Exit the castle.

After saying your goodbyes, you proceed to the exterior of the castle. You still feel safe with the towering, dwarven-enforced walls completely surrounding the area, especially when it's constructed up in the mountains. It would be even harder to raid than when you did it against Sa'dis, and you won't make the mistake of leaving the back door **** when you know an army is coming. When your scouts, you feel confident that you'll have ample time to react.

You look down to the path at your feet as soon as you step through the doors. Growing from the grass directly by the wall is a surprisingly large, vibrant pink flower. Using your fingernail, you snip it from the grass and lift it up for a sniff. It smells pleasant.

The path ahead is quite lively. Flowers and trees decorate the fields, and paths snake between homes and shops, even if only a few of them aren't vacant. You see a number of your allies walking around, chatting with one another, and working on various tasks. It's a functioning community. You can't help but wonder if you should recruit some regular folk too, turning Castle Phoenix into a little village, but maybe that would be too much. Simply pondering such ideas though helps you relax. These are goals that are far more peaceful than slaying terrifying eldritch dragons after all.

As you continue onwards, you see Peony coming from the same direction.

She stops in front of you with an affectionate smile on her face--a being of pure nature, like a plant has come to life. She has the natural scent and image of the forest embodied into a beautiful woman, and the love she seems to feel for you is sometimes more than you feel you deserve. Just giving her a name back then apparently functions like marriage to a dryad, but she's been happy ever since. While she considers herself your wife, that also means something slightly different to a dryad as well. She does seem completely content tending to the courtyard, waiting here while you adventure, so that she can be here to welcome you home with open arms. You'd feel guilty if she didn't seem so overjoyed.

"Why hello, m'lord. It's good to see you again," she says politely before giggling under her breath.

You reach out and slide the pink flower through her leafy hair to rest near the other already present. "It's good to see you too. What's new?"

Peony watches with her lips ajar at such a loving gesture. She grabs where her heart would be, though you're not exactly sure if she has one or not, and remains quiet for a moment. Suddenly, she throws herself forwards and buries her head into your chest. "Oh you're so sweet! I love you so much!"

"W-Woah there. I'm gonna fall over!"

She gazes up but doesn't let go. "I'm so happy to be here, m'lord."

"Me too, Peony," you say as you pat her on the head. "Now I'm just trying to find some relaxing stuff to do while I recover from the Erotrain stuff, so why don't we go on that date you wanted? I feel like a walk through the wild would probably do me some good. Plus I don't think we'll run into too much trouble around these parts. Wild animals oughta leave us alone, and if there's some kind of monster, I think I'll be able to handle it."

The dryad finally pulls herself back up again. "I know that my caring husband will protect me. But when we're out in the forest, we're in my domain, so I can protect you too. Oh! I've been walking out there a whole bunch already, so I know it all like the back of my hand. We'll never get lost, and I know exactly what sort of wildlife surrounds these walls. Don't worry. I haven't gone that far. I wouldn't want to worry you, m'lord."

"Well all right then. Lead the way. Take me on a nice, scenic walk."

"Hurray!" She raises her arms up in cheer. "I couldn't be there for you in that Erotrain thing, but I can be there for you now, m'lord. Come!"