The blue thread drew straight toward the hut.
She didn't know what she had expected to find at the end; most likely a shard.
That was the purpose of her journey, but there were no signs of evil or corruption.
But that was good.
Even if it was a simple and naive thought, she just didn't want those.
She watched it for a moment, standing still.
There didn't seem to be anyone.
She reached out with her senses and let them wash over the hut.
She couldn't feel anyone either.
She tried to focus more because even if she couldn't feel anything, she could have missed something.
She couldn't smell anything or hear anything- but there was something.
A crackling. Fire. Not loud or roaring, but just a simple hearth.
But no person, and strangely enough, no shard, but their presence was hard to detect.
She moved slowly.
The wind got stronger, tugging at her clothes, but the hut offered shelter against it.
When she got close, it looked older than she had originally imagined. But it was still maintained, not abandoned.
Sonder stopped a few paces from the door.
The featherling hovered low now, drifting closer to Sonder's chest, its shape tightening just slightly. It was fearful of everything new and different.
It did the same when it got close to grass or trees when they first left the dark lands.
She extended her senses again, more carefully this time, drawing them in tight and precise instead of broad. She traced the edges of the hut, the roof, the floor, and the space within.
Still no living presence.
But the fire was real.
So close now, she could feel its warmth through her senses. A hearth banked low, tended recently.
She didn't think fire tended itself, at least, not usually. There were strange things in the world, but this seemed like a very normal place.
No shard, she thought.
The thread had led her here, and she could see it going into the hut, but why?
She shifted her staff in her grip and took the final steps forward until she stood directly before the door. It was plain wood, reinforced with iron bands dulled by age.
There was no lock on the door or any symbols on it.
And she couldn't even feel a tiny amount of magic. It was just a plain old hut.
Sonder hesitated with a raised hand. If there was someone who could mask their presence from her sensory magic, this could be dangerous.
But what else could she do?
She knocked and waited.
But no one answered.
After a moment, she tried again.
"Hello?" She called, raising her voice just enough to be heard over the wind. "I don't mean any harm."
No answer.