I – Idea

This story was written for the 2025 April A to Z Blog Challenge. Twenty-six words, one for each letter of the alphabet, were pre-selected by a random word generator (MacChatGPT) and were included for each section of the appropriate letter in the Challenge. The chosen word is highlighted within the text. To start the story from the beginning, go to https://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=4443.

When last we met in Part H – Happy: 

We learned a little more about Rowan, the man who helped Adriana climb the mountain in D – Dance. His assignment was to convince Adriana to discontinue her quest. After, hopefully, gaining her trust on the mountain, he planned to confront her in the Forbidden Forest and persuade her to quit. Unfortunately, when a fire destroyed the field of blue flowers, he never got to meet up with her. Now she is gone, as are all the flowers and Springbounder.

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Destiny – Part 9 (idea)

Rowan’s idea to convince Adriana to quit her quest had failed. What had happened to her when the fire destroyed the field of flowers? Was she still alive? If she was, where did she go? These were all questions he could not answer – Yet. 

While pondering these thoughts, Rowan felt a vibration on his wrist. It was a message from Yarek, the one who had hired him.

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—- Rowan, You have surpassed my expectations. You did what I would have done and eliminated the girl completely. Granted, my fire blast assisted you, but you led me to where she was, and she has been taken care of. Now return to me, let me know what information she has passed on to you, and you can accept your reward.—-

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How was the King able to follow him? Of course, the wristband, a gift from him, must have some magic tracking capability. 

What did the King mean when he texted, “You did what I would have done” 

Adriana was gone, possibly dead. Was that her fate, all along? 

Something was definitely wrong here. Rowan knew of King Yarek’s reputation of getting rid of those opposed to him being self-appointed King of Tirea and of those with knowledge that might bring his reign down. But when he took on this job, Rowan never believed that Adriana’s quest fell under that category. 

He had to find her again, if she was still alive, and warn her. He had more knowledge that might pertain to her birth. He certainly wasn’t going to include King Yarek in sharing this information or go to the king to seek his reward. Once any information about Adriana was shared with the King, Rowan knew his life would be forfeited.

But first things first. Rowan took off his wristband, placed it in the middle of the field of destroyed flowers, and set the wristband ablaze, making it look like he had been killed along with Adriana in the fire. 

Rowan was a tracker; he searched the surrounding woods for any signs of entry or exit. He found two potential paths to take. One was clearly Adriana’s footprints. The other must have been the hoof prints of the chimera she had been conversing with. 

He needed more information about what the two of them had been discussing when the fire blaze hit. Was the chimera another agent of King Yarek? Rowan chose to follow the chimera’s trail to get that information. He could be very persuasive.

To be continued in J – Jump