“And she walks off into the distance, traveling off once more.” Sache had gained quite a large boon from her most recent journey. A brand new instrument and even some magical clothes that perfectly suited her messy lifestyle.

By all accounts, this is the best possible outcome for her. With this, she could look forward even further to enjoy her future journey.

“Nothing lost but everything gained! Like how it should be.”

She slowly strummed her lute lethargically.

On the horizon, Sache could see a very interesting forest. Trees that pierced the very skies. Even the clouds above weren’t able to contain these humongous trees. From a distance, one of these majestic trees started swaying from side to side, eventually falling down.

As it turned out, this massive tree was actually falling down on where Sache was.

“Uh oh!” Sache held onto her cap, running off in the opposite direction. “This is not a good start to an adventure at all! Help!”

The fallen tree did not care for Sache’s pleas, falling down on her. It started speeding up as its momentum slowly built up. It wasn’t looking favorable for this small Bard.

“Hup!” A shadow flashed by, appearing right beside Sache. “Sorry, miss. I thought this place was cleared out.”

“It’s… fine? Haha…” Sache fell down. She turned back to see this person holding such a gigantic tree on her shoulders. She was singlehandedly preventing it from falling down.

She was tall, to the point that she was a little bit taller than two Saches stacked on top of each other. Her grizzly unkempt hair flowed right behind her hair. She wore a lumberjack’s clothing, a little tattered but nothing to worry about.

“Name’s Barni. What’re you doing out here, miss?” Her shoulders were burdened by the entire weight of this fallen lumber. It was as if this humongous piece of bark weighed nothing to her. “Those folks said they were keeping everyone out! What’s wrong with them?”

Sache quickly coughed. She stood right back up and reached out her hand. Despite Barni being able to carry something so humongous, Sache wasn’t afraid of getting hurt. She could see she had a good heart.

“I’m Sache, a wandering Bard. Nice to meet you, Barni. I’ve never seen a human Tale be as strong as you before.”

“Yep! That’s why they call me the Woman Who Carries The World On Her Back! Gahahahaha!” Barni laughed similarly to how an old man would, coming straight from his belly. She casually threw the load on her back to the side.

Needless to say, there was a small shockwave that spread out over a very large area.

“That’s so cool! Your village must be very ecstatic to have you there! You must be like a Tale I met by chance during my past travels. He’s called The Hardened Farmer! You both strive to help people you care about! I’m inspired to spread your Tale in the future!” Sache’s eyes sparkled like gemstones. She pumped her fists. Meeting a brand new Tale was always a treat to her, no matter what.

“That’s… not really the case, miss. Bah! Ignore my ramblings. Let me escort you out of here. You must’ve gotten lost from the main path.” Barni reached out her gigantic hand and accepted Sache’s goodwill. She took Sache and guided her through this labyrinth-like forest.

Sache turned her head, only to see that she’d cut more trees than she had expected. Tree stumps littered this forest. It was a concerning amount even to her.

“Barni, did you cut all of these trees down yourself?” Sache’s initial excitement turned down. It became a more somber tone.

“Cool, isn’t it? It’s hard labor but it’s honest work. I like to think that those birds up in the sky can finally fly freely! Always makes me giggle.” Barni looked side to side. “Eh? Birds should be filling the sky by now! Must be what you call… migration. Yeah, must be it.”

Sache looked up. The skies were clear and open. There wasn’t a single bird in sight. In fact, there hadn’t been a single bird during her travels. She looked at the fallen tree beside her. She removed her glove to reach out and touch the tree that was cut down.

Once her skin made contact with the log, she immediately brought it back. Her body felt extremely uncomfortable as she did so.

“Miss, no!” Barni reached out and prevented Sache from touching this decaying tree log. “That’s dangerous! You see, I’m cutting these trees down exactly cause they’re so dangerous! One touch and you’ll feel your skin burn! Not good for business!”

Sache stared at her bruised hand which was now swelling. It had already formed blisters as putrid puss suddenly poured out of her skin. Sache bit her lower lip.

She had a feeling but this confirmed it. Looking at what this Tale exactly was and the purity in Barni’s eyes, there was something amiss.

“Barni, could I meet your village? I feel slightly sick.” Sache put pressure on her wrists. There was a hidden infection coursing through her veins. If not treated immediately, she might even lose a hand.

“Oh no! This accursed Tree Blight! Miss, I’m sorry to tell you but there ain’t no cure for that. I gotta chop it off as soon as possible!” Barni reached her hand out and grabbed ahold of Sache. She had seen what Tree Blight had done to other people and she didn’t want Sache to suffer.

Holding onto Sache’s infected arm with one hand, Barni raised her other hand and was building up the courage to separate Sache’s hand.

But from the looks of it, it’s just staying inside my hand. It’s only trying to regain enough nutrients before it goes back to its previous form. Sache felt one of the seeds of this fallen tree take its spot in her hand. It was without a doubt parasitic but as for whether it was lethal or not, it definitely was not.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

With such a sudden change of events, Sache didn’t seem scared. With a troubled person before her, Sache was more preoccupied with Barni’s troubles than her own.

As Barni’s hand chopped down, it slashed apart the air, creating a strong gust of wind.

“I know the cure for it.” Sache’s calm voice somehow managed to reach Barni.

“You… you do?! Is that true, miss? You can cure Tree Blight?” Barni’s jaw dropped down. She completely believed Sache, a complete stranger.

Sache’s response was simple. She took out her Symphony Lute from her bag and started plucking on it. Even as she was disarmed on one hand, she still managed to create a harmonious tune that soothed the soul.

Her expert plucking only used a mere fourteen notes but it was all she needed to create a masterpiece. As she played along, she finally used the Symphony Lute’s ability.

Title {Symphony Lute}

Name {Symphony Lute}

Reputation {13 Kingdoms}

Honor {Evil}

Gravitas {72%}

Affiliation {None}

Blessings

Inscribement {}

[Any creature or Tale that listens to a song created by the Symphony Lute will be influenced accordingly. Even against their will.]

Engravement {Condition Locked}

{Requirement: Use the Symphony Lute to create a song that will make a thousand people sing and dance, 74/1000.}

{Additional Lock: Use the Symphony Lute to create a song that will even move Legends.}}

“It’s perfect. But that’s the problem. It’s not fun if everything’s already been laid out before you even start.”

“Even the darkest and deepest, the grudge hidden beyond the abyss, cannot hold a candle to forgiveness~” Sache plucked the Symphony Lute one last time, causing the infection within her hand to subside.

From within the blisters grew a whole other seed, falling off her hand as if nothing ever happened. It was once again a seed that would slowly grow over a millennia to reach what it was.

“That’s amazing, miss! You’re really skilled! Super skilled! You should go to another kingdom and play for the King. You’d be drowning in riches!” Barni took Sache’s body and placed it right beside her shoulder. It was surprisingly sitting for Sache.

“Worry not! I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt no more! Hold on, miss!” Barni had sped up. She didn’t want Sache to stay here any longer.

Sache didn’t say anything, merely letting Barni carry on. After all, Barni knew these woods more than Sache would ever know. Even with her ability, there were just some things that one’s eyes wouldn’t be enough.

“There we go! Miss, you should go off now. It’ll be dangerous when night comes!” Barni shooed Sache away. Such a feeble Bard in such a precarious situation didn’t sit right with her.

“What about your village?” Sache sat down, slowly tuning her Symphony Lute. She even brought out some basic kindle and started a small fire. “It’s getting late, aren’t you supposed to be heading back as well?”

“It’s night?! My goodness! Miss, the woods are very dangerous at night. Even I don’t want to enter the forest in pitch darkness. It’s very scary…” Barni looked from side to side, as to emphasize just her fear of it.

“Scary? I’m curious as to what would make such a strong Folklore like yourself be afraid of? There are very few things that could even harm you.” Sache started plucking her Symphony Lute, trying to set the atmosphere.

“Miss, have you heard of… ghosts? This forest is full of scary ghosts! It’s not for the faint of heart. Not for my wee feeble heart.” Barni came out from the edge of the forest and came to seek the shelter of light and warmth on Sache’s side.

“I see, ghosts. I’m very afraid of dead people too. They keep haunting you, right? The dead is very intrusive.” Sache plucked once more. The small campfire she had set up was burning brighter than ever before. “But it helps to remember, that ghosts are just people. You shouldn’t be so afraid of them. Why don’t you talk to them?”

“Talk to your ghosts? Eek! Scary!” Barni shook her head. Such a terrifying thought wasn’t something that Barni even considered tackling. She might not be afraid of anything physical but ghosts weren’t physical at all! They attack her soul directly.

“Why so? Have you seen your ghosts hurt someone?” Sache plucked twice. She was finding the perfect tune to set. She was getting lost in the conversation.

“No… but they just stand there. They watch me… And that makes me afraid. So I think they’ve hurt me.” Barni, despite being a hulking strong woman, was unable to think that the ghosts weren’t harmful.

“Maybe they’re just trying to tell you something you need to know.” Sache plucked three times. And the final three notes she found were a simple one. It was something that she couldn’t help but reminisce about. It was the first three notes she had ever learned.

Granted that these three notes together meant nothing, even being disjointed. It was impossible to create anything meaningful out of this.

“Maybe… just maybe, you need to stop running away from them.” Sache used these three notes constantly. It sounded terrible. Even grating to the ear.

Yet for some reason, Barni didn’t seem to be put off by it. “That’s a nice tune.”

“Objectively, it sounds harsh. But personally…”

“I like it.” Both Sache and Barni spoke at the same time. They looked at one another and started giggling at one another.

“How long have you been cutting down these trees, Barni?” Sache looked over to the side, watching the forest still have that daunting mist covering it.

“Twenty-two years. Good thing my village always supports me. Oh, that reminds me! There are still people back in my village that were hurt! Sache, can you help me?” Barni suddenly looked to the side.

The sun started to rise. For such a seemingly short conversation, it appears that time had moved on so quickly that they had lost track of it.

“Of course, I will. But… I still have to travel. My journey’s not over yet. You know what? What if you use your voice to sing the short song I played earlier? You’ve hummed it perfectly.” Sache started humming that discordant three-note song.

“Really? Can I do it? Can I save my village?” Barni was slightly suspicious. She's always been a brute, anything delicate was difficult for her.

“Everything will work out. Just believe in yourself.” Sache promptly stood up and left, not glancing back. All she did was wave her hand back yet did not turn. She felt that Barni would hold out just fine.