Summary
Shrek has requested the delivery of a Lostmoor Brewery package to Lucya's father in Mossgrove!
Synopsis
The two travelers return to the Lostmoor Tavern so Lucya can gather her things and say goodbyes to the bartender. He's sad to see her go, but since the travelers are headed for Mossgrove next, he has a favor to ask... Setting out a basket with liquor bottles and a mysterious burlap-wrapped jar, he requests they deliver it to Duncan as payment for the bartender's last order of lumber. They agree, and the bartender wishes them well on their travels. But knowing fully that Jagal will swipe something given the chance, Lucya first nudges him into swearing a vow for the package's safety.
Lucya leads the way to the familiar path to Mossgrove, but she and Jagal soon come up to a bridge broken in some recent storm and have to find another way across. The river narrows somewhat not too terribly far from the path, so Jagal sorts through his impressive selection of ropes while berating Lucya for not bringing any herself. Once he's made his selection, Lucya requests he pass her one end of the rope. The moment he complies, she wraps it around her wrist securely, picks Jagal up, and bodily hurls him across the river. He manages to land fine with his side of the rope in hand, and the two secure the rope for Lucya's passage, ultimately leaving it behind but losing no other supplies—neither from their own stocks nor the basket—as they proceed.
But as they take the path again, some things begin to feel off—an odd smell, cold spell, or flash of motion—until a Haunt of some fallen stranger appears ahead. Upon its approach, Lucya swings with her axe, but it passes straight through. She and Jagal immediately take off sprinting. Jagal pulls far ahead in no time, but in his heightened state of panic, dodges straight into a tree, stunning himself until Lucya picks him up and keeps running. They seem to successfully evade the Haunt, at the cost of veering well off the path. They still manage to shake it off (Lucya much moreso than Jagal) and return to the path, foraging some along the way.
As the two approach Mossgrove proper, Lucya hesitates, unsure of the best way to try to visit her family without causing a huge fuss in town. She recruits Jagal to find her brothers at their usual hangout spot. Her directions aren't the best for a non-Mossgrove citizen to follow, but Jagal nonetheless manages to approach her two-story cottage and wind around the estate until he finds Brajan and Aleksy chatting by a creek. Naturally, Jagal sneaks up to startle them both (or at least Brajan) before telling them he's with their sister. After some combination of accidental and purposeful poor word choices, Brajan mistakes it for a hostage situation as Aleksy joins in the joke. But before Jagal can try anything substantially devious, Lucya interrupts. The siblings reunite happily, but when asked about Duncan's location and mental state for basket-delivering purposes, the brothers reveal he's a little busy with a hometown crisis.
Aleksy takes the basket himself—after revealing that the mysteriously veiled jar, in fact, held a single large snail—and he and Brajan put the basket safely inside their home, where they'll stay put as Lucya and Jagal head to the town square. It's a long day of investigating before the travelers return, but Lucya still procrastinates by petting the goats outside, among other tasks. Jagal reminds her she doesn't have to leave, but she maintains that she does need to save her friend, then finally knocks on the door. Her mother Ada answers, immediately embracing her daughter as Jagal once again slips in behind her unnoticed. After using his position to startle Ada badly, he confirms with her that Duncan has yet to return, leaving the delivery quest unfinished still... She also informs them supper is nearly ready and sends Lucya upstairs to fetch the boys. Jagal moves to follow her up, but his shoulder injury makes him flinch. Ada responds with concern, and Lucya inadvertently admits she's injured, too, before fleeing. Jagal, not wanting the cook to have a nervous breakdown before his meal is ready, covers by "confessing" he got scratched up and just needs Lucya's help with his own bandages—she's not actually injured herself.
Lucya, Brajan, and Aleksy join them downstairs as Ada sees if there's any way she can help Jagal, to his discomfort. The siblings end up changing the topic to the murder case and the snail (which Ada is clearly not excited about), then lead Jagal upstairs to change bandages. Lucya sets off to get bandages as the brothers lead Jagal to their room. Aleksy immediately shows off his charcoal rendition of the snail, to Jagal's bemusement. Lucya returns to tend to the worse of the shoulder injuries, and Jagal clarifies that Lucya allegedly doesn't have one at all. The brothers ask about what injured the travelers, and while Lucya doesn't want to relive the experience beyond stating she beheaded the thing, Jagal is more than happy to relay his version of events. Early in, Brajan soon decides he might prefer Lucya's side on this, while Aleksy remains interested for a bit. It's still only a matter of time before the youngest boy resumes his art show and Jagal gets stick bugged. The conversation shifts for a while as Aleksy presents a snainting (snail painting) that Jagal reacts to with the same amount of vague disinterest.
Some time into their discussion, there's finally a hubbub downstairs signaling Duncan's arrival. Brajan heads down immediately, while Aleksy prompts Jagal to continue the spider-bird story. Jagal weaves an account where his getting stung with nightmare venom was somehow a tactical move, and Lucya summarily outs him as a panicking damsel in distress in the aftermath. Neither traveler is particularly charmed with the other at this point, but they decide to move on after Aleksy shows off one more drawing. Lucya carries Aleksy downstairs, while Jagal slides down the banister instead to head straight for the basket.
Duncan is already in the kitchen chatting with his wife, who reminds him to get some extra rest tonight. The adventurers head in to fulfill their vow. Butternut squash soup simmers as the siblings hug their parents and file off to their places at the table, leaving Jagal to offer Duncan the basket. Duncan seems a bit flustered by the sheer amount in there (making Jagal once again crabby about Lucya's addition to the vow wording) and wonders if he should share some with Freida, but Dancan decides to worry about it once all their other troubles are sorted. With the basket successfully handed off, the family and Jagal settle in to an awkward but delicious supper.