The Kindling Grove
Every new frog comes up out of the Arrival Ring, a circle of eight standing stones in a sunlit clearing, and the first thing they see is smoke. Bardo, the Fire-Keeper, keeps a wayfire burning beside the ring, and he has a kettle that wants filling.
The clearing itself is calm by day. The danger starts at the edges: in the hedges, in the ditches of the Gap, and after dark, when the small flames of the Wickmaws come creeping toward any light. East, past the Gap, the Grovebridge leads out onto the West Road.
Left: where the Kindling Grove lies in the world (the lit box); click another place to go there.
Landmarks
- Wayfire: You see the wayfire. A small fire in a ring of blackened stones, fed with patience.
- Spring pool: You see a spring pool. Clear, cold, and full of sky.
- Berry bush: You see a kindleberry bush. The berries are small, red and a little warm.
- Broken cart: You see a broken cart. One wheel is split, one sack is still full of nothing.
- Split crate: You see a split crate. Gnawed from the inside, which is worrying.
- The gap: You see a gap in the trees. The hedge beyond it rustles when there is no wind.
- Arrival ring: You see a flagstone worn smooth by many feet. A ring of carved marks circles one glyph: three letters folded into a single sign.
- Signpost: You see a signpost at the fork.
- Hollow log: You see a hollow log, rotten at one end. Something has been sleeping in it.