The drone’s optical sensor flared with a harsh, crimson strobe, locking onto Elara’s heat signature with a screech of grinding gears. Before it could discharge its kinetic bolt, Elara darted behind the trunk of a massive, sap-slicked oak. The bolt slammed into the bark, sending a shower of glowing wood chips raining down like hot embers. She felt the vibration in her teeth. The drone was powered by the very ley line she had spent the last month painstakingly reconnecting.
Keep it distracted, Kael, Elara shouted, sliding through the mud. It is tuned to the resonance of the rods. If we disrupt the signal, it loses its target.
Kael scrambled behind a thicket of bioluminescent ferns, fumbling with his compass. He began to twist the dials, creating a discordant hum that vibrated through the d
