"Was that really an Epic aethernaut?" Colt says quietly once we're alone again underneath the giant oak tree.

I nod. "Oh yeah, definitely. Though I didn't gauge her to be stronger than Griza or Uncle Hawk's party."

"Probably not so focused on combat or curses," Anise says. "Good reason why she didn't feel like pressing the issue, even if with a boat that fast, she could have been long gone before anyone could do anything about it."

"I, for one, am just glad that's over with," Rowan says.

We emerge from the small forest and cross the barren fields back to Nefern. Colt and Poppy will be sticking around there for the moment. It will soon be time for planting and they're not getting out of pitching in.

"Think we should head for Amroth via skyboat or on foot?" I wonder. "We might not have an Epic problem anymore but we still have a Heroic problem in that the boat's former owner might still be there."

"And you don't know if he had a backdoor installed in his boat," Grandma Kestrel adds. "Some people put in hidden sigils that might let them wrest control of a stolen magic item back."

"I was unaware that was a thing but now I'm even more paranoid," I say.

We decide to head out on foot in the morning. My party is down to me, Anise, Rowan, and Grandma Kestrel at the moment, few enough that we're not likely to attract too much undue attention. It's an easy walk and we arrive at the gates of Amroth in the afternoon.

Uncle Falcon is in the Adventurers' Guild, strumming at a lute in the dining area. His party members aren't anywhere in sight. We go up and join him at a nearby table and get him up to speed on recent events. He packs up his lute and goes to gather his party so they also know what's going on. They're a little put out that they don't get to fight Bee.

"Ah, man, I was hoping for some good experience," Belladonna says.

"Well, we've found some interesting things out in the meantime, at least," Uncle Falcon adds.

Belladonna nods. "With the HOA on the outs and the smugglers in disarray, more people have been willing to whisper about what's been going on around here. Crow Talgarth is far from the only one that's gone missing the past couple decades. An adventuring party doesn't come back and people assume they got eaten by monsters. Or someone tries to speak out or look too deeply into matters and they just disappear. One name keeps coming up suspiciously frequently: Halkyn. Everyone owes them money and everyone under Epic rank is scared of them."

I go over to look at the map on the wall to refresh my Knowledge (Geography). "Halkyn is southwest of the Secret Garden," I muse aloud. "I want to check out the caves west of Splott. The In-Between would be the perfect place to hide things and there are probably more entrances than the two we know about."

Skill increased: Knowledge (Geography)

"That's good thinking, but you really ought to leave it to us," Uncle Falcon says. "This is going to be dangerous, and you're still only Basic rank. If there's an Epic-rank foe, the Daring Edgewalkers should be able to deal with it, but you could be killed instantly."

I grumble a bit. While I can't complain about my family being overprotective and trying to keep me away from things way above my level, I want to see what happens.

Uncle Falcon sighs. "Drake, you have to remember that if Corwen gave you quests like most people get, it would be directing you to things within your level range. You keep getting in way over your head because you have no sense of threat evaluation. You have been fortunate that things haven't been worse for you. Why don't you run some of the Basic-rank quests from the guild board, or head back to Corwen to study?"

I pout like a 9-year-old, but have too much self-respect to actually start whining like a 9-year-old. "I might be able to help with Clairvoyance…"

"I'm going to regret this but I feel like you're going to start creeping around the area anyway if I don't," Uncle Falcon says, folding his arms across his chest. "Fine, if you stay back and if you can convince someone Heroic or higher to focus solely on protecting you. My party will be busy coordinating with each other."

"I'll do it," Grandma Kestrel puts in cheerfully. "I haven't drilled with your party to help out without messing up your coordination unless things really go Void-wards, but I can definitely make sure my grandson comes to no harm."

I leave Grandma Kestrel to catch up with her cousin and go to look out over the edge. I'm not about to visit a town on the edge of the domain and not look out over the edge.

Tiganna's orange light is bright, but more like looking into a light bulb than a sun. I still don't want to look at it directly for too long, especially given how much my eyes are used to the dimmer illumination on Tempest's Topside. I look out over the skymote and watch the flows of aether, the movements of clouds, and try to pick out details from the other domains. My Perception skill is too low to make out much from here, though, and I didn't bring Willow's telescope. I stay there until the skymote turns red, signaling that I should probably go inside and get dinner now.

Skills increased: Enhanced Senses (Celestial Inspiration, Wind Detection), Clairvoyance (Aether Sense), Enhanced Soul (Mystic Inspiration)

I look at the line for my [Aether Sense] skill on my character screen.

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Clairvoyance Aether Sense - level 25

25. Max level for my tier and rank. It's a bittersweet wonder that this is the first skill I maxed out at this stage of my life, and that it will not gain another point until I either reach Elite or turn 14. Hopefully the former first. I want to do real magic already. Or at least turn on my flying boat myself.

We head back down into the caves and stop at Splott Lakeside to ask the goblins for some information about their surroundings, in particular the caves to the west.

"That's Mold territory," says one of the goblins. "Another goblin village. Sneaky, secretive, always act like they're hiding something. Maybe they actually are."

"Any wandering monsters we should look out for?" Uncle Falcon asks.

"Nothing a party of Heroics can't handle easily."

Before heading out to explore, we return to Hebron to let everyone know where we're going and drop off Rowan and Anise. They're not happy about getting left behind but offer no complaints aloud.

"I will accompany you," Griza's creaky, aged voice cuts into the room.

"Griza?" I say.

"Are you sure?" Uncle Falcon says, looking at her dubiously.

"I am Epic rank, so you need not worry about keeping me safe," Griza says. "And I wish to speak with the Molds."

"In that case, welcome aboard."

The group returns Splott Lake and heads west along the lakeshore. [Elder Witch] Griza is not fast-moving, but we are not in a rush and being cautious. As we do, I keep all my senses upon our surroundings, feeding relevant information telepathically to the members of my temporary party.

Once we leave behind Splott Lake, the Underswamps seem to stretch on forever, with twisting tunnels leading us to backtracking several times. After several hours of that, we're forced to find a spot to make camp and rest. We don't want to encounter potentially hostile Molds or Halkyns when we're tired from slogging through a swamp all day.

Sleeping in caves is not especially comfortable. I feel like I need to absorb the concept of softness from some more pillows to make rocks feel like a mattress. Is there an Enhanced Heart (Soft Bedding) skill or something, I wonder?

The next day, we come upon a large, open cavern much like the ones Splott and Grubwick are situated in. A walled village sits against the far edge of the cavern, partially open to the air. Lush fungi ranging from giant purple mushrooms to creeping blue mold cover the entirety of the cavern.

Griza looks to us. "You should remain hidden for now, in case they react poorly to humans—" She pauses to look at the blue-skinned Wizard and the halfling Alchemist. "—and other beings that are not green. I will go ahead and speak with them and find out what I can."

Proper caution is boring, but we nonetheless wait hidden among the mushrooms for Griza to speak with the Molds. Time enough for a lunch break. Fortunately, we don't have to wait for long.

"The people of Mold have had dealings with the human village of Halkyn," Griza says.

"They told you that?" I ask.

"They did not," Griza says. "They told me very little. However, they had an abundance of preserved pumpkin shells they had decorated with carvings. If I remember Milo's resource sheets correctly, Halkyn produces pumpkins. They have either been trading or raiding and I could not determine which."

"Who would have thought they'd like pumpkins so much?" Uncle Falcon says with a chuckle.

"Either way, it indicates that there is likely a surface exit near here," I say. "The Splotts would have noticed if they'd been using theirs."

We search the area thoroughly and, after an hour or so, we do indeed locate an exit to the surface at the end of a tunnel leading up from Mold Cavern. On the surface side, the cave entrance is hidden in a thicket in the middle of a patch of moorland.

You have discovered an entrance to the caverns. Skills increased: Survival (Caving, Careful Step), Enhanced Feet (Mapping Step)

"Hmm, alright, where are we exactly," Uncle Falcon rubs his Riker beard thoughtfully.

Belladonna climbs a tree and looks off at the landscape in each direction. She hops down to the ground lightly in front of us and says, "Looks like we're west of the Secret Garden and north of a village that is probably Halkyn."

"Exactly where we expected to be but it's good to confirm," I say.

We set up camp for the night in the relative concealment of the thicket and consider our next move. At least we're out of the Underswamps. The blue-skinned Wizard and the Alchemist are not very chatty, but at least the latter can make an amazing stew out of whatever is around us. I really ought to figure out what their names are. In fact, don't I have a shiny new skill for exactly that?

I examine the aura of the Heroic halfling Alchemist as he hums to himself while chopping mushrooms. This one is difficult, as I'm used to people named after birds and flowers. He definitely isn't named after a bird or flower. Maybe it's a nonsense name like goblins have. Do halflings here have names like Frodo and Bilbo? Either way, the only thing I'm sure of is that he's not from Tiganna.

I look at the blue-skinned Wizard instead. I don't even know what his species is called and only know that they don't usually live much past ten years. He's from somewhere in Tiganna, but not one of the domains I've analyzed people from. As for his given name, that's easier. He's named after an emotion, and I know emotions.

"Wonder?" I say aloud.

"Yeah?" the Wizard says.

Skills increased: Clairvoyance (Naming, Empathy)

"That's your name?" I ask.

"It is. Why? Is it strange?"

"No, no, I just didn't catch it before and I'm working on my Clairvoyance (Naming) skill," I say. "Got a skill level for that."

Wonder the Wizard chuckles. "Take every level where you can get it."

"Where are you from?" I ask. "I couldn't tell."

"I'm from Hush Domain. You probably haven't met many people from there."

"What's my name?" the halfling says cheekily, looking up from the stew pot.

"No idea," I say. "All I could figure out is that you're not from Tiganna."

"I'm Tosko Kimswert Canton Tyltarel. Halfling names don't usually mean things."

"Let's head back into the caves in the morning," Uncle Falcon says. "We could walk over to Halkyn Village right now and ask some questions but I don't want to tip them off that we're on to them. We're missing something, and there's no way they're hiding the missing people in their village."

"Are we sure they're still alive?" I ask.

Uncle Falcon nods. "Rowan confirmed his Uncle Crow is alive, or at least he was last time Rowan visited Talgarth. There's a missing person from Amroth Hearth as well who is still alive. The other missing adventurers people might not be sure on, with them being mostly foreigners, but the locals can just look on their family tree mural."

"And there was no sign of them in Mold," Griza adds. "The In-Between would be the natural place to keep something out of sight."

"And if they're hiding something, it might not be far from this cave entrance," I say.

"It's worth a look around, definitely," Grandma Kestrel says.

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