Thread: The Grove

None in Veldt knew not of the ritual. Every year it would take place, a poor soul chosen among many to give up their life so dozens more could be spared. It was a grim task, and yet a necessary one. To simply move their village was not an option, many of the people had lived in Veldt their entire lives and knew little else. Rumors of a war going on elsewhere in the kingdom hardly helped in that regard. The village offered a measure of serenity, though some argue how true that peace really was. Some had suggested no longer paying the sacrifice as well, and yet that was hardly the option as well. The massive forests that surrounded Veldt were the dryads' domain. Though few knew the true powers of the maidens, there were enough rumors to drum up a rather decent amount of fear. It was said that they could control the trees, that they held a connection with the very earth itself. Even the animals bowed to them. If they so willed it, they could set the very forces of nature upon Veldt and raze it to the ground. As such the sacrifices were more than necessary, unfortunate as it might've been. The most recent of these sacrifices had been a young traveler, a girl barely older than eighteen. The chosen was always a woman, one still light of age. A member of a small caravan misfortune had caused her to become separated, wandering for hours before finally stumbling across Veldt. Whereas one might've seen this as good fortune such could not be farther than the truth. -- The sun would be dipping below the horizon by the time Alice Alice finally awoke from her drug-induced sleep. Bright emerald eyes slowly blinking, a small grimace would cross her lips as her skull pounded in response. She hanging, her hands bound together together by what felt like rope while the tips of her toes were just barely above the ground. Craning her neck she'd find that the rope was tied to a massive tree above, showing not even showing the tiniest bit of strain. H-hello? Her voice was hardly more than a whisper, tone nervous as she glanced about all the while hanging like a piece of meat. Though still a bit hazy she could just barely recall the events from before. The villagers had offered her a meal, a heavy stew alongside a small goblet of wine. They'd seemed so kindly, but at the same time Alice knew that there was something undoubtedly off. The look in the eyes, the way they spoke, there was something that had made her nervous. So desperate she'd chosen to ignore that gut feeling however, and had taken part in their offering without even a second thought. The moment she'd tasted the wine her mind had been overcome in dizziness, thoughts and feelings growing foggy as her eyes clouded over. Then there was nothing. No... Groaning at her own stupidity, she'd close her eyes as she continued to hang by her wrists. What was this? A jest of some sorts? Maybe they saw fit to leave her to be killed by the animals? But then why didn't they just kill me then? She still had all of her clothing on as well, she could even feel the sack that held her coin tucked tightly into the side of her blouse. It wasn't as though her clothing was particularly expensive, she wore a simple dress that came down to her ankles, but even then she thought that they'd try to steal at least something . Ugh. None of this made sense, and while she was most certainly afraid Alice was even more confused. Wrists growing chafed as she struggled against the rope binding them, she'd take a moment to glance around her surroundings as well. It was a small clearing, with a small pond right in the middle. An orange glow cast over the area by the setting sun it was rather pretty. Um, is...is anyone out there? She couldn't be all alone, could she?