Beware, world! (Aleena de Lys)

[Merel]

She couldn't recall how she got separated from the young blacksmith and the Shifter warrior, but now she was alone in the wilderness. After fruitlessly seeking her way back to her two recent companions, she set off in a direction she believed led to some kind of inhabited area. She hoped for a village, though a farm or even some hermit's hut in the middle of a forest would do just as well. Getting back to Morgana would be best, but she was sure that was further than she could get before nightfall.
It was still daytime, and with some luck she could reach the edge of the lands surrounding Morgana or Turgus, given her idea of the lands around didn't differ too much from reality.

Trekking through a forest, the thrill of adventuring on her own was satisfying, though she was a bit worried. If the night caught her in the forest, she didn't have anything to light a campfire with, nor warmer clothes for the night than the rags she wore. She would defend herself with Ravana, but that way she would have to stay awake all the way until morning, which she found unlikely to accomplish.
After a few hours of walking, she found a spring running through the forest. She stopped there to drink from the clear water, then dipped her feet in the spring. It was a relief for them after the wear of walking the forest barefoot for hours. From a pocket looking like a tear in her clothes she snatched an especially dry and hard piece of bread crust. As it was hard enough to be used as a pickaxe, she first moistened it with spring-water before she started nibbling on it. The wet bread crust still wasn't too soft, or tasty or nutritious as such, but it gave the false illusion of eating.

Sitting there chewing the bread crust, she heard something rustle behind her back. Quickly she drew Ravana, effectively ruining that excuse of a scabbard she made to hide the uncommon appearance of the blade. Sword not raised, but firmly in her hand, she turned to face the source of the noise. It may be some game, deer or doe or something, that she would likely scare away. Or maybe a bear. Now that would be some good fight.

[Aleena]

She wasn't quite sure where she is. She remembered the incident with the old man, and remembered the walk across the fields in the hope of finding something edible. But now she was in a forest, and coldn't recall the way back to the village.
Well, it could have been an adventure, in a way, if she hadn't been so hungry. But she was, so spend the night in the forest wasn't a very attractive idea.

Aleena wasn't an experienced thief. She was nimble, but after a few days, she had to realize that isn't enough. Starving wasn't new for her, but now she came over queer. It wasn't so easy to live on her own as she imagined...

She had to do something, so in the hope of reaching the end of the forest before dusk, she got off. After an hour walking she heard some splashing; it could be a spring or a levee, so she started to searching the source of the noise. She relatively quickly found the spring; knelt down and drinked from the water. It was cold and clear, and more than nothing, but she was still very hungry.
After drinking she stood up and ransacked her pockets again, but still couldn't find anything to eat. She sighed, then continued on her way away from the spring.
Few minutes later, she heard some noise. It was like an animal rustling, and Aleena wasn't so happy at the thought of this. She stopped and listened: the noise didn't ceased. However, it could be a deer or something like that, nothing dangerous, she assured herself. She didn't want to waste more time, so stepped out of the woods.

[Merel]

Merel didn't have much time to ponder what beast lurked hidden by the trees, for whatever it was, it stepped forward. Ravana swung up, pointed at the newcomer who turned out to be a girl not much older than Merel. Also a very lucky girl, as she was mere inches from Ravana's blade. Were she to come but one step further, she would have ended up impaled on the dark blade.
Merel quickly lowered the sword, seeing that it was no beast or game, and that she almost killed the first, and likely only, someone who could help her around here.

"Careful, you startled me" She said, half of the bread crust piece hanging from the corner of her mouth. She found her voice sounded reprimanding, more than she intended.
She sat back down on the ground, and motioned for the newcomer to do so too.
"Sorry for almost killing you." She said it like the incident wasn't more serious than stepping on one's heel. "Do people live somewhere near?"

[Aleena]

Well, it wasn’t a deer; it was a girl with a very long and sharp sword: the tip was close. Very close. Aleena took a step back before the blade speared her, and took a deep breath.

“Well, you also scared me” she replied, still shocked a bit. She looked the girl up and down: she was a bit younger than Aleena, and it was very strange to see a sword like this in a chit’s hand. At all, she was a strange chit…
“There is a village, roughly half a day’s walk from here” she answered doubtingly, and sat down next to the girl. She kept a few steps distance from the stranger – after all, as she mentioned, she almost killed Aleena a few minutes ago, and she didn’t look as if she would mind…
“I came from there” she added after a moment’s hesitation. In the corner of her eye she watched the stranger, and ascertained that she is not an extraordinary child, rather a child with an extraordinary sword. “And what about you? What’s your name?”

[Merel]

"I'm Merel" She replied. "And this pretty that almost hugged you is Ravana." She set the blade on the ground,and patted it.

Merel put the bread piece away in a pocket somewhere around her right shoulder blade, and spoke.
"If there is a village around here as you say, we should go there. Spending the night in the forest may prove uncomfortable. Or can you set up a camp?"
While speaking, she fidgeted with one of the two long cloth straps that used to form Ravana's improvised scabbard.
"I'm gonna be a warrior." She started chatting. "With a warrior and a young blacksmith we were headed to Dragon's Peak to fight a dragon who attacks folks that try to climb the mountain... just I got lost. And you? Who are you, out here in the forest?"

[Aleena]

While Merel was speaking, Aleena observed the sword, by name Ravana. It was a very nice work, and seemed to be unique; the blade was dark the hilt was chiseled. It wasn’t a sword of a child, rather a sword of a warrior.
"No, I can’t” She answered after returning to the reality. "But I don't think that we can get there before dusk..."
When the girl mentions that she wants to be a warrior, she raised her head. "That sounds interesting" She thought.

"My name is Aleena. I just... I just ranging here. I haven't got a concrete destination. I spent a few days in that village" She beckoned with her head towards the place. " But there was nothing to do for me there, so I left. That's all."
She was thinking a bit, then asked.
"So? Then we move on together?"

[Merel]

"Nice to meet you, Aleena." She said. "Well then, we can try sleeping up on the trees, given we can do it without falling down; try for the village; or just hope to survive the night without shelter." Merel summed their options.

"Yes, I guess we should move on together." Seeing how the other girl eyed Ravana, she figured they may have similar ambitions. Inspired by the idea she began:
"We could team up as adventuring heroes! We may need some kind of armour. And for you a weapon..." She was almost literally bouncing with excitement. "...a sword maybe. Or nonono, you know what? A mallet! Two handed hammer... with a bock of some metal or stone for it's head."She said in a frenzy.
"What, weapons aren't as heavy as they look. See it for yourself with Ravana"

[Aleena]

"I think the best would be the... " She stopped for a moment to think again, then resumed speaking. "... Perharps it would be the village. "
After all, that seemed to be the best choice. 
"Well, then..." She started, but Merel was faster.

Aleena's first thought was that the stranger must be mad. And the second was the same. 
"What?" That was the only thing she could say. She was a bit shocked; to meet a crazy girl out here the forest, well, it was an unthought happening. A specific kind of adventure...
When Merel finished, she stood up. Her movements were very unsure, when she picked up the sword, but the girl was right. It wasn't as heavy as she thought. But she wasn't too convinced yet.
" I'm not sure that a hammer would be the best choice..." She started slowly. "Don't you think that a more simple weapon would be better for me?"

[Merel]

"Well then the best would be to set off." She said, and started walking in the direction the other girl had showed earlier, after taking Ravana back. They may not arrive before dusk, but if they still could get there sometime at night, it would be safe to rest for the remaining time until morning.

"In my opinion, compared to all the techniques with a sword, a hammer just goes BAM, quite very much the simpler weapon. But if you insist, we can just as well cut you a stick, now that is utterly simple." Merel said, pointing at some suitable branches with Ravana, rather carelessly for so sharp a weapon.
"But there's one more thing we need." She said, returning to her bouncing excited manner. "A goal. A quest! I know lots of stories about fabled treasures. We could go and find one, what do you think?"

[Aleena]

She nod her head and gave the sword back to its owner. Then followed Merel.
She watched the girl in a bit disbelief, when she talked about the benefits of a hammer.

"How do you know? Have you ever tried it?"
Merel seemed to be quite sure in what she says, but Aleena was still uncertain.
"And, by the way, how did you get this sword?" She was silent for a while, and wanted to ask if Merel has stolen it or not, but then she kept silent.
A quest... well, that was what she want. She forgot everything that moment and looked the girl agog.
"Right, I think it's a very good idea. Have you got a tip, how to start?"

[Merel]

"Ravana? She was given to me by Iyzebel herself. And she said I'm becoming her child more and more. What, it is true, see for yourself it is sharper than it possibly could be." Despite an urge to do so,she didn't move the sword to offer it for a test, the other girl wouldn't have liked it.

"Well, I am an almost endless well of fables. We could try and find the Landstrider..." She said referring to the fictional figure, apparently believing him real. "...well, he always wanders, so we wouldn't likely meet. Know what? Let's seek a fabled weapon, and then you'll have yours! How about the Ghasenead? Sword of the death god. Though it must have some terrible power... Wait, I know, I know! Ever heard of the fabled Hill?"
Regardless of answer she began the story.

"It all began when a sword was made in honor of nature itself. They say the sword embraces nature to stengthen itself, adding its elements to its power. Embedded in stone it waited for it's master to find and claim it. And so did he, the hero come, and claimed the blade. He tried thrice to free the steel from the stone, but it resisted. But for the third time, the stone embracing the steel broke, and the sword was now free. However a chunk of stone remained on the blade's end,. This did not hinder the hero, he used it as a warhammer, with a stone head, and under it sharp steel.

The hero's quest is a different tale, but in his last days he was in a forest. Before he died, he struck a tree trunk with the blade between the stone and the hilt, for the weapon he named Hill to wait for it's new wielder there."
By time Merel finished the story, the sky through the forest canopy was getting darker.

[Aleena]

Aleena stopped short and watched Merel in disbelief. It was hard to follow her thoughts and her speech, and the girl wasn't sure abaout she understood her or not...
"What? Are you the daughter of a goddess?" She asked, and tried to imagine Merel as a god's child. It wasn't easy...

Then she quickly forgot about the other girl's parents. She liked the idea to find a fabled weapon, and she was excited as well; Merel seemeed to be very well-informed. Then she started the stry, and Aleena listened to is tensely. She had never heard that story, and she found it very interesting...

When Merel finished, Aleena kept silence for a while.
"Who was that hero?" She asked finally. It wasn't an important question, but she had to ask something to break the silence. And she had to think it over as well: it was an adventure, a real adventure with a very experienced mate.
"Well, it sounds very exciting. I think it can be a perfect quest for us!"
She didn't mind the sky, so she didn't observe the changes os the colours, even if it was getting darker and darker.

[Merel]

"She told me so. Though she could mean it metaphorically… I don't know any relatives, so I guess it remains a mystery." Merel answered, and to be honest, if a such goddess watched over them, it was good for them either way. Well, whether it was good for anyone else around them was a completely different question.

"That's a good question you know…" She said about the hero's identity. "Was he… no. Nope, too many heroes not to confuse which was which one. But maybe we'll find out, someone must know it."
"A good quest indeed, and what heroes will we become… just think about it. With fabled weapons like these, no challenge will stand in our way …for long."

They did see the village from afar soon, but it was well at night when they actually reached its area. No-one was outside by then, they must have been in their homes, preparing for the next day, perhaps already sleeping, only the empty night greeted the two arriving girls.

_____
Out: And to the end of the thread, here is a warning from the Dragonsayer:

World beware what is to come
Childgirls' legion, stopped by none
Merely children may they be
Doom, their games bring upon thee