Ard Revelle
The next day found Ard and his hired companions at the southern road, where they found the lost Amelia. After a brief round of introductions, they continued further down the road until they came upon the merchant caravan they would be travelling with for the first part of the journey. There were eleven of them, nine of them armed guards. The merchant grandly introduced himself as Ellyrio Dess, head of a supposedly famed silk trade empire than none of them had ever heard of before. He was a portly man, ruddy of complexion and quick to amusement. For a silk merchant, his clothes were surprisingly utilitarian and fitting for the journey ahead. Travelling with him was his wife Chasey, a similarly portly woman short of stature and shorter of conversation.
After a brief reiteration of the deal of their shared journey between Ard and Ellyrio, the party set out towards Fier, the final peak of Tresslehorn eclipsing the horizon to their right. And far off to the left, they could occasionally glance a glimpse of the endless blue of Futher Sea. Every now and then they'd pass through a small woodland, but for the most part it was open plains and low crags. As days went by, the crags grew taller and more treacherous, forcing them further inland towards vast wetlands. Mosquitoes became a daily pest, and thick fog surrounded them at all times bar high noon. Roads of old wooden planks provided a dry route for them and the wagons, but all around dark water festered and trees hung low from the weight of their own existence.
A few days into the wetlands, the wooden road took them close to the crags, which jutted from the swamp water with such severity that one could mark with a quill the exact spot where the swamps ended and the outcroppings began. On the path ahead, an orange light flickered into sight. As it did, the sounds of clanking and wailing could be heard. Looking around would reveal more orange lights on the path behind as well as off to the side in the swamp itself.
Ellyrio quickly called for a halt, and his guards gathered nervously around the wagons. "Will-o'-the-wisps," he said, pointing at the lights. His face was pale, brow damp from sweat. "They've always been quiet, before."
"They are not making the noises," Ard called out, coming up from behind, spear in hand. "Whatever is, however, is coming for us." And indeed, the noises were growing noticeably louder. "Prepare yourselves," he said to the adventurers. "And beware the water."
Sandra Misworth
As Guztav had joked, the path they took the next day was anything but straight. They were only an hour out of Celestia before Sandra had them turn back to pick up something she had forgotten. The misplaced something turned out to be a boy named Robin, who Sandra said was both useful and in debt to her. Setting out again, she guided them down a few wrong turns before getting her head cleared and on track in the early evening. From them on, they were far more direct in their travels, heading north towards Deshold through leagues upon leagues of farmland. They plodded along dirt paths, an old garron keeping pace with a good amount of their supplies.
Eventually the farmland passed behind them, and they entered Weirwren woods, where the filtered sun cast dappled green upon everything below, and stately trees stretched high into the sky. In some places the undergrowth was sparse enough that they could see as far as the shadows allowed, giving them glances of herds of deer far enough way to avoid scaring them off. Everything worked together to create a sense of idyllic tranquility.
Until one morning they were all startled awake by the sound of clapping to find themselves accosted by half a dozen brigands armed with daggers and bows. The clapping came from one of them, who wore a crown of twigs and leaves upon his head. "A good morning to you," he sang, stepping forward. "I hope you found my woods to your liking. The birds have a way with singing you to sleep, don't they?" He gave them all a smile. "Sadly, beauty comes at a cost. It hurts me to say it, it truly does." His expression showed a complete and utter lack of emotional pain. "But as you were all sleeping away in my woods, old Jay - that would be me - has no choice but to take his little fee and fare. The horse should do some good, to start us off."
Felice Saradhan
When those who had spent the night in town returned to the mine entrance, they found Felice waiting in the same spot, as well as several donkeys loitering nearby. As everyone gathered and prepared, Felice coaxed the beasts of burden into the harnesses for the wagons, her mental suggestions combined with a lifetime of domestic taming to more than overcome any potential donkey stubbornness. There were five wagons in one, but only one had a seat or reigns, and it was on that wagon that Felice rode, the other wagons and companions trailing behind.
As the darkness of the caves descending upon them, Felice grabbed three dark iron rods, gilded with silver leaf. One by one, she tapped them against the cave wall, causing them to glow with a steady white light. "Magical torches," she explained as she passed them around. "Expensive, so I only have the three. Be- Don't lost them." Together the three torches resulted in a level of illumination similar to the fledgling beginnings of dawn, though without the pale blue and orange tones real sunlight provided.
Days were something difficult to keep track of in the tunnels, which grew wider but less artificial the further they went. Felice explained that there was a small town of dwarves that they planned on passing through. Many of the locals hadn't been above ground for generations, and would be far paler than more familiar dwarves they might be used to. And sure enough, the dwarves they found at the town were almost translucent, pale blue veins tinting their complexion. The town itself was not a gathering of buildings in some hollowed out cavern, but rather a series of more orderly tunnels with smaller caves forming individual homes.
After moving off to converse with some of the locals, Felice gathered her companions to present some options. "I originally planned to move straight through the main tunnel," she began, "but it seems a colony of giant spiders have taken up residence in there, and the locals haven't managed to kill them off yet. There are- we can avoid them if we take some other, smaller route; but I'm not familiar with any of those, and they're generally left to fall prey to any kind of danger that takes up residence inside." She coughed into her hand, the movement more of a spasm than anything. "They could be empty, or there could be a wurm waiting for it's next meal. I... I'm not sure what to do, so I thought I'd see what you think."