Teresa of the Faint Smile, Adventures of a Stringy Bosmer Options

[Acadian]

'Granted, the City Guardsmen probably all knew her as the crazy wood elf by now anyway.'

"Oblivion no!" the City Guardsman chuckled. "Lady Scaurus is paying the beggars a septim for every pound of nails they bring her. I hear she's going to melt it all down and sell it to the smithies. Some of it'll probably end up in your vice-commander's armory."
Talk about an efficient passage! Here you confirmed (much to my delight) that Teresa has made friends with at least one guard in Bravil, confirming that they are not all bad apples there. Secondly you remind us who the grand lady of Teresa's Bravil is and why. Thirdly, you confirm what an unpleasant tightwad His Pompousness is. Fourthly, you let us know that Teresa and Marius really do know each other as Marius references Teresa's guild membership. And finally, it suggests something that you have built into TF - that is, that there is likely a touch of camaraderie (and perhaps friendly rivalry) between soldiers and fighters guildsters.

'Having served as a bodyguard herself on more than one contract, Teresa knew just how precious a day of nothing happening was. It was what every guard hoped for, because when things were exciting, it usually ended badly for someone.'
And more evidence of a bit of a professional relationship/understanding between the soldiers and the guild. The main reason I quoted this passage however is for its simple truth.

Your flashback was wonderfully done. Powerful, poignant and relevant. And leave it to an insecure wood elf to somehow guiltily condemn herself of betraying her mother for even considering the possibilities of having been born into different circumstances.

Nit: 'But the Imperial as too quick, and his armored paw locked onto one of her arms with a vise-like grip.'
Of course you meant 'was' here, but the 'w' got dropped somehow.

[King Coin]

I haven't had a chance to really sit down and read Teresa in a while. Glad I got to today.

29.1

What a wonderful way to open the chapter. She's been in the Guild for a few days and has settled into a routine. We follow her through the city on her morning jog and take in the sights.

29.2

Worried about not looking good Teresa? Tadrose should ease those fears. She's been in the guild a long time and you can't help but check her out whenever you can

She's really fitting in well in the guild hall.

29.3

You worked in the little apprentice perk for archery in this episode I see. She no longer gets tired from shooting. I like how flawlessly you worked that in.

The training and talk afterword is very enjoyable. Glad to see Teresa finally getting along with Pappy. When's that temper going to strike again?

29.4

More relationship building. Not much to say other than it was just as fun to read as the training.

I wonder as well, does Tadrose remember those little things for everyone? Or has she taken a special liking to Teresa?

[hazmick]

A brilliant chapter! Teresa battling with one of her inner Daedra and showing us more of her past was brilliant. I am also plaesed to see that Teresa has made another friend! She's becoming quite popular.

Appelia Caesennius. I'll remember that name in case she pops up in future chapters. For her sake, I hope she doesn't bump into Teresa.

[Grits]

Realizing that she is better off for not following Simplicia’s advice would be painful, especially if Teresa is not sure that’s what her vision is showing her. It’s painful enough to relive these memories, but she also has to struggle to interpret them. Too bad they don’t come with an explanation. Teresa facing her shadow is a fascinating inner journey.

[King Coin]

Finished 29
29.5

Shock would have been better but fire is just as good for most enemies. It will be handy if Teresa ever encounters trolls or vampires.

This meal should be great. Teresa can enjoy everything that Pappy has brought out.

The spot at the table set for the fallen is wonderful. A touching tradition.

29.6

I sympathize with Teresa. I hate being the center of attention.

As soon as he said pain the neck, I knew it was definitely our Teresa he was talking about!"

This line gave me a good laugh!

[Ceidwad]

Like all of the city's soldiers, he wore mail armor that was covered by a cream surcoat emblazoned with the brown and green stag of the county's regalia. A kite-shaped shield was gripped in one of his hands, painted with the same stag, and an arming sword was slung at his left hip.

Nice description of the armoured guard here. I can picture him now!

The flashback was really outstandingly done though, as was Teresa's thoughts. Life is tough at the bottom - in the TF anyway - so how could Simplicia have taught Teresa differently? She recognises this, after initially telling herself differently. Simplicia's advice kept Teresa safe, that is the main thing.

[Olen]

Like Acadian said for the words with Marius I found that the flashback also contained a lot of different points. Certainly there is some of the root (though as she realises far from all) of her dislike of nobility, but there's more too. I suspect it might be her first realisation of how justice fails and planted the seed of some of her rage but that rage is made worse by her lack of realisation that the memory is also one of Simplicia giving frankly bad advice. Safe advice certainly, but perhaps not the best.

That she owes so much to Simplicia makes her feel guilty about thinking she's wrong, even if it's the truth but it also links to her station and birth which in turn links to her biological parents, as with the previous section. It's certainly a tangled web you've created and quite plausible that she doesn't see through it, I suspect both becasue it's difficult and she doesn't want to.

This facing the shadow is very well done. Using the flashbacks to fill journey time is a nice idea too.

[SubRosa]

mALX: I did not make either of those armor mods. The first is a simple retexture, I cannot remember which one. The second is the miran talurn armor from Shdw Armor Pack 2.


haute ecole rider: I have a lot of Facing the Shadow scenes worked out. I thought this one where she meets the mysterious white-haired patrician was perfect to feature, as it creates a wonderful juxtaposition to Lady Scaurus' philanthropic efforts. The Great Lady is one of my favorite supporting characters.


Acadian: Was indeed. Lousy spellchecker, ought to know what I want, rather than what I wrote... That whole first half was indeed meant to portray the growing relationship between Teresa and Marius of the Gate. He features highly in a future episode, so I want to establish him beforehand.


King Coin: I wanted to say Teresa was a pain in a lower body part, but the forum wouldn't let me! That gives me a good laugh too, because it is so true!


hazmick: I really don't have any future plans for that white-haired patrician. But you never know...


Grits: Teresa could really use a shrink to help her with this, someone who does not have an emotional involvement with Teresa, or the people in her life.


Ceidwad: I worked hard on getting that description of the guard right. It has been a while since I described them, and I wanted to refresh everyone's memories with how they looked.


Olen: You have pretty much hit all the things I was looking to accomplish with that flashback. Not just why poor people dislike and distrust the aristocracy, but more importantly, Teresa's own deep-seated feelings of resentment for the person who raised her to be safe, but also to not have respect for herself.


Previously on Teresa of the Faint Smile: In our last episode, Teresa set out from Bravil, headed for the Arimer ruin of Bawn. On the way she mused about her latest bout of facing her Shadow, which was deeply troubling, as it brought to light her resentment over the mistakes Simplicia made in raising her, as well as her own feelings of shame and self-recrimination over having those feelings toward the woman who raised her.


Chapter 35.3 - Bawn

Teresa leaned down to gather up a handful of hazelnuts before continuing on her journey. She had collected quite a bit of nightshade, mandrake, bergamot, and arrowroot in her three day journey around the southern end of Niben Bay. But where the latter were meant for potions, this would be dinner, along with the sedge, sheep sorrel, and hen plant seeds she had been finding ever since turning east along the shore of the lake.

Teresa continued on her way, and soon the oaks, cottonwoods, and striped maples around her gave way to tilled fields. Now empty of their produce, the mounds that had once hosted the Three Sisters lay covered in discarded squash leaves. The wood elf made her way through the empty fields, remembering how Olava had told her that those leaves would provide a mulch to enrich the soil.

The sweet scent of woodsmoke came to Teresa's nostrils as she neared the sturdy walls of a village. Unlike Silverbridge, this settlement was well-fortified. Its first line of defense was a ditch, and behind it a palisade doubtlessly created from the leftover dirt. Atop the mound of soil rose a wall of thick oak that ringed the settlement. She could see a square tower crowning each corner of the walls, occupied by at least one guardian apiece. Making her way to the main entrance of the settlement, she found a pair of great wooden gates bound in iron. While one stood closed, the other was open for people to pass through.

Pausing a moment to make sure her red Fighters Guild medallion was in plain view and had its sword-emblazoned logo showing, Teresa strode to the entry. She found a trio of men clad in worn flax waiting for her there. Each clutched a round shield in one hand, and a steel-tipped spear in the other.

"Halt stranger! Who are ye, and what's yer business in Maplemill?"

Teresa blinked, and turned to the man who had spoken. By his olive skin and raven-black hair, she took him for a Nibenean. Even this far from a major city, she was not used to such a curt greeting. It made her wonder if they had been having more than the usual problems with bandits, or other dangers in the wilderness?

"I am Ter-"

"Teresa of the Faint Smile!" another human exclaimed, cutting the wood elf off in mid-sentence. He also had the dark hair of an Imperial, yet from his fair skin and blue eyes, Teresa imagined he was Colovian by birth. "I saw you in the tournament! I could not believe that last round you shot, all rapid fire!"

Teresa tried not to sigh. There was that name again. It seemed that there was someone in every village she stopped at who knew her by it. It had even been in the most recent copy of the Black Horse courier, that had covered the Tournament of Archers.

Still, it was really not so bad, she thought. At least it made winning the trust of strangers a little easier. Mustering up one of the faint smiles she was now famous for, she did her best to be amiable.

"Yes, that is I," she said. "Well met friends. I was hoping to fill my waterskin from your well, and perhaps ask for some directions?"

"Well any member of the Fighters Guild is welcome here," the last man said. Unlike the others, who were clearly in their prime, this man's hair had gone to grey, including that of the short beard which covered his face. "I'm Spurius, that is Tertius who saw you at the tournament, and Cincius who gave you the warm greeting."

The first man turned a little red at the other man's words. Then made a point of looking away and striding past Teresa to stand in the open gateway. Spurius waved her to follow, and led her deeper into the settlement. In the meantime Tertius vanished from sight so quickly that Teresa wondered if he had used an invisibility potion.

There was not much to the main street of the village. It was really just a simple dirt path wider than most of the others between the wattle and daub homes that made up the settlement. Chickens and goats ran to and fro underfoot, along with children playing a game of tag. Teresa saw women putting up laundry, men adding new thatch to the roofs of their homes, and other folk simply going about the daily life of a farmer.

"I have to say, it's good to be seeing someone from the Fighters Guild out here again," the old man said as they walked. "The Bravil Guard never comes down here, and we haven't seen the legion since the Fourth Cohort went marching by back in Midyear. On their way to Bruma I suppose they were."

Teresa nodded. It was the same everywhere. Ever since the Oblivion Crisis, there were just not enough legionaries to go around. She wondered how much longer it would take for Volsinius to train their new recruits, so the patrols could go back to normal again?

"It must be hard, this far into the wilderness," Teresa said. "Have you had any problems lately? With trolls, or anything else?"

"No, not yet at least," Spurius said as they came to the well. Teresa lowered the bucket down into its depths, and began the slow process of cranking it back up once she felt it grow heavy with water. "We keep to ourselves here in Maplemill. 'Don't go looking for trouble, and trouble won't find you' I always say. I hear a few months ago some kids from Thistledown went into the Haunted Forest. Don't know if they ever came back. Damned idiots, ought to know better."

"The Haunted Forest?" Teresa asked as she lifted the bucket - now heavy with water - to the stone lip of the well. Dunking her waterskin within, she filled it with the clear liquid. "Where is that?"

"Up north and east o' here, just before the coast." The old man pointed toward the back of the village for reference. "Right outside of Bawn. Cursed both are I say, by that damn Witch from the island. Smart folk will stay clear of all three."

"You're not telling that Witch story again are you?"

Teresa turned to see the Colovian from the gate - Tertius - standing with a woman she imagined might be his wife, and a boy who was the spitting image of both. Like Tertius, they were clad in simple flax, but Teresa could not fail to notice the small self bow clutched in the child's hands.

"Put a spell on me that freak did," Spurius spat. "Gave me the look he, or she, whatever the blazes it is, did. Since then I…" the other man's word trailed away as he looked at the woman and child. Teresa wondered what it was he was going to say, that he did not want to bring up in front of them? Something very personal, and male, no doubt!

She could not contain another faint smile at the thought, and wondered who this Witch might be?

"That Witch never hurt no one," the woman with Tertius spoke up now. "She's a right kind one she is. Without that potion she made for little Marcus here, he'd still have blood lung."

Spurius grumbled something about the gate, and stomped off back the same way he and Teresa had come from. Teresa could not keep from thinking of Morcant as his back receded. Half the villagers who lived near her seemed to be just as fearful, yet also just as willing to use her services when they needed them. Why on Nirn were people so afraid of Witches?

"The Mages Guild tells them to be," Morcant's words floated up in her memory. "Not to mention the temples. Because every time someone comes to us, they are not making money."

"This is my wife Baebiana, and our son Marcus," Tertius declared, gesturing to the pair of Imperials beside him. "Marcus here is going to be an archer when he grows up. I was sort of wondering if you might be able to give him a few pointers? What, with you being such a champion archer yourself."

Now Teresa understood why he had vanished earlier. She wanted him to teach his son archery! Her of all people! How on Nirn could she explain to them that even after ten years, she was still learning herself?

Yet when she looked down into the dark brown eyes of young Marcus, and the shy hope that glowed there, she found that she could not say no. "Well, Alawen is the champion archer," Teresa said, "but I suppose I can do what I can."

"Capital, just capital!" Tertius beamed enthusiastically.

"We cannot afford to pay you, being simple farming folk as we are," Baebiana said. "I can offer you a good meal of fresh cornbread and fried squash though, and a place to stay the night."

"Well I won't be staying the night," Teresa said as she gazed at the noon-day sun overhead. "But a hot meal does sound good."

"Where is it you are traveling to?" the other woman asked as Tertius led them from the well.

"Bawn," Teresa said.

"Bawn!" Tertius nearly sputtered. "You don't want to go there! If Spurius was ever right about anything, it's that place. Haunted it is. Folk say they see strange lights in that old ruin, and none that goes there come back again!"

"Has anyone been there recently?" Teresa asked as they rounded a farmhouse and stepped up to a straw-filled archery target behind it.

"No one goes there," Baebiana said. "But sometimes the fishermen from Thistledown see it in the distance. They say it's dangerous. And out here, there's no legion to come to the rescue if you get in trouble."

Was all that just superstition? Teresa wondered, or was there really something in Bawn? She remembered Culotte, and the small army of skeletons waiting inside. Or Vilverin, with its bandits and the necromancer who had slain them. Could Bawn be like one of those ruins? Then again, Fanacasecul and Sedor had been empty of all but dust, and Anutwyll hosted nothing more dangerous than a scholar from the Arcane University!

One way or the other, she would find out. But first, she had a young man to teach.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jun 27 2011, 06:53 PM

[hazmick]

Teresa's school of archery. How wonderful! Young Marcus is learning from one of the best.

Some lovely descriptions of Maplemill and it's residents, and of their fear of Bawn, it's very mysterious. I can't wait to see what Teresa finds!

[Grits]

I love the fortifications around the Maplemill community. To me the town has a frontier flavor, which fits so well with the isolation from Imperial and county guards that we later hear about from the locals.

The Bawn trip keeps getting more intriguing. A Witch on her island, a Haunted Forest, strange lights and disappearing folk! Sounds dangerous. Let’s go!

[Olen]

Nice bit of worldbuilding there, and without even a hint of infodumping, it just flowed. The set up of the community makes sense and gives a real feeling of isolation with the Imperial law being a distant thing and the local militia holding power. It worked well to foreshadow the next stuff too.

I wonder if the missing kids will make an appearence, and what state of life/death/undeath they will be in. I suspect there might be residents of this ruin, though I could be wrong. Certainly it sounds dangerous and out the way - what could be more tempting

Spurius

His name made me smile, I'm not sure if you meant it to be pronounced 'spurious' but given he's the old guard given to telling stories and possibly in need of some Ginseng...

Her fame is a nice touch too, your world is reacting to her and developing. Now people want lessons!

[Acadian]

What a lovely interlude. I could feel and almost taste Teresa's comfort at being alone again in the forest. You provided a lush and easy to visualize description of Maplemill.

In the short interactions Teresa had here, you treated us to whole host of wonderful memories and cross references - You reminded us it is after fall harvest by describing the state of the fields and a welcome reminder of Olava. How the battle of Bruma had depleted the Legion and that Vols no doubt had his hands full training new soldiers. Teresa of the Faint Smile, one of the very top ranked archers in all Cyrodiil! And pressed into instructor duty she is! A nice mention of dear Alawen from our modest forester. Teresa's confidence that her Fighters Guild medallion might provide her some credibility - and it did. A wonderful reference to Morcant. A tiny review of the other ruins she has cleared.

Then you tantalized us with plenty of mysterious rumors, be they legends or superstitions. I can only imagine the trouble adventure Teresa will find in the episodes ahead.

[haute ecole rider]

What a lovely walk from Bravil! That is one of my favorite parts of the Green Road.

Teresa's thoughts as she walks toward the ruin that is Bawn is a great way to remind us of several events in Teresa's story - Morcant, Volsinius and the cost of the Oblivion Crisis on legion resources, the job with Olava.

I really enjoyed the vignette of village life and the three guards. I do not wonder why Spurius got the curse, nor do I wonder at the nature of it. Fitting punishment, if he attempted what I think he did.

I remember the first time someone asked me to teach them something. I was shocked - I didn't consider myself proficient enough to teach someone else, but obviously this person thought otherwise! I've been a professional student far too long to think of myself as otherwise, let alone a teacher! So I totally relate to Teresa's disorientation at being asked to teach the young boy a few archery tricks. I'm glad she agreed to do her best. I'm sure it will be more than enough!

[ghastley]

On the teaching question. It's often good to be taught by someone who's just a little more proficient than yourself, because the teacher remembers the problems you're having. The real experts forgot those, or never had them in the first place. Perhaps that's what makes Parwen a good teacher?

[SubRosa]

hazmick: Hopefully what Teresa finds will be a surprise, but not unexpected in hindsight.


Grits: A Witch, a Haunted Forest, and a mysterious ruin? I guess its time for the Scooby Gang to crank up the Mystery Machine and head on out!


Olen: I have a long list of Latin names from Rome Total War that I use for my Imperial characters. Spurius is just one I picked out of the list at random.


Acadian: Next up ahead, more foresty goodness.


haute ecole rider: I love that little peninsula south of Bravil.


ghastley: I never thought about it, but you may have hit the nail on the head with Parwen.


Previously on Teresa of the Faint Smile: In our last episode Teresa stopped in the village of Maplemill. She learned from the locals that Bawn was not too far off, there was a Haunted Forest nearby, and a Witch. Finally, she was pressed into service to give archery lessons to a youngster. Next up, she makes her way through the woods to Bawn.


Chapter 35.4 - Bawn

Teresa set out from Maplemill a few hours later. Her stomach was filled by cornbread biscuits, fried squash, and goat's milk. With more biscuits packed away in her Thieves Bag, she knew that she would be eating well for the rest of her journey to Bawn and the return to Bravil.

Just a few miles from the farming village, the ground began to gently slope down underfoot. The forest became thicker as it did, until she could barely see the sky between the canopy of leaves overhead. The maples and oaks gave way to cedar trees of colossal size. Their boughs were covered in green moss, and their tangled roots rose from the ground in a wooden web.

Teresa pressed on, and the forest closed in around her like a warm blanket on a winter day. The trees and undergrowth were so thick that she could not see more than ten feet in any direction. Deep pools of shadow formed on the forest floor, lurking under every arching branch and twisting root. Yet the sun still shone through here and there in golden bands of light. Birds sang from the trees, and squirrels darted to and fro as they hid away acorns for the winter.

Screenshot

Could this be the Haunted Forest? Teresa wondered. No, it could not be, she decided. It was far too beautiful! She could not repress a faint smile as she reached out to caress the trunks of the ancient cedars. They rose like kindly grandparents, offering cool shade and comfort to their children's children tarrying underneath.

The forester could not resist the urge to sit down and nestle her back comfortably against the towering bough of one such colossus. Laying her unstrung bow beside her, she took hold of one of the cedar's many twining roots with one hand, and dug her fingers into the soil with the other. Closing her eyes, she let herself drift away, calling out to the spirits of the wood.

She saw the forest as it was, thousands of years ago. The cedars were far smaller then, an ordinary forest. She saw the pale elves come, and settle on the shore of the lake. She saw them build a great city there, made of stone that was dragged from miles down the coast by tailed slaves. Then the elves vanished in a night of fire, and their city slowly crumbled to dust.

Yet through it all the cedars rose higher and higher into the sky, measuring their lifespans not in mere centuries, but in millennia. They grew thick and strong, tended by the daughters of the forest. Sometimes the olive-skinned folk came to the wood. But where they cut down the trees in other places to make their farms and villages, the cedars were protected by their blessing. None would pass, who did not love the forest.

Teresa's eyes opened in a flash. Had she heard a twig snap? Turning her head this way and that, she scanned the walls of branches and leaves that surrounded her. Yet nothing but vegetation stared back at her. Was she imagining things? Or was there something else with her in the forest?

Thinking that this might be the Haunted Forest that the villagers had spoken of after all, Teresa rose to her feet and strung her bow. Carefully scanning the ground lest she trip in the spiderweb of exposed roots, she slowly made her way down the gentle slope. That would take her to Niben Bay, she knew, and Bawn.

Teresa stopped. Something had moved to her left. She as certain of it. Standing completely still, she stared into the jumble of undergrowth for long minutes. Then she saw it again. A branch moved, even though there was no wind. Holding her breath, Teresa realized a moment later that it was no branch at all.

It had the form of a woman, and stepped into open view now, a scant four paces away. Its hands were larger than those of a human or elf, and its fingers even more so, each being nearly the length of Teresa's forearm. Her skin, if it could be called that, looked like soft brown bark. It appeared be grown over with dark green moss in many places, and even sprouted small flowers here and there. Her head turned to look directly at a Teresa, and the wood elf saw that her eyes were of brilliant gold.

Screenshot

A spriggan! Teresa's heart thumped in her chest. "Gentle daughters of the forest my rear," she heard Pappy's voice in her memory, "they'll curse your luck, then summon up a bear to rip you apart. Unless they feel like doing it with their own two hands of course."

Teresa swallowed hard, and continued to stare the spriggan in the eye. If she moved quickly, she might draw and fire a single arrow before the tree-creature was upon her. Yet the spriggan made no move to attack. Instead she simply stood there for long moments. Then Teresa heard a curious sound rise from her wooden throat. A giggle. Not sinister, but filled with mirth and good will. If she had not known better, the wood elf would have imagined the sound was made by a little girl at play.

Making an effort to slow her racing heart, Teresa eased her arrow back into the bag at her hip, then slung her bow across her back. Now the spriggan began to move as well, stepping forward toward Teresa. Reaching out with one pale hand, the wood elf gently stroked the moss that covered one of the arboreal creature's arms.

"Well met, sister of the forest." Teresa found the words tumbling from her lips as if of their own accord. As if likewise summoned by its own will, a smile broadened her features. "My name is Teresa."

The spriggan paused as Teresa's fingers touched her. She giggled once more, and then continued on her way. A moment later, she vanished into the wall of undergrowth, leaving Teresa to wonder if she had ever really seen her in the first place.

[haute ecole rider]

For once, a pleasant encounter with one of those giggling fiends!

I always felt cheated that they always wanted to attack me, no matter that I never hunted or did any harm to their forests. Something else I hated about Beth - but I understand that the game has no way of determining your attitude toward the environment other than hunting deer (it can't penalize you for killing boars and wolves when those want to eat you first!). It would be nice to have a game that allows for that.

Loved the screenie of the forest. I enjoy the woods, though the ones around here are more old woodlots than true forests. Still I adore trees and feel safer when I'm among them. It must have something to do with the fact that I grew up in a house that was surrounded by 24 mature oak trees (and a couple of big maples and two shagbark hickories next door).

[Grits]

What an enchanting encounter among the trees. After Teresa has been upset by her childhood memories of the stone Imperial City, it is a relief to see her being embraced by the forest and its creatures. And it makes sense that a Nibenean with an axe on his shoulder would get a different reception from the spriggans, and thus have a different view of the Haunted Forest.

[hazmick]

*cough* Fangorn *cough*

I loved this chapter. Your descriptions of the forest were brilliant, as was the Spriggan! (although when Haa-Rei meets one it usually turns into a bear summoning competition)

So the forest is not haunted, merely alive. Only a Bosmer could really see that I suppose.

[Glargg]

And the whole story has been as enchanting as the forest. I've been lurking and reading, loving it. This story is as polished and engaging as many a published novel.

[Olen]

A short part but a good one. Now we know why they call the wood haunted, for all their natural right to be there I owuldn't be overly keen on sharing my space with spriggans. Still it appears to realise Teresa is not a threat.

I wonder if that was to do with her meditating and communicating with the spirits. I suspect spriggans would treat anyone as a likely threat and kill them to be certain, but Teresa could have pacified them, or more likely the spirits did on her behalf.

That first photo is amazing!

It makes me wonder more what she'll find in Bawn, and by extension what relationship the forest had with it's original builders. Perhaps it wasn't as strong back then but would it get on with the Arimer? Maybe, or maybe they left eachother well enough alone (they did meet with a sticky end, could the forest have aided that?). It's current occupants though I suspect it may be less well inclined towards, depending on what they turn out to be...