SWNOVELXO Chapter 7: 7 - Guided by Leaves
The trail welcomed them as if it had always been waiting. Steps on damp leaves. Trunks arched like living columns. Light filtered through the dense branches — too golden for the hour — swaying as if dancing to a song only the forest could hear. There were no more hooded figures. No more golems. No more paths vanishing beneath their feet. Now, the forest seemed to… watch from afar. As if, after judging them, it had withdrawn just enough to observe them pass.
Elion walked ahead, eyes alert to every sound, but his expression was calmer. Kael followed close behind, his left arm wrapped in fresh bandages — still tender, but functional. The spiral no longer glowed, but he could feel it. Like a muscle that had learned to breathe on its own. Neither of them spoke. Until something made them stop.
There, in the shadow of a gnarled fig tree, a young woman crouched carefully, picking small green leaves at the base of the trunk. She held a nearly full wicker basket in one hand and moved with a delicacy that seemed in tune with the forest itself. Her hair was green, like fresh moss under morning sun, falling in loose braids over her shoulders. Her clothing resembled the same material worn by the hooded ones who had let them pass — something between dry leaves, bark, and coarse cloth. Every fold whispered when she moved. And for a brief moment, as she tilted her head to the side, a pointed tip of an ear emerged beneath her hair.
Kael moved by reflex. But a dry branch snapped under his boot. Loud. Dry. Unmistakable.
The girl froze instantly, still with her back to them. She didn't run. She didn't turn. She simply stayed there, crouched, body tense. Kael held his breath, glancing at Elion. The silence, suddenly, seemed to start over from nothing.
The girl remained still for another second, then rose slowly, still not facing them. Kael noticed how slender she was, almost too light, as if the forest had shaped her to move unnoticed. She turned slightly to the left. Not to face them. To leave. She began walking with calm steps, as if nothing had happened — as if the crack beneath Kael's foot was just another forest sound. But something in her movement seemed… alert. Fleeing without running.
Kael stepped forward, raising his voice hesitantly: "Hey! Wait!"
That was enough. In an instant, the girl darted between the trees with impressive agility, the basket still in hand, herbs shaking inside. Her braids bounced behind her, and her feet barely touched the leaf-covered ground. She didn't follow a path — she created one with every step, as if the forest opened for her.
"Ah, great," Kael muttered, looking at Elion. "Should I go after her?"
Elion was already moving, eyes narrowed, focused on the sounds fading into the trees. "If she's running, she knows something. And if she knows something… maybe she's leading us somewhere."
Kael frowned. "Or into a trap."
Elion gave a half-smile. "At this point, what path isn't?"
Without another word, they followed — not running like madmen, but fast enough not to lose sight of her. Only the leaves heard them now.
The girl didn't stop. The terrain leveled, the trees grew taller and more spaced, as if something there made room by its own will. The light softened. The air, humid and rich with green scents, carried an ancient whisper. And then the forest revealed it.
Hollowrest.
The city lay hidden beneath the canopy, wrapped in interlaced branches, low mist, and respectful silence. Cabins suspended between thick trunks were connected by vine bridges, but what revealed itself first was the village's living ground — an irregular circle of simple huts made from hollow logs, moss, and packed earth. The entrances were low, covered with straw and leaves. Small shops selling herbs, tools, arrows, and light fabrics opened to thin, winding trails, like roots trodden by generations.
Kael slowed his pace, alert. Elion walked beside him, quieter than usual. The girl didn't look back.
She moved between the merchant cabins, weaving past elves who watched but didn't intervene, and stopped only at the last structure on the left, near the edge of the dense vegetation surrounding the village. It was a larger hut than the others, made of wood darkened by time, with a roof of dry branches and stones. Herbs hung from the doorframe, and a thin thread of smoke escaped through a round opening at the top.
The girl stepped inside without hesitation. Kael and Elion stopped a few meters away.
"She went in," Kael muttered, slightly out of breath.
Elion watched the hut's entrance, eyes narrowed. "Last one on the left. She led us here, Kael."
"To who?"
"To someone who knows why we're here."
The wind swept through the tall trees. Leaves stirred. And without a word, Kael felt it: something inside was waiting for him.