That morning, Alaric was shaken awake before even the first light of dawn. Groggy and irritable, he sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"Who..?" Alaric began, almost momentarily forgetting he no longer lived in Mortadire.
"Up, up, up. The time of your trial is here, we have no time to waste. Who knows when Mortadire will be on our doorstep." Brigham's voice came then. Alaric could not comprehend how the man sounded so energetic as early as it was.
Alaric groggily rose to his feet, trying his best to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. His head was pounding and he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.
"Here, take this. It should wake you up a bit." Brigham spoke, handing a ceramic cup over to Alaric, who took it.
The cup was hot, and a pleasant smell met Alaric's senses. "What is this?" He asked.
"Coffee." Brigham responded, turning and walking through the door and down the hall. "Let's go!"
Alaric raised the coffee to his lips and let it flow into his mouth. It was bitter but at the same time held a sweet flavor. It was a pleasing flavor, a balance of sweetness and bitter.
Taking another gulp of coffee, Alaric followed after Brigham. He went down the hall and descended the staircase, almost tripping due to how dark it was and his groggy mind.
They came to the bottom floor. Alaric glanced at the desk, half expecting the innkeeper to be there, but he was not. Then building was completely dark. Brigham walked over to the desk, digging around beneath it before pulling out a lamp. He placed the old, rusted thing on the table before pulling out a match. He opened the lamp, struck the match alight, then passed the flame into the lamp, which sprung to light, casting a dim glow across the room.
Brigham, after replacing the matches, led Alaric out of the inn. Outside it was cold, a heavy fog falling over the valley. Alaric could hardly see the burly man that walked before him, if it hadn't of been for the lamp, he doubted he'd be able to follow.
Taking the last sips of his coffee, Alaric sped up his stride so he walked shoulder to shoulder with Brigham. The Sarua village was much more eerie, now that it was completely shrouded in fog. The cold mist began to dampen Alaric's skin and clothes as he walked through it. A shiver ran down his spine.
Eventually, Brigham led Alaric past the last houses of the village and into the forest, opposite the side he'd come in from the day before.
"Where are you leading me?" Alaric inquired.
"The caverns." Brigham answered. "Grifford will explain soon as we arrive, don't ya worry."
"Seems strange.. but I will follow for now. I've no other choice either way." Alaric said.
Brigham chuckled. "Don't worry, we ain't gonna kill ya. Not ourselves at least."
"What?"
"I will not lie, it is entirely possible today is the day you will die. You'll understand, just let Grifford explain." Brigham said. "He always explains things better than me."
Alaric sighed, now only following through the mist in silence. The trees that now seemed to swallow them whole were like dark apparitions watching them from the shadows. Alaric suddenly felt uneasy, as though he were being watched.
"Remember when I said your disbelief would be your own undoing?" Brigham suddenly spoke. "I meant it. The things you assume to be fiction, in reality, only exist within the deepest shadows of our lands."
Alaric gave Brigham an odd look. The lamp's firelight casted strange shadows dancing across the burly man's grim features.
What was he talking about? Was he seriously trying to say… mythological creatures existed?
"Ya feel that? The sense of being watched, as though the forest around ya is breathing and moving all as one being?" Brigham asked. "That is the feeling of being surrounded by that which ya doubt."
"Are really trying to say that phantasmal beings exist?" Alaric asked doubtfully.
"Indeed. But I really doubt you'd believe me, ya gotta see it for yourself. But I warn you, have an open mind and expect anything. Else ya will die. Just a friendly warnin' for ya."
Alaric bowed his head, staring at his feet as he walked. That feeling he'd had earlier, the sense of being watched, now grew more extreme. He began to feel uncomfortable, he felt threatened. His eyes flew back and forth, in every direction, as he stared into the ominous forest.
His hand came and rested upon the hilt of his wakizashi. Both the katana and the small blade were his only sense of comfort in an unknown world. He felt wrong in his own body, everything around him felt distorted and unreal.
"I'd also like to warn ya, if ya ever walk this path alone, do not leave the trail, and do not, I mean do NOT heed to the voices that may call to you." Brigham said grimly.
"What..? Voices?" Alaric asked.
"The only reason they have not tried to take ya yet is due to my presence. Otherwise, you'd know what I'm speaking of." Brigham explained. "Either way, I'm done talkin' now. We are almost there."
For the rest of the way, they walked in uncomfortable silence. For some reason, that silence was much louder than their voices had been. The fact that the forest around them was completely still, no noise to be heard from within its depths, was extremely unsettling.
Eventually, the forest's edge, to Alaric's pleasure, came to an end. Off in the mist, he could faintly make out the light of another lamp, as well as two figures. As they drew closer, Alaric came to recognize Grifford and Lyra. The girl grinned at him slightly, but that smile quickly fell away, her face turning grim.
Brigham stopped, turning to Alaric. He held out the lamp, suggesting he take it. Without a word, Alaric took the lamp into his hand, holding it at his side. His eyes lifted up to Grifford, who also held a lamp.
The man's face was unreadable, expressionless and dark, as if he'd seen the murder of a child.
"I hope you've come prepared, Alaric." Grifford spoke.
"I have." Alaric responded, patting his swords. "Now, explain to me what this is about."
Grifford turned, holding up the lamp to shine a faint light over what appeared to be the entrance of a cave.
"Within this cave is a token bearing the Sarua family crest. Your mission is to find and retrieve this token, then return here. After this, you shall traverse the forest path, alone, and find me within the temple. Upon meeting me, you shall be accepted into the Clan. You must reach the temple before the sun meets its highest point in the sky." Grifford spoke, his tone grim. "Is that understood?"
Alaric was confused as to why they made this trial seem so.. dangerous. From what it sounded like, it would be easy. All he had to do was find an item within a cave, then return to the village. It was simple enough.
"I understand." Alaric said.
Lyra stepped forward then, handing him a matchbox. Alaric took it, opening it up and peering inside. There were only three matches within the box.
Tucking the match box into the fold of his kimono, Alaric turned up to face Grifford, only glancing and meeting Lyra's eyes once.
"Do you accept this trial knowing full and well that your life may be on the line? Do you accept knowing that you may die, never again to see the light of day?" Grifford asked.
"I accept." Alaric spoke, doubtful of the danger he has been warned of, though, he kept in mind Brigham's warning from before.
"Very well. Then make your way through the cavern. I hope to see you back at the temple soon." Grifford nodded, then began to walk away towards the forest.
Brigham walked up beside Alaric, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. "Remember what I said. Good luck in there, kiddo." He spoke before following after the old man.
Lyra looked at Alaric with a worried expression. "Be careful. I don't wanna have to find your corpse."
"Erm, understood.. but may I ask, what resides within this cave that could be so dangerous?" Alaric asked.
"Many things. I cannot say anything more. Good luck." Lyra said, averting her eyes before walking off to join her grandfather and Brigham.
For a long moment, Alaric stood in silence, watching the light of the lamp bob and weave in the fog as their figures disappeared until the flame too faded away.
Alaric turned to the cave entrance, lifting the lamp above his head. There was no sound whatsoever within the forest or the cave, just eerie, still silence.
Alaric was about to step forward, taking a deep breath as he began toward the cave entrance, then he froze. From behind him he heard the sound of shifting leaves.
Slowly, Alaric turned about, lifting the lamp. He could see nothing but dark shadows within the edge of the forest. He suddenly felt like his life was in danger.
And then he heard a distorted hiss as a raspy voice called to him from within the trees. The voice spoke, long and wheezing, as it called his name.
Alaric's hand flew to the hilt of his wakizashi as he stepped away from the tree line. For a long moment, there was, again, silence, but then Alaric could see the flicker of what appeared to be gleaming red eyes from within the forest.
Alaric began to back away, never moving his eyes from the ones that bore down on him. And then, as he back up, his foot failed to meet the stone ground, falling away into a slight incline as he descended in a backwards spiral down into the mouth of the cave, dropping the lamp as he went.
The darkness seemed to swallow him completely.