"You don't need to worry about me. I won't harm you or your family."
Since he had shared his own story, Shade made his position clear as well:
"I'm only investigating the Tree Hollow. It seems you learned quite a lot from these Hermits?"
After speaking, he glanced at the Hermits busy with their own tasks. The Baron, however, was quite grateful to them:
"When I first used this book to travel through time, it was completely beyond my control. Back then, I didn't know about the curse either."
He looked at Shade after saying that, and Shade nodded:
"I know about the Time Curse. It manifests differently in everyone."
"Yes. I triggered the curse at this point in time and collapsed in the forest beneath the blazing sun. Fortunately, they saved me. These Hermits are all good people. I told them my identity, but they never pressed further. They were even somewhat afraid of hearing information from the future."
"They taught me the basics of Time Travel and warned me not to continue doing it. They had probably encountered people like me before and knew I wouldn't give up."
Shade understood:
"So you learned how to make limited use of the Tree Hollow because the Hermits shared their knowledge with you?"
"They probably thought it was better to teach me something than let me conduct random experiments. I was once worried they wanted the book, but they never showed any such intention. They hold the Power of Time in great reverence."
Shade retrieved the two talismans from the snowy ground, allowing the Hermits to hear the rest of their conversation:
"They didn't ask for anything in return?"
"No. They only asked that I try not to damage the stability of time and, if possible, never travel through time again."