Chapter 92 - Dark new shores
Scarlett watched the passing houses in silence as their carriage moved through the cobbled streets of central Freybrook. She wasn’t paying much attention to the buildings themselves—she’d long since started growing used to the novelty of this medieval-like world—but rather the scenery of it.
It had been two days since they returned from Freymeadow. The experience there was a strange one, that was for sure. Many might even describe it as haunting. She hadn’t lost any sleep over it, but she understood the sentiment.
After witnessing the destruction of the village, they had only been able to enter once more. Scarlett would have liked it if she had more time there, but six entries were still more than what she had originally expected. She should probably consider herself lucky she got that much. If ‘lucky’ was the way to put it.
The hidden little settlement had been a unique one, even in ‘Chronicle of Realms’, and the same held true in this world. From an outsider’s perspective, the loop Freymeadow experienced every five days was hard to describe in words; both in how it worked and in the dreadful end that awaited at its conclusion.
She hadn’t wanted any of the others to witness that sight, or the factors that were behind it. Yet she had still allowed Rosa to join, even revealing the repetitious nature of the place to her. The woman had taken it surprisingly well, though perhaps that was to be expected. Scarlett didn’t know exactly what Rosa had gone through in the past, but some of it was bound to have been similarly gruesome, even if not necessarily on the same scale.
After they had entered the village again, Rosa had realized pretty quickly that none of the villagers remembered the events from the previous loop. This included Arlene, the older woman acting much the same as the first time Scarlett had introduced herself to her. The second attempt at convincing her to train Scarlett had also ended similarly terribly.
Not that it had stopped Scarlett from going back to her practice at the time. She wouldn’t quit just because things didn’t go her way at first. If there was one thing that Freymeadow afforded, it was time. If the system was what let her increase the power she had at her disposal, then Freymeadow was going to be what she used to hone that power so that she could achieve her goals.
For now, though, things would have to continue as they were. Outside of Freymeadow, there were still a lot of things that had to be done.
The previous day since returning had mostly been spent doing some preparations for the coming days, with just a bit of training in the morning and late evening. One thing that had needed doing was to ensure Evelyne had a room ready in the mansion when she visited. The younger Hartford sister was supposed to return from the capital in a few days. While Scarlett wasn’t exactly looking forward to interacting more with the woman, it was a necessity for her to continue operating as a baroness. She didn’t exactly have the time or opportunity to learn how to be a real noble by herself at the moment.
Other than that, though, most of her preparations had been related to their current undertaking. The destination of their ride this time was the city of Darkshore, closer to the eastern parts of the empire.
It was finally time for Scarlett to get the third piece of the Seal of Thainnith.
She had arranged this trip a while back, not long after making the deal with the Hallowed Cabal. She hadn’t wanted to retrieve the third piece too early, in case the Cabal would just use that as an opportunity to attack her immediately after. It was best if she found the piece as near their next meeting as possible.