Guelder felt the warmth of the fire before she even saw a patch of the fog shimmering with a pale orange colour. Harrim was sitting alarmingly close to the flames, poking the firewood with a branch. Linzi startled when she saw the feline prowl towards her, so Guelder quickly dropped the shapeshift.

"Ah, it's you! Finally! After the fog came, Amiri ran off to find you, and she is still out there somewhere! What if she lost her way?"

Guelder sighed, removing her backpack. So much about getting a little rest.

"Here. Vegetables and a squirrel. I am off to find Amiri before the boggards do."

"Boggards?" whimpered Linzi. "Those big frog people?"

"Yes, those. If not for the weather, I would suggest looking for another campsite. However, under the current circumstances, we had better stay put until the fog clears away and hope it protects us."

She resumed her leopard form and set out again on Amiri's trail. Her scent was easy to identify, especially due to the cold steel smell of her sword. Guelder loped upstream, covered by deep grass and deeper fog, closing in on her target.

A fierce but somewhat nervous battlecry greeted her, then a heavy blade crashed down, missing her by an inch. She threw herself to the side, and by the time she scrambled to her feet, she was back to her usual form.

"Hey, Amiri. Hey, Ginormous."

"Ah, sorry," said Amiri with a sheepish grin. "You can't tell apart friend and foe in this damn fog."

"Never mind. I can see you had more success hunting than I did."

Indeed, Amiri was standing above three dead thylacines gathered in a heap.

"Come, follow me to camp," said Guelder. "Bring one of those. There is good eating on them. The rest we can leave here for wildlife to feast upon. And please do not run off on your own anymore. I know that you are more than able to defend yourself, but your companions might get into trouble while trying to track you down."

Amiri grudgingly agreed, threw the fattest thylacine across her shoulder, and set out in Guelder's footsteps.

Finally back in camp, Guelder set about skinning and butchering the thylacine, giving the squirrel to Pangur. Linzi had already finished chopping the vegetables. Except for one.

"I'm not having any of this!" she cried out, holding a pale-coloured radish by the root, as if it were a maggot. "I practically grew up on a field of radishes. I can't bear the sight of this abomination of a vegetable. It doesn't even make a good soup."

"Fine," sighed Guelder, tossing a handful of entrails to Pangur. "But this is the last time I pander to your fussy stomach, Linzi. When survival is at stake, you must not be picky."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Guelder wiped the blood off her hands, swept the meat and bones into the cauldron, then took the ominous piece of vegetable from Linzi and bit into it. Her face distorted into a grimace.

"You were right, Linzi," she said. "This would have spoiled the stew. It does not even taste like a normal radish."

She ate the entire tuber nonetheless, out of principle.

After they all had their soup, Guelder reclined against her bedroll, suppressing a yelp, and sought a comfortable position that didn't put any weight on the sore welts across her back and ribs. She closed her eyes and listened to the noises of the others tidying up.

"How bad is it?" asked Harrim, touching her shoulder.

Guelder opened her eyes. She wanted to thank him for his thoughtfulness and reassure him that she needed no treatment, just a little rest. But she couldn't, because Harrim was nowhere to be seen. Nor Linzi, nor Amiri, nor Pangur. There was only Guelder and the fog.

Then the fog retracted in a circle around her, and a figure delineated itself against its backdrop. A green-skinned female creature, dressed in leaves, or more exactly, leaves and other plant parts sprouting from her skin. Her voice was like a chattering brook, or a breeze rustling in the canopy. Guelder recognised the mysterious, desperate voice she'd heard earlier.

"The fog... The evil fog... Smothering nature, killing flowers, suffocating me... Help me fight it..."

"Who are you?" she muttered.

"The spirit of this land, called by many names I am wary to disclose. You may call me the Guardian of the Bloom."

"The Bloom?" repeated Guelder, confused. In front of her mental eyes appeared the image of an almond tree in full blossom and a pool filled by slimy strands of green algae, both at the same time.

The creature ignored her question.

"I have been watching you. You are the hope of this land. My hope. You can defeat him."

"Whom?"

"The Stag Lord and his evil druid, the creator of the fog. I am fighting back, but my strength is failing... Go north and stay on the great road. I will try to clear a path for you. Stay safe, my hope."

The nymph leant above Guelder's helpless body, and put something around her neck, her fingers brushing lightly at the druid's face.

"Our fates intertwine," she whispered. Then the fog closed in around her, hiding and absorbing her silhouette.

Guelder woke with a gasp, as Amiri shook her something fierce, making her bruised ribs complain bitterly.

"Now what was that again?" demanded the barbarian. "What language were you speaking? Who is in your head?"

"Easy now, Amiri," muttered Harrim into his beard. "She just fell asleep and dreamt something in Elven. Do you know Elven? I sure don't."

"I'm pretty sure that even elves sleep with their eyes closed," insisted Amiri. "Not turned inwards, as if possessed."

"It must have been the radish!" said Linzi. "I told you it was bad!"

Guelder remained silent. Linzi might have had a point. It was either the radish or the fog that made her mind more sensitive to other dimensions than usual, but that didn't explain the amulet that had suddenly appeared around her neck. It was a strange creation of bone and some sort of glasslike material, with a strand of green hair inside. However, she didn't feel ready to share her experiences as yet. At the moment, she had to stay alert and gather more information, and most importantly, continue her way south.