The stele was old. Very old. It’s edges were rough, and its surface weathered and worn. A foreign script was carved onto the centre of the stele, while the area near the edges were carved with decorative ornaments, showcasing a bowl full of fruit, a woman’s hand reaching for it, and a serpent coiled around the entirety of the stele.

  Hesitant, he stepped closer to the stele.

  “Alaric, maybe we should stay away from it.” Ava called out. “I don’t like that snake – it looks like it could come alive at any second.” She visibly shuddered.

  Her words gave him pause. His gaze fixed on the serpent coiled around the stele, then glanced at the bowl. “Let’s hope it doesn’t.” He muttered. “Wait there, and don’t touch anything yet.”

  “I don’t recognise that script.” Sarah walked past the others and stopped next to him. “It’s not futhark, but…” her voice faded away as she pondered. “You think this is important, don’t you?”

  He nodded. “Everything’s been a test so far. Why would this be any different?” He pointed at the timer slowly ticking down. They had a little over eleven hours left.

  “Then we need to figure out what this says.” Sarah walked forward with a brisk pace before he could stop her. “It’s very old, look,” she pointed at the foot of the stele. “A bowl.”

  A bowl was carved from the name rock as the stele, and the serpent’s head rested right next to it. It’s eyes were red, albeit covered in dust and dirt. “Not any bowl,” Alaric pointed at the bowl carving next to the script. “That bowl.” He crouched by the bowl and carefully touched its edge.

  Nothing happened. The serpent didn’t suddenly come to life and lunge at him. He released the breath he hadn’t realised he was holding, then lowered his hand towards the serpent’s head. His fingers gently wiped the dust and dirt out of its eyes, revealing two large crimson gemstones.

  “Beautiful.” A faint smile flashed across Sarah’s face. “Whichever deity or being this was made for must have been valued by its creators a lot. A goddess of the harvest I assume,” she added, pointing at some flowing lines carved behind the hand reaching for the bowl. “This is probably her hair, and that,” she slid her finger down towards the bowl. “That apple must be an offering.”

  “Any idea what’s written here?”

  Sarah shook her head. “No, but it’s probably praising her. Asking for protection… something along these lines. It’s not a script I’ve seen before, so I can’t say anything more.” She hesitantly glanced behind them at Ava and the others before turning her gaze to Alaric. “There’s something I want to try, but…”

  “We need food.” Alaric narrowed his eyes as he glared at the script carved onto the stele. “A reliable source of food,” he added a moment later. “What is it you want to try?”

  “I think we should offer some fruit before we take any for ourselves.” She rubbed her left arm with her right hand. “But if I’m wrong, and you’re right about this being a trap – a test… I don’t know what will happen…” her voice faded. Her expression was twisted with worry.

  He didn’t need to ask to know she feared for her life – and for leaving her child behind.

  “I think you’re onto something.” He put down his backpack and gave her the notebook and pen. “Hold onto this for a second.”

  Her eyes widened. “Wait – I could be wrong!”

  Alaric walked past the others, towards one of the apple trees. The scent of the ripe apple reminded him of his empty stomach. His mouth watered. He desperately wanted a bite of the beautiful, red fruit. He reached for it and gently plucked it from its branch.

  A moment later, he released the breath he was holding. “That’s a good first step.” He muttered. “Don’t do anything yet!” He called out to the others as soon as he noticed their faces light up. He marched back towards the stele and placed the apple into the bowl.

  YOU HAVE OFFERED A GIFT TO THE GODDESS OF HARVEST

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  YOUR OFFERING HAS BEEN ACCEPTED

  THE GODDESS OFFERS YOU A GIFT IN RETURN

  The sudden appearance of the system window startled both him and the worried Sarah. Before either of them had the chance to react, a light began to condense in the bowl.

  “What-“

  The apple vanished as the light faded, leaving behind a pendant.

  Alaric hesitantly took it. It was a small pendant depicting a snake coiling around a branch. The metal pendant hung from a rope.

  YOU HAVE BEEN GIFTED THE CADUSCEUS AMULET

  MAY IT GUARD YOU FROM POISONS

  YOU MAY TAKE AS MUCH AS YOU NEED

  “Oh!” Sarah’s eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope. “Amazing!” She rushed to the nearest fruit bearing tree, mulled over for a few moments before picking the largest and reddest apple and rushing back. “Then if I do this…” she muttered as she placed the apple in the bowl.

  YOU HAVE OFFERED A GIFT TO THE GODDESS OF HARVEST

  YOUR OFFERING HAS BEEN ACCEPTED

  THE GODDESS OFFERS YOU A GIFT IN RETURN

  YOU MAY TAKE AS MUCH AS YOU NEED

  Alaric breathed a sigh of relief, then turned towards Ava and the others. “Offer the goddess some fruit, once your offering has been accepted, gather enough to last you – and those back at camp – till tomorrow.” He shot a glance at the stone serpent coiled around the bowl. “Only take as much as you need. Let’s not get greedy, alright?”

  “Good catch.” Ava said as she passed by with a large pear in her hands.

  “It was all Sarah,” Alaric glanced at the young woman. There was a faint smile on her lips as her gaze settled somewhere in the distance. He dangled the amulet in front of her. “Take it,” he said and dropped it in her hands before she could react.

  “What?” She caught the amulet and spun towards him. “But it’s yours!”

  “You figured it out. It should have been given to you.”

  Sarah frowned. “No. You took the risk. Even if I was sure of myself… I wouldn’t have tried it. I’m not brave enough…” She tried to give it back, but he stepped back.

  “You did the right thing.” She wasn’t alone. “You have someone you need to stay alive for.” Her child couldn’t be older than six or seven. “It’s not about bravery – you must survive for him. So you won’t take any risks like that.”

  She looked away. “You have your sister.”

  Alaric let out a sigh. “She’s seventeen. And I’m her brother – not her father. You know full well what I mean. Don’t diminish your own importance. That kid needs you to survive.” He folded his arms. “I don’t think you should have even come here, but I understand why you did.”

  Sarah’s eyes lit up with a fierce flame. “Don’t.” She hissed. “I don’t need protection any more than you do. Hell, you should be staying behind! How old are you? Twenty?” She stopped herself before her voice grew any louder. “Sorry. I… I’m more than just Arthur’s mom. I’m here because we need people out here.”

  “It’s alright.” He let out a sigh and glanced at Ava and the others as they each collected about half a dozen fruits. “I’d say we have enough food for tomorrow – if the others manage to hunt deer or something, but we still need a pot to boil water in.”

  Sarah nodded. Her expression softened. She was relieved to see the subject changed. “We still have a couple hours of daylight left. We should take advantage of that.” Her gaze turned to the cliffs to their west. “I wonder if we could get up there somehow.”

  His gaze followed hers. The cliffs were quite tall, and the plateau up there seemed like it was inhabited by a dense, old forest. “We can’t climb that,” he muttered. It was a shame – they would have been able to see the entire surroundings of the Hallow Ground. That information alone was worth looking for a way up.

  “We’re almost done.” Ava’s voice pulled his gaze away from the cliffs. “What are you two doing?”

  “We need to get up there.” Sarah pointed towards the top of the cliff. “We still have a few hours of daylight left. We need to take advantage of that.”

  Ava pursed her lips. “It’s a good vantage point. We can look for a way up, maybe there’s a path or something.” She glanced at the others who were still gathering fruit. “Hey!” Her voice echoed, startling them. “We’re going to check out those cliffs, someone come and take these.” She pointed at the armful of apples and pears she was carrying.

  Alaric turned his gaze towards the stele as Jason and one of the others took Ava’s fruits. He was still curious about what the script carved into its surface meant. Was it a prayer or praise like Sarah said, or was it something entirely different? He lowered his gaze towards the bowl at the foot of the stele. It’s sides were oddly clean and polished – unlike the rest of the Stele’s weathered surface.

  He stared at it for a few seconds, trying to figure out why it looked odd to him.

  Where is the serpent? His heart sank with dread as he spun around. “The serpent’s gone!” he shouted, his gaze darting to Ava and Sarah, then to Jason and the man next to him.

  Ava’s eyes widened. A small knife appeared in her hands from seemingly nowhere. Sarah gasped, Jason’s face went pale and the man next to him nearly dropped all the fruit he was carrying. One of the other two men was crouched by one of the trees. He leapt back, his gaze darting around looking for the missing serpent.

  “Where’s Derek?” He asked a split second later. “Where-“

  A scream pierced the air. The voice, filled with sheer terror, cut off before any of them could react.