Rise of the Nightmare Crestmaster

He thought that they were going to stay in the hull of the ship. But there was an entire two story building on the ship. Their rooms were all at the second floor.

The ship began to set sail slowly. Finally the ship left the harbor, the winds joined with the river water and pushed the ship towards the lands beyond.

Aldrich busied himself looking all over the ship annoying the crew with all sorts of questions. Wherever he felt that one of them was going to snap he would take his leave at the right moment.

A bell rang at noon, Aldrich knew that the bell signaled lunch time. To be honest Aldrich didn't feel that hungry but he already paid for all the meals till he got to Voryhrm. He sure as hell wasn't going to miss a single one of them.

Aldrich went to get changed after that he went to the great hall, it was teeming with many people. Men, women and children were moving about in a hectic manner.

The windows shutters were opened which allowed the refreshing wind to rush in, the view was simply mesmerizing.

Even more mesmerizing, however, is the group of women on the central stage. All of them but one were playing on musical instruments. The last woman was singing in a loud voice that drew the attentions of all who might listen.

She was singing a song he had never heard of before, but that didn't matter. She was wearing tight clothes that left little to the imagination and her dance hmmm...very, very flexible.

"Wow"

"Hold it in young man. Your eyes are going to fall off."

"Wha-" Aldrich turned around to see Norge standing right behind him. The rest of the group was approaching them from behind. Seemingly, they just arrived.

"Ah, I was waiting for you guys..."

"Of course you were. Lets go."

Aldrich followed to a stairway that he hadn't noticed in the back. Two servants stood guard.

"Can I see your key number sir?" One of them asked.

Aldrich showed them his key number that was attached to the key chain. It was 23, which was his room number. Then the servants opened the way respectfully.

Behind him the rest of the group did the same.

They went to a room in the back much smaller than the great hall but much more lavishly decorated. The room had only seven tables and only one of which was occupied.

So they took their seats at a table by the open window and a waiter promptly asked for their orders.

"We have a full menu of fresh sea dishes at the ready, ranging from tuna to giant crabs."

"What do you recommend?"

"The fried two headed lyth is one our chef's most praised dishes, I believe it won't disappoint."

"Sounds appetizing, get us all a portion. Along with some xar shrimp soup."

"Certainly sir. If you would wait for a short while."

Aldrich didn't mind Ayemon making the order, after all the only sea food he experienced was fish from the river in Wakefield.

The food arrived shortly thereafter, the smell was tantalizing and the food tasted even better somehow. They served it with plates of butter and crispy bread.

Aldrich who thought he wasn't that hungry moments ago was eating like his life depended on it. The plethora of new tastes and the great weather combined to create a great experience.

Aldrich rang the small bell placed at the center of the table and the waiter was already there.

"I can order any amount without paying anymore right?"

"Undoubtedly, whatever you order shall be delivered our chefs and cooks along with the rest of the staff on this ship are at your service."

"Well," Aldrich was a little embarrassed by the hospitality but then he remembered that he paid for all this. "I'm not familiar with sea food so get me some of your best dishes."

"At once, sir."

Everyone already retired to their rooms but Aldrich was enjoying a Marina sandwich and Vadon stew. He ate until he felt uncomfortably bloated. When he walked back to his room he started regretting eating that much.

Aldrich looked at the moss lamps everywhere on the ship and the light they produced. Even at night the river was still beautiful arguably even more so than in the day. The twin moons Koray and Obereon shined spectacularly on this night.

Aldrich found some books in a drawer by the huge bed in his room the book was about a fantasy story titled: the rising of the king.

Since Aldrich didn't have much to do before he went to sleep he decided to read a bit until then. The story was about an ordinary orphaned kid who disguised himself as a prince.

Aldrich found the story to be quite bland and boring but it did help him pass the time, he turned off the moss lamp by tapping it twice at the center.

Moss lamps turn on automatically at night but they can be easily turned off.

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Aldrich looked around and smelled the damp air of the nightmare realm. He definitely had to find some way to clean this house. It was clear that he would be spending a lot of time here.

The problem was that he didn't find any water here, its like the people that lived here didn't use it. He hadn't come across any well so far.

Aldrich picked up his trusty long sword and a new shield since the old one broke. He listened around the town and it was still just as loud as last time he was here.

Aldrich remembered his wound from last time. He checked on it. His lower back had a scar mark but it was completely closed and didn't hurt at all. It was like it had healed a long time ago.

Aldrich moved on to the next house and this house had a wider walled fence than the other houses. The iron front door was deeply rusted and wouldn't budge.

Aldrich had to climb over it which turned out much harder than he initially expected. With all the armor and weapons he was carrying he was quite heavy.

Aldrich proceeded to break the door down and waited, following his usual strategy. Unfortunately this time too, it wasn't successful. He sighed, he couldn't expect every trap to work.

Aldrich advanced into the house slowly clinging to walls and following the voices until he arrived at what he expected to be the common room. The voices coming from inside indicated two or more.

Aldrich kicked the door open and blocked the spear thrust that welcomed him. Aldrich didn't back away, he was already familiar with this move. Aldrich used the moment when the spearman was yet to withdraw his spear back and counter attacked to exploit that opening.

His sword tore through his opponent's armor and drew blood. Aldrich spared a moment to check on the second husk in this room, it was coming over but he had enough time to finish the first one off.

After all it wasn't ideal if two husks joined hands on him. He didn't think that he would lose as he is now but he wasn't going to take an unnecessary risk.

Aldrich blocked the second strike and counterattacked in the same manner. This time his sword ended the husk.