“Of course the forest is haunted,” Aja blurted sarcastically. She casually leaned her back against the shop’s wall, almost knocking down a few of the fortune teller’s lamps.
“Why do you think it’s haunted?” Elem asked the psychic while ignoring his friend's jeering comment. “And why on earth would anyone train in a place like that?”
“You know how to ask the right questions my child,” the psychic replied with a low, crackly chuckle. “Over the centuries, the Wayward Woods have gained quite a reputation. In the olden days the people of what is now Alabaster City used to bury their dead there. It is even rumored that ancient shamans sacrificed criminals and other undesirables in that forest. Nowadays, the Wayward Woods still carry a stigma of doom. Visitors regularly report sightings of strange, ghastly entities lurking between the trees and weird things happen there all the time.”
Aunt Sylvia quickly ran her fingers over her many rings as if she was performing some superstitious ritual before scooting closer to Elem.
“But a cursed location like that also comes with some unexpected benefits,” she whispered. ”For one, you'll be hard pressed to find a place with such a powerful spiritual presence elsewhere, and you will see that cultivating your Essence in the Wayward Woods will yield magnificent results. On top of that, people say that an old sage has recently moved into the forest; a legendary summoner who became a hermit after retiring.”
“Who?” Elem asked. A legendary summoner? That sparked his interest.
“I don’t know.” The fortune teller threw up her hands like a cook pulling their hands from an overheated pot of soup. “My Djinn and I may be gifted psychics but gossiping falls firmly outside my purview.”
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On their way back to the hostel, Elem took a moment to let the session sink in. He had entered the fortune teller’s shop without any expectations but had walked out with an overwhelming baggage of emotions and impressions. Elem chose not to think about the visions for now. Losing his father had left a deep, wide open cut that he wasn’t ready to fully address yet. For now, all he wanted to do was to move forward and stay in motion so he wouldn’t fall.
He thought of the forest. If the psychic’s words were true and there really was a mysterious master Summoner so close to his location, he’d be a fool not to pursue that person. Perhaps he could persuade this hermit to train him and in that case, he wouldn’t be dependent on finding an institution like the Ultra Gym.
“So when shall we give those woods a visit?” Elem asked his friend. “Are you up for a midnight stroll?”
“What?!” Aja nearly punched Elem in the shoulder. “You just learned about some haunted forest and your first impulse is to go there right now? At night? Seems like that old crone really messed with your head.”
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Elem laughed at her reaction. Of course Aja was gonna give him trouble over his suggestion. She never failed to point out whenever he was being impulsive.
“The way I see it is that you paid that woman to give you a fun psychedelic trip and that’s all! These people just tell their customers whatever they want to hear,” Aja rattled on. “Oh and have you already forgotten how you got the crap kicked out of you the other day? Don’t you think you’d need another night’s rest before running off to some creepy horror park?”
“Fine,” Elem answered, sticking out his tongue. Aja wasn’t wrong; a night’s rest could only help him. Besides, he still felt a little dazy, perhaps the Djinn's magic hadn’t completely left his body yet. “Tomorrow will do.”
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Elem and Aja rose early the next morning. The Wayward Woods were adjacent to the city but Alabaster was so large that it would still take them almost two hours before they’d reach the forest. They took the urban monorail to one of Alabaster's outer boroughs and then switched to a bus to take them out of the city proper. Once they got off, the Wayward Woods were only a thirty minute walk away.
Despite the hefty commute, Elem was surprised with how quickly the bustling city had transformed into a quiet, almost rural environment. It was nice being out of the overstimulating city. Ironically, an environment like this felt closer to his home in Lightningrod City than the mayhem that was Alabaster.
In the open landscape, the Wayward Woods weren’t hard to find. The entrance of the forest loomed wide like the mouth of an ominous cave.
“Stay on the path at all times,” warned a sign. “Show respect to the forest,” ordered another.
Even under the morning sun, the woods were dark and stuffy. The trees were crowded, their canopies hungrily wrestled for light like hungry fish waiting to be fed.
“Ahh lovely,” Aja said as she swatted away a flying bug. “This isn’t creepy at all. Let’s just hurry and find our new teacher.”
As directed by the signage, they followed the path to the heart of the forest.
Elem wasn't sure if the psychic’s words were affecting his experience but he swore he could feel something other than air swirling from between the trees. The ancient woods were a living temple. It was almost like thick trees stared at them, quietly judging them like statues.
In a way, the woods were a mysterious world on their own, completely separate from the world outside. Similar to the dimensions a summoner would travel to when meditating besides an Essence Fountain.
The further they walked, the more obscure their path became. Moss-covered rocks and pockets of ferns increasingly crept onto the trail until it was unclear where the path ended and the dirt began.
Elem scratched his head. The forest was larger than he had expected. How on earth was he going to find the sage in this place?
“Is anyone there?” he shouted a few times, but nobody answered besides the magpies laughing from the treetops.
Aja raised her shoulders.
“Looks like this unnamed ‘legendary summoner’ doesn’t want to be found. Maybe he moved here for a reason.”
“We can’t give up this easily,” Elem grunted. “Let’s just walk a little further.”
He had barely finished his sentence or a loud rustle rose from a bush a few meters away from them. Elem narrowed his gaze, recognizing the vague silhouette of a person in the clearing behind the vegetation.
“I guess we won’t have to go far.”