Miraculously, her plan went without a hitch.
The moment the trees were broken off, the back of their boat slammed into the water and they began floating down the creek. Everyone cheered, causing their vessel to shake.
Their victory didn’t last long.
It seemed like the forest was now aiming its anger specifically at her. Before she could do anything about it, vines whipped around her arm and then yanked her down. She would have been thrown right into the water if her hand hadn’t shot out to grab the boat’s gunwale. An older man moved fast, grabbing her captured arm so that she wouldn’t be pulled further. It was a tug of war and she was sure they were going to lose.
And then for whatever reason, the vines suddenly released her. She was thrown back in the boat, courtesy to their effort in pulling her. Something changed. Lynessa could feel it. It was as if the world itself had gone still.
The rest of their journey… was quiet. They were all expecting something to happen again, but nothing did. The forest let them go without much of a fight now. Before long, they spotted the village from afar. She looked back and saw that the other boats were following, all their passengers intact.
She jumped out into the water first once the water was at least knee-deep, assisting in guiding the boat to shore. When the boat hit land, the people cheered and Lynessa found herself grinning. She turned to find that the Mistral villagers had took notice of their return, most of them began running. They were a lot of names being called out and tears of joy as children scrambled out of the boat hastily. She helped them out gently, making sure no one slammed their faces into the gravel in their excitement.
The priestess’s presence was somewhat forgotten in that moment, but she didn’t mind. It was worth it, to see the relieved faces of friends and families who were finally reunited with their lost ones. Feeling her legs weaken the slightest bit, the young woman walked away shortly and let herself sit down on the ground as her gaze settled on the forest. The water from the creek lapped at her boots and she realized she had been sitting far too close to the water.
She wondered what it was that caused the change in the forest and what had made it stop…
The moment the trees were broken off, the back of their boat slammed into the water and they began floating down the creek. Everyone cheered, causing their vessel to shake.
Their victory didn’t last long.
It seemed like the forest was now aiming its anger specifically at her. Before she could do anything about it, vines whipped around her arm and then yanked her down. She would have been thrown right into the water if her hand hadn’t shot out to grab the boat’s gunwale. An older man moved fast, grabbing her captured arm so that she wouldn’t be pulled further. It was a tug of war and she was sure they were going to lose.
And then for whatever reason, the vines suddenly released her. She was thrown back in the boat, courtesy to their effort in pulling her. Something changed. Lynessa could feel it. It was as if the world itself had gone still.
The rest of their journey… was quiet. They were all expecting something to happen again, but nothing did. The forest let them go without much of a fight now. Before long, they spotted the village from afar. She looked back and saw that the other boats were following, all their passengers intact.
She jumped out into the water first once the water was at least knee-deep, assisting in guiding the boat to shore. When the boat hit land, the people cheered and Lynessa found herself grinning. She turned to find that the Mistral villagers had took notice of their return, most of them began running. They were a lot of names being called out and tears of joy as children scrambled out of the boat hastily. She helped them out gently, making sure no one slammed their faces into the gravel in their excitement.
The priestess’s presence was somewhat forgotten in that moment, but she didn’t mind. It was worth it, to see the relieved faces of friends and families who were finally reunited with their lost ones. Feeling her legs weaken the slightest bit, the young woman walked away shortly and let herself sit down on the ground as her gaze settled on the forest. The water from the creek lapped at her boots and she realized she had been sitting far too close to the water.
She wondered what it was that caused the change in the forest and what had made it stop…
