Chapter 100 Phantom?

Many hours later, the group stopped at a small hut where an old man lived. The four of them entered the house and Lucas introduced himself to the old man.

"My name is Lucas. We need directions to the valley."

"Very well," the old man said, "but I warn you, those are dangerous lands. They've been attacked by bandits for years."

"That's okay, we can take care of ourselves," Lucas assured him.

"Whatever you say, young boy," the old man said, "but this way, please."

He led them through the woods until they reached a clearing. It was an open field surrounded by trees. On one side stood a huge mountain, and on the other side was a river. In between them, the group saw a large, circular building.

"I guess we should go in there," Lucas said.

Everyone agreed without hesitation.

Inside the valley, Lya stood in front of the huge stone tower, which stood taller than any other building.

Lucas, Haya and Notru were standing behind her. The air inside smelled of dust, but it didn't bother them much since the temperature outside was already hot enough.

"This thing looks like a big machine," Haya commented.

"Yeah, it does," Lya said, "but I don't think it works anymore."

"Let's see if we can find anything interesting," Lucas suggested, "hmm... there should be some kind of controls or something here..."

Kali and Notru investigated the room while Lucas and Haya searched. After several minutes, Lucas found a panel that looked like it controlled the door.

"Here," he said.

"Let's try something," Haya said. He activated the panel and the door slid open, revealing a long corridor.

"Wow, look at this place," Lucas remarked.

Haya nodded.

"It looks like a museum," he said, "they probably used to store all kinds of artefacts and weapons back in the day."

"Like what?" Lucas asked.

"Weapons, I guess," Haya shrugged, "but it could also be some kind of treasure or even a library."

As they started walking along the corridor, their footsteps echoed loudly.

"Wow, this must have been a really important place once," Kali remarked.

The source of this content is n/ov/elbin[./]net'

Lucas couldn't help but agree.

They continued into the corridor and suddenly, Lucas noticed a shadow moving in the corner of his eye.

"Lya!" he shouted.

The others turned around.

An invisible force grabbed Haya and pulled him towards the wall.

Lucas tried to move forward to help him, but he was unable to make a single step.

"Haya! Lya!"

Before he could do anything, Notru fell to the ground.

A figure emerged from the shadows and stepped towards him.

"Greetings," the voice said, "I am known as the Phantom."

The phantom raised a hand towards Lucas and froze him in place.

"Don't worry," the phantom told him, "we have no quarrel with you."

Then he turned to Haya and Notru, remember me?"

"Who is he?" Kali asked.

"Just another legend," the phantom explained, "he was supposed to be a great thief who stole many treasures from the king."

"Oh yeah, the thieves' guild had a meeting about him once," Haya said.

"I'm surprised someone hasn't robbed this place yet," Lucas added.

"Unfortunately, the only ones brave enough to enter here are the rats," the phantom told them, "and we don't want to kill anymore."

"What does he mean by 'rat'?" Kali asked.

"Rats are rodents," Haya explained, "some people think they're disgusting creatures that eat garbage and spread disease."

"But what does it have to do with us?" she wondered.

"We just don't want to fight any more rats," the phantom replied. He paused for a moment before continuing, "but I suppose we can spare you for the time being. Just don't get in our way."

With that, he disappeared into the shadows.

Notru got up and rubbed his head. "You okay?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," Notru said, "just a little dizzy."

Lucas nodded.

"So now what?" Notru asked.

"I guess we'll go after him," Lucas declared.

"I'm not sure if I want to," Haya said.

"Can't we just leave him alone?" Kali asked.

"No," Lucas said, "because he might hurt us if we let him get away."

"I still don't understand why we're chasing him," Notru muttered.

"Because he stole my sword," Lucas explained. "It's a special kind of blade," Lucas inhaled more air, "it has some sort of power."

"I've never heard of such a thing," Notru said.

"Well, it's magic," Lucas said.

"Magic? You mean like the stuff from those stories...." He paused.

Lucas nodded.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Notru said.

"I guess so," Lucas agreed.

"Does it work like some kind of wand?" Notru wondered.

"Sort of," Lucas said.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"No," Lucas admitted, "I'm just guessing."

"So what will happen if we catch him?"

"If we chase him, we might learn more about it," Lucas answered and rolled his eyes.

"How much farther is it?" Haya asked.

"I don't know," Lucas replied.

The other three looked at each other and shrugged.

"Let's just keep going," Kalaini finally spoke.

"Okay,"

Their footsteps echoed loudly through the corridors.

"This place is huge," Notru remarked.

Lucas glanced down one corridor and saw a massive pile of debris on the floor.

"I wonder what happened here," he said.

"Looks like a cave-in," Notru said.

"How long ago did that happen?" Lucas wondered.

"I don't know," Haya said. "Maybe thousands of years."

"That's something else I'd like to find out," Lucas nodded.

They continued into the corridor and eventually reached a dead end.

There were two doors on either side of the corridor. "Which way should we go?" Haya asked.

"I guess we go right," Lucas decided. He opened the door to the right. "Where are we?" Haya slightly moved his shoulders.

"Another room," Lucas said.

"It looks familiar," Haya noted.

"Yeah," Lucas agreed.

The room was a large chamber filled with piles of junk. In the centre of the room, there was a pillar holding up a circular stone platform. The circle was inscribed with arcane symbols and runes. A wooden bench lay underneath.

Around the edge of the room stood several statues and pedestals.

"What are all those things?" Notru asked.