Told that his clan was in danger, Steve left for the Margreve, still not sure what he was looking for.
Steve saw some members of his clan from Bluth Grove when he was in Wheedon Village. But before they could talk, Elder Finnormous (who was the eldest Elder (in age)) was killed by Eagehrt. When this whole fiasco is over, Steve will have to check in with Hazel Trotsky, the centaur who was with Elder Finnormous. What were they doing so far away from Bluth Grove?
Stevnar hadn't thought about Hazel in quite a while, until Hazel's Journal turned up in the hands of a bunch of ghouls. What was even odder, she'd been writing about some of the same things that Stevnar had been finding out about the Margreve. A collection of information on things like collybiscus (that Eagehrt had wanted), and honey from the Honey Queen, and the Tongue of Derende (where the ghouls were). This can't be coincidence. The Margreve works in mysterious ways.
Then, in Whistlehollow, while looking for Jedza Nansa, it turns out that's where Hazel is. Only she's been poisoned by whatever was inside Jedza. Hazel seems okay, but when she's awake, there'll be a lot of questions to ask.
Somehow Hazel is mixed up in all this too, working on the Margreve's behalf. Whatever Gruffias Neigh-Mane thought was threatening Bluth Grove, it is threatening all of the Eastern Margreve too.
And now, it turns out, Hazel knows where Kerok is. Only we have to get rid of the zmey first or it will eventually hunt her down. Shouldn't be too hard . . . .