Capítulo 4: Darkmoore Woods
Priscilla stabbed at the meal in front of her without taking any bites. Her mind was occupied with thoughts of the meeting earlier today. It had taken another hour before she was calm enough to think, then she investigated the building and the brutes that stopped her. She could not find anything out of the ordinary. The men worked at a butchery and apologized with free meat once she confronted them. Gawain and Percival almost turned the town upside down looking for her only to run into her at this inn above ground having a meal.
"Your Majesty, what orders do you have?" Sir Gawain having sensed the atmosphere asked in a hushed tone. Priscilla maintained her state for a few more moments before locking eyes with the knight.
"We leave for the woods at first light. You two shall meet me in the flower field while I rush the big nests alone, understood?"
"But Your Majesty—" Sir Percival tried retorting.
"Do you understand!?" She shouted and slammed the table causing the plate and utensils to rattle. The two silently nodded and had a quick dinner before retiring for the night. Priscilla, on the other hand, could not sleep, so she stayed up meditating and allowed magic to wash over her body several times before falling into a trance-like sleep.
Priscilla's sleep was short and restless. The sun had yet to rise when she moved toward the underground region to retrieve their horses. Once Gawain and Percival woke, they saw her already waiting outside the inn with the horses' tack and gear ready. They exchanged a worried glance before silently claiming their respective horses and setting off for the woods.
They traveled to the furthest point into the woods that had influence from man. The flattened earth road ended and a sign stood declaring 'Danger beyond this point.' Priscilla took out the map and studied the landmarks and nest locations comparing it to her memory and experience. She quickly plotted a course and noticed the two knights still hadn't set off.
"Enough dawdling, the sooner we finish here, the sooner we can return to Remembrance Hill. I've marked five nests that have cropped up, it should only take me half a day to find and exterminate them."
Priscilla took a deep breath and stimulated her bloodline. When she first discovered this ability, she was merely eight years old. The world became vibrant and everything had its own color. Even people would emit a certain aura that would reflect their nature. It was said that dragons had the ability to peer through the hearts of man and see the world in its true form. However, the effects of the power caused her to go into a coma for three days and Merlin guided her through stifling the power within and only letting a small portion leak out to slowly get used to it.
Therefore, in truth, all Priscilla had to do was release the magic and her innate power would allow her to become something stronger than human. The dark and grim forest instantly turned into a world of colors. Each plant gave off their own signature and the markings of magical beasts betrayed their locations. Gawain and Percival had taken her horse with them to the flower fields since animals of low intelligence or strength would be unable to control their bodies under the dragon's gaze.
The forest became deathly silent while Priscilla stalked through the trees, moving quickly at times and carefully when necessary. Although she was here to take down the strong, her intention was to leave the weaker beasts alone. She had already drawn her sword and dashed through the forest like a loosed arrow. All of the anger she experienced the day before was being concentrated onto the tip of her blade. She was already coming onto the first target, an Ursa. Unlike common bears, the Ursa had an additional pair of arms. However, all of this was useless once Priscilla released her killer aura.
The sword flew through the air and cut off one of the Ursa's limbs, while a dagger slipped in through the opening and penetrated the heart. It was swift and painless for the creature. Priscilla said a few words and left to the next nest. Normally she would not kill aimlessly and waste the carcass, but she was anxious to complete the task. Something in the back of her mind was egging her to quickly get to Remembrance Hill.
The path Priscilla took leads her to the southernmost point of the forest. Beyond there, the kingdoms are no longer under her rule. Mostly nomadic tribes and small governments that would take more effort to occupy than it was worth. The nest down here was identified to be a giant python, it only ate once a month but it could already swallow a cow whole. She was following its trail when the forest's color changed abruptly.
"Who did this… How did it go unseen?"
The forest normally continued on for another quarter day until it came out onto a craggy grassland, but in front of her was a completely deforested area. Trees were cut cleanly down to their roots and the ground was burned. This reminded her of some of the knowledge she learned from the invaders, where they would clear cut a forest and burn it down for farming. She clenched her fist and stared at the debris for a long time.
Priscilla decided to cease hunting the magical beasts and immediately rush towards the flower fields. The warning from yesterday kept ringing in her head as several conspiracies began to form together in her mind. She needed to cut this trip short and figure out what was happening. Everything was under control, but as soon as Lady in the Lake was completed, it seemed like machinations behind the scenes have finally started coming to light.
"Was it a mistake…?" She couldn't help but doubt herself.
The trees were giving off a solitary feeling. In the past, the forest would always be quiet during a hunt, but now Priscilla realized that she could not remember seeing any small animals or hearing bird sounds since arriving here. She was too focused on her thoughts to be aware of such an obvious thing. Something, or someone, drove away all the small animals to the point that they didn't want to return. It was too late once you regretted it, so she could only continue forward.
When the trees began to decrease in frequency, Priscilla saw the first signs of the flower field. It was a large valley within the center of the Darkmoore woods that was overrun by colorful flowers. Due to the nature of the valley, the flowers couldn't grow past the edge, so they concentrated in bulk which gave the feeling of a sea of flowers. Once she turned the corner of the valley wall, the vibrant colors almost stunned her. While quickly covering her eyes to let her bloodline be suppressed, she walked forward looking for Gawain and Percival.
"Your Majesty, we've already located the corn roses. They are in full bloom."
Gawain approached with an obvious look of worry in his eye, but he did not want to aggravate Priscilla. He could tell that she was in a foul mood. He had hoped hunting would help her vent, but it seemed to be worse. He looked up at the sky, and noted it was well before the time it should've taken, even for someone as skilled as her. Gawain could only hope to lessen her concerns by focusing on the task.
"Collect several bundles like usual, we're leaving immediately."
Priscilla stared at the center of the valley once her vision returned to normal. She could never forget what happened here all those years ago. This was once part of the grasslands, and there was even a lake here. It was such a quiet and gentle place, but now it became a danger zone within the empire. She walked over to a small stone monument with a few simple words carved into it.
'Here lies the unnamed warrior, whom died fighting for his belief and love of his kingdom. Far from home, but his conviction was endless.'
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