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1
OVERVIEW
Far beyond the comfortable boundaries
of the Everdell Valley, deep into
mysterious and uncharted lands,
adventure is waiting to be discovered.
Ancient ruins? Critters from foreign
lands? Giants? Gather your traveling
supplies and your courage, and get
ready for a daring journey through the
mountains of Spirecrest!
You will begin the game with a rabbit
Traveler on the Mountain board. Every
season you will have to face challenging
weather that will alter how you are
able to play. As the seasons change
you will move your Traveler along
the trail, gathering maps to plan a
final Expedition, and making amazing
discoveries. Smartly utilize the unique
abilites of your Discovery cards, carefully
plan for your endgame Expedition, and
the story of your city—as well as your epic
journey—will be remembered in Everdell
for many seasons to come!
CONTENTS
5 big Critter Meeples
6 Foxes and 1 Frog Ambassador
(For use in Everdell: Pearlbrook)
15 Rabbit Travelers
6 Plastic Saddles
(1 extra)
33 Discovery Cards
(1 for each critter type in Everdell and expansions)
12 WEather Cards
1 Mountain Board
24 Map Tiles6 Everdell
Map Tiles
CREDITS
Expansion Design: James A. Wilson
Development: Dann May, Brenna Noonan
Art: Andrew Bosley
Additonal Art: Dann May
Art Direction/Graphic Design: Dann May
Executive Producer: Dan Yarrington
Playtesters:
Clarissa Wilson, Karl Schwantes,
Chrissy Peske, Iskra Dyulgerova, Tom Peske, Amy
Peske, Alex Peske, James Charlick, Jonathan Ramundi,
Kat Rendek, Trevor Baker, Gregory Delaney-Mucklow,
Cory Kneeland, Angela Kneeland, Marie Kneeland,
Michael Forrey, Tim Dolloff, Benjamin Leroy-Beaulieu,
Kim Williams, Anthony Williams, Erin Williams, Rob
Bell, Kat Slosarska-Bell, Jonathan Baxter, Erin Baxter,
Andrew Albertsen, Maximilian Berbechelov
12 3-point TOkens

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2
SETUP
Follow the setup rules for the base
game with these additions:
1) Place the Mountain board along the
lower half of the main board.
2) Divide the Weather cards into
seasons, then shuffle and place
1 facedown, unseen, on each
corresponding season spot on the
Mountain board. Return the remaining
Weather cards back to the box, unseen.
3) Keep the Discovery cards divided
into their 3 catagories: Foothills,
Peaks, and Ridge. Shuffle each group
individually and place them facedown
on their corresponding spots on the
Mountain board.
4) Give each player an Everdell map
tile. Then shuffle the 24 map tiles
and place 1 more than the amount
of players faceup on the Foothills
portion of the trail. Then place the same
amounts facedown on the Peaks trail
and Ridge trail. Return the remaining
map tiles to the box, unseen.
5) Arrange the Big Critter meeples
on the Mountain board (optional) or
nearby.
6) Flip over the winter Weather card
and place a Traveler meeple for each
player on the Foothills icon at the
beginning of the trail.
Note: Spirecrest adds substantial complexity to Everdell. When playing Spirecrest,
it is recommended that you do not include other expansion material.
1
2 2 2 2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
6
4
5

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3
Your adventurous Traveler will be
journeying through the mysterious
Spirecrest mountains, braving
treacherous weather and venturing
into uncharted lands. Along the way
they will discover hardy mountain folk,
exotic locations, challenging trails, and
even some of the fabled Big Critters
who are rumored to roam these peaks.
Your Traveler begins the game
exploring the Foothills and will then
progress to the Peaks, then the Ridge,
and then finally to your Expedition.
Every time after you perform a Prepare
for Season action, you must perform
the Explore action, which consists of
the following 3 steps:
1) Chart
Take 1 of the map tiles from the area
your Traveler is exploring and place the
map at the end of your Expedition.
2) Discover
Reveal 3 Discovery cards from the area
your Traveler is exploring and then play
1 into your area.
3) Travel
Move your Traveler to the next area on
the trail, and reveal the Weather card
and the map tiles if they are not already
revealed.
THE TRAIL
Choose any of the faceup map tiles on
the area of the trail where your Traveler
is currently exploring. Take the map
tile and place it at the end of your
Expedition.
At the beginning of the game, your
Expedition will consist only of the
Everdell map tile that you received
during set up. When you gain your
next map tile, place it to the right of the
Everdell map tile as shown below:
Chart
Other map tiles you gain will then be
placed to the right of that map tile. Each
player will gain a total of 3 map tiles
over the course of the game. This forms
the Expedition that your Traveler may
embark on at the very end of the game.
The Expedition will be explained in
more detail later in these rules.

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4
After choosing and adding a map tile
to your Expedition, then take the top
3 cards from the deck corresponding
to the area you are exploring. This will
be the Foothills deck the first time
you Prepare for Season. Place these
3 cards faceup along the bottom of
the Mountain board, beneath the cost
markers on the board as shown below:
These cards represent different
discoveries that your Traveler has made
during their journey. You get to pick
only 1 of these cards to play into your
area. These cards do not count against
your city size limit.
The first card in the row is free to play.
To play the second card, you must
either discard 1 card from your hand, or
pay 1 of any resource. To play the third
card, you must either discard 2 cards
from your hand, pay 2 of any resource,
or discard 1 card and pay 1 resource.
Play the Discovery card beside your
city. Place the 2 Discovery cards that
you did not play facedown on the
bottom of their deck.
Discover
There are different types of Discovery
cards that you may encounter. All of the
Discovery cards are outlined in detail in
the Index at the back of this rulebook.
Discovery cards are considered “card-
playing abilities” and therefore may
not be combined with cards like the
Innkeeper or the Crane.
Types of Discovery Cards
Trails and Cities: Trails will challenge you to fulfill certain requirements in order to gain their endgame points. Cities, which are only found in the Ridge deck, will gain you endgame points based on card types that are not in your city.
Ongoing Effects: You will gain an ongo-
ing ability that will remain in effect for
the duration of the game, or as long as
the card states.
Locations: These may be locations that
only you can visit, or Open locations that
other players can visit as well.

When Played: Some cards have abilities
that you will perform immediately when
playing them.
Big Critters: If you play a Big Critter
card, take the matching meeple from the
Mountain board. This Big Critter replaces
1 of your workers, and you may option-
ally use a plastic saddle clip to attach
your worker to the Big Critter so they are
riding them.
Big Critters are considered “workers,” but
possess unique abilities. They may visit
all the normal locations that other work-
ers can, such as resource gathering spots,
Destination cards, etc. They may also be
moved with cards like the Ranger.

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5
After claiming a map and playing a
Discovery card, move your Traveler to
the next designated area on the trail.
These areas are marked by symbols:
Travel
If the Weather card for that area is not
yet revealed, reveal it now; you must
now follow the rule restrictions of this
Weather card. If the maps on the trail of
this area are not yet revealed, flip all of
them faceup now. When you perform
the autumn Prepare for Season action,
first turn over the autumn Weather
card if it is not already revealed. Then
move your Traveler off the Mountain
board and onto the Everdell tile at
the beginning of your Expedition;
while here, you must follow the rule
restrictions of the autumn Weather card.
You will be exploring these areas during
these seasons of the game: Winter:
Foothills; Spring: Peaks; Summer: Ridge;
Autumn: Expedition. While in each season,
you must follow the rule restrictions of the
corresponding Weather card.
After you Prepare for Season and move
your Traveler forward to the next area, flip
over the Weather card for that new season
if it is not already revealed. You must now
follow the rules of this new Weather card
for as long as you are in the corresponding
season. You are only affected by the
Weather card in the current season.
Different players may be affected by
different Weather conditions at the same
time in the game, depending on which
season they are currently in.
Note that cards like the Lookout ignore
the Weather effects that apply to Forest
and Basic locations.
Weather effects that force you to discard
cards take effect at the end of your
turn, after you have fully resolved your
placement or card abilities.
If the Weather effect requires you to pay
an additional cost to play a card, you may
ignore this effect if you are playing the card
for free (via occupied token or other effect).
WEATHER
Foothills Peaks Ridge
Winter Spring Summer Autumn

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6
EXPEDITION
At the end of the game, immediately after
you pass, your Traveler may then embark
on their Expedition. Each map tile of your
Expedition will grant you endgame points,
but only if you pay the listed cost to travel
there first. You may choose how many
map tiles you will travel through, if any.
You must travel through your Expedition
in the order that you charted it.
For example, you must pay the cost listed
on the first tile to the right of the Everdell
Valley tile before you can pay the cost on
the second tile, and finally the third. Move
your Traveler to the furthest map tile that
you choose to explore. When you add up
points, you will gain points for the map tile
your Traveler is on, and all of the previous
tiles to the left. You do not gain points for
map tiles that you do not explore.
In the below example, the player pays 3 resin
and earns 4 points, but cannot pay the 3 pebbles
required to continue on their expedition.
SOLO RULES
Rugwort is on the move!
He never was known for his original
ideas, and now he is literally following
in your footsteps! Rugwort has heard
of the amazing discoveries being made
in the Spirecrest Mountains, and he
has hired a shady critter to follow
you around on your journey, trying to
scratch up whatever you leave behind.
You must make sure that he wanders
down the wrong path and doesn’t return!
When playing the Spirecrest expansion
solo, use the solo rules from the base
game, including the 3 years of difficulty,
with these additional rules:
•
Place 1 Everdell Valley tile in
Rugwort’s area and place his
Traveler on it.
• Place 2 map tiles on each area
of the trail, with the tiles on the
Foothills faceup, and the Peaks and
Ridge tiles facedown.
•
Rugwort ignores all Weather
effects. •
Rugwort takes the map tile that
you do not choose from each area.
Place it at the end of his Expedition.
• Depending on which Discovery
card you play, Rugwort will gain a
certain amount of point tokens. Give
him 3 point tokens if you play the
0-cost card, 2 point tokens for the
1-cost card, or 1 point token for the
3-cost card.
• At the end of the game, move
Rugwort’s Traveler to the end of his Expedition. He will score for every map tile in his Expedition.

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7
WEATHER CARDS
Winter
Blizzard: Whenever you gain resources
from a Forest location, you gain 1 less
resource. Example: You visit the Forest
location with 2 resin and 1 twig, and you
choose to take 1 resin and 1 twig. This does
not apply to cards drawn at a Forest
location.
Dense Fog: You must pay 1 additional
resource of your choice to play a card
from your hand. If a card costs 2 berries,
you may pay 2 berries and any other
resource to play the card. Critters played
for free via occupied tokens are still free.
Freezing Rain: You may not visit any
Forest locations. If playing with player
powers (Bellfaire expansion), Lizards may
still visit their exclusive Forest location.
Spring
Heavy Rain: Whenever you visit a Basic
location, gain 1 less resource or 1 less
card. Example: You visit the 2 twig, 1 card
space and choose to take 2 twigs but not
draw the card.
Lightning Storms: Each Construction
costs 1 additional resource to play. This
resource may be a berry or any other
resource of your choice. This still applies
even if you use a card-playing ability like
a Crane.
Severe Wind: Every time after you play
a card into your city and completely
resolve its effects, you must then discard
1 card from your hand if you are able to
do so.
Summer
Drought: Green Production cards do not
activate when you play them.
Heat Wave: Each Critter costs 1
additional berry to play. This still applies
even if you are using a card-playing
ability like an Innkeeper.
Tornado: You may not play any cards
from the Meadow. If an ability lets you
draw cards from the Meadow into your
hand, you may do so, then later play
them from your hand.
Autumn
Flooding: Each card in the Meadow
costs 1 additional resource to play. This
resource may be any resource of your
choice. This still applies even if you use a
card-playing ability like a Crane or
an Innkeeper.
Hail: After visiting a Basic or Forest
location and fully resolving that location’s
effects, you must then discard 1 card from
your hand if you are able to do so.
Wild Fire: You must immediately place 1
of your workers on this card permanently
when you prepare for autumn. You will
have 1 less worker to use in autumn.
INDEX

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8
DISCOVERY CARDS
Foothills
Archeologist: When played, place up
to 3 Constructions beneath this card,
either from your hand, the Meadow, or
a combination of both. These cards do
not count toward your hand limit. Later,
when playing a card, you may choose to
play 1 of these cards for a decreased cost
of 1 less of any resource.

Cartographer’s Caravan: When you
place a worker here, draw 3 cards, then
also gain 1 of any resource for each
worker that is here, including the worker
you just placed. Each player may only
have up to 1 of their workers here. If an
opponent visits this location, you gain 1
point token.
Everblossom Trail: Worth 4 endgame
points if you have at least 3 purple
Prosperity cards in your city.
Forager: Whenever you gain berries
from any action you perform in the
game, draw 1 card for each berry that you
gained.
Greensprout Trail: Worth 4 endgame
points if you have at least 4 green
Production cards in your city.
Map Seller: When you place a worker
here, you may draw cards from the
Meadow or the discard pile (or a
combination of the two) up to your hand
limit. Do not refresh the Meadow until
you have completed this action. Each
player may only have up to 1 of their
workers here. If an opponent visits this
location, you gain 1 point token.
Mistrise Trail: Worth 4 endgame points if
you have at least 3 tan Traveler cards in
your city.
Starfall Trail: Worth 4 endgame points
if you have at least 3 blue Governance
cards in your city.
Stubblehoof (Big Critter): When you
Prepare for Season, you may choose
to not bring back Stubblehoof and
activate the location where Stubblehoof
is, and also draw 1 card and gain 1 of
any resource. In a solo game, you may
still activate a location even if Rugwort
moves to it.

Sunblaze Trail: Worth 4 endgame points
if you have at least 3 red Destination
cards in your city.
Trail Guide: When played, place up to
3 Critters beneath this card, either from
your hand, the Meadow, or a combination
of both. Later, when playing a card, you
may choose to play 1 of these cards for
a decreased cost of 2 less berries. These
cards do not count toward your hand
limit.

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9
Peaks
Ancient Orchard: You may place a
worker here to gain 5 berries.
Bellsong Trail: Worth 4 endgame points
if you complete every map in your
Expedition.

Cloudrim Peak: When you place
a worker here you must discard 5
different colored cards from your hand
(1 of each color type in the deck). Then,
gain 8 point tokens.
Grey Cloak’s Hideout: You may move
1 of your deployed workers here to
activate the location that worker was
on before you moved them. This counts
as your action. You may only have up to
1 worker here at a time.

Honeypaw (Big Critter): If you did
not gain any berries from placing
Honeypaw, then after you fully
activate the location where you placed
Honeypaw, you may also gain 1 berry
for each resource that you did gain
there, up to a maximum of 3 berries.
King Rhun (Big Critter): You may place
King Rhun on any purple Prosperity
card in your city to gain 1 of any
resource equal to the base point value
of that card. Example: If you place King
Rhun on a Castle, you would gain 4
resources of your choice.
Moleia Mines: When you place a
worker here, you may reveal cards from
the deck equal to how many more cards
you could draw into your hand. You
may stop revealing cards at any time
and draw the revealed cards, plus gain
1 point token for each card. If any of
the revealed cards ever match a card in
the Meadow, discard all revealed cards
and gain nothing. Each player may only
have up to 1 of their workers here. If an
opponent visits here, you gain 1 point
token.
Ruins of Spire: When you place
a worker here, gain 3 resources
consisting of either twigs, resin, or
pebbles. They do not all have to be the
same resource.
Stormvale: When played, draw 3 cards
and place them faceup by this card.
You or an opponent may play any of
these cards just as if they were in the
Meadow. You gain 1 point token each
time an opponent plays 1 of these cards.
Replenish any played cards from the
deck.
Whisper (Big Critter): Whisper ignores
the exclusive placement rule. You may
place Whisper on a location already
occupied by you or an opponent,
including Destination cards, Forest
locations, and Journey. You may not
use Whisper to achieve an Event that
another player has already achieved.

Windlore (Big Critter): You may place
Windlore on top of the deck and then
draw 3 cards from the deck. While
Windlore remains on the deck, if an
opponent draws cards, you may draw
2 cards from the deck. Also while on
the deck, you may draw cards beyond

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10
your hand limit, but then you must
immediately choose which cards to
discard from your hand to get back
down to your hand limit. Do not use in
a solo game.
Ridge
Bounty Hunter: When played, name
any Critter card and then search the
deck. If you find that Critter, you may
draw it into your hand, even if your
hand is full. If you do not find it, you
gain nothing. Shuffle and return the
deck when you are done.

Cloudsong: When played, name any
Construction card and then search the
deck. If you find that Construction, you
may draw it into your hand, even if
your hand is full. If you do not find it,
you gain nothing. Shuffle and return the
deck when you are done.
Everblossom City: Worth 6 endgame
points and -1 point for each purple
Prosperity card in your city.
Gatherwind Trail: Worth 4 endgame
points if you have achieved at least 2
Events (basic and/or special).
Greensprout City: Worth 6 endgame
points and -1 point for every 2 green
Production cards in your city.
Hopewatch Trail: Worth 1 endgame
point for each point you gained on
Journey, up to 7 points.
Mistrise City: Worth 6 endgame points,
and -1 point for each tan Traveler card
in your city.
Serpent’s Pass: Place this card at the
beginning of your Expedition so it will
be the first area you will explore when
moving out of Everdell. You must pay 6
of any of any combination of resources
to travel onto Serpent’s Pass.
Sunblaze City: Worth 6 endgame points
and -1 point for each red Destination
card in your city.
Starfall City: Worth 6 endgame points
and -1 point for each blue Governance
card in your city.
The Distant Shore: Place this card at
the end of your Expedition so it will
be the last area you will explore. You
must discard 6 cards to travel onto The
Distant Shore.

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11
7th of Hopewatch
“A
Those words echo in my ears as we take
shelter f
rom a late winter storm. We are only
seven days into our quest, and already the
weight of what we are hoping to accomplish is
heavy upon us. We have left the comfort of our
homes to venture into these wildlands seeking
aid from a king, who some still insist is only a
legend. My companions are stout and hardy
critters, but I recognize the seed of doubt in
their eyes.
Our needs cannot be ignored. It will take
months to rebuild f
rom the carnage left by the
tornado and the dangerous shortage of food from the drought. If the bitter frost of this winter continues, there will be little time to grow and harvest new crops this year.
I must remember the words that my father
told me: “Y
ou were never meant to follow in
my prints, Torrin, to live a comfortable life as a shopkeeper. You were born for greater things. Go with my blessing. I will be watching every day for your triumphant return.”
I think I will encourage Chibblesqueak
and Rose with a song. Chibs, in par
ticular, has
a droopy tail about the weather. It will do my heart good as well. A tune to help us muster our bravery once more.
19th of Hopewatch
I knew my rabbit instincts about that map
seller were correct! He pressed us to buy a map with a so-called shor
tcut, and Chibs, eager to
avoid any more freezing rain, paid the high price in shinies.
The whole business smelled foul to me, but
seeing as how Chibs is an official member of the Car
tographer’s Guild, I begrudgingly decided to
trust his judgment. The map led us along a wayward and
treacherous path, thick with foliage made damp by the continued onslaught of biting cold rain. It was approaching sunset when we broke f
rom
the undergrowth, only to nearly topple into a deep canyon stretching out before us.
Finally Chibs admitted the map was
ludicrous and hurled the cursed thing into the cany
on. Then Rose spotted a bridge. It was a rope
and plank str
ucture, clearly ancient, and I
was about to declare that it was not worth the risk, when she plunged ahead. In short order she was safely on the other side, where she announced that there was a dry hollow in which we could take shelter.
I encouraged Chibs to go second, knowing
that if I left him for last, he might never follow us. I could see his tail trembling the entire way
. I swallowed my own trepidations and began
the crossing.
A shrill wind blasted through the
canyon, swaying the rickety bridge. I folded down my ears and pressed forward, refusing to imagine my body breaking upon the rocks far below and then floating lifeless down the river...
Safe in the dry hollow, we were finally able
to laugh at ourselves for trusting, of all critters, a weasel to give us directions.
22nd of Hopewatch
The day began wet and dreary as we
plodded along the Mistrise Trail. I don’t know how many hours we spent wandering through that shrouded valley, taking wrong turns and getting our fur positively soggy.
EXCERPTS FROM THE
JOURNAL OF TORRIN HARE

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12
W
midday, and decidedly lost. Rose scaled a tree
to discover that we had only progressed a
short distance from where we’d started. Chibs
plopped to the ground and nearly started to
weep.
Then, finally, a rare bit of luck!
A cardinal spotted Rose and landed for
a chat. We were overjoyed to discover that this fine bird was actually a trail guide. He generously offered to help us. In no time at all, it seemed, we were out of the mist and resting happily on a grassy knoll at the other side.
We told the trail guide of our quest,
and he suggested that we seek out a famed mountaineer of the area, who he said frequented a nearby traveler’s inn.
23rd of Hopewatch
The inn was a prominent establishment just
of
f the main trail, aptly named Wayward’s Way.
The tables were busy with a colorful assortment of mountain folk.
We learned from a rather plump hedgehog
that no one knew the real name of the mountaineer, but that the locals called him Grim. A grinning prospector claimed he could help us find Grim, for a price. We declined.
It was getting late, and the innkeeper
generously put us up in a room with a hear
th
and three dry beds. It had been weeks since any of us had felt a straw pillow against our whiskers.
The next morning we were surprised to
meet a f
rowning red panda, who appeared to
be waiting for us. “So this is it? I’ve seen stouter critters than you attempt to brave these peaks, never to return.”
Grim downed a mug of something. “I will
take y
ou to Stormvale. The owls may know
where you can find the king. But you are on your own after that... if any of you are still alive.”
Month of Mistrise
Finally Grim has allowed us to rest and to light
a fire! I can barely write, my paws are so frozen. This Bellsong Trail is a miserable road indeed.
I do not know the actual date. Grim has
been driving us so hard, even demanding that we travel through the night at times. Does he never tire?
The cold! Oh, it is so miserably cold here.
Hopefully Rose can light the twigs we carried with us. I’m sure that Grim would have some trick to get a fire going, but we aren’
t about to
ask him.
3rd of Mistrise
I was convinced that Grim was going to
drive us to our deaths, but by some miracle we sur
vived the frigid road of the Bellsong Trail,
and then the treacherous climb up to the tower of Stormvale. The glowing beacon at the tower’s peak was certainly a light of hope for us.
The owls gave us a warm welcome, a
delightful feast, and ver
y comfortable lodgings.
Grim was gone before we even noticed that he had left.
Sadly, for all their wisdom, the owls do
not know where King Rhun is. They say that if anyone has seen him, it would be the great eagle, Windlore. An eagle! It will be truly astonishing to see this Windlore for ourselves.
For now, we will enjoy our time of rest
in Stormvale. I hear that their library is magnificent.
9th of Mistrise
W seen King Rhun, just recently in fact, as he was soaring over the Ruins of Spire. He offered that we could ride upon his back. How could we decline?
The flight was truly the most exhilarating
experience of my life; I think that Windlore took a certain delight in scaring us with his divings and swoopings. The weather darkened before we arrived at the ruins, and streaks of lightning forced us to land. Windlore told us that the ruins were not too far ahead, and that we could make our way to them easily enough once the storm had passed.
The eagle wished us well, gave us a wink,
then leapt and soared away
.

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13
10th of Mistrise
The paths leading up to the Ruins of Spire
are treacherous; the spring thaw has created icy
rivers that car
ve over and around the stones.
Rose fell and injured her left arm. It is clearly
causing her pain, but I do not think it is broken.
I believe that her pride was hurt more.
We are beginning to see some of the ancient
settlements. Perhaps someday I will return here to explore them more, but for now we must press on, the quest at the forefront of our minds.
There was a time today that I felt a strange
presence. Like we were being watched.
Yet,
when I turned around, we were alone.
11th of Mistrise
Astounding! We have reached the heart
of the Ruins of Spire! From here we can see Everdell Valley as a green blur far in the distance. It is incredible to imagine that Corrin Evertail himself may very well have stood in this exact spot.
I had the same eerie feeling as yesterday:
that we are being watched...
We have now spent an entire day exploring
the ruins, and still no sight of King Rhun. I begin to wonder if I am losing my mind. All throughout the day I was looking back over my shoulder, positive that I would find eyes upon us.
I could not hide my intuitions from Rose or
Chibs, and now I fear that they are beginning to feel it as well.
We have decided to remain here for one
more night. If we have not found the king by the morning, then we will leave this strange place.
12th of Mistrise
W we were surrounded on all sides by serpents or ghouls. When dawn finally broke, we nearly jumped out of our furs at the sound of a deep voice. We spun to find ourselves staring up at a towering mountain ibex. King Rhun himself!

He wore a weathered crown between his
long, cur
ved horns; his muscular frame held his
stature tall and strong; his eyes were ancient and wise. We bowed low before him.
He said that he had been watching us for
days now
, and told us to speak our names and
state the purpose for traveling into his realm. I did so, trembling in his presence.
After a moment of silence, with those
deep eyes staring into each of us, King Rhun answered. “Not only is y
our bravery admirable,
it is inspiring. You have climbed to the top of your world, risking your fur to seek aid from giants. Woe to me, woe to all critters if I, King Rhun of Spirecrest, should let you return without promise of hope and help. We will help you, as best we can. More than that, I shall descend to visit your king myself, to see what may be done.”
Chibs could not contain a squeal of
excitement. My own hear
t was pounding. “As for you three, your journey is not yet
complete. You must travel onward to the Ridge, and visit the cities found leading away from that road. Speak with the leaders there, tell them I have sent you. Many of them are critters unfamiliar to you in Everdell, but they are all good-hearted.”
He told us the safest route out of the peaks
and how we could find these foreign cities. Chibs took copious notes and drew maps, then showed his work to the king, who nodded appro
vingly. “You may have what it takes
to become a famous cartographer one day, Chibblesqueak of Everdell.” (I think Chibs’s tail grew longer when he heard this).
The king said, “I see there is more,
though, in y
our hearts. There is a yearning for
something, is there not?” Rose stepped forward. I was surprised
to see that her eyes were moist. “I have lost all of my family
,” she said. “There is nothing
left for me in Everdell. I do not know where I belong anymore. I seek adventure, a purpose, a challenge. Is that wrong?”
King Rhun shook his head. “Never is it
wrong to better understand one’
s purpose in
this world, young wild Rose. Should you decide to remain in Spirecrest, you will find adventure, you may even find great wealth. But know this:

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14
purpose does not come from outside, but from
within. Whatever you may gain in this life, it
will not satisfy. It is what you give that will
begin to make the difference you seek.”
Rose stepped back, looking down at her
injured arm. She said no more after that for quite a long time.
“And you,” the king said, looking at me,
“I can see the wanderlust in your eyes, Torrin Hare. You are not content to remain in Everdell either, are you?”
I had a comfortable life in Everdell, full of
simple work... but I realized that my father was right, that the king was right. How many hours had I spent gazing up at these peaks, writing in my journal, dreaming and wondering?
“One day,” the king said, “you may find
yourself leaving this land to seek another, not unlike your hero of old, Corrin Evertail. My father spoke similar words to him when he passed through here many years ago.”
I was truly humbled to be compared to
Corrin Evertail, even in this small way. I stood speechless, pondering the implications of what the king was saying.
Then he laughed lightly. “But let your
hearts not be troubled by my words. You must continue on your quest, and I must make my way down into your beautiful valley. Go, my brave little friends. Go onward, and may your journeys be blessed.”
1st of Starfall
I still remember his words, though it has
been months since he spoke them to me. King Rhun was right. There is a calling within me, a stirring for something more. Something bey
ond. Rose did return to the mountains, and last
I heard she had found great wealth exploring caves. I hope she will remember the king’
s
words. Chibs was so inspired by the king’s
approval of his mapmaking skills that he formed a Cartographer’s Caravan to create an atlas of the entire world. He was never one for small ambitions.
I find myself gazing upon a sparkling blue
sea, ready to board a vessel that will take me across to an unknown destination far bey
ond.
But the destination is not what drives me. It is the daily travels, the surprises and delights, the challenges and heartbreaks, the wonder and the imagination and every breath of every moment…
The journey is the destination.
The distant shore awaits.

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