Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMMGQA4FEPD5QF11DE99X20

Rory stood at the edge of the Fae Grove, her hand resting on one of the ancient oak standing stones that marked its boundary. The thick canopy of leaves above her blocked out the night sky, plunging the clearing into an unsettling darkness that even the moonlight couldn't penetrate. She glanced down at the Heartstone pendant resting against her chest, its inner glow barely visible in the gloom. The wildflowers blooming around her feet should have been a comfort, a reminder of life and vitality. Instead, they seemed wrong, their petals twisted and mutated into shapes that defied nature. A chill ran through her as she stepped into the grove, her footsteps muffled by the soft earth beneath her feet. She had come here for answers, drawn by the pendant's insistent pull and the cryptic words of the mysterious benefactor who had given it to her. But now, surrounded by the oppressive darkness and the unnatural silence, she wondered if she had made a mistake. A rustling in the bushes to her left made her freeze, her heart pounding in her chest. She strained her ears, trying to catch any sign of movement, but the grove had fallen silent once more. Slowly, she forced herself to keep moving, one hand clenched tightly around the pendant. Time seemed to stretch and warp around her, seconds feeling like hours, minutes like days. She couldn't tell how long she had been walking, only that the grove seemed to be growing darker, the air heavier and more oppressive with each step. A flicker of movement caught her eye, there and gone so quickly she couldn't be sure she had seen it at all. She whipped her head around, scanning the trees for any sign of life, but the grove remained still and silent. Another flicker, this time on her other side, and she spun again, her heart racing. "Who's there?" she called out, her voice trembling slightly. "Show yourself!" There was no answer, only the rustle of leaves in a wind she couldn't feel. The pendant pulsed against her skin, its glow seeming to fade with each beat. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her bones, a wrongness that seemed to seep into the very air around her. She quickened her pace, desperate to reach the center of the grove and find the answers she sought. But the faster she walked, the more the grove seemed to twist and change around her, the trees shifting and writhing like living things. The path ahead of her seemed to stretch on forever, an endless expanse of darkness and twisted foliage. A hand brushed against her shoulder, cold and clammy, and she spun around with a scream. But there was nothing there, only the empty air and the looming trees. She staggered back, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps. This couldn't be happening, it wasn't possible. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to calm her racing thoughts. When she opened them again, the grove had changed. The trees around her were no longer oak, but twisted, black things with sharp, jagged branches that seemed to reach for her. The wildflowers were gone, replaced by a thick, slimy moss that squelched beneath her feet. And there, at the edge of her vision, something moved. Something tall and thin, with too many joints and too many eyes. She turned to run, but the thing was in front of her now, its form shifting and changing like smoke in the wind. "What are you?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the pounding of her heart. "What do you want?" It didn't answer, only reached for her with long, spindly arms. She stumbled back, her feet slipping on the slimy ground, and fell hard onto her back. The thing loomed over her, its eyes glinting in the darkness, and she knew with a sudden, terrible certainty that she was going to die here, in this place between worlds. But then the pendant on her chest pulsed, a sudden burst of warmth and light that seemed to push back the darkness. The thing hissed and recoiled, its form seeming to unravel in the light. Rory scrambled to her feet, clutching the pendant tightly, and ran. She ran until her lungs burned and her muscles screamed, ran until the grove around her began to lighten, the twisted trees seeming to melt away into nothingness. And then, suddenly, she was back at the edge of the grove, the standing stones looming around her like silent sentinels. She collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath, her whole body trembling with exhaustion and fear. The pendant pulsed softly against her skin, its inner glow slowly fading back to normal. She had come here for answers, but she had found only more questions, and a horror she knew would haunt her dreams for the rest of her life. With shaking hands, she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled out of the grove, leaving the darkness and the twisted things behind her. But she knew, deep in her bones, that this was only the beginning, and that the real nightmare was yet to come.