Telling the team about the druid's vision was easier than Silas expected. They gathered in the Branch C common room at dawn, the only time it was reliably empty.
"A buried artifact? Metal with hurtful runes?" Hargin rubbed his hands together, a gleam in his eye. "Pre-Cataclysm, no doubt. Possibly a focus or a battery for one of their world-machines. If it's leaking energy that can infect a tree with logic... we need to see it."
Pell looked nervous but resolved. "If the tree says it's wrong, it's wrong. I'll help you find it."
Liana was practical. "We'll need digging tools, containment vessels, and something to neutralize any active magic or chemical residue. I can prepare solutions."
Lyra was the cautious one. "This isn't a Guild mission. If we're caught digging up an unknown magical a
