Tallstar's Stories: Willow's Compass

1. Willow’s Compass
   Part 1
   Willow stood and gaped at Liza. “You want me to do it?” The tiny fox was just an ordinary jammer. No rares, no fame, nothing. “Why not you, or another alpha?”
   “I’m asking myself the same question,” muttered Liza. She raised her voice. “But if Greely says it has to be you, it must be so.”
   Willow had been called to Liza’s bamboo hut and Liza had explained the whole situation. Greely thought there was a new land somewhere east of Jamaa Township. He had used his magic to see who should go and look and, to his own surprise, discovered it had to be Willow. She had to go alone to find this mysterious land. She was to start out right after her meeting with Liza.
   Liza took Willow to Coral Canyons to visit Cosmo. Cosmo had brought all her supplies. “Here’s a big supply of food. Oh, and some herbs. I included a handbook on how to use them. And here’s a…” Cosmo kept listing items until Willow felt herself nodding off. Was all this really necessary?
   “Cosmo!” Liza’s sharp retort jerked Willow back to awareness. “We don’t have all day you know. Willow’s supposed to be leaving soon!”
   “Alright, alright,” muttered Cosmo, distracted as he searched through the basket. “Let me just check that… Oh no!” The anxious koala broke off.
   “What’s wrong?” Willow shouted, frightened that the koala was hurt, or something.
   “I forgot the compass,” cried Cosmo, acting like the whole world revolved around the compass. “I have to go get it!”
   Willow rolled her eyes as Cosmo dashed back to get the compass. Why do I need a compass anyway? She thought. If I’m going east, I only need to go over the bridge, right?
   Just then, Cosmo came back holding a strange compass that Willow had never seen anything like.
   It looked like it was pure gold. On the back, a phantom was engraved in it. Its eyes seemed to follow her, and Willow shuddered, deciding that she would never use the compass, whatever Cosmo said.
   Last of all, Liza explained to Willow what to do at the new land. “Other jammers will be able to enter as soon as the first jammer who arrives, which is you, claims it from whatever other beings are living there and-“
   “Beings?” Willow said, confused.
   Liza and Cosmo exchanged a quick glance. “I meant, um, until it is ensured that it is safe for everyone.”
   Willow narrowed her eyes, but didn’t say anything.
   “Why don’t we just start you on your way right now? All you have to do is close your eyes and imagine yourself in the new land.”
   Willow closed her eyes and imagined herself in a jungle. She waited and waited, but she didn’t feel anything. She opened her eyes. “Liza, it’s not work-“She broke in astonishment.
   She was in the jungle that she had imagined. She was underneath a huge leaf. Everything looked just how she had imagined. There was only one difference.
   The whole place was invaded by phantoms.

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   Tallstar107July 15, 2013 at 2:03 PM
   Part 2
   Willow started panicking, wondering if they had seen her, when she realized that she was under a bush. She sighed with relief.
   Then Willow remembered that this was the new land. What was it that Liza had said? “Other jammers will be able to enter as soon as the first jammer to enter, which is you, claims the land from whatever other beings are living there.”
   Willow thought back to the quick glance that Liza had exchanged with Cosmo. Have they known about them all along? Willow thought. Then she shuddered. What other dangers lay in store for me that the alphas know about, yet failed to prepare me for?
   Willow searched through her bag for something that would help her. She pulled out a huge book. It was entitled Handbook for Journeys to New Lands. Willow snorted with amusement. Boy, that Cosmo sure was paranoid!
   Willow flipped through the book. Sure enough, she found a page all about phantoms. She scanned it eagerly for something useful.
   “Phantom lore… How to train a phantom… Ah, here it is. Defeating phantoms.” Willow intently read the paragraph. It read:
   To kill a phantom, you must take a weapon and cover it with purified water. If you hit your target, the water will smother the phantom’s shocks and because the water is purified, it will melt the phantom’s evilness and he will either die or become tame.
   Willow closed the book. That’s what she had to do. She rummaged through her basket and managed to find a bow and arrow and some purified water.
   Willow was ready. Then she froze. If she shot one phantom, wouldn’t they all come and investigate? If she just had a teleporter, she could change spots before they had time to get her. She figured there was probably one in the bag, and was proved correct.
   Now, she dipped an arrow in the purified water, took aim, and fired at a nearby phantom. It hit her target square on, and he melted into ashes. All the phantoms started coming towards her, so she used the teleporter to get to another side of the clearing. Then she took aim and fired again, moving a second after.
   She repeated that countless times, until all the phantoms were gone. Ashes covered the clearing. Willow decided that the ashes might have medicinal uses and collected them.
   Afterwards, she decided to explore one of the buildings. Inside one building, ancient scrolls and books filled the shelves.
   
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   Tallstar107July 15, 2013 at 2:04 PM
   Part 3 (the last part)
   “You have gone far, Willow, but I won’t let you go farther.”
   Willow jumped and turned around. Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the dim light, stood a phantom, taller than the rest. His one eye sparkled like a diamond. The sparks coming from his tentacles seemed stronger and sharper. It was the Phantom King.
   Willow instinctively dipped an arrow in the purified water and fired. It hit him, and bounced right off. Willow was confused. Hadn’t she done what the book said?
   Quickly, she opened the book and flipped to the page she had been on. Underneath the section she had read, the book said this:
   Warning: This does not work on the Phantom King. All it does is make him stronger. To defeat the Phantom King, you must sacrifice yourself.
   Feeling sick, Willow closed the book. Did she really care enough about Jamaa that she would sacrifice herself to save them?
   Willow thought of her den, the innocent jammers in the lands, the fun parties, everything that made Jamaa unique. Then she re-imagined it being infiltrated by the Phantom King, the most powerful one of all. Willow flinched. She couldn’t let that happen.
   Suddenly, she noticed she was shaking. She remembered the compass Cosmo had given her. She had a feeling she was supposed to use it.
   She took it out of her bag and looked up at the Phantom King. As calmly as possible, she spoke to him. “You want to stop me. But I won’t let you, because I am going to stop myself first.” Raising her voice, she went on. “I, Willow, sacrifice myself to save Jamaa and defeat the Phantom King.
   At first, nothing happened. Then, Willow yelped with pain. It felt like phantoms were stinging her from all sides. She looked at the Phantom King, who was writhing on the ground, seemingly going through the sane ordeal. Willow held the compass tightly. Even though I won’t come back, they can still remember me.
   And she cracked open the compass. From inside, a magical powder seemed to spill out over the floor. It formed in the shape of a compass. Satisfied at last, Willow closed her eyes, stopped struggling, and let whatever lay in store for her take her.
   Willow’s body was never discovered, and it is the alpha’s theory that the Phantom King captured her and took her to Phantom Land. But, of course, that doesn’t explain the phantom ashes, or the mysterious compass engraved in the floor.
   Others have their own story. They believe that Willow’s body dissolved into the ground, but her spirit remains, floating around what is now known as the Chamber. They think that when you see a flicker of candlelight, or feel wind when the windows aren’t open, it’s just Willow’s way of saying hi.
   One thing is for sure. Willow, and the Phantom King, were never seen again.
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   Tallstar107July 15, 2013 at 2:32 PM

   BTW, a sequel is coming.