The Teller of Small Fortunes

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, physical abuse, and death.

Tao and her companions stand at the entrance to the Splinthorn Woods, facing gnarled ancient trees and dark shadows. After leaving their wagons and mounts outside the forest, they enter carrying only what they need, including the flute Tao received from the Shinn shopkeeper in Craghorn. Inside the woods, they encounter eerie silence and unnatural sounds as they follow a narrow path. Eventually, they discover an enormous vertical wall of water standing impossibly in the forest clearing. When Mash tests it with his finger, it parts around his touch without wetting him.

The group passes through the water wall into a maelstrom of wind and sand. They struggle toward a hole in the ground at the center of the clearing and drop through it into a stone chamber below. Following a passage, they enter another chamber where they find a gleaming golden sphere in the center, guarded by a massive blind phoenix. They realize that they are meant to steal the sphere, though they are unsure how to get around the bird. Then, Kina recalls an old story she once heard about how a prince escaped from a phoenix by lulling it to sleep with music.