.
"I think it's behind that."
Hanna pointed to a rocky wall
with some green moss.
Jane tilted her head to the left,
then to the right.
"Are you sure?"
She went up to the wall
and pushed it,
but nothing happened.
Her hands just got a bit dirty
with the moss that was covering the whole surface.
Hanna rolled her eyes upward.
"Take a few steps back,
you'll see."
She took off the blue glove
and put on the red one,
counted quietly to five,
and a small spark of fire
came from her fingertips toward the wall.
Before even touching the stone,
the moss reacted to the heat,
and started burning like dried leaves.
Even the moss that was on Jane's hands
burned up
with the heat
that now filled the air.
Jane shook her hand,
looking down.
"Ouch,
that one pinched a bit.
Still, even with the moss gone,
how are we supposed to get through the wa—"
She looked toward where there had been a mossy wall.
Now there was a large opening,
at least five meters tall,
and wide enough for both to walk through
side by side with room to spare.
"What?
How was that moss so tough?
It felt like stone."
"Because it was stone,"
Hanna answered
as she stepped closer to the opening.
"That was mining moss.
They usually merge with stone
and slowly multiply.
This mine must've been sealed off or something,
and they were
feeding on the rocks.
The book I read
said they were supposed
to be extinct.
Because they only eat a specific type of rock
found near forests,
and since they reproduce inside the stone,
even a single spark
can cause a chain reaction
in seconds…"
She placed a hand under her chin for a moment.
"One time, when I was sneaking around
my older sister Livarien's private class,
her teacher called it
Dularvar."
"But I never knew what that mea—"
"Forest Devour." Jane clicked her tongue.
Hanna froze for a moment.
"You said that
you didn't know Etaena…"
Jane ran her finger on the stone next to the entrance.
"I don't.
That was Vanarith.
The elders, once a week,
gather all the kids to tell stories.
One of those stories
was that a long time ago,
a creature called Dularvar
burned half of the forest.
He told us that after the accident,
all Vanatari hunted down
and erased every trace of them
from our land.
But I didn't know
the thing that almost wiped our kin from Eskaedra
was
something so stupid..."
Hanna placed her hand on Jane's arm with care.
Jane smiled from the corner of her mouth.
"But it was a long time ago.
And also, with you here,
we can roast them all."
Hanna started pushing her friend's back slowly,
nudging her into the mine.
"That's right,
I'll roast all of them,
one by one."
Hanna stopped pushing
and hugged Jane from behind for a few seconds.
"So,
no sad face,
alright?"
Jane nodded.
Both started walking into the cave.
Dripping echoed down the tunnel walls.
Rhythmic, slow.
Each drop vanished into the dirt below.
A line of faded chalk marked the left side—
arrows, symbols, one or two already blurred by moisture.
Jane walked first.
Shield strapped to her back.
Eyes scanning high, then low.
Behind her,
Hanna kept the pace,
lighter-footed,
glancing often at the walls.
The moss residue from the entrance
lit the path between the smell of scorched rock
and mold. It stretched for almost half an hour
after they entered the mine.
Until a triple fork appeared,
the tunnels were as wide as the entrance.
Jane stopped in front of the fork.
"What do you think, Han, should we map everything first?"
Hanna knelt and pulled a notebook from her backpack.
"So, from what I wrote here.
First, we should map,
then check for traps and disarm them if possible,
identify and measure the difficulty of smaller enemies,
and then check if there are any bigger threats.
And finally, with luck, we might find some Raw Tekke."
She adjusted her glasses and looked up at Jane.
"But,
since we picked all the stages,
we can skip the mapping step.
If we manage to complete it,
worst case, we map it later
if we can't handle whatever's in here.
We have one day for each stage and two days for the final one,
or they'll consider us missing, try to send a search team,
but we'll lose the rights to the Tekkes, and the mission will be opened again for another group.
In short, if you agree, we can try going carefully and skip the first two stages for now.
What do you think?"
Jane tilted her head.
"I think it's worth trying,
if,
a big if,
we're very careful, ok?"
Hanna stood and slung the backpack over her shoulders.
She gave Jane a small pat on the back.
"Ladies first,
go ahead and pick which one of these
dark, possibly trap-filled tunnels
we're going to follow." Grinning.
Hanna was holding a small lantern
right behind Jane.
She stopped.
"Again."
Jane stopped walking and raised her shield, striking it with the hilt of her sword.
Thum!
The sound echoed through the dark corridor ahead of them.
Jane tilted her head, trying to hear if anything reacted.
"Nothing,
try throwing another."
Hanna nodded and cast a flame forward,
the fire trailing down the corridor,
light reflecting on the walls,
then vanishing into the darkness.
"We can keep going."
When they reached where the flame had vanished,
Jane stopped again and tapped the shield.
They repeated the strategy
again
and again.
Until…
the last flame Hanna launched
hit a wall.
Jane approached the wall and looked to the left,
swaying the lantern.
She pointed.
"There,
more of that mining moss."
Hanna raised her hand,
a flame forming in her palm.
Jane touched her shoulder.
"Careful,
try not to get too close."
Hanna nodded.
She took two steps forward and released the flame.
The moss began to react and burn.
A thin layer on the wall burned away,
then it started trailing like a line along the stone
until it reached the wall where Jane stood.
In the blink of an eye, the entire surface
erupted in burning moss.
Jane turned toward it and stepped back.
The moss kept burning,
and the wall slowly began to reveal
a humanoid shape,
partially embedded in the stone.
Until the glowing moss finally died out.
Jane nodded for Hanna to move behind her.
A shape.
Rounded.
Slightly pulsing.
Not green like the moss.
Brighter.
More like—
"Jane," Hanna whispered.
Jane turned halfway.
Her brow tightened.
Then she stepped back beside her.
The object was smooth, half-sphere, barely larger than a melon.
Veined like crystal, but breathing,
slow pulses of light running through it like veins beneath skin.
Hanna reached out.
Not touching,
but close.
Jane's voice came low.
"Hanna…"
"I know." Hanna's fingers kept moving.
She touched it.
Nothing…
then the hum.
Low.
Subtle.
Not sound,
vibration.
Running down the tunnel like
something waking up.
Jane grabbed Hanna's shoulder.
Pulled her back.
Fast.
A crack formed.
From inside the wall—
the shape swelled.
Split.
Peeled open.
Stone flaked.
Veins glowed brighter.
A form emerged.
Two arms, then a shoulder.
Bigger than either of them.
Taller than the archway they stood under.
Built like a boulder.
But moving.
Tekke light ran through its chest like molten lines in cooling rock.
Jane stepped in front of Hanna.
Her shield came down with a metallic thunk.
One foot braced.
Eyes locked.
The creature's head tilted.
It didn't roar.
Didn't rush.
Just watched.
And pulsed.
The creature didn't rush.
It stepped once.
The tunnel moaned.
Jane exhaled slow.
Whispered.
"Don't use fire.
This whole place could be reactive."
Hanna nodded.
Changed gloves.
A shimmer of pale frost curled from her palm.
The creature moved.
Arm swung,
slow but massive.
Jane stepped in
took the blow on her shield.
The ring echoed down the tunnel.
She slid back a half step.
Pushed again.
Slammed the shield forward.
Crack!
A faint fracture lit the creature's ribs.
Hanna darted wide.
Slammed her palm to the floor—
an ice ramp formed beneath the monster's foot.
It tilted.
Jane moved in again.
Strike.
Retreat.
Breathe.
Hanna spun out a frost-disk—
flat, sharp.
It zipped low, cut across the ankle.
The creature stumbled, one knee dropping.
A groan in the wall.
"Keep moving," Jane hissed.
"We hit another wall—
they'll wake."
The fight stretched long.
Tension slow and layered.
Hanna threw a spike.
Jane feinted low.
The golem staggered.
Then—
from the shadows.
A second hum.
Brighter.
Faster.
Another pulse.
Another wall cracked.
A second golem emerged—
heavier.
Eyes glowing deeper.
It charged.
Jane blocked—
but this time the force lifted her.
She hit the wall.
Hard.
Coughed.
Blood hit the floor.
"Jane!" Hanna cried.
Jane rose.
Wiped her lips.
"I'm fine."
Voice hoarse.
She pulled back, slow.
Past a narrow split in the tunnel.
"Hanna,
left chamber.
Pull it."
Hanna understood.
She skated sideways.
Formed ice behind her feet to slide faster.
The first golem.
Then the second.
They turned.
Being Followed,
by the two golems.
Jane dropped her weight.
Let her shield drag.
Every step behind them
heavy now.
Hanna circled
then slammed both hands down.
A jagged ring of ice spikes burst upward.
Not tall,
just enough to delay.
Jane joined her.
Another disk.
Two wide arcs.
One gouged the second golem's shoulder.
Its glow pulsed brighter.
The floor groaned.
Under Jane's boot—
a long crack.
"Wait…"
The weight of both monsters—
slowed by frost,
pressed by momentum,
it was too much.
The stone floor snapped.
It didn't explode—
it gave way.
Heavy.
Slow.
Hanna's eyes widened.
The ground dropped beneath them,
and the weight pulled them both.
Jane grabbed Hanna mid-fall.
Pulled her in.
Arms wrapping.
Shielding.
Holding tight as the air gave way.
Dust.
Green.
Stone.
Ice.
And dark.
They fell.
Together.
The dust was still settling.
Chunks of stone scattered across the floor.
One of the golems lay cracked open—green veins dimming.
The second had fallen face-first, embedded halfway into the far wall.
Jane sat against a low boulder, her breathing sharp.
Blood still marked the corner of her lip, dried now.
Hanna knelt beside her, one hand steady on her own knee.
They survived.
But the tunnel was blocked behind them—
caved in from the fall and the final impact.
Ahead, two thin passages curved into the dark.
One left.
One right.
Both too narrow to walk side by side.
The left was lower.
Too tight for Jane.
Hanna's eyes flicked toward the passages.
Then back to Jane.
Jane stood slowly.
Her eyes followed Hanna.
Then turned to the left path.
"No way.
We find another way. Together."
"We will," Hanna answered, softly.
"You'll take the right path.
Keep your left hand on the wall.
I'll take the left one.
Keep my right hand on the wall.
If they meet up—
we'll find each other again.
If one of us hits a dead end,
we wait or turn back after twenty minutes.
Deal?"
Jane's jaw clenched.
"I don't like it."
"I know."
Hanna smiled gently.
"I don't either.
But I can fit through there.
And you can't.
And if we both take the same path
and there's something waiting,
we'd have no room to fight.
it'd be worse than facing it alone."
Jane stood fully.
Stretched her arms once.
Hanna raised her right hand.
Fingers curved like a crescent.
Jane met it with her left.
Not a handshake.
Not a wave.
Just a touch, palm to palm.
Then they turned.
One left.
One right.
Steps quiet.
Ice flickering faintly behind them.
Stone above.
Stone below.
Jane moved carefully through the narrow path.
Each step tested the ground.
Still sore.
But steady.
Her tunnel curved once,
then opened slightly.
A draft touched her cheek.
Fresh air.
Then,
just ahead,
light.
A faint glint bouncing off uneven stone.
She stepped through the last arch, into a hollow alcove.
And froze.
Ahead, across a jagged pit—
a collapsed tunnel mouth.
Crushed inward.
Beneath the rubble, wedged between the boulders—
a flicker of blue.
Ice.
Her voice caught in her chest,
then she stepped forward.
"HANNA!"
No answer.
She ran to the edge of the drop,
boots scraping the edge,
then crouched low.
"Hanna—answer me!
I swear if you froze your arm again just to save a bug—"
Faintly, from the other side.
"I'm fine!
But the path's blocked!"
Jane let her head drop.
Relief in her throat.
"You better be."
Then she smiled.
Jane pressed her hands to the stone.
"Hold on, I'll try to—"
"Wait, go back a bit.
Let me try something." Hanna voice came muffled.
Hanna stared at the boulder.
She took a shaky breath.
Right glove on,
Ice.
She crouched and placed her palm on the stone.
A thick layer of frost spread fast,
but barely reached a crack.
She grimaced.
She pulled off her red glove,
pressed her hand flat.
Heat bloomed,
steam curled,
but the boulder barely hissed.
Her lips tightened.
She glanced down at both gloves.
Hanna's voice was louder, slightly strained.
"I'll need to use both to break it!"
Jane's voice cut through the stone with sharp urgency.
"OK! BUT DON'T FORGET—
FIVE SECONDS,
HANNA!"
"I know," Hanna answered, her voice fading.
Hanna stared at the boulder again.
She took a shaky breath.
Left glove on. Ice.
Right glove on. Fire.
She didn't wait.
Crack.
Hiss.
The stone groaned under the force,
ice spreading wide, steam hissing as flame tore into it.
She stumbled back as the boulder split and collapsed inward, light bleeding through the dust.
Blood ran from her nose. Her legs trembled.
She wiped it quickly with the back of her hand
and
melted a bit of ice in her palm,
cleaning it quietly.
Footsteps.
Jane.
She emerged from the settling dust and rushed to her.
"Are you okay?
Did you get hurt?
Let me see your nose,
show me your hands."
"See?" Hanna turned her face, showing her nose, then her fingers.
But behind her back,
on the ground—
a red pool of blood.
Jane exhaled slowly, a breath of relief escaping her chest.
She turned back toward the wreckage of the boulder and started walking.
"So…
any luck with treasure on your path?"
Hanna blinked,
pulling herself from her thoughts.
"What?
Oh…
treasure?
No, no.
I saw some glowy mushrooms.
That counts?"
She caught up to Jane,
with a proud little smile,
brushing dust from her tunic.
Jane gave a quiet huff.
"I don't think so."
"But they were shiny.
Like treasure…"
Jane didn't reply, just shook her head gently,
the smile still on her face as they walked on.