Chapter 88 - A quaint meadow
Scarlett pushed aside a branch with annoyance as she sidestepped a root jutting out from the ground, avoiding the soggy pool of mud next to it. She hated wet forests.
It just had to rain the night before they were supposed to go out into the woods like this.
They had only been at this for about an hour, but she was already getting tired of it. Unfortunately, there were no roads or actual paths through the forest around these parts. And when everything you had to go off of was a yellowed old map—maybe even older than the trees currently surrounding them—the conditions weren’t exactly prime for finding your way.
Thankfully, they had Fynn with them. He could scout ahead much faster than the rest. Ten minutes ago he’d said he found a place that fit Scarlett’s descriptions, and they were following him in that direction now. She was hoping this wouldn’t have to go on for much further.
As they pushed through the damp underbrush, finally, the trees opened up into a small clearing. The ground was covered with the fallen leaves of the nearby trees, bearing shades of orange, red, and yellow. They were a few weeks into October in this world, and the fall colors had made a strong appearance here in the southwestern parts of the empire. Strong winds had probably carried most of the leaves here, considering many of the trees in the immediate surroundings still retained much of their foliage.
“Is this the place?” Fynn asked as Scarlett approached him where he stood at the center of the clearing.
She looked around as she took the area in. The place didn’t look particularly special, so it was hard to tell. “I am uncertain, although I believe it may be.”
There was only one way to find out.
She put a hand into the [Pouch of Holding] at her waist, pulling out the [Forgotten Hairpin] she received from The Gentleman. The red rubies affixed to its head reflected the quiet sunlight peeking through the clouds that covered today’s sky.
“What exactly are we expecting to find here?” Allyssa asked, the young Shielder exiting out of the forest a short distance behind Scarlett. Rosa followed not long after, ducking beneath a twig drooping from a nearby oak. “Don’t tell me… Is it another secret fairy place?”
“It is not.” Scarlett looked to the side, where Shin also appeared from out of the thicket. With everyone gathered, she then turned her eyes back to the hairpin and held it up in the air.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a weak light stirred inside the hairpin’s rubies. The air in front of Scarlett rippled with faint waves. It looked almost like the refraction above a campfire, in the vague outline of a gate.