1 Stupid!

There lays a small village within the plains, with only a few hundred or so people. The reason due to their small population is how isolated they were and the lack of magic users. Without strong magic users, no one is interested in such a village with a low status. And the only ones in the village who can use magic only use it for entertainment purposes or make life slightly more convenient. Their magic was not strong enough to make a living out of it. Thus, the people usually have to busy themselves to travel over the mountains to barter with other towns. The village folk, however, are not hurrying as usual. They were all gathered in the heart of their community and surrounding a wizened, old man standing on a pedestal.

Despite the number of people that were rounded up, there was hardly any noise, only repressed whimpers and a few scampers from feet were heard.

Every person had a distinct look of apprehension and anxiety on their faces, with furrowed eyebrows and tightened lips. Their eyes were cast down and fists were clenched until the knuckles turned white.

This silent dread, fortunately, or unfortunately, did not last long.

"After careful consideration, the council has chosen two people to travel to Willow City and ask the goddess to once again retract the curse that has inflicted us since we had settled here. With the chosen's efforts, our town will bask in prosperity and happiness for another year!"

The elder standing on the pedestal spoke with much vigor, his voice reverberated throughout the town and his eyes glistening from the blazing sun. He used his puny magic to exude a small glow from his body to emphasize the importance of the occasion.

When he finished his little speech, he was only met with a quiet crowd, all looking at him with slightly dull eyes. Yet, filled with an unknown expectation. Instead of being awkward from the silent stares, the wrinkled man fluidly continues.

"The chosen two are..."

Everyone seemed to hold their breath, a few even clutched their eyes closed, as if not seeing would equate to not being chosen at all.

"Mara and Leni."

A collective relieved sigh swept through the crowd. The village folk turned their heads and shifted around, looking for the chosen two. Slowly, the crowd pushed a duo of bodies towards the elevated man.

First, a girl, around sixteen was forced forward. She fell the moment she separated from the crowd, becoming a sorry sight with her ragged clothes and messy chestnut hair. Her lips were bitten till they bled, just a little as her eyes were upturned and filled with bitter resentment.

Then, in a couple of minutes, a young boy was also brought up. Being around the age of ten, he was small but also skinnier than the majority of his peers. He seemed overall weak and lethargic as he forced his eyes open in confusion. His fluffy raven hair framed his face, making him look even more like a lost chick.

The crowd happily chattered and bustled around, passing a "congratulations" towards their saviors.

The old man in front of the two cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Mara, Leni. You two were selected out of hundreds to be the ones this year to lift the curse for your people. Afterward, you two will have the supreme reward of staying in the home of the goddess, Willow City!" The man smiled gently down upon them, like a ray of soft sunshine. His smile contrasted with his eyes that were filled with apathy and mockery towards the 'chosen ones.'

The female teen, Mara, was clear at what this 'noble' adventure was. The town does it each year to stave off a curse that caused their bodies to slowly become wood. Apparently, the only way to solve the problem is to send the 'chosen ones' to the holy land. No one really knows what happens after they send their so-called heroes away, all they know is that their transformed bodies turn back to flesh within a few months.

The only information they have on the origins of the curse is that it started when the people settled on Amber Plains. There was no description of how the people got hold of information of ridding the curse temporarily or how they even know a goddess exists! Additionally, with no one ever coming back from Willow City, there is never any new information on this jinx. Even when the village folk sought outside help, they are too poor to hire a powerful magic user or an intelligent scholar to assist them. Yet, none of the adults have at least attempted to find out the origins of the curse, or even if there really was a goddess petty enough to curse them!

'Sending us just to solve something temporarily. It's just going to keep coming back every year. Can't they at least try to pretend to investigate?' Mara thought with a scrunched up face. Her heart filling up with bitter hate.

'Those geezers are just pushing us to our death... this is just so.... so...'

"Stupid." A soft childish voice said in a stern voice, unbefitting for his age.

Mara swiftly turned her head in surprise and aimed her widened eyes towards the little boy, Leni.