Encouraging Signs – Chapter 7, Act 3, Strip 17

As you can see, K’ip has completely recovered from his earlier overindulgence, and appears appropriately energetic and happy…happy, I’d assume, with the feeling of not being hungry, as transient as it likely is in his case.*

Energized and refreshed, K’ip and Si’ri have tackled the last leg of their journey to the Sanctuary of Serenity, and they have now indeed reached the place, as confirmed by the results of Si’ri’s aerial reconnaissance. A quite useful ability of hers, but only as long as wind speeds aren’t excessive…if she’d tried to do the same thing in a strong wind with her tiny wings, she might have found herself back on the other shore of the inland sea without even needing a ship.

Fortunately, the wandering sage had described the outward appearance of the place in some detail, which not only helps Si’ri to unambiguously identify it, but also prevents possible misinterpretations. You know how iffy pareidolia can be…if Si’ri hadn’t known that she should expect to see the gently smiling face of a very gaunt philosopher in the shape of the ground and the rock formations around the Sanctuary, I really don’t know what she might have misinterpreted it for.

Shortly after Si’ri’s return, a sign at the wayside confirms the identification beyond any doubt, since it clearly says “The Sanctuary of Serenity”…as written in the slightly unusual local dialect.

Things are really looking good for our friends, at the moment. Well fed, well rested, and the outlook on even more opportunity for peaceful repose at a hospitable sanctuary. Who’d have thought that, after such an inauspicious beginning to their stay on this new continent, things would soon look so entirely and completely non-inauspicious in every conceivable way?

More on Mon…uh, Thursday.

*Si’ri probably removed the ‘bowl’ he used earlier from his sight, to prevent him from getting hungry again at the mere sight of an empty bowl. She’s become quite the experienced cat-lady over the course of her joint adventure with an En’ilef.

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