Vespera and her crew made their way through the thick brush that covered the forest floor slowly, taking care not to harm or disturb the vegetation and wild life. The details contained within the stories that the elders told changed depending on the person telling it, but one detail remained the same: a winding river made its way through the center of the grove. Some tellings also mentioned a particular mystical rune that allegedly grew throughout the grove...

This was the third river that they followed -- the others had led them to beautiful landscapes of lush greenery, but the signature tall oaks of the ancient grove were notably absent. Vespera could feel the crew becoming more and more discouraged with every passing hour but she had a strong feeling about this particular river. 

In the distance, Vespera spotted a tall, dark formation. As they progressed, it became apparent that it was a wall of boulders and rocks. The groans and complaints grew as they approached the makeshift wall -- it was over fifteen feet tall and far too unstable to climb. The river, which roared with life up the path from where they came, trickled to a tiny stream under the pile of rock. Another dead end. 

"Let's set up our temporary camp here. We will rest for a few hours before we make our way back. Get some food and water to refresh yourselves before the return journey," Vespera instructed. The crew complied and Vespera made herself busy helping out around camp and organizing the distribution of food. 

A short while later, River and Dew appeared in a fury of bright feathers. They chirped and chattered incessantly and dropped an object at Vespera's feet.

Vespera looked down at the mushroom and paused, remembering the stories about the appearance of mushrooms at all the locations where the Gooppers have been appearing. "Take me to where you found these," she instructed River and Dew. The two happily obliged and took to the skies, diving and swooping with one another playfully.

The two led Vespera to a section of the wall about ten minutes from camp. As she stood studying the rock, she heard a chirp and saw a flash of flame about waist high -- Henrietta! The Phoehen hopped from behind a rock that had originally seemed flush to the rest of the wall. Vespera examined the stone and found a slit barely wide enough for her to slide through. She wiggled her way through and found that it opened to a tiny cavern just a few feet wide. In it, Vespera spotted a few more of the curious mushrooms that River and Dew had originally brought to her.

Henrietta chirped at Vespera again and pointed her to another slit in the rock on the other side of the cavern. Vespera fit herself into it and managed to wiggle a couple of feet. Suddenly, she found herself back in the open, and -- yes! Vespera found herself surrounded by ancient oaks that reached high into the sky. The canopy rang with life and the forest floor was littered with recognizable gathering items. The river remained to her left and came to life once again from under the rock, winding itself through the grove once again. 

Vespera smiled at her companions, "You found it! Thank you so much for leading me to this place, we would have left without ever finding it if not for your adventurous spirit. Lets go back and get the rest of the crew."

The Ancient Grove is now available as a Gathering location! For your convenience, there is a list of gathering locations and you can find helpful information by reading the Gathering FAQ.

The Chests that are being provided to our early Alpha Testers as a thank you for your hard work and dedication to testing the site have been sent! Please check your sanMail for your chest -- one of the two chests has been awarded randomly to each existing user.

These chests will be added to the Cash Shop shortly! The chests themselves and all items contained therein will rollover to Beta. We hope that you all enjoy these unique sets and extend our sincere thank you once again for joining us during this imperative period of growth for our site! It is with your feedback, efforts and energy that Santae is where it is today, and that we are able to open our virtual doors to additional users.