Morning reached Illenwood carefully.
Light slipped between the roots and leaves as if it wasn't sure it was welcome yet. Smoke rose from chimneys again, thin and uncertain. People stepped outside in small groups, whispering, watching the paths where the masked ones had come from.
Volow stood near the edge of town, arms crossed, eyes on the forest.
Suki hadn't relaxed once.
Her ears kept turning. Not fast. Not panicked.
Listening.
Marga noticed.
"She's still sensing something," she said.
Volow nodded. "Not close. But not gone either."
Behind them, villagers worked quietly. Broken boards were fixed. Lanterns replaced. Blood scrubbed from bark and stone. No one spoke louder than needed.
Taro ran up, skidding to a stop in front of Volow.
"You're really staying, right?" he asked. "Like… for today?"
Volow smiled a little. "Yeah. For today."
Taro grinned like that answer fixed the whole world, then ran back to help his mother carry water.
Marga watched him go. "They're acting normal."
"They're trying to," Volow said. "That's different."
They walked through the town together. People bowed, nodded, thanked him—some with words, some just with their eyes. Volow answered all of it with the same calm smile, like it didn't weigh on him at all.
But Suki suddenly stopped.
Her body stiffened. Her head turned toward the northern path.
Volow stopped with her.
"…What is it?" Marga asked.
Suki didn't bark. Didn't warn.
She just stared.
Then she looked up at Volow and let out a low sound—confused.
"Veil," Volow said slowly. "But messy."
"Messy how?"
"Like someone who doesn't know they're leaking it."
They followed the path until they reached the edge of Illenwood, where roots gave way to packed dirt and old stone markers.
Someone was there.
A young man stood by the road, shaking. No mask. No cloak. Just a traveler's coat torn at the sleeve.
He raised his hands when he saw Volow.
"I—I'm not with them," he said quickly. "I swear."
Volow didn't move closer. "Then why are you standing where they came from?"
The man swallowed. "Because I was following them."
Marga's eyes sharpened. "Why?"
"They took my sister," he said. "Two weeks ago. Masked men. Didn't kill anyone. Just… took her."
His Veil flickered around him, weak and uncontrolled.
Suki whined softly.
Volow felt it too now—not danger.
Pressure.
"You followed them alone?" Volow asked.
The man laughed bitterly. "I tried. Lost them after a day. But I heard things. Other towns. Same story."
Marga crossed her arms. "Why tell us?"
The man looked at Volow. "Because I saw what you did last night."
Silence hung between them.
Volow glanced back at Illenwood—at the people pretending things were normal.
Then back to the road.
"Go inside the town," Volow said. "Rest. Eat. Don't chase them again."
The man hesitated. "And my sister?"
Volow's voice stayed calm. "If they took her, they didn't do it for nothing."
That didn't sound comforting.
But it sounded honest.
The man nodded slowly and walked toward the town.
When he was gone, Marga spoke. "This isn't random."
"No," Volow said. "They're collecting. But for what?"
Suki's ears flattened.
Volow looked down the road.
"Whatever's coming," he said, "Illenwood was just a test."
Marga glanced at him. "And you?"
He smiled, not playful this time, but steady.
"I don't like tests."
The wind shifted.
Volow turned back toward the town.
"Let's stay one more day," he said.
The sun climbed higher, and with it came a little courage.
An elder approached Volow near the central tree. His back was bent with age, his hair tied with wooden beads, but his eyes were sharp—eyes that had seen trouble before.
He bowed deeply.
"Last night," the elder said, "Illenwood still stands because of you."
Volow shifted awkwardly. "I just did what I had to."
The elder straightened. "Still… we owe you. Tell us, how can we help you?"
Volow hesitated. Marga watched him closely.
"I'm heading down," Volow said at last. "To the Inner World."
The elder froze.
"The… Inner World?" he repeated, like the word didn't belong in the air.
Around them, a few nearby villagers went silent.
"That place is a myth," the elder said slowly. "A warning parents tell children."
"It's real," Volow replied. "And someone I need is there."
The elder studied him for a long moment. Then he let out a slow breath.
"…Then you're walking a path most don't even know exists."
He turned and gestured toward the great map carved into the tree wall—the same one Taro's father had shown.
His finger rested on a town marked far to the east, near the mountains and broken rivers.
SKYTOP.
"There's a man there," the elder said. "An old friend of mine. He deals in things better left unnamed, paths, gates, knowledge people aren't supposed to have."
Marga's eyes narrowed. "You're saying he knows how to reach the Mantle."
The elder nodded once. "I don't know, but if he doesn't, no one will."
Volow looked at the mark on the map.
Skytop.
"Why help us?" Volow asked.
The elder smiled faintly. "Because whatever took our people isn't done. And if you're walking toward the dark… then maybe the dark won't reach us first."
Suki stepped forward, tail lifting slightly.
Volow took that as a yes.
"Alright," he said. "We'll go to Skytop."
Marga glanced at the forest, then back at Illenwood.
"Let's start moving tomorrow then." She said.
Far below the world, something shifted in the Mantle.
And for the first time in a long while...
Someone was trying to go down.