Forest of Crystal
The silence of a forest was normally a tranquil sound. One could find themselves lost in a daydream wandering between trees and simply enjoying the silence. Not even the wind could disturb such a scene. A peaceful stroll could clear the mind, allow clouded thoughts to fade, or simply allow one to bask in the quiet.
Too bad this forest was not the kind to explore with such a carefree attitude. A figure carefully stepped over a few shattered stones as they scavenged some ruins. To the side, ominous emerald crystals jutted out of the ground while the charred remains of some ancient war machine was slumped over a wall.
"Damn...nothing here either," the figure sighed as they stood up.
Their body was shrouded in shadow and a duster. With some hesitation and a careful check of the forest clearing, they stepped into the light that filtered through the red leaves above. While their face was covered by a hat and bandana, their light gray duster was prominent. Their sharp green eyes scanned the area one more time before they began walking at a slow but deliberate pace.
A howl was heard off in the distance. The adventurer paused, a hand reaching inside the duster. Silence returned, deafening and oppressive as before. The figure held their breath, straining their ears to catch any sound. Another howl, then another, then a third...they were getting closer and this was a hunting party.
The adventurer turned and ran. The silence of the forest was disturbed by their running...and then by the mutated creatures behind them.
The adventurer continued running, their feet barely making a noise. They knew better than to look over their shoulder, either the creatures were too far away to be seen or were being quiet. They burst through a bush and stumbled into another clearing, this one occupied.
"You've got to be joking," they groaned before whipping out a pistol and firing it.
The occupants of the clearing were caught off guard but immediately screeched and attacked upon seeing their intruder. The energy bolts striking them hardly slowed them down, ten against one made them arrogant and mad. Still, they died easily enough with enough well placed shots.
Upon getting close enough, the adventurer used their other hand and drew out a hilt. Flicking a switch, a beam of hard light shot out and flashed across the closest monster. The figure began dancing around the small horde, weaving in and out as they shot, stabbed, and slashed at their foes. A different gunshot went off while the pistol cooled down, barely missing the adventurer. They turned their head and noticed one of the creatures was armed with a rifle.
"I don't have time for this you damn bastards!" they shouted as they suddenly dashed forward and decapitated the gunner, the howls calling out once again and much closer this time.
The remaining creatures held off, shocked at the display. Their number was reduced to three within a minute and even their limited intelligence knew that their situation was dire. A foe who could move fast enough to leave after images and now a hunting party of savage animals nearing stripped away their bravado. In a rare case of logic for their species, they chose the lesser side of valor and ran.
"Damn dirks," the figure huffed as they shook their head to clear out the feeling of vertigo.
There were suddenly shrieks of fear and pain followed by snarls and hungry barking.
"Definitely not my day."
A pack of wolves burst out of the bushes. They had dark coats that clashed with the red foliage while their muzzles dripped with saliva and blood. However, the most eye catching detail that they sported were the crystal manes around their heads, matching perfectly with the other crystals scattered in the clearing.
"Can we talk about this?" the figure asked hopefully, glancing around the clearing for an escape.
The wolves barked and attacked. With a flash the sword came to life once again and decapitated one while another took an energy round to the flank. The adventurer glared at the wolves.
"Piss off you mutts!" they yelled, firing more shots.
More wolves came out of the trees as the pistol overheated. They began to encircle and harass the adventurer who barely stayed a step ahead of them, swinging their sword to counter the attack. One by one the wolves began to die off, but their attacks were getting closer and closer.
The adventurer suddenly tripped, failing to notice the body of a dead dirk. A wolf pounced at them, causing them to shoot the creature with their cooling pistol before rolling back to their feet. Glancing around them, four wolves remained who paced slowly with mouths twisted into drooling snarls. They then realized their hat had fallen off and was getting stained by the red and emerald blood that was splattered on the ground.
"I hate this damn forest," the adventurer huffed before glaring at the wolves, "Come on then!"
One of the wolves took the bait and ran forward. The adventurer once again shot their pistol but the shots went wide before the weapon overheated once again. The sword snapped out and hamstrung the beast as it tumbled into the ground. Another wolf surged forward, biting the duster. The adventurer yelped in surprise and dropped both of their weapons before dashing away, slipping out of the duster and into the shadows.
"Why did I think coming here was a good idea?" they muttered, head spinning.
They noticed a rifle leaning against a tree, formerly belonging to the dirks. Without hesitation they grabbed it and fired. The wolf holding the duster was killed, as was the one trying to regain its footing. The remaining two nimbly jumped around the shots while the adventurer cursed the low quality rifle as it too overheated.
Tired, the adventurer took their eyes off the wolves and glared at the rifle. A wolf pounced and pinned them to the forest floor. Using an arm, the adventurer kept the snapping jaws from their neck while their hand reached for their belt. The wolf continued barking and snarling before realizing a sharp pain in its flank. The yelp quickly became gurgled as a knife was wedged into its neck. Pulling the blade out, the adventurer looked to see the last wolf running at them. With a flick of the wrist, the blade went spinning in the air and caught the beast between the eyes.
Silence had returned to the forest.
"Ugh, I need a shower," the adventurer came out of the shadows after a few minutes.
It had been a messy affair getting out from under the dead crystal wolf, especially when they were tired. Their blue clothes were stained, as was the white striped tail that waved behind them. They pulled down the bandana to take a deep breath, revealing a muzzle belonging to a raccoon while their ears twitched to pick up any stray noises. Their limbs were slender and their hands were webbed, belonging to an otter. Their brown fur coat clashed with the forest coloring as did the white fur on her hands.
"You just had to go to the Crystal Forest didn't you Amber?" they muttered, dusting off the leaves and bloody mud.
Amber walked to retrieve her belongings. The duster was lightly stained but undamaged thanks to its material while the other items would need a decent cleaning to get the filth off.
"Knowing my luck, I'm just wasting my time," she sighed before spotting an odd patch on the ground, "Or maybe not if this is what I've been looking for."
Kicking aside a dead dirk and brushing aside the bloody grass, she felt her fingers touch metal. Ripping the grass away revealed a perfectly cut square of metal, three feet long and wide. With a cheer, she reached for her belt and pulled out a device.
"Come on. Please work. Please, please, please, please, ple-yes! Ha-ha! And they said there's nothing to be found! Who's the drifter?!"
The square lit up and started descending with her on it. Her laughs of success echoing as she went down into the depths.
The elevator took around three minutes to descend completely. Amber had calmed down and regained her breath by the time it stopped. Looking around the immediate area, she realized the area she was in was lacking power.
"Part of the job," she said dismissively.
With a blink, her vision changed from pitch black to a muted gray. She could feel the scratchy feeling in her eyes and the back of her head, but was used to it. Even if nature had never intended for her to have such enhancements, being born with organic cybernetics tended to have benefits. Though she would never say it, she found the idea of augmenting oneself further outside of medical necessity disturbing. What you were born with should be enough in her opinion.
Looking around, she noticed that the room was a military bunker. Skeletons were scattered alongside machines. She recognized the majority of them were raccoons...lacking armor or weapons. The stains on the ground and positions they were in were all the information she needed to know.
"Never gets easier," she sighed sadly as she walked carefully to avoid disturbing the bones.
Such sights were common for her profession. One did not scavenge post-apocalyptic battlefields and ruins without finding tombs. It was grisly, depressing, and a constant reminder of the Titan War three centuries ago. Few truly understood why it happened or how, only that it left these lands in the shattered state they are now. Now, a stagnated culture huddles in the shadows of one of the most advanced civilizations to ever exist, picking through bones for lost relics and fighting the monsters that lived in the wilds.
"Let's hope there's something here," Amber said quietly as she continued searching the room.
Spying a terminal hidden behind a crystal, she walked over to one of the walls. The equipment was in remarkably good condition considering the neglect. Tapping a few lights and buttons, power surged through the ancient machines. Blinking again, she turned off her cybernetics to see that a dim light had filled the room and a holographic display was in front of her.
"Hello, what do we have here?" she asked the display.
Pulling out a data stick, she plugged it into a port on the wall. The display flickered, registering the hacking attempt and attempting to counter its effects. Tapping a few holographic buttons, Amber cracked the ancient encryption and was staring at old information.
"No, no, no, no, no… Come on, there's gotta be something worthwhile here," she groaned, "I didn't come here just to fail."
Suddenly, a file caught her attention. Opening it, she read its contents. Her eyes opened.
"Huh...looks like those two missed this. I guess even the greatest drifters to exist can't get everything. Well 'Project Memory' tell me your secrets," she said before ordering the display to eject...something.
Turning her head, she spotted a data tablet. Grabbing it and turning it on, a hologram of a machine popped up alongside files of weapons, machines, medical formulas, and architectural designs. It was unfortunate that a significant amount of the data was corrupted but what was on this tablet alone would suffice. Central Town always needed a new means for doing everything to rebuild civilization. Even if it would take another three centuries Central Town would one day undo the mistakes of the past, of this she was certain.
"Huh...so that's what the Immortal Cell was… Whomever the sick bastard who thought that up should have been killed," she snarled as she saw one particular file.
Satisfied with her prize and partially angered by its contents, she turned the hologram off and yanked the data stick from the wall. The lights died as she did so but a quick blink and walk towards the elevator shaft resulted in her leaving the room. She had no desire to continue exploring the complex, enough forbidden knowledge was recovered today.
As she came back to the surface, Amber took notice of the atmosphere in the forest. It was quiet but peaceful as opposed to earlier. A gentle breeze had picked up and some insects were buzzing nearby. Had she not known better and ignored the corpses, the area would have been a wonderland. With a sad sigh, she began walking. She paused briefly to look at one of the crystals, inside was a figure.
"Huh...I guess I missed that," she said as she peered into the crystal.
She stood for a few moments before leaving. She had tears in her eyes and felt a deep sense of painful guilt. Even if she had nothing to do with the events that happened here centuries ago, she could not help but feel like she carried the sins of those who were responsible. Behind her was yet another sad reminder of the Titan War and the defining feature on what made the Crystal Forest such a tragedy.
Amber knew she would still have that image in her mind when she left this cursed place; the sight of a parent and child huddled together in fear while being frozen in time.
Hours later Amber had finally left the Crystal Forest. Ahead of her were the shattered towers that encircled Central Town. Behind her was a sea of red trees with emerald spires jutting out from the canopy. The tension she had felt all day was starting to fade as the sun began to set. She would be able to make it home just before they closed the gates at nightfall if she hurried.
"Time to go home," she said to herself before picking up a quick jog.
Thoughts of home and a bath slowly began to form. She could bring in her discovery tomorrow, she was in no rush to deliver it. While being a fairly profitable location to scavenge for lost technologies and tools, the Crystal Forest was one of the most dangerous locations in the surrounding area to explore and was mentally stressful to deal with. Amber expected a fitful rest tonight, but at least she could do so in a place without dangerous beasts and hostile terrain surrounding her.
Or reminders of what her people were responsible for.