The Will of the Ancients

"So… Do you have any ideas?" I glance down at Sirgia as we stand before the massive black gate. "It was technically your people who made this thing."

"That might be true, Master, but they were the ancients," she replies, scanning the nearby surface with great attention. "Much of the knowledge of these passages has been lost with time. They were closed when the Human campaigns ravaged the land. No one remembers how to operate them and there seem to be no survivors leaving their premises."

"It looks like the secret has been sealed within these tunnels." I nod to myself ponderingly. "I guess that would be a wise decision. Albeit, certainly an extremely desperate one. Not providing your future people with a way to utilise those feels like a waste. Or even a disservice to your descendants."

"That is also true, Master," Sirgia immediately agrees with me. "But, you need to remember that the common values of this world are nothing like those in your peaceful realm. While these caverns were built mostly to quicken the travel from one place to another, they still stored a lot of dwarven technology and craft. Our ancestors would rather die than give those to the enemy. Locking our future generations out of access to them wouldn't be a hard choice."

"Right. Times were much different back then." I sigh a bit dejectedly. "Well, it's not like right now things are that much better. There is no real war but the animosity towards the races is rather serious."

"Maybe, but that's mostly near Human borders or within," she points out. "Which doesn't mean the people further away aren't suffering due to their local issues. While Humans certainly are one side of the coin, it's not like there is no oppression or other problems within the borders of other races. You still haven't seen much of the world, Master."

"Ah, yes, my perspective is rather biased, isn't it?" I chuckle awkwardly. "Most of my time here was spent in the Human community. I understand well that the other ones aren't all sunshine and rainbows, but since this is the one I might have any chance of affecting, I tend to blindly focus on its problems and negative aspects."

I feel a nudge and see Sirgia step closer to hug me lovingly, looking up into my eyes. "You are doing great, Master. What you do might often seem slow, small, and insignificant, but you are changing the world one step at a time. And I'm sure that as a Primordial, you will be able to influence the other nations too. With the Goddess' support as a Demigod, it's even more certain. You might not have expected to be the one making the world a better place, but I believe you are the best we could have hoped for."

Brushing through her pretty brown hair, I lean down to capture her affectionate lips. "Actually, that's what I was aiming for, just not in the way I imagined. I was a teacher, remember? That kind of classifies as making the world a better place to some extent. It does lie in the hands of the students, but they will carry forward at least some of your legacy."

"Then it's not surprising you have been caught in Lumina's spell. Fate itself has brought you to us." She smiles at me almost reverently, making me chuckle in amusement.

"Maybe, maybe not. A wise man once said, there are no accidents." I peck her cute nose. "But, we can't really determine that so let's focus on things that we can. Work with me?"

"Always, Master." A faint trace of rosiness tinges Sirgia's cheeks as she nuzzles them against mine. "I shall dedicate my talents and efforts to your cause whenever you need me to."

Separating from each other, we turn to the task at hand once more. Diana trots closer to us and stops by my free side, also throwing a look at the impressive structure. I don't know how much she will be able to help with this, but I'm not one to reject any help. It would be something if we denied her assistance just because she has the form of a wolf and it turned out that her powers were the key to unlock the gate.

So, we are out of ideas at the current moment. I rub my chin while attempting to spot any leads or hints. The first one is clear. No amount of force is capable of piercing through this solid wall of metal. While the stone edges of the entrance bear marks of many failed attempts, the surface of the doors is barely scratched or dented. Even the cliff should have been more damaged, in my honest opinion, so it feels like it has been enhanced too.

I tap my fist against one wing, putting quite some strength into the knocks. A dull, thudding noise answers me. This thing has to be insanely thick. It feels like hitting the mountain itself. There is barely any echo from the other side, even though the space in there has to be equally as massive as this gate.

"Brute force through martial arts or magic won't have any effect, I think," I comment, glancing at my lovely mate.

Sirgia is crouching a bit to the side with something akin to a jeweller's eyepiece set on her head. She is examining the metal with utmost detail. Not wanting to disrupt her focus, I simply stand near and wait for her to summarise her thoughts. It always feels so serene watching her work and dedicate all of her attention to the project.

A minute later, she stands up and turns to me. "I'm not sure what this metal is. It bears traces of multiple known ores but also some unidentifiable minerals. This might be a unique ancient alloy. I haven't seen anything like this even back at home."

"Which, I assume, isn't good." I scratch my head.

"Unfortunately, yes." She sighs dejectedly. "Most likely no acidic components and mixtures that I carry on me are going to be enough to eat through it at a decent pace. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." I pat her on the head. "There is nothing saying anything about these in the records or books you have read during your studying? The ancients had to have a way of opening those from the outside in case of an emergency or something."

"No, that's why I was excited to explore one of these places. There's so much we don't know about them. And trust me, Master, many tried and still try to get inside." Sirgia glances at the gate with a hint of disappointment in her caramel eyes. "We might be better off looking for a different path through the mountains. Maybe there are some interconnected natural hollows like in the place you went through in the desert."

"We are not giving up so easily." I hug her from behind. "I'm going to get you inside even if it takes me a week. I promise."

She turns her face to me over her shoulder and blushes faintly. "You don't have to—"

"Oh, I do," I interrupt her with a warm smile. "You've fulfilled many of my dreams already. This is my opportunity to start repaying you for all of that. So, just watch me."

With a few more pats, I walk away and put my hands on my hips. "Diana? You can't use your ability to jump inside, can you? That would save us a lot of time."

The big bad female wolf tilts her head at me before coming closer and sniffing around the bottom of the entrance. After a few seconds, she takes a few steps back and plunges into my shadow. We wait with bated breaths for her return or any sign that she is on the other side. I can't feel much through our bond while she is doing her shadow thingy. I imagine it's quite hard to read someone's thoughts when they are pure darkness zooming through the fabric of the darkness itself.

Soon, our companion emerges from Sirgia's shadow, landing gracefully between the two of us. She raises her snout and meets my gaze, giving her head a light, horizontal shake. The message is clear and I let out a dissatisfied grunt. But, to make sure she knows I'm not dissatisfied with her, I offer Diana some ear rubs as payment for her attempt.

"Alright. Now we won't feel stupid for not trying out the simplest solutions." I tap my foot while thinking. "I don't know the first thing about those ancient guys who made this, but it would be utterly stupid not to incorporate some way of figuring out how to open the gates by those not fully initiated into the small group that operated these places. At the same time, I can't confidently deny that possibility."

"I agree that while extremely secretive and selfish, the ancients would have put some clever mechanism to let others of their kin gain access to the passages," Sirgia says without that much confidence too. "I believe we just haven't managed to work it out yet. I'm not sure if we can do it, Master, when tens of scholars and engineers failed while spending years in their pursuit."

"Hey now. I believe in that genius mind of yours and therefore you should too." I wink at her. "Come on. Forget about the others. Focus on yourself. You have been chosen by a Demigod, haven't you? You are like a Hero of the old sent on a grand journey to fulfil her epic quest. Are you going to disappoint your divine supporter?"

The last line is more of a joke to relax the somber mood, but judging by Sirgia's expression, it has a slightly unintended effect. Staring back at me as I attempt to boost her confidence, she assumes a very determined expression, to the point that her usually calm and adorable face becomes the definition of serious.

I should have predicted that disappointing me would be the last thing in the world she wanted to happen.

But, it's too late to fix this mistake and I can only watch as she nods firmly and switches her attention to the gate. I guess as far as motivation goes, there would be no better factor. I'll just have to make sure that when she doesn't manage to live up to the expectations I accidentally placed upon her shoulders, she won't feel unworthy or inadequate.

Naturally, I don't leave her alone with the task. I study the problem too. While Sirgia focuses on the surface of the gate, I take a look around with Diana by my side. Getting tunnel vision on the entrance itself might prove to be deceitful. As far as we know, there might be a stone that needs to be pressed somewhere near for the doors to open, resting in plain sight.

Unfortunately, half an hour later, the two of us don't find any clues. Our senses don't pick up on anything extraordinary or standing out. Diana even checks every possible hole with her shadow movement just to make sure. I mostly expand my spiritual perception in every direction, looking for any responses. The only ones I get come back from the gate.

For now, we assume we haven't missed anything important and walk back to Sirgia. She has set up a small study on the remains of the ancient road, bringing out scrolls, books, and also transcribing materials and devices. Much more knowledgeable about dwarven runes, sigils, and the language, she is trying to decipher any hidden meaning in the inscriptions visible on the surface of the entrance.

With a faint shake of my head, I approach her and lift the small lady up, earning myself a confused glance. At the same time, I bring out a thick blanket from my ring and make it show up underneath her. Gently putting Sirgia back down, I place a kiss on her cheek and she smiles kindly, getting back to work, her knees no longer pressed into the hard, loose stones.

Afterwards, we dive back into our respective contemplation. Unless she pulls me into her thought process, I'm not going to disrupt it. We'll brainstorm our ideas and findings later. So, while only slightly glancing at the glyphs, I examine the general style of the gate. It's never a waste of time to look for any moving parts or concealed elements.

About three hours pass by during our mostly silent investigation. It's starting to get dark and there won't be much to see without artificial light. This is a good moment to wrap it up for now, discuss things together, and sleep on whatever we have gathered. There is no rush anywhere, and it would be wise to give our brains a break so that we can start fresh in the morning.

We could retreat into the mansion, which I set up inside a nearby tree, but we have done that plenty already. With this being a journey with the two of us, we might as well enjoy the atmosphere a little. And so, I set up a contained campfire and bring out some camping gear from my spatial supplies. That includes a few benches to sit on, a grill on a tripod, and some utensils to cook a thing or two over the fire. 

While I'm doing all that, Diana comes back with a deer she has hunted, clearly with the intent of sharing it with us. Sirgia notices my efforts and finishes her examination too, hopping up to me and declaring that she will prepare the meat. Since she has much more experience in that field than I do, I let her do the honours and simply watch as she skilfully goes through all the necessary steps to bring us a few big slices of the best parts ready to be cooked. Naturally, she speeds up a process or two with her handy devices or else it could have taken hours.

The rest of the kill goes to Diana and the two of us settle down to watch the tasty chunks sizzle over the tongues of flames. Sirgia keeps a flat poker in her hands, flipping the slabs now and then as she sits in my lap with my arms and legs wrapped around her petite frame.

"So, any progress on the puzzle?" I ask while tracing circles over her tummy with my fingers.

"Nothing of substance, Master," she replies gloomily. "The sentences written all over the gate are just simple greetings towards the travellers, mentioning what this place is, who made it, who has the authority over the lands beyond, and so on. I transcribed and read through them dozens of times but didn't spot any clues. If there are any in the scripts, they are made with a much more complex code."

"Nothing you won't be able to crack in due time." I kiss the top of her head. "It just means we will have more time to spend on admiring this masterful craftsmanship and artful depictions."

"They are really pretty," Sirgia comments, glancing at the ominous structure to our right. "I like how the shadows dance over the runes in various directions and with different intensities. It creates such a mysterious spectacle. Like some eerie monster trying to grasp at everything around it."

"Ah, yes, I agree. That might be because some of the sigils have been carved deeper than the others. They must have been added earlier than the rest." I nod, following her gaze. "Quite a clever way to play with the composition, don't you think?"

After chuckling lightly to myself, I sigh softly. 

Not receiving any response in the next few seconds, I glance down at my little lover with a faint frown. I find the Dwarf girl in my lap gazing upon the gate with her eyes wide to the brim, her pupils darting from side to side as her brain works in overdrive. 

 "Sirgia?"

She jumps a little and her attention snaps to me. "They weren't added later, Master! It's an intentional design!"

"Oh? Is it?" I raise a brow at her rising excitement.

"Yes! The shadows and the light! Those two elements have always followed the ancients wherever they went! The flickering of the shadows filled their homes! The light of the torches showed them the way!" Sirgia recites almost religiously. "Quickly! Put the fire out, Master!"

She jumps off my lap and summons a bag out of her ring, immediately diving into it hard enough for half of her body to disappear into the sizable container. Aware that she has figured something out, I stand up too and prepare to do as told. I wait until she brings out what she is looking for and Sirgia gesticulates at me fervently to do my thing.

Smirking lightly, I draw a bit of Void Magic from Diana and wave my hand, sending a gust of purplish mana towards the campfire. The dark violet energy snuffs the flames out instantly and throws us into a heavy darkness. Then, with an audible click, a blinding light hits me straight in the face, making me groan.

"Sorry!" Sirgia squeaks out a hasty apology and the light turns away.

What greets me is her profile. Atop her head sits something akin to a hard hat with some device attached to it. The light shines from it at about full one-eighty degrees to the front like a damn floodlight. No wonder I saw white for a moment there. The crystal she has used for this gadget must be capable of storing insane amounts of mana if it glows this strongly.

Regathering her bearings, Sirgia jogs up to the gate while dragging the big backpack with her. Thanks to her high stats, she doesn't even feel its weight. And her Class is almost purely a physical one so she is using the shared stats to their fullest in the case of that department.

Catching up to her, I stop in front of the section that depicts a life-sized group of Dwarves with their backs to the viewer. They look like they are about to wander into a cave, holding their torches high and peering ahead with great attention. We didn't really think much of these pictures after initially studying them hours ago as they portray seemingly random scenes rather commonly related to underground exploration and possibly the history of this place, but they might have more importance than we have first assumed if Sirgia rushed here with so much gusto.

She scans the carvings intently before suddenly turning to me and raising both arms into the air. "Up! Up! Master, up!"

I barely withhold the chuckle at the sight of my lovely little mate jumping in place like she desperately wants a piggyback ride from me. But, I can feel how serious she is so I quickly oblige and lower myself to her level. Sirgia instantly throws her slender legs over my shoulders and grasps my hair, gesturing with one hand for me to stand up already.

Doing exactly that, I bring her face-to-face with the highest carved torch and she studies it intently.

"I knew it!" She smacks her closed fist against the metal.

In the next moment, she pushes herself off the gate and does a backwards flip over my back, landing smoothly on her feet. Before I even turn around, she is already back inside the bag, covering the only source of light other than the moon fully. This time, I brace myself for her return and look away when she runs up to me, obliviously blinding me amidst her enthusiasm.

"Again!" she demands, rocking back and forth on her heels.

I hastily grab her by the sides and hoist the petite girl back on my shoulders. She tugs my hair to turn around and I follow the orders of my tiny overlord like a certain rather untalented cook. Then, I watch as Sirgia holds up what looks like one of those old-style oiling cans you sometimes can find in Western movies or such, the one-piece container with a long snout.

It confirms its purpose a second later as she touches the depiction of the torch with its tip and I can clearly see some kind of liquid trickle into somewhere. I can't view it perfectly well from my angle, but it's obvious that it goes into some niche or hole since nothing drips down the metal surface. And Sirgia moves it around all over the head of the torch, making sure to touch many spots.

"It's ready! Step back!" She orders and I listen.

She snaps her suddenly gloved fingers and a spark launches ahead from the friction. It hits the torch, which lits up like its real counterpart, illuminating the surroundings. Or at least, it would be, if not for Sirgia's high beams. But, she understands that too and turns the artefact off, bathing us in orange light instead of white.

There is a deep, powerful, metallic click somewhere deep within the gate, followed by the noise a cog mechanism would make. It keeps ticking for a while before going silent. The torch continues to burn as we stare expectantly at the entrance.

I slowly let Sirgia down and she spins around in a blink, throwing herself into my chest with a wide smile. "You did it, Master! You are a genius!"

Laughing warmly, I kneel down so that she doesn't infinitely dangle from my body and Sirgia peppers my face with fluffy kisses. "No, you did it. I don't even know what this is about. You are the real genius here."

She flushes heavily but I can see in her eyes that she doesn't back down from her claims. I don't intend to fight her over it either as long as she doesn't give me all the credit. And, the beautiful, ecstatic grin decorating her face is just too hypnotising to bring down with pointless arguments.

"So, we are now good to go?" I chance a glance at the gate again.

Sirgia snorts cutely and shakes her head. "I wish, Master. No, this is only one of the depicted sections, isn't it? And the doors aren't any more open now."

Gods, I love her cheerful self.

"Then… We have to solve all of those?" I wrinkle my nose a bit while gazing upon the other five sections visible on this black wall of metal.

"No, silly Master, that would be so hard with how high most of those are." She giggles and rolls her pretty eyes. "The other mechanisms have to be just as easily accessible as the first one. Remember, this was meant for the Dwarves. You don't expect everyone to carry around three-story high ladders with them, do you? I don't think there is more than one puzzle waiting to be solved now, and we have all we need to crack it."

"Oh, do we?" I raise a curious brow at her.

Sirgia nods really fast in quick succession. "It's part of the thing you noticed. The light of the torch casts shadows from the carved inscriptions. With how they differ from each other, the length of those shadows varies too, pointing out the importance of certain letters, words, runes, or symbols. This has to be the hint about the second part of the locking mechanism."

"Damn, you are so smart." I stroke both of her pinkish cheeks with my thumbs as we look each other in the eyes. "I wonder just how many scholars and researchers didn't get past the initial step. Maybe you are even the first to get this far."

She flushes even further at that compliment. "No… There's certainly no way… Besides… I wouldn't be able to do it without your help, Master…"

"I somehow doubt it, but I'll admit that I helped." I pull her into a delicate kiss. "Now, let's break this whole thing in record time, shall we?"

Receiving a peck in return, I let go of my wise girl and we both turn to the torch-lit image. Standing still and quiet, I give Sirgia all the time and space to analyse the shadows. She attentively follows the flickering shapes, memorising the places they lick at. Seeing her working on it mentally, I summon a notebook and hand it to her. Without even a glance my way, she receives it and starts scribbling down letters and words with a pencil she brings out on her own. Diana stops behind us, peering at our efforts curiously, and I smile at our kind guardian watching the vicinity of the gate while we focus on the gate.

Five minutes later, Sirgia stops and takes her eyes off the metal surface, dropping them onto the paper. I lean closer and peer at it with her.

"What do you have here?" I ask softly.

"Words. They make a sentence out of those other sentences. Give me a few more seconds, Master. I will sort and order them quickly," she replies with a confident nod.

It takes another three minutes but I'm not going to be stingy about details.

"I got it!" Sirgia beams at me with the same excitement as earlier. "It reads as follows. As the bloodline of the worthy flows through the hands of the destitute, the refuge of the stone sanctuary shall stand open, that we constitute."

"A riddle, as expected." I snort to the side. "But congratulations. Fantastic job."

She escapes my gaze timidly, hugging her notes to her chest. "It's nothing… I just copied the words and moved them around…"

"You certainly didn't just brute force the order hoping for a lucky hit." I pat her shoulder proudly.

"No, but it was very simple. I only had to measure the length of the shadows cast by the metal torch and use that to figure out the correct sequence," she replies with a slightly more confident smile. "You would have no problems doing that either, Master."

Taking a look at the jumbled shapes and how they constantly changed with the flames, I snicker inwardly. "I wonder."

There was no chance I would have been able to eyeball this in a matter of minutes. Without the help of some measuring tools and shit? Good luck.

"Let's move to the eastern section," Sirgia urges me forward. "I believe the depiction there has to be the one we need to interact with."

Nodding, I follow her lead, and she flicks on the blinding light once more. A few steps to the side, we find ourselves in front of a carving representing another group of Dwarves, but this time, almost mirrored in their positions. They are facing us as they walk forward in the same formation, this time more confidently and with soft grins on their lips. There are no torches in their hands and the leader simply extends his arm ahead as if to push the gate open for his party, allowing them to leave the safe passage and continue with their journey.

After just a moment, the two of us exchange glances.

"It can't be this simple, can it?" I ask dubiously.

"The other puzzle wasn't that sophisticated either, Master." Sirgia shrugs hesitantly.

"Do the honours, then." I gesture at the wing with a respectful bow.

She curtsies politely with a charming grin and moves closer to the picture. Taking off her gloves, she examines the hand of the leader as it rests pretty much flat against the imaginary door. It protrudes slightly just like the other parts of the carving, but is definitely reaching out the furthest. Picking the correct palm to mirror his, Sirgia takes a long time to anxiously bring it against the rough metal.

There is a moment of tense silence as we both drill holes in the black surface until… nothing happens.

Sirgia's enthusiasm fades gradually as she glances my way with an apologetic smile. "I think I might not be worthy…"

"What?" I frown at her as she takes back her hand and looks at it sadly. "Why would you not be?"

"I'm from a distant branch family, remember, Master?" Sirgia rubs her palm softly. "Some even argue if we really can be called Forgegravers… If the blood flowing through our veins is really that of the respected clan…"

I growl under my nose and kneel next to her, taking her palm into mine. "That's utter bullshit. Didn't your branch have ties to the Mad Lady? You are her blood, no matter how diluted you think it is. And let me tell you that its unique qualities we call DNA carry over multiple generations. It takes like a whole ten of them to lose traces of maybe half of all the ancestors in that lineage ever. I don't remember the numbers further up, but they say you can never get fully rid of those traces no matter how far you go. And people back home used to trace their lineages through those in the range of thousands of years. Do you understand?"

Holding her hands, I peer deep into Sirgia's slightly teary eyes, shining with the hint of wetness that was about to come. But, she makes only one quiet sniffle before nodding faintly, blinking those upcoming drops away.

"So, don't you ever think you are unworthy or whatever," I continue, bringing her fingers to my lips and pressing a tender kiss to them. "If we go through the blood, you could very well be next in the line of succession for whatever ruling system is currently being used out there in the clan. Still a monarchy if I'm not mistaken. But who knows what might have changed over the years."

Sirgia chuckles quietly and nibbles on her bottom lip to stop herself. "Thank you, Master… I appreciate you saying that, but—no, don't stop me now, I'm not going to belittle myself anymore. What I'm trying to say is that the gate still hasn't opened so I might not be worthy in the eyes of whoever made those. I might have wasted your time unnecessarily."

"We don't know that yet." I shake my head. "The worthy part is not the only thing in this silly riddle, is it? There is also the destitute expression. Are we destitute?"

She gives herself a moment to think it over. "This word can sometimes be used for the people in need. I think we can be considered being in need right now, Master."

"So, the issue lies somewhere else." I wrinkle my nose, making her giggle adorably again. "Help me out here, not laugh at me! I need that sexy brain of yours!"

That causes her to do it even more before pulling me into an affectionate hug. After calming herself down a little, she pulls back and places a tiny peck on my cheek. Then, she brings the notebook up again and we go through the words together.

"I don't know. No other parts seem of any importance." Sirgia sighs gently.

"Are we sure it's all correct?" I ask and she turns to me. "Not that I doubt your capabilities, but maybe something can be interpreted in multiple ways like the destitute word?"

Her eyes shoot wide open and she flicks her gaze back to the transcript. Less than a few seconds later, she smacks her forehead with unexpected force, making me flinch.

"I'm such a fool!" she cries out in frustration.

"Easy. We all are." I pull her palm away and kiss the red spot. "What have you figured out?"

A cute groan escapes her pouty lips. "I took this too literally, Master. These two symbols mean blood and line, creating a bloodline. But, this is the modern spelling. In the past, you read most words in kind of the opposite way, meaning this would be a line of blood instead. Which, obviously…"

"Can assume a different meaning much easier than the other version," I finish for her with a big smile. "Just try to tell me one more time that you aren't the smartest genius I know, I dare you."

"We don't know if this is the correct answer yet…" She squirms in place a little. "We need to test it out first… But, if my theory is correct…"

I let her go freely and observe as my incredible Dwarf wife regains her confidence while turning towards the depiction. My brows rise momentarily when a dagger appears in her hand, but I hold myself back from calling her out, deciding to trust in her intentions. Giving me a reassuring nod, she makes a shallow cut inside her other palm and quickly presses it against the metal man's.

It feels like an eternity before a familiar click rumbles through the massive gate and the ticking reappears.

"Yes!" Sirgia cheers into the air, laughing merrily as she meets my eyes. "The riddle spoke about a line of blood flowing through the hands of the destitute! Not the hand! And when I push my hand against his like this, there are two, and the blood flows through them! We did it!"

I smirk proudly. "That we did. Mostly you, but yeah. Now, better step back."

She jumps back like the gate has burned her and I chuckle at how jittery my lithe lover has become. As the massive wings swing into the mountain, I take hold of Sirgia's wounded palm and push my Rejuvenate into it, sealing the cut in a matter of seconds. She watches the spectacle with awed eyes the entire time as the noise of metal grinding against stone fills the air.

These doors certainly have not seen any oiling in ages.

As they stop, I wrap an arm around Sirgia's waist, pulling her closer. "Ready to discover the secrets of the ancients, my beautiful little genius?"

She pushes herself into me and steals my lips for a passionate kiss, her cheeks heated up to their limits.

"With you by my side? There is nothing I can't be ready for in this world, Master," she declares devotedly.

Same, my love.

Same.