Present day.
Eryx and Theon materialized on the pack lands with a violent crack of displaced air, landing right in front of the house where they expected to find their prize. They stood for a moment, their dark capes fluttering in the wind as they frowned at the structure before them. Something was wrong. The house was quiet, but it wasn't just the normal quiet of a late afternoon; it was a heavy, stagnant stillness that felt like a tomb. There was no movement in the windows, no smoke rising from the chimney, and no sound of life echoing from the porch. It felt as though the very heart of the place had stopped beating.
They stepped inside the house without knocking, the front door yielding easily to their presence. As they crossed the threshold, their frowns deepened into expressions of
