The old man lead them deep into the woods surrounding the hut they had just come from.
Past the woven roots. Past the mist-hung pools.
To a hall carved into a large rock-like structure. The structure was ancient but still looked strong. It didn't look like people visited often.
The air was cooler here.
The elder waited for them beside a wide wall of cracked stone, etched with faded paint and pressed gold. Tapestries hung above it, layered, curling at the edges, but unmistakably detailed.
"Stories survive better in pictures," the old man said. "They forget slower."
He beckoned them forward, one bony hand tracing the edge of the first cloth.
The tapestry showed a gathering, cloaked figures in a forest clearing, surrounding someone in a crown of branches. Magic surged from his outstretched arms in silver threads.
"This was the Sealing," the elder said. "The man was called Idrien. He believed a great war was coming. He feared what the magic of the Ula clan could unleash. Eternity had just blessed our ancestor with a great wish of his 'to become the most powerful mage'."
The next tapestry was darker, twisted forms, figures mid-transformation, caught in half-battle, half-surrender.
"So ldrien bound him and his family to this place ," the elder continued. "Said it was mercy. Said the magic recieved was too wild, too volatile. He was... probably right."
Thalin leaned in, studying the art with gleaming eyes. "So this wasn't punishment. It was containment."
The elder nodded. "A gift, with strings. Always strings."
He turned to them. "And we've been here ever since. Growing. Adapting. But the blood bind never let us leave. Not once."
Nyri stood behind him, arms crossed tightly.
Kaal watched the wall, lips pressed thin.
Lyra scanned the paintings but said nothing.
"Your arrival wasn't random," the elder added. "You carry marks, old ones. Powers from beyond these woods. It may be that your presence is... a key."
"A key to what?" Kaal asked.
"To freedom," he said. "Or at least the chance of it."
Lyra folded her arms. "Nice story. That's all it is. A dramatic one, sure, but stories aren't useful not to me or my mission."
The elder's eyes narrowed. "You've felt it. The way the forest bends around you. You walked through a ward that hasn't broken in three centuries."
"Doesn't mean anything to me."
The man sighed "I was merely explaining."
Thalin stepped closer. "So this ritual. You'd need someone touched by old magic like Kaal and a member of the clan?"
The elder nodded. "Two opposites. One rooted, one marked. The forest must recognize both."
Lyra turned sharply to thalin "We have no idea what KAAL is. Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?"
Kaal looked between them. "And what happens if the ritual fails?"
The elder didn't answer immediately.
"What does it matter...." Lyra started.
Finally: "No one knows. We've never gotten close enough to try."
Lyra turned toward the tapestries again. Then away.
"You know this is all nice and wierdly convenient but we should be on our way now."
The silence after was heavy. Nyri didn't break it. Neither did Kaal.
Lyra started walking. "Thanks for the tour," she said. "We'll pass on the honor of being your experiment."
She didn't wait for them to follow.