"If that's true, Kahga is colluding with the Shadow Druids and took power while the former First Druid was captured. The situation in the Grove isn't looking good," Gale said with a grave expression. "After all, they're a bunch of fellows who believe nature should reign above all living things. I have reason to suspect Kahga's spell to seal off the Grove was provided by them. If Kahga actually succeeds, the safety of the people left behind will be hard to guarantee."
"So, not only do we need to rush to the Goblin Camp to find out what's going on, but we also need to carve out some time to search the Swamp Pier mentioned earlier for any evidence they might have left behind. We can use that to prove to those druids that their current leader is a fraud, and completely stop the plan to seal the Grove," Ethemon shrugged helplessly. "Otherwise, even if we really rescue Halsin from the camp and he returns only to find the entire Grove ruined, without knowing this master's character, it's hard to guarantee he'll still be willing to help us solve the Mind Flayer Tadpole problem."
"The sole good news is that whether it's the Mountain Pass, the camp, or the pier, all of them require passing through an abandoned small village. We can make our decision once we get there." Ethemon patted the dust off his clothes, snapped his fingers, and a small, emerald-green little snake crawled out from his fingertips and handed it to Gale. "Take it, it's an absolute master at finding things."
Chapter 18