I woke up to the carriage shaking from the rocky ground. The dawn colored the sky orange as the carriage swiftly made its way to Blackburn. We caught up with the noble’s carriage after two hours of fighting the bandit, they seemed astonished that we were able to take care of those bandits. It had been one day since the vicious bandits attacked our carriage, and we were moving on the road again. One day down, two more days. It was peaceful outside, only the sound of the carriage and the sound of birds chirping in the sky. The atmosphere was filled with a nice cooling wind that found its way into my carriage through the shattered windows. I didn’t even notice if the carriage stopped to rest or not, it was still moving in the night when I slept. Alberto was sleeping in the opposite seat of me. Fayette was right next to me, also in a slumber. I didn’t get much sleep, I was anxious about the dangers on the road, and the feeling of anticipation kept on keeping me wide awake. I felt slightly tired from the road, but I was still able to keep going. Two more days, and I will be on the verge of finding Chelsea. The carriage bumped hard again, but it kept going. When I looked out of the window, I could see a large lake on the right side of me. The reflective surface of the water made the orange color of the sky shiny, it looked like a painting. The lake made me feel a sense of peace, something I haven’t felt since the attack on the mercenary group. I wonder what is the name of that lake? I kept on staring at the mirror-like lake as the carriage moved at a steady pace. The carriage then took a right turn, heading towards that lake.
“We need to restock on water, the horses need to drink as well.” The carriage driver said, not exactly sure if anyone was awake yet. Alberto opened his eyes in annoyance as he said that, looked like his sleep was disturbed by the noise. He scrubbed his teary eyes as he yawned out, then smiled at me.
“Good morning Ivo, looks like you've been up for a while,” said Alberto while smiling, “Oh, it’s only dawn, might as well be noon with how long I slept.” That reminded me of last night, I was surprised that Alberto fell asleep first, while Fayette was still raring to go. I didn’t even notice when I dozed off, just remembered it was when the sun was nowhere to be seen.
“Morning, Alberto. Can’t believe it has been one day already since we started, wish it could be faster though.” I said to Alberto. My growling stomach reminded me that I haven’t had any food since last night when the noble’s butler gave each of us a loaf of bread. Maybe there will be something to eat near the lake, some fruits or mushrooms. Speaking of the noble, I still couldn’t believe that there was still someone in this tragedy-filled world that would hire an extra carriage for us. Maybe some people don’t only care about themselves. I thought to myself. On the contrary, there were people like Stratford who would enslave people from their lives for his greed, or Keres who would hurt anyone that refuses to join the Leora Religion. I wondered how the royal army was doing, trying to take Cevine back from the hands of the cult. My thoughts were disrupted as Alberto spoke up.
“So, you got stronger? You think you can hold your own against Stratford?” Alberto asked me, half-serious, half-joking. Last time, we were able to defeat Stratford only because Alberto got healed by Fayette and there were two of us while he was caught off guard. I didn’t think I would be able to face Stratford head-on to win just yet, so I shook my head in frustration. I was frustrated with myself for not being able to get stronger faster, or just be stronger. Because of me, Alberto was almost killed, because of my weakness, Chelsea and Vesper were captured. I hoped they would forgive me.
“Drop that look,” Alberto said, I jumped in my seat as he said that. “I know that look, I have been there, that’s the look of self-hate. You might be thinking that it was your fault why all of this happened, but it’s not. The world is huge, every story has multiple sides to it, there are many reasons why it ended up the way it did, it’s not your fault.” He said in an understanding tone. Right, he also went through something similar.
“You right,” I said, and he nodded sympathetically. I still couldn’t help feeling frustrated, but what Alberto said gave me some clarity of mind. “Say, Alberto, how come you fight so well, I thought nobles study politics and diplomacy their entire lives and nothing else?” He smiled a nostalgic smile and started speaking.
“I had a fighting instructor, and he was an adventurous man. He would constantly sneak me out of the mansion and bring me to underground fighting pits. Eventually, I would sneak out on my own and fight in the fighting pits.” The more he said, the more he cheered up. I was glad I could cheer him up a bit, he had been depressed lately.
“You fight well too, I think you would do fine as a gold rank. When we get to Blackburn, we will register at an adventurer guild there and get you the rank you deserve.” Said Alberto, as he gave me a thumbs up. The carriage shook a bit as it came to a stop. I looked out the window to see a large lake. The noble carriage has also stopped right behind us. The noble stepped out of the carriage with a waterskin. He looked tired, sweating all over his body, and quickly rushed to the lake. He must be really thirsty. As I opened the door to get outside, a small light flew out of the door before I could have.
“Good morning!” Fayette said. She just woke up and is already so energetic. That was one of the things I admired about her, being able to stay happy no matter what happened.
“Good morning, Fayette,” I said to her. She flew to the lake as the noble, Baron Brewston, started approaching me after filling his belly with fresh water from the lake.
“Hello, good job on protecting me from the bandits. As expected from the man who saved Moonbright!” I wanted to object to his words. I didn’t save all of Moonbright district, people died, the Leora Religion stole cargos from ships, and many people went to join the Leora Religion, but then I thought to myself: No need to lower his enthusiasm. “I humbly thank you, for saving me back then.” I just nodded to that. I didn’t know what to say, I did it for money, not out of the kindness in my heart, so I told him I would get some water and headed for the lake.
I was standing at the lake. It wasn’t reflecting the orange color anymore, but the clear blue color of the sky as the sun has shown itself on the sky. It was peaceful. The cool breeze touched my messy hair causing them to fly in a wavy pattern. The grass field around me also flew with the wind, giving me a relieving feeling. I held the water with my palm, going for a drink. It’s warm. The drink was refreshing, chasing my thirst away.
“This lake is called the Infernal Lake. I saw an advertisement for this place when we were at the carriage agency. Apparently, the legends say a fire dragon died here, its corpse fell down into this lake, causing the water to boil hot in the middle. It should be fine to drink at the edge of the lake though.” Said Alberto as he approached me from behind. That’s an interesting tale, it’s probably not true though. Dragons haven’t been seen for more than a thousand years and were only mentioned in tales, they have either gone extinct or never existed in the first place. Alberto also got down to drink the water, we both took out our water skins, and filled them with water for the road. I got back up, admired the peaceful view of the lake for the last time, and walked back to the carriage. As I walked back, I heard a scream.
“HELP!” Fayette! Alberto and I looked at each other and immediately rushed in the direction of the scream. I used the ax to make myself lighter to run as fast as I could, please, please be safe. I didn’t want to lose another friend, so I prayed to the Gods as I approached her location. At the scene of the incident, Fayette was trapped in the stems of a large plant. I used my ax to start cutting those stems open. They’re hard! Why are they so hard!” I made myself heavier to get more force, and I was able to finally cut the part that enclosed her. Alberto barely caught her as she dropped from the air. I looked closely at the stems, they were much bigger than your average plant. I stood guard, ready for action, as the stems grew back from where I cut it. The plant itself then moved, revealing a large flower. The blue petals on that flower split to reveal a hideous set of sharp teeth.
“That’s a Man-Eating Lily! Stay on your guards, Ivo!” Alberto said as he started to pull his daggers out. Fayette was able to fly again, thank the Gods nothing serious happened to her. Its stems shot out at me with high speed, it went around my leg and dragged me, knocking me prone. Alberto tried to cut the stem, but he grunted in frustration as he realized the stem was too hard for him to cut. It used another stem to hit him right on his chest. It knocked him onto the air and he fell to the ground. What is this monster? I tried to hold onto the ground as it started dragging me into its mouth. As I was moving my hand on the ground, I touched a hard wooden stick.
“Alberto! Lit this up!” Alberto started chanting, as I grabbed onto the wooden stick, it kept on dragging me in closer and closer, and I couldn’t even cut the stem because it was harder than stone. I made myself as heavy as I could with my ax, and the plant struggled to drag me in. A Firebolt shot at the wooden stick in my hand, lighting it on fire. It caught on fire so fast it burned my hands, and the pain was searing, so I threw it fast at the plant. As the stick touched the plant, it released me instantly as it caught on fire. It made a hideous noise as it was getting incinerated by the fire, Alberto and I got up and ran out of there. We got back to the carriage, Fayette was crying as she tried to heal my hand.
“Why were you there?” Alberto said, almost snapping at her.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I thought it was a beautiful flower so I flew to it.” She said, why crying. I didn’t say anything, I was dealing with the pain in my hand. Alberto just shook his head and went back to the carriage. What a way to start the day.
