Chapter 436: The Cartographer Treasure

Aren was waiting beneath the garden’s northern terrace when Kai arrived, studying the sealed storage door.

"Did you sleep?" Kai asked, noticing the collection of sketches spread across a nearby bench.

"Of course," Aren replied. "I slept for almost three hours. Then I remembered there was an unopened Aegis storage room beneath my feet, and sleep became a terrible waste of time."

Sera looked at Lily, who was checking a metal authorization plate against the garden’s catalog. "Please tell me he hasn’t been bothering you since sunrise."

"He started before sunrise," Lily answered. "Fortunately, the Nexus site supervisor approved our inspection, and the catalog provided the maintenance release sequence. We can open the room without touching the isolated city network."

Kai glanced at the door. "Good. I’m hoping the ancient surveyors kept something impressive in there. Perhaps a weapon that can cut through mountains."

Aren stared at him. "We’re opening a cartographer’s storeroom."

"A cartographer could have excellent taste in weapons," Kai replied.

Lily entered the sequence and turned the mechanical release. With a deep click, the stone doors separated, revealing shelves that disappeared into the darkness beyond.

...

The storeroom smelled of old metal and dry stone. Tall racks held instruments of unfamiliar shapes: collapsed measuring frames, cracked lenses, surveying rods, and small mechanical devices with folded wings. Most had lost their power long ago.

Aren examined the shelves. "These aren’t ordinary tools. Some of these designs could measure foundations that modern equipment can’t reach. Look at the balancing joints on this frame."

He lifted one end of a damaged instrument, and its other half fell off with an embarrassing clatter.

Sera folded her arms. "That one seems particularly good at measuring the floor."

"It’s eight hundred years old," Aren protested, carefully returning the pieces to their shelf. "Show some respect."

Kai examined a metal cylinder covered in tiny markings. "Still no mountain-cutting sword."

Lily barely looked up from a padded case. "Would you stop searching for weapons in the measuring equipment? I think I’ve found the reason this room was restricted."

Inside the case rested a transparent, many-sided crystal held between three bronze rings. Fine lines ran through its center, and a narrow handle folded beneath the base. Unlike the other devices, its surface remained clear.

Lily checked the label. "Portable survey prism. It records structural layouts and compares them against stored maps. The catalog says surveyors carried these into sites where ordinary plans couldn’t be trusted."

Kai leaned closer. "So it’s a very expensive map."

"A map that can tell you where a staircase really goes," Aren replied. "Do you know how many ruin hunters have fallen through floors because somebody trusted an ancient drawing?"

Sera smiled. "Considering the places you keep taking us, I would rather have the map."

"Finally, someone appreciates a proper treasure," Aren replied.

...

Lily carried the prism to the garden’s central pavilion, where the preservation controls had remained stable since yesterday’s emergency repairs. She placed it on a stone table and connected it to an isolated power cell recovered from its case.

The bronze rings turned, and a pale blue light spread across the tabletop. Thousands of tiny lines rose into the air, assembling into a miniature image of the garden. Trees appeared as delicate outlines, pools formed transparent basins, and the terraces rose above them in perfect layers.

Sera stepped closer. "That’s beautiful. It’s like holding the whole garden in your hands."

"The current scan only covers the areas we can observe," Lily explained. "But it can compare those measurements with the old survey records stored inside it."

She touched one of the rings. A second set of lines appeared in gold, overlapping the first. Most of the garden matched, but beneath the western waterfall, the gold lines revealed a narrow gallery absent from the current layout.

"That passage was sealed behind the waterfall," Aren said. "The original surveyors used it to reach the equipment vault without crossing the planting beds."

Kai studied the projection. "And it’s still there?"

"The old map says it should be," Lily replied. "We need to check the entrance before assuming the corridor survived."

Aren grinned. "Then we finally have a reason to walk behind a waterfall. I’ve always wanted to do that without being chased by something."

...

They followed a stone path between glowing trees until the waterfall filled the air with cool mist. Its silver water fell into a broad pool surrounded by white flowers. Behind the falling curtain, Kai spotted a faint rectangular seam in the rock.

Aren brushed away moss and found a recessed handle. The panel resisted his first pull, then slid sideways with Kai’s help, exposing a narrow stairwell.

Sera tested the first steps before allowing the others through. "The stairs are intact, but the handrail isn’t. Stay against the inner wall."

Aren glanced at her. "I was about to say that."

"You were about to run down them," Sera replied, pointing at his already raised foot.

He lowered it with a sheepish smile.

The stairwell ended at a short bridge above a dry service channel. Several floor plates had shifted, leaving gaps between the stones. Lily raised the prism, and the projected map marked a narrow route along the sound supports.

"The eastern side is still anchored," she said. "We can cross there, one at a time."

Sera went first, checking each step. On the far side, she secured a length of rope to an iron post and signaled for the others to follow. Kai helped carry the equipment cases while Aren identified which old supports could bear their weight.

Beyond the bridge lay a hidden gallery lined with sealed cabinets. Dust covered the floor, but the shelves had remained dry and undisturbed.

Kai surveyed the room. "Now this looks more like treasure."

...

The cabinets opened with mechanical latches rather than powered locks. Inside were intact measuring rods, replacement prism components, sealed material samples, and bundles of preserved expedition records.

Aren carefully unfolded a thin metal sheet covered in route markings. "These are field charts. Actual expedition charts, not copies made centuries afterward."

Lily inspected a rack of instruments. "Two of these survey rods are still functional. We also have calibration pieces and a spare lens assembly for the prism. That’s enough to keep it operating without dismantling the other exhibits."

Sera lifted a compact case containing neatly arranged mineral samples. "And these?"

"Construction materials collected from different Aegis sites," Aren explained. "The labels include where they were found and what structures they came from. Even if we can’t reproduce them, knowing their properties could help identify damaged sections before we enter."

Kai nodded. "Then we should have the samples tested. Raze might also appreciate knowing which ancient materials can survive a fight better than his armor did."

Sera laughed. "Don’t let him hear that until his shoulder plate is repaired."

Aren discovered an expedition log in the bottom drawer and began reading aloud. "Survey team, third rotation. Requesting that the preservation staff stop allowing the mechanical birds to steal our measuring markers. We have lost twelve this week, and the birds refuse to return them unless offered fruit."

Kai looked back toward the garden. "So the birds have been robbing explorers for centuries."

"And apparently getting away with it," Sera added.

Aren set the log beside the charts. "I’m keeping a copy of that complaint. It’s the most relatable thing I’ve ever read in an ancient ruin."

...

They returned to the pavilion with the equipment. Lily photographed every item before sealing the originals in protective cases, while Aren compared the expedition charts against the prism’s stored records.

One chart showed three symbols joined by a thin route: an eye, an open book, and a hammer surrounded by stars.

Aren straightened. "Those aren’t decorative. The eye marks the Observation system, the book marks Memory, and the hammer marks Creation."

"The Observatory, the Archive, and the Forge," Lily said, recognizing the corresponding Aegis sites.

She placed the chart beneath the prism. A long interior corridor appeared in gold, linking all three locations through branching service passages beneath Nexus. The modern survey layer ended at the Archive boundary, leaving much of the old route unverified.

Kai studied the projection. "People explored those places separately because nobody knew they were connected."

"Exactly," Aren replied. "The old expedition teams could move between them without returning to the surface. If even part of this corridor remains intact, we’ve been walking past a major entrance for years."

Lily pointed to a gap in the projection. "The prism can compare physical structures, but it can’t interpret this section. The recorded passage changes alignment here, and we have no current scan beyond it."

Kai focused on Starbreaker. Worldline Navigation recognized the edge of an existing spatial connection at that point, though it offered no reliable view of the far side.

"There’s a connection," he said. "Starbreaker can recognize where it begins, but it can’t tell me whether the passage beyond is safe."

"Then the two instruments complement each other," Aren said. "The prism tells us what the builders recorded, and Starbreaker helps identify the connections the map can’t explain."

"And neither replaces checking the actual corridor," Sera reminded them. "I’d prefer our next expedition to involve fewer collapsing floors."

"Agreed. I’ll retain the prism for calibration and research, with the site’s approval," Lily said. "You and Kai can use the survey data for expeditions, Aren. We’ll keep copies with the Nexus research team as well."

"A working survey prism, original expedition maps, and a route nobody has explored in centuries," Aren said. "That’s a better reward than any sword."

Kai glanced at him. "Let’s not make claims we can’t prove."

Lily enlarged the Observatory section. A marked access point appeared beneath its lower foundation, exactly where the old interior passage began.

Kai leaned over the map. "Then that’s where we start. We’ll inspect the Observatory entrance and find out how much of this route survived."

Aren was already reaching for his notebook. "Finally, an expedition with a map worth trusting."

Above the garden, artificial stars continued shining over the trees. Beneath them, the ancient chart displayed a road connecting three forgotten corners of Nexus, waiting for someone to follow it again.