“Arte, it is not safe to return to Mutehall. We still cannot find the mage or his apprentice, the Commander hasn’t been acting like himself and no one seems to care. I am afraid, sister. There is something going on here, something ominous, and it makes my blood run cold. Do not return to Mutehall, Arte. Please. I know you’re going to want to disobey but please stay away. Stay in Grandrest, where it is safe, and I will send for you when I can. Do as I say, soldier.”

Arte’s hands shook slightly as she finished reading the letter again. Her eyes traced over her sister’s signature, then back up to the top to read it all once more. From her vantage point in the forest, she could just see the roofs of the tallest buildings of Grandrest. A little farther and she would be out of sight of the town entirely. Kattrin’s letter had come yesterday, three days after Arte arrived in town, delivered to her room at the inn by a very tired-looking soldier. A trunk had been delivered alongside the letter, and when she peered inside she was delighted to find her personal set of armor, brought from home and packed up by her sister. Lifting out the pieces of dyed and formed leather, Arte had to fight back tears.

“Thanks, Kat.” She whispered, changing out of her sleep-clothes and donning the familiar armor. It fit her body perfectly, each piece perfectly overlapping the one beneath it to create the illusion of leaves. Running her hands over the expertly crafted ridges, Arte felt like herself again.

Then she read the letter. Over and over, she read the letter until she had it memorized. What did Kattrin mean, the Commander wasn’t acting like himself? Why didn’t anyone care that the mage was gone? Wasn’t that his castle? What had Kattrin so scared? There were just too many questions! Right away, Arte thought about going back to Mutehall despite her sister’s orders. But what good would that do? Kattrin would be very angry if she just showed up after being told to do the opposite.

“I have to do something!” She exclaimed to her empty room, bubbling over with determination. But what could she do? She was just a trainee, an unplaced cadet all on her own.

The apprentice! Jumping up, Arte looked at the letter again. Maybe she could look for the mage’s apprentice! They might know something, and if she could bring the missing apprentice back to Mutehall, Kattrin might even let her stay and help! Except, she didn’t know who the apprentice was or where they were or what they even looked like. Trying to find someone like that would be practically impossible.

She sat back down. Resting her chin in her hand, she thought some more. The apprentice seemed like the right direction, but there was simply too much missing. She would have to find more information somehow.

Then it hit her. The Mage Academy! Arte may hail from the Vorran islands and didn’t have an ounce of magic in her, but even she knew about the Falsesummit Mage Academy in Mystibel. If she could get there, surely someone could help her find the mage’s apprentice. Maybe the apprentice was already there, or was going there, and Arte could meet them along the way! It felt like a really good plan. Her mind made up, Arte gathered her few belongings, returned her room key to the innkeeper, and set out for the nearest port town.

Down a treacherously steep hill just outside Grandrest sat the formidable Grand-Steel Forest, the largest expanse of woods in Ava Mara and, at one time, the only way to get to Port Isteel. Long disused since the roads had been built, rumors of territorial animals and dangerous brigands kept most sensible people out of the forest.

And yet, here I am, Arte thought as she walked deeper into the woods, keeping to the still somewhat visible path as best she could. Turning her face upward, she caught sight of a blob of sky through the tree canopy, but all she saw was dark and stars. No moons to tell her the time. It would take several days to get through the forest on foot, and the feeling that she was doing something wrong began to nag at her.

“Kat’s gonna be so mad if she finds out I left town.” She mused out loud. If she found out, of course. Then again… Arte stopped short, her heart suddenly racing. What if Kattrin came looking for her? That was something she had not considered. What would happen if Kattrin went to collect her from Grandrest and she wasn’t there? Turning back the way she came, Arte wondered if she should just go back, wait for her sister like she was told.

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To her left, something cracked. Spinning toward the sound and drawing her sword, Arte listened closely. She told herself she was calm, confident in her ability to defend herself against whatever was out there. The crack came again, closer this time. Arte did not move. A few minutes passed and there was a third crack. The foliage up ahead rustled, then a rootbear waddled into the path.

Arte’s breath caught in her throat and she stayed still, not taking her eyes off the snuffling mound of leaves ahead of her. The rootbear’s big boxy head nudged around the path, and she heard the crack again; the animal was foraging for food, and the cracks she heard were its powerful jaws crushing the thin outer shell of picnuts. Moving very slowly to not attract its attention, Arte sheathed her sword. This beast posed no threat to her as long as she did not disturb it.

Sure enough, after sniffing around a bit more, the rootbear moved on and disappeared back into the woods. Exhaling, Arte gave the animal a few minutes to get a safe distance away before continuing down the path.

Time passed slowly. Without the foot traffic the forest once had, the paths had become overgrown, and after a while it became difficult to see. Arte spent most of her time looking down, carefully picking her way through the clusters of wild beeberry and starmint growing up through the cracked stepping stones, trying not to trip over the catching plants. Periodically she looked up, searching for the moons through gaps in the canopy. Now she could see Nocta had reached its apex; night had fallen.

“I’ve been walking all day…” Sinking to sit on a rock, Arte allowed herself a break. Hunger gnawed at her belly, had been for a while, so she dug into her small stash of provisions in her belt-pouch. She ate a round bread the size of her fist, packed with chopped picnuts and goldapple and sugar. Despite its pleasant aroma it was fairly bland, but the dense nuts and fruit would keep her satiated for quite some time.

She ended up taking a nap, waking up to the sound of a bird chirping nearby. Something chittered in response from the underbrush. Blinking, Arte squinted up at the sky, but couldn’t see the moons. How long had she been asleep?

A sudden tingling marched along the back of her neck and she spun around, expecting to see a rootbear or some other animal behind her, but nothing was there. The tingle came again, all over her body this time. It hurt a little and Arte rubbed her arms.

“What the…?” As she said it the tingle faded. Looking around, nothing appeared unusual or out of place. Had she wandered into a firespider web or something? Arte patted at her armor. No webs. “Weird…”

Shrugging it off as a bizarre random chill, she began walking again. Almost immediately the tingling buzzed back to life, stronger now. Letting out a startled scream, she slapped at her arms in a panic. Why did it feel like something was crawling all over her?

“Ugh, stop it! What is this?!” On the verge of tears, Arte started stripping off her armor, piece by piece, until she stood in only her undergarments and her boots. The chilly forest air felt like a blessing to her itchy skin and she groaned loudly in relief. Something must have found its way into her armor somehow, a spore or a tiny stinger or a very angry, very bitey bug. She would have to be more cautious in these woods. But close inspection of her skin produced no bug bites, no stings.

Okay…let’s find a river and wash this, just in case…” Gathering up her armor, Arte listened to the forest until she caught the trickling of running water. It sounded close, so she headed toward it. The tingling kicked up again, almost causing her to break down until she realized it was lessening the closer she got to the river. Pausing, she back-stepped a few paces. The tingling got stronger. Arte slowly turned around and it stopped entirely. Only the sensation of being pulled remained.

“I…guess I should go this way…” She whispered to herself, quickly putting her armor back on and drawing her sword just in case. Following the pull, Arte trekked deeper and deeper into the woods. She found that if she strayed too far from the course of the pull, the tingling would start and redirect her. The woods slowly grew darker, more wild-smelling, And Arte looked down to realize she had left the path some time ago. Glancing behind her, she couldn’t even tell which direction it was. Growing slightly nervous, she pressed onward.

“Don’t be afraid, Arte. There’s nothing in these woods you can’t handle.” She told herself, gripping her sword now with both hands. She was a good soldier, after all, and good soldiers weren’t afraid of the deep woods.

~