Merlin smiled. "I've already got a few ideas," he said.
Sindre looked surprised. "Oh, already?" she asked. "I'm impressed."
Merlin paused. "Yes…although, a lot of them are not applicable to this circumstance. We can just proceed as usual."
Sindre half-rolled her eyes with a slight smile. "I knew it sounded too good to be true. Where do you need me to prepare?"
"Somewhere with a lot of space, preferably," Merlin said.
Wilhelm pointed at the opening at the top of the tree. "There's a spot like that at the very bottom of the ruin. You can't miss it."
Merlin knelt down, placed his hand flat against the tree, and breathed out a lungful of mana. He kept still as a statue as the surge of energy traveled like a wave throughout the exterior and interior of the tree, returning five minutes later. "This ruin is very old and complex…" His explanation to the group faded to random muttering as he turned towards Dag. "Interesting."
I don't know why I keep underestimating how long writing takes. So far, no matter what I keep estimating, I always end up overwriting, but hey I don't think anyone's complaining at more content so let's have a good, detailed fight scene while we have a brief break from abstract gods, soul magic, and prophecies. I can, however, say with confidence that as soon as I'm done with this fight, we are going to the mines. I guess I should have said that instead of a single chapter buuuuuuuuut yeah learning opprotunity.