Each step Alicia took felt as if her feet would freeze off at any time. But the determination to keep moving was strong. She trudged through the snow s.h.i.+vering the entire way as the ice cold wind pelted her body. The wind was so strong it made her tear up only to have said tears freeze on her cheek. With her arms across her chest as she continued on an hour had pa.s.sed. The tree line now in front of her. The wind from before, no longer able to reach her body thanks to the trees in front acting as a s.h.i.+eld. "Thankfully there is barely any snow here." Alicia happily said as she stepped into the tree line.
There was only about a centimeter of snow at the entrance of the tree line. A meter in and the snow was nothing more than a dusting on the ground. Alicia quickly gathered a bunch of rocks, sticks, and some tinder together. She first tried to use magic to see if she could start a fire but she could not even feel the flow of Magicules in the air. So after a bit of work dealing with the damp branches she was finally able to start a small fire to warm her frozen body. She carefully edged closer to the fire to try to warm her soaked makes.h.i.+ft shoes.
After the ground warmed enough around the fire Alicia finally took her wet shoes off and laid them on the ground near the fire to fully dry them out. Alicia looked at her deep red feet that felt like they were frozen solid and pouted a bit. While Alicia warmed her body she decided to plan out her next course of action.
"Once I have the feeling back in my limbs, I will search for food. From there I am not sure what to do. This test makes no sense. There is nothing even here for me to give an act of generosity to." Alicia felt a major headache coming on. "I will just have to get some food in me first before I make my way through the woods."
This was the best decision since heading back to the old hut would require her to have to walk through the deep snow again and there was nothing to start a fire within that hut. So going back would be nothing more than asking for death. After twenty minutes, Alicia could finally feel her feet again. Barefooted, Alicia decided to leave the fire going to dry off her shoes as she got up and looked around at the small plants that were sticking up out of the ground. She did not wander too far. She made sure that the fire she made stayed in her line of sight as she searched for food.
She circled her little base camp a few times pulling up plants by their roots to see if she could find any wild vegetables. During this time she would run back and forth to the fire to make sure it did not go out. After spending an hour searching, she finally found some forest yams. When she found the forest yams a smile spread across her face. There was only the one plant but there were four yams in total.
With finding this one plant that meant that there might be a few more plants nearby. Alicia figured she would eat her fill and then search some more. She quickly gathered a bunch of tall gra.s.s, a few long thin green sticks as well, and brought it back to the fire with her. She decided to weave a small basket to hold the yams in so she could carry them with her as she made her way through the forest. She had no idea how far this forest spread out but she knew it was warmer and safer than sitting in a frozen hut with no food.
The entire day pa.s.sed and Alicia had weaved a basket that was large enough to be carried on her back. She had even added woven straps to it in order to carry it easier. She weaved a bit of bark from the nearby trees into it as well as key points such as the bottom, the very top and the spots where the straps were connected in order to strengthen the basket just enough to be able to carry a decent load.
As night fell Alicia did not hear any animals. Although she did not hear any this did not mean that there was none. She had already made a few primitive spears out of long branches and sharpened rocks. She used tree bark to fasten the sharpened rocks to the branches. She sat by the fire with her knees tucked in under her chin. Her eyes slowly closed as the tiredness of the day set in.
"Your Highness! I see something ahead!" A rough male voice could be heard off in the distance.
Alicia who had fallen asleep, eyes shot open to see that it was already morning time. The fire she had made was now smoldering, giving off little puffs of smoke. She turned her gaze towards the sound of the voices to see two men on horseback weaving in and out of the trees making their way towards her.
Alicia quickly grabbed her things and readied one of the spears she made in case these men were hostile in any way. Her eyes never left them as they quickly arrived in front of her. "Your Highness it"s a young girl..." A bearded man in armor and a thick fur coat said as he looked at Alicia.
"So it is… and from the looks of it, it seems your face is scaring her, Fenral." A low laugh came from behind the bearded man. A handsome young man wearing an exquisite fur coat dismounted his hours and walked towards Alicia. "Little Miss, do not be afraid I want to ask you a few questions if that is okay?"
***
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