Once they reached the front gate, Zeo went to talk to the guards. Lloyd couldn't hear what they were saying, they were whispering, but the huge gate was cranked open, and the guards looked curious rather than hostile as they passed through. So Zeo probably hadn't been bad talking him.

The town within was larger than he'd been imagining. He scanned the old timey buildings, disguising his search for an escape route if needed as normal curiosity. The building placement seemed somewhat random, like they'd just added new buildings as needed instead of having a layout planned out beforehand. Almost none of the buildings were as tall as the wall and none of the ones that were tall enough were close enough to the wall to make the jump. The wall itself was pretty smooth on the inside too, the outside had been a bit more beat up, more footholds. Lloyd could probably scale the inner walls if it turned out these people weren't friendly, but if he was being chased while doing it that could get real messy. The opening plaza, rather than the usual fountain or statue, just had flowers so it was very open. But the roofs were the better option anyways, if he stuck to the ground the locals knew this place infinitely more than he did.

Now having at least a rough idea of the terrain, Lloyd turned his attention to the people. There weren't too many people just out and walking around at the moment. They looked normal. Well, they looked like they'd stepped out of a painting in a museum, with the old timey clothing style, not a graphic tee to be seen, but that was to be expected in this bizarre circumstance. They weren't armored up like Ari or Zeo, no need for it unless you went outside, he supposed. No suspicious matching clothes or tattoos or any super obvious cult indicators. The full range of ages too, from elderly to children.

Lloyd relaxed slightly.

The locals had noticed him by now and were glancing at him nervously. He knew he must look weird though, it wasn't too worrying.

"We should probably go straight to the town hall," Ari suggested, also noticing the attention Lloyd was getting. "Before any crazy rumors start going around."

"Alright," Lloyd agreed easily. He wasn't overly hopeful these elders could help him, surely if they knew a way back to Ninjago they would have used it by now, but right now it was all he had to go on.

The cousins began to lead Lloyd through the dirt streets. There were occasionally stone paved streets, but paved streets didn't seem to be a priority. He supposed if you didn't have cars, it wasn't as big of a deal. Everyone they passed looked surprised to see Lloyd. It wasn't just his clothes. How rare were visitors here? How far was the closest town? If travel was so dangerous…

They were nearing the center of the town when they were approached by a couple of curious kids, a redhead girl and brown-haired boy.

"Is he a trader?" the boy asked Zeo and Ari. The way he said it and his straightforward approach led Lloyd to conclude the cousins knew these kids. Maybe everyone knew everyone here.

"No," Ari corrected gently and both children's faces fell in disappointment. "Just a visitor. He's fine. We're taking him to see the elders."

The little girl cocked her head. "Who's he visiting?"

"Just, the town, in general," Ari shrugged. "No one in particular."

Both children's faces scrunched. "That's stupid," the boy scoffed. "Why visit somewhere if you don't know anyone and you don't have any trades?

"Yeah, it is dumb," Zeo agreed, side eyeing Lloyd. He'd warm up to Lloyd eventually. Hopefully.

"He's a bit lost," Ari explained. Zeo snorted so hard that for a second Lloyd worried he was choking. "Don't worry everything's fine. Zeo wouldn't have let him in if he was dangerous."

"Yeah, that's true," the boy considered, then sighed. "I was hoping we'd finally get something besides boring old rice."

The realization hit Lloyd and he took a closer look at the two children. He'd thought their clothes were just a bit roughed up from playing outside, but that kind of fraying and worn-down cloth didn't happen in a day. They were also both a little too thin for comfort. They didn't appear to be starving but their arms weren't quite as thick as they should be and their skin that he could see around their neck and chest was a tad too tight. None of the people here had looked outright starving but he hadn't seen anyone overweight either. Had there been any farms here before? These people had been fleeing to the forest, had there been any sort of town here originally? If trade was so rare and unreliable, they must be relying mainly on locally grown food. How could there possibly be enough to sustain what had been a huge and unexpected influx of people?

"C'mon," the girl tugged the boy away. "We gotta finish our chores."

"Yeah," the boy grumbled, allowing the girl to lead him away. "Bye."

"Sorry if they came across rude," Ari apologized. "We really don't get visitors except for traders and the rare person searching for a family member. Even traders are fairly rare. Your clothes are strange too. You're bound to draw attention."

"It's fine," Lloyd assured. "I'd be curious too."

It only took two more minutes to reach the town hall. Lloyd didn't realize it was the town hall until they turned to enter the building. He'd been expecting something more ornate.

Ari went to speak to the lady at the front desk. After a quick, rather vague, exchange, they both went to gather the elders, leaving Lloyd alone with Zeo. The other boy watched Lloyd like he thought he might try to dart away at any moment.

"They aren't going to be able to help me, are they," Lloyd stated more than asked. He got the feeling that Zeo would be more honest (realistic) than his cousin.

Zeo's lips twitched downwards before evening out again. "I doubt it," he said bluntly, then shrugged. "But maybe you know something they didn't. You managed to get here after all. If something's changed, they might know something that could help."

"The forest is supposed to go both ways, right?" Lloyd hypothesized. "I should be able to just- go back the way I came." Maybe he should have tried while he was still there. But he'd been very distracted by the fact that there were people on the Dark Island. He had to talk to them first. He'd feel like he was abandoning them if he didn't.

"Theoretically, yes," Zeo nodded, but the way he said it he should be shaking his head instead. "But we've been trying to pass through at least once a week, and it's never worked. Did you do anything special?"

Something told Lloyd that saying, 'I followed the voices in my head, but they're quiet now' would not go over well. "I don't think so?"

"Hn," Zeo tsked. At least he seemed to believe Lloyd was from Ninjago now.

There was an awkward beat of silence then Lloyd asked, "So, how many people live here?"

"I don't want to talk to you," Zeo grunted shortly, grouchily leaning against the wall.

"Oh, okay, sure," Lloyd fumbled. He wasn't asking unreasonable questions. But if Zeo wasn't in the chatting mood…

There was a much longer awkward stretch of silence between them. It was a relief when Ari came back.

"We had to send someone to get your dad, Zeo," she told her cousin. "But everyone else has gathered." Turning to Lloyd, Ari beckoned him down the hall. "C'mon, they're all eager to meet you."

"Right," Lloyd said, fighting down his anxiety. The weight of his isolation was suddenly crushing, briefly making it hard to breathe. He had no back up. No one was coming. He hadn't felt this alone in a long time. Even if bad situations- a fight with not great odds, kidnapped, even possessed- he'd known someone, multiple someones, was doing their best to come help him. Not even the ninja were going to be able to find Lloyd here. They wouldn't even dream of the possibility.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself before Ari led him into a large room where the elders were waiting. They were- not as old as he'd been expecting. There were plenty of grey-haired heads, but there were a decent amount of middle-aged adults too. Not young, but not what he pictured when thinking about the word 'elder'. They were all sitting around a big mahogany table, watching Lloyd approach with sharp interest. Sunlight filtered in from windows along the tops of the walls.

He copied the short bow Ari gave the group, not wanting to come across rude. Hopefully the action made sense and didn't make him look stupid. This culture was alien to him, he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing or what would be considered offensive.

"So you claim to be from Eastern Ninjago?" one of the grey haired ladies questioned, expression skeptical.

"Um, yeah, I guess that's what you call it," Lloyd confirmed. "Which makes sense. It is Ninjago. And it is east from here. Across the ocean." The elders leaned in closer to their neighbors and whispered to each other. He couldn't make out any of the words, they were too fast and quiet and there were too many overlapping voices.

"And you came through the forest?" one of the younger men with a still full head of black hair asked.

"Well, I walked into the forest then ended up here," Lloyd explained. "I didn't realize it was a magic forest. It was just- a normal forest. People walk through it all the time. There are paths and everything. I think I went deeper than most people, I went off the path, but there was nothing to indicate it was some portal, teleportation forest." He wouldn't have gone in alone if it had seemed like anything but a normal forest.

More whispering. At least it didn't seem to be hostile whispering. No one seemed mad at him.

"Come now, everyone," the man with greying blonde hair at the head of the table (who looked suspiciously like Ari. Her dad? Her uncle?) remarked, drawing everyone's attention. "I know these are rousing circumstances and we do not often receive guests but let us not forget our manners." The man addressed Lloyd directly. "Welcome to Haven's Gate, young traveler. I am Argus Caddel, chieftain of this village. I understand what has happened to you is distressing, but rest assured, we will help you where we can. We too have great interest in establishing contact with Ninjago's other half. My daughter said your name is Lloyd?"

So this was the dad. Ari's dad was the chief? "Yes, sir," he nodded.

"And what is your surname?" Chief Caddel asked.

Would they recognize Garmadon somehow? "Smith," Lloyd blurted out. "Lloyd Smith."

"Hm, a fairly common surname," Chief Caddel mused. "I had wondered if I might recognize it. There were many who were able to flee the land's sinking." He sighed heavily. "But I suppose there is no point in searching for families at this point. I doubt there is anything to be found that could grant peace after so long."

That was… awful. Really, really awful. How many families had been separated? Surely most families had been close together. Unless there'd been some sort of war conscription… To know your family member had died thousands of years ago, you'd never see them again, you would never know what kind of life they lived on Ninjago, you couldn't even be sure if they had truly managed to escape. There wouldn't be records of random civilians at that time period. Was sinking the Dark Island really the best option his grandfather had available at the time? Lloyd knew that saving everyone in that sort of situation was virtually impossible and the First Master had saved these people's lives too but- there had been no perfect solution. This was the method that had saved the most lives. But harm had still been done.

"But back to the matter at hand," Chief Caddel continued. "Akari tells us you have some sort of power gifted to you from the First Master. Could this power be what allowed you to successfully pass through the barrier?"

"Uh, maybe?" Lloyd replied uncertainly. "I wasn't using it at the time." There had been that- outburst- but it hadn't seemed to do anything. Nothing had glowed or reacted or anything.

Another round of whispers. Ari's dad asked Lloyd another question. "Akari says you were part of the group that defeated the Overlord?"

"Yes," Lloyd nodded. "There are other people with powers like mine. Well, not exactly like mine, we've all got different elements, but we worked together to take down the Overlord." Kind of an unfair description, it didn't take into account all of Lloyd's failures, but that would all be too much to explain at the moment. He needed to keep the focus on getting home.

"So he really is gone…" a brown haired man marveled.

"We already knew that," the elderly woman who'd been the first to speak snapped. "The question now is how to reestablish contact with the rest of the world." Lloyd was very happy with where this conversation was going.

"If the forest is working again," a bearded man pointed out. "We can just use it to cross."

A flurry of excited whispers and nodding spread through the table.

"If the forest doesn't work," Ari pipped up. "How would we get Lloyd back home then?"

The elders' silence was not reassuring.

"He'd be stuck here with the rest of us," a male voice came from behind. Lloyd turned to see what had to be Zeo's dad (they looked similar, had the same hair color, and Ari had already said his dad would be arriving late) striding in, fully armored. A guard? Hunting outside the city walls? Paranoid? Probably a guard.

"But I have to get home," Lloyd asserted. "I have- responsibilities." What would his da- Garmadon do if he found out Lloyd was no longer in Ninjago? Or even just missing? "And my family will be freaking out. I just disappeared, I went out on a walk and didn't come back."

The ninja maybe would be able to find out he'd gone to the forest once they started investigating where the hell Lloyd had gone, especially if they managed to figure out who Zuki was and hunted her down. It wouldn't be easy, but the ninja were very capable of finding that stuff. Lloyd hadn't even been hiding his tracks that much, he'd been banking on them never really looking. Like, the gas station he'd gone to next to the forest, he hadn't bothered avoiding the security camera. But unless the forest teleported the ninja too, the trail would end there.

"Well if the forest doesn't work," Zeo's dad said gruffly, "that only leaves making the journey on foot. And that's months of traveling across dangerous, uninhabited- heh, well uninhabited by humans- land with often treacherous terrain." He pinned Lloyd with an accusatory glare. "We can't give you an escort, we are already struggling with what little manpower we have. You'd have to go alone." A hint of a sneer appeared on his face. "Trying to make the journey is suicide even for a Western Ninjagan. A foreigner, even one with light up powers, wouldn't last a week."

Months. Cold dread pooled within Lloyd. That was- no, the forest would work. It had to. Why wouldn't it? He'd just used it. If it didn't work…

"We can worry about that if the forest remains closed," Chief Caddel assuaged. To the wider group he announced, "We will gather a team and attempt a crossing immediately." Shifting his gaze back to Lloyd he asked. "Do you think you can retrace your path through the forest?"

Narrowing his eyes in focus, Lloyd nodded. He had a good memory for that kind of thing. The way the forest layout had changed going in and out did throw him off some, but there hadn't been any big twists or turns. Even without the voices, it was totally doable. "Yeah, I remember the way."