Date: Twenty second of June, year 810 Post Seminal War (810 PSW)

Location: Carrion Road, twenty three days to Chedal.

Job Arseoth eyed the tall oak with a careful eye. Backlit by the setting sun, it was certainly thick enough across the trunk, being as broad as his shoulders at that same height, but he needed to be sure of three other things. It could not be cursed or the home of a Dryad as either of these things would prevent Clanea from taking up residence. It also needed to be acceptable to the dryad-to-be in question.

“Well it's certainly large enough for you Clanea. Can you detect any of your kin or kind in the area?”

“Uhmm, I don't think so, but...”

“It's fine, take a bit to check around and look. See if you like this area too while you are at it and I'll check for curses.”

Clanea promptly flounced off to climb a nearby elm tree.

“What in the world prompted you to accept this quest Job?”

Job rolled his eyes, “like I told you before Blue, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

“You know Daughter of Night has been drooling at the thought of eating her for a while now. It's been driving Candle up the walls keeping her in check.”

Job nodded, “yeah, she's all but chewed my ear off telling me about it. Which is why I hope this tree isn't cursed. .”

The oak before Job showed only the faintest traces of magic; wisps of earth, water, light, and life circled its trunk.

“Not cursed. Good. Now if only the little... girl likes the area, we'll be all set. I've even got something that I think might appease Candle.”

“So you didn't take this mission just for charity's sake?”

“I would have if her mother asked politely instead of trying to Charm me. I know how much a helping hand means to the young and vulnerable.”

“And yet you plan on just leaving here here?”

Job rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.

“I've not decided. Clanea has clearly lived in the woods with a Dyrad her entire life, not an easy feat, but she also shows no proficiency with any sort of weapon. Even a dinner knife is clumsy in her hand. I've also not seen her cast any sort of spell, or have a prayer answered, but it may be that she needs to grow into power like that. Why, do you sense something... other about her?”

Blue shrugged indecisively, “She is either a very young dryad or a feytouched child. Either way, she should be fine... so long as Daughter of Night doesn't decide to take a bite.”

Job grimaced, “Candle, would you mind coming over here for a moment? I'd like your advice on something.”

Blue bobbed her head and drifted after Clanea, “good luck.”

Candle dropped from the limb of an elm with a small brown bird in her mouth, “Ptui. Tasty little thing but pesky to catch. You needed something?”

“I needed to offer you an apology of sorts for the past few days. Here, this is yours now.”

Job held out the recurve bow that he had received from Cerusa.

“A dryadwood bow?”

“Given to me by a dryad in exchange for escorting her child.”

“That explains why Daughter of Night was in a playful mood these last few days. A dryad or draydling has a powerful on fey and fey-touched animals like her. But a bow made from the heartwood of a dryad's own tree... that's a rare weapon nowadays. The child in question must be rather important to her.”

“Six days from her coming of age with no viable trees in the mother' terel. The mother tried to Charm, failed, and had to barter.”

Candle nodded, “you bartered well then. And this tree then...?”

Job shrugged as casually as he could, “I'm fairly sure it's clear of curses, dryads, ghosts, and other spirits, but I was wondering if you could cross-check me. Ever sense your rebirth, have you tried opening up your spiritual senses? Kind of like detect magic, but divine instead of arcane.”

“Hmm, I kind of comprehend what you are hinting at. And I am a divine caster now, of a sort at least. Can you demonstrate? Perhaps I can duplicate the spell. We can both fly after all.”

“Sure. .”

Job let his senses stretch out around him, caressing and enveloping the living things in a hundred and twenty foot radius. Most were plants, bugs, spiders, and birds; flickering gray sparks of instinct-driven life. Candle herself was the steady gray flame of a true neutral sentient and Daughter of Night was a slightly smaller beacon of the same. Blue was the iron-gray flame of lawful neutrality while Clanea was a wild, flaring spiral of good and chaos.

“Synnwyr Kul A Vokul. I do indeed see, though this new sense is confusing to me. I can perceive so few beings; yourself and Clanea are clear as sunlight, but Daughter of night and Blue are mere glimmers.”

“I suspect it is because there are so few thinking beings in this stretch of woods, but even the mindless undead would stand out: black flames from the necromantic energy animating their forms.”

“Above us! I sense a cluster of... I can't tell. Oblaan Sillafu. Owls...?”

Job looked up, squinting in the fading light.

“I can't make them out, It's too dark for my eyes. There, in the crown!”

A circle of eight giant owls perched ion the branches of the great oak with another seven chicks the size of a regular owl poking their heads out of various nests.