Aveyond: Rhen's Quest

Chapter 2: Strange Encounter

Rhen's eyes flickered, and then opened like she has just awaken from a long sleep.

She was in a pile of snow, the only thing she saw was snow, snow and more snow. She cupped her hands at her mouth in an attempt to keep herself warm.

"Brr...Wh-What a wea-weather!"

She walked around, exploring the land of snow.

"Wh-Where am I?" She talked to herself. Suddenly she was taken by surprise when she heard a voice.

"Hel...Help...Me..."

Rhen followed the voice and she saw a woman, lying on a side, near a cliff edge. She wore a neat, gothic-like dress with a white hood.

"Wh-What is th-this place? Wh-Who are you?" Rhen tried to speak properly but her tongue got numb by the cold chill.

"P...Please...We must go back through the portal..."

"P-Portal?" Rhen asked as she didn't see anything there, besides them.

"It will t-take us back..." The woman pointed south and Rhen finally saw it.

"Come...Let me help you." Rhen held her shoulder and brought her to the portal as the woman leaned heavily against Rhen.

A second ago, they were in the cold, snowy land. In a blink of an eye, they were back in the cozy, warm, spring Clearwater.

"Pa! Pa! Come quick!" Rhen yelled as soon as she saw her dad.

"Rhen! My dear, are you okay? Ma and I have been looking for you all over the place. Where have you been? I'm worried sick about you." Pa stopped a few feet away from her as soon as he saw a stranger standing beside his daughter.

"Who is this stranger?" Pa asked, sternly.

"I don't know daddy, but she is hurt." Rhen replied as Pa noticed that the stranger was wounded.

"Is that you Tailor? I have come...It is time..." The priestess (who Rhen don't know that she is) spoke weakly.

"Daddy, you know each other?" Rhen questioned Pa, curiously.

"...I must get her back to the cottage." Pa didn't know how to answer her. He helped Rhen to carry the priestess back to their house and laid her gently on Pa's bed.

"Her injuries were serious." Pa mumbled, and then faced Rhen.

"Rhen, go get the herbalist and bring her over. Quick!" Pa said, urgently.

"Erm, okay. I'll be right back dad." And without delay, Rhen rushed to the herbalist's house.

On the way to herbalist's house, she saw all the town folks were preparing for the festival. Ribbons over here, posters over there, all the decors had been prepared for tomorrow can be seen everywhere.

"The spring festival is tomorrow, how could have I forgotten about this?" She finally recalled this event at the very moment.

On the herbalist's house, she knocked the door and a reply came from inside of the house: "Please come in."

The herbalist's house was neat and clean, all her herbs were put into the jars accordingly on the shelves, medical books arranged alphabetically on the bookshelves, and an elderly woman was making some kind of potion. Rhen was overwhelmed by the smell of herbs.

"Rhen! How's your mother and father? Can I get you anything?" the herbalist asked when she finished the potion on the alchemy table.

"Hi Dyonna. Do you think you can come by our house now?"