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"Hey." You're not sure how you're supposed to greet a giant tree-man. "Sorry, we didn't see you there."
"<span class="mu-s">You did not,</span>" the spirit confirms. "<span class="mu-s">You should respect your elders.</span>" Oh. Maybe the more casual approach wasn't the right one, but at least the robed colossus doesn't seem too offended. A simple bow from each of you is enough to satisfy it. "<span class="mu-s">I am a Child of Black Birch. You are lost.</span>"
"Not exactly," you reply. After all, you've got some idea of where you are, even in this distorted reflection of the material world. "I'm Sam. That's Isaiah, Marley, Ella and Alex. We're just looking for a spirit that might give us some essence. It's for a ritual that our den mother is planning." You feel a little awkward when the giant remains silent and just stares down at you with those radiant eyes. "So uh, how would you feel about giving us some? If you wouldn't mind, that is."
"<span class="mu-s">I could. You will help me first.</span>"
"Sure." Once again, silence reigns as the hooded giant just stares down at you. "So, what's this problem that you need help with?"
"<span class="mu-s">Beavers.</span>"
"Beavers?"
"<span class="mu-s">Yes. Beavers. They maim my children. I want them to stop. You will stop them. I will give you my essence when you do.</span>"
"We'll see what we can do," you reply. The spirit continues to stare down at you without saying a word. "Could you tell us what direction they're in?" More silence. "I guess they're somewhere by the river then."
"<span class="mu-s">Yes.</span>"
"Great, thanks." You offer another awkward bow before you lead the others away from the spirit, in the direction that you believe the river to be in.
"That was smooth," Marley remarks drily.
"Shut up. At least we've got an objective now. Find some beavers and stop them from harming birch trees, I guess. If we do that, we get the ephemera we're after and Harrower can perform this right of hers."
"Wait a second," Alex interjects as she stops in her tracks. "Aren't we doing this because we don't want to fuck with nature? It's totally natural for beavers to eat bark and build dams and whatever. We'll still be screwing with the ecosystem if we scare them off."
"I mean, let's look at it from a spiritual perspective. Tool-using and structure-making animals like beavers are at least a little connected to the Weaver. If we get rid of them, we might be pushing the caern even closer to the Wyld than it already is." You can sort of see where Marley is coming from with this.
"Aren't beavers really important to their habitat?" Despite Alex's earlier comment about not wanting to have to debate every time a decision needs to be made, she seems pretty interested in having one now. "We might end up doing way more damage than we think. Besides, we're supposed to be protectors of the balance, we can't just tip it even further in the Wyld's favour just because he's on our side right now!"
