The air in the room had grown thick with tension. Alaric stood, his figure almost blending into the shadows, as he began to lay out the details. Every word felt like a drop of cold water, slowly freezing me from the inside out. I still wasn’t entirely sure if I was ready to go through with this, but I had committed.
“The witch lives far from here, deep in the Northern Forest,” Alaric began, his tone flat and devoid of any concern for the magnitude of what he was asking us to do. “She’s been hiding there for decades, cut off from the outside world. You won’t be able to find her easily, but I’ll give you the coordinates.”
He slid a folded map across the table, its worn edges crinkling under his fingers. Samuel grabbed it and unfolded the paper, scanning the faded ink. It was marked with st
