One day I received a new letter from her, expecting a new tale of night terrors, but found something different. To my surprise, Elder Berry claimed to have made peace with the creatures, after finding a way to properly communicate with them. She was so exhausted and ill from the siege that lasted for months, that I could hardly recognize her normally neat handwriting. I was told to take the items she sent me and go over to visit her cabin, where we could be the first to come to know these mysterious beings. I spent weeks hesitating, quoting different tasks as taking up my time. In the end, despite a foreboding sense of danger, I packed my things and got on the morning train to the far-off forest town near which she settled. By sunset I stood before Elder Berry’s cabin.”