In the wake of losing his magic, Feyrith struggles to adapt and survive the new and constant onslaught from the feral jungle beasts, trying to keep himself as well as Sunwood alive. Something unnatural has disturbed the beasts and though it's danger...
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"So, you believe the problem is not natural, and it is coming from within the jungle," Ralis summarized what Feyrith had told her once he was done explaining the situation to her. They'd just sat through a town meeting that was meant to replace the one that had been interrupted the day before. It had been decided that one of the new elves would go with the humans to protect them and help them get stone so they could fortify the town, while the other would stay here to defend the town if needed. Just as the meeting had finished and he'd walked outside, Ralis had called him aside to speak to him.
That was good, though. Feyrith had been meaning to talk to her about what he, Arbane, and Lanna had found out, anyway, and there hadn't been much time to talk about it at the meeting itself. If Feyrith had more tangible evidence, perhaps it would have been discussed more closely, but as it was, the humans' primary concern was to make the town as defended against other attacks as possible, which Feyrith could not fault them for in the least—it made perfect sense.
"Strange magical energies have been coming from there as of late," Ralis continued, her eyes narrowed in thought. "But it has not been significant enough to go explore such dangerous territory."
Feyrith's eyes widened a little. That sounded very familiar. "I was sent to investigate strange energies to a ruin south of here."
"You mean where your magic was taken?" Ralis asked, and Feyrith nodded.
There were many different types of magical energies, this didn't have to mean anything, and yet Feyrith couldn't help but connect the two. The more he thought about it the more he was starting to think that those energies had appeared only to lure him in. Surely the elves who had captured him had been planning to do what they'd done. He wasn't sure how Edwyr fit into this, but it seemed odd that they had been ready to take Feyrith's magic like this. Either way, if those energies had been meant to do more than simply get an elf to come investigate, then it still meant that it had been caused by those elves, which meant that this might have been, too.
"I unfortunately know nothing about your mission," Ralis said, letting out a deep breath. It didn't show on her face, but Feyrith could tell she was frustrated by this, and understandably so. If she knew something more about his mission, perhaps some detail Feyrith had not been privy to, it would make their deduction easier. "But if these energies you were sent to investigate were somehow caused by a rogue group of elves, then...."
Feyrith nodded, relieved that she was coming to the same conclusion, though he couldn't help but feel strange about it. It still felt like he was being far too subjective with his deductions. "Even if this is not connected, I do believe the problem is coming from within the jungle. But I have no idea how to traverse it safely in order to discover what it is."
Ralis straightened up, her eyes lighting up with interest. "That is a problem I may have a solution to."
Feyrith blinked at her. He'd not been expecting that in the slightest. "Truly?"
