289 The Shadow Realm

Karanos frowned as he saw Arran's non-comprehending stare. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face, and a moment later, he made a small gesture with his right hand.

Again, his lips moved, and this time words reached Arran's ears.

"Keep your voice down. It's dangerous here."

The sound of Karanos's voice was muffled and distorted, and Arran understood the white-eyed mage had used some sort of magic to make it travel through the cloud of Shadow Essence that filled the small cave.

It wasn't just the air that was saturated with Shadow Essence, he Sensed — the stone floor and walls were filled with it, too. And although Arran could Sense no further than that, he had little doubt that the dark Essence didn't stop there.

In the Shadow Realm, he suspected, there wouldn't be a single rock or pebble that wasn't steeped in Shadow Essence.