They gathered their equipment and resumed their journey with renewed purpose, pushing themselves harder, taking more direct routes despite the increased risks. The encounter with the artificial Dead Zone had transformed their mission from one of investigation and choice to one of active intervention. Whatever decision they might ultimately make about the First's continued imprisonment or potential liberation, it needed to be their choice — informed, considered, and free from external manipulation.
As they traveled, Merial found herself reflecting on the direct communication she had perceived from the First. There had been intelligence there, undeniable sentience and purpose. Not the chaotic destruction described in some of the ancient texts, but a deliberate entity with its own agenda. Whether that agenda aligned with the Lady of Shadows' interpretation was another question entirely — one they would need to answer when they reached Mount Veridia.
The forest gradually thinned as they moved northward, the terrain becoming more rugged, the air cooler and thinner. By the evening of their fifth day of travel, they had left the Great Forest behind entirely and were ascending into the foothills of the northern mountain range. The peaks loomed ahead, their upper reaches perpetually shrouded in mist, their lower slopes covered in hardy vegetation that clung tenaciously to the rocky soil.
They made camp in a sheltered hollow, conserving their energy for the challenging climb that awaited them the next day. As darkness fell, the Dome became visible overhead — a subtle iridescence that most inhabitants of Inhevaen took for granted but which now seemed fraught with new significance. Not just a natural protection, but a constructed prison. Not just a barrier against external chaos, but a containment for an entity of immense power and intelligence.
"We should reach the base of Mount Veridia by midday tomorrow," Ithor said as they sat around their small fire, planning the next stage of their journey. "From there, it's a difficult climb to the summit where the seven streams originate."
"And where we'll likely find the Lady of Shadows' agents already at work," Karel added, his expression grim. "Preparing for this 'final phase,' whatever it may be."
"We'll need a strategy," Merial said, her mind already analyzing potential approaches. "We can't simply confront them directly — they'll be numerous and well-prepared. But we can't allow them to proceed with a plan that might destabilize the entire Dome."
They discussed options late into the night, weighing risks and possibilities, trying to prepare for contingencies they could only partially anticipate. The crystal amulets Thelian had given them glowed faintly in the darkness, seeming to respond to their proximity to Mount Veridia and perhaps to each other.
When they finally settled down to sleep, taking turns at watch, Merial found her dreams once again filled with corrupted runic patterns — but now they formed coherent messages, communications from an entity that seemed both ancient and immediate, both alien and strangely familiar. The First, reaching out directly to her as the Word, bypassing the artificial network the Lady of Shadows had constructed.
The message was simple but profound: The choice approaches. Freedom or a more perfect prison. But beware — not all who claim to serve liberation understand what freedom truly means.
She awoke from these dreams with a renewed sense of both urgency and caution. The situation was more complex than a simple binary choice between maintaining the First's imprisonment or allowing its complete liberation. There were nuances, alternatives, possibilities that neither the ancient texts nor the Lady of Shadows' agenda fully encompassed.
As dawn broke over the mountains, casting long shadows across the landscape, Merial shared her dreams with Karel and Ithor. They listened intently, recognizing the significance of this direct communication.
"It confirms what I've suspected," Karel said when she finished. "The First has its own agenda, distinct from the Lady of Shadows'. It's using her and her agents to create opportunities for communication and potential liberation, but it doesn't necessarily share their understanding of what that liberation would mean."
"Which makes our role even more crucial," Ithor added, his expression resolute. "We need to understand the full range of possibilities before making our choice, not just the binary options presented in the historical accounts."
With this shared understanding, they broke camp and continued their journey toward Mount Veridia, each lost in their own thoughts about the choice that awaited them and the forces — both seen and unseen — that sought to influence that choice.
They had traveled for perhaps two hours when Ithor, in the lead as usual, suddenly raised his hand for a halt. His posture had changed, becoming alert and wary in a way that immediately put his companions on guard.
"What is it?" Karel asked quietly, his own senses extending to search for potential threats.
"Smoke," Ithor replied, pointing to a thin gray column rising from a valley ahead. "And not a campfire. Too much, too dark."
They approached cautiously, using the rocky terrain for cover, until they reached a vantage point overlooking the valley. What they saw below stopped them in their tracks.
A small village — or what remained of one — lay in the valley, most of its structures now smoldering ruins. Bodies were visible in the central square and along the single street, their positions suggesting they had been cut down while fleeing. No movement was visible among the devastation, no sign of survivors or even of those responsible for the attack.
"This was a Zhyren settlement," Karel said, his voice tight with controlled anger. "A small one, probably just a few families of herders and crafters. No strategic value, no significant resources."
"Then why attack it?" Merial asked, horrified by the senseless destruction.
Ithor's expression was grim as he surveyed the scene with experienced eyes. "To clear a path," he said. "To eliminate potential witnesses or interference. This village sits directly on the most accessible route to Mount Veridia."
"The Lady's agents," Karel concluded, his seven gifts flaring visibly with his emotional response. "Eliminating anything that might slow their progress or alert others to their presence."
"We should check for survivors," Merial said, already moving toward the path that would take them down into the valley. "There might be wounded who need help."
Karel caught her arm, his expression conflicted. "Merial, I understand the impulse, but we need to be careful. This could be a trap, or the attackers might still be nearby."