Much time has passed since Anisa arrived in Half Valley, and she has gotten a job at the Levitha's Blanket Bed 'n Breakfast, run by an Aelfin by the name of Piksil. Wanda, Anisa's Skeek friend, has figured out the rough location of the artifact book, placing it somewhere up north in a marshy area known as Akwavi-kin Mangrove. Anisa changes and packs some gear, and she heads off with Wanda to negotiate passage, and to start their quest for the mysterious book.