Day 146

[from Aura of Chaos]

The forest west of Hilston proved to be larger and more difficult to navigate than Xeron and Tara had anticipated. The thick canopy of the trees above blotted out much of the light, but fortunately, Tara was able to use her basic light magic to illuminate the path in front of them. After searching for about half an hour, Xeron suddenly threw up a hand, signalling for Tara to halt. "Quiet," he whispered. "I think I hear something."

 Tara fell silent, listening carefully. In amongst the gentle rustling of leaves and tweeting of birds, she could just make out what sounded like a low, pained moan. "I hear it," she said. "It's coming from over there." She pointed to the right.

"Do you think that's him?" asked Xeron.

"I don't know," said Tara, "but we should check it out anyway. Whoever it is, it sounds like they're in pain."

Xeron nodded, and he and Tara swiftly proceeded in the direction of the moans. As they brushed aside a group of low-hanging branches, they came across a small clearing surrounded by bushes. Lying there was the source of the moaning sounds: a young boy who was collapses on the floor, clutching his stomach. "That must be him," said Xeron.

The two adventurers exchanged uneasy glances, then quickly rushed to the boy's aid. "Are you alright?" asked Tara. "What happened to you?"

The boy cracked open an eye, looking up at them. "Ohhh… I ate some wild berries and now I feel sick…" he moaned.

Xeron let out a sigh of relief. For a moment he had been concerned that something serious had happened. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to eat wild berries?" he asked.

"But I was hungry… and they looked so delicious…" moaned the child.

Xeron shook his head. "Honestly… Tara, do you have anything that could make this kid feel better?"

"You mean like a-" Realizing she was about to say "like a spell", Tara cut herself off at the last moment. "…like a medicine?"

"Yeah, like that," said Xeron, glad that Tara had caught on immediately.

"I don't think I have anything specifically for berry poisoning," said Tara, "but I could try a basic healing remedy and see if that does anything. Uhh…"

Thinking quickly, Tara scrabbled around in a nearby bush and plucked off a small leaf, which she held out to the boy. "Here, chew on this," she said. "It'll help you feel better."

The boy was in so much pain that he did not argue. He immediately snatched up the leaf and put it in his mouth, chewing weakly on it. While he was distracted by doing this, Tara began muttering a healing chant, placing a hand on the boy's stomach. Her hand gently glowed white as her magic began to relieve the boy's pain. Xeron, meanwhile, couldn't help admiring Tara's ingenuity in disguising her White Magic. Presumably, she had had to spend most of her life disguising it.

"Does that feel better?" asked Tara, after a minute or two.

The boy nodded. "Yeah… it hurts a lot less now…"

Tara sighed. "Okay, that's a relief," she said. "Oh, and you can spit out the leaf now."

The boy promptly did so, then sat up. "Good," he said. "That tasted awful."

"Well, I hope you learned your lesson," said Xeron.

"I did," said the boy, nodding. "No more wild berries for me. Maybe I should take some snacks with me next time…"

"Might be a good idea," said Xeron. "Alright, let's take you home to your mother."

"Thanks," said the boy, standing up. "Did she send you to look for me?"

Tara nodded. "She was very worried about you," she said.

"Alright, let's see if we can find our way back," said Xeron.

"That shouldn't be too hard," said Tara. "We just find where we entered the clearing and, uhh… work our way back from there…" However, as she looked around the clearing, Tara could not see where it was that they had entered from. Their surroundings looked entirely identical in every direction: an endless ocean of leaves.

"We'll find our way back, don't worry," said Xeron. "All we have to do is head east."

Tara nods. "Okay," she said. "And, uhh… which way is east?"

Xeron proceeded to pull out a compass, something Tara had evidently not thought of. "That way," he said, pointing.

"Okay," said Tara. "Let's head that way, then." The three of them set off in the direction Xeron had indicated, heading back towards Hilston.

It took them another half-hour to leave the forest, and as the trio approached Hilston, they were met with a shocking sight. In the time they had been gone, the city had been reduced to ruins. The buildings were all crumbled and burning, and the villagers were nowhere to be seen. The three let out a unified gasp of horror, the boy's eyes filling with tears as he saw what had become of his hometown. "What in Vita's name happened here…?" asked Tara.