A Guild of Moonlit Shadows (A KOTLC FanFic)

~39~ Consequences

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Wylie thought there was the distant sound of rain pattering against the roof of this abandoned monument, but it could also be the dripping water sopping into puddles on the floor.

Mouse happily padded after her owner, who made the casual conversation more one-sided than anything. Wylie gripped the strap of his bag tighter and tighter. The further they went into the building, the more wet and tight the air became. It felt as if he was breathing through a paper bag.

Seamus watched as Mouse skittered ahead, jumping on collapsed columns and crumbling carvings to squeeze her puffy coat through a small hole in the wall.

"Who knows where she is off to now." Seamus chuckled.

Seamus strode through one final archway before gesturing for Wylie to look.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" Seamus smiled.

The massive stone and marble room was hot and sticky, the cool stone reflecting the shining gold mechanism in the center. It was a series of intertwined circles protecting a massive chest in the center. It glowed with a gentle blue force field around it, protecting the machine.

Beside the machine was. A bedroll, a small fire with a spit and cooking pots, a small stack of books and little scribbles, and a nest of straw, cotton, and leather scraps.

"That is where you and Mouse reside, I'm guessing?" Wylie mused, pointing to the bedroll and nest. Wylie thought it was a simple joke that would make Seamus laugh. No one could ever live in these conditions. Of course, Seamus had a proper bed and an oven.

"Yup!" Seamus smiled.

Wylie waited for Seamus to burst into laughter, but Seamus just stared at the setup with pride.

"My little camp is made out of things I scavenged from around the building. Except Mouse's bed, she found those things herself."

He wasn't joking.

"I see." Wylie coughed. Not a single Elf could imagine living like this. Maybe the Council's explanation of the Vatarians was true. They are no better than beasts-

Wylie caught his thoughts before they drifted. His mother was Vatarian, Sophie was Vatarian. He was Vatarian.

It was still boggling for Wylie to think of himself as anything but a pure-blooded elf. He is deconstructing everything he thought and rebuilding it.

"What is it?" Wylie asked, pointing to the central mechanism in hopes of changing the subject.

Seamus shrugged, trudging over to his little campfire and poking it with a stick to keep it alive.

"I don't know. But, it keeps me warm. And it doesn't get too hot since there are vents all over the building. Primitively built, mind you, but still in working order. Those vents also help me not get smoked out by my campfire."

"So it was built in mind to keep this thing running." Wylie muttered, walking closer to the contraption. Seamus glanced up and paled, "Hey, woah!" Seamus grabbed Wylie and yanked him back, the machine's blue force field crackling with lightning that struck the spot where Wylie previously stood.

"What the hell was that?!" Wylie asked, scrambling to his feet.

"I made the same mistake when I first got here. That force field is super finicky, doesn't like anyone getting too close. That is why my camp is set on the edge of the walls." Seamus explained.

Wylie dropped his bag, focusing on the center chamber within the mechanism with intense curiosity.

"It's protecting something." Wylie glanced at Cyrah's journal. She kept mentioning this one sphere.