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You find Alexius at the edge of the grove, leaning against the scaly trunk of one of the trees. Tiny vines crawl around his boots as if trying to pull him back into the greenery.

At last he says, "I don't know how much longer I can stay here." He presses his green-tinted hand against a leaf, and the colors merge. "But what life awaits me back home?" He drums his finger on the wood, then he turns and studies you appraisingly.

"What about you?"

It's clear you cannot tell the truth…