Unnamed Tree Trunk

A gnarled and ancient tree rises from the earth near the crypt grounds, its thick trunk deeply furrowed and rough under the characters' hands as they press against it. The bark's deep crevices provide uneven but effective concealment—peeling wood and mossy growth creating natural handholds and blind spots. The space between trunk and root base offers the only shadowed corner where two figures can wedge themselves, half-standing against the cold stone of the crypt walls. Above, the tree's branches spread just wide enough to blot out moonlight, cloaking the hiding figures in momentary darkness whenever clouds shift. The air here smells of damp earth and iron-rich stone, the scent of centuries old crypts mingling with the fresh sap of the tree.