The game trail ended beneath a circle of towering trees.
Durn had never walked this way before.
There was nothing remarkable about the place.
No ancient ruins.
No signs of fire.
No broken branches or disturbed earth.
Just another clearing among countless others.
He stepped into the open without giving it much thought.
Then he stopped.
Something felt…
different.
He stood perfectly still.
The air was warm.
The breeze was gentle.
Sunlight reached the grass without obstruction.
Nothing appeared out of place.
Yet he found himself listening harder than usual.
A squirrel darted across a fallen log.
Insects buzzed among wildflowers.
Somewhere in the distance, water flowed over stone.
Everything was there.
Everything except…
Birdsong.
He frowned.
Not because there were no birds.
Because he hadn’t noticed their absence until now.
Durn remained where he was for several minutes.
Waiting.
Eventually, a single sparrow landed on a nearby branch.
It looked around.
Stayed only a heartbeat.
Then flew away without making a sound.
His eyes followed it until it vanished into the canopy.
He knelt, placing one hand gently against the earth.
The soil was cool.
The roots beneath it felt healthy.
Nothing suggested disease.
Nothing suggested corruption.
After a long while, Durn rose to his feet.
Perhaps he had imagined it.
Perhaps the birds had simply found better feeding elsewhere.
Not every unanswered question needed an answer today.
He took one last look around the clearing before continuing north.
Less than a hundred paces later, the forest found its voice again.
A woodpecker.
Then another.
Soon the familiar chorus returned, as though someone had quietly opened a door he never realized had been closed.
Durn stopped.
He looked back.
The clearing stood silent beneath the afternoon sun.
He opened his journal.
No birdsong.
He hesitated.
Then, beneath it, he added three more words.
For no reason.