Kar blinked. What on Valor was someone else doing down here? He glanced over his shoulder, back the way he came. He hesitated, unsure whether to sneak away or go down.
The figure stood and slowly turned to face where Kar crouched. It raised a hand and threw back the hook of its cloak, revealing the weathered face of an old man, "Well make up your mind boy. If you're going to join me come on down. The fire's warm at least."
Kar sat there dumbly, then sheepishly stepped over and slid down the rock face towards the fire. The man turned his back to Kar, settling back down next to the flames.
Kar walked around to the opposite side of the blaze, noticing there was no wood or other fuel in the pit. He stood and stared at the flames for awhile, perplexed.
"Don't think too hard about it, just take a seat." The man said, "They call me Old Set."
Kar set down his sledge and pack and sat down on a dry rock. He held out his hands and soaked in the warmth, eyeing Old Set warily.
"So, what brings you all the way down here?" The old man asked, "You look worse for wear. Must have some story to tell."
Kar shuddered as the flames warmed his aching body, "Got lost in the Ruins. A cryst beast chased me and I got trapped, only way out was down."
Old Set nodded along, "Hmmn, have to watch out for those cryst. Strange things, aren't they? Would you believe it, we never saw anything like em until ohh, what? Fifteen years ago or so? Strangest things. And trust me, I've been around a long time. Seen my fair share of oddities, yes I have."
Kar sat up straighter, intrigued, "Only the last fifteen years? I thought they'd been around longer than that."
"Oh no no. Everything was dead around here up until just about fifteen years ago like I said." Tongues of flame seemed to accentuate Set's words, "City was a real wasteland then, desolate. The cryst started appearing out in the deep Ruins. Wasn't long after everything else started growing again. Birds and animals started coming back. Then the people."
Old Set side-eyed Kar, "You're not one of those Adepts, are you?"
Kar narrowed his eyes at the old geezer, "Aren't you?" He said while looking pointedly towards the fire.
Set cackled and wagged his finger at Kar, "I'm something like that."
His expression turned serious, "You're not like the others, boy. Can't quite place my finger on it."
Kar felt uncomfortable but wasn't sure why, "So, I've told you how I got here, but what are you doing down here?"
Set cocked his head to the side and Kar detected a flash of something in the old man's eyes, an intelligence deeper than Kar had at first presumed, "Just keeping watch, enjoying the fire."
Kar's brow furrowed in confusion, "Keeping watch over what?"
Old Set smiled, or rather his lips curved up into an approximation of one, though there was no warmth in the expression. He gestured to his right; Kar's left, "Go take a look."
Kar stood uneasily, eying Set questioningly, then stepped over to the edge of the fire where the old-timer had indicated. The ground sloped down steeply there, descending into a shallow ravine. A large, silver and white… object, or vessel lay half buried by an avalanche of rubble in the depths below. Kar had never seen anything like it, it had a rounded nose, almost like the top half of some tower that had keeled over.
"What is that?" He asked breathlessly.
"That's an old ship." Set said just beside Kar.
Kar jumped, when had the old man gotten up? Kar hadn't heard him move.
That tugging pull Kar had felt earlier—that had guided him to this part of the cavern—returned stronger than ever. It compelled him to move towards what Set called a ship. Without realizing it, Kar took a half step towards the slope's edge.
Old Set reached out a hand and snagged Kar before he could step onto the unsteady scree, "Whooah, don't want to be going down that way." His grip was shockingly firm.
Kar shook his head and stepped back towards the fire, "What kind of ship?"
"Oh, not one that traveled on water, I'll tell you that much."
What did that mean?
"There's something special about that vessel down there," Set continued, "You wanting to take a closer look?"
That silent tug continued to pull at Kar. He didn't know why, but he was curious. And a little afraid. "How did it get down here?" He asked, ignoring Set's question.
"Got buried in the Cataclysm, near as I can tell. Here, I'll take you down a little closer so you can see for yourself. It'll make a good story. Mind you, it's dangerous. I've been wanting to get inside it myself for a long time now. Never have been able to figure out how to get the door to open though..."
Set grabbed a torch lying nearby and lit it in his fire, then led Kar around a large rock outcropping nearby. There was a much easier path down into the ravine here. Old Set was surprisingly spry for such an old man. Kar struggled to keep up with him, the light of the torch bobbing down, down, down; threatening to leave Kar behind.
They reached the bottom where a shallow basin had formed around the nose of the buried ship. A ramp led up to an extrusion on its underbelly. The vessel was an elegant thing of beauty, larger than Kar had realized, its hull covered in winding patterns of embedded crystal.
Figures in black stood frozen across the basin—all facing the vessel—in various states of stilled motion. Some leaned forward mid-stride, somehow maintaining their balance without moving. Kar approached one, fascinated. Were they statues?
"Nah-unh, careful!" Old Set called, "Or you'll be stuck too."
Kar looked at the old man incredulously. What was he babbling about?
Set bent and grabbed a stone, then tossed it towards the nearest of the figures. The stone got within a span or so of it then froze mid-air, suspended.
"See? I told you."
Kar's eyes widened. Did that mean these figures were… people, then?
"What happened to them?" He asked.
"They got what they deserved." Old Set said quietly, the cheerful tone he'd affected up until then gone.
Kar glanced at him, feeling more and more uneasy.
"Like I said by the fire, there's something different about you boy." Set had stopped in place while Kar carried on a few steps. Kar paused to look back, concerned.
"This is as far as I can go. But you should be safe to try those doors, just follow the ramp on up."
Kar no longer wanted to.
He started to turn back, but Old Set barred his path, "Go to the ship Karalinde." Kar's blood ran cold; he had never told Set his name.
"You didn't have to." The old man whispered, and his torch winked out, plunging Kar into darkness.
Fear lanced through Kar, he turned and ran for the ship, yanking a shard out of his pocket. He didn't know what Old Set was, a man or something else, and he didn't want to find out. He darted around a pair of frozen figures, their faces shrouded in black cloth so that only their eyes could be seen. He had never seen such strange, flowing garb as they wore. One appeared to have been dragging the other towards the ship, the one he carried bearing what looked like grievous wounds.
Kar was so distracted by them as he ran past that he stumbled on the rough terrain. He barely managed to right himself and pressed on, almost to the nose of the ship now. He charged up the ramp towards a pair of metallic panels. This had to be the door Set had mentioned. Kar slid to a stop before them and slammed his hands against their cold surface, looking for a handle or some other way to get in.
He was in a full panic now, his heart pounding. There was something very wrong with Old Set. He looked back over his shoulder into the darkness. Just then doors slid open without warning, and Kar fell forward and tripped inside. As fast as they'd opened the doors closed back again, locking Kar within.
He leaned back against the panels of the door, breathing shakily. His hands trembled and he surprised himself with the sound of his own unsteady laughter. Had the old man been real, or had Kar just imagined him? How long had it been since he last slept? Was all this a dream? Unfortunately, he didn't think it was.
He stood up after a long while, looking around. All he had were the two shards, one in his hand and the other still in his pocket. He'd left his pack and sledge back at the fire.
The walls were all made of a smooth white metal, but the floors were a darker grey. Curving lines of inset Encryst flowed along the walls and ceiling, light shining brightly along their path.
Kar started up the ramp leading into the main body of the ship. It brought him to a long hallway that appeared to stretch almost the length of the vessel.
"Who are you?" A disembodied voice said inside Kar's head.