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.
---
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.
Lira knelt, brushing moss away from the ground. Beneath it, she found stone—smooth, etched with faded symbols. Roman-like carvings curled in spirals, and at the center: a sun split in half.
"Elric... this is a seal," she said. "It's not just a ruins. Something locked here."
Elric crouched beside her, running his fingers over the ancient markings.
"They were hiding something," he muttered. "Or protecting us from it."
---
Back at the village, a stranger arrived at the clinic.
Tall, elegant, and cloaked in white robes that shimmered faintly in the light, the woman introduced herself only as Selene. Her eyes were violet—too sharp to be natural, and too calm to be trusted.
"I heard of the healer who brought a dying man back from the brink of death," she said to the assistant nurse. "I wish to see him."
"I'm sorry," the nurse said. "Master Elric's away for the day."
Selene smiled faintly.
"Then I'll wait."
But she didn't sit.
Instead, she moved through the clinic like a breeze, watching, listening—leaving behind a faint trace of lavender and something far older... like rust and blood.
---
Beneath the Great Ysil Tree, Elric and Lira uncovered a stairwell winding down into the earth. Cold air rose from the opening, carrying with it the scent of damp stone... and something acrid.
They descended.
Torches sputtered in their lanterns, illuminating murals of men and beasts—some with glowing hands, some bound in chains of light. At the end of the hallway lay a stone altar. And on top of it... a single vial. Clear glass. Filled with dark red liquid that shimmered like molten ruby.
Elric reached for it—then froze.
From the shadows, a low growl echoed.
Eyes opened in the darkness.
Not human.
Not animal.
Something forgotten had just awakened.