Iana was skeptical to say the least, and terrified to say the most when she saw Eliska begin to disappear up the stairs and into the mirrored ceiling. Once she had completely gone through what she could only assume to be a portal, Iana was afraid to follow. The comment from earlier startled her. 'We've have foundlings come through who couldn't breathe our air.' What if Iana had a bad reaction to whatever this was? Her fingers barely grazed the surface of the warped ceiling when a hand reached through, snatched her wrist and yanked her to the other side. She nearly dropped her things in shock, before looking around her.
"There you are, come. We have to get moving." Eliska said quietly, standing at her full height. Iana was appalled. She just pulled her through without asking! What if something happened!? She opened her mouth to retaliate at her treatment for the first time since being here, and Eliska covered her mouth.
"Shh... I feel your frustration. Walk and talk, and do so quietly. We can't draw attention to ourselves while we are this close to the God's Mouth. It would be dangerous." Eliska removed her hand from Iana's mouth and replaced it on her sword. The implication was obvious. She wasn't lying, there could be very real danger.
Iana knew nothing of this world, knew nothing of the potential dangers. There could be giant spiders, venomous bears, or something she couldn't even imagine. She looked back to try to go back through the portal where she would be safe, but there was nothing there. It was just the forest floor.
Forest was actually all that she could see, other than Eliska growing more and more distant. Iana gripped the small knife she had been given and hurried to catch up, hoping that her small stature would help her rather than hurt her in this place of seemingly giant things.
The trees were bigger than any she had ever seen. Redwood trees came to mind, but these weren't quite like that. They weren't as thick, and they had branches that ran all the way down the trunk, and into the ground, seeming to become roots. The ground seemed to be made of some type of substance similar to dirt, but it was warm to the touch despite the cooler air. The "dirt" clung to her fingers and when she rubbed them together she found it almost sticky. The farther they walked the less guarded Eliska became, but her hand never left the hilt of her blade.
Iana tried to pay attention and stay on guard, but she was just so fascinated by the world around her. The canopy of the trees prevented her from seeing the sky, but brightness still shone through, leading her to believe that there was some form of a sun here. There were green and light blue plants scattered all over the ground and while she didn't touch them for risk of a reaction, she was enthralled by the various flora around her. If she wasn't following Eleska she easily would've gotten lost exploring the vast woods. There was something that confused her though, it was very quiet.
In the forests she had explored back at home there was always the sound of something. Even in the cold winter months when the chirping birds had gone away, there was the sound of the wind through the leaves, or the distant sound of a squirrel hopping from branch to branch. But here, there was only their footsteps, muffled by the dirt. Was there no wildlife here? There was definitely meat on the table earlier so where did they get it from? Are there meat plants in this world? Iana pocketed those questions for later, when Eliska was no longer on her guard. After a few moments she did finally hear something, flowing water. Eliska approached it the noise, finally releasing the hilt of her sword. Her hands relaxed at her side and she straightened right her full height.
"Boys. I see nobody has fallen yet." Iana peeked around Eliska, careful not to be noticed. The water was clear, and had no odd coloration. She hoped this was actually water. There were a few small rocks that barely peaked above the water, and on four of those rocks were large men. All of them were balanced on one foot with large bags on their shoulders. Their arms had to loop around the bags to keep them from falling, leaving all of the balancing up to their one leg that wasn't planted on a rock. They had no shoes on and their pants were rolled up to above their knees. They all slowly looked up to meet their mothers gaze.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Struggle Through a New World
रोमांसSo she was in a foreign land, with foreign humanoid people who were just really tall and buff and allergic to water. She had so far identified at least one food that was safe for her to eat, so that was good. Evidently, it was a good thing that she...
