The air around the temple is thick with the scent of damp earth and something else. Something ancient and powerful. The pulsing light from the moss on the roof casts shifting, dancing shadows on the ground, making the whole scene feel like a dream.
Or a nightmare.
"Any brilliant ideas on how to approach this?" Valentine asks, his voice a low, cheerful whisper. He's standing beside me, his hand resting lightly on the neck of his lute, his eyes scanning the temple for any sign of movement.
"We could knock." Roland says, his voice a dry, humorless rumble. He's standing a few feet away, his sword drawn, his body a coiled spring of readiness. "Or we could just walk in. I doubt she's expecting visitors."
"We don't even know if she's here." I say, my eyes fixed on the temple's entrance. It's a dark, gaping hole in the side of the hill, like the open maw of some great, sleeping beast. "For all we know, this place could be empty."
