Chapter 6
The Hollow Oak
Elara and her companions excavate the mill floor at dawn, discovering a hidden crypt beneath. The sarcophagus is empty, but a message from the mage leads them to the dead tree on the hill—an ancient oak struck by lightning during the storm. They find a hollow opening at its roots, revealing a downward passage. The chapter ends as they prepare to enter, with the crow landing on the tree as a guide.
The rain came down in sheets, hissing against the hot stones and turning the ash to mud. Elara stood in the shelter of the burnt chapel's remaining wall, Kael beside her, their shoulders pressed together against the cold. Across the square, the oracle had taken a seat on a fallen beam, her gnarled staff planted in the wet earth. Sera crouched nearby, the book open on her lap, though the pages were barely visible in the fading light.
Garret the miller stood apart, arms crossed, watching the sky with a scowl. “We’ll not dig tonight,” he said. “The ground will be soup. And I’ll not have my floor torn up in a deluge.”
Elara turned to him. “Then we start at first light. But we need to clear the debris now, so we’re ready. The storm might pass by morning.”
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