Rise of the Nightmare Crestmaster

The food got cold so Irene reheated it and as they ate they talked. Aldrich took off his necklace and passed it over the table to Irene.

"This is a protective charm wear it at all times, make sure to never take if off until we successfully exorcise the spirt."

"Alright, but how will you do that?"

"I will go to your hometown and exorcise your grandfather's spirt during the exam with some very strong people."

"They couldn't have just let you do that."

"They did, coincidentally the quest was already there so I just told them that I had to take it and they were really nice about it."

"I'm going with you." Irene surprised him with her demand.

"You can't, it's dangerous, you're an ordinary citizen."

"And so are you, you are not a Crestmaster yet."

Aldrich chuckled, "I may not be but I am not much weaker than one. I've hunted more than my fair share of grade zero level three monsters."

"But what if the same thing that happened to me happened to my parents?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I mean, I don't know how all of this works but I've heard enough stories to know it could happen.

What if my grandfather's ghost was doing worse to my parents who are closer to the ghost than me? I need to check up on them."

"Well," Aldrich could refute these arguments but he couldn't entirely dismiss them. Besides there were many unknowns about this case her parents would definitely be more willing to share information if their daughter was with them.

It would save him a great deal of hassle. But bringing her closer might also make things worse still. However, leaving her here might be even worse.

It was not an easy decision to make so Aldrich decided to think on it for a few more days before coming to a final decision on this matter. It was better to take a step back for now to reassess the overall plan.

****

In the nightmare realm Aldrich was staring at the journal, deep in thought. The old and dusty study had been completely cleaned by him, the fireplace was blazing with warmth and the night was filled with the… energetic husks activities.

They were really enjoying their long lost freedom to roam around aimlessly and break whatever they encounter in their wake.

He was thinking of what happened the last time he read the journal, it had become obvious that he couldn't treat this book as an ordinary item.

Reading it consumed his energy to an unbelievable degree, he couldn't just casually browse through it and expect to accomplish something that day in the nightmare realm.

He had to choose when to read and when not to.

Today he wasn't going to read. He had to go to and get the item that the author left for him in the Fractured chapel, and also try out that free upgrade.

Aldrich picked the black long sword, it was by far the best sword he had right now and it could get even better. Why wouldn't he want that?

Under the blood red sky of the Fractured chapel Aldrich entered the main building and looked around in the central hall but he didn't see any obvious places where one could hide something important.

Most of the place was in decay anyway. But the author of the journal wouldn't have played a prank on him could he? It was supposed to be easy.

Aldrich got an idea, he went to where the journal was previously levitating at and looked down at the ground. He stomped and heard a hollow echo underneath.

Jackpot.

He thought that the journal was the first clue, and he was right. Aldrich removed the false bottom and took out a wooden box that was unlocked.

He pushed the lid open and found a white folded cloak. For a cloak called the cloak of the Unseen he thought it might be black or at least darker in color.

Cloak of the Unseen: any who wear it will have their presence suppressed. Your actions will be more likely to be ignored.

That was the information he got after using the Eyes of Insight on it. This was a very interesting item, whether it was useful or not was not determined yet.

Aldrich didn't want to have any high hopes that until he experienced the item in action himself.

Next he looked at the circular platform at the center of the hall, there were three things on it. First was the obsidian slab that produced cold winds all over the place.

The second was the seal of Tindalor and lastly, the so-called Cauldron. The Cauldron was a huge spherical vase, at least it looked like one at first glance and it had several huge holes that lead deep to the center of the item.

Aldrich unsheathed his sword and inserted in the centermost hole in the Cauldron only to be met with a sudden suction force that pried the sword from his hand.

He tried to grab it back but it was pulled in too fast and it disappeared within the cauldron. Something that shouldn't be possible, the cauldron was big but wasn't that big.

He should have been able to see his sword sticking out but it vanished without a trace. A moment later the cauldron started releasing light and vibrating rapidly.

Aldrich had the impression that the entire chapel was shaking with the cauldron. All of a sudden he had the distinct feeling that he was being watched by the statues that were lined in a circle along the hall's inner walls.

And in the next moment everything returned to how it used to be, silent and unmoving. This made this place creepier than before which was not an easily achieved feat.

Aldrich looked at the quite cauldron and it produced his sword back again through the same hole he inserted in starting from the pommel.

It was no longer a long sword, more like a bastard sword with a broad blade, it was inscribed with shapes and symbols he did not see before and it gave him a feeling of thirst.

It was thirsty for blood.

But that wasn't the only thing that changed just now. Aldrich could tell, something else happened.