*Ella*

The walk through the forest is short, but the sun sets behind us, and the forest is cast in a deep violet glow. A chill settles in my bones. It’s autumn here, the same as in Crescent Falls. My bare feet are coated in dead leaves by the time we crest a hill and look down at a small village tucked in a cleared area in the forest, surrounded by old growth trees and situated in a circular fashion around a tall, square building made of stone.

That must be the meeting house Amanda mentioned. Its thatch roof and stone walls look like something out of a fairy tale,...