Valerian moved cautiously, his hand on his dagger, eyes half-closed as he looked ahead. The air here was thick.
He spoke in a low voice, without turning. "We feel it... don't we?"
Alistair answered. "Yes. It's like something is watching us from behind the rocks."
Zenith didn't comment. As usual, he simply kept walking in silence, his eyes scanning the ground and horizon. His face was as stone-like as ever, showing no sign of concern or curiosity.
Leonard, however, was behind them, holding a somewhat torn map, trying to match it to what they could see. "We should be close to the passage... just a few hundred meters and the Arinval Mountains will come into view from behind this rise."
"Nice," Valerian muttered, then added to himself, "But I don't trust ease when it comes suddenly... something's wrong."
As they climbed the rise, the picture became clear.
