Sports Festival (Part 2)

Luna looked at her watch as she rested on one of the logs. It had been almost two hours since she left the starting line. A small plant was sprouting between the crevices of the log among the emerald moss.

'Life still grows from the dead, the cycle of life, huh,' Luna contemplated and stood up, brushing any dirt off her clothes.

The drone following her made her feel nervous. She wondered what the spectators back in the school were watching. She hoped that she did not do anything that would embarrass herself. She admired the people on television who could maintain a decent composure the entire time.

Other than recording the event, the drones also served as invigilators to prevent any participants from cheating or straying out of the competition venue and a rescue beacon in case any accidents happen.

"Alright, enough break time. Let's go, August," she called forth her horse resting under the shade of a nearby tree and climbed onto it. Unfurling a carefully folded map, she studied the next objective point while comparing with the clue descriptions behind the map.

Objective Point No. 8:

Hilltop - Highest elevation of a landmark.

Besides the clue given, a red circle was drawn on the map by the organisers to indicate the approximate location of the objective point. Despite that, Luna was surprised at the sudden ease of the clue. The previous objective point took some considerable time to find. Then she realised, the tallest point in the area was easy to find but riding uphill takes experience and skill.

She followed the 'handrail', an existing dirt trail northwards with speed. The peak of the hill was visible even from her position. The golden summer sun rays dribbled between the gaps of the tree canopies, filling the ground with aureate puddles. Patches of shrubs along the winding trail were dotted with red and yellow blossoms.

The trees grew sparser as she got closer until the shade ended and the full brunt of the sunlight blinded her momentarily. As she slowly removed her hand shielding her eyes and accustomed to the brightness, she was in awe at someone scaling the rocky slopes of the hill with great strides and control before disappearing from view at the peak. It took her a while to notice Vrine's ivory hair. It was hard to discern it from the intense glow of the sun.

She tried to retrace the path taken by Vrine before but it proved more difficult than it seems. She needed to keep an eye for loose rocks and balancing. She did not want to exert any more pressure on it than necessary. Although August had some experience in riding, it still felt a sense of uneasiness. Both of them placed their trust on each other while being considerate of their wellbeing. One mistake can be dangerous and spell the end of their journey although the obstacle was carefully engineered to prevent any major injuries.

Just before the peak, the trail broke up into various smaller rocks. Each of them looked perilous and would fall apart on the smallest whims. Luna started to hesitate whether to continue or not, it's not worth it to win the competition nor the bet. She did not feel secure even with the drone behind her, watching her movements.

"Take the third rock from the right then, the one with the patch of blue flowers growing on it. Lastly, the second rock from the left," a voice instructed from above. "Do it in one continuous stride or you'll pause and get trapped there. The rocks are firm in place, don't worry about it."

Luna looked up to the voice. It was no mistaking Vrine as she gave a wide smile and a thumbs up.

"Let's do this, August," Luna took a deep breath before completing the crossing, following Vrine's instructions carefully in one attempt. It felt simpler than it initially seemed. The rocks were actually sturdy, the looks can be deceiving.

"Thank you for the directions. It was really helpful," Luna thanked Vrine while she wiped the sweat off her face. However, she could not help but ask, "Why are you still here? I thought you had completed it some time ago."

"You should look around you," Vrine only replied ambiguously.

Luna turned around and held her breath from the view. From their vantage point, they could see the places they have gone. From the calm undulating field of red, orange and yellow hues to the crescent blue waters of the lake, reflecting the heavens to the earth.

"You see, I believe that every objective point was picked with some picturesque view in mind. Well, besides the skill level needed to transverse it of course," Vrine told her thoughts.

Luna agreed, she had been enjoying the scenery throughout the event. Remembering her objectives, she wrote down the letter code on her event card. Despite having the drone trailing everyone, the code was necessary to gain points.

She took out her map and the clues.

Objective Point No. 9:

Mother Tree - The tallest tree with red bark.

The tree was easily spotted from their point. She looked to Vrine who was already looking at her.

"Want to go together?" She offered.

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Both of them had so many questions for each other throughout their trip. People from the Southern Isles rarely visited other countries, especially this far north.

Luna had visited the Southern Isles many years ago as part of her globetrotting bucket list. The people there were living close to nature, influencing many cultural aspects of their lives. One of the most notable aspects Luna remembered was their architecture.

Their houses were built into a huge hollow tree that could reach up to a hundred meters high. The trees were actually a large tree in a large network. The branches linked to every tree like a network, acting as a bridge between different trees. Naturally, the South Islanders were excellent athletes that some still practised hunting in the dense rainforests. It's one of their traditions to maintain the balance of the forest, nothing more and nothing less and they took pride in that.

"I actually made friends with someone back then but we lost touch with each other. I wonder how she is doing now. I should have asked for her name," Luna reminiscent.

"Hmm, I met someone quite some time ago too. I think she had the same name as you but a different surname. Is it March? Or is it Macchia? I can't really remember. This is actually quite perplexing," Vrine scratched her head. Her memories were still quite hazy from many years ago.

Luna looked away. 'I think that's me…'

She tried to contain her excitement to meet someone again from her past. However, revealing her real identity would expose her cover. She wouldn't know if telling even one person could cause a domino effect throughout the whole school.

She decided to tell her the truth, "I…"

Her confession was cut short as a thick fog suddenly enveloped them. She knew it wouldn't be that easy to go to the next objective, there's always some ploy at work.

"Vrine, are you still here?" Luna called out in the dense grey vapour. Visibility had decreased to almost none.

"Yes, I'm still here. I don't think I can get to you now. Let's split up and I'll see you at the end," Vrine replied from somewhere before fading away.

"Alright. You good, August?" She checked and assured it. Horses tend to get afraid with their sight blinded.

She took out her map and compass to gauge her approximate location. She was glad to do all the pacing exercises last time. She once hated it for it being so boring. She would still find it dull and monotonous. Who would like practice counting distance while riding at a fixed pace but it definitely proved helpful now.

It took a considerable amount of time to reach the mother tree and the fog dissipated at the destination. As she wrote down the code on the metal plate on the tree, she wondered how Vrine fared. Would she still be finding her way or on route to the last objective point.

She checked her watch again. There's only another 20 minutes left before the time's up. Any extra 10 seconds, a point would be penalised. She decided that she could not make it if she decided to go for the final objective and left for the finish line.

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"Took you some time!" Vrine called out from behind the finish line as Luna slowly rode to the end. It looked like she had been there for some time. There were only another two participants there.

"Participant number 12, cleared! Time, 2 hours 49 minutes 30 seconds!" The linesman announced. The screen updated it's rankings according to the completed time, placing her fourth and Vrine reigned at the top. However, it wasn't final as the number of completed objective points were not accounted for yet.

Luna surrendered her event card to the officials. They took some time to scrutinise the codes before posting the updated rankings, pushing Luna up to second behind Vrine. The other two must have skipped a few objective points.

Vrine approached Luna after the rankings were updated and they congratulated each other.

"I did not catch what you were saying back in the fog. Can you reiterate it? Apologies," Verne wanted to know.

Luna paused for a while before replying, "Oh, it's nothing actually. I would like to visit the Southern Isles someday again."

'I'm sorry, Vrine. I've decided to keep this a secret. I was a different person from the past now. Let's start anew shall we?' Luna apologised deep in her heart.

'Oh right, I haven't seen Elma in the entire race. I wonder how she's faring,' Luna remembered.

Elma got lost in the woods and the rescue team had to escort her back later that evening.