The road left the moss station and climbed toward a hill shaped like a sleeping creature beneath the pale grass.
The Watcher stopped at its base and lowered her head until one ear touched the ground.
She said, "A guardian lies beneath this hill, though its soul is gone, and the old shelter was built around its body."
Ash stood beside her and asked, "How can a body become a hill, and how long has it been under the road?"
The Watcher replied, "A guardian can grow larger than a house, and frightened people build roads over its remains when it no longer answers."
Hajin studied the stone slope and said, "This is the guardian beneath the station, because its body held the positions that the hill concealed."
Ferra brushed moss from a pale ridge and answered, "The stone carries the sockets' orbit marks, though the lines end at bones rather than a living chamber."
Loccy kept her braced arms close and asked, "Did the guardian die protecting the station, or did the station kill it?"
