To the mall!

Druuna decided upon exploring the Oakwood Mall that night and went to bed early, knowing it she would have to plan her trip and carefully tomorrow. She slept well that night, dreaming of an old dream that had haunted her for so long.

Once, when she was a young child, Druuna had stumbled into a hole she found in the side of a hill while out playing with the other children. At first she was frightened, thinking she was lost in some sort of cave. But then she heard something. Walking with trepidation towards what she thought were voices, Druuna came to a great hall that dwarfed any temple she had been to in her whole eight years of life. And in the font of the hall was an amazing sight. Upon a gigantic piece of pure white fabric, a lady danced. Druuna could only stare in fear and curiosity as before her eyes, a two dimensional woman in a sparkling dress elegantly danced. She stood there for a time that seemed to her both short and long. Time seemed to lose substance as she stared at that dancing figure, whose sad eyes seemed to weep for a lost generation. Eventually Druuna heard the adults out calling here name and she realized that she had to leave.

Those hills flooded that Spring, and Druuna never found that magical great hall again. But she dreamed of it often, and her mind seemed to always wander to it. Who was that elegant lady, whose eyes seemed so sad while her dance seemed so happy? That was what still struck her so vividly; those eyes. Those sad, melancholy eyes that stared out through time at, eyes from another time, another place. It almost seemed like she was pleading with Druuna, asking her to do something. But what?

Druuna woke early the next morning and plotted her route through the forest and to the ancient market of Oakwood. It was a three day trip on foot, but she had plenty of food to get her there and back. A horse would’ve been quicker, but there was no way Druuna could afford one. After saying goodbye to Walter and Ezra, Druuna packed up her backpack and set out Westwards towards the ancient city of Oakwood. The smell of the forest and the sea mingled in the air as she set off down the old roads and Druuna felt at peace with the world.

Druuna walked for a time, until she saw something on the side of the road. A small shack of some sort. Druuna looked inside through a window and saw no signs of habitation. Better yet, there was a radio inside! While likely useless without batteries, Druuna could study it by taking it apart and then sell the parts for some extra bottle caps! But something stopped her from breaking into the shack. It was too easy, it could be a trap.