Bab 28: The Ruins In The Forest (2)

Skyler only responded by accelerating the vehicle to its maximum speed using only one hand. The transporter shot out with such force that it rose several feet into the air before hitting the road down the hill, Skyler grabbing both sides of the handlebars accelerated so hard that Malcom had to hold on firmly to her who was driving.

Their bodies were closer than he intended, but Skyler's scent filled Malcom's senses even at that speed.

Skyler came down the hill in seconds and lunged across the meadow with speed.

"Where are we going?" Skyler suddenly asked after realizing that she did not know where they were supposed to go.

The smiling Malcom waved one hand in the direction they had to go, and Skyler only needed that to get the full potential out of the vehicle.

After a twenty-minute journey that was supposed to take forty, they came to a lake that joined the forest they saw from the top of the hill.

They both got off the transporter, and Malcom began to check the location that Mabel had given him, while Skyler, smiling for everything that had just happened.

"You should thank me, without me, you would still be on that hill," she said with an arrogant smile on her pretty face.

Malcom looked at her wryly, "Didn't your dad ever teach you that nobody loves braggarts?" He said while still checking the map.

The young woman smiled and followed Malcom, who was starting to walk towards the forest. They entered through a grove that was wide open. Malcom led the way while Skyler kept looking at him in all directions. The young woman was thinking about the beauty of that forest, and an idea appeared in her brain.

"From the Maves, didn't you see anything of some ruins?"

"These excavations are not always in plain sight. Many times they are built to hide treasures, so they do their best to keep them hidden," Malcom answered.

"And how do people know they appear? Or better yet, how come no one have seen them before?" Skyler asked with total curiosity.

Malcom stopped. He glanced at Skyler, "It depends on the civilization that built the place."

The young woman looked at him curiously and asked, "Why are you stopping?"

"You are a successor, and Mabel hadn't told you anything about this?" Malcom asked without thinking. His expression was laced with genuine concern, like it was something unacceptable. He adds seriously, "that woman is a witch!"

"Why?" Skyler asked, confused. "Should I know?"

To which Malcom smirked as he walked once more.

"Of course, it is part of your work as a Virtue. You see, in modern times, the virtues do not fight with the Riders."

"I know," Skyler said. "That's what you are for, to keep the riders locked up..."

Malcom gave her a resentful look, but he quickly responded, "Exactly! So the virtues losing their purpose, very intelligently found other occupations. Among them, this one."

"You know that in the time of the Riders there were hundreds of civilizations, and all of them were scourged by those miserable, many of them had knowledge and skills that they wanted to preserve, so they created many excavations and protected them with magic to hide those treasures, but those Spells they used sooner or later fall for lack of empowerment, especially if the mage who performed it died so long ago," he continued to explain.

He then added, "Every time one of those magical forces appears in the world, it emits a kind of eruption that many magical sensors in cities can feel, that information is given to the Virtues because they are directly responsible in case there is a threat in those places."

Skyler listened carefully. "So Mabel found out and told you to investigate?" She asked with a frown.

To which Malcom nodded, "Yes. She and no virtue would explore these sites, and there really are not many people who do it. A lot of the things we find are useless, and it is dangerous even for the Virtues."

Skyler was shocked. She was having a hard time understanding Malcom's task.

"What things can there be that are dangerous for a Virtue?" She asked with unmasked confusion.

Malcom smiled. He looked at Skyler, "There are many things in the world that would even annoy the Virtues."

"Yeah? But, aside from dragons and a few other creatures, there can't be that many," She replied, "I mean, if it's something they don't like to deal with, they should send someone else, rather than a Marked, right?"

Malcom raised a brow, "You are right. It doesn't need to be dealt with by someone like me. Still, you would be surprised," he then added after pausing, "for example, a Virtue would have serious problems against a Guardian of the Night."

"Yeah, as anyone!" She immediately responded, before scowling, as if what he said was an obvious fact, "But that's what they train them for. In the end, they could handle it."

Malcom glanced at her. "A day guardian is absurdly dangerous. The virtues are super powerful, that is true, but those creatures would not be easy to handle. Think for a second they are super-fast and they have ancient weapons that can cut through magic. They are ten or twenty times more physically prominent than any creature. They would definitely give trouble," he said in a low voice as if he didn't want to alert anything in the forest.

"Maybe, but their weaknesses are very basic. Please, the day guardian cannot move if it is not daytime, and the night guardian cannot move if it is not night. That's kind of pathetic if you ask me," Skyler was still skeptical.

Malcom stopped. He shook his head before responding unhappily, "I think you underestimate a creature that could kill a dragon in combat."

"Meh," Skyler still could not believe it. Her interest was immediately lost, "They must be extinct anyway."

"Of course not!" Malcom argued.

"It does not matter, Malcom! Why do you stop again?"

"Because we are here," When he said that, Skyler turned away from the path and saw in the distance some small ruins at the bottom of a strange valley that seemed hidden within the forest.

"Cool!" Skyler yelped excitedly as she approached the ruins.

Malcom pushed her a little to advance further, and Skyler felt how the whole environment changed around her.

The air changed in intensity, and some pressure fell on her shoulders. She looked at Malcom curiously, and he was responding to her expression.

"It is the hangover of the magic that protected it, and most magical places always have that feeling. This place must have great treasures!" With those words, Malcom advanced down the forest descent towards the ruins.

The conversation had been forgotten, and soon, Skyler's adventure would begin.