Magic realm
The shallow ruins near Elderglow Town wore the sunset like a wound—golden light falling across toppled columns and moss-eaten statues. In the shadows, three figures crouched behind a collapsed wall, breathing shallow and grinning like kids who'd just stolen too many sweets.
"You think it's safe?" Shu whispered, eyes darting between the guards posted at the ruin's entrance.
"Cut it out." Jen's voice was a low command, sharp with impatience. She pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and scanned the courtyard with restless energy. "Even if it isn't safe, we went through too much trouble to give up now. Move."
Rees, fiddling with a small device in his gloved hands, smirked. "Relax. I'm too smart for this to go wrong." He tapped the gadget, which whirred and hummed like a bored insect. "Entrance is north side. Follow me."
They slipped along the broken stones, boots whispering against old marble. The entrance sat between two carved pillars, a shimmering barrier humming faintly across the archway. Two guards stood watch—robes neat, staves tipped with sigils, eyes sharp enough to chop thieves in half.
Shu swallowed audibly, the sound swallowed by the ruins. "They look strong."
"If they are strong," Rees said with casual confidence, "then we're smart." He tapped his gadget. "Watch."
A thin mechanical device skittered from his palm and zipped along the ground. It emitted chirps and flares of blue light, drawing the attention of one guard. The creature—barely bigger than a mouse—rolled past and triggered a loose bell, making the guard step away to investigate.
"Now, Shu." Jen's whisper carried the edge of command.
Shu's fingers trembled a little, not from fear but from concentration. He crouched behind a stone and murmured a charm, his lips moving in a rhythm that sounded almost like humming. The air around the trio shimmered. Shadows stretched and reformed, folding light into shapes that looked like extra bodies—three of them—each mirroring their leaders' posture. Illusions, indistinct at the edges.
The distracted guard paused, frowning at the extra figures. He raised his staff with practiced reflex, drawing on a simple binding spell. Vines of glowing sigils erupted from the ground, curling toward the illusions—only to coil harmlessly around nothing. The guard blinked in confusion, heart pounding, as the false forms flickered and then vanished.
That gave them the opening. Jen darted forward like a coiled spring, slipping a small, oddly-shaped key from her sleeve. It was no ordinary key—its head hummed faintly with trapped energy. She set it into a carved socket at the base of the arch.
For a heartbeat it felt impossible; the ruins held their breath. Then the barrier shivered and dissolved, a membrane melting away into the air. The arch yawned like a mouth.
"Go!" Jen hissed.
They moved—two steps, three—crossing the threshold together. The ancient stones swallowed their footsteps as the dark mouth of the ruins closed behind them. Just as the last of them slid into the passage, a faint hum rose again. The barrier reformed in a blink, sealing the entrance as if it had never been opened.
Outside, the guard who'd cast the vine-seal spat on the ground and scowled at the empty ruin. "Strange," he muttered, turning his gaze to the night. Inside, the trio exchanged quick, breathy laughs—part triumph, part nerves—as they disappeared into the labyrinth below with a prize in their hands.