Return to the Court

The three of them stood before a massive pile of rubble. Sirene insisted they were in the right place, so Rebecca began to clear it using her Irongrip vines, while Sergei and Sirene watched. They were deep into the ruins of Valenca, far deeper than Rebecca had even ventured over the years, and quite likely deeper than anyone had ventured since Valenca was abandoned. Rebecca casually cleared away entire buildings from what appeared to be a lot forgotten public square or courtyard, until they reached a layer of seemingly immaculate tiles.

"Here we are." Sirene said. "The roof of the court."

"The roof?" Sergei asked.

"Observe." Sirene stated. She walked around the cleared courtyard, tapping tiles with her foot seemingly at random. Just as Rebecca was about to ask what she was doing, the entire courtyard shook, and a hole opened in the ground. "Looks like the magic has run out. We'll have to jump down. Don't worry it's just a few feet."

Sirene walked over to the hole in the ground and jumped in without a moment's hesitation. Seeing her do it so readily gave Rebecca confidence and she did the same, motioning for Sergei to follow. The room they arrived in was small and dark, but Rebecca noticed a door at the end. Looking at Sirene expectantly, Sirene nodded and snapped her fingers. Some but not all of the lights flickered and turned on, bathing the room in a low glow.

"It saddens me to see it like this you know." Sirene said, gesturing at the state of disrepair of the magic.

"Where are we?" Rebecca asked. "For that matter, what kind of magic is this?"

"In the antechamber of the Court, and frankly I don't know. This magic predates me." Sirene replied, walking to the door to the rest of the Court. "Come on, follow me."