Chapter 4: Trip the Light Fantastic

The bear settles down on his haunches. "Oh, yes. All of the animals here talk. Do they not where you're from?"

He turns to Tzal. "I am Ompha. I was just roaming around the woods, as is my wont, looking for something scrumptious to eat." He chuckles. "Don't worry, I don't eat people! Just fish, honey, and roots, mostly. You wouldn't happen to have any tasty treats, would you?"

Ompha sniffs the cake, then happily scarfs it down. "Mmm! This is delicious!" he says, licking his chops.

"Well, you did not attack me, and you gave me something tasty to eat, so you seem like nice enough folks," Ompha says. "I came out of curiosity, but now I shall stay out of friendship!"

The bear looks at Tzal quizzically. "A town of bears? That's a silly notion! I live on my own my in my little den. Eventually, I might find a mate and settle down, raise some cubs, but that day's still a long way off!"

He scratches at his ear with his back paw. "Anyway, you did something nice for me, so I'll do something nice for you! Is there something I can help you with?"

"I don't know about an old man, but there's a evil hag who lives in a cave nearby," Ompha says. "She used to be a nymph before grief and wickedness twisted her heart and body. Now she plots against all the good and true creatures of the forest. I'd recommend you stay far away from her, but if you need to find her to get home, I can at least show you the way to her lair.

"I've heard of the swimming hill, too. There's a sinkhole deeper in the forest where dead things float in the muck. Some hills poke up from the dirty water, and there's one that moves around sometimes. But it's not always there. I don't know where it goes when it's not there."

Ompha stays nearby and watches over you as you sleep, ensuring nothing troubles your rest. The next morning, the bear leads you through the woods After a couple of hours, you arrive at an irregularly shaped depression in the ground. It is 100 yards at its widest, but is generally 40 yards across. Hillocks push up from the algae-choked waters and beneath the scum skin. In the waters float dead things, the skeletal remains of hunters, charcoal burners, and other woods folk.

You scan the region for a few minutes, then R3N-L3 notices one of the hillocks move a few feet before coming to rest again. You glimpse a few pink flowers growing on the hillock.