4th day of Summer, 508 AV, minutes before sunset
Kenric was standing at the edge of a field of corn. He was not pleased. It all started yesterday morning...
"So this is it." Kenric declared to the young woman standing before him. She was the one who had taught him about all the wonders of music the last two years. "This will be the last time we get to speak. I can not thank you enough for what you and your people have done for me. Who would of ever though bandits could be so nice!" She smiled and replied "We only harass people who happen to have deep pockets. A young kid, starving to death in the forest is not what we typically go after.'' Kenric turned around and stared off into the trees. "So Syliras is only a six hour walk east of here? I should be there in no time." The woman replied, "Just remember the directions; follow this path until you come across the big stone pile, stay on the ridge line until you spot the city down in the valley, and from there I think you can handle it." Kenric thanked her one last time for everything she had done for him, for the mandolin she had given him, and for being the closest thing to a family he had ever had. He knew that by suppertime, he should be dining in one of Syliras's finest inn's and enjoying the big city life.
That night Kenric had to sleep in his tent, eat some salted meat, and the only entertainment he revived was from his mandolin. He didn't understand how someone who had lived in the wilderness all their life was unable to follow simple directions the the biggest city in the known world. He should be an expert at this, shouldn't he? Maybe he should of spent more time exploring and becoming a master of the wilderness then practicing magic with a crazy wizard and learning how to play music with pretty bandits. He was wet and cold. Earlier in the day he had fallen into a creek and soaked all his belongings. He was terrified that he might have ruined his mandolin, but when he unpacked to see how much damage was done, he realized he left it back in the clearing he ate lunch in. Kenric then backtracked, found his instrument, and got hopelessly lost in the endless expanse of hills and trees.
He woke the next morning to a nice sunny day. While Kenric was breaking down his makeshift camp, the heavens decided to open up. It started to rain lightly, then a little harder, and within five minutes, it was pouring. Luckily his mandolin was in a waterproof bag. He walked for a few hours in the rain, miserable and not quite sure he was heading in the right direction. Noon came and the rain stopped. Kenric needed to eat, so he found a nice fallen tree to sit on and began to fill his stomach with the same pitiful food he had eaten the day before. No sooner then when he took his first bite he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning his head slowly, he caught sight of a bear walking directly toward him. This was no average sized bear, it was huge! About the size of the wagon's the bandits he had lived with used. Kenric made eye contact with it, and with a bloodcurdling roar, it charged at him.
Kenric grabbed his bag and began to run. Pushing himself as hard as he could, he jumped over logs, rocks, and large plants. He could hear the bear behind him, crashing through every obstacle Kenric tried to avoid. Even though Kenric was at his limit, the bear was gaining on him. He would be caught if he did not do something soon. He started to concentrate on the muscles in his legs. As slowly as possible as to prevent major injury to his body, but still fast enough as to keep himself being caught and killed, Kenric started to redirect his Djed into his legs. Slowly, Kenric began to pick up speed. He looked back and saw that the bear had made it to within four feet of him, however now they were moving at the same speed. Kenric directed more and more of his Djed into the muscles of his legs. He started pulling away from the bear. The bear slowed down and Kenric was now about 100 feet from the bear. He knew he couldn't stop now. Using even more of his Djed, he kept on running until he could no longer see the bear. Cutting off the Djed to his legs, Kenric slowed down and came to a stop. He wanted to keep running, for fear of the bear and because it felt good to use Flux again, but he also knew he came very close to overgiving. He had probably used too much of his Djed and figured he would experience some symptoms. At least some pain in his legs for the next few days. Pain was nothing compared to being eaten by a bear.
He continued walking east. Figuring out his direction was the only forestry skill he had ever been able to retain. He walked for a few hours until his legs began to ache tremendously. This was a sure sign of overgiving. He decided to take a rest. After digging his mandolin from his backpack, he played a few songs. He even attempted to make up a song about running from bears. Kenric started playing a common drinking song tune while his voice rang out...
Out in the forest
Without a care,
I look up from my lunch
And see a bear!
Fear taking over
I start to run,
I knew that my life
was surly done.
Faster and faster
I made myself go,
But this was not enough...
Without a care,
I look up from my lunch
And see a bear!
Fear taking over
I start to run,
I knew that my life
was surly done.
Faster and faster
I made myself go,
But this was not enough...
No, that didn't sound right... Making up song lyrics was something he was never good at. He never had that talent. He continued playing the mandolin though. The way each chord complimented the one before it amazed him. He loved to take a melody and exchange notes here and there and experiance the subtle emotional differences it would cause. It was his favorite thing to do. It kept his mind off of the fact that he was hopelessly lost in the forest. When he took the time to look skyward, he noticed how late it was getting. If he didn't reach Syliras in the next two hours, he would be forced to sleep outside again. He picked up his pace hoping to cover more ground before it became to dark to continue. The forest seemed never ending. He began to wonder if he would ever see open sky again.
By this time the sun had began to slip behind the mountains. In minutes it would become dark and Kenric would be forced to stop. Suddenly the trees gave way to an open cornfield. Blue sky was overhead with filled with pink colored clouds. Off in the distance Kenric could see the mighty city of Syliras dominating the surrounding expanse of open land. He wanted to be happy and celebrate his achievement, but the only emotion he felt was anger. "That is the last time I take directions from damn bandits! Six hours? It took two days!" He kept cursing at the top of his lungs for several minutes. Normally Kenric would never do such a thing, but he was extremely displeased with how the last two days had gone. Rain, bear's, and being forced to overgive in order to save one's life would cause even the most righteous person to freak out. Eventually he calmed down enough to figure out his next course of action. He was going to go to Syliras and try to become a city dweller, a way of life he had no knowledge on but always dreamed of.
