...The carriage jolted over a deep rut, the wooden frame groaning as they descended further into the valley.
Sophia turned to the group, her face slightly shadowed by the flickering light of the purple-tinted dusk.
"Whatever you see in my hometown, Los Favorecidos, do not take it personally," she warned, her voice tight.
She hesitated, her fingers tracing the hem of her black tunic. "And... the people there. They don't call me Sophia."
Soren leaned forward. "What do they call you, then?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she turned her gaze back to the window, watching the twisted silhouettes of the mutated trees pass by. "When we arrive, you will find out."
Polystar merely looked at Sophia for a second then gave a mocking smirk.
Bloodshine was no different. Then again she already did not like sophia.
A few hours later, the rhythmic clopping of the donkeys slowed to a halt.
The air outside was filled with the smell of ozone and rotting vegetation.
