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.