Acerglyn's slow return to consciousness found her sprawled and drooling face-first into her pillow. The heavenly bed dwarfed her, but her tails and limbs were doing their best to fill the space.  She stretched out like a lazy cat, then spent five minutes basking in darkness and comfort before rolling over and swimming her way out of bed to start the day. 

Acerglyn sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She went into her overlay to turn the light intensity up and was besieged by cheery peach walls. It is a bit much. Emerald green, maybe? How much does paint cost anyway? It can be tomorrow me's problem. Acerglyn slipped into her robe and reequipped her jaunty new adventuring belt, then walked back into ordinary reality.

After completing her morning libations at the stream and devouring a loaf of bread, Acerglyn found herself sitting on the shrine's ancient bar top. It was time to plan her journey.

According to the guide app, she was in the Proxima Cervantes system of the Elmori galaxy on planet Helmund. Helmund seemed to be about the size of earth, not that she was an expert on cartography. There were three main continents. The largest continent looked like a lounging lady, and she was entwined by the smallest, which looked like a side-facing skull and part of a spine. Acerglyn sat on the other side of the globe on a continent that looked like a cowboy boot. She was in the heel foxing a few hundred kilometers east of the coast.

Acerglyn zoomed in further. The shrine was in the Mannix Woods, which formed a frontier between the elven nation of Ailísae and the human nation Jīnsè Wèilái. Both countries were monarchies. Acerglyn was technically on the elven side, but neither country pressed into the Mannix Woods due to a peace treaty.  Humans built the shrine when Jīnsè Wèilái was going through an expansionist phase several centuries ago. After the treaty, the humans had pulled their settlements away from the border and abandoned everything nearby.

An abandoned hamlet sat 10 kilometers or so west of her, and the map showed it connected to an old trade road that continued to the Elven port city of Violeta Ethi in the southwest. The route looked to be about 250 kilometers, and there weren't any other settlements along the way.

Alternately she could cut northwest through the forest to the human frontier town Kaidian, a journey of maybe 70 kilometers. From Kaidian, roads branched out across Jīnsè Wèilái and eventually led to the capitol Koharubai a thousand kilometers or so to the northeast.

The Golden Griffon said that the elves were insular vegetarians and since they didn't have any barbecue or offer any sacrifices, there wasn't much more information available. An enchantment shop in the hidden capital Moreseth had a 5-star review but warned that getting near the city was a death sentence if you were not an elf.

The humans were much more inclusive. They welcomed the other races, of which there were many, as long as they were willing to pay taxes and keep their appendages to themselves. The Golden Griffon called Helmund a backwater planet, and though Koharubai had a spaceport, trade was mainly conducted on-world. Even though they were spacefaring, the people of Jīnsè Wèilái were strict traditionalists. The use of magic and advanced technology was kept hidden. The military had access to advanced weaponry if needed, but it would be more common to see a duel or back alley skirmish fought with the swords and polearms that the general populace was encouraged by tradition to carry. The Golden Griffon weighed in further to say that though they were a moral and upright society, they did not have many virgins to sacrifice. Barbecue was a staple, though, and it wouldn't be hard to plan a food trip that took her from Kaidian to the capital.

Acerglyn set the abandoned hamlet as her first waypoint. She would head north to the human lands, but she would check for any usable salvage first. Decision made, she set off.

Heart: The Path of the Wandering Heart 

Your feet are itchy, and it's not just because they are covered in fur.   

Path Progression: Onboarding

Progression goal: Walk on, wanderer. 

Your reward for the discovery of the path:

• You walk the line between spirit and mortal. Be what you need to be to walk where you want to walk. Run with the animals, flow with the breeze, mingle with the people. Change your form to match the path you walk.

Your reward for continuing the path and starting to learn its ways:

• The journey of a trillion steps began with a lazy stretch and five more minutes of sleep. Maybe you need something to keep your interest? We know how you like shiny things. Your mini-map will hilite hidden prospects available in the area. The Golden Griffon isn't the only one who knows how to find good barbecue.

Acerglyn's craving for barbecue was mammoth.

❖

The quick white fox jumped over the moldy log. Acerglyn had transformed, figuring it would let her cover ground faster. Words like fast and nimble did not do this justice. In her old life, walking up the stairs to work would have winded her. Now she was jumping and sliding through the undergrowth like a Russian Olympic Committee gymnast on speed.

Most of Acerglyn's experience with nature came from Jack watching documentaries at 3 AM during his infrequent hotel stays. Still, nothing stood out as overly alien. The rolling hills of the forest were packed tightly with tall thin conifers. Beneath them, thick ferns reached for the little light that penetrated to the loamy forest floor. Large weathered rocks covered in white lichen and golden moss broke up the heavy forest leaving patches of sun and warmth to laze in. The deep musky scent of the woods carried hints of citrus and sage. Slinking through the trees, Acerglyn focused more on the smell of the small prey animals hiding at her passing. She had pounced at several ferns only to snap at the air as panicked birds took off beyond her reach.

Acerglyn's sharp senses allowed her to keep well clear of the few hidden giants that trekked through the distant trees.

The urge to hunt was overwhelming. Maybe it's the barbecue thing? Acerglyn could smell something large and dead kilometers away. Closer in, she could hear things burrowing. 

It was pure chance that brought Acerglyn to the hamlet. She had stopped paying attention to the map hours ago. A rodent mound had taken over the outskirts of the abandoned settlement, and she had her face stuffed into one of the holes. Acerglyn breathed in and sensed her prey hiding deep under the pile. She was going to have to dig them out. Don't I have a shovel for this?

Acerglyn changed back to her humanoid form. She was grabbing her shovel from the floor of the pocket dimension as she realized that she didn't want to eat rodents.

❖

Acerglyn was exploring the ruins of the town, shovel in hand. The forest was doing its best to reclaim the place. Most of the wooden homes had trees jutting through windows or punching holes through rooves. Moss covered the walls, and patches of grass and thistle broke through the floors. Water had seeped through cracked shingles, ruining what little salvage was left behind.

Acerglyn checked the ten or so houses but didn't find anything worth keeping. The homes were small, usually just two or three rooms. Acerglyn pushed over a few of the more sizeable mounds of soggy moss with her shovel for form's sake as she ventured through. Her time could have been better spent burying her dreams of finding magical artifacts and treasure.

The tavern sat at the western edge. There, Acerglyn guessed that the trade road had once entered the clearing. It was the only building in the town with a second story and had been solidly built with thick white bricks. A large open circular hole bordered by black brick acted as the sole entrance to the large square building. The roof was tiled in curved black clay shingles, and eight curved rafters stretched from the pointed ridge to a deep overhang. Acerglyn vaguely wondered if the place had been built by an oriental hobbit. I wonder if I can get some Old Toby.

>> You have entered the remains of The End of the Road Tavern. Would you like to bind your soul?

Huh, I can bind in taverns? That will be a neat party trick if I ever find someplace with people. No, I don't want to bind my soul here.

Acerglyn spent a few minutes wandering through the husk of the building that had once been a tavern. The common and upper rooms were utterly barren. Her one treasure was a dark wood bar stool. It had been abandoned in the tavern's backroom. Acerglyn wrestled it out of the tiny clinging branches of the dead bush that surrounded it and then climbed it to sit down. I feel like a child in a booster seat. Acerglyn kicked her feet and downed a mug of mead. She hopped down and stowed the stool beside her bed. If nothing else, she could pile stuff on it like a night table until she found something better.

There was still light out, so she decided she would go for another run. Before setting off, she ended her exploration with a review. 1/5 stars. The End of the Road Tavern is an abandoned dump. I almost ate a rodent because it was the only thing to do. Bring your own beer.

❖

The vixen ghosted through the last of the evening's light, target locked on a fat grey speckled bird that was hiding against a nearby stone ridge. She crouched down, nearly laying on her belly, and crept forward. The bird looked at her a moment too late. Acerglyn rushed forward and snapped its head clean off. She was tearing into the wing when she realized it would be easier to get all the feathers off if she had hands.

Acerglyn transformed and looked down at her bloody prize. I wonder what happened to its head when I changed. I guess I will find out in the morning. 

Acerglyn hadn't plucked her own meal before. The closest Jack had ever gotten to hunting was a survival PVP game where you could launch improvised rockets at deer. Eventually, she got some meat skewered and roasting over a small fire. I'm no Bear Grylls, but I did ok for a fox. He'd probably have eaten the rodent to prove how rugged he is. She stared at the meat as it glistened over the fire. Like he had anything to prove.

The meat was past charred, dry yet somehow still oily, bland, and still the best thing she had ever eaten. Sorry, Kuchachusha. Your bread is ok, but meat is the shit. Maybe next time, I will marinate it in some cider or something. I could have made a sandwich!

Acerglyn added a few more sticks to her fire. She grabbed her bedroll and lay down to stare at the stars. Of course, she would sleep in her real bed, but this seemed the perfect way to finish her hunt.