Morning light spilled across the tower’s clearing, soft and pale. Kael tightened the straps of his pack and glanced at Nysa, who was already moving toward the forest path with effortless confidence. Ash padded silently behind them, ears flicking at every sound.

  “Ready?” Kael asked.

  Nysa turned, a faint smirk on her lips. “Always. Though I doubt you’ve seen much like what’s ahead.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You mean the ruins?”

  She didn’t answer immediately, instead guiding him between thick tree trunks and over gnarled roots with surprising grace. He noticed her steps were lighter than his own, even though she seemed a touch slower than usual. Nothing serious, just… a subtle weight in her movement.

  Kael’s curiosity pricked. “You’re holding back,” he said carefully.

  She glanced at him with a playful glint. “Perhaps. Or perhaps I just like to see how long you can keep up.”

  They moved on, winding through overgrowth and patches of sunlit clearing. Then, at a small rise, Nysa froze, her hand resting lightly on a root. Kael stepped closer.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  Her eyes flicked toward the ruins half-hidden by trees and vines. “I saw this place on my way to you,” she said, her tone casual but cautious. “Didn’t think it was safe to go alone.”

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  Kael looked past her, finally seeing the half-buried stone walls, roots curling over crumbling edges. Sunlight caught the broken roof in patches, giving it a soft, eerie glow. It was obvious someone had lived here once, but time and neglect had erased most of its story.

  Nysa added lightly, almost teasing: “Not that I wanted you tagging along anyway.”

  Kael couldn’t help the smile tugging at his lips. “Good to know. I’ll just have to prove I can keep up.”

  She smirked again, then stepped carefully down toward the ruins. The uneven ground and loose stones made him take his time. Roots twisted like snakes, and he had to watch every footfall. Ash padded ahead, sniffing at a broken doorway, alert to the slightest movement.

  Kael took a deep breath, imagining the people who had once lived here. The walls were low, the roof mostly gone, but the bones of the home remained: a hearth crushed under fallen beams, a faintly carved shelf against a stone wall, small markings etched into the stone that might have been for tallying or decoration.

  “This place…” he said quietly, more to himself than to Nysa, “they left suddenly, didn’t they?”

  Nysa’s gaze swept the ruined house carefully. “Yes. Something made them go quickly. They didn’t come back.”

  Kael nodded, already thinking about what might be found inside. Tools, old containers, something to help them here anything. He imagined what could be restored, what they might salvage, what he could use to improve their tower back home.

  “Stay close,” Nysa said softly, sensing his thoughts. “It’s not dangerous… just tricky. Floors shift, stones move, roots hide gaps.”

  He looked at her, half in admiration, half in awe. She knew this land in ways he could barely guess. And yet, she had trusted him to come along.

  Kael smiled to himself. Today, they would explore. Today, he would see what had survived in the ruins. And maybe, just maybe, they would find something that made their own little home a little stronger.

  With that, he followed Nysa into the shadow of the crumbling walls, ready to step carefully into the unknown.