Chapter 14

The first part of the journey northwest led through fertile grassy plains. Dairy cows often roamed the land, each eating their fill of the bright green blades of grass. A simple dusty footpath led Marissa and her horse through several large farms. Rickety wooden stakes tied with wire were the only markers from which they were able to tell when they were passing across from one farm to another. The farmers really didn't enforce any sort of security on their land and so they simply ignored the occasional traveler heading north.

Marissa was already enjoying this first portion of the trip. The day was partially cloudy and a slight breeze blew through the air. She couldn't see a single person as she rode along with her horse Faerun, and she was enjoying hearing the songs of the wind passing over the hills. It was a much better start than that of her last journey, and she hoped that the rest of the quest would be just as peaceful. The substantial miles that the duo traveled seemed to melt away with the time.

However just as she was getting comfortable near the end of this first day, she came across a large forest that she would have to traverse. Unlike the tropical forest to the south, this forest housed tall evergreen trees and a leaf covered floor.

Near the forest's edge the path they had been following forked into two diverging destinations. One direction led to northeast and followed the outskirts of the woody forest, keeping travelers outside of the forest and in the countryside. The latter delved right into its heart and apparently was a more direct route to her intended destination.

Confident that is was still early enough to enter this mysterious forest, the travelers decided to follow the path less taken.

Shortly after they chose this trail, a darkness came over the entirety of the forest with the end of the day. The once auburn sky turned to black and purple. Mist began to creep up from the overgrown floor. Silence fell over the forest, and all that could be heard were some rustling leaves and the heavy breaths of her horse. Faerun seemed partially unnerved as each of his deep breaths was slow and calculated. This fear within her horse partially transferred to the rider.

Marissa began to think that she hadn't quite thought this entire trip through.

For one, she had never camped alone in a place like this. The only times she had slept outside of an inn or the chapterhouse was during field trips with the other students. She honestly believed that she would be able to rest in the outside air when the time came. She just didn’t think an opportunity of an event would come so soon.

With it now getting to be very late, the young mage decided to stop for the night. She spied a very large tree with a spot below it that looked to be a usual camping spot. The girl assumed that others had camped here in the past, and therefore it must be a suitable location to rest. A ring of stones with burnt embers in their middle helped to reinforce the idea.

Marissa unloaded Faerun and tied his reins around the base of the tree. The mage unpacked her bed roll and laid it upon the ground. With a quick flick of her wrist, a small fire grew within the stony ring. No wood was needed for this magical fire and its faint light helped to illuminate the area. Finally she unloaded a few ingredients to make a quick meal before it would be time to sleep. She also fed Faerun a few bits for him to nibble on as her food was slowly cooking.

As she ate, she thought she could see faintly glowing yellow eyes moving in and out of the distance. They always appeared very far off into the murky expanse. In addition, every time she tried to focus her eyes on the apparitions they would simply fade away into nothingness. She couldn't hear anything of note coming from their location, nor sense anything resembling a threat. The mage chalked up their presence to the idea that her eyes and mind were probably playing tricks on her.

After the unsatisfying meal, Marissa extinguished the magical flame and crept into her bed roll. The sleeping arrangements were nothing remotely like the warm embrace of a true mattress, but she was on a mission after all. She had a job to do and not everything was always pleasant. "Besides," she thought, "people sleep like this all the time."

The young woman casually fell to sleep.

Unfortunately, her slumber did not last long.

Just an hour or so after she had closed her eyes, her senses heightened. She was able to just barely hear Faerun stir ever so slightly. Faerun was now fully awake and breathing unusually. The young girl new that it took much for the black horse to react to anything, even in such a minute manner as which he had. With her back towards the ground, she cautiously opened both of her eyes.

Marissa could not see anything at all. The night was pitch black due to the thick canopy of leaves above. The large leafy mass blocked any and all light from the star filled sky. Even with not being able to see anything of note, she innately sensed that something was not right.

While still tucked into her bed roll, she slowly twisted her left arm in an attempt to gather her short bow. It and a quiver of arrows lay just beside her on the ground. Silently she was able to gather her weapon as well as a single arrow. The fingers of her single hand fumbled with the string-based weapon and its ammo.

Marissa recited a small vision based spell under her breadth. The quiet little words leeched out from behind her clenched teeth. Almost instantly a single bright object appeared in the space above her. Whomever or whatever was spying on her had apparently been there a while, and fortunately didn't seem to notice the weapon held between her hands.

The sound of a single arrow whizzed through the air.

A sudden lurch was heard, followed by the breaking of branches above the wizard. An object tumbled down through the air and landed upon the ground with a loud thump. The echo of the fall appeared to be located jus a few feet away from the once sleeping mage.

Another fire was created with a flick of the wrist and the area was lit up once again. The once enhanced vision of the young mage dissipated. Lying on the ground in front of her was a small man-like beast which had landed with its face down upon the forest floor.

Fully-clothed and now apparently dead, the creature looked foreign to Marissa's eyes. "What ever is it?"

The sprawled out body was about four feet tall. Upon its squat form was a set of raggedy garments. Its arms and hands were covered with an oddly greenish skin. Numerous pouches were tied around its waist, each seemingly holding different baubles and trinkets. Within its clasped right hand was a small rusty knife. A soiled red scarf was tied around its head and tufts of dark green hair poked out from behind it.

Marissa initially felt some pity for killing the miniscule beast. She was quickly redeemed due to the bladed weapon within its hand. "This thing was apparently not friendly, and it is probable that I was an intended victim of that knife."

Regardless of its motives, she wasn't happy about killing this creature. The young woman had never used her weapons against a living thing before. Slight pangs of regret filled into her emotions. These were quickly drowned out due to Marissa's tendency to repress her memories. Her remorse only lasted a few seconds.

"Well Faerun, we cannot continue to camp here. We don't want to encounter any more of this creature's kind, especially if anything comes looking for it.

"I should have guessed that this site was probably used a trap for unwitting travelers. The site is a bit crude for the average man, and a little bit savage. I knew that it felt a bit off kilter.

"Regardless, we'll have to press on to the next town."

The horse looked at her as if she was insane.

"I'm just as tired as you, my dear, but it is the only way to be certain that we will be safe. I promise that we'll try to find some help at our next stop, so we won't have to do this again. I don't want to be caught out in the open alone like this again."

And with that thought, Marissa packed up her few belongings. She climbed back into the saddle of a much displeased horse, and instructed him to continue on. She knew that he was very tired, and she knew that she also hadn't got any rest. The young mage felt sorry for her steed and silently promised to make it up to him in the next town.

Continue reading onto Chapter 15