The dawn came cracking over the hills. I got up first and Hayley just a few minutes after me. As she was stretching to wake up I walked over the outfit and morning star I was given. Hayley then sat up and got up off her bed. She picked up her white cloak and staff. Just touching it the way I was with my outfit and morning star. I decided to dress first so she turned herself the other way so I could have some privacy. After I finished I turned myself away as she dressed herself in her cloak. After that was done we slung our knapsacks over our shoulders. We waited beside the Great Hall and soon the rest came and joined me and Hayley. Seeing the 7 of them dressed in those white cloaks reminded me of " The White Mages " I'd seen in Final Fantasy. Or for most intents and purposes, Sypha Belnades. Sypha was one of the heroes of Transylvania years back that I'd read about. Soon the Reverend came up to greet us.
" Good morning all " said the Reverend
We all said a good morning to the Reverend.
" Today you start your journey. May the Lord be shining down on all of you " said the Reverend
We all said thanks.
It was then that he instructed us to the door of the church. So we walked up to the door. He opened it and we all stepped out in the morning of the town.
" Before you begin your journey. I think it would be wise to adventure to the east. Going through Jova Woods, The South Bridge, Veros Woods. From Veros Woods you'll have a fork in the road of where you all may choose to go. You can either go to Berkeley Mansion or the Town Of Veros. I'll leave that decision to you all and anywhere you all will go after that entirely up to you all '' said the Reverend
" We thank you for everything Reverend " said Meav
" You're most welcome " said the Reverend
" Is there anything else we need to know before we go '' asked Mairead
" Yes, lastly I want to give you this bag of coins. There's enough money in here that you all should be able to finish your journey. You'll find many merchants throughout the towns selling items and such to aid you in your journey " said the Reverend
The Reverend handed the bag of coins over to us. We divided up the money between ourselves and put it in our pockets.
" Before you leave the town of Jova I think it would be wise for you all to buy a white Crystal and Holy Water. Those 2 things will make it easier to advance in the beginning for you all " said the Reverend
" Thank you Reverend. We shall go now " said Lisa
The Reverend then smiled at the sky before returning his gaze to us.
" I'll pray that you all will be successful and that you all will succeed " said the Reverend
'' Thank you Reverend '' said Hayley
With that, the Reverend walked back into the church. We were standing in front of the church in the town of Jova.
" What do we do first '' asked Orla
" Well, I think we heed the Reverend's advice and buy a White Crystal and Holy Water " I said
" Alright let's go '' said Lisa
So we began our journey walking through the town of Jova. We then noticed a gypsy by a door. In her bag where a bag of crystals it seemed.
" Good morning " I said to the gypsy
" Would you be interested in buying a White Crystal " The gypsy asked
" Yes we would, Deidre do you have the bag of coins '' I asked
" Yes I do Justin '' said Deidre
She opened the bag and gave me the right amount to buy a White Crystal for our adventure.
" Thank you kindly '' said the gypsy
Before we left the gypsy. I had something to ask her.
" Do you know where we can buy Holy Water " I asked
The gypsy pointed to a door behind her. So we entered the door. Inside was a merchant.
" Hello there, may I interest you in Holy Water " said the merchant.
" Yes you may " said Chloe
So we paid for the Holy Water and left the merchant's shop.
" Now that that's done, our adventure begins now I believe " I said
" Alright Justin, you lead the way " said Meav
So we left the town of Jova and headed straight into the Jova Woods. And surprisingly we were given no choice to fight as skeletons and panthers had shown up. We took to grounds our first battle. And surprisingly the girls and I did well in defeating them in the Jova Woods. After the Jova Woods we braved our way across the South Bridge which was broken in parts. So we had to leapfrog from one part of the bridge to another. And it wasn't easy to do. Because the mermen were jumping up from the water and either trying to knock us off or do battle with us. But again we got the best of them. After the South Bridge. We found ourselves in the Veros Woods. We had to deal with spiders dropping in and shooting their webs at us. It was tough going but we managed to defeat them. After the trek through Veros Woods. We stopped in front of a large mansion. There's no doubt in my mind that this was Berkeley Mansion.
" Is this one of the mansions Justin " asked Lisa
" I think this is " I said
" Which one is this one '' asked Chloe
I pulled out the map.
'' Girls, I think this is Berkeley Mansion " I said
" Wow already a few hours in and battling. And we find a mansion in a short amount of time " said Mairead
" Let's go, let's get what we need to get here and go '' said Meav
So we entered the door into Berkeley Mansion. Surprisingly we just stepped through the door and just straight ahead was water. And near the roof of where we were standing looked like a path further into Berkeley Mansion.
" Great, where do we go from here '' said Deidre
" Get the White Crystal out " I said
So we got the White Crystal out and surprisingly a elevating platform appeared leading up to the path leading further into Berkeley Mansion.
" Wow, great thinking Justin '' said Chloe
" You can thank me later Chloe. Let's go " I said
So we all jumped aboard the platform. When it was high enough to reach the path we jumped off of it and landed on ground. We got up and brushed ourselves off. We were ready to continue on until we heard Simon's voice again. We turned around and he appeared in his ghostly spirit.
" Great job of getting past one of the many obstacles that Dracula and his army have laid for you. In this mansion, and many more mansions along the way. Trust your Holy Water. In this mansion and the others there are invisible holes in stones that you all may think are stable and safe. But really are pitfalls. There are some at the top of this mansion. Use caution you all " Simon said
With those final words. Simon disappeared again. So we resumed our journey. We climbed up the stairs leading up to the top by the roof. And heeding Simon's advice. We all took out bottles of Holy Water and flung them to ground and a few feet in front of us. One by one we jumped over the pitfalls aided by our use of Holy Water. We walked along until we found a flight of stairs. We walked down and begun to battle with skeletons though this time they were brandishing swords and shields this time around. They were easily dispatched. And in the distance we could see another merchant.
" What a merchant doing in a place like this '' asked Orla
" You took the words right out of my mouth Orla '' said Mairead
So we walked along. And we found we had a new nemesis to deal with. That would be parts of the floor with spikes in them. But we jumped over them. And then we finally reached the merchant.
" What's a merchant like you doing in a place like this " asked Deidre
The merchant just ignored her question and then came back with an offer of his own.
" Care to buy a wooden stake " he said
Who were we really to argue with that offer. So we bought the stake. Before we left the merchant. I had a question for him.
" Sorry to bug you again. But do you know where one of Dracula's remains is in this place " I asked
The merchant gave us the directions to where we would find it. He also told us we would need to watch out for pitfalls on the floor leading up to one of Dracula's remains. So we left the merchant. And we began our walks down more flights of stairs. When we reached the path leading to the first remains of Dracula. We had to deal with more skeletons. Once they were dispatched we broke out the Holy Water and flung it everywhere. One step at a time we made our way to the stairs. We walked up the flight of stairs. And we made our way to a pedestal that had a flashing orb on it.
" What's that thing '' asked Hayley
" I think this is one of Dracula's severed remains " I said
" What do we do, how do we take it with us '' asked Meav
" Hand me the wooden stake '' I said
Chloe handed me the wooden stake.
" Take a step back girls or advert your eyes "
They stepped back but they didn't advert their eyes from me. With the wooden stake in my right hand. I rammed the stake into orb. The orb shattered apart. And inside was one of Dracula's remains. Dracula's rib in a bag. I lifted the bag off the pedestal.
" Alright, which one of you wants to carry Dracula's rib " I said
I noticed that not one of them was particulary interested in carrying a body part in their knapsack.
" This isn't going to get any easier girls. You're going to have to help me out here " I said
Chloe then raised her hand.
" I'll carry the rib Justin " said Chloe
" I appreciate your help Chloe " I said
She opened up her knapsack and I put the rib in.
" Now where to " asked Hayley
" We get out of Berkeley Mansion. We find a place to stay for the night " I said
" Where '' asked Lisa
I took out the map again. I noticed we were too far away from the town of Jova. So it was either the town of Veros or the town of Aljiba.
" Well girls, it's your pick where do you want to stay at tonight. The town of Veros or the town of Aljiba " I said
" Which one is closer Justin " asked Deidre
I looked at the map again.
" It looks like the town of Aljiba is a lot closer to Berkeley Mansion than Jova or Veros '' I said
" Let's go to Aljiba then " said Mairead
So after the decision was made. We had to do battle with more skeletons. And retrace our steps to the entrance. Once that was done and we were out of Berkeley Mansion. We headed to our left and entered the Aljiba Woods. We battled through the forces of evil once more until we reached Aljiba. We found the entrance for the church just in time before the night came. We sat down on the benches in the church. I think we were relieved that after battling and running all day that it was nice to sit down. We all opened our knapsacks and ate and drank. I think I could see Orla, Lisa, Meav, and Mairead just starting to nod off to sleep. I felt bad for them. I knew it was a long first day on our journey. But they deserved to rest. Deidre was busy eating and being along with her thoughts. Suddenly Chloe sat down on my left side and Hayley joined me on my right side.
" Now what you girls had in mind for the first day of the journey now was it " I said
" Not in the least Justin, I'm already tired " said Hayley
" You can sleep if you want to Hayley " I said
" I will in a while Justin. I just want to reflect on today " said Hayley
Chloe had her hands in her lap.
" You doing ok Chloe " I asked
" Yeah Justin, I'm fine " said Chloe
" Where are we off to tomorrow Justin " asked Hayley
I was tempted to say but since I could see the others stretched out the benches and sound asleep.
" We'll figure that out tomorrow Chloe and Hayley. I think the most important thing is for you girls to get some rest and myself as well " I said
So I leaned my head back and pretty much slept like that with Chloe's and Hayley's heads in my lap. In my mind I thought.
" One body part down and one mansion down. Four more body parts to collect, and 4 more mansions to visit "