“Shortly after I received those items, Elder Berry’s messages became more frantic and troubled. She told me that the creatures, who before could only be seen from distance, were now appearing closer and closer to the cabin, leaving her to stand guard every night, as they watched her home. As more and more appeared each night, Elder Berry was in terror. I urged her to leave the cabin, but she refused. She said she couldn’t leave behind certain items and books, ones she refused to speak of, just as she did when asked why she lives alone and hidden.  
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.”