Returning to the surface, Avilin and I set up camp in a field near the river where I'd disembarked from the bunnies' ferry. I set up a makeshift workshop-workbench, furnace, and anvil-before Avilin returned with two potato sacks over her shoulders, filled with stone and red lumber.

Dropping off the potato sacks, she set up some topographical equipment and began to wander the field. "The chasms disrupted Avalon's internal polarity, causing the magnetic fields to shift," she muttered, holding out a straight-edge. "The focus point is now located... right about..."

Hopping down from a small rock ledge, she stepped over to one spot in particular. "Here." And she marked it with torches for now.

The focus-point-or the "spawn-point", as the most avid veterans called it-was the place that connected Avalon to the vast host of dryads across Terraria, responsible for restoring fallen adventures to life.

And yet... even with such a great host of dryads working in tandem, an emissary was still needed. Without the spectre to bring our souls backr to the focus-point, resurrection could not happen.

Though he'd been the one to convince me to come here in the first place, I hadn't seen the spectre in Avalon yet. Did that mean I was not under his protection, for now?

Sleeping through the afternoon, we awoke as dusk approached. The bunnies' boat had returned and was now safely moored on the riverbank, but there was no sign of the crew.

"Even bunnies have to sleep at some time," said Avilin as we set up a campfire near the focus-point. "They have little dens nearby, I'm sure."

Huddling into a ball, I stared into the comforting, nourishing flames as the sun dipped below the horizon. "Hey, Avilin?" I asked finally.

"Just call me Al," she said, putting a potato on a stick and roasting it over the fire like a marshmellow. "What is it?"

"Tell me more about the guild."

She hesitated. "There are other guilds, but this is the only one I've ever known," said Avilin. "At its heart, the Guild was formed to unite adventurers. Together, they could overcome challenges that would have been insurmountable alone."

Teammates? Yes, Rose had been insufferable at times but... "More importantly, the guild trains the guides," added Al. "With their vast knowledge on crafting and monsters, the guides help new adventurers to survive."

I swallowed. How hard had the guides trained and worked, only to die because a new adventurer couldn't protect them? Had the guides been Al's friends? "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "Two guides died because of me."

Al shook her head. "The guides are volunteers," she assured me. "They knew the risks before they even came to the guild. And despite all that, they're willing to perform their duty."

We were silent. Rose was to blame for Kyle's death, in part at least-but Jack's death had been entirely my fault. Even knowing they accepted death as a possibility, I... I still couldn't dispel this feeling of guilt.

"I've been hiding out for a month or two now," admitted Avilin as we sat by the fire. "We adventurers can't last long without a support group like the guild, you know. Sooner or later, something picks us off."

I stared into the flames. "Maybe Rose could help..."

With uncanny timing, our beacons came to life. "Not a chance! I'm in my private den, peasants," said Rose, her voice filtering through the tiny crystal lights. "Neither of you are cool enough to get in. Bye!"

The beacons went silent, and a blue locator mark appeared in the distance. "Let's go find Rose before she gets herself killed," sighed Al, loading up her handgun with fresh bullets. "Come on."

Nodding, I picked up my crimtane sword and followed after her.

A few grass-caves, a few slopes; we bounded through the woods toward Rose's locator, coming to a stop in the shadows of a Living Tree.

"Ah! Here we go," muttered Al, squatting next to a deep, narrow pit. The opening was clearly too small for either of us to fit inside. Was this Rose's den?

Images flashed through my head-potted plants, a few paintings, a bed made of leaves, fenceposts and rope littered everywhere. Yes... I could see Rose living in such a place.

Al looked at me and raised her pickaxe, positioning herself over the narrow hole. "Let's take care of this, shall we? Stand back-to-back with me. You on the right, me on the left."

I was taking out my pickaxe when I suddenly realized what we were doing. "Are you sure we should..."

"Definitely sure," she replied. "Ready? Go."

We started tunneling down with incredible speed, our pickaxes widening the narrow shaft with rapid hacks. Sparks flew as platinum and crimtane toolheads struck stone, tearing through the soil.

About a hundred feet down or so, the dirt under our feet crumbled, and we both tumbled down into a small grass-cave. Brushing dirt off my armor, I lit a torch and got to my feet. In the middle of the cave lay Rose, fast asleep.

The cave was completely empty. No bed of leaves, no fence-posts or ropes, no flowerpots; just Rose, alone in this little cave. "Hey, you there," said Al, gently kicking the sleeping girl. "Get up."

"Huh?" Rose's eyes opened slowly at first-then suddenly, she sat upright. "My den!" she cried, staring around the barren cave, aghast. "Everything's gone! Why?"

No. Not everything was gone. I stooped down to pick up a dusty picture frame that had fallen in the dust. "What do you mean?" asked Avilin.

Rose pressed her palm to her cheek. "I... I don't know," she said after a moment. "I was talking to you two through the beacon a moment ago. And then...I kinda just drifted off."

In the dim torchlight, I was able to make out two smiling girls in the picture before Rose tugged it away from me. "Well, we're here now," said Al, helping Rose up. "It's not safe here, though. Come back to camp with us."

Climbing back to the surface, the three of us headed back to camp.

"You must be Avilin," said Rose as we crossed under the roots of a living tree. "I've heard about you. Living in the snow for the last two weeks."

Al nodded. "And you're Rose Guriri," she replied. "The pleasure is mine."

We spent the rest of the night by the campfire, fending off zombies.