As the night crept along, the girls were in a fury of chatting and pouring over charts Lawral had been collecting for far longer than Rayanne had even thought. "You see here, the lost forest of Crowles." Lawral pointed to with her left hand as she was reading from a tiny book she held in her right. "This area has to be what all the history books talked about. Look at the how the hills around it are shaped like a half moon and the river that runs through it like a arrow from the Northern Sea?" Overly excited at what seemed to Lawral as the discovery of her generation. Rayanne looked at the map, astonished that her young friend had what it appeared to have found an entire forest lost to everyone she had known for years. Was it that simple?
"How long have you been looking into all this Lawral?" Rayanne stopped flipping through the books to ask.
"Well see that's just it, when the library got the book last season I started to really dig, I couldn't put it down. At first out of sheer confusion, but then little things started to click. The fact that I kept having the same three visions over and over tipped me off. You know I haven't had that happen since the great drought 8 years ago. I knew it meant that this could be your answer." Lawral lowered her head as if ashamed she hadn't brought up all this earlier. Rayanne sat quietly and let her friend continue. "This old man came by and brought an entire cart full of scrolls and books and maps he had been collecting all over Gearth. He never said where he picked up the book. And after weeks and weeks of sorting and cataloguing I snuck it out and have been reading over it since. Piece by piece I grabbed what extra material I needed and have been working on it. Finally I thought I had gathered enough information to pass the book onto you to see what you thought. I know how discouraged you have been in the past, so I needed to let you see the text yourself and see what you thought before showing you all this."
"So you've done all this for me? What about your own studies? What did your father say about it, have you slipped in your daily work because of me?" Rayanne questioned.
"No not at all! I've been so overly excited about it all, and I've done this all on my free time. Even putting aside my personal reading, which I hate to do!" Lawral giggled as she put her arm around the girl sitting there in awe about it all. This was important to Rayanne, and Lawral would have done anything to make her happy. They were like sisters and this was the bond they shared. Searching through the rest of the book and landmarks, it came to and understanding that not only had Lawral discover places lost in time but had done so in her spare time like it was nothing at all. "You see here, the dried out river bed on the out skirts of what I think is the forest of Crowles? That has to be the next point. I have no idea what they mean by giants and unwilling helper. But I will sit and think upon it more until we are ready to leave. I have been looking through a few of the library's scrolls and I think it might have to do with a magic lost to us, but hell if I can find an entire lost forest, I think with enough research I'll be able to discover what we need." Lawral beamed at the thought of being able to dive into the mass amount of knowledge the sage's building held. Most dreaded the idea of having to sift through all those papers, but to Lawral it was a puzzle, a challenge she was more than willing to take on, not only for Rayanne but also for the sheer thrill of it.
Looking back and forth with the map and books took over the girl's entire interest for the rest of the night. Not able to let go even for a few hours to rest, Rayanne traced and retraced the path from Flowerton to the Forest to the Riverbed and the pass. The only place that hadn't been found was the manor of the Wizard that was the ultimate destination. This whole trip would be for naught if in the end they could not locate him. "So what do you think will happen when you tell your folks you are off on your mighty quest?" Lawral sleepily asked to break the silence that had overcome the room for a good half an hour between the two.
"I'm not sure, I don't know how I would even be able to leave them. What would they do without me? I would feel guilty just thinking of not being there to help out" Rayanne responded. This was her personality. She was the type that would say sorry even if no fault were assigned to her in the given scenario. "They need me, and I need them. I have never been anywhere farther than Dention. What if I mess up and get lost? What if they get sick and have no one to look after? What if the farm becomes to overwhelming for them"
"You understand that no matter how much you worry about them, that if you don't take this leap of faith and see it through, you will regret it for the rest of your life. This is something that is fleeting and we are mostly sure about. Not like before, with the other books." Whispered Lawral as she slowly pulled a quilt over her shoulders and sunk down a little lower on the bed. Rayanne knew she was right, this wasn't like the other dead end hopes from before. Everything would have to be planned perfectly; she would have to find helpers to take her place. She would have to make sure that the deliveries would continue while she was off trekking through the world of Gearth. She would have to make sure that she had enough supplies and a clear path that she, and Lawral, could follow to make it there and back as quickly as possible.
"I think that this could be what I need. There will take lots of planning but it's doable." Rayanne said, more to herself that her friend but loud enough that it was audible. When could she leave? What would she take? How long would she be gone? All these questions whirled through her mind at a pace that would make an outsider dizzy. But that was just it, even in all the confusion and feeling of excited rush, Rayanne's face was calm and collected as if she was trying to plan out next seasons planting orders. She felt that she was ready, more now than ever. This was meant for her and her parents would just have to understand that.
"So good it's settled. I will start planning on my end and you do the same, and next week we can share what we have found. I have my gap year coming up next fall season and I would be happy to spend it on an adventure with you." Lawral half smiled at the idea of getting away from the library and experiencing real life for herself rather than reading about other peoples travels and knowledge. "If anything my father should be happy, one less child to watch over in his already busy schedule" She stuck out her tongue at her friend at the thought of her father just letting her trek across the land just because it meant one less person to feed. The girls had a good laugh and calmed down for the few remaining hours before the sun would rise and Rayanne would have to return to the farm.
Lawral fell asleep right away but Rayanne seemed to not be able to shut her mind off. This was probably the most exciting thing that had happened in her life. Just imagine how helpful she could be if she found her gift and returned to the farm. What if she wasn't cut out for farm work at all! What if she was a late blooming sage? What if she was meant to be a teacher or even an elder with the power to run entire towns! This was all she could think of, what if this changed her entire path in life?
As all the news set in, a light started to glimmer in Rayanne's eyes. The grin that had been permanently placed on her face couldn't be shaken even as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep next to her friend. This was it. It was real. This was happening whether she was ready or not.
