You decide to head toward the Badlands, wondering what could be out there. As you pass into the meadow, you find that you can see the edge of it. It seems the meadow slowly dies away into a drier land. But maybe that's just your eyesight playing tricks on you.
"Hello," says a spritely, bouncy voice. "Who might you be?"
You almost gasp when you see the creature to whom the voice belongs. She is tall and slender, but also brightly, glowing blue with long, dark horns. You've never seen anything like her before.
"I am Zebeynilee," she says, "but a lot of people call me Zeb." You realize that you've been silent for a long time, but you're still taken aback by what she looks like. You gulp and quickly introduce yourself, your throat feeling a bit dry.
"Made a new friend, Zeb?" comes a wicked voice from just beyond her. A shorter, yet still slender, creature steps forward. He is red, although not as shiny as she is, and they look very similar.
"Urgaille," says Zeb. "This is a wanderer."
Urgaille stops dead in his tracks and eyes you suspiciously. "How do we know that this one is safe?"
Zeb shakes her head. "Well, we haven't been attacked yet, have we? And the gaurdians and everyone have let the wanderer pass, and the Wood to boot..."
Urgaille, however, seems very unconvinced.
"Stay over there, wanderer," he glowers. "Some of us aren't as naive as Zeb here. Some of us know better."
"Are you still going on about that?" comes another male voice, although his is sadder. You look around and find a bright white-blue equine striding toward your little group.
As the equine approaches, you can see that he is very deer-like, except glowing, with rabbit-like ears.
"Call me Togne, wanderer," he says, his voice rolling. "And I welcome you."
Urgaille seems offended and turns and leaves before Zeb can stop him.
"Sorry about that, wanderer," she says, "Urgaille isn't the same since the Wood shifted. Luckily we found each other, but he's a bit unhappy. He still things he's unsafe."
"Yes," Togne said, "he wasn't in a good place before the Wood shifted. He didn't realize that the reason the Wood shifted was to make a safer place. Anyway, I hope you aren't too offended. He's not trying to be."
Zeb continues, "It's especially hard for equine to find a good place, since most of us prefer open meadow, like this one, to enclosed spaces that can be protected. Although I have heard of a few who are living in other areas. Like the centaurs."
You nod along as both of them list off the problems of living in an open area for safety. It takes a while, but soon both of them wish you well and depart. You realize that you're at the end of the meadow, which might be why Urgaille was so upset.
Enter the Badlands
Back to the Beginning of the Meadow
