Me, going through the romance options: Lae'zel is hot, I'll try it out. Ooh, Karlach has a great personality I love her. Shadowheart's got some issues but she's grown on me. Wyll is interesting because I feel like I don't see characters like him that often. Astarion's got plenty of angst, I like it. I'm curious as to how Halsin's bear form would work...ugh how do I choose.
Gale, eating my boots and infodumping about his cat: Do you have a good place where I can die so that I won't murder innocents I'd appreciate it
"Welcome! I'm glad to see that we still have people interested in volunteering. We have 6 positions open this Riverseason, 3 at each of the base camps. After you fill out your paperwork I'll take you to meet the new Companions and we'll see who you connect with!"
every few years after a heavy rainy season the river swells and a lush, high, patch of forest grows around its fattened middle in a matter of days. during this time strange Creatures emerge to nest in the surrounding area, which is seemingly a safer place to rear young than the forest, and then migrate back when the river begins to lower in a few months. neither the creatures nor the Townsfolk know why the forest appears or what exactly is going on with the river but they learned long ago to (mostly) live in peace.
while the forest makes most people uneasy, some are very eager (maybe too eager) to explore it. this includes some young Creatures who seem equally compelled to Enter. experience says that mixed teams have a better chance or survival (little guy with Powers + person with thumbs and camping supplies is a pretty good combo even if communication can be rough sometimes) and so that is how the scouting trips operate. scouts start at either upriver or downriver base camps just outside the forest and try to follow the river the entire way to avoid getting lost.
it is so easy to get lost.
most people lose sight of the other scouting teams about half a mile in even though they're all following the same river and going in the same direction. best case scenario is that you make new discoveries, map out a few things, and make it out the other side in way more time than it should really take to walk to the other side. worst case is you can't find your way out before the river starts to dry up and you hope the rain is heavy next year.
pictured above are the little Companions ready to hike in with someone this season. you will only learn their names if you connect with one, but in loose power typing terms we've got:
a prophesy type (omens good and bad. tea leaves, smoke, tiny bones)
a wander type (never settled and never has to be. a shifter of sorts)
a fungal type (more than it seems. eager for friendship)
a celestial type (looking into the void. navigating by starlight)
a dirt type (grounded and persistent. a terror to terrors)
and a sylph type (the air in your lungs. the invisible belief)
which Companion will you choose? what name comes to you when they choose you back?
Does Swanatello Donatello have all his memories back now? Are his memory problems gone?
Yes and no? He has a majority of his memories back, even if some of them are still fuzzy, but that doesn't mean his memory is fixed... but he's getting better every day!
To my great shame I forgot about Goblin Week 2024 and am woefully unprepared for that most wonderful time of the year...but we can always look back fondly on Goblin Weeks past. In 2023 I printed a rainbow of risograph goblins, which you can bring into your home by purchasing them in my online store. They may or may not cause mischief.