Hop walked ahead, stopping occasionally to listen. Ando tried to keep up, navigating around strange plants and rocks that seemed alive in the purple light. Each of his steps was accompanied by the crunching of silvery grass.
"Can you walk more quietly?" Hop hissed, turning around. "You''ll attract the entire artifact."
"Sorry," Ando mumbled, trying to step more softly. "Where are we going anyway?"
"To a haven," she answered curtly and gestured for him to stop.
In the distance came a howl similar to the one made by the metallic dogs. Hop grabbed Ando by the arm and pulled him behind a massive tree with turquoise bark.
"Sit still and don''t move," she whispered, pressing herself to the ground.
They froze. The howling drew closer, then began to fade away. When it completely died down, Hop exhaled with relief.
"We need to go there," she pointed to a small hill covered with strange shrubs whose leaves resembled thin glass. "There should be a haven beyond it."
"A haven?" Ando stared at her. "What kind of havens?"
"Places," Hop snorted. "They just... exist. They appear with the artifact. Safe zones are scattered throughout this world where creatures don''t venture."
"And you know where they are?"
"Approximately," Hop nodded. "In my first artifact, a guy told me that havens are usually located near entrances or key points. I managed to mark a couple on my map before I met you."
They moved on, weaving between trees and avoiding open spaces. Finally, climbing a gentle hill, Ando saw a strange structure below.
It was a hut, but unlike any he had ever seen before. It seemed to be made of a translucent material, resembling glass or crystal, with vague, constantly changing outlines. The light emanating from inside shimmered and pulsed like the northern lights.
"What kind of... building is that?" he asked as they descended toward the hut.
"Havens look different in each artifact," Hop replied. "It depends on the type of artifact. In this white one, they''re usually translucent, as if made of pure energy."
She carefully approached the door, which looked like a shimmering veil, and listened. Making sure there was no one inside, Hop simply stepped through the glowing curtain.
"Come on," she called. "It only seems strange, but you can walk through easily."
Ando took a deep breath and stepped forward. He felt a slight tingling sensation as he passed through the glowing barrier, and then found himself inside.
"Wow..." escaped from him.
The interior space seemed significantly larger than one would expect from outside. In the center was a circular platform with something resembling a campfire, though the flame was bluish and emitted no heat. Around this "fire," simple seats resembling stumps had materialized. Against the far wall, the vague outlines of beds or cots could be seen, and tiny luminous particles floated in the air, providing soft lighting.
"Welcome to the haven," said Hop, sitting down on one of the seats. "We''re safe here... relatively."
"What do you mean ''relatively''?" Ando sat down beside her, surprised to discover that the seat adjusted to the shape of his body.
"Monsters won''t come in here, I don''t know why—some rule of the artifacts," Hop shrugged slightly. "But other Seekers might. And they can be different."
"Other people, like us?" Ando perked up. "Are there many of them?"
"More than you think," Hop stretched her legs toward the strange fire. "But not all are friendly. Some might kill you for a trophy or simply out of fear of competition."
Ando nervously swallowed.
"And these... havens, are they in all artifacts?"
"In every one," Hop nodded. "It''s the first thing a Seeker looks for when entering a new artifact. In some artifacts, they look like caves, in others—like strange rooms, in others still—like medieval towers. Depends on the type of artifact."
"And how much time do we have to rest?" asked Ando, beginning to feel the fatigue from all of today''s events.
"Not much," Hop approached one of the walls, which seemed a bit denser than the others, and looked outside through an opening that appeared in it. "It will be dark soon, and it''s better not to wander around here in the dark. We''ll spend the night, and at dawn, we''ll move on."
She returned to the fire and took out something resembling a dry ration from a small bag hanging on her belt.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Eat," she handed half to Ando. "In my first artifact, some guys shared this stuff with me. It tastes awful, but it will give you strength."
"Before I eat this... thing," Ando turned a hard brownish bar in his hands, "maybe you could explain what''s going on? What are artifacts? Why am I here? And who are Seekers?"
Hop sighed and leaned back.
"Alright, listen. What you touched in the forest was an artifact—an entry point to a parallel world. There are plenty of such points all over Earth, but ordinary people don''t see them. Only special ones—Seekers."
"Seekers... and I''m one of them?" Ando bit off a piece of the bar and grimaced at the bitter taste.
"Obviously," Hop nodded. "Otherwise, you couldn''t have entered here."
"What about these... monsters? And why is everything around so strange?"
"Each artifact is a separate world with its own rules and inhabitants. This one is a white or glass type, quite simple, for beginners," she broke off a piece of her ration. "Blue artifacts are full of water and aquatic creatures, red ones—fire and heat. Like in games, different difficulty levels and locations."
"You play games?" Ando was surprised.
"Of course," Hop snorted. "Think I''m from the Stone Age? Fallout and Skyrim are my favorites. Although after artifacts, games seem... not as exciting."
She smiled, and Ando realized it was the first time he''d seen her smile without mockery or irony.
"So what do I do now?" he asked, beginning to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
"You have two options," Hop held up one finger. "First: we find the entry point, and you return to the real world. Forget all this like a bad dream and continue living a normal life."
"And the second?"
"Second," she held up another finger, "we complete the trial of this artifact. Defeat the final boss and receive a reward. Then you''ll become a real Seeker."
"Trial? Boss? Reward?" Ando shook his head. "Are we in a game or something?"
"I''m using words that are easier to understand," Hop shrugged. "In reality, nobody knows exactly why artifacts are structured this way. But the fact is that in each one there''s a main guardian—call it a boss or whatever you want. Defeat it—get a reward."
"So what''s the reward?" Ando became interested.
"Nobody knows in advance," Hop chewed her ration. "Usually it''s some ability or item. In simple artifacts like this one, nothing special—maybe some minor mental ability or a simple weapon."
Ando pondered. It all sounded too fantastic, but simultaneously thrilling.
"How many... artifacts have you completed?"
"Just one," she replied. "Also a glass one, almost like this. I wasn''t alone, there were four of us. They were more experienced than me and helped pass the trial. I''ve never faced a boss alone yet."
"And do you have abilities?"
Hop nodded.
"One modest one. Allows me to sense danger a bit earlier than usual. Like heightened intuition. Almost useless in the real world, but helpful here."
"Why useless?"
"Because of the mirror effect," she popped the rest of the ration into her mouth. "I''ll explain later, there are more important things right now."
She gestured for him to come to the wall. Ando approached, and Hop touched the surface. A transparent "window" formed in the wall, through which the surrounding landscape was visible.
"Look," she pointed to a nearby hill.
What Ando saw made him hold his breath. On the hill stood a creature that could only be described as a "nightmare come to life." It vaguely resembled a human but was much taller—at least three meters. Its skin seemed to consist of glass-like plates, shimmering in the rays of the purple sun. Instead of arms, the creature had long blades touching the ground, and where the head should have been, there was something resembling a shining crown of sharp glass spikes.
"Holy crap," whispered Ando, feeling a chill run down his spine.
"This is the boss of this artifact," Hop quietly replied. "The Glass Guardian. It''s what we need to fight to pass the trial."
"And you want to fight... that?" Ando swallowed.
"Not now," Hop shook her head. "We''re not ready. We need to make a plan, study the area. Alone, I wouldn''t risk it, but together... maybe we have a chance."
She moved away from the "window," which became just a wall again, and returned to the fire. She took out a folded sheet of thick paper from her bag and unfolded it. It was a hand-drawn map.
"Here I''ve marked dangerous zones where patrols of metallic dogs are frequent," she pointed to red circles. "And here," her finger moved to blue marks, "are other havens I''ve found. In case this one becomes unsafe."
"Where''s the exit?" asked Ando, studying the map.
"The entry-exit point should be approximately here," Hop pointed to a spot marked with an X. "But to get there, we''ll either have to pass by the Guardian or take a long detour through the mountain range."
Ando sat back down on the seat and rubbed his temples. His head was buzzing from the excess of information.
"So what now?" he finally asked.
"Now we rest," Hop folded the map. "Tomorrow we''ll decide what to do next. Perhaps first I''ll show you the basics of survival in an artifact, and then we''ll try to get out of here."
"And if I want to... well, try to pass the trial?"
Hop looked at him intently.
"Pass it? On your first day in an artifact, without preparation, without skills?"
"Well, I just..."
"It''s dangerous," she shook her head. "Only my teammates saved me in my first artifact. But on the other hand... this artifact is one of the simple ones. It''s as if it was specifically created for beginners. Maybe it could work."
Her words both frightened and inspired Ando.
"Do you really think so?"
"I don''t know," Hop answered honestly. "But judging by how easily you found the artifact... Maybe you have some hidden abilities. Who knows."
She stood up and approached the cots forming from the glowing mist.
"But that''s all for tomorrow," she said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Right now, we need rest. I''ll lie here, you can take that cot over there."
Ando didn''t argue. Fatigue was coming in waves, his eyes were getting heavy. He lay down on the strange cot, which turned out to be surprisingly comfortable, and the last thing he saw before falling into sleep was Hop touching the wall of the haven, checking the integrity of their shelter.
During the night, Ando woke up to a strange sound. He raised himself on the cot, peering into the half-darkness. Hop was sitting by the transparent wall, looking at the night sky, where instead of familiar stars hung crystalline formations, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow.
"Can''t sleep?" Ando asked quietly.
Hop turned around, clearly surprised that he had awakened.
"Just... thinking," she replied.
"About what?"
She was silent for a moment, then shrugged.
"About how strange it all turned out. Usually, newcomers enter artifacts through acquaintances or die immediately. But you... I don''t know."
"What don''t you know?"
"Just that most people walk by without noticing them," she came closer. "But you saw it right away, without hints, without friends. And it''s as if I didn''t find you by accident."
Hop shrugged and returned to her cot.
"Sleep. Tomorrow we''ll see how special you are."
Ando wanted to ask something else, but sleep overcame him again, and he plunged into a magical world of mysterious creatures and strange whispers, calling him somewhere deep into this strange world.