The Sunken City's Secret

The descent was a chilling, silent affair. The Starfall’s guidance, usually a warm hum within Kaelen’s mind, now felt like a cold, insistent pressure, pushing him toward the churning, grey expanse of the ocean. Beside him, Borin Stonehand, his broad shoulders hunched against the biting spray, grunted, his usual gruffness laced with a familiar unease. They stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking a restless sea, the air thick with the scent of salt and something ancient, something deep.

“Beneath the waves, you say?” Borin’s voice was a low rumble, like stones grinding together. “You’re sure about this, lad? Last time we followed a ‘feeling’ from your glowing rock, we ended up wrestling with a bog troll that thought my beard was a scratching post.”

Kaelen managed a weak smile, the exhilaration of their recent victory over the Shadow of Greed still a faint echo in his bones, but overshadowed by the daunting task ahead. “The Starfall is clear, Borin. There’s something down there. Something important.” He touched the smooth, cool surface of the pendant that now rested against his chest, the faint internal light of the Starfallen shard pulsing a steady, reassuring beat.