They traveled in silence down the main road for about an hour. That was when veered off the path and entered the edge of the South Forest. The others followed and Keela, in particular, was excited now that she would finally get to enter the South Forest for real.
Another half an hour passed, in which a few weak creatures had confronted the party only to get easily killed. Jack finally stopped and turned to face everyone.
"Alright, first off, let's bring out our beast companions. From this point on, I only want to see them put away when other adventurers are around us or it's absolutely necessary," reasoned Jack. "You all need time to bond with them, that way you and your companions can trust each other."
Maynard, Rydel, and Daliea all nodded, releasing all the beasts inside their rings. Each beast then stayed with their companion, keeping to themselves and not infuriating the others.