The Well of Roots
I left Wave of Smoke behind to continue on foot, a brief exchange of looks between us enough to reassure his doubts. The trees and undergrowth had thickened to the point that I could no longer move with any assurance of stealth so long as I stayed mounted, but still, I regretted having to leave him behind. I still feel the newly-formed bond between us, even after the towering trunks behind me had obscured him from view.
I moved east and north, following the faint downward slope of the land and scent of water as the letter had told me, not knowing what I would ultimately find. The bodies of the trees here crowded so closely that it became a struggle to force my way between them, and so I moved into their branches to continue. This was all the more to my benefit when the ground suddenly ended, leaving me to gaze breathless at my first sight of the Well of Roots. Where the earth ended, the roots of the trees continued, bursting forth into open air from the loamy wall and reaching eagerly onward. No longer muffled by the walls of bark surrounding it, the hiss of water that had drawn me had become a roar. Below where I crouched, a sea of mist undulated, almost concealing its source: a great waterfall that exited from below the ground some twenty yards beneath the edge of the bowl.
I quickly climbed down to the bottom, the great roots of the trees almost like a ladder for my grasping hands. At the bottom, some hundred yards further, the waterfall had created a great pool surrounded by rocky outcroppings. The sound of the falling water obscured all other noise, and the constant feel of the spray on my skin gave uniformity to every tactile sensation. The mist above completely concealed the top of the Well. For all my senses could tell me, I could have been miles away from anything.
Behind the waterfall was a small cave, its floor worn smooth from its years of aquatic bombardment. In the back I removed all of my belongings except a simple cloth encircling my waist and the bracelet I wore on my wrist. I should have been on the alert, ready for any danger; the remote location, the deadening aspects of the waterfall, my own inexperience: all of these things and more made this the perfect location for an enemy to take me unawares. Instead, I felt at peace. I felt the light of the Unconquered Sun inside of me reaching forth and mingling with the natural essence flows of the area. I felt like I had come home.
-- Leaf Shakes the Wind
