Chapter 121 - The Whispering Caves and a Shadowed Past

I stared at the stone in my palm as our carriage rattled back toward Lockwood. Two days of travel stretched ahead, each hour precious. The markings on the dark surface seemed to shift with the changing light, like secrets unwilling to be fully revealed.

"The guardian sleeps where the star's tears carved the earth," I murmured, recalling the old woman's words. "The Whispering Caves."

Alaric sat across from me now, his expression intense as he studied a small leather-bound journal he'd retrieved from his travel case. My mother had finally succumbed to exhaustion, her head resting against the padded side of the carriage, eyes closed in fitful sleep.

"I've heard stories about these caves," he said, looking up at me. "Remote legends, mostly. Nothing concrete enough to build a strategy around."

I traced the strange pattern on the stone with my fingertip. "Do you think they're real? That they really hold the key to breaking the Blackwood pact?"