Not an owl

I was born far from Ostbrook, far from Rubury, and far from the road that now ends before me.

Geoffrey led us back through the forest on a path none of us recognized.

Well, we made it back to the village in one piece.

What a day.

As we reached the village, we found Aila or rather, she found us.

After leaving the tunnels behind, we headed toward a hill on the far side of the region.

When we crossed the border into the scattered villages beyond the frontier, I could feel it immediately—lawlessness hanging in the air, the kind where people watch you from behind shutters and don’t wave back.