The surroundings of this coastal area had changed in the centuries since Torne had passed through. Much had happened in the meantime, with the fall of the Cataclysm Order, and then the time had caused vegetation to cover previously open places.
The bird heard Vicente's question and used one of its wings to indicate a spot ahead. "There is indeed an interesting area nearby, master. I've been living in this area for about a year, and this morning, I couldn't help but try to defend my territory against a stranger..." It looked at Torne and then asked. "Are you going to that place by any chance?"
"Hmm, lead us there, Onyx." Torne agreed and told the beast to lead them to their place of interest.
Tamed or enslaved magical creatures followed a natural hierarchy based on length of service and power level. Since Torne was at the same level as the bird and had served Vice the longest, Onyx obeyed him immediately and set off for the place Vicente was looking for.
Onyx soon stopped in front of an area covered with mud and some creeping plants facing the coast.
From a distance, no one would notice that something was hidden there. But when he looked closer, Torne recognized some details in the surroundings.
"This is the place." He commented as he momentarily observed the state of this former secret place of his organization.
In Torne's time, there were basically three types of Cataclysm Order sites. The most common of these were ordinary altars, which usually contained magical awakening platforms and not much else. These were simply places to help families of Dark Path magicians so that they would have places nearby to awaken their family members' powers.
The least common of all was the secret altars, where the religion usually kept small groups and plenty of resources in case of serious problems. Finally, there were the public altars, where members of the organization usually went to help other practitioners of the Dark Path, sometimes acting in daylight to defend their cause.
The first and last types of places of this religion were the most attacked in the last war before the end of this organization.
The place that Vicente had found in Torne, in the province of Scott, was of the latter type. As such, that place had been attacked and swept away by the forces of the Congregation of Revelation.
As for this place in the Kenyth Empire, it was one of the organization's secret outposts that might not have been attacked because only members important to the religion knew about these places.
Such individuals would rather die than give up their companions or secret locations that might one day be useful to possible survivors.
The members of the Cataclysm Order hated the Congregation of Revelation deeply. So, if there were any chance of revenge, the elders of that force would not spoil their chances by opening their mouths to talk about these secret places.
In short, the only possibility that this place had been explored or destroyed was if some survivor of the order had come to this place after the war or if some enemy had followed some survivor there.
However, these things would be difficult to achieve, as few people knew about these places, and even fewer had the keys to enter such altars.
"Master, please summon your Cataclysm Moon Pendant," Torne said to Vice after scanning the area around the ruins.
Vicente did as he was told, and then Torne explained it to him. "All the secret places of my religion were properly locked after the guards left their posts. Only with a special key could one enter one of these posts."
"And that's what this necklace will do?" Vicente asked
doubtfully.
Torne laughed and said. "Of course. As the most valuable item
in our order, this necklace can give you access to all ranks of
my order, master. After all, this was the artifact that only the
Master of the Order could wear casually!"
"Oh?" Vicente followed Torne as he made his way through the
metal artifacts floating around him.
Onyx followed behind them towards the entrance of the
place, not finding it difficult to use the same path as them.
Although he had a 'giant' body, it was nothing compared to
what birds normally looked like. Onyx was only a little taller
than Vicente. And with its wings retracted, its size was much
less, so it could keep up with its master and Torne.
They soon passed the main entrance to the altar. This place
was hidden in the crevices of the rocks in this area, and few
things in the surroundings indicated that this was no simple
abandoned place.
Only someone with Torne's knowledge or Onyx's elemental
affinity could understand its value.
Passing through the entrance, which was not very obvious
from the outside even if it weren't covered in undergrowth,
Vicente and his two companions reached the passage that
would lead them to the secret location of the Cataclysm
Order in this area.
Entering what looked like a well-crafted cave, Vicente and his
two companions soon found themselves in front of a large
round metal door.
On the door were a series of symbols and entrances through
which the mechanisms could be moved either with the
appropriate password or by using one of the keys to this post.
Torne said to Vicente. "Master, put some mana into the
Cataclysm Moon Pendant."
Vicente did that until a gray glow emerged from the object
that looked like a crescent moon.
As he did so, every mechanical and non-mechanical structure
in the area shook as the mana inside stirred, making Vice and
Onyx realize how right Torne was.
Torne clenched his skeletal fists as he felt this, finally back in a
'preserved' place of his religion after millennia!
After about 20 seconds, Vicente's necklace stopped emitting
the glow, and the round door in front of him began to roll
aside, revealing a dark passageway to them.
Torne said. "Keep your necklace around your neck until we
leave this place, master. It's not a good idea to wear it for a
long time, but the Cataclysm Moon Pendant will do you good
in this place."
Vicente draped the pendant around his neck and then walked
down the passageway that opened before him, following
Torne while Onyx trailed behind, watching his back.
Torne quickly spread his senses over the area, taking in the
good and the bad. There were things they could use to
strengthen themselves and prepare for the future, but not as
much as this place had once held.
"It seems that some companions came here before us, but
they did us the favor of leaving things for us. There are some
things here you need to see, master."
