Sunlight crept slowly across the ruins, pale beams slipping through broken stone and creeping vines. The night's chaos had vanished as if swallowed whole. No wind. No birds. No insects. The forest stood unnaturally still, like something holding its breath.
Outside the boundary, Kaelo's and the monk's men maintained patrol exactly as ordered. Some stood atop the wooden watch towers, scanning the tree line with binoculars. Others moved along the perimeter with rifles held tight against their chests. Boots pressed softly against the soil, careful, measured.
A man on the ground shifted uneasily.
"Are you sure they will come back by evening?"
Another adjusted his sling strap.
"Fingers crossed. If they don't, we will be outnumbered by those tribals."
A third scoffed quietly.
"Did you not hear the blast last night? I am sure there is already chaos in the forest."
He tried to sound confident. It did not quite reach his eyes.
On the highest watch tower, a man suddenly straightened.
