The forge smelled of iron and fire, but tonight, it felt more like a sanctuary than a workshop.
Joy sat on a wooden stool near the back wall, the journal James had given her open on her lap. The pages were yellowed, the ink faded in places, but the drawings were clear. There were more than she'd expected—sketches of ancient trees, stone circles overgrown with vines, strange creatures with eyes like stars, and symbols scattered throughout like a hidden language.
She traced one with her finger. "Who drew these?"
"My grandfather," James replied, polishing a blade at his workbench. "He was what some folks used to call a 'forest reader.' He claimed the Wildwood spoke to him too."
Joy looked up. "And you believe him?"
He set the blade down and wiped his hands. "I didn't. Not when I was a boy. But after he died, I started hearing things. Not voices, exactly. More like... feelings. Like the trees were paying attention."
Joy closed the book gently. "That symbol I touched... it showed me things. Not just images—feelings, memories. Someone was in them. Cloaked in ivy."
James's jaw tightened. "The Watcher."
"The what?"
"Some say it's a guardian. Others say it's the forest itself, given shape." He leaned against the bench, arms folded. "But it doesn't show itself to just anyone."
Joy's thoughts spun. "So why me?"
James hesitated. "Maybe because you're not just passing through. You're trying to understand it. That matters."
Joy looked back at the journal, suddenly feeling the weight of her own curiosity. What had started as a quiet study of rare plants had turned into something far stranger.
She stood, closing the book. "Will you come with me? Tomorrow, back into the woods?"
James considered her for a long moment. "You sure that's wise?"
"I'm not sure of anything," she admitted. "But I need to know what it wants."
He nodded slowly. "Alright. But we don't follow the same path. Not again. We go to the standing stones."
Joy blinked. "There are standing stones?"
"Deep in the Wildwood," he said. "Older than the village. Older than any of us."
A silence settled between them, thick with anticipation.
Outside, the night wind stirred. The lanterns flickered. And from the edge of the forest, unseen eyes watched and waited.