Chapter 27

"Exactly," said the second mage. "Imagine if more mages or adventurers came here, not to mention people who would want to capture or harm the spirits."

"It'd be chaos," said the first mage, his expression grave. "The villagers have worked hard to maintain this balance with the spirits.

Outsiders could easily disrupt everything."

The third mage nodded in agreement.

"It's a good thing the villagers trust us enough to let us stay here for a while," he said. "We can explore a bit more without causing a disturbance."

"Yes," said the first mage. "But we have to be careful. We don't want to accidentally provoke the spirits or do anything that could break the villagers' trust in us."

"Right," said the second mage. "We should stick to the outskirts of the woods and avoid going too deep. We don't want to test the villagers' patience or the spirits' limits."

The mages continued to discuss their plans, their voices low and cautious.

The mages decided to split up and explore different parts of the woods, staying within the boundaries of the outskirts. They agreed to meet back at the clearing at a specific time to report their findings.

"Be careful out there," said the first mage as they prepared to part ways.

"You too," the other mages replied, their voices serious.

With that, the mages went their separate ways, each venturing alone into the depths of the ice spirit-infested woods.

As the mages explored the woods, they began to notice subtle changes in temperature, a slight drop in the air as they ventured deeper. They also noticed the distinct lack of animal life and rustling leaves, the woods almost eerily silent.

As they continued deeper into the woods, the mages began to feel a sense of unease. The air felt colder and heavier, and the silence was almost deafening. It was as if the woods were warning them to turn back.

Despite the ominous feeling, the mages continued their exploration, determined to find out more about the ice spirits. They pushed deeper into the woods, their senses on high alert for any sign of danger.

As the mages ventured deeper, they started to notice strange markings on the trees, patterns etched into the wood that resembled ancient symbols. They also noticed wisps of blue light flickering in the distance, there one moment and gone the next.

The mages felt a mixture of fear and curiosity as they saw the markings and the flickering blue lights. They decided to keep moving forward, following the strange trails of light in hopes of discovering the source of the phenomenon.