Story 2 Chatper 2 ~ Sea of Trees

The trees where are as tall as a four-story castle and dense as a solid break.  It is difficult moving around them.  It is as if this forest is untouched by man.   I would probably not have visited a place like this under normal circumstances.

Moonlight does not make it through the treetops making it difficult to see what is in front of me, much less anywhere else.  I hesitate with every step.   The rain still taps away at the treetops way above me, but only droplets make it through the nest of leaves.

The soil is barely damp, but the night is cold.

The last time I heard anything of Akane was that he became a raider/bandit and operates out of these Sea of Trees.  I could be mistaken.  Though not many men in our boards can be described with fair skin and wild orange hair the color of Flames, that appears gold in the moonlight.   Most of our nation is darker of skin tone and the only few pale people that do populate our boards have hair the color of midnight.   Thought a blonde or two has been spotted more frequently.

I hold out hope that the man described is Akane because of another description is associated with the bandit leader, the Amethyst Earring Bandit, which I’ve heard about the man in passing.

Before he was forced to leave our guard and turned traitor he was once a reliable knight my father trusted enough to reward him with my precious earring. At Akane’s request, mind you.  I was no more that fourteen years old at the time.  He couldn’t be more than seventeen himself.  But already making a name for himself in my father guard.  I don’t know why my jewels were his request.  I have many sisters, older.   More towards his age than I and with more to offer.

I slow and look up a tiny bit of light breaks through the sea of trees and I see the moon.  It glows above mature in the sky.  It looks as if it may burst.

My attention is pulled from the beautiful sight by the howl.  I realize where I am.  This is not the place to stop or slow down.  No time for the second guess.  I don’t know what or who may be out there.

I move out of the light of the moon into the darkness and continue my journey into the unknown.

~

I look at my staff as I sit under a tree trunk.  I resist the urge to use any power to light my way.   In front of me is darkness, I can’t see anything.  But the sound of the fat raindrops crash on to the soft muddy ground and the thud against the roots of the tree.  For the rain to be making such a greeting to us this far below, above the dense leaves it must be pouring down like waterfall above.

I look at my staff and I see the faintest of light in the Purple stone.  My will is going against my reason and is casting a small light in the darkness.  The lavender light, though small, makes a big difference.  My eyes adjust, and welcome, the dim light.  Though with little to look at besides the dark bark of wet trees and the deep rich brown of wet soil, the light does little for me except calm my anxious hands from strangling my only traveling companion and weapon.

In the lavender orb, I see the faint light pull towards the left, which lets me know which way my earing are.   An enchantment I placed on them years ago, because of their sentimental value.  I never would have thought I would be locating them for this reason.

I never removed the enchantment when I was requested to give them to Akane because it gave me peace knowing I could always find him.  Every time I saw him he was wearing those earing.  I never thought to tell him that I had spelled them or offer to remove it.  As time went on for weeks, to months, and even a full year after the fact.  I never released my spell.

I place my head against the cold smooth orb, I offer a silent pray: please don’t have sold those earing.

In the distance, a howl cuts through the night.  It is not too far away.  The light dims further and I get up slowly.  I start walking down the path the opposite of where my staff is telling me to go.  What is surprising is that wolves would choose to stay in such a dark forest with little to no visibility.

As I step on to the path another howl greets me.  I freeze and my ears thump.   Lights flip on and off in my brain.  I feel pins on my skin as I realize how human the last howl sounded.

I move back and thump into something flesh.  I gash and jolt forward.  I begin running, ungracefully deeper into the forest.  Every other step I take to get caught on a tree root.  The howling gets more instance around me.  Now it at least four different people howling from behind me and beside of me.

I hold my staff up and light pours into the forest.  I see everything around me.  I begin avoiding the tree roots and rocks.  Beside me, I hear footsteps and when I glance over I even make out the outline of a human man.

My throat and lung are on fire from the short sprint.  My legs burn from the unfamiliar actions I must take to avoid smacking into trees.  Sweat seeps into my eyes, I shut them as the salt burns my eyes.  Just as I do the wind is knocked out of me as I slam into a tree.

I fall backward letting go of the staff and package.  I breath in broken breaths as the light from my staff begins to fade with my consciousness.  Before I fade completely I see the outline of three men surrounding me.