Chapter 9 – A Whisper from the East
The morning came cold and quiet.
No wind, no birdsong — only the faint hiss of frost forming a thin crust on the inner edges of the window.
Caleb sat near the stove, chewing on a strip of dried meat from the previous night's efforts.
The warmth in his chest did little to erase the weariness pressing on his limbs.
He'd worked the last few days like a man possessed — cutting, hunting, boiling, bartering.
And it was paying off.
The bracer he'd earned sat snug around his right forearm, leather worn but tough, with a faint shimmer to the reinforced plate nestled inside.
Then it came.
A glimmer in the corner of his vision.
The same translucent panel, like ice-framed parchment, faded into view.
"East lies the stone spine of what once was sacred.
Snow buries the forgotten, but not forever.
The one who dares may claim what the timid will never see."
His heart gave a low thud.
A new hint.
A new path.
He stared at the words until they dissolved, leaving behind only a direction and a burning choice.
The east.
He hadn't ventured far beyond the line of trees past his territory's edge.
He'd barely begun understanding how to survive, and now the system was nudging him forward.
Caleb stepped outside, boots crunching into the snow.
A sky of muted grey stretched above the forest canopy.
He stood still for a long moment, watching the breath curl from his mouth.
He knew what was at stake.
Venturing beyond the dome meant no safety net.
Anything — anyone — could be out there.
But he also knew how quickly stagnation would kill him.
The stove was still burning, and he had food left for at least two more days.
He could risk half a day's travel and return before dark.
If the hint was wrong — or worse, a trap — he'd deal with it.
He looked east.
The trees there grew denser, the trunks thicker, their bark blackened with old frost.
A place that once was sacred…
Could it be a ruin?
A shrine?
A church?
He packed light.
A bit of boiled meat wrapped in thick cloth.
His canteen.
A spare knife.
And his bloodied spear, now hardened with use and resolve.
Before stepping out, he took one last look around the hut.
The fire crackled steadily.
The boar hide drying along the wall flapped gently as the door opened.
Then he stepped beyond the boundary.
Out into the raw world.
His dome flickered briefly behind him, a blue shimmer across the snow, then it vanished from view.
Caleb Mercer walked east.
Toward the spine of stone.
Toward whatever lay buried beneath the silence.
End of 10th chapter.