For most of their trek, Nel had been keeping close to Kettle and Lila, finding herself more comfortable in the presence of the two women she had spoken to at length the night before. As the group trudged along, Nel noted that there were noticeably fewer people walking with them through the woods than there were in the cafe yesterday. She made a promise to herself that she would try to get to know the others who had decided to tag along with Kettle on her quest. But... she wasn't quite ready for that now.

She'd already passed some threshold of bravery simply by following Kettle this far-- others had already turned tail, literally and metaphorically, and headed back home. Nel wasn't even entirely clear on what a... [i]world seed[/i] or whatever it was that Kettle thought that she knew was... [i]somewhere[/i]... did, or it's importance. Nel was sure it had some special arcane importance, especially for Kettle to have assembled such a team to ensure that she got to it. But it's importance wasn't what ultimately impressed her to stick around. No, as her mind began to wonder, in part to avoid what were definitely callouses developing on her feet, she thought of her parents, and the life she was already beginning to leave behind. That was why she was here. 

She wasn't sure if she was even cut out to be an adventurer, as Kettle had almost immediately labeled her as when she... rather painlessly... realized who Nel was. But she was happy that she was here, doing something [i]different.[/i]

At least, Nel supposed she was happy doing this. At the precise moment of the thought, she didn't feel much of anything besides enervation action on her muscles and feet. Apparently, a generally stationary life indoors didn't build up one's stamina for miles of walking in a balmy swamp-forest. 

Thankfully for her, she brought herself out of her own contemplation on whether or not she had made a huge mistake by joining in this expedition when a mosquitomoth saw fit to start trying to gnaw at the hair on her head. Her instinctual slap tot he area above her ear frenzied away the insect and brought her attention to Grom, the cameldragon she had held a lengthy conversation with, and Leon-- she wasn't really sure how she knew its name-- as they charged ahead into the underbrush, Kettle almost immediately sprinted after the beast, and was soon followed by most of the group. Nel, with soreness of body, couldn't have kept up with them if she had wanted! Besides, in being so busy to catch up with Kettle and the errant cameldragon, most people didn't seem to pay much attention to the bags of spilled supplies he'd left behind. Nel busied herself retrieving these items before catching up with the rest of the group.

[center]~~~[/center]

A few moments later, with a grunt and a heave, Nel dropped the bags she could carry off at the side of the now completely stagnant Grom. As she had walked to his side, she noticed flowers closing themselves up, statues disappeared before her eyes, in the clearing gems appeared and mossy relics seemed to glow with a sinister light. The air held something... off. Nel was no soothsayer, not like her Aunt Aetha, but she was certainly perceptive enough to know when something of an otherworldly nature was going on. Or, at the very least she was perceptive enough to know when things completely beyond her perception were happening.

As she wiped some beads of sweat off her forehead, a bluish bird flew over to her and landed on her shoulder and... started speaking to her...? Nel knew she was unhealthy, but hallucinating after carrying a few bags was a bit much. No one else seemed to have heard the bird. And just as she assumed that it may have just been an odd chirp, it jumped a little and spoke again.

[color=#89c4c2]"Push it push it!"[/color]

"[color=palegoldenrod]Push what?[/color]" Nel whispered back to the chirping magpie, she didn't want her companions to think she had become hysterical, talking to birds was usually not an activity endorsed by the mentally sound. Part of her seemed to understand that what was happening was real, and that she should play her part, observing her surroundings, she walked up to a white pillar with a glowing spiral, "[color=palegoldenrod]This?[/color]"

The question was more of formality to the avian, already she was reaching out to touch the glowing spiral. Something seemed to be driving her to, and another part of her felt anxiety at the prospect of touching the black, pulsing rune. Chalking this up to her own self-doubt, Nel went ahead, assuming that was what the bird was referring to and pushed the glowing spiral on the white pillar.