Chapter 5: Pleased to Meet You

The departure from the preserve is subdued. There's a peace there that isn't echoed outside its confines, and leaving that behind is not easy. The Guardian does wish the party well, and indicates that it will welcome Ephwrath and Krav back, should they wish to study further. It also mentions that it has contacted its counterparts at other preserves and told them of your mission. The Guardian does worry that it has not connected with several of the other preserves in some time, but it cannot tell you where you might be able to find the entrances to the other preserves, even if they are still viable.

After some discussion, it is decided that Viani, Froak, Krav and Ephwrath will journey to the "nest of knives" as the party promised the frog people that ferried them across the lake, while the rest of the party will continue on to the rendezvous with Coreene and Uelten. Viani, Krav and Ephwrath indicate that they will return to Viamard to aid the villagers in rebuilding, continue to study the preserve, and act as a waypoint for future explorers leaving Meriava. Further communication may be a challenge, but the Guardian indicates that it may be able to send messages through Pip the sparrow that now travels with Elora.

There is sadness, gratitude, well-wishing, and many other emotions as the people of Viamard say goodbye to the party. Renaya and Yelnar have their own private discussion, their own goodbyes more personal than the others. Renaya too will be staying behind, helping Viani, Krav and Ephwrath in their efforts. As she says, it gives her a purpose that doesn't require that her abilities be restored. "But, if you find a way to reverse it, and you don't come back here, and I find out..." she says to the party, wagging her finger at them with an unspoken threat.

After acquiring horses from the family estates outside of town, the Viamard party packs up -- stocked with as many supplies as Viamard can offer -- and departs the following morning. Like recent days, it is cloudy but not ominously so, breezy but not uncomfortably so, cool but not cold. A typical spring morning.

Viamard Party

The road to the retreat appears to have fallen into disuse over the years. While it must have once been wide and well-traveled, it is now weed-choked and sometimes hard to follow. Still, there aren't any major issues on the journey, which matches with what the Guardian was able to tell you.

Every once in a while, you spot something that catches your eye. One time, Yelnar swears that he saw a deer with its antlers growing out of its shoulders rather than its head. Searching further for it proves fruitless, though there are clear tracks that go into the heavy underbrush. Looking for them on the other side of the brambles, you can't seem to find where they exit. If they ever did.

Trees are occasionally twisted and warped. There is one copse where the trees themselves have grown together into a single trunk, despite the individual trunks being several feet away from one another. Other strange plant life is often evident as well: odd colors, unusual fragrances from the early spring wildflowers, and other such things.

On the third day outside Viamard, the hilltop that Athisa described becomes visible. As she warned, the road to the hilltop is not easily found. There is a thick growth of thorny bushes that circles the base of the hill, but after a couple of hours of searching, you find a gap that allows entrance, though the horses are not at all happy about the passage. With some judicious use of blades, you're able to expand it enough to bring everyone and the horses through. A narrow trail extends around and up the hill, through a heavy forest of fir and pine.

Hara Party

Leaving Hara is difficult in a number of ways.

First, Minama is not particularly encouraged by the idea that Coreene is leaving to get help. For one, it means that her mother won't be coming home soon. For another, it seems that this whole issue is more complicated than it first appeared, and Minama is old enough -- and has seen enough in her short life -- to make that connection. But after some tears -- perhaps on both sides of that conversation -- and reassurances, the girl seems at least resigned to the fact that she will have to wait, and that's okay for now.

Second, the city guard has stepped up its patrols. It's also added to its ranks, apparently. Where there used to be two guards on occasional patrol, about half of the patrols have picked up at least one additional member. The added presence is not dressed in the uniform of the guard, and seems to have no obvious consistent uniform. One thing is generally agreed upon among the citizens that will talk about such things: the city guards clearly defer to their third member, and they're far more willing to poke and dig at things they deem to be suspicious or out-of-place.

Finally, getting in or out of the city has become more complicated. The gates now bear a consistent guard presence, and questions are being asked about your occupation in the city, your business outside the city, whether you have any family remaining behind...

After completing your unfinished business in the city, Coreene and Uelten make their way to the gates, having procured horses through Uelten's connections. The questions come as expected, and there's a particularly tense moment when one of these mysterious new companions of the guard comes out of the gate house to observe the proceedings. After a while, the official guardsman questioning our heroes looks to the newer arrival for his thoughts. After a long, suspicious study, the mysterious guard nods and allows them through the gates.

Like the party out of Viamard, there are occasional signs that unnatural things have altered the landscape, but these are not new concepts. Those that have lived outside the Wards are aware that their world has changed in unpredictable ways. Your journey is similarly uneventful, and late on the third day, you arrive at the wall of thorns described by Athisa. After searching for an entrance, you find a passage through the thorns that, while efforts have clearly been made to disguise it, has recently been passed through, even made larger. It would seem that someone -- hopefully the other party -- has recently been here.