Now We’re Cooking

The next few pages in this book are slightly waterlogged

Dear Journal,

It’s been a crazy day. I’m now out here on a ship with my parents and friends chasing after a storm that’s caused by the amaranthine knows what. But I need to focus now and recollect everything that went on yesterday. So here goes…

In order to kick out the squatters in the mansion, we tried to come up with a diplomatic solution. Farah got some orders to evict the residents for their unlawful stay. We knew we were kidding ourselves, but it felt like it at least put right on our side that we reached out with an olive branch first even though we quickly hit with the arrows.

When we arrived at the mansion, there was a guard posted out front, no big deal. We showed the mapach the papers, asked them to leave and no harm would come to them. He obviously didn’t think we were serious and declined with a few choice words. Well Farah decided to show her seriousness and knocked him unconscious and proceeded in.

Barely inside the antechamber, there was another guard posted, a little more aggressive than the first. Farah gave this one a second to look at the paper before rushing and knocking him out too. That’s when we entered the main hall. Guards with bows drawn and rushing to meet us. I thought we will all go back to back and take on the challengers as they came to us. Before I could finish that thought, everyone was rushing in opposite directions.

I’ll try and record some of the highlights. Rakuno and I found the main boss we heard about in the upper floor. Hearing our compatriots having trouble, I hit the tiny jerbeen with my highest sleep spell, nocking her out instantly. Farah chased after some bandits coming across the cook. Turns out the cook was a strong spellcaster with a ton of appropriately pun named spells. We all cornered the cook in the bedroom, but he summoned a demon that clouded the room with a stench so foul we constantly expelled our breakfast all over poor Spoke’s soon to be master bedroom. We handled ourselves, but it was close. Luckily Spoke was able to open a window to disperse the cloud, and Farah, Rakuno, and Sycamore tired Cookie the cook until he surrendered.

So some things we learned was that the small jerbeen boss was just Cookie’s familiar playing a role of boss for him, and he ran things behind the scenes. We hand over the bandits to the guards, and cleaned up the place as best we could. We also found the books that Alvin was looking for before signing his side over to Spoke, making the mansion now all his.

This morning though, I woke up to Reya busting in my room, crying and scared about what Mom and Dad were trying to do. We retrieved the rest of the group and met them on the docks where those two were trying to take off on dad’s fishing boat. They were set to go out there to find out what’s causing this storm that’s making ships disappear. I sure as heck couldn’t let them go alone, so I gave Reya all my money and to stay with some friends while I was gone. If I weren’t blessed with the best friends, I don’t know who is, but Rakuno, Farah, Spoke and Sycamore all joined as well along with Brin.

That’s where I’m at now… Sorry I need to write later, I think I heard someone call out about a sinking ship and some possible survivors.

 

 

 

Two Sides to Every Story

Dear Journal,

It’s been a while since I last wrote in you. Now that I’m back in Saltar’s Port, I can tell you of my adventures once more. You see, I’ve been sending all my stories to Ray while I was gone, but since I’m back home, I can tell them to her in person.

So first off, I was in Smallwood not long ago. There was a big gathering of bandits and the council of Alderheart. Well, not the full council, three of the members. Bita, Twilla, and Rhouragh. The bandits that talked to them were Benna, Lilian, and Mac. I think Mac was just there to protect Benna because he didn’t say much.

Well the meeting didn’t start too well. The Council and Bandits both glaring at each other, not saying a word. I could see how much they wanted to kill one another. I figured it wouldn’t end well if we just watched so I did what mom did to Reya and me, I got both the Council and Bandits to tell their side of the story.

The Council understandably upset that the bandits are hurting and killing many of the folk, destroying or taking property, causing them to have to direct resources to protect the city and not towards the fire crises.

The Bandits were also understandably upset. The city forced humblefolk into the roots of the tree, ignoring their pleads for help when the fire came to burn their villages, taking care of themselves first before anyone else. It caused a lot of anger and backlash against the city.

I again did what mom would have done. I brought to their attention the major issues. The bandits want the city to take care of humblefolk as well as birdfolk equally. They also want the city to take care of and protect the villages being harmed by the fires. The council wants the bandits to disperse and stop attacking the city. They also want Benna to be punished for their crimes. So I used what my dad calls, the “Junk Food” method. What that means is when no one can think of a good idea for dinner, he just suggests junk food. Obviously, most people don’t want that for dinner, so then they start offering better ideas. He starts at the bottom of the barrel for a suggestion which then gets others to suggest something better. I suggested the most radical idea to implement, Making Benna part of the Council. This would ensure someone speaks for the humblefolk and the folk would follow her. She has a bit of charisma about her, I can tell.

Instantly the council, bandits, and my own compatriots started offering better solutions. In the end, we settled on Benna working from house arrest in the city, directing the bandits to be firewatchers. They will direct the city where their help is needed most to protect villages. The council will also elect new members, humblefolk, to be a part of their leadership. Everyone seems happy, and the stalemate was broken.

After the meeting, I overheard Rakuno talking to Benna. I hope he doesn’t get mad if he finds out. It sounded like a friend of his, Fyn, is with the bandits somewhere, and wants to know how he’s doing.

With tensions lowered, there’s now a command center being built in Smallwood to initiate further talks between the council and bandits as to keep a neutral ground between them. I haven’t really thought to consider how the folk of that town feels about it. We did sort of show up unannounced and with a lot of bandits and soldiers. Oh well, I’m sure they’ll make the best of that situation.

With the most serious issues taken care of, we decided we would handle lighter business. Farrah is on the lookout for something along the coast and Spoke received a letter to go over business in Saltar’s Port. I would also like to visit home once more, so I picked up some knickknacks and we journeyed to the port.

Along our way, we stumbled into a dark black Eluran asking us to tell her a story. Spoke gave it a go, but she was unamused. Lucky for us, I know plenty, so I told her of our recent escapade into the bandit fortress. Our successes and failures, and our heroic conclusion. She was a little more impressed and offered us a gift. A bauble that could record our surroundings in a magical bubble the size of our hand. An interesting gift for sure.

We eventually reached Saltar’s Port. I remembered the smell of the sea air, the smell of fried fish, and the feel of the sun and water spray, I was home once more. There, we met and interesting fellow, Frythe Cinquefoil. The owner and proprietor of Frythe’s Bouquet. When Spoke first asked if I knew where the place was, I thought he said Brythe’s Bucket, a nice sea food place. After the group hazed me about it, we found someone that knew where the correct place was.

While at the Bouquet, Frythe made Spoke aware of an inheritance being given to him but wanted to discuss it over with his colleague later over dinner. We were trying to find a good place to meet at, and I brought up I knew of a nice sea food place we could go to.

Frythe bore news of a great uncle of Spoke’s died and left his manor to him and another fellow, Alvin Asphodel. Apparently, Alvin doesn’t want his share and is handing it over to Spoke. Problem is that there are some ruffians that moved in. The manor looks pretty run down, but these squatters are repairing bits of it up. We assume they intend to move in, so we’ll have to evict them for Spoke.

I told my mom about it. She looked so worried, but she doesn’t know what this group can do. I’ve seen them handle themselves in the face of all manner of folk and beasts. We shall see what these folks are up to at the Elrevien mansion. This is it for now. I’ll probably add more to you, Journal, when we finish looking into that problem.

Cork

 

 

Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies

How’s it going Rey,

Well our plan certainly had some interesting results, but first and foremost, we’re all ok and safe in Smallwood. But I don’t want to jump too far ahead, you’re probably interested to know what happened in the bandit stronghold with Benna.

After my mistake at the common house, we decided we should head straight to the main building where Benna was sure to be held up. Looking around, there was the infirmary, and some pretty hurt folk inside. There was little Spoke and I could do for them while we were in a hurry to not get caught.

Another building caught our attention, this one was locked. Don’t tell mom and dad, but I picked up some talent with lockpicks and was able to find us a way in. This happened to be their storehouse for much of their valuable loot. There were boxes of coin, pictures and other fine art, jewels and jewelry. This was a small fortune, but a stolen one. We figured it was best left alone, but we all had fun entertaining an idea of a grand heist for a moment before moving on.

We went up the to the last building, no other place for Benna to be but there. Entering, we found ourselves in a feast hall, lots of food for the bandits to come eat. It looks like the guards must have been here for their turn because there were two left inside. Slow eaters it seems, plus two more posted by a door to the side. We figure Benna must be inside but wasn’t sure how to get past these guards.

Farah being the boldest of us just entered and sat down to start eating, making small talk with one of the guards. The rest of us slowly shuffled in and kind of waited for confirmation to possibly join. It seemed safe enough and the guards didn’t pay us much attention so we sat and started eating.

Farah told them we needed to speak to Benna, our captain had died and she is currently taking that responsibility and needs to report to her. The guards being inquisitive asked her who the old captain was. Not wanting to give us away, she was quick to say we weren’t really on a first name basis with the old captain, and he got his position because the previous one died as well. All of this because of the fires. Well the guards were a little suspicious, decided to take a note and give this to Benna herself.

With that plan failed, I had one other idea. Poking Farah, the two of us headed outside. I told her that along our travels, I picked up a new trick, invisibility. I would like to use this to follow the guard and get in the room with Benna and poison her drink with the sleeping herb we mixed earlier. Farah agreed and tried entering in a way to let me back in without causing suspicion while invisible. It wasn’t exactly as subtle as we had hoped, and the guards were again suspicious. Rakuno quickly picking up what had happened, called out the suspicion on possible ghosts haunting this old fortress. I then hid and waited for any opportunity to get to Benna’s possible quarters.

Time was ticking though, I was getting restless and moved to a more advantageous spot by the front table near the doorway. Luck would have it, both good and bad, Benna emerged into the feast hall and sat down, right where I was hiding. I had to move over quickly to not be discovered.

Safe for the moment, Benna began questioning her new guests at the tables. Farah giving a convincing tale of our banditry plight, the one guard with the note confirming to her what we told earlier. Again, the identity of this previous captain comes up, and we give them a possible name, something that felt common among humblefolk. Benna wanting to find out more sent one of the guards to go to the captain quarters and look this individual up.

In the meantime, I sprang into action. There was a nearby candelabra stand that I reached over and knocked prone. Again Rakuno questioning the validity of a possible ghost haunting, I pulled out the poisoned and spiked her drink. The planned worked as there was no one calling out my actions.

Spoke came over to help clean up the mess and I made my way back to the door and followed the guard heading out to get the captain’s information. After a few minutes I removed my spell and came back in. Benna taking the bait and drinking while reading over some documents. She was getting rather tired but was slowing down on finishing the last bit. So we decided we should find a way to get her to finish. This is where the light of Ardea faltered and our good luck ran completely out. Farah tried setting me up to give a toast to our fallen captain, asking what was bothering me. I played into it, acting sad at the loss. But when she asked why I was sad at his loss, I panicked and my beak slipped “Because we grew up together.” Everyone stared at me. This supposed guy that we didn’t really know the name of, I grew up with? What the heck was I thinking.

That awkwardness was broken with even further complications. The guard had returned and whispered something to Benna, causing our cover to be completely blown at this point. She got up, and asked who we are, and what we were doing here. We were at a loss, trying to say something. Rakuno seeing the writing on the wall got up, walked over and said we were sent here by her mom and initiated combat.

The fight was fierce, but quick. We had ganged up on Benna as soon as we could. After all, if you cut the head off a snake, the body dies with it. She could see the writing on the wall as well, we had them outnumbered and outmatched in this hall, so Benna reached up with an amulet on her arm. Sycamore and Farah could see there was some possible danger with this move, but I was able to get a bigger picture. The glyph on the amulet was the same as the glyphs on the roof. If activated or if she went down, the glyphs would collapse the roof, possibly killing us all. The fight halted.

Benna, close to collapsing asked if the council sent us. I admitted to this, but also stated we were here to talk, but circumstance changed the course of that plan. We had some back and forth and got some insight into her motives. The fire burned her village like so many others, and she tried to get help from Alderheart, but was shoved like so many into the roots. She was from a line of leaders in her village and that heritage lifted her and many humblefolk to try and cause a disruption and get some sort of fairness between birdfolk and humblefolk. From that fire, she lost her mother, her wife, her children, and was physically scarred. She was angry, and so too was Spoke, but for a very different reason.

Spoke chided her for the decisions she made. He too lost his family and friends, but scolded Benna. He did not take on banditry, he didn’t feel like lashing out at the city, he didn’t try and hurt others. The situation was getting out of hand. Benna doubling on her commitment to the folk, Spoke losing himself like the fires taking the forest. Spoke lashed out, attempting to silence Benna, deadman’s switch be damned. His attack almost taking her out, but I tried to keep a calmer head and put Spoke to sleep with my magic. I hope I didn’t ruin our friendship.

The situation was deescalated, we were able to discuss terms of surrender with Benna, and settled on a parlay with the council in which if she was to answer for the crimes of the bandits, she would turn herself in. This is why we are now in Smallwood, a neutral ground for negotiation.

Right now the others are confirming her story to ensure she’s being truthful while she is under our guard. Rakuno and Farah are bringing the council’s envoy to talk to Benna. We shall see how this will unfold soon. For now Reya, I want you to know I’m thinking of you, mom and dad. I hope this is over soon as there’s talks of possibly heading down south to the coast. I am a little anxious as I’d like to come see you all when we’re nearby.

Until then, I love you all

Cork

 

 

Leader of the Pack

Good day Reya,

I hope these letters find you comfort as they do for me to write them. The world stage is larger than I had anticipated, and the problems stack up.

After the raid with the bandits, the guard was able to arrest a bunch of them. Since we were asked to do something about the leader Benna Seridan, we asked if we could talk to the imprisoned ones for more information.

Rakuno and I set up a sort of good guy, bad guy routine to get information out of one of them. Well, it went about as well as you’re no doubt imagining Rey. We botched the whole thing. Luckily Spoke was there and bailed us out.

We were able to confirm the location of their stronghold was in the Crest Mountains, learned a little more about their management structure, and how they recruit desperate Humblefolk.

Tables began to turn though. Everyone has their story, a cause to believe in, and truth be told, Spoke looks to have empathized with their position. He's even considered taking their side, aside from the banditry of course. I’m still on the fence about what the person said, but it was worthy enough to investigate further.

The bandit told us about the devastation the fire is doing to all the smaller villages, like Hedgewatch, where he was from. He was just a farmer then and lost everything, came to the city and was forced to make a home in the Underfall, the root system of the Alderheart tree. We decided to visit the Underfall ourselves, and it was a squalor.

For now, we need to stop this conflict because the fire is a more pressing matter, but after we do something about Benna, I will have some words about representation of the Humblefolk to the council. The council members are nothing but Birdfolk, how can they truly serve all the citizens?

Oh, that night before we were to head out, we spotted the strig knight from the raid before. Turns out he is Riffin the Ash Knight. He was in Ashbarrow when the fire hit. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know much what happened there as he was overwhelmed and then woke up in Alderheart. An interesting story for sure but wish he had more to it. Also turns out, he adventured with Susan too. Imagine that. The woods are a small place it seems.

Once daybreak came, we set out for the stronghold. It would take us a few days journey, so we made last minute preparations. It was a hazardous road, being stopped by a bandit ambush. Fortunately for us, Farah played out her great idea. Using the sword, she convinced them we were long time members away for a while and headed back after the raid on the fort, and we lost our leader putting her in control. We hid out in the woods for a while before finally coming back in. They bought the story and let us through.

Further down the road, we were attacked by mountain lions. They got some licks in, but we ultimately triumphed. Since we had this extra meat, I had a plan to get to the stronghold and hand them over to further help our story that we were bandits.

Arriving at the stronghold, the feeling was tense. There were no birdfolk I could see, but that was to be expected. Farah explained to them that we were from the same village when the fire took it, and I kept my beak shut. If only I had kept it that way.

We had walked inside, offered the meat and made our way to the common house where we observed some of the other bandits. Here is where I made a mistake. In my anxiety of trying to fit it, I made some small talk with the table next to us claiming we’re new members around here and was a shame what happened to the fort from the raid. This of course ruined Farah’s story she established with the ambush party. As soon as they come in, it would ruin our cover so my slip up caused us to start to expedite our plan to confront Benna sooner.

Our plan was to spike the drink we give to Benna to put her unconscious, then find a way to haul her out to a safe place. Now we’re more or less going by the seat of our pants.

I’ll continue this story in the next letter for you Reya. For now, enjoy the lion jerky I sent along with this letter.

Your brother

Cork

 

 

Rumble in the Humblefolk

My Sister,

I hope all is well in Saltar’s Port. The conflict here in the city grows bigger even as we try to rest. I had just gotten back from my walk and had started sleeping when a loud commotion echoed through the city. Merchant caravans at the gates were being assaulted by brazen bandits.

Everyone had barely enough time to grab their weapons before rushing down and helping the guard. It was chaos. All of us tried our best to push back the bandit raid. A few of them were put down in their rush, but many got away. The guard captain herself began recruiting any abled bodied folk who could fight and give chase. Naturally, your brother volunteered to help stop these assaults.

We followed the trail left behind by the thieves and came upon an old fort of some kind. This place was being used by them to coordinate their assaults. The group decided to try and flank them in the fort. Farah and I were to take to the cliffs, Brin would climb atop the other one, and Sycamore, Spoke, and Rakuno would go into the camp along with the other members of the party. Unfortunately, the bandits were quick to discover us, routing most of us as we split up.

Sycamore and Spoke were confronting the main force. The combine fierceness of their presence and ferocity of their abilities kept the largest group at bay. Rakuno snuck around, taking out the bandits attempting to pick off anyone with their bows. Brin was a marvel, hitting our foes with precision strikes.

Farah and I would support from above until she had a brilliant idea. She set fire to the main tent, causing panic and chaos. I had just recently purchased some lantern oil and thought there would be no better use than right here. The bandits inside were in a panic to put it out giving Sycamore and Spoke the time to push through and setup in front of the tent. Rakuno was trading and dodging blows with one of the mapachs, it looked rough, but I could tell he was just toying with them before finally cracking them up the head with a well-placed punch.

More bandits showed up from the other tents, but Farah and I were able to distract them long enough for Spoke to try and deal with the leader. Though I think we were all surprised that their boss was the vulpin we had confronted before on our way to Alderheart. The one that was terrorizing poor Eliza. The battle was terrible, but with Brin’s help, Spoke’s fiery demeaner, Sycamore’s many axes, Rakuno’s speed, Farah’s quick thinking, and my magic, we were able to put down the bandit known as Fray.

Spoke quickly put out the fire and tried collected what he could from the tent while the others searched for anything from the raid throughout the fort. By the guiding light of Ardea, we were very lucky that we had found some folk taken as hostages that weren’t in the tent we set ablaze. That could have been a terrible mistake. Some other treasures were found, but we took back everything that was stolen to the city and returned it.

On our way back, I meant to talk to a strig I noticed helping us fight in the battle. I saw him taking on 3 bandits by himself. I’m sure he has some interesting stories to tell. Although I was distracted by Spoke’s unusual curiosity of my walk earlier in the evening. I think he was able to suss out that I had taken Brin out on my walk as well. The ol’ hedge is rather wise to my short response. I suppose I have too much of a tell when it comes to my close friends. Well what more should I say? That I think Brin is very beautiful …

Much of the letter has been ripped out here

I’m sorry Reya, I kind of went off on a tangent and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to hear your brother gush over Brin.

Either way, there was something interesting with a sword we brought back. It was the Fray’s that lead the bandits. Rakuno recognized that it was a guard captain sword, one the bandits use to show off as a way to establish rank. Farah is holding onto it, she hopes it comes in handy.

When we arrived back, we had the injured taken to the hospitals, and the city held a makeshift parade to celebrate. The council requested for us and wanted the details of what transpired in the fort. We gave them all that had happened, about the bandit leader, how many we encountered, and what all they had taken. Bita then graciously awarded us for our help, a rather nice sum of money. She had also told us that they will be sending a caravan of supplies to Meadowfen. I don’t think it is quite enough to deal with the looming threat of the Scorched Grove, but it is something and Meadowfen needs it.

Before we could leave, Bita requested that we deal with the bandit fortress nearby. The source of a lot of these outlaws. We’ll need to deal with Benna Seridan, their main leader.

Will write you soon, sister. I’ve included some interesting notes about herbs I picked up that you may like.

Enjoy the sea breeze for me

Cork

 

 

To the Heart of the Woods

Oh gods, Sis,

We made it to Alderheart. The city is huge and beautiful, and there’s so many people and wonderous things here. I’ll have to bring you here one day.

But I’m jumping ahead of myself. The trip had some bit of excitement as well and what would I be if I skip that part of the story.

On our way to Alderheart, we noticed that patches of the Scorch Grove reached near the path. All the more reason for us to hurry with our news. We were escorting Eliza again, so we had to keep our wits about us. Good thing too because we bumped into more bandits. I’m getting worried that the spread of the Grove is forcing more folk into banditry. I also feel very bad for those poor folk when they threaten Rakuno and Farah. The speed at which those two move is amazing. No matter how far the bandits think they are from us, those two are right on them like lightning out of a bottle. And the amount of punches and kicks they do in such quick succession. Their whole body is like a weapon.

That night, a Tender stumbled into our camp. Those folk are apparently gifted with commanding nature around them. This one, a Gallus, goes around and steering fires away from the rest of the woods. I believe a Tender came to Saltar’s Port when we were much younger, morphing the trees there to create a few homes, like the one for the Potters up the street from us.

There was not much else before we finally got to the city though, but we found that the grove took many more villages. There are a lot of refugees here, it’s very depressing. The city is doing what it can to help them, but there are just so many people. I did get to see the Perch Guard though. Dad’s and mom’s description of them were accurate. They wear very shiny armor and command respect when you look at them.

Oh I really wish you were here Reya. The city is amazing. We even spoke before the council, which is filled with so many elegant birdfolk. I don’t remember dad getting to speak before them, so I finally did something new. Their speaker, Bita, heard our plea, and will let us know how they can help in a few days. In the meantime, she mentioned a problem with a particular bandit, a leader of theirs named Benna Seridan. Do you remember dad talked of a Seridan in a village in the woods? Some local seer. I wonder if they are related.

Speaking of dad, you can tell him I bumped into a friend of his. Her name is Brin Whitecrest, a fellow raptor. If he doesn’t recognize the name, which I doubt because he remembers like everything, you can also tell him she has the markings, and frankly the ambition of the wind-touched. She told me a lot about you guys, so I’m sure you may remember her too.

I should say, even in the city, there’s adventure to be had. We decided to look around the Trunk Market and my friend Spoke was pickpocketed by some Jerbeen. We of course gave chase to re-secure my buddy’s fortune. The small chipmunk Jerbeen were cornered in an alley. It was a terrible situation, they were so young, still children, with no home or parents. I didn’t know what to do, lucky Farah and Rakuno offered to take them to the local monastery, recommending them to the chapter master. Farah, with her big heart, also made a sizable donation to them for taking in the children and getting them off the streets. Not exactly a solution to the whole bandit problem, but these kids will hopefully find a good path like Rakuno did. I should mention, Brin was with us during this. She is such a good friend to have. Funny enough, the inn we checked into was the same she was already staying at, the “Howling Harpy.”

I don’t know if you already knew this, but Brin apparently plays the Shawm. Well there was an open stage, and we all jumped up there to play a small concert to help brighten the mood of all the folk staying there. We had a good time. The owner of the inn was pretty happy as well and gave us the rooms for the night so long as we played some more. I find this bard profession to be a good choice for me.

I miss you Reya. Mom and dad too. I can’t stop thinking about home right now. I… I think I’m going to go see if Brin is still awake and in the mood to maybe talk some more about home. Wish your brother luck.

The goof that is your brother,

Cork

Beetle and the Beast

Heya Reya,

How are you doing, sis? We’re still in Winnowing Reach, but we’re about to head out very soon. I do have another story to tell though as the slime caves wasn’t enough adventure for us here.

When we returned from the slime caves, Kenna marched right passed the guards straight to the Magistrate. I wish I were so brave. We explained what had happened and was rewarded, but then he enticed us with another request.

After Kenna left, he locked us in. I’m not entirely sure what all happened after that, I sort of panicked and my memory is kind of fuzzy here, but he wanted us to hunt down a witch causing trouble with the city. She apparently is seen just before the slimes attack. Some wicked hedge witch of the swamp.

The Magistrate released us with the promise of a letter to get us in to see the council at Alderheart once we bring back the amulet that has the witch’s power. I hope I’m not worrying you because the story gets better.

We’ve asked around town about the slime attacks and what they know of this witch. They were able to share with us many rumors, but no one seems to have actually talked to this lady yet. So we decided to be the ones to get to the bottom of this problem and go confront this person ourselves… together of course. No need to confront the unknown alone. A lesson for you.

We gathered supplies and set out. Fortunately, we picked up the trail of the witch near an area that she was reportedly sighted before. Farah and I found her footsteps, well Farah found, I almost tripped into, but helped locate it nonetheless.

We came cautiously upon a hut out in the swamp, something humble and not looking like a place a witch would dwell. Rakuno braved the porch way to go knock and introduce himself. We were expecting some ugly hag of a hedge to answer and try to swallow our Jerbeen companion, instead it was a very nice well-dressed middle age lady.

Her name is Susan, and she’s been living out here alone because she’s a bit of an introvert and shy’s away from social situations. She lives with this flying beetle that she can talk to named Normal. They’re both absolutely adorable, and I think Spoke is rather smitten with her. They would make a good pair.

Susan served us some Nettle Tea and Cat Tail Scones. I’ll send some leaves for you to try the tea yourself, it’s minty.

After talking with her, we found out she was just gathering components for her spells, specifically one for summoning a fey spirit so she could ask it about a vision she had.

Don’t panic because this is just a vision, but Susan saw a large burning creature that set a great blaze consuming the woods. I’m not sure if I believe in visions, but it was worth helping Susan get the stuff she needs to finish her summon ritual.

We set out to gather frogs, leaves and herbs from a nearby pond. While Spoke and Rakuno found the easy stuff in my opinion, Farah and I decided to get the frogs. These frogs are a lot more cunning than the ones we went after as kids, because I had a heck of a time swimming after them. Farah got one, but I resorted to taunting another to death. Good thing Sycamore was on watch because the little frogs had a much larger frog friend. Being the one in the pond wasn’t the best place for this encounter because the thing almost ate me alive. Sycamore was able to skewer it before it got the chance.

We rested for the night while taking back the ingredients only to hear a call for help in the middle of the night. A Gallus apparently got stuck in quicksand trying to study the habits of slimes at night. I’m not sure what this town’s fascination with slimes are, but it gets them in trouble a lot. We helped the poor stranger out and she gave us an interest gift. Don’t tell mom or dad, but I enclosed it with this letter. It’s a switch-knife hidden in a wooden spoon. Please don’t hurt yourself with it.

Back to Susan, we delivered the giant frog and the leaves and herbs. Putting what she needed into her snail cauldron, she said her incantation, something like “oh great spirit, heed my call.” She was surprised when a red fuzzy beast of a creature came out, but tried to ask her questions.

Unfortunately, whatever the thing was, it wasn’t interested in talking, and instead attacked us, specifically your idiot brother for sitting too close to it. We were able to put an end to the demon before it harmed anyone. Strangely it just fell to ash when we did. Susan suspects it has to do with the burning grove corrupting the spell, that or the giant frog spleen used instead of the normal frogs.

So without answers to this vision, Susan decided the next best thing to do was to apologize to the town. Apparently when she was gathering other components, slimes would approach, and she would run away. This unfortunately lead the slimes close to the town instead. A big misunderstanding by the folks and Susan offered to try and fix anything she could.

On our journey back, Spoke tried to flirt with Susan. It was super adorable and a little awkward, but I could see Susan and Spoke connected a little. Maybe one day they will get together, but she has her work at her shake still, and he needs to help deliver our warning to Alderheart.

As we neared the town though, Susan was getting worried, so your brother decided to cheer everyone up and began playing my pan flute. That supposed amulet of Susan’s was actually an ocarina and she joined in, and Rakuno played too. Had a bit of a parade coming into town. I wish you could see it, many folks cheered us. Spoke was also ready in case some folks weren’t as welcoming to Susan.

We decided to ask Kenna one more favor in dealing with the Magistrate since she has no problem standing up to him. I hope to find someone like that someday.

The Magistrate wasn’t very happy with the results but was convinced it was best for both parties to understand each other and work with one another. He accepted the apology and wrote us the letter. I could see Spoke was ready to give the Magistrate a piece of his mind in case the conversation went south. Luckily, it never came to that.

We also have an ally now in Winnowing Reach, Susan and Normal. They offered to make potions for us at discount if we are in need and have the components. I’ll send you the list as well if you wanted to take interest in alchemy someday.

How’s dad’s business going? Hope you guys stay safe. And Susan was nice enough to give me the recipe to her scones if you would like to try them yourself. They are unbelievably delicious. I’m also sending a gift for mom and dad, some Prickleberry Wine. I hope they enjoy it.

With all my love,
Cork