Frustration crept in quietly.
Not as anger.
Not as panic.
As irritation.
The kind that settled behind my eyes and stayed there, dull and persistent, no matter how steadily I breathed or how carefully I placed each step.
I had been walking for nearly an hour.
An hour.
And I had found nothing.
No ruins.
No monsters.
No mana disturbances.
No signs of my companions.
No landmarks that meant anything at all.
Just trees.
Endless, towering, suffocating trees.
I stopped, planting my feet firmly in the loamy soil, and forced myself not to grit my teeth. Getting sloppy now would be dangerous. I could feel the forest watching, not in a sentient way, but in the way a place heavy with life always did. A place where things could wake up if disturbed.
That was why my perception was throttled back.
One mile.
That was it.
