Submission (#6974) Approved

The overgrown mossy patches around the wooden bridges were dark and damp. Aside from the fireflies flying around there wasn't really a lot of color here. Green, blue and brown were dominating pretty much everything that could be found in Enmir.

"This will be hard."
Niyari was looking around the edge of the village and the wooden bridge that went over a big part of the swamp to connect with the next forest part that would lead to the next village. Niyari wanted to so something nice for the long way and hide some scavenger hunt items to make the travel feel quicker. The travel time itself wouldn't be too long but the children got distracted easily anyway so why not make it a bit more fun to look around and inspect their surroundings? Ideally they wouldn't be travelling at all since it was still miasma season but sometimes there just wasn't a great alternative... They had already spent a long time in Enmir and Niyari could sense that the Kittoms were going a bit crazy and wanted to go out again. It could be dangerous enough to explore Enmir normally but during miasma season it was an especially bad idea. That's why Lune and Niyari had decided to go towards Faerindell. There should be enough variation in colors all around them to keep the Kittoms satisfied with being outside close to their house and not wander away.

There really wasn't a lot of color variation so Niyari had to think of a way to make the hints stand out while also not being too obvious. Niyari loved Enmir, it was charming and mysterious but they could understand that it could be a bit dull for Kittoms to stay in for a long time. The spectacular sights of water and earth being combined or chasing fireflies around could only last for so long. Maybe they could use some glow in the dark paint for clues in the more deeper parts in the forest? They should use things that would withhold the damp atmosphere though.. Anything that wasn't waterproof could be hard to prepare beforehand...
Niyari was continuing on the wooden bridge to get to the path. Most of the way would be travelled on damp earth but there was a section where they would have a small boat to get across. Niyari could maybe use that boat as their goal and hide the treasure in there. It would probably best to finish the scavenger hunt there and not try to do anything in the water. Reaching the boat and getting out of Enmir would be the goal. So maybe the theme of the scavenger hunt could be something like a heist or them smuggling illegal goods across the border? Niyari nodded as their thought began to form. Ideally the scavenger hunt would be fun and get the children excited but not take them into a completely wrong direction. Niyari had reached the path now and took out their map. This path would be the best to take but there was a room for a small diversion and looping around at a later crossroads. Niyari would have to discuss this with Lune. It would take a bit more time to take the longer road but it would give a bit more opportunity for the scavenger hunt. For now Niyari would just scout out possible spots along this road though.

After a good two hours Niyari had located a few good spots and marked them loosely on their map. They had also thought of a story. They were smuggling a treasure out of Enmir but the twist was that the treasure was all in the marsh and forest. They were all part of a thieves guild and the previous members hadn't made it, they were attacked on their way out and had to take a few risky twists. They couldn't just follow the path so they weaved through swamp and forest to shake off their pursuers and hid the treasures on the way in case they did get caught. The kittoms loved everything with pirates at the moment so something with a thieves plot should also be right up their alley. And they did have to take a boat at the end, so the pirates theme worked there as well!

Niyari had also thought of some things they could hide. It was a road trip so there had to be some snacks! Those could also be easily stored in some lunch boxes that would keep out water, dirt or hungry animals. Some chocolate coins in gold foil and sugar diamonds were a must for the little thieves but Niyari would take care of packing some healthy and filling foods as well. The snacks really should be just some little treasures and not the main food for the trip.
Apart from that a few toys would probably be best. Niyari really wanted to hide some crafting materials because all children were really loving crafting at the moment, the pomu lanterns had sparked something there. Niyari could hide those in waterproof bags so they would hopefully stay safe even in a wet place like Enmir. Niyari had also jumped over quite some roots while trying to stay dry when crossing over some of the more swampy areas. They had also tried to think of a riddle that would work well with the fireflies but that seemed a bit too tricky. Using the lianas hanging from a lot of the twisted trees could work though! Some pattern in there that the children had to find on a specific tree. Niyari also had a few toys in mind that would work well with the environment. They had gotten a few floating pirate themed bath toys and those would work well on the marsh areas. Niyari should probably just tie them to a nearby root or tree so they couldn't drift away or got taken by curious animals.

The scavenger hunt was going to be lots of fun! Now that Niyari had looked at all locations where they wanted to give clues and hide prizes they just needed to talk it over with Lune. The longer route would add time and having the children find the right places would add time as well but it sounded so fun and the children had to stay inside so long now. Well, they should have stayed inside at least... It would be a great game to remember Enmir with something fun and not associate this region with having to stay inside because of miasma season! Yes, more time outside was also more risky.... But... No risk no fun, right?