Of course you are. 
Welcome home! Give Theo some good pats and scritches from us, and be sure to stay in touch! (Mostly because we’re terrified now that not hearing from anyone means we’ve ended up behind another impenetrable magiqal wall, but also because we like hearing from you.)
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@Eaves, I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you all are safe. My heart hurts for you and your hard decision to leave behind the Herald.
Port’s words gave me chills - thank you for sharing. I hope you find some rest and peace for a while in your new digs. Please pass my love and well wishes to the others, and let us know if you need anything.
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I’m so happy and relieved that you and the rest of our Mountaineer family made it! I know you said you’ll struggle with your decision to leave the Herald, but I think you know deep down, in your heart, that her wish was the right one.
I’m also glad to hear that, in this age of fading magiq, it sounds like there’s still some robust and flourishing in the well you’re settling into. It gives me a little hope that we’ll be able to find some magiq in the rest of the world again, too.
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I once heard that for any greatness to be forged, sacrifices must be made. I think the Herald knew that, and saw the greatness within you @Eaves. Leader is a strong title that evokes a sense of responsibility you may not be ready for when you first hear it in relation to yourself, but think nothing of it. You saved so many Mountaineers, and I reckon they also saved you. You’re a hero.
Welcome back.
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I missed this yesterday and I was getting worried! Welcome back, mountaineers all. 
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All I have to say is…
Welcome home.
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We don’t know, which kills me. In the end, with so little magic left, she wasn’t able to reach into the dark to see the future, so I don’t think she could serve them in that capacity. I don’t want to think about what may have happened to her, or what they’d want with her, but it seemed like she was ready to know. I hope that’s not just me telling myself that to feel better about my decision.
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Just wanted to update and let you know that we’re continuing to explore and settle in here. I had to hitchhike two hours to get to the closest internet connection, but we’re hoping to work out a solution with satellite.
A woman in the nearest village has decided she and her family are going to take care of us, food, bedding, and clothes-wise at least (though her hugs are nothing to sneeze at either.) She told me privately that many in the village and surrounding towns don’t even know about “the place” or “the palace” as she sometimes calls it. I’m getting this translated for me but it seems like our new home is perhaps literally invisible to most people. She and her family are thrilled we’re here. She said her ancestors say that good things happen when wanderers find their home in the palace on the mountain.
To be fair, calling our new home a palace would be a bit of a leap. I mean, it’s huge. We barely fill a quarter of the rooms, but it’s seen much better days. Some of us “wanderers” are already working up plans to repair and renovate it. We all need something to keep our hands and minds busy right now. It is beautiful and hey, I’m not complaining about living in a castle, in a country famous for castles (and a particularly pokey ruler of yore.)
Everyone says hi. And thanks. They still can’t see the forum, but I can, obviously. Part of me wondered if christening us all Mountaineers would change something, but I’m happy to be point person between the two mountains until we figure it out. Just call us Basecamp 34. 
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Maybe with time, you can learn more stories from that lovely woman and her family. I would love to hear the lore from her perspective.
Your new place sounds like it was ready to have people and life in it again. I hope you all settle in quickly and begin to rebuild that feeling of safety.
My love and scritchies to Theo - and I suppose anyone else who wants them? I’m not judging.
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Maybe its still part of that veil we have up?
there must be something we must do to prompt the flow in from your camp.
or maybe we’re kept apart my Magiq’s design. sending love and messages through a common connection, and thus we stay safe while we work or magiqs in the new age, out of sight of the Silver.
Edit: Love and Light be with the Palace and it’s occupants. (and many scritches for Theo)
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Ooop, sorry that I’ve been swamped with school stuff. It’s great to have you back, @Eaves. Welcome home 
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good to see you’re back with us, eaves.
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More importantly, how’s Theo?
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I’m so sorry for not following up sooner.
It takes half a day to make it down the mountain, then to internet, and we’ve been pretty busy up at Helm’s Deep, fitting up rooms, setting up a functional indoor kitchen, and otherwise getting everything ready for what looks to be a very chilly winter. We’re high enough in the mountains that we’re already dealing with a few inches of snow and imagine we’ll need to properly batten the hatches (using nautical terms for a castle, I know) and generally hunker down before December. Rasia, our surrogate mom from the closest village, has basically forced her neighbors on penalty of death to give us every spare article of clothing they can. We’ve tried to politely decline, but then wagons end up at our door with bundles of coats, hats, dried meats, etc. I love her.
Everyone is well and sends their love. Theo is especially well. He’s been keeping busy marking the entire perimeter of the castle and chasing ducks out of his favorite pond.
Some of us have had a few out there dreams since we’ve been here, but otherwise, no ghosties or anything else out of the mundane. I’ve tried to ask Rasia via translator what she meant about people being in the castle and how some can’t see it, but she just keeps telling us that it’s a good omen to have wanderers making it a home. So that’s something.
There’s not much more to tell you right now, well, except that I wrote Marty when I wrote all of you last time, to fill him in, to ask if he could see the forum now, to see how he was doing, etc. I just read his response:
“I’m okay, Eaves. Not much new happening on my end. I have feelers out about the wall around the Mountaineers, but nothing concrete. The Low is essentially done for. Without the unifying force of Monarch’s Mountain, things got more and more locked down and elitist. Whatever’s left of them is probably sequestered away in dark corners of the internet, eating its tail. There’s weird energy out here. Like magical New Year’s Eve. Everyone waiting for the ball to drop. The mundane quiet before the new age.
I’ve gotten cryptic messages from Lauren a few times, telling me to find this person, go to this place… I don’t know what it amounts to, but I’m doing what’s asked of me and otherwise enjoying time with my family.
I’m not surprised Ascender was at the core of building the wall, though I’m more inclined to think of it as a protective barrier, a cocoon, rather than a prison. It’s allowing them to keep fighting the good fight while every other faction out here seems to be turning to dust. And now it’s letting you in, which in my mind is 100% white hat behavior. There’s always repercussions and outcomes you can’t account for, Ascender takes the manor, and the Low falls, you join the sanctuary and end up leading it to safety. The Mountaineers get blockaded and find it’s the perfect vantage to keep on saving the world.
It’s why I’m not fighting to get back to the Mounties. I love that motley crew, and have my life back because of them, but what if one day the Guide decides I’m needed to help them do something, and I lose my family again? Magic took them from me once, and that’s not something I can risk. I don’t know where that line is, the event horizon where I can help out here without being dragged back in, but I’d rather play it safe for as long as I can because getting back everything you ever lost isn’t something that ever happens, not to guys like me.
I miss you all, and I love you, dearly. I’ll do whatever I can out here. Please keep me in the loop, on both Basecamps. I’ll keep scouting out here in the wilderness; you keep climbing mountains."
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Good to hear you’re all doing well Eaves! Curious about those dreams, wonder if they’re tryign to tell you guys something. Certianly wouldn’t be the strangest thing we’ve heard. Thanks for relaying Marty’s message too! So good to hear he’s out there doing stuff and that he and his family are okay.
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Rasia is the fierce battle mom we all hope for/possibly aspire to be. 
I second Nim’s curiosity re: the out there dreams. Are there any memorable details upon waking, or is it more of a “wow, that was really weird” and no real specifics as to what made it so?
I’m glad that Marty’s okay (and all of BC34, obviously), and return his sentiments (and definitely get not wanting to toss everything he regained aside if he can avoid it). It almost sounds like Lauren could be using his well-ness to charge ley lines/other wells with his presence in preparation for Magiq New Year’s.
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Great theory, @Ashburn! Lauren must have a purpose for those random errands - I just hope she is taking the proper precautions to keep Marty safe.
Rasia sounds like a lovely person. You’re lucky to have her, @Eaves. Please pass my love to her for being selfless and encouraging the other villagers to be as well.
Scritchies to Theo (and anyone else who wants them)!
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I’m glad you’re doing well, Eaves! And doubly glad you guys have someone who knows how to weather cold weather on your side, it can kill if you don’t respect it, so listen to Rasia!
I’m with @Ashburn on the Marty’s errands theory. It’s not necessarily safe to suddenly flood dry pipes, you have to prime them with a little bit of water first. I assume it’ll be the same with Magiq. Marty basically is always giving off a little Magiq at all times, that could be useful to prepare the place that will soon have way more than they used to. At any rate, I think it’s good he’s following her lead, and also that he’s spending time with his family. We’ll do what we can to keep him from losing them again, but he should still get to enjoy having them back.
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