Kaja blinked. A cold shiver ran up her body, both from the onslaught of heavy drops on her back, and the grime slipping into the front of her shirt and the side of her face. She blinked through the curtain of rain, a tempest relentlessly assaulting the treetops that surrounded her. With a groan, she pushed herself up, the heels of her hands sinking into the wet dirt underneath her.

Questions swirled in her mind. Where was she? How did she get there? How would she get back home?

She nodded to herself as soon as she could stand on her own two feet. A quick body check informed her that, yes, her clothes were ruined by the mud and rain, but it was nothing a quick dip in some body of water couldn't fix. The crossbow strapped to her right hand was still functional, the use of stainless steel proving to be one of Kaja's better decisions, and the bolt quiver on her waist held around thirty bolts, five of which were the special bolts from her father. Her sword...

Her head whipped around in search of the gladius she had brought to Arkanshire from the land of the Valkyries and found it sitting against a tree and seemingly pointing in the direction of a cave with something illuminating its inside. Her free hand raised to cover her eyes from the rain as she looked around for another option. She could head further into the forest, but the heavy rainfall made it difficult for her to wander around. Her mind made up, she grabbed the sword and strapped it onto her waist, and headed for the cave.

Maybe out of the rain, she could begin answering some of the questions assaulting her mind.