136
Read to everyone:
It’s already been a long day and you’re exhausted from your trip. You do your best to persuade Olara to wait until morning. She eventually agrees, but the set of her jaw makes it clear she’s not happy about it.
Teb works with a few other Nora to ask some refugee family members to share beds, just barely finding enough for your party. Thanking him, you fall asleep to the sound of a dozen other people in the same room, all trying to impact each other as little as possible.
You’re awake before the sun, only to find that Olara is already gone. Teb seems unsurprised by this, shaking his head. “She probably left moments after we put out the lights.” Frowning, his eyes again pass over your Focuses.
“If you’d be willing, I’d like you to check on her, to make sure she got home safe. She can take care of herself, but I’ve never seen a pack of that many machines in the Embrace, and she’s just one person. As much as I’d love to put you to work on a new lodge, we can’t lose any more Nora today.”
Teb doesn’t have anything to offer you for the effort, beyond a shared breakfast. He draws a map in the dirt of the location of Olara’s home. It’s a cave on All-Mother Mountain, though there’s no direct route and the path around the base is not an easy one. He thinks you can be there and back again by mid-morning, if you’re willing.
If you’re willing to make the trip immediately, continue on to entry 137. Otherwise, explain to Teb that you’re not up for the trip, then continue on to entry 191.