The forest was very quiet. As Brand pushed aside the thick vines and moved through the woods, he rarely heard any sound; sometimes, not even birds flew overhead.
Looking forward from his current direction, beyond the layers of leaves, was the open vista of the basin, the dense forest like a dazzling jade lying embraced by mountains, the terrain gradually lowering toward the center, forming a depression.
Looking further, at the very center of the basin was that magnificent ancient tree, whose roots spread in all directions, forming ridges akin to mountain ranges, the nearest extending in this direction to less than a mile away.
Andesa and her companions should have already reached there; he dared not follow too closely, for the Lord Withering was, after all, half a Druid, possessing many advantages in any forest.
