Prologue: To Boldly Go Where People Have Not Been in a Good

He finds himself on a hill at twilight, standing and resting against a scrub tree. When he looks down at himself he finds that he is much taller, his hands more delicate. He is wearing a homespun brown robe made from wool. If Carlos checks his face and ears, he will find the cheek bones high and the ears long like an elf. Even though he moves without issue he cannot escape one important conclusion--he feels old. Right down to the core of his being. It's disconcerting to say the least.

"Qué carajo...?" he mutters to himself.

Footsteps approach. From over the crest of the hill a human woman approaches. She's tall and stocky, dressed in hunting leathers, a strung longbow over one shoulder and a pair of wicked looking hatchets hanging from her belt. Her long, dark brown hair is pulled tight into a bun, showing the massive scar running over her right eye and down to her chin. When she has closed to within quiet speaking distance she says, "Eyton, it's just over the hill. Are you ready?"

Carlos realizes she is talking to him. Though he doesn't recognize her himself he finds that memories come flooding into his consciousness when he focuses the effort to remember. Her name is Holly Fletcher, a ranger, and old friend of the Archdruid Eyton. They, by which he means Holly and Eyton/himself, are in the Old Hills to visit the goblin tribes there. Eyton's Circle have been advising and attempting to convert the goblins over to the Spirit Way, in a rejection of the unnecessary violence of the god of war Bane. When they arrived at their warrens, they found nothing but scared women and children, the men having apparently marched off to war. Curious, Holly and he have been tracking them for the better part of two days.

Carlos nods in ascent and attempts to follow the ranger up the hill. He moves with no problems but notices Holly glancing back with a worried look on her face, whenever she thinks he may not notice. It's slow going but once they crest the hill the valley below comes into view. An avalanche has sealed the valley to the southeast of their position. Clouds of mist hang over the valley but wherever there is a gap the old elf sees the bodies of the dead sometimes alone, sometimes piled up to 5 high. A great battle had taken place there. Looking over to Holly Carlos asks, "We move down?"

"I didn't get far. There's some kind of miasma hanging over the battle. As soon as I started coughing I moved away."

Nodding in acknowledgement Eyton decides to cast a spell. Catching Holly's eye so that they are on the same page, he starts muttering in the language of the Spirits. For her part, the ranger moves behind him, weary of being caught in the coming spell. As Eyton's chanting picks up speed, air gathers in the area in front of him, swirling into a man-sized ball of tornadoes. When he finally unleashes the spell, the air bursts forward like a great twirling lance, spearing it's way through the miasma for miles before pushing the poison clouds away to either side. It's a monstrous display of power, even by the standards of legends Carlos has heard about great magic users.

When he looks back at Holly she is carefully getting up off of the ground while trying to fix her hair. It's been blown loose by the power of the wind. "Maybe warn me next time?"

"Uh... sorry." Eyton is suddenly wracked by a serious coughing fit. It feels like Carlos' heart is beating a mile a minute. Holly rushes up and hands him her waterskin. It's been almost 500 years since Eyton was born and he can feel his body fading. It won't be long now. He's sure of it.

After getting the cough under control he hands back Holly's waterskin. After reattaching it to her belt, they carefully make their way down the side of the hill. At one point Holly is forced to pull out some rope and rig it so she can climb down. Carlos considers changing his shape into a bird and flying down or into a monkey so he can climb down with ease but he remembers the cough and rejects the ideas. Instead, he follows Holly, making his way carefully down the sheer rock wall. The wall is easily three stories tall and climbing back up will be no fun. Holly's face is already crinkled in disgust. Ever since her fall back in her adventuring days she has hated climbing.

When they both reach the bottom, they find themselves among the dead. Winterbole treants, men, elves, and goblins have all died here. There are the expected horrors--stabs, gouges, pulped remains, etc--but by far the worst are those who were blown apart by lightning strikes or poisoned into horrified rigor mortis, each within a pool of what was once their insides. All the bodies show signs of chemical burns from the poisonous miasma.

The landscape is pocked and scorched with lightning strikes, clearly quite a few magic users were involved. Eyton makes an educated guess that the strikes account for almost 20% of the dead. The local flora has also been destroyed due to the nature of the cloud of poison.

Remembering Liam's story about his battle Carlos wonders if druids, any druids, would ever do this but he soon realizes the answers are out there no here. Carlos/Eyton makes his way northwest, a grim Holly in tow, to check for survivors. They walk for 20 minutes, slowly checking the dead, before they make an interesting discovery. The remains of a crushed spiny devil are found under a dead oak treant. Definitely not the work of druids Carlos thinks to himself.

Spiny Devil:

Carlos decides to head further into the valley, abandoning his search for survivors for now. Carlos/Eyton and Holly carefully pick their way among the dead finding more and more spiny devils.

Holly says, "I don't think this was a simple summoning. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a whole legion of these things. What happened here?"

Carlos agrees with her. This battle isn't adding up. There are pockets where goblins were clearly fighting the others but most of the dead on that side have been killed by weapons that left horrible wounds, armor and flesh alike shredded in casual brutality by some unknown third party. Whoever or whatever they were, they didn't leave bodies behind with the rest of the dead but there are hints of their existence in the odd patch of purple or black blood. Whatever the rest were fighting was strong and organized.

Determined to figure out this mystery Carlos/Eyton and Holly push on. They search, and search, and search well into the night...and finally get a lucky break. Carlos/Eyton finds a scimitar of fine make buried underneath two dead elves. The purplish steel of the sword gives off a strange malevolent aura. Eyton sucks in his breath as recognition dawns on him.

"What is it?" Holly asks in trepidation.

"A drow sword. It's a drow sword."

Carlos loses consciousness again.

In progress, just taking a break.

Kathryn is led back to the grove by Eyton, who leaves her right by Carlos' side. She notices that her dwarf companion is sleeping against the trunk of the magical tree, and decides to wake him up by gently shaking his shoulder. "Hey."

Carlos groans a bit, and then blinks a few times. "Ugh.... Kat?"

"Yeah. Time to wake up. We've got baddies to scare off." The dwarf notices that the woman's armor is now clean. There's not even a smidge of blood left on it.

"Actually, I just talked to--" he starts, but the pristine state of Kathryn's armor does catch his eye. "Oy Kathryn, your armor looks brand new."

"Uh? You think so? I cleaned it before I left for the Feywild, that must be why."

"Must'a beensum serious scrubbin' to get it that shiny. Or maybe it's the Feywild doing a thing."

"Really? But my armor has always been like that." She ponders the question for a short moment. "I do clean it very well. So, you getting up? Wasn't it uncomfortable sleeping here?"

"Uh... a bit. But I didn't wanna lie on those beds, so soon after their owners were devoured." He remembers something. He motions for Kat to walk with him as he leaves earshot of the tree, since the pendant is still hanging there. They leave the room altogether before Carlos resumes talking in a hushed voice. "Eyton talked to me in a dream. Said Allinandra can be trusted."

"Uh?" It takes a few seconds for Kathryn to register this new piece of information. "It can do that?"

"Only once every few centuries; it's really hard."

She blinks a few times. "Wait, why didn't it tell Eni instead?"

Carlos shrugs. "I dunno, I’m not a druid. Maybe Liam will know. But if I had to guess..." He taps the handle of his hammer. "For the same reason she's relying on us to set it right. We're the ones that can do something about it."

Hmm, that makes sense I guess." She thinks about the implications of this new knowledge, and then says, "Well, that'll make things easier then. We just gotta take care of those other people, and we can talk to her. Eni will be happy to hear that."

"He said the pendant is now connecting to Allinandra," he continues. "Makes sense, since Nesme left her in charge. She's the one that has to open the roots for us. Eyton suggested we go with the old plan of splitting the party in two. Half goes out the front door, half sneaks through the fFeywild. I'm terrible at sneaking, so I’m going out front. ¿You with me?"

Kathryn's answer is immediate. "Yeah, sure."

"Well, I dunno about Liam, but he'll probably have to guide the others through the Feywild. Jo will probably go with'em. Eyton suggested Hunter - that's obvious - and Zoe..." He trails off as he says her name.

The white-haired woman slightly tilts her head, and asks, "What is it? Something wrong?"

"Do you know if Zoe has some problem with the Feywild?" he asks, as if puzzled by something.

"Uh? No, I don't think so."

"Uh..." He muses, as he runs something in his mind. "She knows more about it than we do, but didn't want to come with us the first time. And earlier, when Hunter started talking about it, she didn't look too comfortable..."

"Earilier? I wouldn't know. I immediately left to move the gnolls in front of the entrance. You can just ask her if you're curious."

"Yeah, I’ll talk to her alone before I spring what I learned on everyone, just in case. Don't want to be puttin'er on the spot and gettin'er in some trouble."

"Okay then. Sounds like a plan." She gives him an encouraging smile, and as if suddenly remembering something, her eyes light up and she asks, "Hey Carlos, you got a crush on Zoe?"

Carlos is flabbergasted by the question. "¿Eh?" He scratches his head, flustered and unsure of how to answer. "I... never really thought about it. ¿Where did that come from?"

Kathryn giggles. "You silly. You totally called her 'cute'. I thought you had a crush on her, but you don't?"

"I did? ¿When did that happ---" he trails off, as he remembers. "Oh." He stays quiet for a moment, not sure what to say. "I never said who I was talking about."

"Seemed pretty clear. You were also getting all worried for her just now." The young woman is amused by the dwarf's attempts to dodge the question.

"I was all worried for you before, when you swore to Eni three times." He counters.

"Yeah, but that wasn't the same thing." She smiles at him, not catching on to what he really means. "I just thought I should tell you since I saw some kind of vision about Zoe."

Carlos tilts his head. "Something bad?"

"Hmm... That depends. I saw it in Eni's well. From what the ghost told me, the well gives visions of the past, and of possible futures. In the vision about Zoe, I saw her with Hunter. They looked... closer than what friends usually are."

Carlos considers for a moment, then just shrugs. "Hmm..."

"If it happens, it happens." He then he turns to Kathryn. "Look at me, Kat. I'm 4'9, am rough around every edge and have a beard you could sow a rug out of. If this is what you consider attractive, I’m flattered. But I know when I’m out of my league. Besides, I hadn't even thought about it until you mentioned that vision just now."

This catches Kathryn off-guard. "So you're really not interested in her that way... Uh. Well, I did see a vision of you too."

Carlos raises an eyebrow.

She slightly leans over Carlos, and observes him closely. "Hmm... I wouldn't have thought you were into tiefling women..."

Carlos blinks a few times. "Are you sure that well is reliable?"

"The ghost said it gave visions of what might happen... so I guess it is. Besides, it's Eni's well. Just be on the lookout for cute tiefling women. The two of you looked happy." She pats him on the shoulder.

Carlos just sighs and shrugs. "Sure.... if the well says it might happen, I’ll just stop keeping an eye out for cute human women altogether."

This subtle compliment seems to go right over Kathryn's head. Still, she seems perplexed. "Wow... So you're not into dwarven women then? Hmm. Well, if you want me to help you get a date with that tiefling lady, I'll help you!" A smile lights up her face, but it slowly disappears after she considers something else. "...I just wish there was a vision about me too. Doesn't look like the person who looks into the well gets to see their own future."

Carlos shrugs again. "I guess I’m not averse, but maybe I’m all the Dwarven I can handle. Taller, skinnier, lighter hair all sound good. Horns, Tail..." He considers. "I dunno... maybe? Never really pictured into my..." He catches himself. "Why are we talking about this again?"

"Because you said Zoe was cute." She laughs. "I guess that's called casual flirting? Anyway, I'll stop bothering you about it. I just thought you should know about the vision I saw."

Carlos sighs. "I wasn't talking about Zoe."

She laughs again. "She's the only cute one we have here. But sure. I'm going to go check on the others."

"Oy, Kat..."

Kathryn nonchalantly walks away, a big smile plastered on her face.

"Kathryn," he repeats, more seriously.

She stops and turns around. "Hmm? What?"

He's flustered all of a sudden, and scratches his head in embarrassment. He glances away as he talks. "When this is over, remind me to look into the well for you. ¿You're curious about it, right?"

Her face immediately lights up, and she can't help but immediately respond. "Thanks!" She turns back towards the bedrooms, and Carlos notices that she now walks with some lightness in her gait.

He stands there for a moment, then goes to find Zoe as planned. He then stops himself in annoyance as he remembers something that just happened, then deflates and resigns himself to the inevitable, and resumes course.

When Carlos and Katheryn enter the bedroom, they find Zoe sitting on her bed, legs tucked under in the lotus position, holding her holy symbol necklace in both hands while muttering her prayers to Avandra.

The two friends share a look, coming to a silent agreement to wait for their cleric to finish her prayers. Kat sits down on the bed while Carlos elects to stand.

After kissing the symbol and putting it back on her neck, the half-elf woman opens her eyes and sees Carlos and Kat waiting for her to finish. "Oh, hello guys. Thanks for waiting for me to finish. What's up?"

Kathryn points to Carlos (it's obvious he wants to talk), and she signals to her she'll wake up Hunter.

Carlos nods then approaches Zoe, "Got some last minute info to go over. Wanna walk with me a bit?"

Looking back and forth between her friends she says, "Sure, why not?"

Carlos leads her out of the room, finally stopping in the meditation room from earlier. "Eyton talked to me in my sleep."

Her head tilts slightly to the right as she considers Carlos' statement. "I'm surprised he could manifest in that way. He truly was as strong as they say."

"It'll be a few centuries before he can do it again, he said."

Zoe sits down on the bench with that realization. "Wow. If that's true whatever he told you must be really important. What did he say?"

Carlos scratches his head in hesitation. "A lot of it is really private. I can understand why he'd take it to his grave. But he did say a lot we needed to know. He vouched for Allinandra."

"He did? Why?"

Carlos takes a breath. "This whole thing? The only one that really died was Dianne. She was the one that let the Gnolls in, and gave her life to sell the deception. The rest of the druids, including the niños, are safe with some Gnomes. It was all a plan between her and Allinandra to overthrow Nesme."

"Wha-? But how? The remains of the children, I gathered them up myself. How can this be?"

Carlos shakes his head. "I dunno that part; he didn't get around to it. Probably only had time to say what needed saying. One thing he did say, is that pendant now connects to Allinandra. We should be able to talk to her before having to expose ourselves."

Zoe shrugs, "So we what, ask her about it? Or tell her we know and are with her? What's the plan here?"

"Well, i'm gonna get on it and say just enough that she knows we know, without alerting anyone else. After that, we split the group like we'd planned, and half go out the front door, half sneak through the Feywild." - then he catches himself, remembering - "Which is what i wanted to talk to you about."

Zoe straightens up, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Oh, right. Yeah, I really shouldn't go there."

"Yeah, i noticed something was up. What's the problem?"

"Oh, well, you know, ha, ha." Her ears turn red in embarrassment, "Kinda got banished."

"¿Eh?" - he sounds flabbergasted - "¿Why?"

"I actually still have family that live there in Astrazalian, the City of Starlight. Maybe you've heard of it?"

He had--it's one of the oldest cities in creation and is home to the oldest and most prestigious mage colleges in the universe. It spends the summer here in the mortal plane and the winter in the Feywild under constant assault by evil fey looking to sack it. It's close enough that the dwarves of Carlos' homeland trade with the city in the summer. It appears on an island in a lake on the Nera side of the mountains.

Carlos scratches his head - "I know what everyone knows, i guess. Big ol' really important city where Mag---" - he catches himself - "Did you study there?"

"Oh no. I'm hopeless at arcane magic. I just spent the summers there visiting my cousins and generally mooching off family."

"Can't be reason enough to banish someone." - he muses

"Nopers. My cousins though, they are the worst. If garbage could be people they'd be burning piles of garbage. Non-eladrin, non-elves are welcome in the city but everyone looks down on them. They'll never really belong you see. But most everyone is too polite about it to let it show. Hells, the goodin's call it out as the bullshit it is. But my cousins--they revel in it. They actively go out of their way to make it worse for everyone else and no one can do anything about it."

"Until, YOU did?"

"Yuppers. They are all socialites and super shallow and their hangers on are the same. It wasn't difficult to bring everything crashing down. A rumor here, a theft there. It was easy."

"Did you mean to get caught?"

Zoe droops a little in defeat. "No. I trusted the wrong person. My uncle told me it was the only mistake I made."

"Sounds like an upstanding guy, your uncle."

"He's...interesting. I call him uncle because that's what he told me to but he's way older than that. He'll live forever unless something happens."

"Well, here's to him." - he tries to lighten the mood - "Anyway, so if you happened to step into the Feywild again..."

"They'd know. My uncle had to place a spell on me when I was banished. It would let everyone know I had broken the rules. After that, who knows? Maybe the Wild Hunt."

"Well.. anyone tries to Hunt you, just call for me Wild Hammer and i'll get to smashing some Feyces."

She blinks for a second and then starts laughing uproariously at the pun. "Oh my goddess, that was magnificent." She can barely breathe.

"Thank you, i had all of two seconds to work on it."

"Two seconds well spent." She hugs him, "Thanks for the thought but if you ever see the Wild Hunt you join in, okay? It's the only way to survive."

"Heh..." - he laughs and returns the hug - "No okay about it, Zoe. I've had shame enough for one life; not about to abandon a friend to a bunch of snob pendejos who would hunt down a young lady as if she were some kind of monster, no matter how high and mighty they think they are. Even if i can only take down one of them, i promise you i'll make the cabrón wish he'd stayed home. Don't make me say it three times now."

"Okay," she says, not really believing him. "So anyway, that's my roundabout story of why I should go out the front with you and Katherine."

He pats her gently - "Yeah, don't worry about it. If all goes anywhere near well, we should be able to avoid a fight with Allinandra. If i need to do a bit more talking, i'll be counting on you to back us up." - he pauses a moment - "If it does come to a head, just stay behind us and keep us on our feet. Hunter and Jo will have the high ground covered, and Liam will probably have to go with them to guide them through, so it's an even split. It'll be fine."

"Okay, sounds like a good plan. What was it like talking to Eyton?"

"Uh?" - it suddenly comes back to him - "At first, i WAS Eyton. I saw some things through his eyes and... well, let's just say there's more to the story of the Harken Druids than most people know."
Kay: "He DID dispel a cloud of miasma over a whole valley with a single spell, that was... something."

"I actually remembered something my mom told me about him a long time ago. She said he was beloved by all the spirits, but most of all by Tree Father. If true that would explain why he continues to manifest as a he for everyone. Elves usually believe forest spirits are women, even if they weren't in their previous life. The elves don't recognize Tree Father as an elder spirit you see."

"¿Huh? ¿Wy is that?"

"They prefer to see them as women I guess. They usually worship Melora, the goddess of nature in his place."

"Heh... for some reason i like him already."

She smiles. "I don't really follow the Spirit Way but a druid I knew back in the day said Tree Father is like that kind grandpa everyone wishes they had. He's the one that bound the people, the animals, and the trees into the first forest, creating the balance of nature itself. I like to think a guy who would do that is all right."

"Sounds alright to me." - he agrees with a chuckle

"I guess we should get on with it then," she rubs her arms. "I wish people didn't want to fight all the time. Do they like being miserable?"

"Nah, they just wanna win. Only half of them ever do, though."

She thinks about what Carlos said but doesn't answer.

"Don't think about it too hard; i'm just a dumb ol' Dwarf." - he pats her gently to lighten her mood - "C'mon, let's go find Liam and get this show on the road."

She nods and stands up, following her friend back to the others.

Kathryn peers at Hunter’s sleepy face, and grins. Her hands grab the man’s blanket, and suddenly take it away. "Rise and shine!"

Hunter groans with irritation, but nevertheless sits up and rubs his temples. "Good--" He almost reflexively says "good morning." "Oh. What's put you in a good mood?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing special." She gives him a big smile. "It's been a few years since I've been able to do that to anyone. The last ones were my siblings." Hunter notices that Kathryn's armor is completely clean. In fact, it looks almost completely new. There's not even a smudge of blood left on it.

"Hmm. And do they enjoy it as much as I do?" he asks. Sarcasm mode engaged.

She giggles. "Yup," she replies before giving him ack his blanket. "Take some time to wake up. We're not really in a hurry right now."

Ah, warm cozy blanket. Hunter wraps it around him and sits up. "You never mentioned your siblings before. How many?"

Realizing they might be here a while, the white-haired woman decides to sit next to Hunter. "Eight. Four brothers and four sisters, all younger than me. I haven't seen them in a long time though..." Her legs start to alternatively move up and down, just like a little kid would do.

"That's a lot. I'll bet you drove your mother crazy."

"Nah. She had me help out around the house. I was like her shield. I'm the one they were driving crazy." She sighs. "I didn't really mind though..."

"Sounds like a good time to me. I would get to visit my uncle on the weekends, and that's it. He taught me everything I know about how being a ranger. Maybe I could introduce you." He gets a wistful look, and then asks, "Who taught you how to fight?"

Kathryn is caught off-guard by this question. A pensive expression softens her face, and she says, "Robert. He's an old man back at Harkenwold, in Nentir Vale. He told children stories about the Nerath Empire, and the Last Legion... I figured he might know how to fight too, so I asked him to train me." She lets out a short laugh. "I had to nag him for a few weeks before he said yes."

"Sounds like your city has a legend walking amongst them and they don't even know it. So, you want to join the Last Legion? Is that why you left your home?"

"Join the Legion?" The simple notion of it makes her laugh. "They would never take someone like me! I'm not cut out for it. But... it would be nice." Her legs stop moving. "That's not why I left though. It's just... Back home, nothing worked for me."

Hunter tilts his head to one side. "Nothing worked? What do you mean?"

Kathryn lowers her head, and falls silent. She says nothing, and looks at her feet for a long moment, before finally saying, "You can't laugh, okay?"

"I promise, I won't laugh." Laugh? 'Nothing worked' in the home where one was raised is a laughing matter?


It takes some effort, but after readying herself for Hunter's reaction, she replies in a whisper, "I never managed to get married..."

He goes completely dead pan for a second. "Marriage? I don't understand. How do you go from that to 'nothing worked'?"

The young woman avoids the gaze of her companion, but nevertheless answers his question. "...I've met at least two dozen suitors in six years, and they were all horrible. People started to talk behind my back. Saying things like... like I was a fussy woman." She pauses. "One of my brothers an sisters got married before me too. So yeah, nothing worked."

"Oh. I'm sorry. No matter where you go, one truth remains immutable: people are jerks. But, compared to homemaking, this life isn't quite the same adventure. Carries a different set of risks and rewards. Out of all the things that came to mind, you chose to pursue a hazardous career in monster-slaying. Why?"

"Why?" She wasn't expecting this question, and she scratches her head while trying to find a satisfying answer. "I'm not sure... Someone asked me if I wanted to work as a guard, and I happened to say yes. It's been one job at a time since then."

Her answer is satisfying, but not in a way one would call conventional. "Honestly, it does kinda make sense that you're only here right now because you don't spare a thought to the risks." "Look, you're good at this" he says, before she can hit him, "you're good at this. I'm grateful for your company, but do you at least know what you want to achieve as a strong warrior? I am concerned if you don't."

This last question is the one that leaves her speechless. At one point, it looks like she'll manage a response, but the only thing she manages to say is, "I... I don't know." She brings her feet up on the bed, puts her arms around her legs and rests her chin between her knees. "I just want to help people."

Hunter's edge dulls to this display. Laying a hand on her back, he says, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't. If you ever figure out what your goal is, I'll help you reach it if you want."

Hunter's touch, even with her armor on, seems to soothe Kathryn. She slowly nods her head, and says, "Thanks. I could use the help. Especially for helping Eni get out of her prison."

"Oh, you'll definitely have my help there. You need my help to end that curse, remember?" He answers smugly.

He manages to put a smile on her face. "Think you can do it alone? That would save us a lot of trouble if you could just sway Eni's heart."

"Heh, that's a tall order. You'll need our help to make it in the Feywild, and even then, her asshole stepfather will probably send us on some doomed quest to complete before he removes the curse, which is our doomed quest." She notices something coming from Hunter at the mention of Eni, but then he comments, "This is very well polished, by the way," as he runs his hand on the smooth metal, trying to see his reflection in it. Hunter is indeed able to see his reflection in the armor; it's like if it has been polished for a parade inspection.

"You think so?" asks Kathryn. "I just cleaned it in the water though, like I always do."

"It looks like you buffed it too! When did you find time to do that?"

"Uh? I didn't. I just rinsed it in the water for like ten minutes. I've never really have to do much more than that. I take good care of it." She pauses to examines Hunter's expression, and asks, "What was that reaction when I mentioned Eni? You got a crush on her?"

He laughs it off and finally gets out of the bed. "...What? Are you still doing that? I'm not one of your girl friends who you used to do your nails with, 'kay fam?"

His dismissive attitude, although casual, is a little jarring for Kathryn, but she doesn't flinch. She gets up from the bed too. "You know, I won't want talk about it if you don't want me to, but I figured that since I told you something embarrassing about me... I thought you might share something too."

His hesitation is palpable, it's like he wants to make a retort, but he stops himself. "Maybe some other day, and maybe for something just as deep, not this 'who do you like' frivolity."

Kathryn gently smiles at Hunter, gives a small nod, and walks up to the young man to hug him. He accepts it, awkwardly, and when she pulls away, she could swear that his cheeks are a little rosier than their natural pigmentation.

"Ooookay, uh, much appreciated." He is trying to effect casual disdain, and kind failing at it. "So anyway, there is something Zoe would like to tell the rest of us. I thought it would be best for us to hear about it together, before we enter the Feywild."

"Oh okay. We should go soon then." Before they leave the room though, she looks at Hunter again, and asks with a warm attitude, "The hug made you feel better?"

"I dont--I wasn't--Yeah, sure." There's confusion in his voice.

She nods again, happy with the answer. "Good. It felt like you needed one." She takes a step towards the door. "Let's go."