[BONUS]
The village of Eldermill lay deep within the Verdant Woods. It consisted of around twenty wooden houses clustered around a large mill and was home to roughly a hundred settlers—mostly ordinary elves, along with a small number of halflings, dwarves, sprites, and even a few beastfolk.
Under normal circumstances, the village would have been alive with labor and noise, its people busy with trade, farming, and milling. But in the wake of the dire events of the past few weeks, a heavy gloom hung over the town. Each night, as twilight settled over the forest, the villagers boarded up their homes and lit bright lanterns in a desperate attempt to keep the darkness at bay.
Ren, however, arrived at noon.
