The first amulet

It's another day in the nature tribe.
Today I want to try it again.
I want to find the secret of the haunted forest and save this nature tribe.

Water already got up again. So I get up as well and go outside.
She's already waiting for me. Does she want to tell me something?

Hey, good morning!

Morning!

What is it?

Oh, nothing. I just...

She fiddles around with her hands.

Are you hiding something from me?

Uhm..., there's something important I didn't tell you.

What is it?

You didn't hear the ghosts, I guess.

I didn't.

Maybe it would be helpful if I accompanied you.
I sometimes heard them, especially once when I've been close to the forest.
They don't talk to everyone.

Ghosts? Really?

I didn't expect there to be ghosts for real.
I thought, they just didn't have a better explanation.

Yeah...

But how would the ghosts help me?

If you know what they are talking about, you also know what they are up to, right?

Yeah, you're right.
But you were hesitating.
You don't really want to show me, right?

I want to. I'm just scared.

Don't worry. As long as we don't get too close, you'll be safe.
And otherwise I'll protect you.

But your wounds? You are still hurt.
Are you sure you want to go today?
Will you really be able to protect me?

It's only a few scratches.
I'll be more cautious this time.
I'll definitely make sure nothing happens to you.

Really? Thanks!

So are you ready to go now?

You want to go already...?
Of course you do! You want to save us after all...
So yeah, let's go...

We start walking through the forest again.
We're walking towards the haunted forest once more.

Water really seems scared, so I put my arm around her.
But she doesn't seem to like it and moves away from me.
It must still be because of that night.
I almost forgot...

So we just keep walking and don't interact a lot.
We only talk when it's related to our mission.

When we are pretty close to the haunted forest, Water stops.

Hey, I think I heard something.

The ghosts?

Yeah.

What are they saying?
Are they really evil?

It's difficult to explain. They talk a lot.
Let's just keep walking.

After a while, I also hear a voice.

Did you hear that?

No, but I just hear a ghost, which I recognized.
I must have talked to it already.
It seemed friendly.

So can I trust it? Does it really want to help me.

I'm not sure. It might still be dangerous.

Don't worry. Most other spirits are controlling the trees.
They are harming everyone.
But they won't listen to us.
If you bring us to the core of the forest, we might be able to save it.

Why can't you go there on your own?

No need to talk to them. They already know.

They prevent us from going there.
I need a proper vessel.
As long as you can be my vessel, I'll be able to guide you safely. You won't be attacked.

Okay, deal! It can't be worse than entering the forest on my own.

Oh yeah, I don't need to talk to them.

Water, you've already been a good help for me.
I think, I'll enter the forest once more.
I'm pretty confident.
But be sure to stay away from the forest.
You know, it's dangerous there.

We're still far enough from the haunted forest.
At this distance the dangerous tendrils shouldn't be able to get her.

If you want, you can also go back home on your own now.
Else I promise you to bring you home safely afterwards.

I'll wait. I want to trust you.

Okay, then just stay here. I'll be back soon.

Okay, good luck!

I approach the forest and reach the wall of trees soon.

Okay, it's best if you enter through a specific entry.
You should go left from here.

I go left and soon an entry appears.

This one?

Not yet.
The next one should be safe.

After walking a bit further, I reach another entry.
It just leads inside in a straight line.
I just walk for a minute and are probably inside way further than before.

Then it starts to look more like before. I'm in a corridor with multiple paths.

Now go left and then immediately right.
Then walk along the corridor towards the right and you'll end up in a larger room.

I listen to the voice and soon I really end up in a larger room.
It looks like the room I've been before.
A lot of weird plants, which remind of organs.

I'm getting scared. The last time I've been in such a room, I almost died.

Don't worry, these are our friends.
Let's take them with us, the more the better.

I cautiously walk through this area again, but all the plants suddenly just stop moving.
I can walk through without any problem.
That was easy...

We walk a bit further and soon I'm in another large room with a huge tree in it.
It immediately starts to attack, so I have to dodge.

What should I do?

They are our enemies. We can't fight them.
You are on your own now...

I probably don't have a choice.
I take out my sword and attack the branches trying to hit me, and cut them off.
I'm successful. Soon the tree is unable to attack.

But as always, tendrils are coming out and come even closer.
There's no point in attacking them.

Good job! Get away from here!

I leave that room again and run through a corridor trying to escape the tendrils.
Suddenly they just stop following me.

We did everything we could. You should be safe now.

Did the ghosts fend off the tendrils?

You are right. We managed to neutralize them.
Just go to the end of this corridor. Then go right.
And then we'll reach the core.

The core? Already?
That was faster than expected.
But I probably took a bunch of shortcuts.

So I listen to the voice and soon we reach a huge room containing a flabby structure. It slightly reminds me of a human heart.
It must be the core of that creature.

Now we're close enough.
Don't fight!
We should be able to persuade them and then will take them over.

I don't know what's happening, but I trust the voice.
With their help, I already got here after all.
They'll calm down the creature.

I keep my guard up as I look at the core. Nothing happens.
Am I safe already or am I still in danger?
I have no idea...

Suddenly I feel a strong pain in my shoulder.
A tendril just pierced through it.

I immediately cut it off, but it's still inside.

I have no idea what's going on.
The voice disappeared.
Did they lose?
Or are they attacking me? Did they betray me?

I can't keep waiting any longer.
So I decide to fight the core.

I immediately attack it. I slice it multiple times until a green fluid is coming out.
Tendrils are attacking me from all sides, but I cut them off as quickly as possible.

And this time the tendrils start to grow slower and slower.
And suddenly all of them stop moving.

Did I just...

Did I really...?

I must have killed the creature.

The voice is still gone.
So I don't know what happened to the friendly ghosts.
But I'm pretty sure they are dead.

They either lost against the evil ghosts and were killed.
Or they tried to betray me and I killed them.

As I start to calm down, the pain gets stronger again.
The tendril is still in my shoulder.
But not just that, I have a lot of scratches all over my skin and my clothes are completely torn apart.

I have to get home as quickly as possible.
Pira should be able to help me.

But before that, I take a closer look at the core.
Something is glowing inside its remainings.

I reach into it and grab something.
I take it out and look at it.

Is this the amulet I was supposed to find?

I get a weird feeling. I feel very powerful now.
And I start to feel sad. I really want to go back home now.
I really need to be back.
I don't know why I'm getting homesick now. Is it because of that amulet? Or is it because of my pain?

I just want to be back home, where I feel safe.
Oh, my consciousness...
I'm about to die, right?

Oh no, I'm feeling tired. I have to get out of here now!

I just go back where I came from.
When I don't know any further, I just cut through the walls.
No tendrils attack me anymore. The whole thing must really be dead.

I run and run and slice through the walls.

After a while I'm outside again.
I'm still alive.

And the pain is suddenly gone.
I look down at my body and most of my wounds have disappeared.
Only a tendril is still stuck in my shoulder.

I keep running, I have to find Water. She's waiting for me after all.

But how would I find her now? I have no idea at which side of the forest I came out...

So I start running around the haunted forest and just call for her as loud as I can.

And after a while I really get an answer.
So I immediately run towards her voice.

Soon I find her.
She's lying on the ground, bleeding a lot.

I immediately take her in my arms.

What happened?

Suddenly the plants started attacking me.
Just the normal trees.

All the trees around here have been weird already.
But I didn't expect them to attack on their own.
Maybe it was a last defense of the creature?

We have to go back immediately!

She really doesn't look good. We might not have enough time.
If I don't do anything, she'll die!
But what can I do? Deep scratches are all over her body.

So did you defeat the evil ghosts?

Yeah, they should be dead now. Your settlement should be safe.

Then I'm glad...

She closes her eyes. That's bad...

Maybe I could use the power of that amulet?
It must have healed me, right?

I just hug her and press the amulet against her.

Stop...
That hurts...
It's...

I let go of her and get up.

She doesn't move anymore.
She must have lost her consciousness.

What should I do? Or is she already...

I have to try something. But touching her will only cause the blood come out even faster.
So I let go of her and cautiously put her on the ground again.
I walk up and down, but there's nothing I can do.
It's too late...

I look at her motionless body.
I'm sad. She's probably dead already.

I could try to carry her back home, but I'm probably not even strong enough.
So there's no point in bringing her back anyway.

I consider leaving, but then she suddenly starts to move again.
After a while she sits up.

What happened? I thought I'd die.

I don't know.

My wounds are gone.

She's still full of blood.

Water just gets up.

Are you sure you can do that?

I feel completely normal again.
I think we can go back home.

I'm really confused.
Do I have the healing powers now?
Or is it the amulet?
I have no idea how that happened.

I'm really sorry I wasn't able to protect you.
I promised it.

It's okay. You saved this place. That's enough to me.
And besides that, I'm still alive.

Okay, let's go back home.

We go back.
Water is really happy all the time, as if she has never been hurt.

I still feel some pain at my shoulder, but it's not as bad as you would expect from someone who has a tendril in his shoulder.

But I'm glad that Water doesn't seem to avoid me anymore.
She's walking very close to me, basically leaning against me.

And I'm really looking forward to be back to her settlement.
I really need to relax after this.