Chapter 7 - Jaunt in the Forest
When dragons fight, it is the trees that are burned.
- A Quassian aphorism.
Predestination and the nature of foresight were among the dilemmas the new Seraphina faced. Added to that was the question of the Butterfly Effect. As one of the earliest testers, with insight into the game’s development at every stage, she had knowledge of upcoming events—events she could predict. However, if she chose not to follow along with certain things as they were, would it create lasting ripples, skewing the train of future events and nullifying her current advantage?
She had already touched upon the fabric of future events with the recruitment of Frest to her cause and the defanging of her maid Miriam. What effects would that have? But… it would do her no good worrying over such thing, alea iacta est, the die had been cast. She really should have worried about such things before doing them.
Seraphina looked into the mirror, giving a slow twirl to take in the dress. It was an adult shade of red, rich and deep, falling gracefully to her ankles, with delicate white frills at the neck and sleeves. The cut was fine, elegant even, but… this dress.
She sighed, straightening her back, though the fitted bodice made for a tight fit. And her bust, larger now than it had been—was adding unexpected strain to her posture, making her shoulders ache. Thought she cut quite the figure, Seraphina would have to do something about this in the future.
The young girl paused, took a deep breath, and a realization began to dawn on her.
Despite the looming threat of impending doom, she was enjoying herself—more than she had ever enjoyed her life in the old world. Back there, her existence had felt like an endless repetition of maintaining a high score in a computer game. Money… she loved it, loved what it represented, but she’d had so much that it had become just a way to measure herself against others.
She cut off the thought immediately. There was no need to measure herself against anyone, in this world or her last. She had always been blessed; she had always been the best. A world filled with deadly court intrigue, dragons, and fantastical monsters would be just another conquest for her—just another variable. The setting had changed, but the rules, for the most part, remained the same.
*****
Thoughts of possible futures weighed heavily on her as she rode out into the dense forests just outside the castle town. Even as she wandered beneath the canopy on foot, searching for a herb that might ease one of her many looming troubles, these thoughts crept in with a pernicious stubborness.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
It was not that she needed the herb immediately, nor was she usually one to rush tasks, but her curiosity was overwhelming. Could she learn a new skill completely from scratch at her own initiative? In the game, certain skills could only be acquired from trainers, so this little venture was an experiment to uncover the truth.
As she dug up yet another Amolla root, most likely incorrectly, she noted one of the downsides of Seraphina’s unnatural Strength. Though this body had the muscle memory to deal with routine day-to-day tasks, new activities posed a challenge. Her hands were looking the worse for wear, and her maid Miriam, hovering nearby, looked increasingly distressed.
“Is this really necessary, Lady Seraphina? We could just ask the herbalist in town…” the not-quite human maid suggested.
“Sometimes, Miriam, you need a more hands-on approach to certain matters,” Seraphina replied bluntly, tugging at another stubborn root.
You have learned Herbalism (lvl.1)
You have gained 1 Wisdom.
At last, she had gained a new skill! This confirmed that, unlike in The Maiden of the Wisterias, skill development in this world would be more organic. Good to know. Yet, the slight increase to her Wisdom felt almost insulting—ten Wisdom was the lowest possible starting score in the game’s character creation, representing a typical human just entering puberty. Still, it was enough to raise her maximum Mana by an entire point.
Positive thoughts. She took a moment to smile, appreciating the forest scenery. Now that she had a rare moment to herself, she found it all rather invigorating. “I think we have done enough for one day,” she admitted, brushing the dirt off her clothes.
The Herbalism skill, even at a beginner’s level, was useful—allowing her to identify and harvest ingredients for various purposes. At higher levels, it could even enable her to make simple ointments and tinctures with different effects. Of course, when combined with the Alchemy skill, one could craft near-miraculous potions, if willing to invest the time and effort. Seraphina, however, was not.
She had a single focus: concocting poisons. One poison in particular, when combined with a common local food ingredient, would act as an effective contraceptive. Seraphina intended to bring women’s choice to this world, albeit for her own very private reasons.
Looking down, she noticed the stains and marks on her clothes from rooting around in the forest floor for alchemical herbs. It would be a devil to clean, but she smiled—glad it would not be her task. In this world, as in the last, she had people for that. Privilege had its perks.
It was time to head back home. Home? How quickly she had come to call it thus.
She whistled, and a bored-looking Nina glanced up from grazing on some forest greenery. The palfrey ambled over to her and nuzzled her face, a display of affection Seraphina bore stoically.
“Come, Milly. It is time to head back. Do not dawdle—I’ll need your help with my hair,” the young noblewoman commanded, skillfully hopping onto Nina’s back.
Seraphina urged her mount into a canter with two clicks of her tongue, following an animal trail that would lead them out of the woods. Her beleaguered maid scrambled to get her own horse moving, fearful of being left alone in the forest.