He stood outside of a large gate, poles with snake-like statues coiled around them guarding the entrance to the trial he and Thera were about to face.
He was a little worried, he definitely could have tried to prepare more for what he was about to face, but he got tunnel vision at the thought of completing his previous job quicker. At least if things went wrong he’d get some experience from all the praying he’d do. Still he didn’t regret it; well, for the most part. If there was one thing he regretted it was Theras staves. He had completed two new ones for her right before he'd gotten his two level-ups to his crafting, and as with every level up he could immediately see where he could have improved. The fact that she was walking in there with such inferior products ate at him, even if it would have meant working through the day again without any rest.
If it looks bad we'll run, don't stress too much Myriad. You'll rust or something.
I'm plenty concerned, it's just hard to fear some hypothetical mystery danger. Besides, how could I be afraid of something so beautiful? He was having his heart stolen by the trial, if he wasn't aware of his resistance to dark magics he would bet he'd been charmed from looking at the enchantments that filled the wall and gate that created the trial’s boundary.
Really? When he gave it some thought it made sense, mythic grade items were like the trials, in that they were both created by the gods. The fact that they were able to make anything so incredible was enough to boggle his mind.
Wait, what do you mean? Why wouldn't it be able to exist in our realm?
Seriously? Does that mean if a mortal made anything powerful enough it would end up with the gods?
Myriad you can't just say that and not expect me to want more, come on let's hear the story.
Survival was always in the plans, don't you worry. I'll be holding you to this.
...What?
He couldn't see his god, but Ben got the distinct impression Myriad was shrugging, or at least the cubic equivalent of it.
I feel like I just heard something I wasn't supposed to know. So what do the gods have our odds at?
So bad then, gotcha. He tried to ignore the ominous feeling that came with knowing that various gods thought they didn't have a chance and turned to Thera.
"You all ready?"
"As I can be. Really wish I knew what we were going to face though." She faced the gate, her cloak covering her face making it impossible to tell what expression she wore, but her tone of voice made her sound ready for whatever they may face.
"Same but we've prepared all we can, let's just do our best."
"A positive attitude." Pelenia cut in. "Just remember to run if you need to, there's no shame in it."
"We're going to beat this mom don't you worry," Thera said defiantly. "Then I'm going to get Ben and Falk to make even more staves for me. I'm sure you won't mind covering the costs since this will show it's worth the time, right?"
"Of course that will be fine, so you’re both prepared?”
“As we can be,” Ben had bought a variety of supplies on top of having his coat done and two other tools, A gauntlet enchanted with barrier magic as well as what he was lovingly calling charm bombs. He would have liked to get more items made up but he was happy with what he had managed, though in hindsight it would have been smarter to just buy some weapons and tools instead.
“Good, then if you're ready go on in." Two guards pulled open the gate and they looked at the forest within.
"Aren't we going to wait for Karly and Glob?" Ben asked. If they were all taking the trial he wouldn't mind taking advantage of strength in numbers for at least a little bit, but he was shot down.
"There are six different gates for the trial, they're starting at the next couple over. While up to six pairs could take it at once they can't enter from the same gate."
So no strength in numbers. Great. Still waiting around wouldn't do them any good. They looked to one another, and with a nod walked into the trial.
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This is already a nightmare. Ben thought to himself, though he was being overly dramatic. They hadn't faced any life or death challenges yet, nor difficult puzzles to face. The issue was they couldn't go even a few minutes without one of them falling to the ground.
When they first entered they were both drawn to the view immediately. An ancient forest that came from a lost world made quite the sight, and they were both carving it into their eyes while trying to remain vigilant for any threats within. Ben was getting lost in the sights as he fell onto his face, and after getting back up Thera immediately did the same. At first it was a little embarrassing, thinking their nerves had distracted them, but after almost 30 minutes of it they understood something else was going on, they just couldn't tell what. Even Ben's focus couldn't keep him from spotting whatever he would fall over laying on the forest floor, be it a branch or stone or small hole in the ground, all they knew was that it was getting to them.
Still it was only an annoyance until the next time Ben lost his footing, and a pit opened in the ground where he was falling towards, a couple of meters across, with seemingly no bottom for him to hit.
His saving grace was Thera beside him. Faster than he could react she threw her arm toward him as he fell and yanked back, bringing them both tumbling just outside its edge.
"Holy crap, thanks for the save." His heart was beating at a mile a minute and he was content to lay down and collect himself from the near-death experience, thinking that maybe he was a little too quick to accept a life and death trail from a god.
"No problem. Looks like it's finally getting serious." Thera said, sounding relieved. The entire time she'd been waiting for something to happen, the fact that it did was a load off her mind.
"I don't know, I think I'd be happier if the entire thing was just a test of our mental endurance and seeing how long we could deal with being annoyed. You think the hole has a bottom or would we just fall until we starve to death?"
She peered down before grabbing a stone and tossing it in, waiting to hear a noise that didn't come. "Well maybe it's deep enough that we could figure something out before we hit the bottom?" She offered, though Ben wasn't fond of the prospect.
They continued on, though at a slower, more careful pace, but it didn't help. Thera was the next one to lose her footing, but Ben wasn't quick enough to grab her. As she fell toward the gap she managed to kick off the pit's edge with her foot and grab onto the other side, holding on with all her strength while Ben rushed over to pull her up.
"I could not be more grateful that you don't weigh as much as the marble skin and golden blood would imply," He joked as he tried to catch his breath. "Do you think maybe all the tripping at first was a warning? Like if you can't deal with this just turn around before you fall to your death?"
"Maybe," Thera told him while calming herself down. "I've heard before that Anailia has one of the kinder trials. I always just thought that was because you were allowed to leave it if things got too rough instead of having to either succeed or die, but maybe a warning like that could count as kind?"
"So what do you want to do?"
She bit her lip in thought. "Well we've both almost fallen to our deaths, but at the same time if it stays like this for a while I think we'll be able to manage. I'm fairly confident that I can keep you from falling and as long as it's just more pitfalls I should be able to leap across as long as I'm ready for it."
"Sure unless the gap gets wider, or the trial changes. There's no way it's just avoiding pitfalls until we get the flower, right?"
She looked away from him. "No, I can't imagine any trial that would be that straightforward. If you want to turn back we can, it's not right to ask you to risk your life just so I can keep training to be a mage."
He let out a sigh. "That's not what I meant. As long as you want to keep up on this I'm here for you. I'm just worried. Anything you can think of that could help with this?"
"No. You?"
"No. I guess it's just being careful then. Please don't let me plummet to my dramatic death." He tried to say playfully but was pretty sure he failed. Still Thera seemed sincere in her response.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you."
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The rest of the day was spent dodging pits in the ground. Well, Thera dodged them, Ben was basically entirely dependent on her pushing and pulling him out of the way.
"I genuinely feel like I'm seeing a different side of you." He said admiringly when they stopped to make camp.
"Where did that come from? I don't know how many times we've come close to dying today."
"Over 20, but your reaction speed is great! How did you get so good at avoiding stuff?"
"Well you know, when I was hunting alone, having a quick reaction time was important if I wanted to escape if my staff broke." She told him with a small chuckle. "Also, don't laugh, but I used to be a dancer. It helped with my speed and reflexes."
"Wait really? That's super cool, why have I never seen you dance?"
"I'm not just going to dance for you, that would be super embarrassing. It was from before I decided I wanted to be a mage anyway. My parents wanted me to pursue something that would help me fit in more with high society so I got the job and a few levels in the skill, but when I got older I decided that as fun as it was, it wasn't going to be my career."
"Why not? I mean if you like it then I'd think that would be great?"
She shrugged. "I blame my spirit heritage. You know how I told you that spirits mostly just talk about their affinity? Well as boring as it can be I feel that. Earth magic is in my blood. Even if I'm terrible at it I could never be really content if I'm not using it. That's why I need to finish this trial." As she finished she got a hard look in her eye and Ben took her hand.
"We'll do our best. Now you get some sleep, I'll keep first watch."
Even if they hadn't encountered any living thing there they still didn't want to risk something attacking in the night.
"You sure? I don't mind going first if you need rest?"
"You're the one who's spent all day jumping around keeping both of us alive, besides I want to spend some time talking to this guy," Ben said, tapping the trunk of one of the giant trees they decided to set up camp against.
"You and your plants." She laughed with a shake of her head. "Okay thanks. Wake me in a few hours then."
As he got comfortable against its trunk he found the dark of the night to be peaceful in its own way as a soft breeze passed through the forest and rattled branches as it went. As he listened to the sounds of the woods he quietly spoke under his breath so as to not disturb Thera.
"Myriad, are you there?"
But he got no answer. Even though he'd been warned ahead of time that his god wouldn't be able to contact him, Ben had grown used to his constant presence. For Myriad to not be around to chat with just felt wrong.
Still there was nothing to be done for it, so instead Ben decided to pass the time training his connect skill like he'd told Thera he would. He placed his hands on the roots of the tree towering above him, and when his mind touched its own he felt as though he had awakened a sleeping giant.
Its mind felt old beyond compare. Ben was pretty positive some trees on earth would get to a couple thousand years if they were lucky, and he was willing to bet the one he was currently connected with would beat out any that could be found on his homeworld.
As his connect skill had grown it had become far easier for him to pick up on the emotions of plants. He wasn't sure if they could be described as having a true mind, but a conversation was certainly occurring between him and it.
He was doing the equivalent of small talk at first, introducing himself and making pleasantries, before getting to the heart of the matter, trying to get clues as to what lay ahead in the trial.
Unfortunately the tree lived on a different scale of time to him, with thousands of days blending into each other. Any other creatures would pass by in the blink of an eye, few having leaned against its trunk as Ben currently was, and without any way of telling if they were trial takers or monsters that lived within the forest. Without a sense of sight it got its information about the wider world through the detection of tremors in the ground and the sharing of pheromones between the various plants that made up the forest.
With that lead lost, Ben was content to spend the night chatting, creating one of the most interesting nights in the unmoving giant's life.