They finally saw it. The dirt road that marked the edge of the deep woods stretched ahead of them like an old friend.
The road was wide and well-worn. The path curved through the trees. The surface was packed down by years of wagon wheels, merchant caravans, and travelers' boots.
Sunlight dappled across it through the branches overhead and for the first time in what felt like an age, the group exhaled together.
A collective sigh of relief rose from their tired chests. The worst was behind them. The forest god's threat had passed, and now the road to the Qomore Kingdom lay open.
They began to walk again but there was no urgency in their steps now. Their pace slow and eased. It felt more like returning from a long and strange vacation than surviving a world changing crisis.
The trees no longer loomed over them. The danger was gone. All that remained was the silence of healing woods and the soft crunch of boots on earth.
