Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



A vast Ivywood Forest!

"Come quick, folks, there's a huge Ivywood Forest up ahead!" Roseanne exclaimed, turning back excitedly. Mamie and Scales rushed over upon hearing the news.

Ivywood, a famously robust type of legume, originated from a remote region in Faeland before being introduced to the mainland. Known also as the Crossriver Dragon or Bullseye, it typically thrives in mixed forests along streams or slopes, climbing high into the canopies.

Scales gazed at the sprawling Ivywood Forest, its thick branches twisting and turning, its roots stretching out to water sources fifty meters away, weaving through the woodland like a colossal creature.

He was first in awe, then delighted.

"The pods of Ivywood can reach up to a meter in length, useful for medicinal purposes and as collectibles. They fetch a pretty penny on the market, a rare find indeed."

Roseanne nodded, "But this Ivywood Forest looks vast; finding pods won't be easy, especially with the sun setting. How about we split up and look around, then regroup here at six?"

Mamie and Scales agreed without objection.

The forest was deep and expansive, raising concerns about getting lost. Roseanne suggested using a cross as a sign to mark their paths for each other.

Then, they each took different trails in search of the pods.

The pods were flat with nearly round, dark brown seeds enclosed, easy to identify.

Roseanne headed west from a water source, pushing forward until the light filtering through the trees dimmed and finally vanished, and that's when she finally stumbled upon a seed.

Unfortunately, the pod enclosing the seed, while beautiful and intact, was too large and long, over a meter, making it impossible to carry.

Given that pods were traded as collectibles on the market, commanding prices far beyond that of the seeds, their rarity was undeniable.

Darkness fell as Roseanne traced her steps back, initially with ease. But midway through the dense woods connecting two areas, she discovered the markings had vanished!

Despite her reluctance to believe it, she had to accept the harsh reality-

She was lost!

Roseanne's first instinct was to pull out her phone for help.

But she found no signal.

To make matters worse, dark clouds loomed overhead, signaling imminent rain.

Anxiety started setting in, but she persisted, retracing her steps while searching for the cross markings.

However...

The forest felt like a maze, where a single wrong turn meant every step thereafter was misplaced.

Roseanne remembered having a signal at the spot where they had separated.

Now enveloped in darkness, her phone's dwindling battery was her only source of light.

Continuing the search for markings seemed unwise.

But doing nothing wasn't an option either...

Roseanne started using other

methods to determine direction, like the orientation of leaves and the position of stars, all the while

cautious of the exposed roots and thorns on the ground, making her journey all the more treacherous.

Moreover, the wind rustling through the leaves sounded like a beast

l

in the void, ready to pounce moment...

With her phone's battery life now critically low, Roseanne glanced at it—20% remaining.

She took a deep breath; any further delay, and a dead phone would only worsen her situation. With that thought, she quickened her pace.

After about half an hour, passing through a grove, something overhead caught her attention.

Looking up, she saw giant banana leaves drooping down, brushing against her head.noveldrama

Roseanne frowned, recalling she

et

hadn't seen any banana trees on her

way in Scanning the surroundings

and finding no path markers a chill

ran down her spine. Content belongs

She had completely lost her way and had been wandering for half an hour...

Without wasting a moment, Roseanne turned back, only for the skies to roar and unleash a torrential downpour.