Castya’s Adventures

I arrived back home, changed forever. My parents were started when I walked in, they thought I wouldn’t return from the dungeon since my brother didn’t. They got up from the kitchen table and smothered me in hugs and kisses, I think they knew I wasn’t the same after leaving. Pulling myself away, I asked to be excused to my room. Closing the door behind me, I dropped my stuff to the floor and flung myself onto my bed. I just sobbed into my pillow uncontrollably.

After crying for a few moments, I collected myself and drew a hot bath to soak away the pain away. While I was soaking in the bath, I just kept replying everything that happened. The capture, the nectar that seemed to awaken something inside of me, the battle with Midrina, and the blue hue that escaped me and killing Midrina. All of this was so overwhelming that I started sobbing all over again. 

I finally was able to stop crying and washed up. Picking a simple outfit, I dressed and joined my parents in the kitchen. As soon I sat down, they started asking me questions about my adventure and what dungeon I went through. I told them about finding the unexplored dungeon and all the stuff I collected within. Telling them about the monster, how the dungeon was laid out and of the battle. I omitted the part of the blue hue that killed Midrina, not until I could figure out what happened. After eating a wonderful breakfast of eggs with cheese, crispy bacon and some potatoes, I went back to my room to sleep. It’s been way too long since I was able to sleep.

Needing sleep and rest, I sleeted for 24 hours. Awaking, I got up, grabbed the sword I got from the chamber and went to the blacksmith. The blacksmith was a short to medium height by with a black, scraggly beard. He introduced himself as Vadean. He asked me into, what I thought, to be his office where all his paperwork was kept. 

As I walked in, Vadean was already sitting behind his desk, wondering what I could possibly want with him. Sitting down opposite of him, I laid my sword on the desk. I unsheathed it and watched as his eyes went wide. After a few seconds of looking, he said he’s never seen a blade like this before in his life. Vadean picked it up off his desk carefully and asked me where I got such a thing. I only told him the part of adventuring in the dungeon and nothing else. Without saying anything, Vadean nodded in my direction and said to give him a few days to look into this very rare blade that I came across. I agreed and stood to leave. 

Next on my to-do list was to head to the city’s archives to see if she can do anything on other people having freezing powers like she did. Maybe I’ll even find a family genealogy while I’m there and find this ancestor that my mom says I got my looks from. It was only about a 5-minute walk from the forges. The building was tall with a brass color doom on top. Inside, the ceiling was painted with different scenery that told the history of Zaira.

Immediately after entering the archives, I was overwhelmed by the size of the inside and all the shelves just full of history. I didn’t even know where to start, so I decided to approach the desk that was in the center of the room. Behind the desk was a middle – age woman that had graying hair and half-rimmed horn owl glasses. The archivist asked me as I approached what she could assist me with without even looking up. I looked around the place, then I looked at the archivist and asked for the genealogy section. Again, without looking at me, told me it was on the third floor and if I needed more help to let her know. 

I went to the third floor to start this journey into the past. It took me a few moments to find the section and to remember her mother’s maiden name. 

After what seemed like forever, I started getting annoyed and frustrated. I traced the female one as far back as the archives had, and nothing. How can the long forgotten ancestor that I looked so much like not be found? I stood up and walked around for a little while trying to figure out what I did wrong. 

I ended up walking over to an alcove that had a beautiful view and sat down. Leaning against the side wall, I looked out the window. After a few moments of lost in the view, I leaned my head back against the wall, and that’s when I found that I was looking into my own eyes, a face of a woman who looked similar to mine. She had a red hue around her hands instead of blue. Under the picture, I read the name Rina Asher. 

As I looked at the picture, I felt the urge to touch the picture of this woman. As soon as my hands contacted the picture, a flashed happened, and it was like I was back to the time this person was living. I saw Rina fighting with a sword in one hand and fire in the other. It was so confusing about what was going on. Where was I, how was I even there and seeing this? I turned to see that the battle was taking place at the base of Mount Tishdora. All kinds of monsters were there that I didn’t even recognize, besides one. Midrina, or at least something that looked like her, was there battling against the humans. Rina was beside me now, and as if she could see me, she looked at me and said one word, run! 

As soon as Rina said the word, I was pulled out of the trance or vision or whatever it was, and was back in her little alcove breathing heavily. After catching my breath, I left the alcove and went back to the archives and this time looked up Rina Asher. 

There was so much information that I started to find on Rina. I couldn’t believe my mother didn’t remember about this family member and considered her to be forgotten. Rina was the only female that was on the town council, the only reason for this was because she was an ambassador for the elvish people that she belonged too. Rina helped to keep the peace between the two races and eventually fell in love with one of the humans. I also found that Rina was a hero of Zaria. When I read that, the flashback of the battle came to mind. That must be how she considered a hero. 

At the time of the battle, Rina had two children, one boy, one girl. Her husband had a bad leg and couldn’t fight. Rina didn't want to leave her family for the battle at hand. Being that she was elvish, she went to fight. She had to honor her race and shouldn’t stay out of it. The battle was from the mountain. All these weird monsters were from the part of the mountain that I just stumbled across. There were so many monsters like, slime, imps, vampires, gargoyles, ropers, Minotaurs, orcs to name just a few. Then there was the commander, a succubus. As I read increasingly into the history of this battle, something started to stick out. I couldn’t find anything on Rina after the battle. 

After hours of trying to find anything on Rina after the battle and ending up empty-handed, I started to get frustrated, so decided to go home. It was getting late anyway, and I wanted to be back home before it got too dark. When I arrived home, her parents were startled and have been crying. When I asked them why they’ve been crying, they only responded by saying they thought I disappeared to the dungeons again.

I spoke to my parents over dinner that night. Apologized again for leaving like I did. Promised not to leave again like that, and will say a proper goodbye. There’s a good chance it’ll be a week or two before I’ll consider going back. After a couple of hours, I excused myself to get some sleep, I wanted to go back to the archives tomorrow to see if I could find anything else on Rina. 

Arousing early the next morning, I awoke at sun rise, and ate a small breakfast before heading back to the archives. I checked in at the front desk and went back to the third floor to look up the monster battle. Maybe, just perhaps, I’ll find what happened after the battle. Locating a couple of more books on the battle, I went to a table and started reading through them. 

All I ended up finding in the first book was more on the council and the leading up to the battle. Which, in short, she found was how many people were being taken from the city that wasn’t adventures. It was Rina’s idea to send a group into the mountain to see what was happening. The council agreed, and a group was selected and sent. After a few weeks with no word or returns, the council knew what happened and blamed Rina. People defended Rina due as it was just an idea and the council voted on it. No one could be blamed but the full council itself. 

In the second book, I found more information on the tension that started to build between this dungeon and the city. This was the only dungeon that was coming into the city and taking people. The other dungeon’s monsters didn’t risk the city, but stayed in the mountains and forest there. Finally, the council and the city had enough and decided to go to war with this dungeon. So, they start to plan how to attack and what would be the best advantage. 

One advantage was sending in Rina. They still blamed her for everything that’s happening to their city. They convinced her that it was her duty to honor her people. I shook my head after reading that. So that’s why she went to battle thinking that. It made me so mad that the city council would do something like that. I took a deep breath and went back to the book. 

The battle against the monsters wasn’t going to plan at all. They were taking over the humans with little effort. As Rina looked around after defeating another monster, she saw the devastating going against them. She herself was covered in dirt and different kinds of monster blood. Rina started gathering all her power, knowing she could save the humans from extermination. She started telling them to retreat to return to the city, that she would hold them off. 

When she knew they were a safe distance away, she stood up and started an ancient elvish incantation. The monsters that could hear her fled in fear. They knew what was coming. The power started building and swirling around Rina. When the incantation was finished, the monsters were blown back and sent back to the dungeons to be sealed away. Rina fell to her knees after this powerful spell, only to notice one monster was still out and standing on the ridge. The succubus commander, Tatiana. Tatiana’s smirk was the last thing Rina saw before losing consciousness.

That’s the last thing I read about Rina. I couldn’t find anything else about her. After realizing I won’t find anything else out about her, I decided to leave the archives. I just walked around the town and marketplace for the afternoon before heading home. Tomorrow it's back to Vadean to see what he found out, if anything, about my sword.

I got home to a nice dinner of fish and seasonal vegetables. I sat and spoke with my parents for a while before I soaked in a hot tube and went to bed. Not only that, but I must have been exhausted because I slept until almost 11. I got dressed and ate a quick bite before heading out to the blacksmith’s forges. 

When I arrived, Vadean was bent over a book, deep in concentration. I knocked on his door, startling him. He looked as he hadn’t slept in days. Dark, puffy circles were under his eyes. Vadean gestured to be to sit across from him. He asked me to go over one more time how I came across this mystery blade. 

I retold of my time in the dungeon. How it felt right to choose this word over all the other weapons there, and how I used it to defeat Midrina. He stayed quiet and nodded his head, saying “hmmm” a lot. After I finished my retelling, Vadean stood and told me he couldn’t find much on my sword. The reason for this was due to it wasn’t made by man, but it was an elvish weapon of past times. He told me that the original wielder had to be elvish, and I had to be a descendant of that elf because the weapon is considered a blood weapon, meaning it will only work with a certain bloodline. 

Vadean handed me back my sword and asked me to be safe. I told him I would and left his shop. In a week’s time, I’ll be heading back to the dungeons I left because I am an adventurer and needed to see what else is hidden within the hidden dungeons.