Silence.
Only the sound of parchment fluttering somewhere deep between the shelves.
He walked forward, carefully, his hands clenched by his sides. It was daylight. There shouldn't be spirits roaming now. But something wasn't right in Zarethrone anymore. It hadn't been for days.
He turned a corner...
Nothing. It's just another aisle of records. But one scroll on the shelf lay half open, the seal broken, and Hale swore it wasn't like that before.
He reached for it, unfurling the document gently. It was old far older than most records kept on display. The script was faint but legible.
His eyes scanned the top.
> Recorded Under the Moonless Night Death by Shadows. Forbidden Entry into the Vale of Whispers. By Royal Decree, Sealed and Forgotten.
Hale's breath hitched. He'd never heard of the Vale of Whispers before.
Behind him, a soft shuffle of footsteps. One, two… then nothing.
He turned again.
Still no one.
But this time, he felt it.
