Theren stopped them before they could see the bridge.
He knelt beside a patch of glossy leaves and pressed two fingers into the soil. A thorn stem moved against his wrist. Rod watched it tighten, then settle when the dryad withdrew his hand.
"Fresh growth." Theren said. "Stay on the stones."
The old approach descended between two banks. Paving appeared beneath leaves and dark runners. Beyond the next bend, water struck rock with a steady, hollow sound.
Dirk moved ahead only as far as the dryad allowed. Dain stayed beside Branth, whose tools hung from a short shoulder frame. Senn and the workers waited at the last clear stretch with Nessa.
Rod had asked for a small survey group. The others would carry equipment only after the party marked somewhere safe to put it.
Lana watched through Midnight as the familiar climbed a fallen trunk. His view opened above the lower brush. She pointed toward the sound of water.
"The bridge is there. Stone ends. Wood across the middle."
