The dense forest canopy filters the last rays of twilight, casting long shadows across the leaf-strewn ground. Our weary group discovers an abandoned shelter - a simple wooden structure with a partially collapsed roof, but still sturdy enough to provide protection from the elements. The remnants of previous travelers linger: a cold firepit ringed with stones, worn paths in the dirt, and a crude wooden bench against one wall.

Marcus settles near the dying embers of the old firepit, spreading his father's weathered journals and carefully preserved maps across a moss-covered tree stump. The Echo of Eternity artifact gleams faintly at his belt, its mysterious engravings catching what little light remains. Thrain, ever vigilant, makes his rounds of the perimeter, his Imperial Guard training evident in his measured steps and watchful gaze. Near the shelter's entrance, Eli kneels beside Finn, her ethereal El'gorin features illuminated as she tends to the young Leonin's scraped knee, earned from his latest tree-climbing adventure.

The peaceful scene shatters in an instant. An arrow cuts through the twilight air with deadly precision, its fletching whistling past Marcus's ear before embedding itself in the tree trunk with a solid 'thunk.' The shaft quivers mere inches from where his head had been moments before. Marcus drops into a defensive crouch, his heart pounding against his ribs, as Thrain draws his sword with the distinctive ring of steel. Eli swiftly pulls Finn behind her, her healing magic already beginning to shimmer around her hands in preparation.

"Show yourself!" Marcus calls out, his scholarly voice steady despite the tension. His eyes scan the shadowed treeline, searching for any movement among the ancient trunks. The mysterious archer's presence has turned their moment of respite into a tense standoff, the weight of unseen eyes pressing down upon them from the gathering darkness...