Trial: Staff (uncommon) 5

Hit all the targets using a staff provided.

Time Limit: 10 minutes

Bethany skimmed the message, feeling used to the general format they followed. Seeing such a strict time limit Bethany sprinted to the wicker basket knocking it down in the process. The collect of staffs flew everywhere, rolling in all directions. Bethany chased after her weapon of choice almost tripping on the other staffs as she stepped through them. Having swept up her weapon she jumped onto the central stone not even taking time to appreciate it being made of a grander marble than the previous Trials’ more shabby granite. A finer detail Trial Takers never normally stop to appreciate due to the damning deadline.

She stepped up and quickly took note of the number of targets she was aiming for, a full 50. She winced slightly seeing she had already lost a full minute reaching the podium and began to swing for the first target that had appeared to her left.

The targets felt faster this time, Bethany had to swing with more urgency, and she had to swing just that little bit further to reach each target, maximising the reach of the staff. She wasn’t worried though, she had been training for a while and though her arms ached she had easily cleared the previous couple of Trials so what’s one more. This cockiness was proved unfounded when she overextended around the 40th target and almost lost her grip on the staff.

This blunder cost her the round and immediately sent her adrenaline into overdrive. Her timer had halved and now had a measly 5 minutes left on it. She’d been so confident, pushing herself through Trial after Trial and truly believing that she was suddenly an expert with a staff. A staff she hadn’t ever swung a mere 24 hours prior. Her hands were shaking as she regripped her staff. She was in no condition to restart the Trial, but the timer was ticking, and she was terrified. The stakes had become all too real for her, she wasn’t ready to die. Hell, she wasn’t even ready to leave her village she just convinced herself she was. Bethany was realising that she was all bark and no bite. The only time she had actually stood up for herself was against Lewis and that was what had led her to probably dying here.

As Bethany wallowed in her despair, the timer kept ticking down, not caring for the earth-shattering revelations Bethany was finding out about herself. Another 30 seconds passed as she continued to dwell. She had slumped down hunched over once more and allowed her grip to loosen on her staff. Without being gripped properly the staff slid through her hands where it hit the ground with a startling thwack.

Bethany tightened up like a shot immediately fixing her posture and regripping the staff. The familiar sound shocking her out of her mind. For a split second she was back in her house daydreaming, as her mother lectured her on the importance of being able to manage a household’s finances regardless of what kind of family she ended up with from rich men to foolish men, to alcoholic men, all had different approaches to ensure that Bethany would still be able to feed her herself and any possible children. As well as ensuring she had enough to be able to escape the situation if necessary. Whenever her mother caught her daydreaming or even not sat or walking fully upright, she would smack the handle of her broom against the wall or doorframe before shouting at Bethany until she fixed her issues and more besides. Bethany could almost hear her mother now ‘Look at you, are you really going to toss away everything? Stand up straight, adjust your grip properly. You’ve got chores to do, and do you think dying in an alternative dimension is any kind of excuse?’

Bethany looked at the timer once again. Just over 3 minutes remained. That gave… so very little time to hit each target. She took a deep breath and reinitiated the Trial. This time she didn’t get cocky or even self-congratulate. Instead, she swung at target after target, not looking at either the timer nor the number of targets left, instead focusing on just her staff and the targets. Even the surroundings faded away as she concentrated.

The timer hit three minutes as she hit her fifth target.

She passed ten targets.

Twenty.

At twenty-two she shifted her weight too fast causing her foot to slide slightly, but she quickly self-corrected and within a couple of targets was back on pace.

The timer ticked down to two minutes as she passed target twenty-seven.

At forty-one there were no targets in sight and Bethany almost panicked and lost it. Instead, she struck blindly behind her and mostly thanks to luck collided with the target.

At forty-three the timer hit 60 seconds.

Target forty-seven 30 seconds left

Forty-nine it hit 20 seconds.

She hit target fifty and heard the relieving ding of having completed the Trial. She stood there breathing heavily for a few more precious seconds as she watched the two familiar rifts appeared in front of her.

She breathed deeply.

In and out.

And in and out.

As she breathed, she glanced at the timer, to see how many seconds she had finished with spare. The timer that had continued to count down. The timer with just 6 seconds left on the clock.

Bethany did a double take as she watched the timer tick down.

5.

She started to sprint towards the rifts.

4.

She almost leapt into the pitch-black portal but stopped herself just in time.

3.

Bethany stumbled to get her footing as she turned to the as of yet unused portal.

2.

Bethany sprinted forward once again.

1.

Bethany leapt for the rift; arms outstretched.

0.