The Quest of Gerda journey that will take one year to complete. The quest consists of four trails: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each trail is ruled over a certain monarch who will try to tempt, trick, or even force you to stay in her respective season, for if a person from the real world enters that Seasonal Domain, the real world itself will experience the same season at the same time and will last as long as that person is in that season. But the seasons have to pass or time itself will be thrown out of balance. Be warned, this quest is not for the faint of heart as most people went on this quest never even made it past the first trail. It's a rare occasion if anyone has even made it to the third trail only to never go any further.
How to enter the Quest:
Go to wide deep river (you can either go to its banks or stand over it on a bridge if there is one or what ever works for you). Tell the river why you want to go on the quest. Next, pay your entry fee (anything you hold most dear). Then, throw yourself into the river (or you can use a boat, but you must get one before hand). Finally, let the river take you to your first trial.
The First Trial: Spring:
You will find yourself in a beautiful lagoon with beautiful trees, and flowers. You will then be greeted by a woman dressed in spring-like clothes (including a hat with flowers on them). Be careful, this woman is the Spring Witch and you are in her domain, the Spring Garden. She will invite you into her house. You must accept. When you enter, she will ask you to sit. You must do so (just to be polite). Now here's where you must really focus. If the Spring Witch offers you food and/or drink, you must not accept. (Tell her you're not hungry or that you already brought your own previsions.) If she tries to comb your hair, don't let her. (Tell that you brought your own comb.) If she leads you to a bedroom tries to get you try the bed, you must not get into the bed. (Tell her you're not tired.) For if you do accept the temptations she offers you, you will fall under her spell that make you never want to leave. If you can last long enough in the Witch's even if you only accepted one or two of her traps, the roses will recognize your bravery. When you see them, you must leave the house now. When you do, the roses will tell you what you where you must go for your next trial.
The Second Trial: Summer:
The second trial is the easiest. When you enter the woods, be careful. There are bandits in the woods who would love to take a shot at you. When you manage to evade them, you will meet someone. This someone will help you get into the Summer Palace, but only if you help them first. Next, you must wait until night. When you enter the palace, follow the shadows, they are the Summer Princess's dreams. When you enter her room, you will see her dreams clearly above her (just hope she's dreaming of you or things could get difficult). When she awakens and sees you, she will recognize you from her dreams. Tell her about your quest. She will tell you she will give you information you need for the next trial, but only if you agree to go to a ball. The ball is really an engagement ball. Your engagement ball. The Summer Princess will try to get you to fall in love with a suitor and marry him or her so you can never leave. You must try to resist these suitors. After staying one whole night, the next time you see the Princess the next morning, she will have a map with her. Take that map from her and read it. After that, you must leave the palace quickly. Luckily, the person you met before coming to palace will help you.
The Third Trial: Autumn:
This trial is a bit more challenging. When you renter the woods, you'll find a lot has changed. The leaves have changed color. You'll look around a see a leaf drifting to the ground. Be careful, this means you're going to be jumped on by the Robber Girl. Which wouldn't matter since it'll happen anyway. She will take you to the Autumn Campsite to meet her mother, the Autumn Robber. When she sees you, she'll want to cook you and eat you up. Just hope that the Robber Girl will want you as a playmate instead. When night falls, she will make you sleep with her with her dagger at your face to make sure you don't escape. Wait until she and everyone's asleep (passed out drunk). When they're asleep, try to escape the Robber Girl without getting hurt by the dagger and try to make your way to the holding pens. Be careful when walking around the camp, the Autumn Robber would have at least one of her men stay awake (by not letting him have a drink) to keep watch for trouble. And if that's not enough, she'll have watchdogs as well. If they find you, they will throw you into the pens (which you were going to anyway). When you get there, you will meet a reindeer who will help you escape. You might end up confronting the Robber Girl before leaving. After that, the reindeer will help you get to the final trial. (Another to go through this trail is if the Robber Girl demands you tell her a story. You might tell her your own story. If your story is saddening enough, it would make her want to help you. If it doesn't work, stick with the original plan.)
Side quest: Lapp Woman and Finmark Woman (optional):
Along the way, you will come to a house with a low roof. You might want to stop by, for living in this house is the Lapp Woman. She will provide you with food and drink. She will ask you why you have come. When you tell her about your quest, she will write a message on cod skin. She will tell you to take the cod skin to her friend, the Finmark Woman. The Finmark Woman lives in a house that was built to look like a chimney. When you give her the cod skin, she will give you what you need to prepare you for the final trial. You do not have to take this side quest, but it's the best way you can pass the final trail.
The Fourth and Final Trial: Winter:
This is probably the most difficult trail of all. First, you must leave the reindeer at a bush a little ways from the mountain where the Snow Palace is. There, you must climb the mountain to get into the palace. Before you get there, you will be greeted and attacked by palace's guardian spirits. Don't worry, if your heart is pure enough, you can over come them. When you enter, you must search the place for who or what you're looking for. Hopefully, the Snow Queen is out when you get there. If she is there, you might have to confront her. This could get dangerous. How you defeat her, hopefully you remembered to take the side quest before going there. But sometimes, the Snow Queen might ask you to do a task instead. (Like ask you to solve a puzzle.) If you seceded, she will give back who or what was taken from you. When that's done, then you have completed the Quest of Gerda.
Good luck, and if you have any questions, let me know.