The Wanderer's Paradise was dimly lit, the scent of old wood and ale filling the room. As Taycqu approached the bar, he caught the attention of Alyssa Corso, the tavern’s keeper—a sharp-eyed woman with silver streaks in her hair, the kind of person who had seen many adventurers pass through her doors. She glanced at him as he asked the question that had been on his mind since he’d arrived. “Explorers of the Howling Lands?” he said quietly.

Alyssa’s eyes flickered with curiosity. “Not something you hear much about these days,” she replied. “The Howling Lands… well, no one’s gone there in over forty years. A generation has passed since anyone dared to try. They call it 'piercing the veil,' you know—the great haboob that separates us from the unknown.”

She motioned for Taycqu to follow her, leading him to a table tucked away in a quiet corner of the room. The table was old, the wood weathered and worn, but it held a map carved into its surface—a jagged line representing the Worldteeth Mountains, and beyond that, a vast, mostly blank expanse. Taycqu traced the edges of the carving with his fingers, feeling the deep grooves that marked the edge of the known world. It was clear that this table had not been added to in decades. “See that?” Alyssa pointed at the empty stretch beyond the mountains. “That's the Howling Lands. Once, there were explorers—brave souls who sought to chart that place, add their mark to this map. But the veil broke them, one after another. Most never came back.” Taycqu stood silently, taking it all in. There was something about the unknown that called to him, something about that vast, blank expanse that beckoned. “These days, everyone’s too busy chasing jumpstones,” Alyssa continued, shaking her head. “The Glimmering Gap is full of miners and prospectors, and no one’s got the courage—or the sense, some would say—to head north. They don’t see the value in it.” She looked at him then, her gaze lingering as if weighing his spirit. “But you,” she said, her voice softer now, “you’ve got something different about you. I can see it. You’ve got the heart of an explorer. The Howling Lands may be forgotten, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t waiting. There’s a story out there that needs writing—and a map that needs finishing.”