Although the sense of danger had vanished, Lex avoided the fort and instead took a long way around towards the Jotun stronghold. The trip would have taken him many hours had he not decided to pull out the 'ship' he had bought to traverse the Crystal realm.
But even then his return was nowhere near quick, and yet he found Polebitvy to be uncharacteristically silent. Even if he was out in the wilderness, far away from any habitation by rebel or local forces, one could usually at least hear the sounds of birds and insects, not to mention the various wild beasts. Yet now, the sound to keep Lex company was that of the wind, and literally only just the wind.
Even the usual rustling of the leaves was absent, for all the leaves of any trees Lex crossed had vanished and turned to ash. The wood and bark of the trees, for some reason, remained unharmed, but it was all too easy to determine that there was no longer any life within them.
