Everywhere Samantha looked, no matter how widely she circled, what had once been a forest full of good and peaceful memories was now a swamp brimming with chaos and endless dangers. Nothing in anything that she saw led to any clues helpful for defeating Lord Vilsen and his army. Rather, she could see further danger in the creatures of this place getting loose and running over whatever his army missed. Between the two dangers, humanity did not stand a chance.
And all because I failed at my one duty, to protect the child goddess of the forest.
Tiger snarled at her thought and peered intently at her with slitted eyes. Samantha pulled herself from her dark thoughts and continued to observe.
Eventually, she took a break after wandering in a pointless circle. She sat down and pondered, thinking through everything that she had seen. While she sat, she mindlessly pulled out the chunk of obsidian she had found when escaping and began working at it. Her skilled hands knapped away flakes from its surface, striking it with a stone at just the right points. It was a task that had taken up many hours of her time in years past, and though she could no longer remember the world she had been born into, this skill remained a connection to that time that never failed to bring forth a sense of home and belonging and just the right amount of order to the world.
As the sun set on that day, she looked down, surprised to find a long and narrow spearhead in her hands. It had been a natural fit to bring forth, based on the shape and size of the rock, but it had not been a conscious decision. The thing that she held in her hand reflected back reddish sunlight from its glassy black surface, and something in it touched both Samantha and Tiger with a strong sense of purpose. It hungered for something within the forest.
Contemplating the spearhead, darkness overtaking the world, Samantha nearly missed seeing the new visitors to this mad world. Some movement reflected from the dark surface of the weapon in her hands captured her attention and she looked up.
Several of the insect soldiers had entered the valley. They split up into teams of two, each group finding their own way into the dense foliage and stagnant waters. One group was immediately set upon by a horse-sized boar who trampled one and gutted the other with a gigantic tusk. The other groups disappeared without a trace.
Fear struck her heart as she realized what she was seeing. As if he had not already done enough damage, Lord Vilsen had further designs upon her home, and that could not mean anything good for anyone.
Part of her contemplated waiting until the morning to follow them in, but she knew immediately that that was not going to happen. Instead, she wandered to the edge of the wooded area and selected a perfect-sized branch that had been broken off in the endless battles. It was not in the best shape or size for a spear shaft, but it was the only thing at hand and Samantha could not afford to be picky at this time. She could always find a replacement later.
Strapping the new spearhead to the shaft, she quietly entered the swampy woods, her whole mind and body alert to any danger. She could feel Tiger's tension within her mind. Without a doubt, they would both soon be fighting.
The journey into the swamp was full of tension and sudden danger. Several times Samantha jumped to escape a sudden attack, or barely struck out with her new spear in time to save herself from losing a limb. Many of the creatures wandered around blind in the darkness. Samantha's keen, Tiger-enhanced hearing saved her on several occasions. As did her years of practiced skill when it came to moving silently. Her skills as a hunter doubling as skills to keep her from becoming the hunted.
She did not make it to the heart of the swamp unscathed, gaining several wounds in the process. A vine with venomous thorns had raised welts along her right arm and made the limb painfully stiff to move. Something the size of a large rat with the teeth of a much larger animal had taken a chunk of meat from of her left thigh and she walked with a limp. She had accumulated numerous other minor scratches, claw marks, and bruises by the time she made it to her destination.
