The first thing Beth noticed was the humidity, the very air almost sopping wet. Within mere moments her clothes were all caked to her skin by a mixture of precipitation and the sweat coming from her rapid adjustment to the heat. She had brought no real resources with her this trip, a consequence of being underprepared for it’s beginning. Instead she was only equipped with her trusted half-staff and a small pouch that contained about half her remaining wealth. While she could always carry it all around she was very aware of the fact that it was still just several times more valuable to her on earth where it was rarer than it would be here. Further the Trials were all designed so that they could be completed without external help from equipment or other skills. Not to say they weren’t handy to have around anyway.

After noticing the humidity the second thing that stood out to Beth was the noise, the whole area seemed to hum with different sounds that seemed to thrum through the whole area. Echoing in such a way there was no direction to the noise. Beth was once again standing in a small clearing not entirely dissimilar to those she often ended up in for half-staff Trails. Unlike those occasions though there was no guiding direction. No clear indicator of her next step. She pulled up the Trial screen again, hoping for some small clue as to how to begin the monumental task she had been set.

Unsurprisingly, it had not changed beyond the amount of time she had left decreasing slightly. She looked up over her head hoping to spot one of the three peaks or sisters she was expected to climb. Unfortunately though she was in a clearing the foliage of the surrounding trees was overhanging in such a way that meant all she could really see were the surrounding trees and the sky directly above. But Beth wasn’t to be deterred and approaching the nearest tree committed herself to scaling it for a better view. It was dissimilar to the trees she was use to back home instead being taller with minimal branches. Instead the tree had ridges at fairly even intervals onto which Beth could just about place her feet and use for leverage to climb further. It wasn’t easy and there were a couple of false starts where she got half way up the tree only to slide back down after putting her weight on a foot that wasn’t properly positioned causing her to scrap her stomach as the ridges that she had used to get on her ascent got their revenge on her downfall. Eventually she reached the top of the tree and after experimentally placing her weight on a leaf found it could take her weight fairly comfortably.

Above the foliage she had to squint to see as light seemed to come from all directions, the cloudless sky doing nothing to protect Beth from the sun’s direct rays. She could however, see the target of her Trial. Looming high above her to her left were the three peaks.

The peaks all seemed to be relatively close to one another with one nestled behind the other two. The front two had a huge visual crack between the two as though they were once connected but had been split apart. Revealing the third peak between them.

Beth assigned the direction of the peaks as north and looked around for any further landmark to give her a destination beyond just approaching the mountains. After all she doubted she would have been unleashed onto a world without any civilisation. After all preparing for a walk was a key part of walking and as such would surely be tested in a situation like this. Looking to the horizon in all directions Beth remained unable to spot any signs of life. No large clearing were visible that would suggest trees being felled. Nor could she see any smoke; a telltale sign of sentient life.

With no other destinations in mind Beth climbed back down the tree and being careful to stay properly orientated towards the mountains she set off. Though she had her walking skill actively affecting her steps she maintained control to minimise the length of each step. After all while speed was key with any timed deadline she was in a new unfamiliar environment and wanted to take in as much information as possible. If she moved at her max speed much of the forest would be a blur and that wouldn’t be helpful at all in the long term. After all the peaks were almost a full week’s walk from her current spot at a pace slightly faster than the one she was currently setting. As such food, water and shelter would all have to be sourced before she reached them.

While she walked she kept her eyes on the surroundings. She did notice occasional berry bushes with a collection of small orange berries in small bunches. After a couple of hours of travel with minimal distractions she decided to stop, more out of boredom than lack of energy. Beginning to feel peckish she decided to start experimenting with the berries, it would be a long process so getting started before she was famished was a good idea.

First she plucked a couple of the berries and examined them for blemishes. Obviously they wouldn’t have a label that screamed dangerous but if she was to eat a berry it would be one of those that didn’t seem damaged. Similarly she checked inside the berries for seeds or bugs. After that she rubbed her skin gently against both the inside and outside of the berries. After that she had to wait a while to see if it reacted negatively. In the mean time she scaled a tree to ensure she was still headed in the right direction. Climbing proved easier the second time and she quickly confirmed she was still headed in the right direction. Having confirmed her route Beth continued on her way, picked up the pace slightly as she did.

As she walked she noticed the foliage around her seemed to be changing slightly, while the planets themselves remained consistent their colour was lightening ever so slightly. It was so vague an effect that you wouldn’t notice it one minute to the next but after several hours of travelling Beth was definitely aware the pigment of the leaves was substantially less that it had been when she started her journey.

More drastically than the change in colour of the plants however Beth was beginning to notice the change in light as the sun set. Looking up at the sky as she walked no stars or moon seemed to be appearing. Eventually it was too dark to see, though there still seemed to be a light source of one kind or another on Beth.

Beth attempted to continue to travel through the darkness given the fact that walking didn’t tire her out much at all but she found herself slowing down as the noise of the forest changed around her. The noisy birds and insects she’d heard but never seen throughout her journey was gone, replaced by a deafening silence. It was only when this silence was punctured by the unmistakable cracking of a branch that Beth decided that maybe she was ready for a break.

Intimidated by the sound of the unknown within the forest Beth decided creating a base on the ground would be unwise. Instead she elected to climb one of the trees and finding a pair of leaves that were growing almost directly on top of each other decided this would be her bed for the night.

Before that though she climbed to the top of the tree looking to take a break and look out to see if there were any visible stars from above the trees. She did notice it brightening as she climbed and reaching the crest of the tree she stopped in amazement at the view.

The three peaks were emitting a glow, not dissimilar from the moon on its brightest days and it was spellbinding. Beth sat up there in silence, for a not insignificant amount of time just taking it in lost in exploring their many facets. As she looked she absent-mindedly ate some of the berries she’d picked earlier having experimented with them earlier and concluded they weren’t poisonousness having sampled them a tiny amount and not noticed any discomfort. Sitting up there completely alone basking in the light of the mountains Beth felt a peace she hadn’t even noticed she was missing as some of the stresses of the last couple of months washed away and she was once more reminded of the beauty of the space and the other worlds that inhabited it.

Eventually she caught herself yawning and decided it was probably time to bed down, she climbed into the leaf pair cocoon she had picked out and wiping it free from condensation, Found herself comfortably positioned not even noticing as the leaves seemed to shift over her to more adequately block out any light from disturbing her slumber.