The land was littered with ancient scars. Dense thorn-brush choked the foothills, ripping easily through clothing and skin. Wild beasts prowled with increasing aggression that were driven from their dens by the Blood Lotus cult's grotesque rituals.
Each hour Li Wei traveled, he encountered more signs of corruption. Numerous trees were twisted unnaturally, streams stained a faint, sickly red. They were even stones cracked as if heat had pulsed beneath them.
The Heart Stone in his sleeve pulsed in discomfort. "It recoils from the blood path," he muttered. "Perhaps this is a fortunate omen… or an ill one."
He urged the carpet onward.
By mid-afternoon, a distant clamor reached him. It was a crude mix of screams, clashing metal, and the eerie chants of the Blood Lotus scriptures. He veered sharply, rising higher for a clearer look.
