2.7 Miles Southwest—Hidden Within an Ancient Tree
The trunk of the grandfather tree was so massive that its hollow interior could have housed a small dwelling.
Scarlett and Swana huddled in that hollow, pressed against ancient wood that smelled of age and slow decay, trying to control their breathing, trying to remain absolutely silent.
Swana was injured.
A serpent-chimera had gotten through her defenses during the initial attack, its venomous fangs puncturing her left thigh before she'd managed to decapitate it. The venom was working through her system, slowing her reactions, making her limbs feel heavy and uncoordinated.
She'd applied a tourniquet and used basic healing magic to slow the venom's spread, but it was a temporary measure.
Without proper treatment, she had perhaps a couple of hours before the toxins overwhelmed her enhanced elven physiology.
