First Real Adventure

The next morning, both of us were very eager to start the journey. Before we could leave, mother had a word with me. "I know you are a young lady already, but be careful. I got you a few things, especially the plants for Turry. You will need loads, but hopefully this will be enough. Other than that, take this with you too", she handed me a spatial bag full of plants, and a few bottles of Serelis. "I know you don't need to use it anymore, but it's better to have it than not… You should have enough food for the journey…", she added. "I know mom, don't worry. I have everything with me… No matter what, I will make it back before my birthday. I want to spend it with you mom… I love you", I said and hugged her. She kissed my forehead and wished me a safe journey.

This was the first real trip without my mother. A trip to a distant place, not Apium which was only a day away from us. I waved mother goodbye one last time, then left with Tara and others. "We will have so much fun! We can also get together with Dawn, I'm sure this trip will be great!", Tara exclaimed. I smiled, "Of course! It's the first time I get to go somewhere so far away. Although we have to return before my birthday. For one, you already told me about the party, but more importantly, I want to spend it with my mother". Tara laughed but didn't comment. Even though we just left, I had a great feeling about that trip. For the first time, I felt independent and free in a way. Not that mother imprisoned me, but living for a while without her watching my every step... Was refreshing for sure.

Not much happened during the first few days of our journey, me and tara had some fun while the two Atol warriors made sure we were safe. On the fifth day, we encountered some small problems. During one of our stops, I noticed some movement in the distance. "Guys, there's something moving over there", I said while pointing in the distance. The two warriors took a look, then ordered us to get back on our Tauruses immediately. "Tara! You and Anna leave first. We will catch up after defeating the Scrambler", one of the warriors said. Tara nodded and urged me to follow her. Fortunately, the Scrambler was far enough, it would never catch up with us. Though I was worried for the two warriors we left behind. "Don't worry about them. They are warriors, they will return", Tara calmed me down.

We stopped after losing the warriors and the scrambler. "Will they find us?", I asked. "Of course, they will be able to get here no problem. You worry too much, they are warriors", she replied. Tara wasn't wrong. The warriors caught up to us after about half an hour, though they had some injuries. "I have medicine with me", I said while trying to retrieve some. "Please don't, we have medicine. These scratches are nothing to worry about. We are glad you two are fine", one warrior replied. "Alright, but let's take a rest. We can eat something in the meantime", I proposed.

"Was that Scrambler strong?", Tara asked curiously. "A bit strong, but we managed to take care of it. It was two versus one, so we had a clear advantage. They are fast though, this is something to remember for the future", a warrior replied. "How about I place some Formations around our camp, before we go to sleep? That would improve our safety, right?", I proposed. "We wouldn't dare to ask you", the warrior replied. "Why not? We are travelling together, and you need rest as well. If I can help with my Formations, then why not help?", I replied. They finally agreed, but seemed sceptical. 'I will show you, hehe', I thought.

When we stopped to set up our overnight camp, I went to work. My intention was to create a sort of wind blast Formation. The Formation would activate as soon as something or someone stepped on it, then the blast of wind would push them away and make loads of noise. There was no way two warriors could sleep through such commotion. This required at least six large Formations, which took quite a bit of time. With the last Formation placed and supplied with energy, I invited the warriors over.

"Step on it", I said with a chuckle. The two warriors looked at each other, shrugged and both decided to step on it. "Swoosh!", both of them got blasted away and crashed into the ground. "Not bad eh?", I added with a smile. The two warriors' faces were priceless, they didn't know how to respond. "Don't take Anna too lightly. Her looks might be deceiving, but she is a little devil on the inside", Tara said. "You have problems with my looks?", I asked, annoyed. "A figure of speech…", she replied. "We apologize for underestimating your abilities. Would it be possible to place such Formations every evening?", one of the warriors asked. "Of course, this will make us much safer, right? Anyway, come back here, I want to reactivate the Formation", I replied. After the two warriors walked back inside our little protective circle, I activated the Formation once more. "We should rest now. The road ahead is still long", the warrior announced.

Though the days passed without any further hiccups, that didn't stop me from placing the protective Formations each evening. Other than the dangers of the Wilderness, I realised one more thing. Travelling alone would be really boring. Tara and the warriors were there with me, so there was always someone I could talk with. I just didn't want to travel with my mother, there was no freedom in that. 'Hopefully Tara or Dawn will be there to accompany me in the future', I thought.

To pass the time, I sparred a few times with Tara and the warriors. It was really uncommon for female Atols to become warriors. Tara was an exception, though she wasn't considered a warrior. She grew up with them, practiced with them but that was pretty much it. Though there were no rules preventing her from becoming a warrior, it was a sort of tradition or custom for only male Atols to become warriors. Tara didn't care about that though, she learned how to fight anyway. She was even stronger than some warriors her age, hence they treated Tara more like a boy than a girl. She was brash and rude sometimes too, therefore not that far off anyway.

Tara carried a spear but her weapon of choice were her fists. When I asked her why? She said, "Because beating people up with my fists feels much better". She even gave me a demonstration during one of our stops. "Hey, see that Dead Tree over there?", she asked. "Yea, what of it?", I replied, confused. Tara walked over to the tree, and began punching it. The tree shook back and forth, until it snapped in half. "See, my fists are this strong", she proclaimed smugly. I scratched my head and found another Dead Tree. "Swoosh!", I slashed my sword while activating the Formation. "Bam!", the tree got sliced in half then slammed into the ground. "Doesn't seem too hard", I said looking back at Tara.

"Oi, oi! You cheated! Using a Formation? How is that your strength?", Tara complained. "Well, I had to study Formations for many years, so I think it's not cheating at all. Formations are part of my strength, but alright. Let me try without Formations this time, happy?", I replied. Tara seemed satisfied, and even bet I couldn't do it. "Hoh? What do you want to bet?", I asked. "... I don't know. How about if you lose, I get to ride Turry all the way to Sedon?", she replied. "Heh? What if I win?... Actually, there is something. Mother gave me a note, which said to go see uncle Crow in case I needed anything. Since I don't have any money or anything like that, you will pay for me instead. How about that?", I asked.

"Huh? You don't have money? Haha... Alright, fine. If you cut down the Dead Tree with your sword, WITH NO FORMATIONS, I will pay for you", Tara said full of confidence. I smirked, and walked up to a Dead Tree not far away. "Graah!", "Swoosh!"... "Bam!". My hands felt the hardness of that tree. I used every last bit of strength to deliver that cut, and I barely managed it. "There you go. No Formations, my pure strength alone and within one swing", I said smugly, even though my hands trembled. Tara's face changed, but she conceded defeat. "Alright, you won. To think you were this strong already… Fine, whatever. I lost, so I will pay for you… Just don't overdo it, I'm not wealthy you know?", she said. "Oh, I will get a few bits and pieces only, shouldn't cost too much", I replied with an evil grin. "Where did you learn to be so evil, Anna?", Tara almost cried. "From mother", I said with a smile and mounted Turry. "We can go now guys", I added.

The warriors laughed quietly, while Tara climbed atop her Taurus silently. Of course I wouldn't try to spend a lot of her money, I just wanted to tease her. That worked really well, which made me even happier. Though this was a surprise in itself. The Dead Threes were really hard, cutting one down required a lot of strength. 'Still, Tara was able to do it with her bare hands… Just how much strength does she have?", I asked myself.

The days slowly passed, and Tara's mood came back to normal. We were only a few days away from Sedon, which was good news. I was getting tired of the Wilderness. "Hey Tara, what do you want to do once we get there?", I asked. She gave it some thoughts before replying, "We can visit the Sedon's Stage. There will be some performances there, and there are even contests sometimes. If we are lucky, we might get a chance to take part in one… Other than that, we can hang out with Dawn if she's around. I'm sure she will have more ideas than me". "Heh? What sort of contests does Sedon have?", I asked, intrigued.

"Usually singing or performing contests. The Arena in the Land of Sands is the most prestigious though. So don't expect great rewards from these contests. I never saw any rare pets or good prizes. It's mostly for entertainment", she replied. The prizes didn't matter much to me anymore, but singing and performances were not my thing. "Other than that, I have to meet with master Ama. You can come along if you want", Tara added. "Sure, I'd like to meet her too", I replied with a nod. My first real adventure wasn't very exciting, but it was an experience nonetheless. At that stage, I wanted any experience I could get.