The sky was grey and cloudy as a low rain was beginning to move over the small countryside village of Direwood. The large pinkish sun was making its climb into the pale yellowish sky, but the coming storm cast shadows across the green landscape. To the north, a small forest sat around the base of a mountain, the large branches bowing and shifting as a chilled wind swept through its trees.

“We should go back.” A brown-haired woman mumbled as she made her the trek into the dark forest. Her greenish eyes gazed up into the swaying canopy above, listening nervously to the snapping of twigs against the sharp wind that cut through the woods.

“This is perfect! What are you talking about?” Lucilla chimed happily as the white-haired maiden made her way up the dirt path that was growing less and less travelled as she moved. “The stories say that the hero found the rift during a storm! Why do you think I wanted to go today?” She giggled as she held her pale blue skirts in her balled fists, avoiding tearing the fabric on the many broken branches that littered the sides of the avoided path.

“For goodness sakes…. Lucilla I thought we were going berry picking for your mother?” Priya huffed in annoyance as she paused to catch her breath, her brown bun slowly coming undone in the heavy travel and windstorm.

Lucilla glance back at her and rolled her eyes, stopping in her tracks and turning to face her friend with hands on her hips. The fresh smell of rain was in the air, and Lucilla took it as an omen of soon to be a success.

“Come on Priya! We’re so close, I can feel it!” The girls bright chestnut eyes shone at the prospect of adventure. Priya met her excited gaze with an annoyed half-glare. At last, the slightly older girl stood up straight and gave a peeved huff.

“Well, I’m going back! I don’t plan on getting soaked, and I doubt you’ll last long in the cold rain either.” and with that, she turned and began to make her way down the path that the pair had been following.

Lucilla watched her go for a moment before she cupped her hands around her lips and shouted after her.

“Fine! But don’t come running back when I find the treasure and you don’t!” She called angrily, before she gave an angry stomp, and turned, moving with renewed vigour to find the treasure that was spoken about in so many legends.

With a new source of energy, Lucilla made her way up the quickly narrowing path faster than if she had her previous companion with her. The path narrowed and thinned quickly until she was walking through the faint remnants of a footpath, now overgrown with grass and twig, slowing her pace slightly as it seemed like every new bush or branch would get caught on the hem of Lucilla’s simple blueish white gown, or the edge of her annoyingly long silver locks.

At last, the girl gave a final huff of annoyance before she bundled up her skirts and tied them into a loose cluster of cloth around her thigh. Her legs were otherwise thinly covered in simple, puffy underthings, which would mean she would get a few scrapes and cuts, but would otherwise fare far better in the undergrowth. She took a small greenish ribbon from the back of her gown and ties her hair back with the item, successfully raising it just high enough that most of the bushes wouldn’t catch it as she walked.

With her newly adjusted outfit, Lucilla continued up the mountain pass, finding it harder and harder to navigate. The air grew chillier, and the small raincloud now blotted out the sky as it grew into a massive thunderstorm, simply waiting to unleash a torrent of rain and thunder upon the world. For a moment, she wondered if perhaps Priya was right but quickly shook the idea from her head.

Priya had always been a bit stuck up, preferring to think of sewing and baking rather than exploring the forests to the north of the small village that the pair had grown up in. Meanwhile, Lucilla much rather explore the world around them, travelling across the world, and perhaps beyond. She would rather have worn a comfortable pair of trousers over a dress that would get caught on every stray twig. She would have liked to know how to hunt and skin an animal, fending for herself on the open road, learning everything she could about all kinds of myths and stories.

Truth be told, Lucilla often wondered if the two would even be friends if they weren’t the only children in the village that weren’t at least seven years apart. It was a small village, and it wasn’t often that people had children, so it was hard to find someone in your age gap to get along with.

Lucilla was shaken out of her thoughts as a fat raindrop landed on her forehead, just above her eye. The girl gave a light sigh and continued moving, ducking her head as the rain began to pour. It was cold and wet, and as much as Lucilla swore that she wouldn’t go back until she had found what she was looking for, she also wasn’t equipped to spend the night out here during a thunderstorm.

She debated going back once more, before she stole her resolve once more and moved forward, the earth beneath her feet quickly turning to mud, trying to swallow her feet with every step she made. At last, Lucilla relented, deciding that if she didn’t want to go home, nor any further up the rain-soaked forest, she would take shelter until the storm passed.

She made her way a little further up the path before spotting it, a small cave in the side of a taller cliffed section of the mountain, likely the result of a landslide perhaps centuries prior. She made her way quickly towards it, hoping that its current occupant would be willing to share, be it spiders or bears. As she arrived, Lucilla found it to be a little smaller than her height and ducked low to enter. Cobwebs and dust met her as she entered, her muddied boots echoing a wet slapping sound as the dirt-caked boots left prints. Otherwise, Lucilla didn’t see the den or nest of any foul creatures in the entrance and found a thick layer of dust on the ground as she travelled further into the darkness.

She debated not going in any further, but rather just sitting by the entrance and waiting out the storm, however, her curiosity got the better of her and she gave a soft chuckle to herself, the warnings of her parents echoing in her head. She moved deeper into the tunnel, finding the thin path opening up more. The walls grew further apart, and the ceiling grew, until Lucilla was no longer hunched forward, and was rather staring up into the darkness, trying to spot spiderwebs and beetles. The stone-ground began to slope downwards, gently at first, until Lucilla was clinging to the walls hoping not to fall.

The thought of turning back rung heavy in her mind, but at this point, she felt a tugging at her very being, like she wasn’t walking herself, but being dragged down the dark passageway. At last, the slope became to steep for Lucilla to walk, and with a small crack, the stone beneath her feet suddenly gave way, jostled from whatever had kept it in place.

Lucilla felt her stomach jump into her throat, feeling breathless as she fell suddenly, it seemed to last an eternity, until at last, Lucilla hit something, it felt like she was landing in a pile of soft, plush blankets with no end, like her decent suddenly slowed, until at last, the scent of smog hit her nostrils, and she saw a dull grey light.