The morning air was crisp as the car rolled down the highway north and and east of Corrandulla. It was a relatively short drive but just long enough for Alanna to review every word spoken by her and her mother in their conversation the night before. Her mother was not thrilled that Alanna wanted to stay and they had argued the point for quite a while. The fact that Alanna intended to complete her higher education did somewhat mollify her mother. However, she was disappointed. She words "I didn't raise you to act this way," Had been said multiple times.
Alanna had mixed feelings about that. On one hand she deeply loved and respected her mother as she had done her best in raising a daughter pretty much alone. That is to say if, one does not count the tutors, nannies, chefs, and other household caretakers. Still, she was loving in her own way. Alanna knew she wanted the best for her but there was a large part of her that rebelled against the idea of being controlled. And, she knew that while it was with her best interest at heart, it was still control.
She had spent her whole life stuck under the control of a disorder that prevented her from healthy social engagements. She removed herself from most normal activities as a child, for she could not control when a memory would invade her mind. The teasing and humiliation made it difficult to develop interpersonal relationships of any kind. She felt alone even in a big house with a lot of caretakers around. Her mother's idea of aid was to provide her with the best specialists to try to subdue the memories of a different life. Her mother's actions were not incorrect they just weren't what Alanna thought she needed. She needed companionship and love. She saw her classmates with their families and friends and she knew something was missing.
When Alanna's memories were finally ordered and organized when she merged with the land, the fragmented pieces of her self, of her soul were finally put back together. She finally felt whole in a way she did not know she could. So, she may be making seemingly rash decisions to suddenly stay here, but to her and her memories she kind of belonged here. She was drawn to the land. She was drawn to the quests and she wanted to go into the rings. She was fearful of course, but not paralyzingly so.
She looked out the window and at where the pull was the strongest and pointed it out to her grandparents. "That is— huh?" Her grandfather started. "No, that actually makes sense." Her grandmother interjected. Alanna looked between the two with an eyebrow raised. "It is Knockma Hill, also called Fairy hill and it has a history with our family." Her grandfather said. "One of our ancestors a Lady Eithne was spirited away and held by one of the fairy kings here. Well not here exactly but in the world below." He corrected.
They parked the car and made their way to the cairns. They climbed the moss covered steps to the top of the verdant green where Alanna closed her eyes. She moved toward where she felt the land guiding her and stopped abruptly. What seemed to be a moss and vine covered cairn faded away and an a circle of stones nearly knee height appeared in front of her. She turned around and looked toward her grandparents. They both seemed worried at the implication but they had all discussed this possibility. Her grandfather pulled a large pack from his back which had a long blackthorn staff attached to one side. He handed it over to Alanna and gave her a stiff nod before clasping her on the shoulder and heading back down the hill. Her mamó stepped forward and clasped Alanna's hands once she had the bag secured to her back. She looked up at her and attempted a smile. "I've heard time works funny in places like these. So, we will not wait here long. If you do not find us walk in a straight line there and you will find the way back home. Be safe a leanbh." She snuck in a quick hug then followed her husband back down toward the road and waiting car. Alanna took in a long and cleansing breath then turned and walked into the stone ring.
There was a high pitch squealing sound that pressed against Alanna's mind as the world went white. She felt like she were pushing through a thick membrane of silicone as she pushed her hands forward. There was a tearing feeling at the membrane and Alanna pushed her self through it. The white faded to a nearly pitch black that took several seconds for Alanna's eyes to adjust to. She could tell she was in some sort of forest based on the dark shapes she could make out but it was still very difficult to see. She turned around expecting to see the stone circle but there was only more darkness with tree and plant like shapes hiding therein. Alanna was alert and listening carefully as her eyes were not overly helpful at the moment. She crouched down and pulled her pack off her back rummaging through it. She hoped she had a torch and soon felt a long metallic object that felt like a light. She pulled it out and turned it on lighting up the darkness around her. The forest looked like every dark forest ever described in fairy tails. The atmosphere was smothering. There was a lingering domineering presence that just sort of sat heavily in the air. She was starting to think she had made a bad decision when a familiar fog screen coalesced out of the darkness in front of her.
You have entered the Forest of Beginning's End. You have received a quest. Quest: Survival I. Description: Survive the night and make your way through the forest and visit the mad queen's castle. Quest: Uncover the past. I Description: There are many truths out there to find. Learn the first truth.
"So, the screen is back." Alanna stated the obvious as she stared at the information. "So quests are a thing and survival is one of them. That sounds terrible." She thought. She moved her hand to the string that secured her staff and started to undo it. She scanned the area around her with the light while she attempted to get the weapon off her pack. A sharp pain in her arm caused her to drop the light and she yelped in surprise. The light rolled to the side and Alanna caught a shadow jump into the trees a few feet away. She could make out a bit of blood welling up on her arm but it was minor and would scab quickly. She finally managed to free her blackthorn staff and cursed herself for not having it out already. Not that she could have known to expect being assaulted moments after arriving. She felt for her internal power and called forth the bark armor spell covering her body in a thick Ironwood armor that resembled something a knight might wear complete with a helm, except it was made of wood. She pulled the staff around and slowly turned in the dark. She heard and saw nothing and after a few minutes she reached down and picked up the light once more.
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The moment she picked up the light she felt an impact on her arm again and while it surprised another yelp out of her she did not feel pain this time. She also managed to hold on to the light. She spun around quickly in 360 degrees and caught a slender shadowed arm dart behind the nearest tree. "Get out here you bastard!" Alanna shouted and swung her staff into the tree trying to draw it out. She did not want to go around the tree. It gave her a bad feeling. Nothing ventured out and so she gingerly made her way around to the other side with her staff raised. She yelled out and swung when she reached where the creature should have been but there was nothing there. A heavy impact hit her in the back of her helmeted head and she found herself flung forward and dazed. She cried out in alarm and frustration and swung out her staff blindly in wild unpredictable ways. To her relief it actually hit something and the large thorns dug deep into it. She quickly pulled the staff down like a saw blade and whatever she had hit backed off and let out a low groaning wail.
Alanna still felt a bit dazed and knew that impact had done a bit of damage even if it did not break her armor. She felt a heavier drain on her mana that she was used to from her practice but it was still manageable. She also could feel it replenishing quite quickly which was unusual for her. It usually took all night to replenish. She could feel that the bit from the spell had already been recouped. The upkeep and strengthening of the armor did cost a bit so she was not full and would not be while it was maintained but she could tell she would be able to use her few spells a lot more. Not that they would help overmuch. A heavy impact across her back had her reeling forward once again. Alanna yelled in frustration. She could not hear or see whatever was attacking her. She rolled to her feet picked up the flashlight and began swinging wildly in every direction once again. It seemed to work before but after a full minute she had not hit anything.
She ran forward several steps and then quickly turned and swung her staff hoping to get lucky once again. To her utter shock she not only hit something but saw what she had hit. A large leafless tree branch had just been swung at her back again. Her much thinner staff slammed into it and both were stopped a half meter from her face. She was so dumbfounded by this because there was no monster holding the branch it was still connected to the closest tree. "What?" Alanna asked as she stared in confusion. The tree had frozen the moment she was staring at it but Alanna saw the faint outline of a snarling mouth and narrowed angry eyes glaring at her on the trunk. She could not fathom what sort of creature she was seeing but after looking at the massive branch and her tiny staff she did not know what she could do to it. She jumped backward a few steps and cast a wild growth spell to try and hold the creature while she fled. The spell seemed to work and large choking vines wrapped around the branches of the tree and held it fast. She turned around to run only to be struck once again by a new tree monster. It had hit her hard enough that she stumbled sever steps back and into the trunk of another tree. A large mouth opened and clamped down on her should cracking her armor and sinking bark teeth into her body.
Alanna screamed in pain once again and stabbed her shillelagh into the outline of its eye. Much to her surprise and horror it sunk deeply into the creature's eye bursting it causing a blood like sap to spill out over her. The monster let her go and a piercing cry was emitted from its bark maw. Alanna was furious and pushed and pulled the staff through the creature then ripped it out viciously. Her right shoulder and arm were bleeding and crushed and she was in an extreme amount of pain. Yet her rage and frustration had not yet ebbed. So, she smashed her staff into the tree over and over. She stabbed through the other eye with a frantic fervor. After a moment a spectral light bloomed then faded around the tree and a pile of dust fell to the ground leaving only a normal tree behind.
Alanna collapsed to the ground and laid her back against the tree. She was in a lot of pain and hoped that her thus far unused regeneration spell would finally be of use. She called forth the power within herself and for once it answered. A warmth suffused her and a numbing feeling traveled up her arm and into her shoulder. It felt like she just received local anesthesia. She sighed in relief as the arm visibly healed in front of her. She looked down at the staff in her left hand and found it covered in a red sap. It looked quite grim and gruesome almost as if that had been a person. The dust at her feet though, that had been some sort of spirit. She was certain now though. The blackthorn had a mystic quality to it to be able to do that kind of damage as a glorified stick.
After her shoulder had fully healed, Alanna stood and looked over the trees near her. She pushed a bit of mana into her bark armor spell to fix the damage as she looked around. She had to find her flashlight as it had fallen from her grip when she was stuck. However, the impact with the ground either broke it or managed to hit the switch. She eyed the trees carefully and found that the two in front of her had small outlines of a face. They seemed to only want to strike her when her back was turned and with the spirit behind her slain she felt a bit of confidence in battling these creatures now. She moved closer to her left so the right most tree would not have an easy shot at hitting her without hitting its ally. Then in a quick leap forward she stabbed forward with her blackthorn staff and it easily pierced through the creature's eye.
Once again she rampaged against the tree spirit. She pushed and pulled and sawed the tree with the thorns of her staff. She felt the tree that was to the right, now behind her, lash her across the back a few times, but her armor held. After a few moments the tree glowed brightly then another pile of dust fell around the trunk. Alanna felt exhaustion creeping in from the adrenaline increase and the constant movement. She was breathing heavily but refused to stop for a break until she made a small safe space here. With that in mind she raged against the other tree.
Alanna sat slumped against the final tree and took a few moments to catch her breath. It had been the first time she ever truly fought with anything outside of a spar. This was nothing at all like fighting a person. The entire experience was both horrifying and exhilarating. She had not expected to have to spirit trees on her first quest and she knew that from the descriptions it was a long way from over. She decided to give herself a few minutes of rest before she moved forward again. When the glow from the dust at her feet faded a familiar foggy screen appeared in front of her.
You have slain Spirit of the wood *Dark aligned* x3. 300 Experience gained. Congratulations You have leveled up. You are now level 2. 1 Ability and 1 Attribute point gained.