It seemed quite a silly thing to have access to all sorts of magical tunnels and not take advantage of them – so she packed up a small leaflet parcel of herbs, enough for about a week away from the Shores, and traveled to where she understood a cave entrance to be.

Then, she walked inside.

The impulse surprised even Ampoule herself, who was a creature not wont to travel far from her home. She found power and surprising skill came from intimate commitment and knowledge – just as true healing prowess came from binding the same wounds time and time again, and knowledge of plants came from one’s over experience, sometimes over the span of a lifetime.

This was the blessing of a crone; to have many years to accrue knowledge – and to thwart the desire to move onwards, upwards, to new and barren fields. It was also the blessing of a goddess, who had the same knowledge of the crone, yet amplified a thousandhold.

Ampoule knew her beach, and she loved her beach. She would never leave the lands unattended for long.

But she would go on a teeny vacation (it was so very cold there, anyways) and here, the jungle was hot and humid. It was a balm, but Ampoule was a creature of the ocean, and she did not deign to stay in the forests for long. She trotted to the smell of salt water, to where palms and vines spilled into sand and then into a saline beachside that was surprisingly deep.

A brown, wriggling thing burst from the deep. At first, Ampoule could not contain the gasp that burst forth, and then she responded with the utmost joy and confidence Ahoy, magnificent trunk creature!! and she paddled directly towards it, with little to no fear of this giant, writhing thing.