It was night, and the moon hid behind the clouds making the plains darker than ever. But that didn’t

bother Laeticia at all, she had memorized the road from the forest to the tower intuitively after

taking it only once. As soon as she had put off a great distance from the forest, and the light from the

tower could be seen, she stopped to catch her breath. Feeling herself shaking internally, she tried

vainly to wave away the strange events that occurred from her mind. But the images and the

emotions kept sticking to her making her lose sense of space and balance. As soon as she regained

enough stamina, she set off again rapidly, she ran like a wild cheetah, no movement was wasted, and

each swing of her arms gave her more momentum as she sprang guided by the distant light of one of

the tower’s windows.

The light became more and more strong, and the outlines of the gate even in this blinding darkness

were slightly distinguished. She had set her mind, preparing and visualizing the jump as she got

closer. She didn’t have time to ring and wait for the master, she had to go in without delay. Only then

will she feel safe. The gate stood tall; it was probably twice her height. But she sprang confidently,

her eyes determined. And then she leaped with great effort, the airtime felt long for her, as the top

of the gate became slowly in reach. She grabbed it fiercely, and bounced off it sending herself flying

higher than the gate itself. Again, the airtime felt long, and she anticipated the pain she’ll feel from

the impact. To her surprise the sting was superficial and didn’t stop her from running towards the

tower’s entrance, feeling, now as she ran up the stairs, safer and the tormenting internal shaking

finally easing.

The master was leaning on his back, reading a book in which cover was written: forest spirits.

His cloak hanged by the door, and his hat on top of a desk full of papers set in an organized manner.

His wound was as always out of sight. He listened to Laeticia’s account carelessly, not taking his eyes

off the book. The girl didn’t seem annoyed by it and carried on her story, not without a trembling

voice. “The trees were strange, it felt like something was possessing them. Some force from afar

controlling the forest.” She paused panting heavily, and her face contorted horrified by her

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recollections. “Those are just feelings they don’t mean a thing. But then I heard howling, a disturbing

howling surrounding me from everywhere. I couldn’t endure it; I felt my chest tensing and sending

me electrocutions”. The red-haired girl looked down. The brightness of her lively youthful face and

the shining of her huge green eyes seemed to disappear. At their place settled weighing panic and

anxiety that didn’t fit such a young girl and created a hideous contrast that would send shudders to

anyone, probably to the master himself, but he was still eyes glued to his book, no signs of interest

appeared on his face. “The trees, they were weeping, begging me to save them. That forest is

imprisoned”. The master forever undisturbed didn’t even twitch. “You must think I’m crazy!”, she

said her voice cracking.

As if controlled by some divine power, the master finally reacted. He straightened into a sitting

position and put his book away on the desk. They looked silently at each other for a while, a distant

wolf howling could be heard. “I, doubting rielka’s feelings about nature? I have to be the stupidest

master, why stupidest human to do so”. He paused and looked down smiling. He finally announced

gravely, with utter seriousness on his face, “You are absolutely right my dear. There is something bad

lurking in the dark, something unheard of. This isn’t like any banal situation we’ve dealt with in other

villages. This is unknown territory. Something bigger than the master himself”. And as he finished, a

smile of excitement was on his face.

“Do you mean, that the one after this is stronger than you?”, she asked with astonishment.

“Let’s say it’s going to be challenging, very challenging”. His smile grew even larger, and excitement

was apparent all over his face. “It will be interesting for a change; you’ll get to see the master having

a hard time”. Laeticia smiled to the idea, but no matter how she looked at it, it didn’t make sense. In

a way, the master was a symbol of invincibility and omnipotence. Someone who could solve any

problem without a drop of sweat. That is what she had read in books before meeting him, but even

after _although a lot of the information written were false_ the reliability of masters was confirmedto her,

as was the feeling of safety whenever being around him.