The Wyvern cousins glanced at each other after Ruli spoke. "Were the rest-- did I hear right? Naked?" Daryll asked.
"Could you read it aloud for us? We can't read that," Kire explained. "Not our alphabet, but I figured you could; the characters seemed familiar, I must have seen it in your world." 
When the contents of the letter had been explained, Kire frowned in thought. "Huh. That-- certainly is weird." 

"But more importantly, if your alphabet suddenly manifested in someone's mind here, does that mean this outbreak of magical energy is coming from your world, or has something to do with it?" Daryll wondered aloud. "Could there be a gate at the heart of this?" 

"Well, we'll know soon enough," Kire murmured before turning to Ed. "Manning the fort while we're gone?"
"As per usual," Ed smirked. "But Myka should be there to meet you. Narda's turn to stay behind the [i]Wench[/i] and babysit the old gal." 

The cousins spoke for a bit more, confirming the location and where they were supposed to meet Myka, which was the closest other town to the afflicted one. "It's a bit chilly in that region. There are extra coats if you want them," Daryll said, pointing down the alchemy chamber. Once ready to leave, Kire extended a hand to Ruli.
"Would you mind? Might need to save up on portals just in case." When he took her hand she gave his an affectionate squeeze. Location pinpointed, Ruli, Kire, Ysaryn, and Daryll disappeared into shadow. 

The moment they emerged in the other town, however, Kire frowned. "Why is it so [i]hot[/i]? It's the beginning of winter!" She unclasped the cloak she was wearing. 
Not too long later, they met up with Myka, who was donning lighter clothes. 
"Fancy the inexplicable summer heat, ladies and gents?" She grinned.
"From what we've been told, it's positively sweltering in the town-turned-forest. You can see it from the highest tower here. This town is currently sheltering the residents who had fled. Those who didn't want to leave their homes set up camp just outside of the forest." 


She took them to the vantage point she had mentioned, and true enough, a line of verdant green occupied the horizon. Just outside it were tents from the camp Myka brought up, and in between the trees they could spot the homes of the overrun town.

"How big is the forest?" Daryll asked.
"Large as the town, and extending around a kilometer from the border on the other side," Myka noted. "No animals, no sounds. Well, unless you count the whispers." 
"Whispers?" Kire frowned. 
Myka shrugged. "The folk say they hear 'em, but soon forget what it was they heard. Like the guy who wrote the account of what happened to him. So far, though, the whole naked thing happened to just him and a couple of others."