Chapter 10: The Ruins of Lake Em.

A couple of hours after lunch, we start packing back up. With Mama’s fantastic meal and good hydration, my headache has diminished a lot. But the pain has been replaced by nervousness. In a few hours, Ellie and I will face whatever awaits us inside the ruins. If we don’t make it, we’ll never make it back home.

Neb, Zull, Taen, and Mama will drive us to the place. They want to be sure that we make it on time.

It’s pouring outside.

“Are you ready, warriors?” Neb asks as we get on the wagon.

“I don’t think we classify as warriors,” Ellie says.

“Hey! I’m trying to cheer you up,” Neb says. “You’re about to face a…”

“Highly deadly experience?” I ask with negativity.

“No! Every single person that has faced the seal of Jernlegeme has come back alive,” Mama says. “They just return with no memories for about six months or so. After that, they’re good as new. They just forget everything about the task, so no one knows what it is about.”

How relieving!

Taen and Zull start driving the wagon to the lake’s northern shore. We’re going slow because of the rain.

I look at Ellie. She’s trying to hide it, but she’s shaking. Our clothes are cozy enough for the weather, but the cold comes from inside. I’m shaking too.

“Hey! I know it’s scary to go on your first adventure,” Mama says with a soothing voice. “I can remember my first as if it was yesterday.”

“Were you scared, Mama?” Ellie asks, impressed.

“Of course, I was scared. Fear is a fellow ally of any successful adventurer. It keeps you alive,” Mama says as we go down a patchy road. “My first task was to hunt a wild lulliur that was causing trouble in a nearby town. I would hunt the creature for weeks. They’re flying creatures, so they’re quite sneaky. One night I was walking back to my Inn after washing my frustration away at the local canteen. Something hit me in the back and knocked me to the ground. It was heavy, but I was able to turn up to face the flying beast. Its strong claws were keeping me on the ground, unable to move. The lulliur tried to hit me with its sharp beak, I dodged some of the attacks, but some hit me, and I was bleeding a lot. I was terrified of the creature, but I was even more scared of not being able to meet my parents ever again. That thought gave me enough strength to break free from one of the lulliur’s claws. With my left hand, I quickly graved its neck, and the rest is history. The villagers cured my wound,s and I became an official adventurer.”

“Wow!” Ellie and I say.

“Just remember, being afraid is nothing bad. It’s a part of you,” Mama ends with grace.

We spend the next couple of hours listening to stories of the epic adventures of Mama. The way Mama tells stories is so engaging that my nerves seem to ease out at some moments of the journey. Time flies by when you’re listening to a good story.

“I’m sorry to cut your story, Mama,” Zull says from the front. “ But we have arrived.”

I can feel all my blood running down to my feet. I want to run away, but it’s time. We are here.

We step out of the wagon to find the ruins of an old castle. Some parts have crumbled to the ground, but the structure stands still.

The clouds are so dark that no one could tell if it was noon or the sunset. The castle is the only indicator we have to know that we have to hurry.

“Good luck, kids!” Mama says as she hugs us.

“Thanks for everything, guys,” Ellie says. She gives the guys a handshake and one last hug to Mama.

“Thank you, guys. Thank you, Mama,” I say, giving Neb, Zull, Taen, and Mama a great hug. “We’ll never forget how much you helped us.”

“You’re saying goodbye because you’re confident you’ll break that seal. Right?!” Neb exclaims, squinting his eyes.

“I mean… there’s no other way!” I say with a laugh.

“Now, go and break that bloody seal!” Neb says, pushing Ellie and me in the direction of the ruins.

We start walking to the castle.

“And if that dragon doesn’t want to give you a ride, you know where to find us!” Neb shouts one last time before his voice disappears into the rain.

We climb the castle’s stairs and open the heavy main door. We get inside and get one final look at the wagon on its way back to Emtown.

We turn back to the inside of the castle. The rain has stopped, and the moonlight enters light enters through the windows, illuminating the castle.

“Where should we start?” Ellie asks.

I look back at her. I can see in her eyes how scared she is, and I know she can tell I’m afraid too.

A great idea pops into my mind. “Rurn. Hey! We need a bit of help.” I say to the stone hanging on my neck.

“Hello, Sasaki. What’s the matter?” says a sleepy Rurn. I guess I woke it up.

Before coming here, I spent a couple of hours talking to Rurn. Now that our bond has strengthened, I can ask Rurn for more complicated things.

“Can you tell where the strongest source of magic is in the castle?” I ask, hoping for the best.

“Mmmm… the room in front of you emanates the strongest magic,” Turn says.

“Thanks!” I say even though I know it is unnecessary because Rurn consumes a bit of my energy every time I call it.

“Okay!” Ellie says as she stretches and jumps. “Time to get productive.”

Ellie takes her bow out of her backpack. I do the same with my sword. We must be ready for anything awaiting on the other side of those doors.

As we walk down the corridor, the doors grow imposingly. Intricate glyphs are carved on their surface. I wonder if these glyphs are supposed to warn us, but I can't tell a word out of them.

“Ready?” I ask.

“Not really. You?” Ellie says.

“Not even close,” I say as we laugh at our disgrace.

We push the doors open with all our strength.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” I start screaming with all my manhood as I run into the room with my dragon sword up and ready to attack.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” I can hear Ellie also screaming behind me, following me closely. Her warcry is so sharp that it almost hurts my ears.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!” We both scream as we stand back to back in the middle of the room, waiting for the unknown.

We stand there streaming for a while. Then we get tired of screaming.

Nothing happens.

Ellie looks as disconcerted as I feel.

We break our formation and start analyzing the room. The place is huge. Pools of water reflect the moonlight into the high ceiling and the walls, revealing a magnificent throne room. A gigantic statue of a dragon sits right where the throne should be. I guess that’s the Jernlegeme, the unwavering himself.

Ellie and I start walking to the statue. As we’re a meter away from the steps, a white light rectangle appears before us.

“You seek to complete the test of the Lake?” asks an intimidating voice out of nowhere.

“We do!” I say.

“We?” asks the voice.

“Yes. There’s two of us,” Ellie says.

“Oh! That’s interesting,” says the voice as another light rectangle appears next to the other. “Then, come in, innovative pair.”

I go and stand before the left rectangle, Ellie to the right. We look at each other for a few seconds.

“Good luck!” I say.

“Break a leg!” Ellie says.

And we walk into the rectangles of light.

It takes me a moment to adapt to the blinding light of an endless white space.

Ellie is nowhere to be seen.

An unknown creature lies on the floor in front of me. It looks like it was made out of pasting different pieces of creatures into a shapeless dreadful mass. Some crow wings on the sides, gray fur on the bottom, dark scales on the side, the list goes on and on. Surprisingly it only has a pair of eyes, but there’s something about them…

“Do you know what that is?” the voice asks.

“No!” I exclaim. Am I supposed to know what that creature is when I’ve been living in this world for two days?

“Then you shall remember,” says the voice as everything around me blurs into a gray haze.