Aldrich and the party celebrated but not too much, after all they still had a quest ahead of them. So it wouldn't be suitable to go all out until they have passed the whole exam.
Aldrich meditated before going to bed and spent some time reading in the nightmare realm.
****
The next day, on a speeding carriage the party of six journeyed to Rathoa. From there they had to advance to the ancient land bridge to make it and have enough time to complete the quest.
Two days later they arrived at Rathoa, it was a small village smaller than all of the villages close to Voryhrm. It had a population of a few hundred and it had no proper road which reminded Aldrich of Wakefield.
However they faced a problem when the coachman learned that they wanted to cross the ancient land bridge he refused to take them further, which forced them to be delayed in Rathoa.
Around town they heard the same talk that it was best to steer clear of the land bridge, some people claimed that it was haunted, others that all who tread upon it will be cursed.
Some said that one person or another did use it in a time of urgency and returned safely only to fall off a cliff or becoming blind or deaf a week or two later.
Naturally that was not all bad news at least it was confirmed that the bridge was stable and some people managed to use it just fine. As for these other rumors Aldrich dismissed them as unfounded superstition.
So what if some people had bad things happen to them after using the land bridge, did bad things not happen before that point? Obviously that was just people connecting dots where they didn't need to.
Aldrich was certainly not willing to give up easily, he looked around the village and it turned out the mayor had a half decent carriage.
Aldrich bought it from him after a long session of negotiations and bargaining, eventually he got it for three silvers. And two more for the horses, this already cost him more than he gained in the last quest.
Obviously Aldrich did it with his own money without the help of the party members, it would have been a disgraceful matter if he did that.
Aldrich felt responsible not only because he was the leader but because he also chose these difficult quests without the party's knowledge and that put their lives in danger obviously.
Aldrich wanted to make up for that somehow, also he failed to account for the superstition regarding the ruines of the age of wonder which was a real factor in this quest.
After spending half a day due to the delay they marched on to the ancient land bridge. The land bridge was safe as far as Aldrich was concerned if it wasn't them Ayemon wouldn't have let him take the quest.
As they got close enough to see it, they were awed to say the least, it was massive, as it should be. It connected this part of the land and went over the small strait formed by the sea and the land—and reached the other side.
Ordinarily people would just go around if they were traveling on land. But since they were short on time they had to go through it.
The land bridge was made of an unknown substance, at least the Empire was never able to figure out how it was made or how to replicate it.
The food and other supplies were already taken care of from the joint fun of the party consisting of twenty coppers each. This was the agreed amount but if a need for more arose then it would be increased subsequently according to the need.
Of course Aldrich would not raise the amount during these quests in the exam at all. He was going to take on all the expenses to compensate for the difficult quests.
After climbing onto the bridge, Aldrich slowed down the carriage, no matter how confident he was he still couldn't act recklessly. The bridge was thousands of years old after all.
Despite not having any prior experience in driving carriages Aldrich didn't have too much trouble because the road was just a straightforward path if he still couldn't drive it here then he was a fool.
The party made good time but they still had to spend the night on the bridge. They might even have to spend another night too, with how far the journey was.
In any case the bridge was completely devoid of anything or anyone, after all only desperate people would dare take the bridge. This was great for them as they did not have to be on alert for any unpleasant business on the road.
But even then Aldrich arranged a night watch shift despite the grumbling and complaining, they were still in the wild, regardless of how things may seem one has to be prepared for anything.
This was a hard learned lesson from actual experience.
There was also another reason why he didn't want to rush the journey. Emma.
She had yet to get over almost getting chocked to death by a bandit which was understandable which is why Aldrich wanted to give her time to pick herself up.
Frank was also by her side all the time which definitely helped in getting her over it.
As the first shift ended Aldrich exchanged places with Nathan and went to sleep in his sleeping bag.
Since this carriage was too small they had to sleep outside but it wasn't very cold so it wasn't a big deal. The two moons, Koray and Obereon were both full tonight, and they cast a decent light.
****
Aldrich was suddenly aware that he was dreaming. He wasn't in the nightmare realm, he was just dreaming, but he was lucid and somehow this felt different from a real dream.
He was walking down a staircase apparently, he continued walking. There was no real reason behind that he just wanted to see what was at the end of the staircase.
Suddenly he heard a noise. His feet froze to the steps, the noise coming from below was enough to turn the blood in his veins to ice. It wasn't the roar he'd heard in Voros, the nightmare town.
The guttural growl of an unfathomable, monstrous beast. No, that he might have been able to understand. Something at the bottom of the stairs sang. With a woman's voice.
Aldrich reached the final step, his heart hammering against his ribcage.
An ornate door stood at the bottom, it was wide open. The space behind it was not the dank, horrifying darkness he half expected.
Torches lit the walls, hanging from sconces at intervals as if a scholar had been given the task of keeping the place illuminated. He did now know why he thought of scholars, after all that was an odd task for a scholar.
A thick tapestry covered the floor, ornate symbols weaved into its fabric that made Aldrich's eyes hurt to look at too closely.
Oh, now he remembered what he was here for, somewhat, he was looking for something. Or someone. He wasn't sure but he had a feeling at the back of his head that finding that thing was of great importance.
He walked through the door, at the back of the room stood a woman. Or what Aldrich thought was a woman, at least—it was hard to tell. She had her back to Aldrich, singing gently in a voice that sounded almost sweet.
The walls caused the song to echo, filling the stairwell with the ghostly "tune". Though Aldrich thought he heard something discordant in the song— like a single flat note, right before the melody resolved to the root.
She wore a sheer white dress that did very little to hide her figure. Aldrich realized abruptly that this was indeed a woman—of a kind he'd rarely had the opportunity to see.
As if she'd read his mind, she took that moment to turn. Aldrich's heart skipped a beat. The woman was almost painfully beautiful, with long golden hair and high cheekbones. The face of an angel.
The woman held a child, ten years old maybe twelve, in her arms. The boy looked as if he were almost asleep—but he didn't look either asleep or awake. His nostrils twitched, confirming he was alive.
Was he here looking for this child? Could he be here to save the child? But from what? the thought that he'd simply curled up in this woman's arms of his own free will seemed too absurd to be true. He had a feeling that the scene he was seeing was just… wrong.
The woman smiled. "Hello, young man," she said, and there was something in her voice that made Aldrich's skin crawl.
"Does this belong to you?" The woman gestured with her head to the child. The way she referred to the child upset Aldrich but he reigned in his impulses.
"What have you done to him?" Aldrich asked. "Release him and we'll leave. He never meant to intrude upon you, I swear."
A strange smile spread across the woman's face. It seemed almost too wide for her features. "No intrusion at all, Aldrich," she said, as if Aldrich had apologized for being early to a party.
"I've merely given the child rest. Rest from this world and all its petty cruelties." The smile widened even further. "You would know more about that than most, wouldn't you, child?"
"I never told you my name," he said, taking a step toward the strange woman. "How do you know me?"
The woman shrugged. "I know everything about you, child. Your past, your present… your future. You were meant for so much more, yet you've already wasted so much of your short life within Wakefield. Would you like to know your future?"
Aldrich shuddered. "Let him go."
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