The next week flew by in a heartbeat. Many of the other students ended up dropping the class due to the price of the expedition, itself. I don't blame them, with the sheer cost of this class, the amount of supplies we had to supply for ourselves, as well as the ferry ride, it'd cost a normal person a fortune to get anywhere in this field. No wonder Keildrik hates Neidle's guts.

The morning we were to set out, I arrived extra early; not like Keildrik would leave without me, but I'd hate for Neidle to harass me about it when he explicitly told me to be here at a set time. As soon as Keildrik pulled the ferry up to the loading dock, we began to hand him our ticket to punch before we were allowed to board.

"Hey, what about her!?" Another classmate shouted, seeing me board without a ticket.

I knew this would cause some contention with at least one person, "We've come to an understanding. Worry about yourself," I snap. It was too early to be dealing with people like this and after that 'dream' occurred again last night, I wasn't in a good headspace for bullshit.

The other classmates give me a nasty, jealous stare. It was clear that they were unhappy at the ferry pricing. I don't blame them, but I do my best to avoid prolonged eye contact and make my way into the main cabin area setting my backpack down on a chair next to me as I wait for the rest of the class to get aboard.

"So how'd you 'pay' for your ticket?" One of my cohorts hisses, "Did you bribe the professor? Give the ferryman a 'quickie'? Did you-"

"Enough of that," Professor Neidle demanded, smacking the student upside the head. "It matters not how Miss Ain got aboard, so long as she's here. Same goes for you. If you found a legal means aboard, then you shan't be the target of scrutiny." Neidle turns towards the rest of the class who was just getting seated, "This expedition is a rather short one, all things considered, so let us all get along to save each other from the headaches, hm? Now then. As previously discussed: we are heading to an active dig site of what is believed to be the furthest-northern colony of the Ancient Kaimar empire. It was discovered a year ago, so much has already been discovered; however, like all dig sites, there is much more for us to uncover. The threat of thieves, bandits, wild animals, dehydration, and starvation are quite real out there... Not to mention a few still-functioning traps have been found by some unlucky few, so watch your step and keep a keen eye out for anything abnormal. As much as you all signed the waivers, I would very much dislike to have to do more paperwork than I already have to, let alone having to hear the 'very sad' cries of your loved ones when I have to break the news... So do be safe, hm?"

Keildrik steps in from the bridge with his signature wide-smile, "We're all ready to go. It'll be a day's travel before we get there, so get comfortable." He gives me a nod before heading back up to the bridge.

A day's journey? Po'oraat give me strength. I knew it would be a trek out there, but I would've at least thought it'd be a relatively quick one... I guess that explains why this is still a relatively new discovery; no one's attempted to travel south of Mar'karéth due to the strange tides and superstitions. Hoisting my bag onto my shoulder, I head out of the main cabin towards the bridge; the sneaking suspicion that I was being followed was difficult to ignore, but ultimately I was able to refrain from constantly checking over my shoulder.

"Ah, there she is!" Keildrik proclaims, "We're almost out of the harbour and into deeper waters. Make yourself at home! We'll be going for quite some time..."

The bridge was a cozy space with the captain's wheel taking 'center stage', so to speak, in front of a massive pane of glass with doors on either side for easy access to the rest of the ship. Behind where the captain would stand sat a booth in one corner with a table and padded seats and in the other corner was where the captain and crew would go to sleep; though I don't think I've ever seen Keildrik use similar bunks in the past. I stash away my bag under one of the booth's benches and kick my feet up onto the table as I watched Keildrik work his magic on his vessel. Each of his movements felt intentional, yet flowing like an ocean current; if he was making any mistakes, he sure didn't appear like he was.

As I reach for one of my books, I catch a glance of a pair of eyes peering at me from outside of the port-side's door into the bridge, "Um... Did you see that?" I ask with a tinge of concern.

Keildrik briefly turns to me before turning back to the waves ahead, "Are ya seein' merfolk this soon, lassie?" He chuckles. It wasn't unheard of for folks who weren't used to sailing to 'see merfolk' as a result of sea-sickness, but I've never really had much of a problem with that before. "Probably just one of your classmates peepin' on ya, if I had to guess..."

Gods, I hope so, the last thing I wanted this early in the morning was to have to fight some murderous-fish, "You're probably right... Say, when were you going to let me take the wheel?" My words escaping through my devious grin as I glance back at my book.

Keildrik sighs, "Let... Let me get us to more calm waters first. I wouldn't want ya sinkin' us oh hohoho!" I could tell he was still apprehensive about letting me take over. He was always overly protective of his boats, going so far as to sell one before letting someone else at the controls instead of amassing a fleet like the other port-heads back home and their armadas of fishing vessels.

An hour slowly passes as the boat's rocking eventually mellows out and becomes more predictable with more time between swells than before. I had burned through a decent portion of my book already, but frankly can't recall any of the finer details... I'll have to re-read it when my mind is more at-ease.

"Alright, lassie," Keildrik calls back to me, "Are ya ready or do you need more time?" I'm pretty sure that last part was for him more than myself.

"Yes sir," I echo, jumping to my feet and stowing my book back in my bag. I can't believe he was actually going to let me pilot his boat for once!

"Alrighty then, just place your hands here," He guides my hand to the ten-o'clock position on the wheel, "Aaand the other one here," He moves my other hand to the two-o'clock position on the wheel, mirroring my left hand. "With this, you shouldn't have much of an issue steerin' the ship. Next, you'll have to-" He pauses, making sure to think of words for actions he's long-since memorized so I'd actually understand, "You see these little dials and gauges? Each of these has a specific use; but for today, just worry about keeping them like they are. If this one," He points to a small dial near the wheel, "Gets below the one-third mark, pull this chain to let the crew below deck know that they're slacking on fuel. And if this one gets above that red mark, you'll want to pull this chain to let it blow off some steam."

"Damn," My mouth slips before I had time to think, "This is a real step up from your last vessel. Where'd you even get this anyways?"

"Oh, it's a long story," He tries to wave my interest away before giving in to his own excitement, "Ya see, as you may know, I've owned nothin' but sail boats. But just last month some rich punk with no sailing experience comes plowin' through the docks with this thing! After the guards arrest him for damaging the port, I catch wind that he's some baron's kid from Xylotile! Xylotile! Can you imagine!?" His face displaced a mixture of anger and surprise, "I mean, how could some kid with no experience navigate around the entire continent!? I ended up bailing him out of jail in exchange for the damaged vessel because I knew- I just knew- that if someone inexperienced could pilot such a craft, imagine what a real sailor could accomplish!" His face displayed the biggest, most child-like grin I've ever seen on a man.

"Sounds like quite the steal!"

"Oh absolutely! This lil lady can reach speeds up to thrice that of any of my previous vessels and it handles like a dream!" He gives the steering column a gentle hug as he rubs its steel exterior, "Those Xylotilii sure do know how to cook up somethin' when they're not waging war on all their neighbors... It makes me want to visit Xylotile one of these days, ya know? See what they really can do."

After a few minutes of guiding me on how to operate the controls, Keildrik retires to the bunk area, "I'm going to get some rest. We still have a long ways to go, but Ain," His face grows serious and any sign of humour fades entirely, "If you see something wake me. The sooner, the better. If you have any doubts, don't hesitate, I'm a light sleeper, after all, so it should be relatively easy to wake me..."

I nod in agreement, giving him a salute, "Will do, Captain!"

"Atta girl, and remember, keep that needle heading South!" And with a wave, he parts the curtain leading to the bunks and disappears.

Not even a moment later, I see the eyes outside of the port-side door's window again. This time I stare back at them. If they're attempting to make it awkward or make me feel uneasy, I'll just return the favour. I manage to hold eye contact for a solid minute before the owner of the mysterious eyes broke and barged through the door.

"I knew it! I just knew you and the captain were doing something up here!" He accuses. It was the same man who had given me so much grief earlier about my lack of a ticket.

"Oh no! You 'caught' me," I dramatically put the back of my hand to my forehead, "You caught me and the captain... Steering the ship...?" I'm pretty sure I know what he was accusing me of, but given the captain wasn't even in the room, I felt like torturing the lil bugger.

"You know what I'm talking about!" He continues, "You think I don't know that you and the captain are up here doing inappropriate things?"

He was really hellbent on these wild accusations, "Ah yes, the inappropriate act of," I look down at the gauges and dials, "Keeping the boat afloat... You know? You're right. Someone call a Priest, I need to confess my 'sin'!"

His face reflected his incredulousness, "Oh please, how else does a girl get free passage on a fifteen-gold ferry ride!? You expect me to believe you didn't fuck the captain in exchange for a ride!?"

"..." It was taking all my strength to not toss the bastard overboard right now, "What do you take me for? A whore!?" I rolled my eyes before releasing a sigh, "If it's this important to you, I'll tell you. I know Captain Keildrik from my previous adventures. He and I have explored the entire southern coast over the past several decades. He gave me a significant discount in exchange for me helping out around the ship."

The man was still glaring daggers at me in disbelief; but before he could say anything else Keildrik stepped out of the bunk area, "Son, I'm afraid you need to stop insulting my friend and colleague and go back to the cabin until we arrive at our destination. She speaks the truth. Now get a move on before I get you acquainted with the marine life." I hadn't seen him this annoyed in a very long time... Not since the Vas'kii incident. Seeing him irritated, especially at people, was a rarity and I knew to keep my distance whenever it did happen.

"Wait, you said several decades??? How old are yo-" The man shouted in an attempt to push Keildrik's boundaries.

"Out!" Keildrik shouted, shoving the man out the door and slamming it shut before mumbling to himself and returning to the bunks.

The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful. Keildrik awoke four hours after the intrusion and took back control from me. I attempted to meditate, but the swaying of the ship was too distracting.

It was already well-past dusk when we finally landed and were met by another crew who was on their way back to Mar'karéth. I made sure to grab my things and bid Keildrik goodbye, making sure to jot down more notes on his vessel before stepping foot on solid ground again.

"Students! Students, gather around!" Professor Neidle called out. We were all varying levels of tired, sea-sick, or agitated from being cooped up inside the ship for so long... It was a long journey, even for me; I can't imagine what the others were feeling. "I will guide us to our camp for the next week. We will eat together three times a day. We will awake for breakfast at o'seven-hundred hours, have lunch at noon, and group dinner at nineteen-hundred hours. Lights out is at twenty-hundred hours." I'm unsure if he was an avid hiker or if being crammed in the cabin for that long had its effect on even Neidle, but his pace as he guided us to our camp site was much faster than I had anticipated. It was even more impressive considering he didn't lose a breath as he moved, "We also have with us a multitude of mercenaries to watch over us, lead by Mister Heiser." He gestures towards a Slinger armed with a crossbow, "Mister Heiser, please, introduce yourself."

The man bowed quite politely for a mercenary, "I'm the head of the watch, as your professor already stated. If you see something suspicious, let myself or one of my men know immediately. If you need to relieve yourself at night or at the dig-site, we will escort you to a private area to keep you safe." His tone was firm and demanding. It's obvious he'd said this spiel countless times before, "Do not, under any circumstances venture off on your own. If you see something you'd like to get a closer look at, let us know and we'll come with you."

"How do we know we can trust you???" A familarly-annoying voice shouts from behind me.

"Considering you're a bunch of students, if we truly wanted to kill you, we already would have, don't you think?" Mister Heiser's face looked about as irritated at the man as Keildrik did earlier, "Any more idiotic questions? No? Wonderful. Final point: if we tell you to do something, or not to do something, we're not trying to be a hard-ass, we're just looking out for your safety. Please comply and understand it's for your own good."

"Thank you, Mister Heiser," Professor Neidle gives him a light clap, "As for sleeping arrangements, I'm sure you all read the syllabus and brought your own tents? If not, I pray, for your sake, that it does not rain on us... It does not appear to look like it will this week, but luck can be a cruel mistress. We shall have the girls' tents on that side of the camp, and the boys' tents on the other. We shall meet here in the middle for our meals and to work on our assignments during our time here."

Well at least I'll have my privacy... I get to work setting up my tent, laying my prayer mat down in the center along with a few candles for my nightly prayer.

Just as I'm about to light the candles I hear one of the mercenaries slap my tent's canvas, "Lights out!"

Great... I'm sure Po'oraat would understand, it's not like he's one to smite those who miss nightly prayer or do it without the fanfare; but I enjoy the nightly ritual. As I attempt to meditate for the night, my body still feels like it's swaying with the waves. I hadn't spent that much time on a boat in years and it shows. I'm blessed by an uneventful evening for the first time in what felt like forever and wake up far before most of my classmates do.

"Wake up call-" The mercenary outside my tent shouts as I exit my tent startling him half to death, "Geeze! I didn't think you'd be up so soon..."

"Sorry to startle you," I give a small sarcastic bow. By the looks of the others, no one got any real sleep last night. I'd venture to guess that everyone here, save for the professor, hasn't left the city before, so the sudden change must be wearing on them.

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" A shriek quaked from one of my neighboring tents as one of the other girls rushed out, falling face-first into the dirt, "Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!" She pointed towards her tent in absolute horror.

"What is it!?" Heiser asked, signaling one of his men over to the tent.

"A rodent snuck into my tent!!!" She sobbed, her shrieking likely waking up the rest of the camp if they weren't already awake, "I woke up and it was laying on my chest!" The gods really do give their best experiences to their weakest mortals.

The other mercenary chases the rodent out of the girl's tent and into the brush, "Looks like it chewed a hole in your tent to get to your food," He stated with a tinge of annoyance in his voice, "From the looks of it, too, the thing was probably ill. I wouldn't eat whatever it got into just in case... You don't want to be catching anything while we're out here." He was right. We were easily a day's travel from the nearest help and we all have limited rations. Getting sick out here could spell death if one wasn't careful with what they catch.

"Well what am I going to eat then!?" The girl sobbed. I felt bad seeing her so distraught like this, it reminded me of my first adventure where something similar happened to my favourite snack. It wasn't life or death back then, given I don't have to eat, but it was definitely a bummer that ruined the whole experience for me.

"You can have some of my rations, if you'd like," I offer, holding out a bite-sized portion of my lembas. In my head this was a perfect trade. I help out a classmate, she doesn't starve, and I possibly make a new friend!... Except I forget that most people aren't familiar with or have access to lembas; so from the others' perspectives it must look like I offered a crumb of hardtack during a stressful moment. I look around after feeling the piercing gazes of my classmates, genuinely confused for a few moments until my brain connects the dots.

"Could you be any more inconsiderate, Ain!?" It was the man who had confronted me on the boat yesterday. It was starting to feel like he had some sort of vendetta against me, "Here, Aiya, you can have some of my rations. I brought extra just in case something like this happened!" I'm typically not a violent person, but something about that man made me want to introduce his teeth to a stone wall. The girl stops crying and nods, accepting his offer while scowling at me.

"Now that that is sorted out," Professor Neidle says, clapping his hands together gleefully, "Once we're done eating, we shall head to the dig site! We leave in thirty minutes!"

After we're done eating, everyone scatters to their tents to fetch their supplies. I make sure to leave my bag in the tent, but take my pouch and tools with me. We follow the professor down a winding path, clearing away undergrowth, stepping carefully across a bridge of stepping stones spanning a creek, and even through a small cave before rounding a cliff-side where the entire dig site comes into full-view.

My jaw drops as ancient stonework can be seen peeking through the foliage, paths have been cleared out by the previous year's worth of archeologists, and a massive doorway lay front and center amongst the ruins. Various smaller buildings have been uncovered surrounding the structure the massive door leads to. These seem to have been the primary focus of the dig site, as seen by the various roped off sections, markers, and excessive deposit of tools at the door to the larger structure.

The chatter from the other students blurs together as a torrential stream of questions bombards the professor, "Quiet! Silence... Thank you," He pauses, blinking away the chaos, "I'll answer the common ones most seem to have about the dig site and we'll go from once we get down to it. While we don't know the name that the Ancient-Kaimarians gave this place, we have given it the nickname 'Tri'dareth' meaning 'Northern Outpost' in Ancient-Kaimarian. To immediately address the elephant in the room, no, we have not been able to get inside those large doors yet. We have tried explosives imported from Xylotile, magic from the Kingdom of Ascensia, and our own trickery... Nothing has worked, so we have decided to work on the rest of the site in the meantime."

We snake our way down a steep slope before reaching the main plaza. From here, we're able to see various tools, stone houses, and artifacts from when these ruins were last occupied. The previous teams have done a fantastic job at preserving the place down to the location of each item they've found.

"So far we are unsure of the purpose of this site; as we have yet to find any intact books, scrolls, or runes... Just some graffiti at best... We theorize that due to its location that it may have been the place where the Ancient-Kaimarians stored shipments that would flow in and out of this location to some port that may have been nearby; although we have yet to find any other sites remotely close to here, so that is still just a theory."

As I step from the dirt and leaves onto the cleared stone, I feel a buzz in the air and am overwhelmed by the feeling of déjà vu. I notice a light-red glow pulsing against the inside of my mask which sends me into a panic. I check my entire body to ensure my bandages are still covering me and sigh in relief when I realize I'm probably the only one who's noticed.

"Are you quite alright, Miss Ain?" Professor Neidle asks, seeing me panic all of a sudden, "Did you make a rodent friend, too?" He chuckles as Aiya gives him a dirty look.

"Ah, no," I reply, brushing myself off, "I thought I felt something on me, is all."

Just then I see a flash of light. When it clears, I'm alone in the dig site, except something's... Off. I look around and the foliage is neatly cut back, the ground is in pristine shape, and there's no rope or markers to be had anywhere. There are children in the street running around as children do, animals carrying produce to and fro, and most importantly I see the massive doors at the heart of this place swing open revealing a bright light before I'm thrust back into reality.

I fall to my knees, "Gods, I feel dizzy..." I haven't felt this nauseous before and the constant spinning-sensation made me feel like my head was cut open and my brain whisked into a thick cream.

"Miss are you alright?" It was one of the mercenaries, "Miss?... I'll take her to get some shade and water." The mercenary puts my arm around his neck and hoists me to my feet before dragging me off underneath a nearby tree, "Gods, you're a lot heavier than you look..." Setting me down in the shade, he hands me a canteen, "Here, drink this."

I press my fingers to my temples in an attempt to get my brain to stop spinning, "Gods... What is it?"

"Just water, Miss," He seemed genuine, but drinking would mean having to take off my mask, so I refused, "Well I can't say I didn't try. Do you need something to eat? I saw you didn't eat much back at camp."

"N-no," I mutter, "I just... I just need a minute." As my head spins, I can't help but wonder why... Why here and why now? The vision felt like a dream or a distant memory... But I don't recall having been here before.

A few minutes pass and my head finally gets a hold of itself enough for me to stand back up on my own. I give the mercenary a nod and we return to the group, most of which have already splintered off into groups to study the various objects and architecture.

"Miss Ain are you quite alright?" The professor asks. For once he felt genuinely concerned, "First you had a fit of anxiety and then you collapse?"

"I-I'm fine, professor, thank you," I lied. My head still pounded, despite the spinning coming to an end, "What's the assignment?"

"Ah, well I'm glad you're well enough to inquire about the assignment for today," He says with a gentle smile, "I have given everyone the task of finding something, anything, that catches their eye and coming up with a theory on its use, purpose, or function based on its surroundings and location. You must promise me that you'll not disturb its location or position, however."

I nod in agreement.

Professor Neidle smiles, "Good. You may do that, or, you may accompany me in attempting to find a way inside this behemoth of an entry point." He gestures at the towering monoliths behind him, their secrets locked away for potentially aeons.

I take a moment to consider the options; but something about the doors almost called to me, so I decided to go along with the professor and analyze the doors. As we approach, the doors appeared larger and larger; almost as if they changed size based on how intimidated one was to them. Upon being face to face with them, I couldn't help but appreciate the pristine art deco design of the metal work on the door's face. The sheen of its metallic surface reflecting the aggressive sun's rays into my eyes through the slits in my mask. With no keyhole, graffiti or markings and with no handles, it was incredible that they had to be doors at all instead of just solid metal facades... But in the vision I had earlier I saw them open, and they're in the shape of a set of doors, so they had to be, right? "You say no one's found a way inside, right?" I say as I reach out to touch the door's surface; but before I do the professor grabs my hand.

"Correct. Also, Miss Ain, your hands, are you sure you're alright?" He pulls my hands to my face revealing a reddish liquid seeping through my bandages.

"Oh shit," I whisper, "I must've gotten cut by something earlier and not seen it... Let me go wash it off." The professor nods to a mercenary and with their escort, I go off to a nearby stream, "Some privacy?" I ask my body guard, "It's a religious thing that I wear these in the first place, I'd appreciate you not looking..." The mercenary nods respectfully and turns around before taking a few steps to give me some space. Once I'm certain I'm alone, I unravel my bandages to inspect my hands. The red liquid was coming out of my palms for some reason. I've been cut, shot, and pierced by several weapons before; but I've never seen a fluid like this before... I try to wash it off in the stream, but it keeps coming back. Wrapping my off-hand in a used bandage, I reach into my pouch and conjure a vial of Contact Instant Health potion and use that to pour onto my palms, sealing the 'leaks' before conjuring a set of back up bandages to wrap myself up with.

"Everything all right?" The mercenary guarding me asks over his shoulder. His tone was calmer than earlier... I imagine he was enjoying the break from the group.

"Quite all right," I echo back as I walk back towards him, "Not sure what that was all about, but it should be settled now."

He gives me a silent, but affirming nod before following me back to the dig site. This entire fiasco did beg the question of 'what the hell happened to my hands?' I hadn't touched anything and a potion did fix it up... Curious. I'll have to check tonight before 'lights out' to see if I had missed something.

"There you are!" Professor Neidle exclaimed as I approached. Initially I thought he was referring to me and was about to feel flattered until he pulled out a pen from behind his ear and inspected it longingly.

"Sorry about that," I speak up, attempting to get his attention, "I should be fine now."

"Ah. Good. Come, I found some peculiar things!" He seemed unbothered by my absence, but not exactly pleased with having to wait for my return, "As you were doing... Whatever it was you were doing, I attempted to follow some graffiti on this wall by the doors here. It was mostly covered by vines, so I cut them down and found these curious relics!" Neidle points to the ground towards two artifacts: a small horse toy made of solid copper and a familiar star-shaped pendant connected to a necklace. "Isn't that fascinating!?" His face was beaming with excitement that I didn't know he had in him, "This looks identical to the Star of Mora! It's even made of scheelite and everything! Let's not forget about this horse! Why, besides some weathering and dirt, it looks as if it were cast yesterday!" The professor pulls out a sketch book and details the exact position of the relics in addition to some notes on the page besides it.

As he sketches, my vision begins to blur as I focus on the horse and with a blink I wake up in the midst of a panic. Soldiers with various weapons, glowing with blood lust, flood the streets, taking on countless shapeless creatures made of a thick-black ooze. Behind me, where I had just been staring with the professor sat a little girl, huddled against the wall, crying and clutching the toy horse as she repeated the same words over and over again. It was a prayer. Before I could move to comfort the child or even think about making a decision, I blink and am slammed back into reality with the professor.

"How's it look?" Neidle asks with an annoyed tone, holding up his sketch book to me, "Hellooo??? Idoria to Miss Ain?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry," I apologize as another headache washes over me, "Yeah, it looks perfect... I didn't realize you were such an artist."

"Hardly so, but I got quite good at it during these expeditions so I could learn more about things before some twat decides to move the objects... Or worse, steals them." He turns back to the trinkets to compare his sketches with the real thing before putting the book away.

The rest of the day was filled with similar moments, though without the hellish visions. I'd follow the professor around, taking notes, asking questions and debating theories about anything we found.

Night began to fall quickly as the mountainous terrain blocked out the sun far sooner than any of us were used to. The trek back to camp felt like a military exercise, as the mercenaries were even more on-alert than normal. It felt like we were being hunted by the creeping darkness.

Dinner that night was filled with chatter from the various students exchanging their findings, notes, and drawings. One group claimed to find another building that had yet to be cleared of plants and debris. Another claims to have found the remains of livestock, implying that this dig site wasn't just for managing the flow of goods, but that the land was fertile and people lived here for quite some time before they were wiped out. And most interestingly, the girl from earlier- Aiya, I think her name was- and my new arch nemesis claimed to have found a mural depicting the secretive doors that guarded the dig site.

"Where was this!?" One of the students asked in excitement.

"It was at the bottom of the stream just outside of the main dig site's area!" Aiya exclaimed, the camp fire dancing in her eyes, "Funnily enough, we wouldn't've found it ha-"

"Had it not been for the stream turning red for a moment!" The man interrupted. They now had my undivided attention, "It was unexpected, but when the stream began running red, the mural began to glow softly! Once the stream returned to normal, so did the mural, so I stepped in and brought it out of the water!"

The professor's eyes widened as he dropped his plate, spilling his food all over the ground, "You did what!?" His shouts pierced my heart and made me nervous even though I wasn't the target of his fury. "Didn't I say not to touch ANYTHING!? Honestly what kind of imbeciles are you to disrupt a dig site like that!?" Neidle continues to rant for several minutes about etiquette and the 'proper procedures' for new discoveries. Once he calmed down enough to not be shouting at the two, he storms off to his tent.

The rest of the class finishes their meals in complete silence before quietly retiring for the night. As I return to my tent, I light my candles and begin my nightly prayer, taking off my mask to give proper respects "Po'oraat, my guide, may you keep my soul free and my mind clear as I continue searching for knowledge. May I know the source of my recent visions and bleeding."

"Woah, I didn't take you for the religious type," Aiya whispers, looking around at the candles and prayer mat before looking me in the eyes. Her eyes widen as she realizes I'm not wearing my mask, "Y-your face!"

I quickly grab my mask and do my best to conceal before she could see, but I knew it was too late, "Why are you here!?" I demand, pointing towards the entrance to my tent with one hand, and holding my mask to my face with the other.

"I-I just wanted to see if I could b-bunk with you," Aiya begins shaking, "I di-didn't realize you were... I-I should've 'knocked' first."

I begin calculating my risks: on one hand, if I offer her to bunk in here, maybe she'll keep my secret... But on the other hand, she did barge in here and see something she shouldn't have and should probably be killed for my own safety's sake. Hmmm decisions decisions, all of them wrong... "If I let you stay in here, will you not tell a soul about what you just witnessed?" My voice was as stern as I could manage without raising it too loudly and alerting the mercenaries or other students.

"Y-y-yes, please?" She sounded sincere.

"Fuck," I whisper to myself, mildly disappointed that I had to take the peaceful route, "Fine. You can sleep in here. There's not much room, though, so just go get whatever you're sleeping on." I've managed to keep myself hidden in Mar'karéth for decades and now I've gone and blew my cover... Good job, Ain, you dumb-ass.

Aiya quickly returns with her sleeping roll and waits for me to finish extinguishing my prayer candles before laying it out, "Who were you praying to, by the way?"

"Po'oraat," I mumble, pulling out the golden-leaf pendant I always keep around my neck as I shuffle my items around to make room for Aiya's sleeping roll.

"He's the god of choice, right?" It sounded like she was trying to distract herself from what she saw mere moments ago, "Or is that the goddess of promises?"

"He's the god of freedom, so you were technically correct the first time. Mora is the goddess of promises."

"Ah..." Aiya gets into her sleeping roll part-way before sitting in silence, doing her best to not look at me.

"I need to check my hands for something... Since you're already in-the-know about me, do you mind if I remove my bandages to inspect them?" I ask, looking directly at her in an attempt to coax eye contact. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy seeing her squirm a little.

"Y-yeah... That's fine," She whimpers as she stares off into the distance.

"Thank you..." Unraveling the bandages around my hands and arms, I reveal my metallic hands to the air to inspect them for damage. Moving them around without the bandages allows them to make a faint rustling sound as my joints move un-muffled, "No signs of leaks," I whisper to myself, "Nor cracks or piercings... How curious... I wonder if I'm allergic to something?" Out of the corner of my eye I spot Aiya looking wide-eyed at my hands as if she'd seen a ghost, "What? You've never seen hands before?" I wiggle my fingers around to watch her eyes struggle to track their movements.

She sits there silently for a moment before mumbling, "It's just that I've never seen hands like... that, before..."

"Eh," I shrug, "A hand's a hand. You see one, you've seen them all."

"Not your hands though!" She peeps up, "They're all... shiny and metallic. They make a gentle noise when you move, almost like plate armour or scale-mail... They are not like other hands."

"Maybe in looks and sound," I rub my wrists, the metal surfaces sliding across each other without a sound, "But it functions just the same." Extending my arm out for her to see up close, I notice she flinches slightly before leaning in to examine them up close.

"C-can-" She attempts, the words unable to form on her lips.

I let out a deep, defeated sigh, "Yes... Sure... Go ahead."

She lightly pokes my palm, causing hand to twitch, startling her backwards. Once she realizes that it wasn't a conscious effort on my part, she grabs onto my hands with both of hers, flipping it over to inspect the other side before flipping it back to test the flexibility of my fingers, "It's so... Life-like!"

"Well, I am alive, so I'd sure hope so..."

"No, I mean," She puts on a sassy face to combat my sarcasm, "I mean despite being made of metal, it almost feels like a normal person's hand... Like, it's warm, it's flexible, you even have finger prints! The attention to detail here is insane!"

"Thanks?" I wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Close your eyes really quick?" Aiya pleads. I close my eyes begrudgingly, "Can you feel this?" She pokes my first knuckle on my index finger.

"Yes."

"What about this?"

"Yes, I can feel you caressing my palm with your hair."

"Fascinating!" She sounded genuinely surprised that I could feel anything, it was almost insulting.

"Light out!" One of the mercenaries banged on the tent's canvas.

I quickly pull my arms back from Aiya's clutches and give my hands a once-over just to be sure I didn't miss anything before extinguishing the last of the light from the tent. I didn't need to see to put my bandages back on, so I wrapped myself back up and began to meditate.

"By the way," Aiya started, pulling me out of my meditation immediately, "Thanks for letting me stay in here..."

"Of course. Though I am curious as to why did you want to stay here at all???" I ask through the darkness. In my mind it made no sense, she talks to the guy that hates my guts for no reason, she thinks I was being an asshole about giving her some of my food, and we've literally never spoken to each other beyond that one time.

"Well, if I'm to be honest..." She pauses to shift around in her sleeping roll, "I didn't want to wake up with another rodent sleeping on my chest. Last night traumatized me, so I figured I'd try to bunk with someone else. The other girl didn't have space in her tent, and it feels wrong to try to sleep with one of the boys... So I thought I'd ask you," Her voice had grown more confident and sweet and less fearful now that she couldn't see me, "Besides, I thought I'd give you a second chance after how you treated me this morning, offering me scraps while a rodent gorges itself on my food, hmph."

"It was lembas," I state plainly.

"What's lembas??"

Her question genuinely stunned me, but considering her reaction earlier, I should've seen this coming, "It's a type of bread made exclusively by elves. One bite fills you up. It lasts basically forever, and you don't lose out on any nutritional value by eating exclusively lembas... It's expensive, but worth it. I only offered a small portion because that would've been enough to last you the entire day."

Aiya remains quiet for a few moments as she processes what I just said, "So is what they say false then? That automatons don't eat?"

"What? No, that's mostly-accurate. I don't need to eat; but I can if I so desire. I eat because I want to and to blend in, but I don't have to do so." I've been asked this question every time my true identity is revealed to someone without fail. It's almost always followed up by-

"What about drinking, sleeping, or breathing??? Surely you need to do some of that, right!?"

I knew it. "I do not need to do those things either... In fact I've gotten the lovely 'curse' of insomnia, too... So not only do I not need to, but I physically can't. That's why I meditate instead."

"Oh..." She lays in silence for a few moments. I could hear her mind racing with questions as she tried to find one that was appropriate, "Ain... How old are you?"

"Well that's not one I hear often," I sigh, "I'm not sure. I stopped counting some time back."

"What was the last number you remember?" Her curious gaze penetrated the darkness. It makes sense that she'd be interested, considering she's taking this class; but it was always strange revealing my personal information like this.

I think for a moment. If I had to guess, it's been centuries or further since I last celebrated my birthday... When was my birthday again? "Hmmm... The last time I celebrated my birthday was probably the last time I kept track or even cared; and if we're in the Eighth Age, then that would mean the last time I kept track was back in the... Third? Age I think?..." I pause for a moment to recall the events of that time, "Yeah, I think that was when I celebrated my last birthday... T'was a long time before the humans drove the elves out of their ancestral lands during The Great War. I think I was five-hundred, now that I'm thinking about it..."

Aiya was silent. I couldn't tell if it was because she had fallen asleep or if she was speechless as most tend to be when they find out anything about me. What seemed like an eternity passed without a word; the crickets of the night chirping louder than any of the sounds from within my tent. I guess she did fall asleep... I should try to meditate again. I'll need to be focused for tomorrow as I needed into those doors.

"Does..." Aiya finally squeaks, barely whispering above the sound of the distant crickets' songs, "Does that mean you're older than this dig site?"

What an odd question. "I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever been here before, and even if I had been, I don't recall anythi-" I pause as I remember the visions I've been having all day, "Actually... That's a great question. Get some rest, I need to think about some things. Do you want to look around the dig site together tomorrow?"

"Of course," I could hear her smile through her words, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I hadn't actually thought about why I was having these visions beyond getting them to stop; but Aiya's question may have been what I need to utilize these visions to learn more about my past and my people's past. Tomorrow I'll have to keep her close to make sure she doesn't spill my secret to the others, but she may also prove useful to my quest for knowledge.