INTO THE WOLFSWOOD

Of course, I knew Wolfswood was a big forest, but seeing it on maps and in movies had never quite prepared me for the real thing. I couldn't make sense of anything, and after an hour of riding the horse through the maze of trees, I realized that I didn't know where I was going. And to make matters worse, since I was not accustomed to this means of transport, my body was punishing me for trading in my Uber rides for a horse in a medieval world. My poor bones were screaming for mercy.

As I brought the majestic stallion to a halt and dismounted, I couldn't help but feel like a newborn giraffe trying to find its footing.

The poor horse was also panting, and I felt a twinge of guilt for pushing it too hard. But I quickly reminded myself that I didn't have much of a choice. I gave the reins a gentle tug, and the horse trotted away. I needed it to be as far from where I was as possible because I was not running away; hell no, I needed to find a way to retrieve my lightsaber, and that meant doubling back to the woods near Winterfell as I tried to come up with a plan.

My life was currently packed with a million problems, but only one gave me the biggest concern at the moment: the rumbling in my stomach.

I was so hungry, I could eat a horse. Wait, scratch that. That would be cannibalism, but perhaps I could eat an entire boar by myself; however, I didn't fancy my chances if I encountered such a beast. I mean, I was hungry and without any weapons. Come on, let's be real here. Who do you think would be the prey in that situation? Just then, I heard the faint sound of a stream in the distance. My pace quickened as I tried to locate the source of the sound. And after a while, there it was—a wide river that cut through the woods seamlessly.

The water was so clear and pristine that it was like staring through a transparent mirror. Without hesitation, I bent down and gulped it down like a parched camel in the desert. But hell, my stomach was still growling like a pack of dire wolves on the hunt. As much as I wished water could substitute for food, my belly wasn't having it.

As I lounged under the shade of a Black Brier, gazing at the river, I couldn't help but wonder: What kind of cosmic karma had led me to this moment of suffering? Was it because I didn't recycle enough? Or maybe because I never gave enough compliments to my mom? The possibilities were endless. But as I surveyed the gleaming water, something occurred to me.

I realized this had to be a tributary of the White Knife, which meant at least I had a sense of direction. I would have to travel upstream towards Winterfell Castle. Thank The Force for small favors.

My mind drifted to Will, and I couldn't help but hope that he had managed to evade capture. Maybe he was hiding out in the woods, like some kind of medieval ninja. That would be pretty badass. Except that couldn't be Will; he was very likely killing his mount as he flew anywhere that wasn't Winterfell. For his sake, I prayed he was headed north of the wall towards the haunted forest.

By this time, ravens had probably been sent to all seven kingdoms in an effort to apprehend us. North of the wall was the only place that didn't have a lot of loyalists—that is, if you managed to pass Mole's town and Black Castle undetected. This is due to the harsh environment and the fact that there weren't many humans there. If the guy had better luck and managed somehow to make it alive out of the haunted forest and even luckier to reach Hardhome, maybe then he could smuggle himself into some ship on its way to Braavos. But this was a game entirely dependent on luck and guts, which Will greatly lacked.

I decided to check the quest's status as I rested. After all, I had saved Will, so the quest should be completed.

I summoned the system.

Sure enough, just as the screen materialized, a system notification greeted me almost immediately:

{Congratulations, Padawan! Eron, your first quest is complete. You have been awarded 50 points and a perk. Please check the quest tab for your next quest.

I felt an electric thrill run through me as I re-checked the notification. "What! I have a perk!", I could barely contain my excitement as I navigated to the perk tab. I had never expected to receive anything else apart from the meager 50 points.

"God, it better be some useful reward". I prayed as I opened the tab And there it was—the most thrilling words I had ever read.

Congratulations, Padawan! You have been awarded a perk.

perk name: force sustenance

Perk Description: Once activated, this perk will enable you to go four days at full strength without food or water. [After four days, the perk will take two days to recharge before you can use it again.]

"Yes!", I yelled with excitement.

This was definitely godsent; it wasn't the most powerful perk a padawan could wish for, but it was definitely quite useful. This meant I could travel light and not have to worry about dragging a bunch of food reserves; furthermore, for the moment, it was without a doubt what I needed.

Do you know what they say about making decisions on an empty stomach? Well, there's actually some truth to it. So, before I even thought about checking my quest tab, I made sure to fuel up with some much-needed energy. I mean, who wants to break into a fortified castle with a grumbling tummy? I took a deep breath and activated the perks. And oh my God! It was like plugging in a dead phone and watching the battery slowly come back to life. I felt invigorated like I could take on the world (or at least the Seven Kingdoms). As the energy levels on the display climbed higher and higher, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. And when it finally hit 100%, my body felt like it had never known hunger or fatigue. I was ready to run a marathon, or maybe just sprint to the nearest tavern in Kingslanding for a pint of ale. "Full energy indeed."

I sighed before opening the quest tab, only to be reminded of the kind of sh*t I was in.

A message was blinking on the tab:

Do you wish to change your quest mode? The current mode is set to medium.

"Change quest mode?" I exclaimed at the absurdity; I was already in medium and felt like I was in hell; just what would happen if I adjusted it to 'hard'? The idea, however, intrigued me. If I had received such a useful perk even in medium mode, just how powerful could the hard mode perk be? I shook my mind from the greedy thoughts clouding my vision. Sincerely, if there was an option for easy, I would gladly set it and walk to the Winterfell gate and ask Lord Stark to hand my saber back.

After retaining the quest mode at medium, the display changed and presented me with the quest.

Second quest: Every Jedi needs a saber; retrieve yours. (*_*)

Quest code: Jedi strategy

Quest mode: medium

Quest reward: 150 points

Quest status: pending

After checking everything I needed, I did away with the system display; honestly, the quest itself was a relief since it did not stray from my cause of action. It was like being paid for something you would have done anyway. They had also increased the points by 100, which was a welcome relief.

I also realized that the system was actually aware of what happened around me in real-time. This awed me even more. However, none of this changed the fact that I was in deep trouble; my brain, which was apparently feeling rejuvenated, could still not find the best strategy to retrieve the saber. Every option was like trying to solve the Rubik's cube blindfolded. I mean, all the plans I was trying to create were hitting the same block. How do I break into Winterfell? Now that is a question worth a crown.

Winterfell was a castle designed to keep off any intruder, and I hated to think that at the moment I was that intruder. Knowing the structure of the castle, approaching either of its gates would definitely expose me to archers, who were always present at the watch towers. Even if I were to succeed and reach any gate undetected, it was certainly impossible to scale them. The biggest of all these problems would even arise if (and this is a freaking big 'if') I was able to enter via any gate; the castle was divided into many sections, each of which had its own gateway and a wall. It was not possible to access all parts of the castle at the same time. God! If only I had unlocked force persuasion by now, then walking to the gate and asking for Lord Stark wouldn't be such a bad idea, would it?

*********************** Powerstone my people,powerstone.**************************

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