A familiar sight that Velren had missed. A sea of towering trees with thick trunks and sprawling canopies that filtered the afternoon sunlight into scattered beams. The air was rich with the scent of damp earth and pine, mingled with the faint sweetness of blooming wildflowers hidden among the underbrush. Unlike the well-trodden roads near the kingdom, this part of the woodland felt untouched, its dense foliage casting deep shadows that shifted with every rustling branch.
Velren sat in silence, his gaze moving across the endless expanse of green. Despite never having traveled to this part of the forest before, there was an odd sense of comfort in it. Maybe it was the quiet, the absence of the city's constant hum, or perhaps the way the forest seemed to breathe around them—alive, yet unintrusive. Every so often, the distant cry of a bird or the rustling of unseen creatures echoed between the trees, but none of it felt hostile.
"Not much of a talker, are you?"
