In the sky sung the birds, the flowers bloomed and the bees buzzed. The sun shined somewhere outside the canopy of branches. It was a beautiful day and I was wadding through mud.

"Remind me why we didn't try to go around?" Zeke complained a few feet ahead of me.

"Are all humans as wimpy as you? A little mud never hurt anybody." Sairah yelled back from ahead.

"It's going to dry and make it hard to walk when we get out." I complain.

"But it's good for your skin." Hayli replied.

"We can wash when we get to the ruins. Hayli says she senses water near it."

"That's like a day and a half away Sairah." I reply as I feel mud begging to get into my more private areas. I really hoped there weren't any bugs or other creepy crawlers in it as well.

Hayli was terrifyingly fine with the mud, seeming to be able to walk through it with ease that even the impressive legs of Sairah couldn't reproduce. When it ended they waited for Zeke and I, arising from the mud, dripping mud like we had just been necromanced from the grave. I grabbed Hayli's tail and used it to wipe some of the mud off. Zeke attempted to rub off mud on the clean patches of fur on Sairah but was stopped and she very harshly patted some mud off him. Hayli took her tail back and huffeed at me before return to Sairah's side in the front of the party. She whipped the mud off her tail as she walked. Zeke had tried shaking like a dog to get his other mud off but just made himself dizzy. I pulled out a few handfuls of mud from those areas. Zeke realized he could do the same and reach a hand into his pants. He pulled out some flat looking fish like creature. He stared at it and then pocketed it.

Later at a camp site he cut off it's head and wrapped it a salt-filled handkerchief with the rest of the assorted meat in the skillet.

"You sure that's edible?" I ask face scrunched up in disgust.

Zeke turned towards me, "I've seen similar things being cooked in the advanced class at the academy."

"That doesn't mean it's edible. Alder berries and blueberries look similar, but no one would dare eat the alder berry."

"We have Layla's Poison and Toxin Cure All potion."

The breeze brought the smells of the forest through the area. It would probably have smelled nice but whatever was in the mud in Zeke's pants was emitting a disgusting smell as it cooked. I sneeze, the smell overpowering me.

As before we continued, the weird fish having polluted the other meats and had caused all of us to have stomachaches. Zeke tried to apologize but we ignored him. I was still so hungry. I hoped Zeke would cook a normal meal this time. I sipped on the LPTCA potion and handed it to the others before returning it to the pack Sairah carried.

The day passed and my hunger grew.

"Terra. It's not even nightfall yet. We can't stop here." Hayli replied when I subtly tried to suggest we stop and eat something that wasn't tainted by mud creatures.

"But I'm so hungry. I need food." I complained.

"So am I. But Sairah refuses to stop until nightfall."

"Yep. Besides you'll all have way worse hungers on whatever the final quest we all go on is." Sairah said from ahead of us. Her hearing was terrifying.

Zeke shook his head, "I cannot wait to redeem myself." He held up a bird's egg he had stolen from a tree.

"Please tell me it isn't fertilized."

Zeke seemed to think for a minute and held it up to the sun. "Nope."

"Why does it matter if it's fertilized?" Hayli asked.

"Yeah, food is food."

"It's gross." I reply.

"Yeah. I know it's a delicacy in some places, but I prefer my food to not look like an abomination against the High Mother." Zeke agreed. Good to have a chef on my side for a food argument.

"Ugh. I think the mud thing is still affecting me." I complain. 

"Yeah, I tried to eat one of those eggs I stole. Whole and raw."

"No more mud creatures."

Zeke nodded and walked ahead of me.

I decreased my pace, not wanting to waste more energy. It was probably four hours to nightfall. Too long for me.  The caked on dry mud was flaking off my back, leaving breadcrumbs behind me as I walked. I stopped and then a thought crossed my mind. "Eat dirt."

I shook my head. "What? No. Gross."

I could hear Ulther in my head telling me how one could survive on dirt and how it was full of nutrition. He had also gotten sick once from eating dirt but had blamed it on a slightly toxic worm that lived in the area. Callie hated his weird dirty eating obsession, especially ever since their kids started to try and copy their dad.

Right now, I was very tempted to follow his advice. I stared at the ground and then bent down and pulled up a grass topped clump. It was a nice dark brown, free of rocks. A few ants and beetles crawled on it and I could see a worm wiggle in it. If I squinted, it could be a clump of chocolate cake.

Yep. Chocolate cake. I closed my eyes and took a bite.

I felt it rest in my mouth for a second and then vomited.

Twins, that was fucking awful.

I threw up again then grabbed the canteen of water at my side and gargled water until my mouth was clean. 

I should never listen to Ulther. This was all on me.

I laid down on my back and waited for a moment to make sure the nausea had passed. I stood up and took note of my surroundings. The path went ahead to what I was pretty sure was a clearing. I ran hoping to catch up with the others. I reached it and immediately realized I had an issue. That old cliche where the path from the clearing split into three. 

I looked at each path. I considered yelling but I was still unsure of what creatures were in the forest and didn't want to risk being mauled before my friends and girlfriend found me.

"Eenie, meenie, miny, moe. Run away from the demon's glow, if they catch you, they won't let you go. My mother chose the one to go and you are not the one at home."

I pointed at the middle path. I shrugged, since that would have likely been my choice anyways. Before I moved on however...

I looked around stomach growling. I spotted a squirrel in a nearby tree. I've heard from Vern that their meat could be very tasty. I grinned as I approached my next actual meal.

The path was clear and long, and the sun was starting to set. I chewed on the squirrel meat I had quickly cooked up. I still hadn't seen hide nor tail of the others- if there was either of those on this path at all.

I marched on, picking up the pace while hoping I wasn't running towards nothing.

The grass folded beneath my boots leaving footprints behind me that last for only a few seconds until the blades popped up and they disappeared. The sounds of the forest critters getting ready for bed came from the trees that surrounded me and the nocturnal creature began to wake.

The cooler air made it easier to breath, and the humidity helped me keep marching on. It was also getting harder to see ahead of me and the others and I was just as liable to walk by them as I was to trip over them if they had stopped ahead of me. I closed my eyes and tried to listen, really listen. All I could hear was the chorus of crickets and the occasional who from an owl.

The moon was at her apex. Her brightness was lessened by the trees, but it was still a beautiful sight. It was my only guide, it's light bathing everything in an ethereal grey blue. It really made me creeped out even more by my surroundings. The owls began to make even more noise. (Okay, kind of off topic, but how the fuck are there owls here? They're more of a continental bird than an island bird, they don't really cross the ocean and I really don't think they were ever popular as pets.) Their call reverberated throughout the thicket of wooden walls before dying off behind the ceaseless drone of the crickets.

I could imagine the others back at the mansion, relaxing, enjoying Amber's mud creature free cooking and just in general not being in the middle of the forest, caked in dry mud, in the middle of the night. I could see the image of Vern stuffing his face in my mind. I wanted to choke him with his own ponytail. I shook my head, now was not the time to imagine murdering my brother. That could be done later. (Oh geez, Terra. Thanks for saving your murderous thoughts about your poor brother for later. - Vern)

Eventually I reached another clearing with a pile of rocks in the middle. I stared at them, praying to anything that it wasn't a grave marker. I really didn't want to deal with an angry spirit. Vern had once (Because he ate dirt from a grave to see if it tasted better.) and from what he said, and from what I saw it wasn't pretty. 

I paced around it, noting that it was hollow inside, like a tiny mausoleum. I was definitely not staying around here now. I began to tip toe away, until I heard the crack or crunch of something under my boots.

I froze and sheepishly lifted my foot to look at what I had done. The shards of a broken glass orb shimmered in the mud on my soles. From the mausoleum I swear I heard a noise.

Fuck this.

I bolted, running as fast as I could, hoping I could outrun the spirit I had probably just angered- if such a thing was even possible. The forest tried to stop me with branches and thorns that scratched me but my terror fuel sprint would not be deterred by those. I left a trail of destruction behind me, broken branches and trampled bushes that anyone would have been slightly disturbed to follow, even a vengeful orb loving spirit. I continued my run until I finally exhausted my adrenaline and stumbled over a pair of berry bushes. I rolled over onto my back and lied there, panting like a dog.

My muscles now ached, my entire body exhausted, and my clothes were now torn as well as muddy. I fumbled for my canteen and chugged it for all it was worth. I sighed as the last drop hit my tongue and stood up. It was probably time to sleep.

The crickets continued to play as I pulled out a blanket I had stuffed in my pack. I undressed, tossing my muddy clothes into the bushes. I really hoped now that the other three weren't around to see me naked now. I pulled out one of my nighties and quickly pulled it over me. I laid wrapped in the blanket and tried to relax but it took a while because of some thoughts that refused to leave me mind for a while. Eventually I managed to get them to pass and rolled over and fell asleep. 

(Vern and I were lost.

This was a distressingly common occurrence ever since we had come to live here about a year ago. I was busy, um, watering the ground with my eyes as Vern, hair just starting to get long, tried to read the map.

"Ummm. Hmmm. I think... we are... somewhere in Talto's Forest."

"Really, Ferlo? Thanks."

"Hey, don't take Mister Ferlo's name in vain."

"Vern, this map is just a bunch of trees, with a point on each end and no marked paths."

"Yeah, but it looks nice."

I felt like punching my big brother.

"Hey, now. Don't be sad. I need another pair of eyeballs to help me find a way out of here."

"Sure." I stood up and wiped the tears away from my red eyes. 

We walked in no particular direction. We only moved off our straight-line path to walk around a tree or rock or other such barrier. Like the small divide above the river which caused Calli to later yell at us for ruining my newly obtained pants in a darkly lit room with words that made the two of us terrified of her. It was clear why Ulther refused to argue with her, with such a face behind her usually happy guise.

Eventually we stumbled upon a house.

It was odd. Permanent settlements in these woods were rare for humans because of lesser demon beasts that were said to have roamed them. Of course, they also were fine letting two kids walk in them because one of them had the proclaimed title of Chosen Hero and the other was me, a crybaby who was currently trying to prevent the idiot who had gotten them into the woods from rushing to the house.

"Woah. Why are you choking me?" He asked as I tried to hang him by his shirt collar.

"Vern, I know you love to act first and are easily swayed into bad decisions and are prone to not listen to reason but don't just charge ahead when..." I stopped as Vern had stripped out of his shirt and rushed to the house as I was complaining to him. I swore as the door to the house was just beginning to swing shut as I realized what he had done. I continued to use words I had learned from my dad in his self-described "grump state" and cautiously approached the abode. 

It was two stories tall, the second story being what I guessed was an attic of sorts about one and a half of me tall. The outside was tinted a greenish brown, like it was some sort of camouflage. As I was wondering about the purpose of the paint job, I heard a thump from inside the house and then more noise that sounded like a struggle.  I disregarded caution and jumped through a window, cutting myself in multiple places as I did so.

I landed in a haphazard heap on top of a crumpled Vern. I smelt blood on him. Or perhaps that was just mine.

"While I appreciate you scaring that thing off, you're making me hurt worse."

I apologized and stood up. "What was attacking you?"

"Bat-ish demon."

"Smart enough to build a house?"

"Yes, but Fear Bats aren't really known to build.

"Fear Bat? Kind weird to have one here? Think they said in school they're more of a thing where we used to live."

"It had a collar. I think." Vern rubbed his arm

"A pet?"

"I guess."

I sighed and looked around. A small book caught my eye. It was a small book written in the Demon Tongue. I pocketed it and pulled Vern aside to tend to his wounds. There was a shallow cut on his abdomen that I crudely stitched up with skills Callie had taught me. She was always patching up our oldest brother. Vern immediately began to scratch at it. I slapped his hand and pulled him out of the house.

We continued onwards until we finally emerged from the woods, about forty miles from home. We recognized it and began to head towards a city we knew was nearby.

Of course, it was, unbeknownst to us, currently demon-controlled land that we were now blindly marching in and a city under their sway we made our way to.)

I made good pace the next morning and arrived soon at was probably the ruins that the letter wanted us to explore around noon. Whatever they were, they sure looked ruined. There was a large opening in front with the words "Here Lies the Pits of Culiv, and The Mirror of the Twins. Beware All Who Enter, For Within All You Will Find is Despair." etched above it. Inside I could hear the unmistakable sound of bats flying around. I grumbled and closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I opened them, mind steady and ran into the ruins chased by a trail of bats. I slashed at them with the small blade I had brought, not long enough for a sword not short enough for a dagger. I killed a few and the others fled, not wishing to bother me anymore now that they knew I could kill them easily. Ahead there was a small door in a large wall. I approached it, noting the layers of dust that had been knocked off and like four handprints.

"Must have gotten here before me." I say aloud. I couldn't blame them; I'd be doing the same thing- except I was currently going solo, and I would have preferred to not explore what was probably a ruined maze full of traps alone.

I looked at the door again. The words "Gate of ___" on it. It was missing the last part. Of course, it was, and it was a door not a gate.

Ignoring my own nitpicking I grabbed what look like a handle and heard what sounded like screaming. Then a door handle popped out of the door. I used it to pull the deceptively light door open. It wasn't so light that I didn't run as soon as it was open to avoid it crushing me when it inevitably closed behind me. It did, slamming with the noise of a thunderclap, echoing throughout the hall in front of me.

Twenty freshly lit candles illuminated a long hall that sloped downwards. An open doorway rested at the bottom.  

The trap here was pretty obvious. I took a page from Vern and sprinted and jumped from wall to wall as fast as I could to avoid setting off any saw blades or pitfalls or poison darts my companions hadn't set off themselves. When I reached the bottom, I made sure I had remembered medical supplies, I was a bit rusty but wanted to make sure I could patch myself and probably the others up when I found them.

It was pitch black ahead. I considered the obvious solutions but the first two were a waste and the second too dangerous, so I took out a couple of light packets and tossed them ahead. It was a maze of sorts, or at least that was what the helpful sign read. Really nice of these ancient people to label things for visitors, I thought starting to run.

Left, right, up, left, down, left, right, left, up, down. I ran this path following the footprints in the dust and dirt that I hoped were from the others. It was only two pairs as far as I could tell, which had me wondering if there was any other path inside that whoever wasn't on my path was exploring. Eventually the footprints began to be harder to see so I just randomly charged ahead until miraculously I emerged into a large chamber.

 The walls were covered with carvings of animals and sunlight filtered in from slits in the ceiling. A few stone slabs lay in the center, a sort of raised seats on another side of the room. It was clearly a sacrificial slab. I moved to the one on the farthest side of the room. Stuck in the crevice was a black stone knife with a five-inch blade and a bone white handle. I guess this was my free artifact. I put it in my shack, happy that I had a cool looking knife and even happier that it would make Fredericka and Vern both jealous. He had one that had a chamber in the hilt for potions to be used in it but the capsules were expensive, so he never really got to use it at its peak coolness.

I looked around again, trying to find some exit. On the far wall was the faint cut out of a door, hidden by dust. I slid over and tapped on it. A hollow sound. I shrugged, tied my boots tighter and pushed open the heavy door, only managing to get it wide enough to barely squeeze through before exhausting myself. Even without the loss of muscles from becoming Terra it would have been a door that would have tired me out. Even a demigod would have struggled with it.

Moving quickly, I stop at an intersection. To the right was a well-lit path with perfect visibility. On the right was a dark void, full of shadows. I check my pack and pockets. A single light packet. Or rather orb. 

I didn't trust the light path. It was probably a trap. Like it was so obviously a trap that I almost wondered if it wasn't one before return to the creepy hallway. I shook the light orb and started down the murkier path.

The light did almost nothing, only illuminating a few feet ahead of me and dimly at that. I walked slowly and carefully, one hand on the stone wall to check for side paths. It was wet and cold. 

I wandered forward, hoping there weren't any traps because I really couldn't see anything. I couldn't even see if the others had gone this way. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. I continue to slowly move, the dark surrounding me and suffocating me, trying to beckon me into it. 

Soon I reach a wall. A single arch in its center, with magic runes lightly glowing carved into it. Some archaic alarm system I supposed. I ignored it and stepped through the arch into a dimly lit room. Probably a terrible idea. 

The lights shut off as a gust of wind shot through the room. Even my light magic orb became dormant, sending a shiver up my spine. Magic lights usually don't go out like that especially with how expensive they can be. My eyes tried to adjust but the only light for them was the faint glowing of the runes behind me. 

I turn towards the door to leave and perhaps try the nice well-lit path but freeze as I sense a presence behind me. It was heavy and the air was hard to breathe. I turned around slowly, and looked at the pair of glowing horns, glinting in the darkness, from which a deep voice spoke:

"A girl like you shouldn't be here."

I stood, not moving, not breath, not making a sound at the sound of the voice.

"Hmm, not going to speak, huh?" Something shuffled. The horns moved a bit. "Can't say I blame you. You're just a kid, wandering this... ruins? Oh, wow. It's been a while. Anyways, I have to thank you. For managing to wake me up."

"What? How?" The question poured out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

A moment passed.

"Huh. You speak with me? Thought that would be impossible. And to answer your question: that knife on your person had demon blood on it."

I looked confused though no one would have seen my face and asked, "Demon blood?"

"Yes. My sacrifices were a bit odder than others of my kind. I hate the flesh on a human carcass and the idiots on this island wouldn't give me any anyways, so I settled for the bodies of my fallen lesser kin."

"That's horrid."

"That's life, girl. Anyways, I don't think you'll taste right- so I'll just kill you. And use that blood to help me get some more room to stretch my tired legs."

Before I could blurt out a question about what tasting right meant exactly, I was struck in the gut and sent tumbling into a wall. I felt something crack as I slid down the wall, blood spilling from multiple wounds. I stumbled to my feet, only to be hit again, this time by a pair of horns. It tore through my thigh and tossed me back into the wall. A drop of blood splashed onto the runes and they went dead. A terrible occurrence as I soon found out.

I started to crawl. my leg now shattered, and my left arm dislocated towards the hallway that was just a black void. I could feel my blood as my body rubbed against it, wet and warm.

Behind me I could hear the stead, slow footsteps of whatever it was I had awoken. I winched in pain as I tried to crawl faster.

"Oh? Still alive, girl?" The voice asked, echoing off the walls.

I ignored it and continued on, trying to escape.

"Impressive. In my day, most would be dead by now." The voice was closer now.

Pain filled my body; my vision was becoming splotchy.

"You poor thing, let me put you down." Behind me now.

I felt myself being picked up and slammed against a wall. I felt dizzy.

"Say hello to the others for me. They'll love new company." He reached behind him and pulled out an axe blade. Just the blade no handle. His horns glowed and the blade gleamed. He cocked back and slammed it into my stomach. I could feel it tear into me, my juices and bloods spurting out as I screamed involuntarily in pain. I could feel some organs spill slightly out of the gash. I was glad I didn’t have the strength to bend over and look.

As I bled out, my vision blurry, dark orbs appearing before me, and the sound of... something else and someone else- the last thing I felt was my body as it dropped to the floor.