Chapter 14 – Echoing Nightmares

A woman’s scream from right behind the wall brought him back to the waking world. Startled awake, it took him a split second to fully wake up and understand what was going on.

Alistair had also just rolled out of bed as Midhir scrambled to get up. “That was Arwen!” The young noble hissed as his spear appeared in his hand, summoned from his holding gem.

Midhir nodded, only pausing for a split second to grab his shortsword from where he put it against the wall. They rushed out the room, then barged into the girls’ room without hesitation.

“Arwen?!” He shouted, while Alistair’s voice reached his ears. “Willow!”

The girls were sitting on their beds, Arwen pale as a sheet of paper. Willow looked more confused than frightened as she looked around the room.

It was as if a whirlwind had passed through here. There wasn’t one item that hadn’t been displaced. The paintings on the walls were either crooked or had fallen off. The girls’ clothes were all over the floor, as were the towels and extra blankets the innkeeper had given them. The wardrobe’s doors were wide open, and Arwen’s crystal staff had rolled all the way to the other side of the room.

“What in the world happened here?!” Alistair breathed out in shock.

“I wish I knew.” Willow pressed against her bandaged forehead. “She woke up and everything started flying.” She laid back down with a whimper. “… and it only stopped when you two came in. Damn, this hurts…”

Midhir sheathed his sword. “Arwen?” He called out to the frightened girl. Her gaze turned to him, and only then did she seem to notice him and Alistair. Her eyes widened as she looked around.

“Are you alright?” Alistair’s weapon vanished into his holding gem.

“And what the hell was that?” Willow cried out from under her blanket.

Arwen pursed her lips as she looked around the room. “I’m not entirely sure.” She admitted. “I thought I was just having a nightmare, but…” She made a vague gesture towards the room. “Well, I suppose I thought wrong.” She let out a sigh. “Can we talk about this in the morning? I doubt this will happen again, so let’s just try and sleep.”

“We could ask Lianne to give you another room.” Midhir suggested, glancing at the mess.

“I’m not getting out of bed.” Willow shot his suggestion down. “Arwen, no more nightmares please.”

The blonde girl chuckled. “I’ll try.” She glanced at Midhir and Alistair. “It’s probably fine for now.”

“I don’t think it’s fine,” Alistair grumbled back in their room. “No power could make me sleep in a room that happened.”

Midhir couldn’t help but agree with the young noble. Willow, he understood. She was wounded, and probably didn’t feel well enough to carry all her belongings to another room. She also wasn’t the one who had a nightmare. Arwen, on the other hand, seemed a bit too unfazed.

“Either way, we should try and rest.” He said as he climbed into his bed and pulled the blanket to his neck. “I don’t believe the food issue and these weird incidents are not connected.”

Alistair nodded. “That would be too much of a coincidence.” He agreed.

After such an adrenaline rush, it was difficult to fall back asleep, and even when he did, Midhir was plagued with nightmares of cold and starvation. He welcomed the first light of day, getting out of bed despite still feeling exhausted.

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Alistair was fast asleep still, so he got dressed quietly and left their room, heading downstairs to the inn’s common room.

Lianne was nowhere to be seen yet, but he wasn’t alone in the common room. Lonan sat by the hearth, a cup of what looked like tea in hand as he tried to warm himself. “Good morning,” He said with a rather sleepy tone. “Glad to see you survived the night. And all of your companions did too, I assume?” He grimaced.

He also seemed like he hadn’t slept well at all. The dark circles under his eyes looked more pronounced because of the hearth’s dancing lights.

“We did, as far as I know.” Midhir gestured towards him. “You didn’t sleep well either, from the looks of it.

“Well, I had a nightmare, from which your blonde friend’s scream woke me up.” Lonan forced a smile. “To be honest, being awake was much better than the nightmare so I’m thankful. After that…” His smile vanished as he turned his gaze to the fire. “I didn’t sleep, I’d rather study my findings than deal with nightmares.”

“… Right.” Midhir muttered, raising his eyebrows. “I don’t know if I agree, but each to their own, I suppose.” He approached the window looking towards the storehouse.

The raging storm from the night before was gone, though it had left its mark on the environment. The town was covered in mud, and there were broken branches everywhere. The wind must have thrown them all the way to the town from the forests. A few more fallen trees than the day before dotted the landscape.

Aside from that though, the sun was rising to a clear, pristine sky. There wasn’t even a breeze to rustle the leaves, though it was still a bit cold outside.

“Today looks like it will be a better day,” he muttered, watching the sunrise.

“I doubt it.” Lonan stood up. “I’ll be leaving,” he dusted off his cloak and threw it over his shoulders. “I’ve got a few more Stones of Passing I need to investigate, and since the weather does seem quite nice, I’d better take advantage of it.”

He watched the historian head towards the barn, then come out with his horse. After giving it an apple to eat and petting its mane, he climbed atop the saddle and rode off towards the northeast.

It wasn’t long before the others started waking up. Alistair was the first to come down, immediately followed by Lianne who rushed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Soon Willow and Arwen also woke up and arrived downstairs just in time for breakfast.

Willow’s wound was healed, though a small scar remained on her forehead. “Apparently this will pass,” She explained, carefully touching the scar. “The healer said it would take a few weeks though.”

“That’s good.” Alistair sighed. “Now… I’d like to address the elephant in the room – the incidents happening all over Lohssa, and what happened last night, in your room.”

Arwen awkwardly smiled. “Right.” She leaned back, placing her hands on her lap. “I think I have an idea of what’s happening here.”

All eyes turned on her. She took a deep breath. “I’ve been studying Eldoria’s history in my free time. Especially the Bareon incident.” She shot Alistair a quick glance, who had immediately tensed up. “And while most books on the subject can’t go into too much detail, the book Instructor Theodore had us read touched on the subject of the Veil.”

Midhir felt a lump settle in his chest. “The events here aren’t natural.” He blurted out.

Arwen nodded. “Indeed. While the healer was looking after Willow and that child yesterday evening, she told me something quite interesting.” She turned her gaze to Willow. “She said a man visited about a month ago, and he looked just like you, but older. Along with a girl, who had long, black hair.” She pointed out the window, at the forest. “She saw them in the forest, while looking for healing herbs. Apparently they talked to her, and they were kind and gentle. They asked questions – were there any cold areas in the forest, and if there was any kind of shrine to the Old Faith there.”

Midhir’s heart sank. “There was a tear in the veil.” He spoke without hesitation. There was no other reason for her to come to such a distant place. “They fixed it, didn’t they? The cold area became normal again.”

Arwen seemed surprised. “Yes. How did you know?”

Midhir shook his head. That wasn’t important right now. “The man you mentioned is the Lustrous Blademaster, isn’t it?” he glanced at Willow. “A woman with black hair, who travels with the Lustrous Blademaster – the possibilities are quite clear.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You’re thinking that the veil wasn’t repaired fully.”

Arwen raised her eyebrows. “Indeed.” She folded her arms. “We need to call for reinforcements.” She hesitated for a split second before asking, “Um… who is that woman then?”

“That’s probably the Crown Princess.” Alistair tapped his fingers on the table. “She’s a renowned crystal staff wielder, and like her mother, a very powerful spiritual power user. She’s been to Bareon many times to repair weak points in the veil. It’s not a surprise she’d visit this place.” He scowled. “Are you sure that’s the case, Midhir? That the tear isn’t fully healed?”

Midhir nodded. “It explains things.” He waved his hand towards the upper floors. “Things don’t randomly start flying – not naturally.” The not fully repaired tear in the Veil must have been causing odd weather effects. Whirlwinds in contained places, odd shifts in gravity and the storm from yesterday.

“No, they don’t.” Arwen scowled. “But I don’t think the issue is just the tear.” She glanced out the window. “I think we have unwanted guests on our side of the Veil.”