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THE SECOND CHALLENGE


ydegirl
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Alice knew a life of hard work, she’d grown up on a farm in her early years, but the halfling didn’t expect this. The first was easy enough, plant a tree and take care of it until it’s old enough to live. She expected the second to be harder, but not so time-consuming. “Gather overlooked plants from the five regions,” the Lioness told her. It repeated itself in her mind, a broken record. 

 

She first went to her friend Lavinia. “Luhvinniyuh, Oi need t’a ask yeh some’n.” She stood around Lavinia’s knees. “Ti? What is it?” Lavinia responded to her, an amused gaze on the ‘Ata’s visage. Alice, ever so eloquent, went on to Tell her Elfess friend her challenge. Lavinia gave Alice her advice, “Mountains first, the higher you go the thinner the air gets.” 

 

 

MONTH ONE: OCEAN

Alice disagreed, she thought the Ocean would be extremely difficult, and after a year of training, she set out for the ocean. She ran, ran as fast as her little webbed feet could take her. Arriving at the outskirts of oren, this is where she’d look for her plant, the Mangrove. Alice trekked along the coastal region of Oren- and farther down.

 

It was hopeless, She couldn’t find it. The defeated halfling set up camp down in the beach near Haelun’or, perhaps she’d find it tomorrow. There’s always another day. 

 

The sun slowly rose, glimmering and sparkling in the dawn. Alice woke up. She was wet- rain from the night before. “Ugh...” She rose from the ground, a few leaves stuck to her back from her makeshift leaf cot. And, luckily for her, everything in her bag was wet, too. “Weh’, shoite…” She murmured, hoisting up the backpack. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, lugging a wet bag for hours and hours on end. The leaves whistled overhead, birds singing, squirrels hunting for nuts, or were those chipmunks? Alice had always got the two mixed up. She continued along. She trekked through the forest until she had reached the coastline, Alice found the waves softly crashing up against the shore soothing, relaxing, even. Her mind wandered, Bramblebury, her friends, mentor, Elvenesse, and the Mangrove.

 

The Mangrove.

 

She found it, the precious plant she was looking for. She giggled excitedly, tossing down her bag- which was now a bit more dry- down to the mangrove. And she rolled down the hill until she reached it. She was giddy, overcome with joy. 

 

But, there’s always something to stop you.

 

She’d lost her knife to cut it with. “FOK!” she shouted. “Oi gess oi’m gun’ haf t’e et awf..” She readied herself, wrapping her hands around the branch and putting a foot up against the base of the mangrove. She pulled. It didn’t come off. She pulled, again. It didn’t come off. She repeated this cycle for hours. Pulling, again, and again, and again. It was night again, the night entering into that black void, no stars in sight. Alice cried out. “ARGH!” She wondered; had she failed? No, she couldn't. Not so early in her mission. She dug out a beer, drinking what was left out of her first bottle, and slowly she drifted off to sleep.

 

 

She woke up again, luckily her bag- nor her, were wet. She pulled out an apple from her bag, chomping on it. Crunch. The juices came flowing down onto her mouth… She missed eating so regularly- just a few nights ago did she watch her friends make soap, and then after that, they ate a big dinner. Cinnamon Rolls, Baked Bread, Biggun Toast, Strawberry Jam, the whole nine yards. The halfling yawned, walking over to the Mangrove. She pulled. Nothing happened. She pulled again. It didn’t budge. She pulled again. It came off. “Oeh.. Oeh me lord..” She held the branch in her hand. Alice finally did it, and, it was beautiful- the bark, the few leaves, everything. She fell onto her bum, roaring in laughter… Her first task in the mission was completed.

 

But- she still had four other regions to travel too. Next, the mountains.

 

 

MONTH TWO: MOUNTAINS

Alice finally made it to the snow covered mountains of Norland, this time, she was looking for a mountain goat. She began to climb, wasting no time as she did so.

 

Lavinia was right- it was the hardest. As she climbed the mountain, she felt her breath growing shorter and shorter. She scaled the mountain, using her trusty wooden staff to help her. Alice was growing tired, but she couldn’t stop- not until she found the Mountain goat. 

 

A thought plagued her. How would she get proof she actually did see the mountain goat? The Lioness surely wouldn’t accept it just on her word… She decided that a single goat hair would suffice- but how she would do that depended on her every move.

 

Finally, she saw a goat. She crept towards it, yet- it spotted her. The goat ran off, Alice chasing after him. The goat sprinted, and Alice was no match for the quick goat- eventually losing it’s trail… She sighed, continuing up the mountain.

 

Her thoughts consumed her mind. In walking to the Mountains, she had heard of Bianca Le Fleur’s new competition- to find the next best playwright, or something along those lines. She wondered what it was like, being a writer. She knew she’d never know… And again, she spotted a goat. This time, she ran towards it, although the goat kicked her and dashed away. She groaned, Alice had been kicked by animals before, but this time it was frustrating. Once more she climbed the mountain, not looking for a goat this time, but for a resting place.

 

She found a cliff, and decided to set up camp there for the night. She laid her stuff down as far away from the edge as possible, and drifted into sleep.

 

Alice had woken up from a terrible nightmare. She was dreaming that a monster was chasing her- a monster made out of nothing, just clouds. It looked silly, something you’d find in a children's book. But it chased her- like she chased the goats… She thought to reapproach her tactic, sneak close to it until it let her near. Near her camp was a goat, minding its business.. She crawled towards it, stopping every so often to make sure she didn’t scare the Goat off. The goat wasn’t scared off, but noticed Alice. It looked at her, it’s eyes staring directly into her…  She finally got close enough to pluck a hair from it, and after finishing it, the goat ran off.

 

Three more regions to go.

 

 

MONTH THREE: TUNDRA

Onto the Tundra, Alice was already relatively close to the Tundra- and after descending from the mountain, she waddled onto the roads, and onto the Tundra. Now, she was looking for an Arctic Willow. She didn’t think this one would be hard to find, and she wasn’t entirely wrong.

 

Alice, barefooted, trudged her way through the snow. No trees in sight. First, she meandered along the Haenseni Border, moving deeper into the Tundra. She admired it, really. The fact that animals and plants alike could survive in the frigid climate amazed her. Perhaps it was just the beauty of it all- everything white and blue, an amazing color combination.

 

After some searching, Alice had found what she wanted, the Arctic Willow. She decided on this plant because it was a flower which, unlike her cousins, were not in warm or temperate climates. She strived in the cold, her beauty was immaculate.

 

Unlike the mountain goat and the mangrove, this one was relatively easy to get, just a little tug and she was on her way.

 

Alice walked back to her starting point, admiring the beauty of it all. The icicles sticking out of the ground amazed her. She yawned, the night returning to days. She made a quick pitstop to Haense, sleeping under a window. Unfortunately, the halfling was struck with a broom and quickly scampered off.

 

MONTH FOUR: DESERT

Alice’s journey was almost over, she had conquered the mountains, danced with the sea, and froze in the tundra. Now, it was time for the desert- she was looking for a cactus’ flower. One of those flowers that grew on the top of the cactus, specifically. 

 

She trekked through the Kharasi, it felt as if the sun was being poured directly onto her skin. Alice persisted, though- sparing her water for when she needed it. Unfortunately, by this time her beer had spoiled- gone moldy. She couldn’t drink it, she couldn’t risk getting sick at this point.

 

The Cactus was still far away- yet she felt as if she’d been walking for an hour. Was the heat distorting her time? She couldn’t tell, really. And, to make things worse, the day was turning to dark. She certainly didn’t want to sleep out in the open- who knows what was out there. 

 

So, she settled for under a cliff, although she was still open, it was better than nothing… Alice unpacked, digging out a pillow she’d taken from someone’s trash, (probably not the best idea), lit a fire, and cooked some food. 

The sunlight woke her up- and she decided to waste no time. So, she packed her stuff and started to waddle to the cactus. Alice was still far from it, but not as far as she was last time- and this time she could see it getting closer.

 

She was a bit scared, though- she’d never been in a desert before… And there were animal carcasses everywhere, which didn’t calm her nerves. Alice did not want to become one of those carcasses. She tried paying them no mind- but it was hard, the occasional skull made her whole body jittery. 

 

Alice finally came to the cactus, and luckily, it had a bright pink flower on it- waiting just for her. She had gotten herself a pair of shears- which was a bit hard to do without mina, but she bargained for it. Alice cut the flower, putting it into her bag and making her way back to civilization. 

 

She was happy that her journey was coming to an end, but also a bit sad. It was fun, almost, going onto these journeys… Seeing the different parts of the world, never would she have seen these before.

 

MONTH FIVE: JUNGLE

Her journey was so close to it's end. Alice was relieved. She rewarded herself with what she considered the easiest biome- the Jungle- which, not surprisingly, was close to her home as well. 

 

She waded herself into the water, looking for frogs to catch... To catch a frog you think like a frog. So, think like a frog she did. Alice lowered herself a bit, just so that her above her nose where not submerged in the water. Alice had stared at that damned lily pad for hours.

 

Finally, she saw a frog. She went to clasp her hands around it- but, alas, it jumped away. She let out a groan, reassuming her position of the frog... She was glad to be done with her journey, really. But, also a bit sad- it was a fun learning experience for her, to traverse the regions of Almaris. The aspects truly blessed her, she thought to herself. She was also a bit sad, though. It was coming to an end- a journey she didn't want to come to an end. She wished she could travel forever, dance around the Jungle, sing to the frogs... But, she also wanted to start a family and have kids, and to become a druid... She saw another frog- and, once more went to quickly clasp her hands around it.

 

But, the frog disappeared.


Alice was tired, but she loved the feel of the water, and refused to sleep until she got a frog. 

 

She saw another- and, this time, she caught it. She was happy, so, so happy. It was almost surreal, for catching a frog.. She chuckled, wading out of the water and letting the frog into a special container she made, with a few small holes at the top and some water from the Jungle water.. She walked back to Bramblebury, to check on her tree- Fredward. 

 

Her tasks were done.

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This was a great read, plus I like the formatting a lot. Wonderful work!

 

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@capiital"Oh wow, that aspiring druid eats." Anne Caroline uttered to her friend upon seeing the missive.

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