• Warty: L̸̜̃ą̵́n̴̲̏d̴̻̓ ̵̝͆h̸̘͝o.

Nino: Reading time's over, pack it up.

• Meimona: Seriously... feels like my wingbones atrophied from sitting around.
• Nino: That's because you didn't try to pass time with something meaningful, Mei.
• Meimona: Yeah well, I'm not like that phone freak, or you two lovebird-nerds.
• Nino: H-hey, what?
• Meimona: Lovenerds for short!
• Nino: Don't say that, idiot!
• Meimona: Ummm, I mean...
• Meimona: You looked super-duper-wuper excited to read with someone.
• Nino: Okay, I don't expect you to understand, but listen.
• Nino: Reading is usually a very solitary activity. It's not every day that you get the chance to share it with someone else... that's all.
• Meimona: Sure, suuuure.
• Meimona: The reasons behind anything you do are sooo very logical, aren't they?
• Nino: I don't know what you're talking about...
• Meimona: Heheheh! Just calling it as I see it, bro.
• Nino: You're so confidently incorrect there.
• Nino: You could've read with us too if you wanted, you know?
• Meimona: No way, that's nerd stuff.
• Meimona: Besides, a bro doesn't ruin another bro's date!
• Nino: Ugh, leave me alone.

Party: Disembark in Wither Garden.

• Reed: Here we are.
• Aria: So this is Wither Garden...
• Meimona: Umm, it feels a little eerie.
• Five: Five thinks... nobody living here?
• Nino: Yeah, I don't see anyone around.
• Aria: Just wreckage. D:

---->

• Five: Yahoo!
• Aria: There's no need to rush, Five!
• Meimona: Aw c'mon, how can you blame her?
• Meimona: She's been cooped up on that ship for hours!
• Aria: Alright... just be careful not to trip on anything. D:
• Nino: Reed, what's this place like?
• Reed: Barely populated. I don't know much about it beyond that.
• Reed: I've only ever lived in big, busy cities.
• Reed: But it's one of the places closest to the barrier, so...
• Reed: It does look like it was hit the hardest during previous conflicts.
• Aria: I'll say...
• Nino: Doesn't look like it fared well since.
• Nino: And not like anyone's tried to rebuild it, to boot.
• Meimona: Maybe no one bothered to, 'cause no one lives here anymore anyway?

Party: Look around.

• Nino: The grass here is still growing, but it feels... lifeless?
• Aria: Ah, it reminds me of the monster world.
• Aria: A lot of the land feels dead, in a similar way to this place.
• Five: Yes! Even when flowers and trees grow, in monster world...
• Five: The color of the flowers is sad, just like this.
• Aria: Really, they don't look too vibrant.
• Meimona: Oho! I know why! This soil isn't moist enough!
• Meimona: In fact, it looks like when soil is burnt too much to me.
• Nino: Huh, now that you mention it...
• Nino: I faintly smell something like soot here, but nothing's burning.
• Reed: Maybe there was a wildfire, then.
• Reed: Could explain the dead soil.
• Meimona: Fire doesn't always harm soil, you know?
• Meimona: A bit of burning can actually fertilize it!
• Meimona: But if it's too strong, it will ruin the soil's quality...
• Nino: Right. Intense burning would break its structure, wouldn't it?
• Meimona: Yes! It's very dry, 'cause it can't hold water anymore!
• Aria: That's interesting! But, umm...
• Aria: Where's all this agricultural knowledge coming from?
• Aria: First it was Mei, and now it's Nino...
• Meimona: Huhu, my mum owns a farm in the overworld!
• Meimona: Not to brag, but I was formerly a farming genius myself.
• Aria: Oh! Then what about Nino?
• Meimona: Haha, I dunno what his deal is.
• Nino: Uh. Shrug. Just some trivia that came to mind!
• Reed: You know some really random trivia, dude...

• Aria: So we have evidence of a destructive fire, but...
• Aria: If that's the case, then wouldn't the people living here have stopped it?
• Aria: But as Nino said...
• Aria: It doesn't look like there was any attempt to salvage the place.
• Reed: Maybe it wasn't possible to.
• Reed: So they simply chose to abandon it.
• Nino: Hmm... I guess? But that seems too obvious.
• Reed: So what? The most obvious explanation is usually correct.
• Nino: Well, it also doesn't really make sense to me!
• Nino: Would anyone really choose to abandon their home just because of a fire?
• Meimona: Counterpoint: it does make sense!
• Meimona: 'cause this was a weirdo enough fire that they'd have no other choice.
• Aria: What do you mean?
• Meimona: Just look at this soil's quality!
• Meimona: Even though it looks like it was burnt a looong time ago,
• Meimona: Besides dead grass, nothing has even grown back on it!
• Meimona: I don't think it can be healthy ever again...

• Meimona: Here you go!
• Nino: Wha... I'm not playing with dirt.
• Nino: Do that alone if you want to.
• Meimona: I'm not playing, dummy! Try holding it and you'll see.
• Nino: ...Woah. It's like dust in my hands.
• Nino: It's not sand, but it feels like it...
• Meimona: Yeah, see what I mean?
• Meimona: Barely anything useful can grow on something this poor!
• Meimona: Sooo, this fire was weirdo enough for everyone to be like "welp, let's just abandon ship". Or abandon land, I guess? Anyway...
• Meimona: The soil has degraded so much that it's practically quicksand!
• Meimona: Can't farm crops or build stable houses on that, can you?
• Nino: I guess so...
• Meimona: Better leave for greener pastures - literally!

---->

• Reed: Enough playing in the sandpit, you grade schoolers.
• Reed: Did you forget what we're here for?
• Meimona: We're not playing! This is AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE!
• Five: Look, look!
• Five: Five made... a dirt-friend!
• Aria: Wow, how adorable!
• Nino: Oh damn, shaping dirt of this quality is impressive!
• Reed: You were saying, Mei...?
• Meimona: That's... a valuable field experiment in action!
• Aria: It's so cute...
• Aria: What's our dirt-friend's name, Five?
• Five: Umm... Five doesn't know yet!
• Five: But everyone can help! Think together!
• Aria: Look! I think boyfriend likes it.
• Boyfriend: Meow.
• Nino: Maaan, that's so precious.
• Nino: Maybe it can be "Girlfriend" then.
• Five: Girlfriend! Heheh!
• Meimona: Woah, woah, I'm not sure about this sudden development in my cat's personal life... wait, I think he just likes how warm the soil feels?
• Nino: Of course he'd like a warm girlfriend!
• Nino: What a smart cat.
• Meimona: That's not what I said!
• Aria: Are we really going to leave her behind?
• Reed: Wha... of course we are!
• Reed: Are you out of your minds, or what...
• Nino: I guess a girlfriend made from dirt won't survive the journey, huh.
• Nino: That's sad.
• Five: Aww... :(
• Reed: No way you guys are getting attached to a piece of dirt now.
• Aria: Oh, I know! Reed, can you take a picture of her?
• Reed: What.
• Nino: Good idea!
• Reed: You're kidding me.
• Meimona: Oooh, that way we can immortalize Five's creation!
• Five: Yes!
• Reed: Unbelievable.
• Five: Oh... Reed can't do it...?
• Five: Five has to say bye-bye now...? D:
• Reed: No, I... ugh.
• Reed: Fine. Just one picture.
• Reed: Only so we can get a move on.
• Five: Yaaaay!
• Reed: Lucky for us, the signal's still here.
• Reed: Looks like this will work out after all.
• Aria: Whoa! You've already detected a rift?

Party: Bid farewell and get a move on.

• Reed: Already did while we were still on the ship.
• Meimona: Oh yeah! Reed's arm device thingy went all beep-boop about it.
• Meimona: He even showed me how it works back there!
• Meimona: But you guys had your noses stuck in a book, sooo...
• Aria: Oops... hehe.
• Reed: As soon as we got close enough to the island, my thing picked up on it.
• Meimona: Mmhm! The beeping only got beepier the closer we got!
• Nino: Excuse me, but "thing", you said?
• Nino: Shouldn't such a sophisticated device have a more proper name?
• Reed: Uh... the "Rift Detector", sure.
• Meimona: Wow, did you literally just go with the first idea there.
• Reed: Ah, who cares, I didn't make the damn thing.
• Reed: Rift's right up ahead. Come on.
• Five: Bye-bye, girlfriend!

---->

• Aria: Hey, I've been thinking...
• Aria: Since this place is just that close to the barrier,
• Aria: Is what we're seeing the result of war?
• Nino: You mean... monsters set this town on fire?
• Meimona: Yikes! Is that true, Reed?
• Reed: Hey, I'm not a walking encyclopedia of human history.
• Reed: I don't really know what happened here. But Aria's guess might be correct.
• Reed: Since it's obvious that what took place wasn't something peaceful.

Nino: Witness a sign of life.

• Meimona: Hey, wait up!
• Reed: Oi. That's the wrong direction.
• Reed: Where are you going...?
• Nino: ...

Nino: Inspect flowers.