2026-06-12 17:27:04
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Chapter 194
If anything, it felt worse. Heavier. Like the walls were watching.Duncan was already up. Checking supplies. Planning their route through the rest of Zone Three."We need to reach the far side of the fortress," he said. "The path to Zone Four starts there. Should take most of the day to navigate through.""Through?" Princess Elysande asked. "Not around?""The fortress is built into the mountain. Only way forward is through the interior passages. The exterior paths collapsed centuries ago.""So we're going deeper into this place.""Yes.""Wonderful."They packed quickly. Ate standing up. No one wanted to linger.The fortress felt different in daylight. Less dark but more ominous. Shadows moved wrong. Sounds echoed strangely.Duncan led them into the depths. Following his map. Following markings on the walls."Someone mapped this place before," he said. "Old markers. Centuries old. But still readable.""The Seven?" Princess Elysande asked."Maybe. Or others who came after. Either way, w
Chapter 193
The fortress stood halfway up the mountain. Built into the rock itself. Stone construction that predated the Empire by centuries.Massive walls. Crumbling towers. Battlements that had once held defenders.All of it abandoned. Ancient. Waiting."Zone Three," Princess Elysande breathed. "The ruins."Duncan studied it through a spyglass. "Bigger than I expected. Must have housed hundreds. Maybe thousands.""Who built it?" Draven asked."No one knows. It was here before the Empire. Before recorded history. Just... here."They approached carefully. The path leading to the fortress was wide. Well-maintained once. Now cracked and broken.But still passable.As they got closer, Draven saw details. The walls weren't just stone. They were carved. Covered in symbols and images.Warriors. Weapons. Battles.And above them all, wings. Fire. Massive creatures in flight.Dragons.Princess Elysande ran her hand along the carvings. "This whole fortress is a monument. A record. Of the battle.""Or a war
Chapter 192
The second day in Zone Two started badly.Weather changed overnight. Clear skies replaced by grey clouds. Temperature dropped twenty degrees.Wind howled across the mountain face. Strong enough to push against them. Make balance difficult."We should wait," Mira said. "Storm's coming. Moving in these conditions is suicide."Duncan checked the sky. The clouds. The wind direction. "Storm won't pass for days. We wait, we lose time. Supplies run low. We push through.""That's insane.""Maybe. But staying here isn't safer. This cave isn't deep enough. If the storm gets worse, we're exposed.""And if we're caught on the path?""Then we find shelter fast. Keep moving until we do."Princess Elysande shouldered her pack. "I agree with Duncan. We keep going.""Your Highness—""We didn't come all this way to turn back because of weather."Mira looked at Draven. "You have an opinion?"He did. Several. But arguing wouldn't change anything."Let's move. But carefully. First sign of real danger, we
Chapter 191
Zone Two looked nothing like Zone One.No twisted trees. No cursed forest. Just bare mountain. Stone and cliff face. Narrow paths carved into rock.And height. So much height.Draven looked up at the path ahead. It hugged the mountainside. Barely three feet wide in places. One wrong step meant a fall. A long fall."That's our route?" he asked.Duncan nodded. "Only path to the midpoint. The fortress in Zone Three is built into the mountain halfway up. This is how we reach it.""There's no other way?""Not unless you can fly."Princess Elysande checked her gear. Secured her pack tighter. "I've climbed before. Training exercises. But nothing this high.""Training exercises have safety ropes," Duncan said. "This doesn't. So we move carefully. Slowly. No rushing. No showing off."He looked directly at Draven with that last part."I'm not planning to show off.""Good. Because one mistake up there and you're dead. And probably taking someone else with you."They started the ascent.The first
Chapter 190
The forest remained twisted. Silent. Wrong.They packed quickly. Ate standing up. No one wanted to linger."How much further through this zone?" Princess Elysande asked.Duncan checked his map. Cross-referenced with landmarks. "Half a day. Maybe less if we move fast. The mountain proper starts beyond the forest edge.""Then let's move."They walked deeper into the woods. The trees growing even more distorted. Some bent completely sideways. Others grew in spirals. Unnatural. Disturbing."Magic did this," Mira said quietly. "Old magic. Powerful magic. Changed the very nature of the forest.""From the battle?" Draven asked."Maybe. Or from whatever they were fighting."Princess Elysande stopped at one particularly twisted tree. Its trunk formed a complete loop before continuing upward."I've never seen anything like this. Not in any text. Not in any records.""That's because most people who come here don't leave," Duncan said. "The locals won't even speak about this place. Consider it cu
Chapter 189
They reached Drakmoor Peak at midday.The mountain rose from the landscape like a scar. Dark stone. Sharp edges. Clouds gathering around the summit even though the sky elsewhere was clear.And at its base, the forest.Draven saw immediately what the locals meant. The trees were wrong.They twisted. Bent at unnatural angles. Branches reached toward the ground instead of the sky. Bark had strange patterns carved into it. Not by tools. By something else.The air felt different too. Heavy. Thick. Like breathing through wet cloth."This is it," Princess Elysande said. Her voice was quiet. Awed. "Zone One. The Watching Woods."Duncan dismounted. Studied the forest edge. "We leave the horses here. They won't go further.""Why not?""Animals know better than people. They sense danger. Won't cross into cursed ground.""You believe it's cursed?""I believe something's wrong here. That's enough." Duncan started unloading supplies from his horse. "We carry what we need. Leave the rest. If we're n
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