Triple Nightmare /Bakudekutodo

Chapter 88: The tales of Ashvara!

Todoroki POV:
We only stayed one night. The next morning we got up early, washed up, got food into our systems and stocked up on anything we needed. While doing that we asked the traders for help on finding the way to Ashvara, our final destination. While most people had never heard of that place we finally met one woman who did. She was just about to open her stand full of vegetables and fruits. She was quite old, with a hunched back and more wrinkles than hair. She wore different fabrics, each in a different colour and embroidered with a different pattern. Her feet were clad in wooden slippers and she had hardly any teeth left. The woman reminded me of a typical grandma. She would bake biscuits for her grandchildren until they were sick and hit people who were naughty with her walking stick. It surprised me, that a fragile woman like her would open up a stand all by herself. With all her might she pulled on the string, which should cause the flap to open so that her products could be seen by anyone passing by.

We slowly approach her and Izuku asked wether she needed help. She thankfully took it and he pulled down the string so that the old woman could knot it to one of the legs holding up the old wooden table. "Pick anything you like as a thank you." She said in a shaken and old voice as she pointed towards the vegetables and fruits. "Oh no, tha's quite alright. We do have a question though. If you don't mind us asking." Izu responded and the old woman slowly made her way behind her stand. "How can I be of help?" she asked. "We are looking for Ashvara. Would you perhaps be able to tell us how we can find it?" "Ashvara?!" The old lady was shocked. "What would five young children like you want in a palace like that?" "You know it?!" We were all relived that we had finally found someone who could be of help. "I do yes, but I wouldn't recommend you going." She said. "Why not?" Kats asked in a harsh tone. "That island is cursed." "How so?" Izu continued asking. The old lady cleared her throat.

"That country had never been a save place for anyone. Often tales of unsettling things happening there made their ways through the surrounding lands. A young boy disappearing, young children just like you suddenly murdering each other, wild beasts no one had seen before showing up out of nowhere. Tales of weird glowing lights suddenly appearing, porcelain stairs. I am one of the first people who can remember being born into our wold and since I was just a little girl I always heard of stories surrounding that place. Nowadays all citizens have fled and for a few years that place has been calm but I wouldn't recommend waking the angry gods resting there anymore." "Gods?" "That's what is being said. No other explanations are believable enough." Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Do you know how we can get there?" Izuku asked. "You shouldn't get near that place!" "We have to." The old lady hesitated. She obviously didn't think it was a good idea telling us. "Please." I begged. She sighed. "Well who am I to stop you from your own fait. I'm too old to argue." She turned around and searched through some boxes behind the stand. She finally pulled something out and turned back around. "This here is one of the only compasses able to point you towards Ashvara. But it also can only point to Ashvara. My father and some of his friends made it their mission to find out what was up with that place and so they created these, their only purpose being, leading anyone to that place. I have no use for it so have it." Izuku accepted it and thanked the woman. We finally had a lead back home!

The compass was pretty rusty but seemed to still be working. While we made our way back to the ship Izuku took a close look at it. Then suddenly he rose his head and said: "Don't you think what the women said was weird?" "You mean about the island?" I asked. "No, I mean the part about her father." "What are you talking about?" Katsuki also asked. Izuku took a look around. Mireille and Sarah had fallen back a little and were chatting behind us. Then he answered a bit quieter: "If this world is truly created by one person and has a similar time as ours, how can it be that such an old woman had a father here. I would understand if she was created an adult and therefore has grown old by now but how can there be a person who wouldn't only be too old to exist but who knew of and visited Ashvara?" Both Katsuki and I didn't know an answer to that. Even if her father is only a memory and has never actually existed in this world, how would he have been able to tell her daughter about Ashvara? For now that was a question without an answer.

As the sun had only started to rise above the sea level we already stood next to the boat saying good bye to our recently added traveling companions. While Kats brought our bags on board Izu gave both of the girls a hug. "Stay save and we hope you'll find a nice place to live." They nodded. "You be careful on whatever mission you're on." Sarah said before we also got onto the ship and loosened the rope. This time it was Izu who kept a close eye on the compass while kats laid down on one of the outside benches to take a nap. I waved the two girls until they became little dots on the horizon. It was weird knowing that after all this time we would finally arrive at the place we had searched for. As difficult as it had been I was slightly sad that our time here would finally find an end.

To be continued ...