The morning light looked dull as if the sky itself felt tired. I stepped out of my room and the guild corridor smelled faintly of brewed roots and warm herbs. Lira leaned against the wall waiting. She greeted me with a soft nod and handed me a small wrapped snack that smelled like toasted grain. Eat something she said. You drained yourself yesterday.

I did as she asked. The taste settled my tongue. Warm sweet earthy. Safe. Lira led me downstairs where Maren and several scouts gathered around a large wooden map displayed on the table. The forest markers had been shifted. New lines drawn. More red circles than before. It meant more corruption and more unstable zones.

Maren tapped the map. The valley you stabilized yesterday is already showing signs of recovery she said. Mana flow is settling but the metallic echo remains. I nodded because I sensed the same echo even in town. Faint but present. Like a quiet warning.

But Maren pointed at another mark farther east. A traveler reported something strange in this area. He said the air smelled like cold sugar and the trees shook at night. Lira and I exchanged looks. Cold sugar was exactly the tone from the crystalline plants. A trail. A sign that the corruption spread along connected routes.

Maren asked me if I could follow the scent from town. I stepped outside the guild and inhaled deeply. The morning breeze carried simple tones at first. Smoke. Dry grass. Bread from the bakery. But under that a faint cold sweetness shimmered. Soft and thin like a thread. I focused on it and traced its direction. East. The scent moved like a thin silver line pulling me toward the forest edge.

We prepared gear quickly. Lira tightened her boots and strapped a short blade to her thigh. I carried empty vials and gloves. Maren handed me a small wooden disk marked with a symbol. A protective charm she said. It smelled faintly of cedar. Useful in zones with heavy mana pressure.

We left town as the sun climbed higher. The road toward the east was quiet. Farmers tended distant fields but even from far away I could smell their crops shifting slightly. Mana changes spread into soil. Plants responded before humans noticed. My tongue caught subtle floral curves turning sharp. Sweet tones bending into cool ones. Early signs of instability. It made me uneasy.

At the forest entrance the cold sweetness grew stronger. The trees stood stiff as if listening. Lira drew her bow and walked ahead slowly. I followed with measured steps. The scent pulsed like a heartbeat. Soft. Cold. Hollow. It led us deeper until the path opened into a clearing where the ground shimmered faintly. Crystal dust sparkled on fallen leaves.

I crouched and pressed two fingers to the ground. The dust carried faint vibration. A high thin tone that almost hummed. This was residue from unstable mana discharge. The clearing was recently altered. But the cold sweetness was not the source. It drifted farther ahead like a trail.

We crossed the clearing and moved between tall trees where the light dimmed. The air thickened. My tongue tingled with constant pulses. At one point Lira stopped and crouched behind a tree. She pointed ahead. A small campsite. Tattered cloth. Burn marks. Broken crates. It looked abandoned but recent. The scent confirmed it. Faint traces of human sweat mixed with cold sweetness. Someone stayed here last night.

I walked closer and inhaled near the broken crates. The wood carried sharp tones like burnt spice mixed with frost. Inside the crates remained thin flakes of crystalline herbs. The same kind we saw in the quarry. Whoever stayed here harvested unstable material. And they traveled fast.

Lira found footprints leading deeper into the forest. Light steps. Someone agile. Someone who knew how to avoid noise. The cold sweetness intensified. I followed the scent like a long invisible ribbon. The trail climbed a slope and descended into a narrow ravine. The air inside it felt thin. Almost metallic. My head buzzed. Lira placed a hand on my shoulder. You alright. I nodded but felt drained. The scent here was much stronger.

We moved carefully until we heard a sound ahead. Rustling. Someone shifting weight. Lira raised her bow. I crouched behind a fallen log and peeked around. A figure knelt beside a glowing root cluster. A hood covered most of their face. Their movements were slow and controlled. They cut small shards from the root and placed them into a pouch. The shards glowed with cold light and released the same sweetness in the air.

The gatherer turned slightly. I inhaled. Their scent told me more than their appearance. They carried traces of multiple unstable plants. Their clothes absorbed the sharp metallic tone of corrupted mana. They worked with dangerous materials often. Too often.

Lira whispered. Should we approach. I focused again. The gatherer’s scent had something else under the cold sweetness. A faint bitter tone. It reminded me of defensive spells. If startled the gatherer might react violently.

I stepped out slowly and spoke with calm voice. Those shards will destabilize if stored together. The gatherer froze. Turned. A pair of sharp pale eyes stared at me from under the hood. They stood up in a tense motion. Who are you. Their voice cracked like dry leaves.

I told them simply. I read plants. And those will harm you tonight. The gatherer’s eyes widened but not in fear. In recognition. They whispered. So you are the one the guild speaks of. The man who smells mana. Lira stepped beside me ready to act.

The gatherer pulled back their hood. They looked young with pale skin and faint blue lines along the jaw. Mana exposure marks. They had been breathing unstable air for too long. They said they needed the shards to survive. That their village depended on them. That the forest changed too fast and the only way to fight it was to harvest the new forms.

I asked why they worked alone. They said the guild banned such experiments. But desperate people break rules. They believed the corrupted plants held answers. They believed mana shifts were not random. Someone or something guided them. And the only way to understand was to dive into the danger.

The gatherer suddenly staggered. Their breathing turned shallow. I rushed forward and smelled the air near them. The bitter tone increased. The cold sweetness spiked. Their pouch leaked unstable shards. I grabbed the pouch and threw it away from us. It burst with soft icy flash. The gatherer collapsed to the ground.

I inhaled quickly. The air around them carried sharp cold tone mixed with weak earthy note. Their body absorbed unstable mana. It was poisoning them from inside. Lira knelt and checked their pulse. Weak but steady. I told her to hold them still. I looked around and found a cluster of clear leaf plants. The scent told me they carried cleansing tone. I crushed several leaves and held them near the gatherer’s face. The aroma neutralized some of the cold tone.

Minutes passed. The gatherer’s breathing steadied. They whispered a small thank you. I helped them sit up and asked which village they came from. They pointed east. Farther than we expected. A remote settlement near deeper unstable zones.

We escorted them back to the clearing. Maren’s scouts arrived soon after with stretchers. They carried the gatherer back toward town. Lira and I exchanged looks. This was not random. The gatherer’s words stuck in my mind. Mana shifts guided by something. Patterns behind instability. It frightened me. And intrigued me.

On the way back I inhaled the breeze. The cold sweetness faded but not entirely. A faint thread still drifted through the forest. A sign that more unstable zones waited ahead. A sign that we were following only the first clue in a long chain.

Night arrived as we reached the guild. I felt heavier than usual. My senses strained. But the trail was open now. The cold sweetness had a source somewhere deeper. I would have to find it.

I whispered softly. Flavor is the map and today it revealed the first route into a darker place.