ADVERTISEMENT
The smoke was a calculated risk born of desperation. As winter’s chill turned into a bone-deep freeze, Lila couldn’t survive without heat. She engineered a side tunnel and a stone-lined pit, venting the smoke through a narrow shaft designed to cool and disperse the fumes before they reached the air. It was an impressive feat of makeshift engineering, but it was enough to alert the town. Rumors began to swirl about mysterious figures and underground heat, eventually drawing the attention of Sheriff Callahan.
