Adventure of Alyce

Alyce lies half-buried in damp leaves and velvet moss at the roots of the colossal tree. Splintered lift-planks jut nearby, groaning beneath the forest’s weight.

A thin crack races through the cushion beneath her, widening toward a dark hollow where root and stone have fallen away into unseen depth.

Above, the great tree’s roots twist like walls around the wreckage, shutting out most directions. Beyond the nearest gap, tangled woodland slopes toward the only visible path leading deeper into the Hedges.

Moss tears softly as the earth settles. One broken plank slips into the hollow, vanishing without a sound, and the crack creeps another handspan beneath Alyce.

The forest holds its breath around her. The next movement must carry her toward solid ground, or the roots will open and swallow the fragile landing place.

Alyce drives forward as the moss gives way, arms pumping and boots skidding over wet roots. The collapsing cushion drops behind her while she throws herself toward the woodland path.

Her leading foot catches the path's stony edge. She lurches, scrapes her left palm across bark, and twists hard enough to bruise her shoulder against a root, but momentum carries her clear.

Behind her, the fractured landing collapses into the hollow with a muffled rush of leaves and splintered wood. The great roots remain still, though dust drifts from their seams.

Alyce ends on one knee at the path's edge, breathing sharply. Her palm stings, her shoulder throbs, and a smear of dark soil marks the white fabric at her sleeve.

The only visible route now slopes deeper into the Hedges, between trunks silvered by strange, colorless light. Behind her lies a broken descent and no safe way back up.