Crystal Magic Adventure: A Tale of Discovery

Chapter 6: On the Road

It's been a couple of days since Lila left Gladeside. Sadly, this brave endeavor wasn't without its dire consequences. She might have called herself an adventurer, but that didn't mean she had all the skills required to actually be one. Funny, thinking about it made her feel like a child again. A naive and foolish child, playing at being an adventurer.

While she was lamenting her own shortcomings, she remembered her father mentioning an outpost worth a week's travel away from the village. He never told her how to get there though, as she would've most likely gotten lost on the way...
Her father's worries were indeed true, Lila was lost. She had no idea where they were, each turn they took seemingly led to the same destination. And as if navigating through these woods wasn't hard enough, there were no proper roads around the village either. As far as she knew, there was a single path leading to the village, which was currently not a feasible option since running into someone would mean certain doom.

To make things even worse, Lila's hunger kept worsening to the point that she could almost feel the cold embrace of death. She was bareboned with no hint of plumpness left inside her body and her muscles were almost at the point of giving out. On top of all that, the water she packed alongside her ran out. Crystal's magic was the only thing keeping her alive at this point but even that had its limits, it couldn't sustain her if she had nothing left to sustain.

Her occasional tree root and bark weren't enough to keep her on her feet, and she wasn't familiar with the berries they found because the berry season was in spring, not late summer. As for hunting, she asked Crystal if it could levitate animals but apparently, it can't lift live creatures so hunting was out of the question. She may be a fool, but even she knew that hunting was no easy matter.
Having walked for hours with no signs of civilization, it was time to rest. She needed to conserve her energy and aimlessly wandering through the woods wasn't doing her any good.

Lila sat down under a tree and dropped her backpack to the side. She wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. She was starving, exhausted, and terribly parched.

"Crystal... I don't think I can walk anymore..."

Crystal knew how pitiful she was right now. All it could do for her was reassure her,
"Lass, don't give up. I'm sure your luck will turn up! Just be patient, you will make it out of this."

She slumped, keeping her arms steady felt as if she was trying to lift boulders, "I can't go on... Just leave me, it's over..." Lila said. Her voice was so weak that Crystal had to read her mind to comprehend what she said.

Then, a sudden tingle.

Someone came close enough to trigger its senses. Crystal's attention immediately turned over to where the presence was. Weighing the options for a while, Crystal had an idea. Under normal circumstances, the best option would be for them to hide. However, desperate times require desperate measures.

Whispering to Lila, "Wait here, kid. I'll be back soon. Eat those plants you stuffed in your backpack while I'm gone."

"Where are you going... Don't leave me alone..." Lila begged Crystal,

"I'll be back soon, I have an idea. Just wait, okay?" Crystal reassured her once again.

This was her only chance at survival. If Crystal lets this opportunity slip away, it is highly unlikely for Lila to survive.

Away from the duo, a lone alchemist was strolling through the woods in the mountains. The Bleakpeak Mountains, which were restricted by the Kingdom due to alleged high monster activity, were home to a large variety of different alchemical ingredients. Visiting this place was considered a fool's errand by many since the ingredients were plenty but not worth much to risk their lives for. For Nosdramo, the allure of research was good enough to balance the risks.