Early the next morning there was knocking on my door telling me that it was time to get up.
I lay there for a bit. Not quite ready. And then roll out.
Walking over to my closet I stretch and yawn and pop my back. I find a nice purple colored dress and a pair of brown boots.
I walk into the bathroom and brush my hair. While I'm brushing my hair I don't know how long this quest is going to be. I put the brush in my bag. Just to be safe. I walk back the closet and shove a couple of dresses and shoes in there too. I also take some of the golden candlesticks, books, and and some other things too. I may be able to sell them and get some money.
I grab a cloak and make my way to the backyard of the castle where everyone else was. I was handed a horse and lined up in front of King Cristole.
"Today is the day. The day where you start the journey to honor your king, and your country." He said. "This quest may take your life. But that is a chance I am willing to take. Other competitors might kill you. Creatures of the forest might kill you. Who knows. Just know, if you die you lose. And if you come back, but not with some of the water from the lake, you go back to whatever hole you came from. So, good luck." And he walked away.
We were handed maps of the country and then we were on our way. I mounted my horse, who I named Augustus, and opened my map. I listen to the other competitors to hear where they're going. Most of them are going close to the ocean, where most of the lakes and rivers are. So I decide to go the other way. I see a SW on the map and head that way.
I have heard of the legends too. Some people think that the SW is a misprint and that the SW means Southwest since the SW is missing from the drawn compass at the top of the map, but I have read in a book that the SW means Sacred Woods. That's where all the endangered creatures live and the ancestors of our country. That's where The Silver Lake is. The Sacred Woods is invisible to everyone. The ancestors cast a spell because people were using The Silver Lake for bad. So they decided to hide it from the world.
That's where I'm going to go first.
**
(Play the song at the top. It goes great with this)
After walking for a couple of hours I'm starting to get hungry and from how sweaty Gus feels and how slow he's walking I can tell he's tired. I pull out my map and I see that we are about to enter a small town called Rosedenn. When I look up I see a sign that says Now Entering Rosedenn. The sign itself looks gruesome, but the town looks even worse than the sign. With its galvanised steel rooftops, rusted walls and decaying trees, Rosedenn has a chilling atmosphere.
Just a little ways into town I see a wooden building that says stables with a dirty old man sitting outside. I dismount Gus walk over towards him. "Excuse me. Sir? Do you have any room for my horse?" I ask him.
"It's gonna cost ya." He says looking me up and down. I shudder.
"I have this." I say pulling out one of the golden candlesticks. "Its real gold. From the king's castle. I'm pretty sure if you pawn it you could get a pretty good amount of money for it."
He snatches it out of my hand and starts laughing and smiling. From here I can tell he is missing some of his teeth. "We sure do have room for your horse ma'am. And just for that I will give him extra food and water." He says taking Gus's reins.
"Thank you." I say and walk away.
I need to find a pawn shop. As I walk looking for one I notice how ugly these people are. Some have missing ligaments, others with really saggy skin. There is an unsettling fog over this town. Finally I find what I have been looking for.
When I walk in the bell from the top of the door startles me because I have been walking in silence.
There are many nice items here. Glass figurines, books, and even some swords. I better with swords than I am with magic.
I walk up to the counter, but there is no store clerk. There is a bell on the counter so I ding it a couple times. From the back I hear a groan and a crash. Suddenly a woman appears. She was almost bald, had a missing eye, and had no teeth at all. "How may I help you?" She asks. Her voice sounds like she smokes 10 pipes a day.
"Um yes. I would like to pawn in these." I hand her some candlesticks, a golden mirror, and some gold ring that I found in a drawer in my bathroom at the castle. "It's all real. I got them from the castle."
She gives me an unbelieving look and inspects them. For all the items she give me 1,000 pieces of silver. I thank her and start to head out. Right before I head something catches my eye. It was a sword with a gold handle. I walk over to it and take it out of it's sheath. It's light, but it's real. "How much is this?" I ask.
"90 pieces." She answers coughing at the end. I hand her 90 pieces and make my way back towards the stables. I'm not spending the night in a motel in this place. I rather sleep with Gus.
When I enter the stables Gus lifts his head up and looks at me. Then he sees the sword in my hand. His eyes widen and he jumps back to where he's on his hind legs and kicks his front legs and starts whining. I throw the sword to the ground and hold my hands out in front of me to try and calm him down. "Gus! Gus! Calm down! It's okay." He gets back down on all fours and his noises calm down. "You're okay." I say putting my head to his and stroking the side of his face. "I would never hurt you." I kiss his head and continue to rub him.
I have spent only two hours with this horse and he's already like my best friend.
**
I wake up early the next morning before anyone was awake and head out. I do not want to spend anymore time in this place than I have to.
I pull out the map and see how much farther we have to go. If my calculations are right we have a week's journey ahead of us. The next place that we're headed is Huge Woods. That's where all the giants live. Giant are mean, big, scary, and have a short temper. But the quicker we get there the faster we can get out.
I kick Gus to make him go fast. Huge Woods here we come.
