Lost Sali (Petrichor 365)

Many people who have ventured out into the wilderness of Petrichor have returned changed or damaged.  One such person is Lost Sali

Sali was part of a venturing party of five but she was the only one who returned, having been in the wilderness for more than five weeks.  It was their third expedition and their last.    She would not talk about what happened, perhaps could not, but it was obvious that it had broken her spirit.

She made a good attempt to drink herself to death on her return and has been reduced to begging.  Sali is happy to share stories, of dubious provenance, of the danger of Petrichor in exchange for drinks or money.

Sali‘s health has suffered, it is not entirely broken but it has been exceedingly stressed.  Her dark blond hair is matted, her skin weather-beaten and her green-brown eyes are usually bloodshot.  Sali‘s clothes are only kept together by her magic, she remains a sorcerer of some power even if she only uses it to con people out of drinks, to protect herself, and, occasionally, to clean and repair her clothes.

Sali still has nightmares about what she saw on that last trip into the wilderness.  The right person might be able to convince her to tell them how to get there and warn them of some of the dangers, but it would require something really special to convince her to return.

Questions:  What was it that broke her?  Are her fellow venturers dead or trapped or some mixture of both?  I was thinking perhaps of some sort of extradimensional horrors and a gate.  What would you have be behind the mystery?

Notes: Some find success while others find worse fates exploring the mysteries of Petrichor.

Petrichor 365.  Previous entry:  Argun’s Helping Hand  Next Entry:  Sudakai Stormwatcher

Image photo by Milica Popović from PublicDomainPictures.net and is in the Public Domain.