The elder elf clenched her jaw, clearly struggling with the decision to trust us. But before she could respond, the ground beneath us rumbled again—this time more violently than before. The air around us crackled with energy, the same strange distortion from earlier returning in full force. The trees shimmered, their shapes blurring as reality itself seemed to waver.
And then, in the distance, came the unmistakable sound of battle.