While Mark grew more distant, Sarah investigated the nearby town.
She went to the old church—a long-abandoned stone chapel at the edge of a forgotten cemetery.
Beneath it, she found tunnels.
Candles lined the walls. Old robes hung on hooks. Bones sat in ceremonial bowls. The Ash-Eaters still existed. Or had. And from the looks of it... some might still be alive.
She returned to the surface and was attacked.
A hooded figure grabbed her, whispered into her ear with breath like rotting meat:
"The vessel awakens. The gate shall open. Our god shall rise."
Ben found her minutes later, bruised but alive.
They returned to the house.
Mark was gone.