The forest grew denser as they traveled, ancient trees towering overhead with trunks so massive it would take a dozen men holding hands to encircle them. The canopy blocked most of the sunlight, creating a perpetual twilight that made distances difficult to judge.
Apollo's enhanced senses picked up subtle changes in the air, a sweetness that reminded him uncomfortably of the fungal forest, though fainter, mixed with something else he couldn't identify. The gold in his veins maintained a steady, warning pulse, not immediate danger but constant awareness.
"Water ahead," Renna announced, her hunter's instincts picking up the sound before the others heard it.
They emerged into a small clearing where a stream cut through the forest floor. Unlike the corrupted water they'd encountered yesterday, this one moved naturally, babbling over stones worn smooth by centuries of flow.
Fish darted in the shallows, the first living creatures they'd seen since entering this cursed wood.
