Continue south

She wasn't about to be this strange person's pawn in whatever deranged scheme he had going. Every moment she spent here was another moment the Treant was loose, possibly assaulting more unsuspecting, innocent souls. She had to get to Gaest, and soon.

With her mind made up, she headed out the door of the hovel, pausing a moment to get her bearings, before continuing her trudge through the muddy hell of the swamps. It didn't take long for the hovel to leave her sight, the buzzing insects, cool mud, and blazing heat her only companions again.

While she wondered exactly what the runes did, there wasn't anything she could do about them, and so she suppressed her worries, figuring she'd deal with the problems they posed whenever she could talk to someone in Gaest.

Somewhere in the swamps, a man stood, quietly tracking the movements of a faint bit of magic as it began moving. He noted it's movement south, away from where the woman wearing his curse was to go, and he sighed faintly. It seemed he would have to acquire the artifact himself. No matter. His revenge on the woman would be...entertaining, at least, and may yet drive her back into his service.

Venus had discovered she was farther from the southern edge of the swamp than she thought on the second day, her journey to the end of the swamp requiring the entirety of the third day as well. She had finally stepped clear of the swamps around dusk, the cool, solid grass beneath her soles and the cooler air about her restoring her spirits. That, and a cold, but refreshing dip in a lake she found just past the border of the swamps served to restore a goodly piece of her morale, driving the runes in her stomach from her mind as she redressed and found a place to sleep for the night. Gaest wasn't far now, maybe a day's travel.

Unnoticed by Venus, as she drifted off to sleep, the runes glowed subtly brighter for a moment, then dimmed again. Miles away, their master smiled faintly, knowing the twin spells placed upon her, while not permanent, would prove to be most distracting...and revealing.