Ana darted forward and swung her sword down, baiting Jack into raising his shield to block her attack. She spun her arm the moment Jack leaned his right shoulder forward, blocking his side swing with her sword. His back leg started to shift forward, but Ana was already in motion, circling her blade around Jack's and knocking it away. She took a sidestep and flicked the flat of her blade at Jack's gloved wrist, then aimed a gentle kick at the side of his knee, claiming victory for the bout.
"Still as stiff as ever, I see," Ana drawled as they lowered their weapons.
"It's the heat," Jack protested in jest, and though he wore a slight smile, Ana noted the ruddy complexion of his face. They had decided to train together on their way to the ruin, so they could gauge and get familiarised with each other's skills again. It was nothing heavy – just some controlled sparring with only light contact, so they wouldn't inflict any injury on accident. But they had been at it for more than an hour, and Jack was still under the mercy of a fiercer sun.
"Then let's take a break. Don't want you wilting on me now." Ana smirked, patting Jack on the back when he tilted his head in reluctant agreement, and trudged alongside her back to camp.
Kamilah didn't bother looking up at them when they reached the campsite, set up by a short bluff. She sat beside their bags with legs crossed, eyes closed in meditation as her hands glowed with the steady light of magic, occasionally flaring with a twirl of her fingers.
"Hey."
The djinni started, head jerking up as the magic in her hands faded away. Her brows drew together in a frown, and Ana raised her eyes to the sky, already expecting the reproach. Sure enough, Kamilah snapped, "You distracted me."
"It's not your fault. After all, I am a very distracting woman."
Kamilah snorted, "On the contrary."
"Didn't you just accuse me of distracting you?"
"Like a hyperactive child, yes."
"Details, details," Ana huffed, carrying on their banter with glee while Jack busied himself with the campfire, giving them some privacy as usual. He started a fire effortlessly, setting a metal stand and skillet over it, but had his hands slapped away when he reached for the leather pack containing their rations.
"No!" Ana shot a reproving look at Jack's offended frown. "I told you, you're not allowed to cook ever again. Not when we're standing on the same soil."
"I'm not that bad," Jack grumbled.
"Delusion is bad for your health, Morrison." Ana set down her sword and stripped off her protective leathers, tossing them carelessly onto the rug Kamilah sat on. Then she settled on the sand beside Jack, pulling out a neatly-bound package of food and ingredients from the pack. "What do you feel like, Kamilah? Jerky, sausage, eggs? Maybe a sense of humour?"
"Eggs," Kamilah replied, determinedly ignoring Ana's jab.
"Right." Ana picked out a few eggs from its cushioned cloth nest, along with some sausages. "You know, Kamilah. Maybe you should try sparring with us sometime. Make sure you know how to handle a sword."
"I know how to wield one."
"Really. But can you wield it well enough?" Ana cocked a brow when Kamilah shot her a stare. "You need something to fall back on, in case your magic fizzles in the middle of a fight."
"My magic doesn't 'fizzle'," Kamilah growled.
"Then how did you end up here?" Ana stated simply, feeling a tinge of regret when Kamilah's hands balled into fists. "Look, you'd feel more secure if you had another way to protect yourself. I'd feel safer too. So how about it? You can think of it as repayment for all your magic lessons."
Kamilah's jaw clenched visibly, and she turned her gaze away.
"Magic lessons?" Jack whispered, making Ana jump. She'd nearly forgotten that he was present.
Shooting him an annoyed glance, she imitated his quiet tone, "She's been teaching me how to use magic."
"Huh." Jack cocked his head, peering at Kamilah discretely. "You can use magic?"
"That's the working theory," Ana sighed. When Jack raised his brows in silent question, she explained, "I can't really channel magic here, in the physical world. The most I can do is a few sparks. That's it."
The man nodded slowly, and didn't dig deeper despite the curiosity in his gaze. A small smile crossed Jack's lips, and he said, "Well, as far as I'm concerned, you already work magic with your bow. Don't need much more than that."
Ana laughed softly, breaking a few eggs into the oiled skillet. "Thanks."
Two more days of travel went by uneventfully, mostly with Ana and Jack chatting and exchanging stories of their exploits since they parted ways years ago. Though the constant chatter made their water skins empty faster, they could rely on Kamilah to renew their water supply whenever they came close to running out. Naturally, the djinni griped about being used as a portable water pump, so it was fortunate that they soon came across an oasis. After all, it'd be a pity to get strangled by Kamilah over water, when they were just one day away from their destination.
Ana knelt by the small lake, cupping her hands in clear water and splashing it gratefully over her face. The water was a little warm, but it was the best sensation she had felt since leaving town. She bent down, washing her hands and face more thoroughly as she heard Jack's footsteps come up beside her.
"Ana?" Jack muttered.
Taking a deep breath of satisfaction, Ana lifted her head and wiped her face with a hand. "Yeah?"
Jack took his time to speak, kneeling on the ground and setting their cooking utensils down. "Have I offended Kamilah in some way?"
"I don't think so." Ana paused in a moment of thought, then added, "Well… Typically, everyone offends her by simply existing. But that's just her."
Still looking bothered despite her humour, Jack dipped a piece of cloth into the lake. "She keeps staring at me. Like I've said or done something wrong. And, I don't know why, but she looks even angrier when we spar."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She glares at me."
"She glares at me too. You're not special."
Jack sighed sharply, scrubbing at the skillet with the wet cloth. "Look, I don't want to pry. But it feels like I've…intruded upon something personal." When Ana didn't reply, he continued, "Did you two have an argument?"
"What? No. Well," she hummed, sitting down on the sparse grass. "We weren't arguing when we met you. But we were on some…personal business."
"Ah. Then I'm sorry for distracting you–"
"No, Jack. You didn't." Ana scratched at her jaw, looking for the right words to say without revealing too much. "Our task isn't that urgent just yet. And to tell you the truth, this little mission of yours is quite a breath of fresh air."
"That's how you feel." Jack pointed out. "Maybe Kamilah doesn't like it."
"Maybe." Ana said vaguely. When she didn't explain further, Jack turned his attention back to their utensils, cleaning them fastidiously. Ana glanced at him, then turned her head to look at Kamilah, who sat under the shade of a tree near the water, reading a book she had bought before they stumbled into Jack. The djinni had kept her distance from Jack, steadfastly ignoring any overtures he made towards her. She was still uncomfortable with him, and the undisclosed reason for her discomfort was unsettling Jack as well. Perhaps it was prudent to part ways with the man as soon as this mission was done.
"I have another question," Jack said, drawing her attention back. "Are the two of you…involved?"
"What!" Ana laughed. "No, no. We're just friends."
Jack still appeared rather skeptical. But in the face of Ana's certainty, he could only nod and accept her answer.
They spent the night by the oasis, taking the chance to rest in an environment that wasn't only rocks and sand, and winds blowing even more sand into their faces and clothes. At the crack of dawn, they ate some hardtack and dried jerky listlessly, drank more handfuls of water from the lake, then packed their bags and parted from the oasis. Driven on by the knowledge that they were close to their destination, Ana and Jack marched on with great fervour, while Kamilah trailed behind and flew discretely over the sand while the two weren't looking. Ana only knew of Kamilah's little trick because she had turned back to check on the djinni, and nearly cackled at the sight of Kamilah hovering just a few millimeters off the ground. She kept quiet at Kamilah's warning look though, preserving the djinni's little secret with a close-lipped smile.
On they went, until Jack led them to a short canyon. Ana looked around incredulously at the seemingly plain rock formations as they walked down the shallow cleft. Then Jack came to a stop somewhere in the middle, and faced the rough slope of rock to their right.
"Here?" Ana asked.
"Yes." Jack reached out with his hand, running his fingertips slowly along the rock, until he seemed to find what he was looking for. Then he dug into one of his belt pouches, and withdrew a bronze medallion bearing engraved arcane scripts.
Ana tilted her head curiously, when a tight grip clamped over her hand. She looked at Kamilah, growing worried at the tense expression on the djinni's face. Squeezing Kamilah's hand gently, she leaned her head forward in silent question. Kamilah just shook her head and turned her gaze back to Jack, who was holding the medallion out to the rocky slope.
They waited along with Jack for a few passing seconds, before the medallion started to glow. Ana's eyes widened as a section of the reddish-brown rock grew fainter before their very eyes, until it vanished completely to reveal a tall set of stone doors, with winged dragons chiseled on each side. Jack set his medallion into the hollow socket in the seam, and the doors moved, groaning loudly against rock as they slid apart to grant entrance.
Jack turned around, gaze flickering down to their clasped hands, before beckoning at them to follow. They walked carefully into the darkness, and the doors groaned again when they cleared the threshold, the sole shaft of sunlight growing thinner as the gap started to close behind them. But no one panicked at the imminent loss of light, for Kamilah had summoned three glowing wisps with a simple twirl of her hand. She sent one orb to Jack and Ana each, providing them with ample light to look down the wide, dusty corridor of the ruin.
Ana half-wished she didn't have the light to see with, when her gaze landed on the carpet of skeletons that lay before the entrance. "Not a very good sign, is it?" Ana said, taking the strung bow from around her shoulders. A hint of nervousness quickened her pulse, and she nocked an arrow as a precaution.
"No, but it's not unexpected." Jack readied his shield and drew his sword. "This was a town, built by a Denilvan warrior more than 300 years ago. He grew tired of the war back home, and traveled to the desert with his people to live in peace."
"A man travels for weeks across the ocean, and decides to make a life underground?"
"He's Denilvan, remember?" Jack said wryly. "Maybe he wanted to live without looking like a tomato."
Ana let out a chuckle. "I see your point." Looking around at the walls and shattered pottery along the floors, she remarked, "It couldn't have been easy. Just digging out tunnels would've taken a lot of effort."
"Apparently he had a few mages with him. Magic makes everything easier, it seems."
"Hm." Ana kept on alert, scanning their dark and stale surroundings methodically, trying her best to ignore the occasional crunch of bone beneath her boot. "It is quite a feat to build an entire town underground. Wonder why there's not a single mention of this place in Simanya's historical records."
"There's the tragedy." Jack pushed carefully on a rotting wooden door with his shield at ready, scanning what seemed to be some sort of greeting office, then waved them onward when he deemed it safe. "He escaped the conflict at home, only to become embroiled in another one here. Some years after settling his town, he managed to cross a Simanyan lord, and their people fell into a short-lived war. From here, my sources become vague, but it seems the Simanyan lord enlisted the aid of witches, and magically sealed the entrance to trap the Denilvan people inside." He cast his eyes over the skeletons sprawled all over the floor, some looking as if they were trying to claw their way up the cob-webbed walls. "But I wonder why they couldn't break the seal. There were mages among their numbers."
"Maybe it was an unfamiliar magic," Ana suggested, and Jack looked back at her thoughtfully.
"They couldn't think for themselves anymore," Kamilah murmured, drawing her companions' attention. "The Simanyan lord not only sealed the entrance, but took their sight as well, and cursed them to hear a six-note melody in their ears over and over again. Eventually they were driven insane from being trapped and blinded, with a constant song to remind them of their downfall."
Jack stepped over a pile of bones and rusted daggers, then shot Kamilah a curious gaze. "How do you know?"
"I've read about it."
"But Ana said there aren't any records of this place in Simanya."
"History always finds a way to survive," Kamilah replied quietly.
Ana caught her gaze, and cocked a brow in question. Kamilah merely lowered her eyes and turned her attention back to the front. Ana had a sneaking suspicion that Kamilah's knowledge of this place came not from 'reading', but…
Jack remained focus on his task and led them through a door, walking out of the stone building and into a large cavern. Set in the middle was a statue of a robed woman, surrounded by a neat circle of short stone buildings. Ana guessed that this was the town square, from which the rest of the settlement grew.
They continued to let Jack lead, the man picking their way down dirty roads, stopping by a few musty buildings to try and salvage ruined records. There were a few hidden wards placed along the main road that Jack had chosen to travel on, but they were quickly detected by Kamilah, who dispelled the magical traps before they tripped it on accident. Ana padded lightly along the paved road, eyes scanning the surroundings cautiously, though the only things she ever spotted were the remains of a growing settlement. One couldn't help but feel pity for the people who died there, their dreams for a peaceful life ending in such tumult. Judging from the various weapons stuck between bones, and the twisted positions of the skeletons, they couldn't have died an easy death.
They climbed the steps to the stately building which Jack had pointed out as the town hall, and stepped over the heavy doors that had collapsed onto each other, lying on the floor in a heap. There they stood for a moment, by the entrance of a large chamber, eyeing the smooth, stone-hewn throne before them. The chamber was interestingly empty, save for the single skeleton that still lay reclined in the throne, wearing clean noble regalia, with a chipped claymore resting across its lap.
Jack pointed at the skeleton and said, "There. That's the Denilvan warrior. I need to get that circlet – or the gem affixed to it."
"Simple enough," Ana commented, eyeing the deep purple gem in the circlet, which fitted nicely about the skull. "Go get it."
Jack moved forward at her urging. But he could take only a few steps before he was thrown back by an invisible force, causing him to stumble into Ana's arms. "What the–"
"Magic?" Ana asked, looking at Kamilah as she held Jack steady.
The djinni strode forth more cautiously, with one hand held forward until she seemed to meet a wall of force. She retracted her hand, hesitated a little, then tried to walk forward like Jack did, to the same effect. Kamilah was thrown back, but landed neatly on her feet, having expected the same reaction. She studied the invisible barrier for a moment, then threw out a few destructive spells, their energies splashing harmlessly over the barrier and dissipating into nothingness.
"An anti-magical barrier, perhaps?" Kamilah mused, reaching out to touch it again. She pressed her hand flat against the barrier, white light growing stronger at the point of contact, then faded when she moved away. Kamilah considered the obstruction quietly, before turning to look at Ana, holding up her palm. "Give me your enchanted rings."
Ana removed the two silver bands from her fingers, and dropped them into Kamilah's palm.
"Now," Kamilah said, nodding her head at the throne. "You try."
"What? If the barrier's anti-magic, I shouldn't be able to get through, right?" Ana asked incredulously. "I can use magic…a little. Can't I?"
"It's…not that simple." Kamilah's eyes fixed on Jack for a fleeting moment, then focused on Ana again. "Just trust me, and go."
Ana looked around at Jack, who shrugged. Left without a choice – other than leaving without their prize – Ana sighed and strode forward slowly. One step, and another, until she reached the barrier and…went through without a single hint of resistance. Surprised, Ana took two more experimental steps forward, then looked back at her companions. Jack gave her a thumbs-up and waved her onward. Kamilah nodded.
All was quiet, but Ana's nerves were strung taut. Jack had mentioned some form of 'danger' present in the ruin, but they hadn't met anything of the sort in town. All her instincts screamed at her to stop as she reached for the circlet on the skeleton's head. Ana paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself, then touched the circlet.
The circlet's gem came to life at her touch, glowing with an inner light. Ana threw herself back reflexively, but was not quick enough to avoid the claymore's upswing. The tip of the blade sliced up her shoulder, and Ana rolled herself back, putting more distance between her and the skeleton – now animate. She scrambled to her feet, staring into its hollow eyes as she tossed her bow aside and drew her sword. In such an enclosed space, she had no choice but to engage close-quarters combat.
"Ana!" She heard Jack call from behind her, but Ana didn't bother replying when the skeleton lunged at her. She dodged the glowing blade of the claymore, which struck the ground with thunderous force, emitting a wave of energy that ripped a long fissure on the stone floor until it dissipated against the barrier.
Ana kept her distance from the undead, knowing her mundane blade couldn't withstand direct contact with the enchanted claymore. Instead of fighting it, she danced out of its range, observing and trying to find a weak spot in her opponent. How does one fight a skeleton? Something that was already dead?
When the undead rushed at her, Ana took a chance and pounced forward, narrowly avoiding the claymore's downswing and driving her blade through a shoulder socket, lopping off the undead's arm – not its sword arm, unfortunately. She rolled forward again, dimly aware that both Jack and Kamilah were attacking the barrier furiously, but to no avail. Ana had barely straightened herself when she felt another wave of energy cut horizontally through the air, biting into her side and sending her flying into the barrier where her companions stood – now solid under her touch.
Ana crashed against the invisible wall, fire burning up her side, which now bled profusely from the deep gash. Her head spun as she struggled to stand on trembling legs, lifting her eyes to discover that the undead was already right in front of her. It drove the claymore through her gut, pinning her to the barrier. She tasted copper on her tongue, barely noticing Kamilah crying her name. There was a spot of warmth on her back where the claymore had impaled her, the heat growing behind her with a harsh glow that spread along the barrier. Then, the invisible wall disappeared as the claymore was ripped away from her body, leaving her to fall back on the ground.
Barrier gone, Jack promptly rushed at their foe to keep it occupied, while Kamilah fell to her knees beside Ana, trembling fingers cupping her face and touching her wound.
"K–, milah," Ana gasped, clasping Kamilah's wrist when a familiar mist of healing washed over the torn skin of her stomach. "Help Jack. Please."
"But–"
"I can hold on a little longer–," she coughed wetly, opting not to speak of the growing numbness in her body. "Just make sure you finish that skeleton before I bleed out, hm?" She flashed a painstaking grin, but if Kamilah's worried expression was anything to go by, her forced nonchalance had no effect. Nevertheless, the djinni nodded and brushed her cheek gently, before her eyes shone a harsh silver.
Ana clutched at her stomach wound, its bleeding slowed a little by Kamilah's short bout of healing. Dragging herself heavily backwards and out of range, Ana stared at the battle raging on before her. Jack stood on guard between the skeleton and Ana, the fight having been ripped from his hands by Kamilah, who blasted the undead with torrent after torrent of magic. Bones splintered and broke under the unrelenting force, the skeleton barely even getting a chance to retaliate, until Kamilah conjured a sword of flames and severed the skull from its spine.
Even without its head, the body still advanced onto Kamilah threateningly, but the battle was over. The flame sword seared through its remaining arm, and the claymore fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Hit by an explosive gale, the undead's body was sent sprawling onto the floor. Kamilah shot a wave of magical force at it, sending its bones flying across the room. She walked over to the skull in time with Jack, motioning for him to remove the circlet from its cracked head. He took his prize and stepped back quickly, allowing Kamilah to bring her foot down on the skull, shattering it into pieces.
They didn't take time to savour their victory though, and ran over to Ana, whose eyes were starting to close involuntarily. A familiar touch on her cheek roused her back to life, and Ana blinked to clear her vision, just in time to see Kamilah slap Jack's hand away.
"Don't touch her," the djinni snapped. Irritation passed through Jack's features, but he kept quiet and watched Kamilah work her magic.
"Stay with me, Ana," Kamilah said, setting her hands over Ana's stomach wound and the gash in her side.
"Pay me ten thousand gold first…" Ana replied woozily. She was tired. So tired, that she couldn't feel the change in her body when her wounds were mended. "Milah…"
Kamilah cradled Ana's face gently in one hand, when her head lolled forward in exhaustion. "Yes?"
"Teach me how to do cool magic," Ana drawled, only half-aware of the words spilling from her mouth, as her eyelids drooped. "I wanna smash skeletons…"
"I will. But you have to rest now. You've lost a lot of blood."
"Smash skelly magic," Ana giggled, resting her head on Kamilah's shoulder as sleep descended upon her. "I wanna smash…"