The next morning, they set out for the castle. Normally, the two of them would move through the ruins at a much faster rate. They knew the place like the back of their hands. But now with the three new sleepers tagging along, they moved slowly.
The mournful ruins of the once-great city sprawled around them like a desolate stone maze. With grey skies above and nothing but dead silence surrounding the cohort of four tense Sleepers, it seemed as though they were walking through a vast, cyclopean graveyard.
Effie was at the front, guiding them forward in a way they could slip by unnoticed. Lucien was at the rear, his storm sense spread out in a smaller radius. His job was to act as an early alarm system. If something approached, they'd need to hide, and he was perfect for the job.
He had to stop them every once in a while when a fallen abomination got too close. Sometimes they walked under open skies, other times they entered half-collapsed buildings. Once or twice, they had even climbed to the rooftops and proceeded forward by walking on precariously rickety tiles or bared support beams, jumping across vast chasms, and balancing on half-rotten planks of wood.
Strangely enough, he felt at home in this place. The abandoned city, the coral labyrinth, all of it felt familiar. He had a theory as to why. The forgotten shores had to be connected to Storm's realm. There were simply too many coincidences.
Storm goddess was the goddess of the ocean, the depths, the stars, darkness, storms, and disaster. She was also called the goddess of the black skies.
The Forgotten Shores was a place with no natural light. It was a place plagued by constant storms, and the dark sea was a disaster of its own. If not for the false sun, this place would have fallen to eternal darkness.
True, it did not have the blue sun of her realm. Neither were there any remnants of the Stormforged. But he had seen stone soldiers a few times when he was exploring the ruins. All signs pointed to it being a part of her realm. But how?
As far as he knew, the dream realm was not the same as Storms. But he had heard that different places in this world had different skies and different suns and moons. Biomes changed drastically once you reached their border. The Shores themselves had a burned forest and a desert adjacent to it.
Soon, as the sun began to fall toward the horizon, they had finally reached the base of the hill on which stood that damned castle. Lucien glared at the castle gates, the skulls hanging in front of them acted as both a warning and a reminder to him.
His gaze moved to the tower where the handmaidens stayed, and his glare softened. He sighed, maybe he could see her soon.
Not turning her head, Effie said in a wistful tone:
"There are areas in the ruins that many Nightmare Creatures tend to avoid for some reason. The castle is one of these places. I was told that back when the original group of Sleepers came here hoping to carve a foothold in the city, there was only a single Spire Messenger nesting in the throne room, with no other monsters around. Those madmen actually managed to kill it."
Nephis gave her a glance. "Spire messenger?"
The huntress chuckled. "Big ugly bastards with black feathers and pale bodies, you must have seen them hunting in the Labyrinth. They come from the Spire."
She hesitated. "What are their rank and class?"
Effie shivered a little. "Fallen beasts. That's why I said that those guys were a little mad. But they were a powerful bunch."
She grew silent and then added in a quiet voice:
"It must have taken a lot to kill them, in the end."
Brought into a solemn mood by that last statement, they continued forward in silence. The stone road coiled around the hill, slowly climbing its sheer slopes. Here and there, it was broken by long stretches of stairs and formidable, but strangely graceful fortifications. No one was standing guard, though. The whole road was empty.
Sunny gestured to one of the stone barricades and asked: "Why are there no watchmen?"
Effie shrugged, "Gunlaug has barely enough people to man the castle walls. They will notice anything that approaches the hill, though. The whole city is in clear view from up there, and there are different protective measures put in place. They have already spotted us, too."
After a long time walking up the coiling road of white stone, they finally reached the zenith of the hill and saw the mighty castle in all its glory.
Built from the same pristine marble as the arch at the base of the hill, it stretched into the sky like a white mountain made by human hands. The frontmost tower was wide and imposing, with a tall decorated gate and a grandiose staircase leading down from it to a vast stone platform that the road ended with.
On both sides of the frontmost tower, brought slightly forth, two other stood as bastions, connected to it with arched aerial bridges and accompanied by smaller companion towers of their own. Behind them, the main keep soared even higher, as though trying to challenge the menacing Crimson Spire that loomed above the world far in the distance.
Smaller towers, spires, and wings stood here and there, forming a complex and strangely harmonious formation.
"Take a good look." Lucien glanced at Nephis, "That is what we must siege to get to Gunlaug."
Nephis nodded, continuing to stare at the castle, a deep calculating look in her eyes.
Then, she turned to Effie and asked:
"What do we do now?"
The huntress looked around and shrugged.
"It's going to get dark soon, so I would advise you to find a shelter before that. Look around for an empty hut. With how many people die each season, there's always plenty of those. Otherwise, two of you can pay the tribute and go into the castle. But the third one will have to stay."
She hesitated for a moment and then said, "What about you?"
Effie grinned, "What about me? That luxury one-bedroom cottage over there is mine. Mind you, it was built from the best kind of crap you can find here… although it's still crap. Anyway, I am going home, preparing myself a hearty supper and then going to sleep. I'm dead tired from these last couple of days. Sorry, I don't host guests."
Nephis stared at her, as if wanting to say more, but then simply nodded. "I see. Thank you for everything you have done for us. I won't forget it."
Effie smiled, patted her on the shoulder, and turned to Lucien.
He shook his head. "I've got business in the castle."
Nodding in understanding, she turned to Sunny and Cassie.
"Bye, doofus. Bye, doll. See you around."
With that, she began whistling a cheerful melody and walked away.
Lucien could see the conflicting looks on their faces. They were being forced to choose one to leave behind while the other two stayed in the comfort of the castle.
"Just so you know, I can host one of you." He said, breaking the silence, and three pairs of eyes instantly turned to him.
Sunny glared at him accusatorily. There was no way he would let this guy be alone with one of the girls. Something about him gave him the creeps. Maybe it was the way his eyes seemed to pierce through his very soul. Or maybe it was his shadow, an unfathomably dark and deep. Looking at him reminded him of the depths of the Dark Sea.
But before he could offer to go, Nephis spoke.
"I'll go."
His neck snapped towards her, his face a mix of surprise and concern. Could he leave her to him? Nephis was strong; he knew that. Lucien had revealed himself to be a Divine aspect wielder, and he suspected Nephis was one too. So even if the bastard tried something, he was confident Nephis would be fine.
Nephis, in the meanwhile, had taken out the two shimmering soul shards and held them out to him. "Here. Take Cassie inside."
He stared at her hand, then looked up sharply. "Neph, are you sure?"
She shrugged and looked away, "It is simply the best choice. Right now, we need information the most. With your…"
She trailed off, glancing at Lucien.
'They don't trust me yet.' Lucien couldn't blame them for that. They had only just met, and he had tried to intimidate the short one.
"When you're done discussing, just head to the outer settlements and ask anyone for directions to my house."
He turned towards the castle and paused for a moment before turning back.
"Oh yeah, if something happens in the castle, head for the handmaidens and tell them Aletta's son sent you. They'll get you out alive."
With that, he left the three sleepers and entered the Bright Castle. He ignored the receptionist and headed straight to one of the forbidden areas of the castle. After walking down a few long corridors and going down several flights of stairs, a sturdy wooden door appeared before him. A symbol of a sword and shield was drawn on it.
He pushed open the doors and entered the Memory Market.
Behind the door, there was a medium-sized hall that had no windows. It was illuminated by a strange lantern that levitated in its center, radiating a bright and stable glow. Along the walls of the room stood various weapon racks, wooden mannequins dressed in full suits of armor, and tables with a wide assortment of beautiful and intriguing objects placed upon them.
A man who was nearing twenty-five years of age approached him, a grin plastered on his round face. Unlike every other inhabitant of these shores, he was the only one who was fat. It spoke volumes about his wealth.
"Stev, old man. I come with more memories to sell."
The man smiled cheerfully as he guided him inside. "Of course, my dear friend. How many did you get this time?"
"Nearly two dozen, all of them are above tier two." He said, extending his hand for a handshake.
"Excellent, I'll have to appraise them, of course," Stev said, accepting the gesture. "I'll send you the shards by tomorrow morning, as usual."
Lucien nodded as the memories transferred over. This had become a routine for him. Every few weeks, he'd come here and sell his useless memories. He had unwittingly become one of the main sponsors of the Memory Market, which gave him access to the castle even without paying the fee.
"I'll see you in a few weeks then." He took one more glance at the market before heading for the door.
"I'll look forward to it."
As the doors closed behind him, Lucien froze as he came face to face with one of Gunlaug's lieutenants.
In front of him stood the leader of the handmaidens, Seishan. She was exquisitely beautiful, cold, and inexorable. She was wearing a simple, but strangely regal dress, its velvet the color of red wine. There was an intricate silver necklace resting on her chest that accentuated her supple figure, and two bracelets on her wrists.
Her most striking feature, however, was not her grace and not her beauty, but her skin. It was grey like stormy clouds, smooth like silk, and devoid of any imperfections.
Lucien lowered his head in respect and greeted her with a strained voice. "Lady Seishan."
"Little cub." She nodded, walking past him and going through the doors.
Lucien let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Among all of Gunlaug's lieutenants, Seishan was the last one he could risk insulting.
He walked just a bit faster after that. On his way out, he saw Sunny and Cassie talking to the receptionist and gave them a silent greeting. But for some reason, the pale boy only glared back at him.
When he returned to the outer settlement, he found Nephis frowning in the middle of the street, her gaze flitting between the empty hovels. They were all empty. Not a single soul dared to live here, apart from him, of course.
"Nightmare Creatures often attack from here." He explained, walking up to her and staring at the boundary wall. It was broken now, after the latest attack. He needed to get that fixed soon.
Nephis frowned, "Do Gunlaug's men not fight them off?"
Lucien laughed, "Hah, you think those shitstains would care about the lives of us common folk if they didn't get something in return?"
"They only fight off the monsters that attack the castle directly; everything else is up to us to face." He shook his head and turned back towards his hut. "Care for some roasted monster meat?"