[h1]Forest [s]Shrine[/s][/h1]

[hr]

The green-haired girl gave a blank, incredulous stare at the medusa and the goblin, for a few moments rendered entirely speechless.

"You [i]don't know[/i] where that was?" she exclaimed, "Then how did you even-you [i]must[/i] be drunk. It'd explain why you're such an odd group, too."

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily.

"In case you needed a refresher, that ruined shrine is given a wide berth for a reason," she continued, her right hand still on her wooden staff as her left rested on her hip, "And the creature that attacked you is why."

Averting her eyes for a moment, the girl grumbled something under her breath that was barely audible. But given her goblin nature, her large ears adapted for hearing faint noises, it was possible that Rita would just barely pick up her voice.

"-not that staying away from the shrine is enough these days..."

The girl let out another sigh before directly addressing the trio once more.

"Listen, I'm not thrilled about this, but I can't have a set of drunk lunatics dying on my conscience," she began, "And I think Relki wouldn't leave me alone if I just let you try and find your way out by yourselves."

As if on cue, a raven alighted on the tip of her staff. It regarded the assembled figures before it, tilting its head.

"So, follow me. I'll take you someplace safe for the night and then show you the way out in the morning. Got it?"

The girl turned and started to walk away, then paused and looked back over her shoulder.

"Since you seem so ill-informed, I'll introduce myself. I'm Ilsa, Substitute Witch of the Forest."

The raven let out a caw, and Ilsa glared at it for a moment. Eventually, she let out a sigh.

"And that's Relki. For some reason, she won't just tell you herself. Now, come on."

With that, she turned and started to walk away. The forest was no longer so dark and intimidating, with the departure of the creature, but the patches of dead plants where its hooved feet hand fallen remained. Still, the birds had returned, and the idyllic and peaceful-seeming surroundings no longer held a scrap of malice. Certainly, there were likely dangerous creatures living in the woods of a more ordinary sort, but it still seemed to be a pleasant enough place.

If one could forget the deer creature.

After a few moments of walking, the forest cleared slightly to reveal a stone path with grass growing between it, leading to a cottage across a small wooden bridge over a stream. It had a small garden out front, flush with blooming flowers, and something small and sparkly seemed to be flitting around above the rooftops and about the garden.

[@Rune_Alchemist][@Pyromania99][@Rin]