It hadn’t been all that long since she’d last visited Sakuramori and Sienna had ever since then had a special place in her heart for it. It’d been where she’d first met Taurus and the discovery of her summoning talents had been revealed to her. So, it was with a bright smile on her face and light footsteps that she headed towards one of the houses in the village, who from what she’d heard were in desperate need of help. The job flyer hadn’t said exactly what the problem was but that wasn’t going to stop her from helping out if she could. She was a member of the trading company now and Sienna dearly wished to start proving herself to them, as well as to help spread their already glowing reputation across the land.
The trip to her employers house was pretty quiet and the girl felt rather relaxed as she took her time and enjoyed the lovely scenery. The creatures of the forest didn’t bother her, as she did her best to give off the impression that she wasn’t a threat to them and in answer, they let her pass them. She’d always had a fondness for animals and that had only grown deeper given the nature of her spirits. Many of them were creatures of nature, after all. The instructions to get to the little house were certainly detailed and Sienna was able to reach the place without any trouble.
Reaching the centre of the forest, she came across a sweet little cottage and rapped on the door as soon as she was close enough. The house looked almost like something you’d see out of a fairy tale and she couldn’t help but chuckle. Sadly though, that chuckle didn’t last for very long, as the door opened and she found herself face to face with an unhappy looking man. He seemed to be almost in tears and the girl’s smile faded from her face, to be replaced by a far sadder expression.
“Please tell me that you’ve come from one of the guilds,” he said, an almost pleading look in his eyes, “We desperately need help.”
“I have,” the mage answered soothingly, “I’m Sienna from The West Fiore Trading Company and I’ve come to do just that.”
“Thank god,” the brown haired man said, his tone slightly less depressed, “Please come in, my wife and I will explain everything.”
Nodding, Sienna followed him inside and into a small kitchen, where a tearful woman was sitting at the dinner table. She was in a far worse state than the husband and it was heartbreaking for the mage to have to watch. It only made her more eager to help the couple though and after taking a few moments to calm himself the husband spoke, “We appreciate you coming so quickly, Sienna. Our daughter has gone missing and we can’t find her anywhere. She’s always walking around and playing with the other local children but last night she didn’t come back. We’re scared stiff and have no idea what to do.”
“It’s OK,” Sienna replied with as much sensitivity as she could put into her voice, “She couldn’t of gone far and there must be some clue as to where she’s wandered of to…”
“It’s those monsters in that cave, I know it!” the wife erupted, tears still streaming down her face, “We’ve told her a hundred times not to go to that place but she does it anyway.”
“Cave? What cave?” the mage asked, raising her eyebrows slightly at the revelation.
“It’s one made of pure crystal,” the husband answered, placing a calming hand on his wife's shoulder, “There are creatures in there and so we haven’t been able to search. We don’t actually know if she’s in there or not but it seems the most likely of options. I don’t think the beasts are aggressive, just frightened, as every time anyone from the village has gone there, the monsters chase them out but they don’t cause harm. It seems as though they are just guarding their territory.”
“They are mindless animals!” the wife shouted, her voice a little more than a croak, “They’ve taken my baby from me and who knows what they’ve done to her?!”
“If these creatures only care about defending their home when they’d have no reason to capture your daughter, they’d just scare her off,” Sienna answered after some thought, “I think there’s a little bit more to this. Don’t worry, I’ll go and have a look around this cave. If she’s there, I’ll bring her home, I promise. Please don’t worry any more, I’ll find out the truth for you.”
With a nod of her head, Sienna made to leave but just as she started to move towards the exit, the husband would gently take her shoulder and stop her, “Please forgive my wife. You must understand just how painful this has all been for her, for the both of us. She doesn’t mean to be so snappy but this had taken its toll.”
“It’s alright,” Sienna responded softly, “I understand and I’ll do everything I can to bring your daughter back to you.
“Thank you, she means the world to us,” he replied, “Please don’t disturb the creatures in the cave if you can help it. I know what my wife told you but they aren't vicious unless provoked. I’m sure that if you just act friendly towards them then you’ll be able to avoid any conflict. I can’t believe that they’d just abduct our child for no reason and I know deep down, my wife does too. All you need to find the cave is to follow the forest path, it will lead you right to it.”
“I’ll do my best to be careful,” the summoner answered, smiling reassuringly to try and help him relax, before taking her leave and closing the back door behind her. The red-headed mage wasn’t quite sure what she was in for but determined to find the girl and so she quickly took to the forest path.
(1013 Words)
The trip to her employers house was pretty quiet and the girl felt rather relaxed as she took her time and enjoyed the lovely scenery. The creatures of the forest didn’t bother her, as she did her best to give off the impression that she wasn’t a threat to them and in answer, they let her pass them. She’d always had a fondness for animals and that had only grown deeper given the nature of her spirits. Many of them were creatures of nature, after all. The instructions to get to the little house were certainly detailed and Sienna was able to reach the place without any trouble.
Reaching the centre of the forest, she came across a sweet little cottage and rapped on the door as soon as she was close enough. The house looked almost like something you’d see out of a fairy tale and she couldn’t help but chuckle. Sadly though, that chuckle didn’t last for very long, as the door opened and she found herself face to face with an unhappy looking man. He seemed to be almost in tears and the girl’s smile faded from her face, to be replaced by a far sadder expression.
“Please tell me that you’ve come from one of the guilds,” he said, an almost pleading look in his eyes, “We desperately need help.”
“I have,” the mage answered soothingly, “I’m Sienna from The West Fiore Trading Company and I’ve come to do just that.”
“Thank god,” the brown haired man said, his tone slightly less depressed, “Please come in, my wife and I will explain everything.”
Nodding, Sienna followed him inside and into a small kitchen, where a tearful woman was sitting at the dinner table. She was in a far worse state than the husband and it was heartbreaking for the mage to have to watch. It only made her more eager to help the couple though and after taking a few moments to calm himself the husband spoke, “We appreciate you coming so quickly, Sienna. Our daughter has gone missing and we can’t find her anywhere. She’s always walking around and playing with the other local children but last night she didn’t come back. We’re scared stiff and have no idea what to do.”
“It’s OK,” Sienna replied with as much sensitivity as she could put into her voice, “She couldn’t of gone far and there must be some clue as to where she’s wandered of to…”
“It’s those monsters in that cave, I know it!” the wife erupted, tears still streaming down her face, “We’ve told her a hundred times not to go to that place but she does it anyway.”
“Cave? What cave?” the mage asked, raising her eyebrows slightly at the revelation.
“It’s one made of pure crystal,” the husband answered, placing a calming hand on his wife's shoulder, “There are creatures in there and so we haven’t been able to search. We don’t actually know if she’s in there or not but it seems the most likely of options. I don’t think the beasts are aggressive, just frightened, as every time anyone from the village has gone there, the monsters chase them out but they don’t cause harm. It seems as though they are just guarding their territory.”
“They are mindless animals!” the wife shouted, her voice a little more than a croak, “They’ve taken my baby from me and who knows what they’ve done to her?!”
“If these creatures only care about defending their home when they’d have no reason to capture your daughter, they’d just scare her off,” Sienna answered after some thought, “I think there’s a little bit more to this. Don’t worry, I’ll go and have a look around this cave. If she’s there, I’ll bring her home, I promise. Please don’t worry any more, I’ll find out the truth for you.”
With a nod of her head, Sienna made to leave but just as she started to move towards the exit, the husband would gently take her shoulder and stop her, “Please forgive my wife. You must understand just how painful this has all been for her, for the both of us. She doesn’t mean to be so snappy but this had taken its toll.”
“It’s alright,” Sienna responded softly, “I understand and I’ll do everything I can to bring your daughter back to you.
“Thank you, she means the world to us,” he replied, “Please don’t disturb the creatures in the cave if you can help it. I know what my wife told you but they aren't vicious unless provoked. I’m sure that if you just act friendly towards them then you’ll be able to avoid any conflict. I can’t believe that they’d just abduct our child for no reason and I know deep down, my wife does too. All you need to find the cave is to follow the forest path, it will lead you right to it.”
“I’ll do my best to be careful,” the summoner answered, smiling reassuringly to try and help him relax, before taking her leave and closing the back door behind her. The red-headed mage wasn’t quite sure what she was in for but determined to find the girl and so she quickly took to the forest path.
(1013 Words)