Chapter 83 - 82: The Invitation
The sun sat low in the sky when Lumberling rode past the old familiar markers that lined the edge of Uncle Drake’s village. Behind him, the forest stood quiet, too quiet. Even the birds kept their distance lately, disturbed by the echoes of distant war and monster migrations.
He dismounted slowly, stretching his legs as he looked around the village. It still looked peaceful, unchanged in its humble charm.
But peace was a fragile thing.
He left Skitz in charge of the operations back home and had brought only Jen and Old Man Dan with him.
"You sure about telling them everything?" Dan asked as they approached the central hut.
"I am," Lumberling said. "They need to know. We don’t have time for secrets anymore."
Jen glanced up at him, hesitating. "Do you think they’ll come?"
"I think they’ll hesitate. But I hope they understand."
It had been over a year since Lumberling last stepped into the village.
The place looked the same, wooden fences lined with vines, shutters creaking softly in the breeze, and the faint scent of hearthfire lingering in the air, and the familiar slope of the main hill where Uncle Drake’s house still stood.
But time had settled its weight on everything: more children running barefoot, new fences patched into old ones, a few faces gone, a few new ones in their place.