Trial: Walking (common) 1

Follow the path till you reach the exit rift.

Time Limit: 3 hours

Bethany dismissed the box and took in her surroundings. She was next to a river which was lovely and in a generally wooded area. The trees were all familiar although Bethany didn't know the name for them and the path, she had to follow wasn't all that dis-similar from the one she had left behind on Earth. The path followed the river and Bethany set off following it seeing no reason to waste time. The sooner she started the sooner she would arrive at her destination and finish the Trial. She didn't rush her walk, nor did she dawdle. After all she was confident, she would be able to complete the Trials with ease.

Further the whole planet had their Trials at the same time meaning that her mother and her wagon were probably also stopped. Hopefully Susanna would maximise her time in the Trial much as she had recommended Bethany did while she was imprisoned. It was unlikely those guarding her would move on without her meaning the wagon she was trapped in wouldn't be moving either as if it were to move, she would be free. Then again maybe they were stupid, and her mother would be able to escape that way, but Bethany doubted it.

As she walked, she pondered the environment she was in. It was very similar to the woods near Barrowmede back home even if that wasn't the case. But then again with enough worlds there would naturally be a lot of overlap of kinds of plants and general foliage. The walk was generally lovely, the route was flat and though she didn't use them the path had several large rocks along it where a person could stop to recover their breath or similar. Bethany spent a lot of her time in the clean fresh air and though she didn't have anywhere to go she would often take walks around the village, as did most of the villagers. As such she could set a fairly fast pace as she walked. Before long she had reached the rifts symbolising the end of the first Trial. Beyond them being in the middle of the path there was no clear indicator of the end of the Trial.

Bethany stepped through to continue the Trials and in contrast to the previous Trials she seemingly didn't move and was prompted to continue up the same path. She shrugged and kept going. Over time the path grew slightly more overgrown and steeper, but it was a general process. The routine continued as Bethany walked through the day. She far exceeded the expected walk time set by the Trials, getting through to the 5th Trial after only around 6 hours walking. By that point the path had rocks scattered within that could result in a twisted ankle if one wasn't careful, and the path occasionally took on areas of extreme steepness. Through it all though the path followed the river towards its source.

It was one of Bethany's most serene Trials by far and it allowed her brain to really flit from topic to topic and to process the last couple of weeks. Obviously, she'd had several other occasions for that but the sound of the river flowing alongside her, and the occasional light breeze had a real calming effect. Eventually she reached the end of the walk shown by another pair of rifts. This wasn't however what had her attention.

Instead, she was entranced by the giant waterfall that similarly marked the end of the walk. The top of the waterfall was shrouded in mist, and she could see no possible way to get up to the top of it from where she was. Given she had time and her feet needed the rest she stopped to watch the waterfall entranced by its endless beauty and power. She even found herself taking a quick swim as an opportunity to wash herself and clothes as well as to generally sooth her muscles. Having gotten out and dried herself with a towel from her bag, she slipped on a fresh outfit from her bag and headed on into Trial 6.

Trials 6-10 were an odd collection of much shorter tasks that were extremely varied compared to the long walk she had just completed. They tested different kind of walking related skills. She had to walk up a very steep hill without a clearly defined route, she took part in a speed walking race and navigated extremely busy crowds. The last two of the Trials didn't even directly have her walking. Instead, she was met with a man who expected her to pack for and plan a walk respectively. The last two had been worrying at first given there was a lot of equipment she hadn't come across before, however the man there explained what it all did. When she questioned this, he explained she wasn't being tested on knowing what they did she was being tested on their usefulness on a walk in the given context. She was also given the opportunity to explain her choices in full and including explaining why something that she had recommended for a weeklong walk wasn't needed in the one-day mountain climb or vice versa.

Similarly on the planning Trial she was in a room much like that of the Trial Taking Trial but with a couple of paper maps alongside the computer resource. Obvious she wasn't allowed to choose the walks in any country on any planet. Instead, she was given limited options of areas and had to plan the walk around those areas. Ensuring a certain length, elevation climb, and similar factors were fulfilled. One such walk was an urban city work which had a required number of pit stops for certain types of shop as well as land marks. as such the routine planning was less about where they would go but where they would stop, and which order they would take the route in so they didn't end up having to double back on themselves or walk too far.

All in all, Bethany had to pack for and plan 5 walks in total which were, in no particular order: a weeklong walk, an 8-hour mountain hike, a 2-day desert trek, a small walk with children in nature and finally an urban walk across a city which when she questioned about was apparently roughly the same tech level as the one on Lexicoth she had explored. Passing these two Trials seemed remarkably easy and didn't take long at all. It wasn't even all that clear to Bethany what the fail requirements were for them but she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth and was instead just happy to find herself feeling safe. Before finishing the last Trial, she filled up on the food offered there and took the opportunity presented to sleep in a safe environment. The next morning feeling well rested she set stepped back through to Earth and set off walking once more towards the capital and her mother.

Name

Bethany Oakfenny

Title(s)

Solarslut

Mana Type

Cosmic (rare)

Level

2

Trial Credits

29

Skills:

Butter Churning (uncommon)

2 (10 Trial Credits)

Walking (common)

2 (10 Trial Credits)

Half-staff (common)

1 (5 Trial Credits)

Trial Taking (ultra-rare)

1 (5 Trial Credits)

Bartering (common)

0 (2 Trial Credits)

Busking (common)

0 (1 Trial Credit)