Having found that Gremlins had turned from a friend into something far more, my time in the Lok'Groton islands became far more pleasant.  Now, no matter what else was happening, I knew my dear zo and I would hunt together, whether in a group or just us two.  Who would have imagined that hunting in the Arachnoid caves would seem romantic, but so it was.  I became strong enough that we could go without a healer.  When I needed to rest and recover, letting my training with Master Troilus serve me, we could curl up together until I felt ready to continue.

But though romantic connections sometimes lead people to set themselves apart, I found that in fact we spent more time organizing small group hunts than ever.  With Gremlins willing to lend his strength to support us, or able to call his brother Garonor to assist with healing now and then, we were able to then take other younger exiles to the Wetlands or Melabrion's Isle, and other similarly challenging places.

I was also able to hunt more often with my good friend, Geo.  As one who is sometimes impatient, Geo hunted in groups less often than some and since I am not yet strong enough to hunt many places without a healer at least, it was often a challenge to find ways of hunting together.  But my dear Grems and Geo get along well, and the three of us can hunt, or gather a couple more people fairly easily, to form a party.  Sometimes Garonor will join in his brother's stead, or Geo will call our clanmate Geraldus out from the library to provide healing.  But often, with the three of us as the core, we can collect others to join without imposing on relatives.

Eventually Geo invited me to join his clan, the Zouclougeist Alliance.  I had been hoping to join for some time, but that is the subject deserving an entry all its own.

All of these changes much improved my life in Puddleby immeasurably.  Now my only dissatisfaction is that other cares prevent me from hunting more than a few times a month, far less than I wish.

The months seemed to go by so quickly when I was younger and hunting all the time.  I couldn't get enough of the Mushroom Hut, and often went there with D'Ead, Zorglub, and a range of others who were will to brave the flying acid. More and more often, Gremlins would oblige us by coming along to finish off the toughest creatures quickly, so that we would not be overwhelmed.  He was also very willing to go with me as part of a hunting party to the Lily Pond, and when I grew strong enough, to the nearby Wetlands as well. Though we did not always hunt together, I found I missed him when he was absent.

Though previously our hunting times overlapped by chance, we began more and more to hunt together, and to spend time talking even when not hunting.  At first I was my usual teasing self, but as time went on, our friendship expanded into something more.  When other demands prevented me from hunting very often, Gremlins made sure to be there when I did have time, and often accompanied my to places that were little challenge for him, because he thought they would be pleasant and fruitful for me.

One evening, after we each had fortified our nerves with beer, we talked about what we were doing and what we each wanted. Happily, it turned out that we each wanted the other. :)

As I grew in strength an experience, I soon felt that hunting was not enough.  I longed for companionship.  I reached out to many exiles for friendship.  Most were warm and forth coming and for awhile I hunted regularly with some of them, like Guinness and Largo, and of course with Geo.  

A certain playfulness characterized my hunts with Guinness, and we often exchanged quips and ribbed one another. But one can't predict the vagaries of fate, and he and some of my other regular partners went off on long journeys, or into seclusion for reasons of their own.  Some days I wandered the fields and forests alone, hunting until I was too weak to do more than stagger back to town where Stora would faithfully heal me. I did not hold this against anyone; I too sometimes have been forced to set aside my hunting when other cares demanded my attention. And As I grew more experienced and stronger, I could nearly always find a hunt to join.

But still I felt something was missing.

During my first months and years as an exile, I met many many people,  and some I knew were important from the start.

My good friend Kalypso had told me I could rely on Geotzou for help and advice, and from the start I found that to be so.  Geo offered me a lot of information about planting 'zu walls to help in difficult hunting situations; how to tag difficult creatures more efficiently and safely; and about numerous other strategic questions.  I also realized quite early that he was one with whom I liked hunting; now we are clanmates.

In retrospect, other incidents that at the time appeared small, take on far greater significance; leading to less predictable, but still happy ends. Not so long after I landed on these shores, but long enough after that my range of hunting grounds was expanding, I now and then began running into Gremlins: a Zo ranger well-known for his fondness for spiders and his abilities to befriend them, and even take on many of their forms. We were very casual acquaintances at first, but then one day in Soldi, Spring 579, he spent some time with me showing me all of the morphs he had studied over the years, and telling me about the abilities the creatures had in the wild.  It was educational of course, but also very indulgent of him to spend his spirit entertaining a young fen who barely knew spiders from arachnoids.  He even brought some into town and fed them rats and slugs for my amusement. 

After that day we began to hunt together more often, and to chat even when not actively hunting. Some advised me to beware of powerful fighters who appeared to enjoy my company, warning that they only wished to gain the spiritual benefits that come with sharing experiences with young and vigorous fighters.  I know this may have been the case with some fighters I hunted with in the early days, and I did not begrudge it.  But Gremlins was different and I somehow saw that early on.

My first hunts were to places that now seem so mild, but when I was younger, were challenging, even fearful for me.  One such was the Undine hut.  I spent many hunts there with D'Ead and Fafnir, Lamprey and various others, learning to bash the walking dead.  On one of my first hunts there, I saw that one could adopt the form of the shambling attackers by brushing against the Wraith deep inside the underground cavern. But as I did this, I stumbled into a dark place, was quickly overborne by unseen attackers, and fell.

Natas came to save me that day. I was so impress that he could just wade into the dark, ignoring whatever was lurking there, catch me up on his chain and drag me out to be healed.  The cave was suddenly illuminated after he arrived... I thought he had done it, but he said not.  My eyes were so dazzled by the sudden light that I scarce can describe what I saw, or even recall it.  :P

From the Undine Hut I branched out to the beaches, the forests, and eventually to 'Noids.  These became my regular grounds for some time, but now and then I would enjoy the treat of being taken somewhere far more dangerous.

I recall one day, we heard a new area had been discovered, and Geo was kind enough to take me along.  Now known as the Estuary, it was full of creatures no one had every seen before, some which looked and were terrible, others which looked deceptively mild, but were quite fierce.  Predictably, I was again dragged home on a chain.

Other areas at that time seemed equally hard, and I would simply fall and be dragged home, often without having hit more than a vermine.  But now I hunt some of those places regularly and realize how much stronger I've become.

Folk in Puddleby were remarkably kind to me when I first arrived.  Within my first few days, I met Geotzou, who showed me how to use a sunstone, and how to toggle for help is I fell somewhere alone.  I still recall how hard it was to just let the baby rockodiles bite and bite, so he could chain me back to town center and introduce me to Stora.

Though I was at first bashful about speaking to older fighters, many others also went out of their way to invite me on hunts and help me learn the best way of dealing with creatures that were too tough for me to strike head on.  Some went even beyond this and offered me coins, weapons, and clothing. Ceowulf was kind enough to give me a flail, and Mira Willow offered me the beautiful blue clothes that have become my favorites. Alexa taught me to fish, which I still sometimes do when I don't feel like hunting (and have space in my pack).

When I began to be a a bit more skilled and could tag creatures pretty reliably, a whole new world of hunting opened up.  Gone were the seemingly endless hours of killing slugs.

After my decision to become a fighter, I spent endless days hunting rats in the fields and towers.  Now and then some kindly and more experienced fighters and healers would take me to the Undine Hut or to the Myrm Hive, or to Kitty Beach, but I felt my lack of experience and skill keenly and determined to advance as much as I could on my own for awhile, so as not to be a pest.

Doing this terrified me, however.  I did not know the lands at all, and in spite of studying maps, I was often lost when traveling only two snells out from town center.  As I crossed snell boundaries, my heart would leap into my throat in fear of what might be waiting on the other side.  I would hunt until I was a sickly yellow hue, and then retreat to town where I would as Stora to heal me.  Often during these times, there were only a few other exiles to be found, and I was well aware that if I feel, there might be no one to help me.

Eventually I got a bit stronger, and got to know the farms and then the fields right around Puddleby.  But I still sometimes suffered nasty shocks, like walking into Witkus' weapons shop and being set upon and killed by Darshaks.  I hadn't know they could even enter buildings in Puddleby.  Luckily, by then I knew how to toggle for help and had told people I was headed south; seeing I fell to 'shak, they checked the shop pretty soon.  During this time, a number of older fighters were very kind to me.

My earliest days in Puddleby were difficult.  On Gradi, day 34 of Summer, 578, I wandered into town, dazed and unsure, and found my way into a seeming safe garden to rest.  Without realizing my danger, I stumbled into a cloud of sparkling lights, which transported me to a forest and killed me in the process.  Once there I was grabbed by a horrible one-eyed monster that I would later know as an orga and dragged off.  I was deposited in the midst of a village and lay there helpless for hours until Kalypso, the only person I knew in the lands, sensed my plight and came to rescue me.  She dragged me back to town and healed me.  After such a traumatic entry, I cowered for weeks in the library, before finally venturing out again.

Eventually, shame at my cowardice overcame that fear, and I ventured forth again.  Still hardly knowing who I was or what I was to do.  Kalypso again assisted me by guiding me to places where I could gain clarity.  I soon recalled that I was a Fen.  My abduction left me determined to never be so helpless again, and I chose to follow a fighter's path.  But that very day I suffered another ignominious defeat.  


Within moments of entering the town hall, I was assaulted and fell to a vile kudzu, part of an invasion from the forest.  Kalypso healed me again. Falling prey to even a simple plant infuriated me, and I resolved to never be so helpless again.  I became a fighter.

I am ready to write of my life as an exile.  I will reach back into memory and try to catch up.  The first sorry months will be condensed to spare