Aurora‌ ⁽³³²⁾

Dawn over Lake Everstill was a spectral affair. A thick, white mist clung to the water, swallowing the far shore and muffling all sound. The world was reduced to the creaking of the wooden dock under Leon's feet and the gentle, hypnotic slap of water…

The Slaughtered Lamb Inn was a world unto itself. The air inside was thick with the smells of roasting meat, spilled ale, and pipe smoke. The common room was crowded and loud, filled with the boisterous chatter of miners, the low grumbles of merchants, and…

The two days in the mining camp passed in a blur of rest and routine. Leon's body, pushed to its absolute limit, drank in the sleep and hot food like a parched plant. The dwarves, for their part, treated him with a rough but genuine…

The dwarven mining camp was a pocket of stubborn life hammered into the unforgiving stone of the mountain. Inside the main cavern, which served as their common hall, the air was thick with the smells of damp earth, coal smoke, roasting meat, and the sharp,…

Leon awoke to the sound of rain and a deep, bone-chilling cold. The meager shelter under the rock had done little to keep them dry. Kaelen was shivering violently, his skin clammy to the touch. His breathing was shallow and rapid. Infection and exposure were…