With a heavy, somber heart, the community called a grand council. The five scarred survivors of the first expedition were brought to the center of the settlement and asked to lay everything bare.
The elders demanded a meticulous breakdown of their journey. The five were asked to trace their exact routes on charcoal maps, describe every single geographic hazard they encountered, detail the behaviors of the intelligent beasts that had hunted them, and explain precisely what split-second decisions allowed them to escape with their lives.
They analyzed the behavior of the deer spirits, realizing that while the Children of Wardenwild wouldn't fight, their pathing always followed the safest metaphysical ley lines. If the next batch of explorers could learn to read the subtle shifts in the deer spirits movements before an ambush occurred, they could pre-emptively retreat.
