Nightmare Lands

(Ashea's POV)

One month before the departure of the Kent and the others....

As I was the one always taking care of the food and refreshments of the group. And the time I spent learning how to make simple medicines with the various herbs in this forest made me feel closer to Brad. I had always wanted to find someone who I really liked and not any guy arranged for my by stupid family. This was why I became an adventurer with my brother.

I always found Brad to be very hardworking and rarely rest for most of the time, I found out about this when I went to take a drink because i still worry over my brother. I really wish that he doesn't get into trouble but I am sure Harold would take care of it. He was also one I considered as he was quite a nice person but I know he doesn't see teammates more than his own brothers and sisters.

But Brad made me see a new kind of guy, he was very respectful and thoughtful about all our needs. He didn't even react much to the blatant advances of Sister Rhean and Big Sis Brendel. I don't mind sharing him with them at all, I't quite common and Brad seemed like a very capable man. I know I can't keep him to myself even if I wanted it deeply.

He is also very talented, how could he have survived here alone all these years. I don't know why he keeps rejecting obvious advances by us but I find it cute. Maybe he was just new to meeting girls, because I'll be sad if he turned out to have different preferences.

I sighed as I cooked a simple meal by pan frying some preserved goat meat from a Wind Cliff Goats(Takin). To think he was able to get so many necessities in this dangerous continent tells me enough about why those arrogant nobles why they wanted to set foot here on this continent. Just the mysterious type of Earth eating worms are a real treasure to blacksmiths.

The metal were so pure and of high quality that Brad was able to make great items with the metals we got. There's enough Mithril to even buy a small country, those stone tools were even made with very hard rocks that had basked in the magic rich atmosphere of this continent. From what Sis Brendel said those stone arrows could pierce gold rank materials, coupled with the weird throwing weapon of Brad it was very lethal.

He seemed really tired after the past week of making many things like metal tools, some weird looking stuff that I don't know the use of, some alcohol that was made from forest fruits and arrow tips. I can't tell what he wants to make from all those weird metal plates and gears but I know he is tired. It's already noon and he hasn't gotten out from his room, which we still have no idea what it looks like.

It's not like we are close enough for him to show us his personal space but I feel worried that he hasn't eaten yet. ArrgghH! What the hell am I thinking?! But if I make the excuse that I am bringing food over then it would be justified. Hehe, I'm so smart!

I prepared a simple breakfast and tea for Brad, which I brought up carefully. Thankfully Brendel and Rhean are downstairs playing that chess game, Kent seemed to like polishing his armor with that weird wheel with fur on its sides alongside the grinder. His armor does come out shiny though but he kept cleaning his armor with it everyday.

I reached Brad's door and felt nervous, would he get angry if he finds out? Should I knock? But I won't get to see his room if he wakes up, Gaahhh! What the hell, lets do this! I pushed the door slowly and was greeted with a few more stone steps going up, I carefully walk up and try not to make any noise that'll startle Brad. I was then greeted by a fresh scent that could be smelled only during summer.

I was dumbfounded seeing the well lit room that was beeing shone on by a clear piece of ice that has some wooden frame that held it together. It's light spread all over the room as there were pots with plants on it, poisonous herbs, precious plants that could fetch tens of thousands of coins, small fruit trees and even some vines that seemed lively in this winter solitude. I was struck with awe at how it was possible to grow these plants even in winter.

There was also a stone pipe giving out water that flowed on a large reservoir that also flows down on different outlets but the indoor pool made me amazed at how simple looking this room is but feels comfortable at the same time. I looked around and saw a bed at the end of the room. I put the food an a table nearby where there are some leftover food.

It seems it was unnecessary for me to bring food but who cares, I walked carefully and peeked inside the fur curtains and saw Brad sleeping peacefully. I then looked around for something else and saw many doors that were on the side of the reservoir that was not seen by me earlier. I walked there carefully seeing that Brad still seemed tired, I carefully opened it but a sound came out.

*Creak!!*

I flinched as heard that little noise I made and instantly looked back if Brad had been roused from his sleep. There seems to be no movement and breathing sounds could still be heard. 'Holy crap. Damn that was close.' Ashea sighed in relief seeing that Brad seemed to be still asleep. She looked inside and was not sure of what it was but second later she realized this was some kind of closet.

There were so many armors in here that she couldn't tell the origins of some, she could see that elven armor that Brad wore before as well as some swords that looked like they were all elven made.

'Huh? What's this?' Ashea went too look at a set of clothing that seemed to be similar to what the human nobles wear during their balls and parties. But from what I saw here Brad doesn't seem to have any way to get this kind of smooth fabric, now that I think about it the Elven noble armor seemed to be too intricate for Brad to make.

I looked around but could tell much anything other than there seemed to be more mysteries covering Brad than what I thought of him. I slowly walked back into the room and looked at the wide room and see if I have anything that I missed. I saw some weird plants but that's not new, I walked around slowly and something caught my eye.

It was a weird black glass on a table near the bed, I walked slowly and realize Brad is still sleeping so I tried seeing what kind of thing it was. It was shaped in a rectangular manner but has smooth curved edges, one side was kind of glass but was so smooth and another side was metallic. There were these weird circle spots on the metallic side which I don't know of but this reminds me of that gadget of Turli made from magic glass.

It was a communications device invented by the dwarves and it became a fad in the noble circles. She saw some on the morning papers of what that looked like but this one on her hand seemed more delicate. It has no buttons like the ones the dwarves has, let's try this small button on the side.

'Oh! It worked!' I looked at the image shown on the glass-like side and was stunned. It was Brad but he is dressed differently here, he looked fatter but that was not what I was looking at, it was the buildings behind him. I know these buildings, It was similar to what I experienced on the nightmare Lands.

I know everybody gets to experience the nightmare lands differently but this was similar to where I have dropped with along my brother. We were treated as crazy people and were imprisoned thus never to fulfill the missions given by the Dream Lord but I remember it very clearly. When we came out it we later heard it was something our ancestors dreaded to face in the Nightmare Lands. It all came down to similar results, that was to get imprisoned or killed by weapons that spew fire and metal.

Worst part is that everybody was powerless and arrived in as humans, even the humans were killed or imprisoned. She remembered how the looks of those people changed when she asked why there were no mana in that world. It was so unlucky for her to arrive in that nightmare but she could never forget the looks of the buildings around her. It was similar to what's behind Brad in the image.