Page 137 of Cursed Dreams
Thalia barely heard them. She watched as the old woman traced her fingers slowly over the left-hand corner of the map opposite the script, her eyes darting like she was searching for something.
“If it turns people away unless they know how to enter… then there must be some kind of key. A word, a gesture, a specific entry point?” Nyla mused.
“A ritual on a specific moon phase?” Cellen offered. “Or a phrase in the old tongue?”
“It could be all of those things,” Marand said, setting down her tea. “If the Dragons were trying to hide something, they would have layered it with multiple kinds of protections. And this wasn’t just a secret—it was meant to be forgotten. That’s more than defensive magic. That’s erasure, mind work.”
“Let’s place the maps side by side again” Thalia cut in desperate to get the map out of the old woman's hands. While her friendshad been discussing the words, Thalia had watched the old woman searching for something, and whatever it was she was looking for Thalia knew deep inside herself she couldn’t let her find it.
She stood walking over to her and prying her hand out for the map. Merryweather's face twisted, thalia stepped back every hair on her body rising, her magic roaring in her ears. She could explain why, or how but she knew this woman was a threat and should never have been trusted. Steeling herself she stepped forward again this time placing her hands on the map. The old woman didn't let go.
“Thank you for your assistance Merryweather” she said her voice laced with threat,
Her friends noticing her change in tone suddenly looked round.
“We will take it from here” Thalia pulled on the map gently trying to force the old woman to let go. For a second it looked like she wouldn’t. The sir in the room became chilled as ice and Thalia sore she could see her own breath in front of her.
Then Merryweather tilted her head to the side, as though observing Thalia’s soul, her eyes no longer looked cloudy, but like black endless pits. A horrible cruel smile that that looked more like a nightmare spread across her face. Despite her legs shaking Thalia refused to move, she pulled on the map again.
“I said we will take it from here” her voice held more strength than she felt.
Slowly the old woman released the map one bony long finger at a time.
“Of course, “she said, there was no warmth to her voice.
Thalia quickly rolled the map up and tucked it under her belt out of her reach.
The old woman watched her for a moment longer, then turned moving faster than someone her age should, her steps unnaturally smooth, her pace unsettlingly fluid for such a frail frame, her footsteps barely a whisper on the stone floor.
Only when she was gone did Thalia let out the breath she’d been holding. Something about the old priestess unsettled her in a way she couldn’t explain, like standing too close to a fire that gave no heat. She didn’t know what the woman wanted, but she knew one thing for certain. She would never let her near the map again.
“Thal, you, okay?” Nyla asked, clearly confused by Thalia’s treatment of the old woman.
She only nodded, sitting back down and placing the map back on the table, laying the two maps side by side once again
“Okay this one has the forest here, see the border markers? That town doesn’t even exist anymore. But compare this ridge line with the other one…” Marand began changing the subject and defusing the palpable tension in the room.
They all leaned in, shoulders brushing, eyes locked on the overlapping terrain. The lines did match, but the older map showed dense woodland stretching far beyond the boundaries of the newer one.
Thalia’s breath caught. “That’s where I grew up.”
Marand blinked. “Wait… your village is here?”
She nodded slowly, tapping the parchment. “Just south of this line. This forest was always there, but we just called it the grey bark Thickets. No one ever went deep into it, it always felt…” Shehesitated, struggling to describe the heavy sense of unease she remembered as a child. “Like it was ...” her word trailed off
Cellen leaned back in his chair, his expression abruptly serious. “You’ve been next to the Forgotten Forest your whole life.”
Silence fell over the room.
“Are you sure?” Nyla asked quietly, looking between the maps.
“Positive.” Thalia’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I’ve walked past that tree line a thousand times.”
Cellen blinked, then whistled. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Thalia stared down at the two maps, heart hammering. It had been there, so close, all along.
“We need to leave at first light,” Nyla said, decisive now. “We can be at your village in a day if we’re careful.”
