Chapter 39: The Weight of Shadows

Aelric leaned heavily on the long wooden table in the council chamber, his fingers tracing the faint outline of the pendant left behind by the missing man. The halls of Elanor were eerily silent after last night's encounter. Lyra and Seraphina sat nearby, their expressions reflecting the tension that gripped the city.

Lyra broke the silence, her voice calm but sharp. "The man wasn't lying, Aelric. He was being controlled—manipulated by the same darkness we've been fighting."

Aelric rubbed his temples, exhaustion seeping into his bones. "And now he's gone. Vanished like smoke. We don't even know if he's alive."

Seraphina, ever the pragmatist, leaned back in her chair, the edge of her blade tapping the floor rhythmically. "Controlled or not, he was working against us. Someone or something has planted seeds of corruption here, right under our noses."

"Then how do we root it out?" Aelric snapped, his frustration breaking through. "The darkness is everywhere—symbols on our gates, whispers in our halls, people vanishing into thin air. How do we fight an enemy we can't even see?"

Lyra's gaze softened, and she leaned forward. "By starting small. The pendant he left behind—it's a clue. These markings are intricate, not random. Whoever created them must have significant knowledge of dark magic."

Aelric sighed. "So, we track the magic. And then what? Confront whoever's behind it and hope we're not walking into another trap?"

"It's a start," Lyra said. "Right now, we can't afford to do nothing."

Seraphina nodded, the light catching the steel of her sword. "If there's one thing I know, it's that waiting gives your enemies time to strike first. We move before they do."

Aelric looked at his friends, the determination in their eyes steadying his resolve. "Then we act. We search the city—every corner, every shadow. And we find whoever's behind this before they tear Elanor apart."

As they left the chamber, a cold wind swept through the hall, and Aelric couldn't shake the feeling that the shadows were watching them.