Once my head had stopped spinning, I mustered an attempt to get up from the ground. For some reason, I felt a bit more fatigued than I had been before, but it was no biggie. I’d learned that if I used both my arms and my wings to lift myself off the ground, it was way easier.

“Huh, what a cool place.” Now standing, I updated my initial scan of the surroundings. I was in a lush, earthy cave covered in mosses and vines, completely different than the stone tunnels we’d been traversing before. The room was lit by some kind of a lantern hung from one of the vines.

Curious, I walked up to the lantern to get a better look. Although, it was definitely a lantern, it didn’t contain a fire. Instead, it was lit by some weird, glowing, turquoise light, bouncing around within the glass casing. It was strange but oddly entrancing, like watching an old Windows screensaver.

I was watching this light when I felt something tap me from behind.

“Eek! ...Huh?” For a moment, I jumped out of my skin and instinctively pulled out my chef’s knife for defense, but when I turned I met eye contact with a person.

It was a boy with scraggly blond hair, dressed in a well-worn, but clean, cloth outfit, highlighted by a long teal cloak that matched the colors of his weary eyes. Along his waistline was a belt consisting of many different flasks of multicolored or clear liquids.

“Hey, you’re blocking the light. Could you do me a favor and move?” With a deadpan expression hinting at slight irritation, the boy signalled for me to move. Then, once he confirmed that I was no longer blocking it, he turned and knelt down in a corner, toying with an outcrop of extra poofy moss growing there.

However, he remained perceptive, and caught my gaze once more. “Here, I’ll rid you of the need to spy anymore. I’m Will, Shelter’s town apothecary. Right now, I’m working. Got it?” He spoke curtly and plainly, giving off the notion that although he carried no ill-intent towards me, he’d much prefer me to bug off. Of course, I didn’t.

“So… you make potions or whatever?” Intrigued, I inquired further.

“That is what an apothecary does, isn’t it? And what do you do? Get lost in dangerous places and pester people about their occupations?” Without batting an eye, the guy, Will, quipped back at me. Still, despite the edge on his words, it didn’t feel as though he was speaking maliciously.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll be on my way, and let you get back to your—” I turned face, and prepared to head out when I was interrupted by Will.

“Here, catch.” Not waiting for me to be ready, I got tossed two flasks. I jumped into action and nimbly caught both of them, but only just barely. “I can tell. You’re a wannabe adventurer who bites off more than she can chew, right? We call that the Adventurer Jitters. It’s not all that uncommon.”

“Huh?” Confused about what he was going on about, I tilted my head.

“The more foolhardy adventurers tend to have this idea that, no matter what, they’re invincible. Well, you’re not. Train your skills and proceed with caution. If you can do that, with your reflexes and body, you could even achieve something one day… probably.” Even when giving me advice, he seemed totally attuned to his work gathering specific pieces of moss. It kind of made what he was saying lose its effect. “Also, get a better weapon. You’ll never achieve anything with that.”

“Yeah… thanks for the advice. And how are these meant to help me?” Much like Will, I was mildly perturbed at him inserting his advice without my consent… but only mildly.

“Oh. In your left hand is an elixir that, when exposed to air, will cause a fire to light within that flask. Shake it up then unplug it, and you should have light. In your right is a potion to help mend your mangled wing. Just cut it open—”

“Cut it open?!” Upon hearing him telling me to reopen my wound, I had no choice but to butt in. However, he kept going despite that.

“Just cut it open, and pour the potion into the reopened wound. It healed improperly. It could become an issue down the line.” Concluding his statement, Will sighed, scratched his head, and mustered one last sentence out of his mouth. “Good luck.”

“Thanks! I’ll do my best!” I didn’t even question what he’d told me, and without a seconds delay I wandered into the depths of the tunnels with the goal of reconvening with Peak.

“So, I just shake it and… Oh, sweet!” As soon as I was in the dark depths of the following tunnels, I did as Will told me and used the elixir. Sure enough, a flame grew within the flask.

The tunnels were just like the room I was just in—full of moss, vines, and a strange array of different and unique looking plants.

I kept a consistent, brisk pace as I traversed the tunnels, staying on guard for any enemies that might approach. I figured that I wasn’t likely to encounter anything until a bit further in, though, seeing as how Will was here.

However, the simplicity of my travels was soon blown away as I was met with three distinct tunnels, and in turn, a choice to be made. I never had the best sense of direction in the world, but I felt fairly confident in my choice of tunnel. “To the left we go! Nobody expects you to choose the first tunnel!”

I made my choice off of instinct, as I wasn’t the type who could sit down and examine the possibility for a wind current or discern directional info based off of how the plants were growing or anything like that. Instinct was basically all I had going for me.

Yet, this instinct immediately stabbed me in the back. Upon my first step into my selected tunnel, I was met with an ear piercing, beastial GRAWR! that pretty much told me to screw off in the most aggressive way possible. So, I turned on my heel, stiff as a corpse in rigor mortis, and marched back into the previous corridor.

“What I meant to say was… Nobody expects you to keep going forward. That’s right, the middle tunnel it is!” Trying my best to reaffirm my instinct, I made up my mind and went down the central tunnel.

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“Hmm… that’s no good.” After walking in the center tunnel for, maybe, five to ten minutes, I was met with a marshy part. Assuming it to be nothing to fret, I persisted forward only to find my right foot being swallowed up by the goopy muck.

I stared at my sinking foot for a few moments, before realizing that I should stop its consumption into the floor, and yanked it out. Then, I took a squishy step back to look closer at the tunnel I was in. It was narrow and straight without a clear path around the marsh; however, there was one solution I could come up with.

Above the marsh were a series of vines that, if I maneuvered myself properly down the tunnel, could all be reached within an arms length from one another. And while the prospect of cartoonishly going from one vine to another sparked my childlike intrigue, I knew in reality that was entirely impossible. In order to climb the vines, I’d need both my hands, and one had to be occupied by the elixir, otherwise I’d be stuck in the dark.

So, I had to come up with another plan, and the plan I landed on was… well… unique. Since the tunnel was narrow, all I needed to do was to put force from my upper and lower body against the walls of the tunnels, then I could awkwardly shuffle myself over—while suspended midair—to the other side of it in a jumping jack like position.

And while this would be an issue for a normal person, I had not four, but six appendages. Which meant I could hold the elixir in my hands, and use my wings as my upper body leverage to get to the other side—I even had an extra appendage if things ever got hairy. So, jumping into place, I sidled my way over to the other side.

Touch down. For once one of my “So stupid it just might work,” plans actually worked. Although, it left me more fatigued than I had been, so I embraced the mossy ground with my face, instead of landing gracefully—I kept my arms in the air to avoid shattering the elixir.

I laid there for a bit, before plucking myself off the ground and continuing through the tunnel. From that point onwards, the tunnel began to curve and turn, ending in a meaty thicket of vines which blocked the path.

“Don’t tell me… I went the wrong way?” I wearily eyed the vines, my heart sinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind told me that I should just give up, but my soul… my gut... they screamed at me to keep moving forward. So, I slapped my cheeks, shocking life back into me, then pulled out my knife and began hacking away at the cluster of vines.

It was like sawing my way through a thick steak with a plastic butter knife, irritating and utterly inefficient, but it’d get there eventually. I’d just have to find the optimal route through the fortified weaving.

It was thirty minutes later. Thirty whole minutes, before I sawed through enough to squeeze through. There hadn’t just been one layer of vines. No, there’d been three, each as frustrating as the last.

Proceeding through was a bittersweet experience. I’d claimed victory, but I’d lost so much of my drive. The whole process had been so stupidly tedious that I almost passed out from boredom alone. Worse yet, if I was still with Peak, he probably could’ve cut through them in a split few seconds.

Something so, so, so, so, so, idiotically needless… was that the adventure I wanted to go on? The adventure that I’d went against Peak’s guidance for? That I’d rushed ahead to see? All these questions buzzed through my head, and I was left just standing there. Reflecting on my choices, and the path I’d gone through in the tunnels. Then I slumped down onto the floor, as the vines rapidly regrew next to me.

Rushing forward, it got me nothing other than lost with a muddy boot. My ambitions weren’t misplaced, either. At least, I didn’t think so. I didn’t blame myself for wanting to go on an adventure, or even for misconstruing what a true adventure would be like. I was new to this world and irredeemably naive. A brat. I’d had the “Adventurer Jitters” or whatever, since I first arrived on Creation.

In some ways, I wasn’t treating everything like a real world. I was an adult—although just barely—yet I was acting like a kid running through a funhouse, treating this world like some imaginary game… because it was like a game, but also not. Time and time again, I neglected the guiding words of Peak, my partner, and then I had the audacity to ask him to believe in me.

And even still, he did.

“Sigh, I guess I acted like a real butt face.” I let my body loosen, as I remembered the last word of Peak’s advice that I’d failed to abide. If we were to get separated, I was meant to stay still and let Peak find me. That was our agreement.

So, I picked myself off the ground, one last time, and then looked at my newly accessed area. It was a large, stone, circular opening with four branching paths leading out from it, including the one I came from. It felt like an intersection.

It was unlike the room I’d just came from, too. It was more like the ones we’d started in. A default cave themed room. It wouldn’t be as comfortable to rest on, but it would do. So, I sprawled out on the ground, rested the elixir next to me, and waited for Peak.

Of course, I fell asleep. Waiting never sat well with my consciousness. I could sleep anywhere

“April, don’t move an inch, and whatever you do, do not sit up.” As always, I was woken by the sound of Peak’s voice. My fire had been spent up and I was turned on my side away from him, but I knew it was Peak. He’d found me. And while I wanted to spring up and give him a big hug, his words warned me not to. “Now, do as I say. Roll to the side, and do not under any circumstances raise your body.”

“Roger that.” I followed Peak’s orders and made a hard roll to the side. As I did, I heard a blade of wind shoot out, and a following squealing sound.

“Okay, you’re good now. You’re free to sit up.” Peak gave me the go ahead, so I sat up, and when I did, I saw a crustacean-like creature on the ground in front of me. Then, I looked over to Peak to find him holding a bright red, iris-like flower. The creature was a Wall Flower, the monster Peak had warned me about. “And that’s why you don’t fall asleep in the tunnels.”

“Welp, that was a close call! Thank god you got here in time.” As I spoke, I sprung into life and jumped forward at Peak to hug the man. Normally, he was the one who’d embrace me, so he was rightfully bewildered. It was because of this normality that I thought that this would suffice as my sorry.

“Aww, crud. Now I can’t even chew you out.” Peak’s face softened, but not into his signature smile. No, this smile was different. It wasn’t overjoyed or relieved, it was appreciative.

“Look, I screwed up, I know. I’m sorry, okay—” I tried to apologize, but before I could, the hug tightened to the point where I couldn’t even breathe. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that I was released and Peak once more had a composed look on his face. “Nah, to be honest, I sorta expected you to do something stupid. Some way or somehow on this trip. I’m just glad it all worked out in the end.”

“Wait, what? You expected this?!” I unintentionally exclaimed my surprise. Peak wasn’t typically the one to plot out intricate schemes. A plan, yeah sure, a scheme, no.

“I once knew someone a lot like you, April. A whole lot, actually. So, that being said, you’re pretty easy to read you know?” Peak let out a hardy laugh, and then returned right back to serious. “I’m just glad you learned this lesson now rather than later. If you’re planning on tackling Shelter Spire, you’re gonna need to get used to sticking to a plan. Otherwise, you might get lost in there for weeks, if not months.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I learned my lesson, no need to rub it in. Let’s just get out of here. I wanna see Shelter already.” I was happy to admit when I was wrong, but I didn’t like it being brought up again and again, so I pushed for us to move.

“On the double, lass, let’s head to Shelter! The path’s right through those vines over there.” Peak pointed to where I’d came from and I learned one final lesson that I’d take to heart more than anything.

It’s always right. Always take the right path. Screw anything your gut says, just go right.