Atreus Forgeheart's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Before he could chase the ore, Atreus needed a direction. His master had kept private notes, and those notes had to point somewhere. He climbed the narrow stairs to the old study and stopped at the dark wood desk. The center drawer was locked. He knelt and found the hidden keyhole tucked beneath the lip. He tried his own ring of keys. None turned. He slid a thin file from his apron and worked the pins until the bolt gave. Inside lay folded letters, a cracked compass, and an iron lockbox scorched black along its bronze hinges. Atreus lifted the box out. It was warm in the same wrong way the shard was warm. He carried it to the floor and pried the latch with his chisel until the wood split and the lid sprang open. Inside, a single map lay folded over a charcoal sketch of a mountain pass, marked with his master's shaking hand. One word was circled twice: north. Atreus closed his fist around the map. He had his direction now, and the forge behind him already felt like somewhere he used to live.