I've hit the 50 mark! 50 reviews! *faints*
Yukito walks up and smiles nervously. "Well, since Trisana-can is currently out of commision, I'll fill in for her!" *Smiles* "Well, she wants to thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They're the fuel she uses to write… well that and six cans of coke… Anyway, she wants to thank GlaiveGirl for reviewing so often, she loves that you like this story that much, and your comments always make her laugh. For your information, she owns Hotaru's outfit and yes, her friends do look at her strangely. And yes, there is always more.
As always, she wants to remind you to review, and on another note, she made a mistake in the last chapter, and on reviewing her plotline, the Green Lady won't appear until the end of the next chapter at the earliest. Sorry to disappoint.
It's Christmas and she's writing her fanfic because if she goes downstairs her relatives will clean her our, as she has no capacity for gambling. Therefore, consider it a Christmas present, or Hanukkah, or anything else.
Happy Holidays!!!
Walk Through the Fire:
Chapter 13
Forest of Shadows: Test….
The good-byes had been short and soon Duo and Hotaru found themselves following Aliannora down a path away from the centaur camp. Each carried a small bag of provisions, and Aliannora was busy pointing out the different edible plants and animals, as well as explaining about the dangers they might face through the forest, and in the Forest of Shadows.
That was one thing Aliannora had made perfectly clear. She would guide them to the Forest of Shadows, but they would be on their own from there. Confused at first, they soon realized that the forest was supposed to be magical, many who entered could never leave. Aliannora had no intention being trapped inside.
They traveled on, Duo and Hotaru explaining who they were (edited version), how they ended up here, and why they needed to find the Green Lady. Aliannora in turn told them about her life, and asked them to please call her Ann, as Aliannora was quite a mouthful.
They traveled for days, truthfully loosing track of time. They stopped to eat and rest, but otherwise kept pressing forward, thankfully without incident.
When Ann stopped suddenly, Duo immediately unsheathed his sword and Hotaru readied her polearm. Ann held up a hand to signal quiet and pointed out a strange pattern of leaves on the trail in front of them.
Duo stayed in position, but asked "What is it?"
Ann's hand pointed out the odd circle, then pointed up towards the tree-branches above them. Something glinted in the light.
"This is an ogre trap. We'll have to be quiet, they'll be nearby, waiting for something to fall prey. Watch." She lifted a larger stick from the ground by her feet and threw it lightly onto the trap. Duo and Hotaru jumped back in surprise as the trail seemed to erupt. A huge mass of dirt and leaves flew upward, then began to trickle down as they fell between the holes of a large net. It had obviously covered a very large portion of the trail ahead.
The net glowed faintly, and seemed to writhe and shrink, until it surrounded the branch and hung still, several feet above their heads.
Ann chuckled. "I guess they'll be eating tree-bark for dinner tonight! Come on, let's hurry, before they return to check their traps.
They continued forward, more wary now, and were forced to skirt two more nets, and set off a third that covered the entire path ahead. Suddenly, Ann froze, and motioned for them to listen.
"Do you hear that?"
Duo and Hotaru strained to listen. Faintly, they could hear someone shouting angrily, though they couldn't make out the words.
"Let's check it out."
Ann and Hotaru nodded, then all three headed towards the source of the yelling. A few minutes later, they crashed through some underbrush into a very small clearing, where a figure struggled inside a net, cursing loudly.
"Gods cursed $#*@&^! I'm going to %&*&* to whatever %^*($* #*%^#* did this! Oh, I'm going to #%&*@#%!&$%@(*^#&@$!*(&@#^*#%((@%^#&$(&#:#*%#)!!!!!!!!!"
Hotaru and Duo both paled.
Turning to Ann, Duo asked. "Is that even possible?"
Hotaru was gaping openly at the scene. Offhandedly, she answered "I don't think so, at least not all at once…"
Ann nodded, shocked. "Even if it was, I doubt a sea-serpent would stay still long enough for you to..…"
Duo blanched, now fully understanding what had just been said. "Oh GROSS!! That's just disgusting!"
At the sound of his voice, the figure stopped moving and looked over to the group.
"Well? Are you going to get me down or are you waiting for them who made the trap to find me first?"
Startled, Hotaru moved forward and removed her dagger, using it to cut the string that held the net in place. The entire thing dropped like a rock with a very audible *thump*.
"Ouch! God's cursed damned #*%#&@! Blasted traps…" The figure struggled to remove the net and at last stood. Duo and Ann had come forward through the clearing to stand with Hotaru, and now all three openly gaped at the figure standing before them.
She looked tall, even though she wouldn't have reached Duo's chin. She was willowy, with brown-ish skin and short black hair that just passed her ears. She wore simple leggings in a black-red colour, and a very intricate-looking, embroidered tunic style top, though both were quite askew. Brushing the bangs from her face, they could see she had very vibrant green eyes that seemed to glow.
Duo nudged Ann. "Is that a troll?" Before she could answer, the figure huffed angrily.
"I'm not a troll. I'm a disheveled elf." She pulled back hair to reveal large, pointed ears. As she straightened herself out, both Hotaru and Duo looked at each other in amazement. How could something this beautiful have such a foul mouth?
"Thanks for the hand, I got caught by one of those damn ogre traps when I wasn't looking. Stupid me. My name's Jennifer." She extended her arm and shook Hotaru's hand, then Duo's, and finally Ann's. Suddenly something seemed to click in her eyes and her face hardened. "Waitaminute…You're humans. What are you doing with a centaur?" She stepped back, pulling a small hand-held harp from her back. Hotaru took charge, not knowing the significance of the harp, but recognizing the defensive pose the elf had now taken.
"Yes, we're humans. And we're not magicians. I'm Hotaru, this is Duo, and this is Aliannora of the Yamni tribe. She's our guide." Aliannora nodded, confirming what Hotaru said. Jennifer relaxed about a hair.
"That still doesn't tell me much. Why—"
A roar interrupted her as it tore through the air. A moment later, three hulking figures crashed through the underbrush surrounding the clearing.
"Holy %@(%#!!! Ogres! Let's get the %@&* out of here!!!!"
Aliannora and Jennifer immediately headed towards the treeline, with Duo and Hotaru close at their heels.
"Those are ogres? They're huge!"
"Yes. It's not too bad though, they're fairly small ogres. Probably just kids. If we're lucky, we can outrun them."
"Don't count on it. They're mad, and they're catching up!"
Duo chanced a glance behind him and gasped. These 'kids' were three times his height, and grossly out of proportion. Their hands dangled at their knees and their heads were much larger than they should have been. They were also only a few seconds behind the group. "Why don't we try to fight them!"
Ann laughed. "HA! They're too big, too strong, and there are too many. We'd never have a chance!"
"It doesn't matter." Jennifer's voice rang out. "We've run out of options, and forest."
They emerged from the treeline to find themselves at a chasm. It wasn't very large, but it was too wide to jump across, and too deep to climb down and out. They were trapped.
The ogres crashed through the treeline behind them, grinning and shouting for their apparent victory. Very little of what they said was coherent, but everyone caught the odd phrase of 'centaur stew' and 'barbecue'. Duo drew his sword, Hotaru readied her polearm, Ann strung her bow and Jenn pulled out her harp once again.
There was a moment of silence between the groups, then the ogres charged and all hell broke loose.
Hotaru forgot about the others and focused on the ogre attacking her. Ann was right, it was strong, but it was clumsy, and slow. A thousand years of training took over as her mind went clear. Using her polearm as she would have her Glaive, she lunged forward, turning at the last second, letting the ogre run past her as she sliced his back. He howled in anger and pain as he turned, charging her again. This time she charged him head on and crouched low when he approached, slashing at his legs and rolling away. He grabbed his shin and screamed at the blood he found at his fingertips. He was angry. Extending his arms towards her, her charged a final time. Wishing to finish this, Hotaru angled her polearm and stepped back. Anger would make him stupid, and that was exactly what she needed. He drew closer and closer, seeming to sense her evident defeat. At the very last second Hotaru realized a flaw to her plan. If she killed him now, his momentum would take her over the edge of the chasm as well. Before she could move out of the way, a sliver of light snaked around the ogre's legs, tripping him. Using the opportunity, Hotaru leapt up and over the ogre falling forward, bringing the polearm down with her. She landed and rolled, then quickly stood to check for more attackers. An ogre lay on the ground unmoving, with half a dozen arrows protruding from his face, courtesy of Ann. Duo was still battling his ogre, neither winning nor loosing. Jennifer was playing her harp, strange golden strands floating from it.
Duo sliced at the ogre, focused completely on the battle. The ogre spun from the force of the sword, and stumbled towards Jennifer, who was playing her harp so quickly her fingers were bleeding. The ogre stumbled towards her, disoriented, and didn't notice the massive amounts of golden threads collecting all over him. All he knew was that it was getting harder and harder to walk. Duo blinked. What was she doing? The ogre fell to one knee, yet still the strands were appearing.
"Hurry up and kill him! I can't hold this much longer!" Jennifer screamed to Duo. Nodding, he charged forward and brought his sword down as hard as he could.
Jennifer collapsed and dropped her harp, the golden strands immediately disappearing. Duo and Hotaru rushed to help her up, and soon had her sitting on a smooth rock under the shade of a purple tree. Ann brought out some food and water, as Hotaru began to heal the small wounds everyone had gotten, nothing serious, thankfully.
Placing her hands over Jennifer's fingertips, she closed the broken skin and burned out anything that could cause an infection.
"You're a healer?"
"No."
Duo smiled at Jennifer. "Don't worry about Hotaru, she's not very talkative when she's healing. What did you do with that harp?"
Jennifer watched as Hotaru sat back, wiping sweat from her brow. Glancing at her fingers, she whispered "Thank you."
Hotaru nodded and drank from her water skin heavily.
Gripping her harp, she played a single note, waiting for the tone to die. "I'm a bardic elf. My music allows me to create magic, though it takes a lot out of me. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."
Duo grinned broadly. "Hey! You tied up that one pretty well, I couldn't have done it without you!"
"And it was you who tripped my attacker, right?" Jennifer nodded, surprised that Hotaru had noticed. "Thank you."
Ann began to pack up, salvaging as many arrows as she could. "We'd better get going. We don't want to be here when the scavengers show up."
"Scavangers?"
Jennifer nodded. "Yeah, the last thing we need we need if for them to mistake us for being dead and bury us."
Ann smiled. "Your mother said the same thing as mine."
Jennifer stood, grinning. "It was a very powerful threat."
Duo and Hotaru shared a confused look. "Is it just me or did we miss something here?"
"Don't worry about it Duo, it's just a threat our mothers used to keep us moving. Scavengers are the beings that bury our dead. Don't you have them on your world?"
"No. Not like that, anyway."
"That's too bad. Jennifer, you're bardic….Are you from the Shadowsong tribe, by any chance?"
"Yes. Why?"
They walked through the forest, seeking the trail they had left behind. Duo and Hotaru listening to the conversation with interest, Jennifer and Aliannora too busy talking to notice.
"I'm taking these two to the Forest of Shadows. They're trying to find the Green Lady…"
Jennifer whistled.
"What is it with you people whenever you find out where we're going?!" Duo threw his hands up in resignation. Ann and Jennifer turned to face him.
"Since haven't a clue about how everyone else reacted when they found out, I can't say. But generally speaking, people tend to be shocked when you announce that you are walking headfirst into death, with both eyes open. You have to be a little crazy to seek the Green lady, and you two seem perfectly normal….for humans."
Before Duo could reply, Ann spoke up. "As I was saying… I'm leaving them at the Forest of Shadows, but you've seen how clueless these two are. They'd have a better chance with a guide through the forest."
Jennifer shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'm heading home anyway. But only under one condition."
"What's that?"
"Call me Jenn. If any of you call me Jennifer, I'll hang you upside down from the nearest tree. I hate my full name."
Laughing, everyone agreed.
They continued on, swapping information and tales. Duo and Hotaru explained the who's and why's again, (edited version) and Jenn told them about living in the Forest of Shadows. When they would make camp for the night, Jenn would ward the camp from nighttime visitors, so that everyone could sleep peacefully without posting a watch. Though days passed, it seemed as though they came too soon to the edge of the Forest of Shadows. Ann bid them luck, bowing low, then disappeared into the foliage once again.
Duo and Hotaru looked at the looming trees ahead, then followed Jenn into the forest. They continued on in a comfortable silence, pausing for breaks at streams that flowed everywhere through the forest. Both marveled at the natural beauty around them: For all this forest was supposed to be, they had never expected such simple elegance.
Jenn was good company and a good guide, pointing out this tree or that plant, and showing them both how to spot hidden trails. She definitely knew her way around the forest, and simply stated that when you had lived here all your life, that tends to happen. One thing both Hotaru and Duo agreed upon, however, was that she had the foulest mouth they had ever heard.
"She swears more than WuFei. I didn't think that was possible."
"She swears like Haruka when she drops something. Only Jenn doesn't need to drop anything."
Jenn laughed, obviously overhearing the conversation. Duo and Hotaru looked away, embarrassed to be caught talking about her behind her back.
"Don't worry about it. I know I curse a lot, that's why I travel so much. It keeps the tribe heads off my back…Not that they could do much, anyway."
Any further discussion was caught off as Hotaru struck at a flitting shadow. It keened, then flew off.
"What was that?"
"A shadow of a former traveler here. Don't worry about it, you're bound to see more. They're harmless."
"So there's more?"
"Yes, it's one of the reasons this is the forest of 'shadows'."
"I really don't want to know the other reasons."
************************************************************
They had been traveling through the forest for almost three days, and everyone was tired, and a little grouchy. Needless to say, Duo's reaction to Jenn admitting that she didn't know where she was going did not go over well.
"What?! You mean we've been following you and you don't know where we are? I thought you knew this forest!"
"No! I know exactly where we are, the problem is that I don't know where the Green Lady's castle is. It moves, remember. No one knows where it is, you just have to keep looking until you find it."
"Of all the— That is the stupidest…"
"Um…Jenn? This castle, what would it look like?"
"I couldn't say for certain."
"Well would a castle with four towers and huge green banners flying from the turrets, complete with a drawbridge, but no moat do? Like that one?" Hotaru pointed through two trees and into a clearing where the castle she had described stood.
"That would do it."
"Great! Now, we've got here, now what?" Duo beamed.
"I'm going."
"What?" Duo and Hotaru turned to face Jenn in surprise.
"I have no intention of staying long enough to see if the Lady is accepting visitors today. She may just kill you, and friend or not, I'm not sticking around in case she isn't too happy about your arrival." Duo and Hotaru nodded grudgingly. Considering the fear that surrounded this woman, it was reasonable.
"Thank you for guiding us Jenn." Hotaru bowed.
"Yeah, we probably wouldn't have made it without you." Duo offered her a huge smile and his hand. Taking his hand, Jenn smiled and bowed back to Hotaru.
"Anytime folks. I'll keep an eye out for you. Good luck." She waved and walked into the forest, the darkness surrounding her, than she was gone.
Duo looked at Hotaru, then gestured towards the castle. "Ladies first."
Sarcasm was never lost on Hotaru. "Thanks ever so much."
They stepped into the clearing and noticed two things. One, there seemed to be a shield of some kind surrounding the castle in a green bubble. Two, there was a tiny shack not far from the edge of the shield, and a very old crone stood outside.
Slowly they approached, not knowing what to expect form the hideous woman. Her teeth were black, what few remained, her shoulders were crooked from a ghastly hump on her back. Her nose had been broken, probably long ago, but had never been properly set, and was at a horrible angle, not to mention was a mottled purple. Her hair was knotted and dirty, hanging down across her face. She wore a tattered and ancient brown dress that hung off her thin frame, but mot noticeable, at least to Hotaru and Duo, was that she was the first human either had seen since their arrival.
"You seek the Green Lady, correct?" Her voice was a screech, barely audible. Duo and Hotaru both nodded.
"Then you must pass her test to enter her castle. Will you try?"
Hotaru stepped forward. "What is the test?"
The crone laughed and stepped back to her hut. She opened the door and stepped inside, holding the door as wide as possible as she gestured within. "In my home stands the Green Lady. Tell me where she stands and you may enter her castle."
Duo and Hotaru looked inside. A chair, a cot, a fireplace and a single, boiling pot. No one stood anywhere in the room.
"I don't see anyone."
"Me neither."
"Then I'm sorry, but you will not see the Green Lady. Goodbye." She shut the door in their face, leaving one very confused Hotaru and one very confused and very angry Duo.
"What the Hell was that? That wasn't fair! She—"
Hotaru laid a hand on Duo's shoulder and lead him away from the hut. They soon sat down at a stream, eating the last of their provisions.
"Hotaru, what are we going to do now?"
"I don't know Duo. I really don't know."
********************************************************************
Well the last chapter was a happy-feel-good type, so I've got a cliffie for this one. I'm writing as fast as I can, and vacation's helping me a lot. (A chapter every one-two days) So keep patient. I know things went fast in this chapter, but I wanted some time to pass without boring you to death about what they did each day.
How'd you like Jenn? She's based on my best friend, and believe it or not she came up with the line "I'm not a troll, I'm a disheveled elf". She had said it to me a month ago, and I'd loved the line and wrote it down in my book of quotes. Later on, I wanted an elf character…who swore. (More fun than your normal, teensy polite elfves with no personalities) I then began to base her on my friend Jenn, then changed her completely into Jenn, then halfway through writing this I remembered this line, and HAD to make it fit. I used &^$&%@$*&)$#$@)$ when what Jenn was saying was beyond my capabilities and I didn't want to change the rating, or when it was better left up to your imagination.
KEEP REVIEWING!!!!!!!!!
I am the Breeze of Wisdom, I am the Wind of Insanity
~The Elemental