Towering trees surrounded the narrow path on which Elowen found herself. After walking for so long, everything was beginning to look the same, and it was quite… dull. The young dryad stared blankly ahead of her, hoping for any sign of, well, anything to happen. She knew that eventually the forest would thin out, giving way to civilization and new opportunities, but until then, she'd just have to put up with her boring situation. As she paused to rest for a moment, she blearily observed the forest around her, noting that the patches of light that had been shining through in parts of the canopy had darkened, meaning it would be night soon. 

Elowen sighed exasperatedly, blowing a tuft of her green hair out of her face. Briefly, she took a moment to smooth out her long locks and adjust the strange new clothing that the sorcerer had given her; unfortunately, they didn't seem to fit. She still didn't understand why others insisted on covering certain parts of themselves, but she had not been able to question the sorcerer thoroughly about it. Perhaps this would be one of the things she could learn about once she reached a town. The thought of it was nice, so she added the strange clothing to her list of things to learn about. Once Wen had recollected herself, she set out once more along the path, with newfound curiosity driving her forward.

Her brisk walk came to an abrupt end when she– quite literally– stumbled upon a small campsite. Honestly, Elowen had not even noticed the giant log in her way because she was too focused on what was farther away. She let out a frightened yelp as she tripped and fell ungracefully onto her face, then proceeded to curl into a ball until she was no longer sore. When she felt like she was going to be alright, Wen sat up and studied herself. Her pale hand was stained with red, but she looked to be otherwise alright, though she could feel a bright green bruise forming on her left cheek.

With a sigh, she glanced up to observe the small campsite she'd landed in. It didn't seem big enough for more than one person, but she could have been wrong. After all, she really didn't know anything about other species and their needs other than what she'd heard from stories. Wen remained on the ground, her exhaustion finally catching up with her. "Whose camp is this?" she asked softly, unsure of whether or not she should expect a response, yet feeling the need to ask anyways.

Evening was beginning to fade. The two moons of were making an appearance in the sky and so were the brightest stars of the night sky against the dark purple sky. Serci was glad he decided to make a camp before it grew to dark. He had left his camp site unattended as he had set to go out and find some fire wood for the night. A pot of stew was cooking over an open fire, by the time he returned it should be warm and ready to eat. Retracing his steps through the tall trees and he saw his clearing in the distance, the light of the fire dancing in the air. As he returned, he placed down the wood he had gathered next to his tent, oblivious to the stranger in his campsite. Throwing some wood in the fire, he tasted the stew with a ladle, satisfied with the result. He turned around to see the newest addition to his campsite. A pale green Dryad who was kneeling over a log. He let out a soft chuckle and spoke out friendly to the stranger.

"Careful, where you step friend. That goes with out saying for the whole forest." He gave a warm smile and continued speaking. "It's odd seeing a Dryad, though. I consider it's quite normal in these parts. I must be the odd one out." He adjusted his grey white robes, tightening the cape around his neck.

"I am no stranger friend. My name is Serci. I have some stew boiling, if you would like some. And I have some wine in my tent, if you wish. Feel free to take a breather. It's probably the safest spot in the forest for a couple of miles."

Elowen took a moment to study the camp's creator. Assuming he was a man (she couldn't be sure, since she'd only met a single human prior to this), he lacked the same build that she would have expected human men to typically have. She made a mental note of that. Carefully, she used the log to push herself up off the ground, balancing herself on the slick moss surrounding it. By the time she had fully regained her composure, a huge grin had spread across Wen's face.

"Hello, Serci!" she greeted, quickly approaching him. "I'm Elowen. No wonder you haven't seen many Dryads near here, since not many of us like to venture far from home. Oh, but I'm going… somewhere, I guess." Elowen was now closer to Serci than was considered a normal distance between two people. She began picking at his cape and feeling different parts of his clothing.

"My food comes from light," she stated while she stared at a stain on his sleeve, "so I'm afraid your food would be of little use to me. Thank you, though. I think I will take you up on your offer to stay here for the night. I have so many questions! What's wine?" The words fumbled out of her mouth so fast that she hoped he could understand her.

He let out a chuckle as Elowen began poking at his clothes. He didn't mind, his sense of personal space was all but destroyed when he had met the goddess of death. He opened his arms so she could get an easier angle at the sides of his clothes. "Well, Elowen. I don't mind you trying out social customs on me, but I feel incline to warn you most people don't take too kind as you pick on their clothing." He escaped into his tent and returned with a rolled up tarp and placed it on the side of tent. "You can take tarp and wrap it around your self when you are ready to sleep, Elowen. Here, out in the woods, I appreciate the company of kind stranger." He eloquently said, as he poured his self a bowl of the rabbit stew.

He showed surprise at the his new green friend when she asked what wine was. He dug at his side until pulled a canteen from his belt and handed it to Elowen. "What is wine?" He mocked, " I am sure you know if it, It may be called something different in your race. We humans take grapes and let them ferment from time. It is then grinded and mixed in with other ingredients to provide a delectable drink. This particular one, hand made by the goddess of Life and Earth." He gently smiled urging her to drink from it. "I must warn you though, take a small sip. Too much and it could give you headache the next morning." He sat down on the log and began to eat from his stew, savoring the meat he had cooked. "Do you know of the gods? The wine is from Angela. The goddess of Life and Earth. You Dryads are connected to the earth, am I right? It might pay off if you decide to visit her. She is very kind and motherly." He took a sip of the stew, talking through the broth. "I am her champion, by the way." Swallowing the scalding liquid.

"I will be glad to answer any more of your questions, Elowen.

She could feel her cheeks flush in embarrassment when Serci informed her that poking around at strangers was rude. Dryads cared very little about personal space and often took someone prodding and studying them as a form of flattery. While he was gone for a moment to his tent, Elowen fiddled with her hair, picking out twigs and other things that had found themselves nested in her green locks. Her eyes flicked over to where he poured himself something from the pot over the fire. "Fascinating," she mused quietly, forgetting about her mess of hair in favor of watching him go about his business. "Thank you for your hospitality. I must admit, it is nice to have someone to talk to."

Recoiling slightly at his mocking tone, Elowen decided to just laugh at his statement; he was probably making a joke of some kind. She breathed in the smell of the liquid coming from the container, and she thought it smelled familiar. Other Dryads had probably drank some around her before, but Wen could not recall if they had ever explicitly told her what exactly it was. "Well, I've never tasted it," she admitted nonchalantly, "but I'm sure my people have a word for it." The girl only hesitated a moment before taking a small sip of wine. It tasted strangely sweet and bitter at the same time. Although she hated to seem rude, Elowen couldn't keep a cough from escaping her throat. Chuckling nervously, she tried changing the subject.

"From the goddess Angela, you say? My people are dedicated to her. We call her Gaia, though," she explained. "She is the goddess responsible for our very existence…" A wistful look crossed her face, and she found herself remembering an old temple where she and the other Dryads would go to praise her. Elowen shook her head, not dwelling on the past. She would find a new temple wherever she ended up, and in the meantime, she would find a way to give Angela proper respect with what she had. "Never in my life have I dreamed of visiting her! I've always considered it a goal out of reach, but perhaps it would be nice to have a journey with a purpose. And I trust you, champion of Life and Earth." Wen beamed at him, her new goal in mind.

Serci let out a light laugh at his new friend. He poked and proded at the fire before going into his tent and pulling out a map. He walked back over to his sitting log and unfurled the parchment, patting on the log, inviting her to take a look at the map. He pointed to a cluster of trees and looked up at curious green face. "This is where we are now, If you want, you could go see Angela, I'm sure you will learn much from her. However, if you are looking for something with nothing in mind, I suggest visiting Adeluna, the biggest city here in Canelux." He paused, straitening out the map and continued speaking. "If you continue traveling they way you were going you would find your self at the Bohar Plains. The route is safer, but much more time consuming. If you don't mind a little danger, going through the ancient ruins in the to south will cut out much more time. Then it's only a day's journey to Adeluna. But it is up to you for you to decide, my friend."

"However, the people there are quite touchy about personal space, so I wouldn't go prodding people." He said with a soft laugh, a warming smile on his face. "There are ambassadors from all over, maybe you could even find a fellow Dryad that would be willing to help you out with housing?" He took a minute to retrieve the wine and take a long swig of it, favoring the nutty tones of it. "However, if you are to find you're self in Angela's domain, we would be sure to meet again, my friend. I'm sure, whatever you decide doing, you will find happiness in it, at least. He took a moment  finish his bowl and placing to the side.

"Tell me more about what you know of social customs. I will be glad to prep you, of course. Your sleeping bag is by the tent whenever you feel the need to drift off."

Elowen listened intently to Serci's detailed instructions on how to get to certain places, her golden eyes darting from place to place on the wide map. She seated herself next to him on the bench, leaning closer to the map to view each area. Even though she'd heard other Dryads speak of the vastness of Canelux, she still hadn't expected it to be so big. The prospect of exploring it was both overwhelming and incredibly enticing. For now, however, she would start with visiting Gaia, or Angela, as others knew her. It was comforting to know that she might cross paths with Serci again. "Where do I find Angela? Is she nice? How should I act around her?" Wen paused and shook her head. "Silly question, I should obviously treat her with respect."

 Tilting her head to the side, she attempted to sort out her thoughts, so that she knew what she wanted to say before the words came out. Her gaze floated over to the sleeping bag with which Serci had provided her. Although the thought of sleep was tempting, there were too many other things she wanted to know about. For instance, the fact that she hadn't even considered having to rest in a house or find shelter, since the canopy of the forest would no longer shield her from the harsh elements. "I don't know the proper etiquette for a guest in someone's home," Elowen stated. "I don't want to appear rude. How much will I pay them? Where am I allowed to–" She paused. The thought occurred to her that Serci hadn't asked nearly as much as she had. "Will people think I act strange for asking so many questions?" Wen muttered quietly, undecided on whether she truly wanted to ask him or not. She glanced up at him to see if he had heard her or not.