Chapter 13: Shadows Beneath the Roots
The next morning, mist coiled through the forest like silver snakes, shrouding the trees and muffling the world in a haunting quiet. Elric stood at the edge of the woods, staring into the thick fog as though it whispered secrets only he could hear.
Beside him, Lira adjusted the leather satchel on her shoulder, her eyes darting nervously between the trees.
"You sure about this?" she asked, tightening her grip on a lantern.
"I have to be," Elric murmured. "Balen said the ruins lie beneath the roots of the Great Ysil Tree. If I'm right, there's more than just stone walls buried there."
They moved silently into the forest.
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The deeper they went, the stranger things became.
Bird's songs vanished. Insects fell silent. Even their footsteps seemed swallowed by the earth. They reached a clearing where an enormous tree loomed—its bark twisted like old muscle, its roots thicker than a horse's leg, burrowing deep into the soil like veins into flesh.
"This is it," Elric whispered.