Jones took point, scanning with the handheld tracker we were issued, even though it didn’t pick up much but static out here. Hopkins trudged in the middle, occasionally glancing at the coordinates and muttering under his breath about “games” and “babysitting.” I stayed in the rear, watching our trail and keeping an eye on the horizon. Those clouds from yesterday might have moved on, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
By early afternoon, the trees thinned just enough to offer a view of the ridge beyond the valley. And nestled into the side of that rocky slope?
Stone. Half-buried. Covered in moss.
A structure.
“Is that it?” Hopkins asked, squinting.
“Sure looks like it,” Jones replied, already adjusting course.
We descended carefully, picking our way over slick rocks and through tangled
