Page 28 of Frostforge: Passage Two

"What does it say?"she asked, her voice barely above a whisper now.

Kaine cleared his throat slightly, then recited: "'The mountain does not yield without cost.The first flames of the forge were kindled in blood, and the Founders took their gift with hands both eager and trembling.But beneath the anvil's weight, beneath the hammer's song, memory stirs — unseen, unheard, but never undone.The Founder’s Price was paid, yet the mountain remembers.The forge burns, but its embers rest on a past that cannot be buried.'"

The words hung in the air between them, heavy with unspoken implications.Thalia felt a chill that had nothing to do with the perpetual cold of Frostforge.

"It's a warning," she said finally.

Kaine nodded."Or a confession."He laid out several sketches, rough copies of the original markings with his translations noted beneath each symbol."Look at the tense structure, the formal cadence.This wasn't graffiti or casual notation.This was deliberately inscribed, meant to last."

"But who would write this?And when?"Thalia traced the edge of one of his sketches, a curved symbol that he'd translated as "memory."

Kaine shook his head, his expression thoughtful."I think that's the wrong question."He leaned closer, his voice dropping even lower."The question is why they wrote it.Why hide this message in a place few would ever see?Why encode it in a dying language?"

"You think Frostforge wasn't originally built as an academy."It wasn't a question.Thalia could see where his logic was leading.

"I think the academy was built on top of something older.Something with a different purpose."He tapped the phrase 'The Founders' price was paid.'"Whatever that purpose was, I think it was deliberately buried, erased from history."

Thalia thought of the uncanny way the mountain seemed to channel power into their metallurgy, how the forges burned hotter than any natural flame should allow."The mountain remembers," she echoed."What do you think it means by 'kindled in blood'?"

Before Kaine could answer, the distinctive sound of boots skidding on frost-slick stone interrupted them.A small figure appeared at the end of their row, momentarily off-balance before righting herself with a dancer's precision.

Luna Meadows, breathless and wide-eyed, her short dreadlocks adorned with tiny metal rings that caught the torchlight as she moved.Her dark eyes scanned the library until they found Thalia.

"There you are!"Luna exclaimed, then winced at the echo of her own voice in the quiet space.She hurried toward them, lowering her volume but not her intensity."I was looking for you.I have news."

Without invitation, Luna dropped into the empty chair beside Thalia, her movements quick and bird-like.She leaned in close, seemingly oblivious to Kaine's presence across the table.

"I finally figured out where Senna goes at night," she whispered, her eyes bright with triumph.

Kaine shifted in his seat, the iron chair scraping slightly against the stone floor.Luna's head snapped up.

"Oh," she said, blinking rapidly."You're here too."

A flicker of amusement crossed Thalia's face.Most people reacted to Kaine's presence immediately — his size, his reputation, the intensity he carried like a cloak.But Luna, in her singular focus, hadn’t even noticed him.His eyebrows drew together in mild confusion.

Luna recovered quickly, waving her hand dismissively."You can listen in, I suppose.No harm there."She turned back to Thalia as if the matter was settled.

"What did you find?"Thalia prompted, pushing aside Kaine's translation work to give Luna her full attention.

Luna's voice dropped to a true whisper."I've been tracking her movements for weeks now.It wasn't easy — she's careful, uses different routes, doubles back.But last night, I finally managed to follow her all the way."

"To where?"Kaine asked, drawn into the conversation despite himself.

"A hidden chamber, just past the southwest corner of the Howling Forge," Luna said, drawing a quick map with her finger on the tabletop."There's a maintenance passage that runs behind the coal storage.Most people think it's just for ventilation, but it continues deeper than it should."

Thalia's mind raced.The location was close to where several of the weapons had disappeared."And?What did you find?The stolen weapons?"

Luna's expression faltered slightly."That's the strange part.No weapons — at least, not the missing ones.Instead, there was an anvil, smaller than the ones in the main forge.Tools, arranged with obsessive precision.Metal shavings on the floor — unusual ones, with traces of magical residue."

"She's crafting something," Kaine concluded, his brow furrowed."In secret."

"But why?"Thalia asked, genuinely perplexed."If she wanted to work on a personal project, she could use the student forge like everyone else.What is she making that needs to be hidden from both students and instructors?"

Kaine leaned back, his face partially in shadow."She's been different lately.Distant.Usually, she's..."He hesitated, uncomfortable.

"Usually she's trailing after you like a shadow?"Luna supplied helpfully."Yes, I've noticed that too.The change in behavior coincides with when the thefts started."

Thalia felt the pieces shifting in her mind, refusing to form a complete picture."Did you see any evidence of what she's crafting?Any finished work?"

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