Village on the Surface

Lassim and Sanvra stood on a newly formed lookout, built just above the entrance they had last used. They were surrounded by a tapestry of snow that seemed less hostile than it had months before. 

It had been roughly 5 months since they initiated the barriers and started their first sanctuary on the surface. Lassim had unknowingly passed his 9th birthday inside the drow's realm.

Sanvra, standing next to him, pointed towards a cluster of trees nearby. Their branches dusted with snow but beneath the frost, hints of green were emerging more robustly than they had seen in ages. "[Look at that]," she said, her breath misting in the cold air. "[It's as if the trees are waking up from a long slumber.]"

Lassim nodded, his eyes scanning the horizon. He could see small animals, perhaps snow rabbits or slickfurs, darting through the now growing underbrush and lighter snow cover.