The cursed land was not only dangerous, it was wrong. Everything breathed of a corruption that had sunk deep into its roots, twisting life into mockery.
Still, the godlings pressed on. Their excitement had not faded, though it was now mingled with unease. They exchanged nervous grins, their hearts pounding with something they would not name as fear. For this was the adventure they had sought
The deeper they went, the worse the horrors became. They heard it first before they saw it, an animal's roar that split the swampy silence. Yet it was not the roar of any beast they knew. It was jagged, broken, warped into something that sounded chillingly like a person screaming in raw agony. The sound echoed through the mist, bouncing off the crooked trees until it was impossible to tell where it had come from.
Their ears twitched, eyes scanned, but nothing emerged. The silence that followed was almost worse than the scream.
