The Chief didn't ask why Tars wanted to know, he simply began to explain. "Liastra is the Elder Goddess of Travel, Trade, and Diplomacy. She has followers among merchants, adventurers, peacekeepers, and anyone who frequently moves from place to place."
"I see how it would be her map then. I wonder if she made it for herself or if it was maybe for one of her Blessed Ones?" Tars wondered out loud.
Chief Kinton appeared shocked for a moment before shaking his head and pretending nothing happened.
Now that the emergency was handled it was time to get back to his daily quest. First, he would see what else the map had to say, then he would find a fight and possibly help Frint along the way.
One of the symbols that looked promising was a green ring with a line coming from the top of it. It looked somewhat like the slave collar he'd seen on Feerestia the day before. Unlike most symbols, this one would grow brighter then dim, repeatedly flashing. It seemed it was either important or it wouldn't last long.
Tars found Frint and told him they might have found something. Frint's brother, Doster, wanted to come along, curious about the Tamer class and wanting to help his brother. Tars told him it would be up to Paschot to decide, not being strong enough to protect Doster himself.
In the end, Paschot, Reppicio, Frint, Doster, and Tars headed off towards the place marked on the map. Tars brought it along in case anything changed along the way, storing it in a quiver with a scrap of thin leather tied on top to protect it.
The sun was still high, but the winds were increasing, bringing a chill along with it, especially for Tars and Frint, the ones with the lowest Vitality scores. Paschot resumed giving his pointers on being a scout, this time emphasizing how to pay attention to wind direction and to always try to stay downwind while hunting.
He'd heard of people with high level Mind or Wind Magic skills that could help in strange ways, it might be worth looking into if they wanted to become hunters or adventurers. Tars didn't learn any skills from his lessons, but his Mind increased by one, so he was satisfied with his progress so far.
The group paused to check the map and find out if there was anything new to be aware of. So far things seemed calm and the green collar symbol was just a little farther. Paschot pointed in the direction they were walking and said, "I think we're going to that patch of scrubland with the trees in it."
Doster claimed he could see a tree, but the rest of the group had to take Paschot's word for it.
Stowing the Map of Liastra once more, the party headed towards their goal. Frint was getting more and more excited, wanting to dash ahead, fortunately he was able to hold himself back without anyone having to physically stop him. It turned out for the best, because only a minute later Frint paused as he looked in all directions.
Paschot called a halt, having seen this a few times before. A minute later Frint told the group he'd learned a new skill called "Eagle Eye."
Paschot nodded, having expected it. "Eagle Eye is a common skill for Rogues and Archers and sometimes War Wizards who focus on either scouting or long-distance combat," he told the group. "It is the first requirement before a person can learn several other vision-based skills, so keep practicing it."
Nothing else happened over the next fifteen minutes until the group arrived at what seemed to be a barrier made of bushes that were slightly healthier and more riddled with thorns than the other scattered scrub. Two trees were on the other side of the seven-foot-tall wall of bushes, both of them a vibrant green with no sign of the harvest season's colors.
Doster put a calming hand on Frint's shoulder as a reminder to be still. Frint just nodded without looking away from the bushes.
"Wait here, I'll see if there is a way inside," Paschot said before disappearing from view. Tars looked around and gained another point to his Mind stat when he saw some of the grass moving in a way that the wind shouldn't have been moving it.
While they waited for Paschot to return they quietly pulled out the map. Their blue 'Hooded Face' symbol was now right beside the collar, so this was definitely the right place.
Paschot returned suddenly in the midst of the group, startling everybody. Other than twitching from most and Reppicio moving his hand to the axe at his waist faster than Tars' eyes could follow, no one reacted too poorly.
With a thin smile, the Rogue told them what he saw. "It's bigger than I expected, a full circle as big as Immica's marketplace." Tars never got to see how big Immica was, but he'd learn soon, so it didn't matter. "The whole area is enclosed, definitely done by magic, in case the unnatural amount of Nature Magic didn't give it away."
Tars would have to ask about Nature Magic now too, another item for his growing list of questions. This one seemed like a good question for Feerestia later.
"I'll make my way inside, then you two," Paschot gestured to Doster and Reppicio, "will need to toss the others over then catch them on the other side."
After a brief discussion, where there was a small argument over just cutting their way in, the Ironbark Splitter and his Lumberjack employee, which Tars hadn't known until that moment, agreed.
Doster went first, with Reppicio bracing himself and then launching the Lumberjack over. There was a thump that was louder than anyone wanted, but still quieter than using an axe on the bushes. Frint went next using Reppicio's hands to boost himself over like Doster did. His landing made much less noise, presumably because Doster caught him on the other side.
Tars went next, throwing his sword and the quiver encased map first, before dashing and leaping over himself. His instincts tingled for a moment as he leapt from the clasped fingers of Reppicio's hands, but the feeling faded before Tars could understand what it meant.
He was momentarily distracted and barely kept from kicking Doster as he came down on the other side. Once Tars landed, he moved aside and waited to see how Reppicio would get over. It turned out, the Ironbark Splitter had enough strength to simply leap over the bushes. 'Or perhaps some type of jumping skill?' Tars felt that he really needed to get that list of basic skills to see what he already knew, and his instincts could help him reacquire.
Tars put his sword belt and quiver back into position before taking a look at his surroundings.
The area was a lush green with many types of flowers growing beside one another in more colors than Tars had seen since his reawakening.
There was a small hill upon which one of the trees grew and the second tree was at the base of that hill. A small pond of clear water lay near the second tree. There were some reeds poking out of the water and some flowers seeming to float along the top, as well.
Paschot hissed quietly from near the wall of bushes to get their attention. "It is safe enough to approach, Frint should do the rest on his own." Before Doster could argue the Rogue interrupted him, "Don't worry, I will stay close, but he should be safe. As long as he doesn't try to eat the Red Mesha Berries over there," he said while pointing at a bush of berries so bright they almost glowed.
Frint had an insulted look on his face, but Tars was left confused again. "Can one of you explain what those berries do to Tars," he asked when he saw Tars lack of comprehension.
While Frint started slowly sneaking towards the pool, Reppicio explained that the Mesha Berries, especially the red ones, are poisonous. "When they are a yellowish green, the berries cause stomach pain and lead to you spending a whole lot of time squatin' over a pot, get what I'm sayin'? When they are ripe, like those are, they can make you sick enough that an unclassed or someone who hasn't spent much in Vitality could die from it."
Reppicio mentioned a couple more types of plants to avoid before they saw Frint coming out of a hole in the hill carrying a small deer. The deer looked a bit panicked but wasn't attacking the Archer.
"Ohh, that would explain it!" Reppicio said in a slightly more normal volume. "That is a Leaf Covered Deer. I thought there was some kind of Life Mana treasure here."
This young deer was about the same size as the normal tier zero version of a deer. It had a ring of bright green leaves encircling the neck as if it were wearing a necklace of leaves. On its feet there were also a group of leaves covering each hoof. Some of the leaves had little buds on them that would soon grow into flowers, but Tars didn't know when that would be or what the flowers might look like.
Frint slowly approached the group, pausing once in a while when the deer would get spooked by the new smells. Reppicio went to a nearby plant and started plucking leaves from it.
"We'll be here all day waiting for it to get used to us. Maybe feeding it a little will help," the large Ironbark Splitter said, handing some of the leaves to Frint.
It only took a few tries before the deer ate the leaves from Frint's hand. Once it did Frint had a huge smile on his face. He backed up a couple steps and set the young deer down.
Then he placed a hand on its head and Tars' Mana Sense felt Frint's mana pooling in his palm. Then with a small flash of light, the deer blinked before becoming much less wary of the group.
"It worked!" Frint exclaimed, "I have a tamed pet!"
"Those Leaf Covered Deer are good with Nature Magic, this must have been the mother's doing," Reppicio said to Frint while looking around at the lush surroundings. "They're supposed to be very protective of their young, so something must have happened."
The group made their way out, with the deer surprising everyone by just walking through the bushes unharmed. Everyone else had to leap over the way they had come in.
"Let's go back," Paschot said, reappearing a little bit away to keep from scaring the deer. They began walking the way they had come for a few minutes before stopping to check the map again.
Not far from the Hooded Face symbol was a green wolf head symbol slowly approaching.
"Something found our trail," Paschot said. "Probably tracking our scent." He looked at the group for a brief moment before making a decision. "We'll leave the path we made a bit and try to go around them. Once we see what they are we'll decide what to do."
Tars tightened his hand along the hilt of his sword, nervous for his first fight.