“…fyltrshkn…”

The fire popped. A log shifted, and for a second the shadows on the wall spelled out something that looked like antlers. The innkeeper nodded toward the corner booth, where a figure sat so still he might have been carved from the oak. Long grey coat. Hands folded. Face hidden beneath a hat that had no business existing in this century.

The last thing he heard was the figure whispering, “Welcome home, little filter. The windows have been braying for you.”

The last thing he saw was the innkeeper crossing himself backward.

“…byw…”

The old inn sat hunched against the moors like a forgotten tooth, its sign— The Wanderer’s Rest —creaking a lullaby in the salt-licked wind. Llyr had found it by accident, chasing the last smear of sunset across a map that hadn’t been updated in fifty years.

“Don’t say it again,” the innkeeper hissed. “And whatever you do, don’t take it to a window.”

“Danlwd fyltrshkn…” he murmured, and the air in the room thickened. The fire dimmed. The men at the bar stopped talking.