"Thank you, Georg," Ashlynn said warmly, nodding in acknowledgement as Ollie led her toward the village gate. As much as she wanted to linger for proper greetings, the witchcraft she'd used in the carriage would provide temporary relief at best, and more than anything, she wanted to settle into a comfortable chair by a warm fire with a hot meal. Once she had soaked in the rich, tenacious energy of the forest around the village, she would be better company for everyone who had come to meet her here.
As she walked alongside Ollie, Orava Village spread before them like a memory from another time, a relic of the years when Nyrielle had been forced to reconquer the Vale of Mists after Cellach Lothian's soldiers and the Church's Inquisitors burned most of the Vale's settlements to the ground.
