Charlotte's Discovery

     A few days had passed since Charlotte and Will fulfilled their very first request, thus proving their worth and talent as hunters. Upon submitting the two bundles of white lephoria herbs as well as the six horned rabbits they had been tasked to acquire, the kind Receptionist took them to another guild employee for appraisal and approval. Just about all the herbs they had gathered were perfectly pristine, and the horned rabbits had been felled efficiently yet in a humane manner. They had made an impressive demonstration of their skill and knowledge in the fulfillment of the request that day, having made certain that the horned rabbits remained in good condition to preserve the materials that were required from them. The appraiser had no complaints, and the Receptionist happily marked their request complete.     In the days that followed their successful registration with the Hunter's Guild, the pair proceeded to take on a fair few beginner level requests to gain more experience as well as earn a living. The parts they had acquired from the midnight wolf upon their arrival to the continent had sold for a fairly large sum just as expected. The money they received was enough to hold the two of them over for about two weeks if they managed their expenses responsibly. However, Charlotte, taking the future of their travels into consideration, deemed it necessary to spend some time fulfilling more requests to bolster their savings in preparation for their journey. Fortunately, while Will was not exactly fond of the idea of spending more time in town, he simply accepted that money was an absolute necessity if they were going to survive in the new world.     The two of them went on to fulfill one, or sometimes two, requests daily. They ranged from simple wildlife surveys in the fields and forest outskirts outside of town, to requests to gather resources or hunt small animals. Another fortunate result of taking on more requests was the multitude of opportunities doing so had offered Will to experiment with his newfound ability. From what the two of them had gathered during their numerous outings, Will's ability seemed to be physical enhancement. He could channel aurum through the passages of his body to increase his strength, speed and durability for a time. With some practice, he found that he could use more or less aurum to increase or decrease the factor by which his capabilities would be multiplied. Although, it was necessary to remember that making use of his abilities would put strain on his body, and using larger amounts of aurum would shorten the time he could maintain his enhancement for. It was a powerful ability, but quite risky if used without restraint. Charlotte was certain of that much. How unfortunate that the person wielding said ability seemed to lack that restraint, almost severely so.     Charlotte found it somewhat difficult to properly work with Will due, in large part, to his actions and demeanor, which she had deemed brutish. The impulsive actions he had taken immediately upon meeting Lahstus, whom they had thought a child at first, left a terrible impression on her. He had since cemented her opinion of him with his continued rash behavior. She found herself struggling to cooperate with him at times, however she put aside her own feelings each time to do what she knew was necessary in order to reach their ultimate goal. After all, Lahstus said it himself in the white void previously. The two of them had to work together to succeed.     To Charlotte's dismay, however, it seemed that day would not serve as an example of that fact. She had gone to check on Will in the late morning after accepting another request from the guild, as they had agreed the night before to meet up early to complete the day's work. Arriving at the Inn the two of them had been staying at since the day of their arrival in town, she looked around and saw no sign of Will. Going upstairs, she walked over to his room with a quick and even stride, knocking on the door to hopefully get his attention. There was no response, only silence as she listened for any noise coming from inside the room. That is until she heard the sound of his snoring through the wooden door. The sound was throaty and obnoxious, leaving Charlotte quite irritated as she grappled with the fact that he was fast asleep when he should have been awake and ready by now. What upset her further was the fact that she knew precisely why this happened. During the last request they set out to fulfill the previous day, Will made a show of using his newfound power repeatedly, pushing it beyond what could likely be considered safe. He completely ignored the toll his reckless use of his enhancement would take on his body, and this was the result. She would likely have caused a fair bit of trouble if she tried to wake him, either by yelling or banging on his door. So, saving herself the trouble, she simply opted to take on the request herself. Admittedly, they had been making ample use of Will's physical enhancement to fulfill requests up to that point, but she concluded that it was within her ability to complete the current one herself without much trouble. And so, she set off to the town's southern gate with a confident spring in her step.     Several minutes later, she arrived in the forest outside of town, determined to finish up with the work quickly and return with enough time to possibly take one more small request. Saving more money in one day was not a bad thing after all. The request she accepted was for gathering minerals that appear frequently in the forest. A mineral known as orzine. For some reason or another, deposits of orzine quickly replenish after being picked clean, typically around once a month or so. The mineral seemed to have special qualities of some kind, so hunters often took requests to gather it for the sake of the town’s trading and crafts. She was required to fill a satchel with as much as she could carry with her and bring it back to the guild for appraisal. According to what Laura, the kind guild receptionist they were by then acquainted with, had told her, orzine deposits could be found near the roots of some of the larger trees in the forest. Thankfully, that fact alone meant it would be considerably easier to locate the mineral than she had originally thought when considering whether to accept the request in the first place. The course of action she had to take was indeed simple enough. She would just need to continue deeper into the forest for a short while, until she came across trees larger than those growing toward the outskirts. And, that she did.     Venturing through the wooded grove, Charlotte decided to take in the lovely scenery as her destination grew closer. She felt at peace surrounded by the beauty and aroma of nature, the familiar-looking plants serving as the closest thing she had to a comforting reminder of the home she lost, the home she could never return to. It was as if the trees and various plants held some sort of connection to her, beyond serving as simple scenery. As she basked in the serenity of it all, inhaling deeply to take in the floral and grassy fragrances around her, she almost thought for a moment that she could sense a sort of flowing motion from within the greenery. However, just as suddenly as the feeling had come, it disappeared. She simply brushed it off as a brief instance of her getting carried away while enjoying nature. With her mind cleared, she continued her trek onward into the lush green. It would not be long before she arrived in a section of the forest that was deep enough with the brisk pace at which she walked. And, it was her belief that acquiring the mineral itself would be a fairly straightforward task once she reached her destination. As fate would have it, she was quite wrong. Quite wrong, indeed.     Charlotte entered the deeper portion of the forest and was immediately astounded by what she saw around her. She knew the trees in that area would be larger, but it occurred to her at that moment that she had not truly known just how large they would be. The other trees she had seen and passed along the way were seemingly average in size to her, but these… These trees were simply humongous in comparison. They looked to be of a similar size to some of the largest trees she had ever seen back in her own world. And, from what Laura had told her when she first accepted the request, they were not the largest trees that could be found on the continent of Vahlgaea. Just the thought of trees even larger than the ones before her left her speechless. However, if she had the time to gawk, she had the time to do what she came to do. That was her thought at that moment anyway.      She began searching the area for any obvious orzine deposits, keeping her eyes peeled for any protruding formations in close proximity to the massive trees. Fortunately for her, it did not take long to locate a large outcropping of the mineral near the roots of one particular tree. Approaching the impressive tree's roots, she grinned with satisfaction as she prepared to gather chunks of the mineral in her satchel to bring back with her. It only took another moment for her to realize that she had made a mistake. She had experienced a lapse in her judgement, and a fairly egregious one at that.     Going back to how her morning began, it would be worthwhile to restate that Will had been fast asleep, and thus did not come along for the current request Charlotte had embarked to fulfill. What she neglected to recall, however, was the fact that her reason for choosing that particular request in the first place was because it was one that could be fulfilled easily through the brief use of Will's physical enhancement. He could have simply broken up the orzine deposit with his enhanced strength and durability to allow them to gather chunks of a reasonable size. But, Will was not with her. She immediately cursed her own stupidity, upset that she had let her frustration get the better of her logic and memory. She could not hope to break up the mineral deposit herself, and it was not as if she could rip the outcropping from the ground in its entirety to bring back. She had, to her immense disappointment, reached an impasse.     Oh, how she agonized over her ridiculous misstep. How could she have let this happen? It was not in her nature to make mistakes such as this. Oh, if only she had an aurum ability like that brute. Maybe then, she could succeed without him.     It was in that moment, that a familiar sensation washed over her. It was the very same feeling she had experienced while walking through the outer part of the forest. A deep connection with the trees and plants that surrounded her, and a feeling of something flowing through them all. As she focused on the sensation, she could feel something similar within herself. A swirling mass that flowed like water, yet it felt distinct from that which flowed through the plants. Now curious, she attempted to recreate that strange something that resided in them within herself, taking what was hers and changing a portion of it to match. In minutes, she was successful, and her connection with nature seemed to strengthen greatly in that same instant. She felt as if she could guide the green around her to do her bidding, and so she attempted it.     She focused her intent forward and into the tree which the orzine deposit sat beside—not into its trunk, but rather its very roots. She slowly guided that strange flowing something within the roots, urging them to move upward through the damp earth that concealed them. Within mere moments, her efforts were rewarded. The great tree's thick roots pushed upward, brushing aside dirt and cracking stone as if it were fragile glass. Then, with a slow, almost practiced motion, the roots moved into and around the mineral outcropping. In just a few seconds, Charlotte had guided nature to do what would normally take countless years, and the orzine deposit was broken. Now crushed into much more reasonably sized chunks, the mineral was in the ideal state for her to gather it and return it to the guild. She was ecstatic. Not only was she able to fulfill the request without the help of Will, but she also discovered her own ability that she could use in the future. She seemed to have some power over nature, which to her seemed far more exciting and sophisticated than Will's straightforward physical enhancement. Satisfied with her work, she piled several chunks of orzine into her satchel until it was full and heavy. The bag certainly weighed on her, but her incredible success had left her feeling stronger than ever. The weight mattered not.. She immediately rose to exit the forest, but before she left, she gave a few soft words of gratitude to the forest. She could not have succeeded if not for the help of the green. And, with that, she went on her way.     She arrived in town not terribly long after she had begun her trek out of the forest, making a beeline for the Hunter's Guild with a bright smile on her face. Bursting through the familiar double doors, she skipped over to the reception desk and regarded Laura joyfully.     “Here you are, Laura! Request complete!”     “Oh!” Laura exclaimed cheerfully. “You returned surprisingly fast! How did you find it?”     “It was easier than I expected,” she said, gratitude etched onto her features. “I have nature to thank for that.”     Laura tilted her head slightly, gazing at Charlotte questioningly as she handed her the payment for the request. Charlotte, however, left the conversation there. She walked out of the guild hall with a smile as bright as when she had entered, deciding in the moment to treat herself to some baked goods from a bakery she had taken notice of days previous. She deserved it, she thought. She'd just had quite the exciting morning after all.