Grim Hearth in the Thicket

[Instrumental]

Muted hurdy-gurdy drones and low cello under a slow, crooked waltz; close, woody tavern ambience with crackling embers, creaking chairs, and murmured voices. Minor-key hammered dulcimer and lute trade uneasy motifs, with occasional eerie flute phrases. Dynamics swell from hushed corner-table tension to a shadowy, torchlit sway, then sink back into embers and whispers.