Raison D'être

Once Ludwig's vision returned to normal after the teleportation, he found himself in an eerie, unfamiliar landscape. Broken stone walls, cloaked in thick vines and green moss, sprawled around him, remnants of a civilization long lost to time. The air was heavy with the faint scent of damp earth and decay. Debris from shattered pillars, weathered by centuries of neglect, lay scattered across the basin-like structure where they had landed. Massive cliffs rose on all sides, their jagged edges casting long shadows as the last light of the sun struggled to pierce through.

Under their feet, glowing runes—part of the portal's intricate magic—flickered faintly before fading away, leaving the air colder and heavier than before.

"Where is this?" Ludwig asked, his voice echoing softly in the stillness. "I thought we'd be in a marsh or a quagmire."

"How do you suppose one can build a teleportation gate in the middle of a swamp?" Van Dijk replied with a raised eyebrow.