When the man in the tent noticed her, he rose and fixed his intense gaze upon her own. Her eyes narrowed a bit, her curiosity fading and morphing into confused response to the warning cries that seemed to be sounding from her very bones. On the precipice of hostility and suspicion, the woman tilted her head as he spoke. His voice was soothing like the breeze on a muggy summer night when even the mosquitos were too tired to fly. It made her feel that same hazy lethargic heaviness. Curious.<br/><br/><br/>He introduced himself as ‘Restam.’ He was a traveler through these woods. She was quick to correct him with an airy voice. “My woods.” His eyes maintained their contact with hers when most gazes would shy away. She understood why when her mind became flooded with images she’d never seen before. Restam was not the first warlock or caster or even king to present themselves. He would surely not be the last…but this flooding of images in the mind was a new sensation. She stumbled backward a step, her delicate hands moving up to cradled the sides of her temples, her brow knitting together as she tried to understand what he’d just done. He was in her head just then…how was that so? Perhaps it was her curiosity that allowed him to communicate with her in such away. She would not let him in again.<br/><br/><br/>From the images he’d shown…there was something else. Something secret. Something shadowy. The forest entity didn’t trust this traveler. Recovered, she fixed her gaze on the man. The golden color in them was glittering like the brightest of gemstones even in this otherworldly version of night that surrounded them. The ground beneath him seemed to tremble and shake like tree roots were moving in the ‘earth.’ “Restam.” She tried his name and it chimed like ice in the winter. “Your magical glyphs are fruitless and unnecessary here. When you awaken, remove them and be gone as the sun rises.” She told him. She had no fear of this warlock king or fool. This was her warning that it was always necessary to ask the forest permission for travel.