Month 1, Day 4, 7:42:26; Arvium, Trinity Village

She yawned, sitting up and blinking as she recognized the small room she was in. she slid her legs over the side of the bed and smiled as she saw the black uniform laid out on the end of the bed.

She swiped up, checking her player menu. She tapped the inbox, seeing several messages and she clicked each one. Jakki had sent her thirty credits as payment for the previous night, stating that her crop had been untouched. I'll have to ask Garron about that--about what happened after he kidnapped me. The other messages were from Gemini, Sigmund, and Prince--all variants of the same theme: where she was.

She sighed as she dismissed the menu and stood up, taking a deep breath. What am I doing here? I'm fraternizing with the enemy, something that destroyed my Quadrant. I'm playing with fire.

She jerked as someone knocked on her door.

"Aella?" Garron's voice said. "I saw that you had logged in."

She frowned. Just what kind of abilities does this guy have? She nodded. He is a Legend, so I imagine some pretty advanced skills. She smiled as she called out "I just need to change into my uniform."

There was silence for a moment. "I'll be waiting outside. I just wanted to let you know that Marrilan and her daughter, Rachel, wanted you to join them in gathering some herbs before breakfast. It should give you a level up in scavenging."

She nodded. I really need to figure out what skills I need and how to focus on them. I need to get leveled up. "Sounds good," she called out, reaching for her clothes.

***

"I don't understand," Aella said, glancing at Garron's outstretched hand. She glanced around at the empty common area, her face flushing.

He sighed, chuckling. "If you don't want a forty minute walk straight up the side of the mountain, take my hand." He turned his attention to her, his face turning serious before he winked. "You'll have to trust me."

Aella raised an eyebrow as she looked at his hand, then back at him. She stepped forward, slowly holding her hand out.

He took it, stepping closer to her and putting his other hand on her waist. "Hold on tight," he whispered.

Aella squealed as the air crackled and she jerked away from him, trembling as she saw pine trees surrounding them. "What just happened?" she said, her tone harsh. She sucked in a deep breath, one hand on her chest as she felt her heart racing.

He laughed, clapping as he nodded to her. "You did well--most people throw up after they teleport for the first time."

"Teleport?" she said, shaking her head at him.

"Aella, Garron," Marrilan called to them.

Aella turned her head, seeing the older woman a dozen feet away, kneeling over a patch of green plants, with a younger woman next to her.

"Stop scaring the girl, Garron," the younger woman said, standing and waving to them.

Marrilan stood, both of her hands on her hips. She shook her hand at Garron, the green plants in her hand waving. "You could have warned her, Garron. You'll never cease acting like a child, will you?"

Aella nodded, crossing her arms as she glared at him. "Childish is right."

He laughed and winked at her, then turned and bowed to the older woman. "That's why you love me, ma'am. See you ladies later."

Aella stepped back as a thin, white energy bubble surrounded him and he vanished from sight.

"It's a teleportation spell, dear," Marrilan called to her.

Aella turned to her and nodded. "Apparently."

"Well," she said. "Come on over and help us."

Aella crossed the clearing, taking a look at the tall plants partially shaded by the pine trees. The plants were situated in a dark soil square ten foot by twenty foot, and the dirt was soft as she walked through the rows toward the women.

The air smelled sweet, but minty. She bent over the plant, rubbing a leaf with her fingers then smelling it. Spearmint. She looked up as she heard footprints, seeing a woman around her own age, with flowing white hair down to her waist, walking toward her.

"I'm Rachel, Marrilan's daughter," the woman said, smiling. "Welcome to Trinity Village."

Aella nodded, following after the woman. They stopped beside Marrilan who stood and showed Aella the leaves of the plant.

"We're gathering the leaves so we can make an extract from the oils," she said. She smiled and waved the small bundle. "It makes an effective ingredient in anti-fungal medicine. I'll need you to clear the row on the far end," she said, pointing to it. "Just pull the leaves off."

Aella looked in the direction she was pointing, and nodded. A banner appeared in her vision, with the words "accept assignment?" along with a yes, no, and later button. She tapped the yes button, and a small bar appeared to the right of her vision.

"When we're done, we'll head back down the mountain to join the others for breakfast," Rachel said, bowing her head to Aella. She pulled a leather satchel from off her shoulder and handed it to Aella. "You can put the leaves in this."

Aella nodded, murmuring a soft "thank you" before moving through the rows to the last one. She started on the first plant, pulling leaves off one by one, taking deep breaths of the fresh minty smell that perfumed the air. An hour later, she pulled the last leaf off of her assigned plants, smiling as a "assignment completed" banner appeared in her vision. She hit the accept button, seeing that she had leveled up her scavenger and farmer skills, as well as gained the first level in potion-making.

She turned, seeing Rachel and Marrilan were almost finished with their rows. "I'm going to look around," she called to them. "I won't go far."

Rachel turned to her and waved. "There is a clearing fifty feet in that direction," she pointed in the same direction, "that will give you a beautiful view of the valley. I'll come to get you when we've finished."

Aella nodded, and started to walk off in the direction Rachel had pointed. She reached the area within a few minutes, and smiled at the clearing. It was covered in tiny white flowers that looked like drops of moonlight.

She knelt down on top of the grassy knoll, crossing her legs as she sat. She slid the leather satchel slung over her body, and placed it on the ground next to her. A breeze of fresh mountain air blew past her, bringing with it the scent of honeysuckle and roses.

The forest cleared at this point, allowing her to look down into the valley. The day was clear, and she could see the entire valley stretched out below her. There was a lake on a higher plateau above the valley, sparkling like a deep blue sapphire, reflecting the white clouds and snow-capped peaks beside of it. The valley was situated in the center of the valley, and to its left were slow, billowing clouds of steam from several hot springs.

The sides of the mountains held deep forests, then thinned as it reached the tips of the mountains. In the distance, a dark hole opened into the side of the mountain, showing the entrance to the cave that led into the valley.

She tensed as she heard the dirt crunch beneath her, her hand reaching for her sword.

"Don't worry--it's just me," Garron said.

She frowned as she looked up at him. "You're going to have to stop doing that."

He wore his black armor, but he carried his helmet, and placed it on the ground in front of him. He raised an eyebrow as he crouched next to her, his eyes scanning the clearing. "Do you know what these are?"

She watched as he touched one of the white flowers, then plucked it and held it up in the air.

She shook her head. "No."

He nodded. "You haven't found your manual then."

She paused. The book I found in the Library?

"These are crystal moonflowers," he said, handing it to her.

She took it and stared at the petals, seeing thin veins of clear crystal embedded in them. The flower was warm, as if it was releasing heat.

He pointed to the flower. "They grow from white crystals--crystals are used to level up health or magic, depending on the type and color. Sun crystals level up health, and moon crystals level up magic. White crystals contain the highest amount of moonlight so they level you up the most. You can crush these flowers into a powder and use it in battles to keep your magic meter filled."

Aella nodded, then looked up at him. "May I have some?"

Garron smiled, one corner of his mouth lifting up higher than the other. "Patches of crystals appear and disappear at random. The rule is the finder keeps the entire stash. Since you are sitting in one..."

Aella smiled as she looked around. "I get all of these?"

Garron nodded. "There's enough here to get you through some of the level 4 hunter quests in Arvium Forest."

"Arvium Forest?" she asked, looking at him.

He nodded. "Arvium is a large island, and has a lake, a forest, a mountain range, and the city. Each has realms of monsters and quests, depending on how far you going into each. They won't appear on your map unless you've been there. That's the thing about the maps--you see only where you've been."

Aella nodded. She swiped up, then selected her map, her eyes widening. She was on the outer rim of the island, hundreds of miles away from Arvium City on the opposite side of the island. A narrow, but straight path led from Arvium City through the fields, through a hilled area, over a lake, through a massive forest, and deep into the mountain range.

She dismissed the map and went to her inventory, tapping on the leather book. It appeared in her hands, and she held it up to Garron. "Is this what you meant when you said I hadn't found my manual yet?"

He frowned as he looked at the book, reaching for it.

She handed it to him, watching as he turned it over in his hands. "No." He tapped the surface, his finger tracing the icons. They lit up with the same blue and gold light as they had when she had touched them.

"The manual is a grimoire of sorts," he said. "It contains a spell and quest tree that tells you the order in which you should level up and gain skills. But this has the Trinity symbol on it. Where did you find it?"

Aella shrugged. "By accident really--I was scared and found a hidden room in the Library. It was in a crate and the banner said I had collected it."

Garron paused for a moment. "May I see your necklace?"

She looked into his eyes, not moving for several minutes. She nodded, and slowly pulled it out from underneath her shirt and over her head, handing it to him.

He took it carefully, the crystal shining in the sunlight, and held it over the surface of the book. The light shined brighter where he held it, and followed the crystal as he moved it in several directions. Then he lowered it, touching the tip to the Trinity symbol.

Aella gasped as the pages cracked, and the golden metal disappeared, showing worn pages beneath. The blue and gold light faded, leaving the symbols gilded. She gasped as she saw a single, glowing orb appear in the grass in front of her, hovering in front of her. She turned to Garron, but he seemed not to notice the orb.

He held the necklace and book out to her. "I think you should be the first to look through it."

Aella took the book and glanced at the necklace. I never would have thought. She looked up at him, then held up the necklace. "Just what is this?"

Garron smiled and ran a hand over the back of his neck. "I'll let Jothan tell you when we get back. It's something the Europans do, and I don't know the entire story behind them."

Aella and Garron turned in unison as they heard a twig snap in the forest behind them. Rachel appeared some twenty feet away, waving to them.

"We're ready to go, you two," she called.

"We'll be right there," Garron called back, raising a hand. He turned to her. "Ready to go?"

"If you can help me gather these flowers," she said, smiling, and moving to pick the flowers.