When Tric leaves Wesmere Forest, it is with his cousin, his brother, and several presents for his dad. In addition to the aspen dowsing rod, he also has a pouch containing some of Anador’s jewelry. Cleomithir had offered Tric his pick of the amethyst-studded pieces—though not Anador’s circlet, as that was lost when he died. Tric has no real interest in jewelry himself, but he took a few finely crafted pieces to give to Nasir. They have no keepsakes of Anador in their home, probably due to Penna’s machinations. Tric feels Nasir would appreciate both the workelfship of this selection and the memories the pieces will invoke. However their relationship stood at the time of Anador’s death, it is clear to Tric that Nasir still loves him.
Ash leads Tric and Heppa northeast out of Wesmere and into the Heart Mountains, giving them an opportunity to see lands new to them. Wesnoth technically stops at the Great River, but they know from Knots and the Beard that there are human settlements in the lowlands just north of it that some consider to be contenders for joining the kingdom. Ash’s route will likely take them even further north than that, through the mountainous wilds, possibly even territories associated with the Northern Alliance he has mentioned. Glammur spoke highly of the halls of Knalga, but whether the elves will get a view of them along this route remains an open question.
Butterbell is also along on this journey, of course, laden with Gaenyn’s sword, Heppa’s alchemy materials, and various foodstuffs. The land gets hillier as the group travels, and Ash does not slow his pace for his relatives or their pony. He does leave blazes as he goes, so that they can keep to the trail he has made even when they fall behind. And Tric and Heppa do dawdle. There are good natural springs in these piney hills, so Tric takes some time to look in the moist earth for more dwarvish fly. He is rewarded with a fine specimen, which he adds to his reserves.
For her part, Heppa gathers some herbs to replenish her poultice pouch. Distracted as she is by the different plants that grow here compared to back home, she forgets about keeping an eye on Butterbell. A sudden panicked whinny draws her attention, and Heppa looks up to see that the pony has gotten too close to a rocky edge while snacking on the local vegetation. The ground is giving way under her. Heppa rushes over and makes the split-second choice of saving her pony at the cost of their supplies. She cuts the pack loose, and it tumbles down the ravine side. “I’m so sorry!” Heppa apologizes to Butterbell as she tugs the reins to urge her forward. The pony is now light enough to clamber back onto solid ground.
With Butterbell safe, Heppa looks over the edge. Her things are not strewn all over the steep hill, but the pack has fallen quite far. She pulls out the thorny wand from Grandmother Quaemilya and channels fae energy through it to move the plants down there, hoping that the brambles can pass her luggage back up the hillside. The pack which Butterbell has been transporting is too heavy for sticks and vines, though. They move around the gear, but they bend and snap under its weight, unable to budge it. “Aw, moss below!” Heppa mutters.
Tric joins Heppa where she is looking over the edge and sees their supplies below. She laments that they have no rope, and he points out, “You don’t need a rope, you have vines. They’re everywhere. Just nudge them into better handholds.” He offers Mate to spot holds for her if she wants to climb down the ivy she currently has ensorcelled. In exchange, he will keep an eye on her pony to prevent any further mishaps. “Don’t worry, Mate’s well-motivated to help you. His peanuts are in those saddlebags.”
The climb is not a quiet affair. Heppa gets safely down to the ravine floor, but she lets out a yelp or two on the way down, frightened by a few close calls. When she reaches their supplies and hefts them, she finds that there is a new problem. “I don’t think I can climb back up with the bag!” Heppa shouts up to her cousin. Based on the views of the landscape she got earlier, she is confident this ravine snakes up to near the level where Tric is. She tells him she will meet him at that point, and they continue their animal trade. Mate will maintain a watch on Heppa, letting Tric know if there are any problems—like missing peanuts—and Tric will urge Butterbell forward with snacks.
Heppa quickly whips together a travois to help her drag the pack and begins moving up the gradual incline. Along the way, she sees a small cave entrance in the side of the ravine, and her curiosity gets the better of her. We can spare the time. Mate’s keeping me and Tric in contact. Ash is probably building camp already. It’s not dark yet. “One moment!” she shouts up the ravine to where Tric and Butterbell are pacing her. Leaving the travois out in the open, Heppa ducks into the small space. As she looks around, she begins to feel a little queasy. It is not really a physical sensation of nausea; rather, something is tingling unpleasantly on her sense of the fae currents, that awareness that Ruthiel taught her and Tric how to better listen to. I should have been practicing more! she admonishes herself. But despite the funny feeling, she continues poking around.
In the back, there is a crack too small for an elf that goes deeper into the hillside. Near it is a loose pile of rocks that Heppa checks behind. There she sees elegantly elongated mushroom caps, deep black in color and with a velvety appearance. She has only seen illustrations of this mushroom in this form; Kachen’s supply was all dried. Here before her now is a small grove of fresh dapper inkcap. I could be breathing in spores right now! Heppa realizes. No wonder I don’t feel well! She fishes out the traditional Dunefolk scarf that she bought in Dan’Tonk and wraps it around her nose and mouth for some protection. Her alchemical supplies are out on the travois, so she steps out of the cave to root through them for a suitable pouch, something that she can properly close to protect both the mushrooms and the elves near them. This trove is an amazing find. There is enough here to make a new supply of medicine for Kachen, but also to maybe pay off her debt to Alric. Both Damal and Rhaessa at the South Tower House of Light make potions for which this is an ingredient; she could potentially sell some of these to either of them. Or I could keep some for experimentation… Fenowin might think it is too dangerous, but if Heppa is going to really continue that line of research, having the mushroom on hand is important. Heppa has already done a little work on adapting Fenowin’s ideas, but until she has a chance to try out her new powder on undead, it is all theoretical.
Heppa leaves her prize outside of the cave with her other alchemical materials and then goes back inside one more time. She can see well enough with her eyes what the natural environment is that the dapper inkcap likes for growing, but she wonders whether there is anything deeper at work here. She tries to quiet herself enough to sense for corruption here. It is an unsettling experience; she cannot push beyond the initial queasiness she felt when she first came in. Whether that is from the spores themselves or something more sinister remains unclear. When Heppa steps out of the cave, though, she feels better. Maybe it is the satisfaction of finding and harvesting dapper inkcap all on her own, a valuable learning experience. Or maybe it is just stepping away from an area of intense corruption.