Chapter 144

Slo

The morning air was thick with anticipation, the kind that clung to your skin and whispered of impending storms. I stood at the edge of the encampment, eyes fixed on the horizon where the first light of dawn painted the sky in hues of crimson and gold. The scouts had returned with grim faces and grimmer news: the Portal-Sentries were a day out, their numbers double what we had anticipated.

Val