“Although I am not a local, I have lived in the Randall Valley for more than ten years, and I have certainly heard of this urban legend.
The location of the tomb of the nun who was canonized by the Church of the Sun in the Fifth Epoch cannot be found even by the church itself. According to the legend, travelers who get lost or encounter danger in the Eldron Creek outside the city at night can be protected by the "Saint Perry". And in her tomb, there is a secret treasure of the sun and gold. If you find it, you can rule the entire Randall River Valley..."
The blonde witch in a red dress smiled and stretched out two slender fingers:
"It's a very interesting legend. But there are two contradictions in this legend."
Shad expressed his opinion
"The Church of the Sun does not have the habit of building complex underground mausoleums or maze-like tombs for its members. Even for saints who are not buried in the Church, it is impossible to build a mausoleum extravagantly, let alone place secret treasures in the mausoleum."
The witch nodded:
"Second, according to local stories, the tomb of the church's saint is located in the Eldron Creek in the northeast of the city. The Eldron Creek is an area where a river flowing out of the mountains passes through the forest. The area has been fully explored by the Church of the Sun, and no trace of the so-called saint's tomb has been found."
She also picked up her porcelain teacup:
"Why, just based on these stories, you're going to look for a cemetery that the church can't find?"
"But I am almost certain that St. Perry's tomb is really local."
Shade said, and the witch looked at him curiously:
"So, you came to me this morning hoping that I could go look for it with you? I said, I owe you a wish."
"No, no, how can I trouble you? I just want to ask you for a guide who is familiar with the Eldron Creek. You also know that this is my first time here and I am not familiar with the situation here."
If he was in the city, he could find various destinations using a map. But there were no road signs outside the city, and the place he wanted to go was not around the country road. Shade didn't want to waste time looking for the road, so he came to the witch for help.
"To celebrate Golden Dawn's acquisition of the Wilde Opera House, the troupe has decided to hold a week-long performance next week. The girls are all in rehearsal now. Lathers doesn't have time either, as she's busy with moving and renovations."
The witch made a troubled expression. When Shade thought that she couldn't help, so he thought about going to Luvia to find a solution, Miss Benannis pointed at herself:
"So, how about I go with you? No need to use the promise I made to you. I'm just curious about what you can find."
Xia De asked hesitantly:
"Won't this delay your work?"
"If it's just one day, it's not a big waste of time."
The witch stood up and prepared to change her clothes:
"Ms. Carina and Miss Aurora both said in the parliament that you are a very capable man. Although I have seen how you dealt with that puppet, that was also related to the special venue. It just so happens that I have the opportunity today, Mr. Hamilton, let me see your skills."
Because of its special geographical location and suitable climate, the Randall River Valley has been a gathering place for human communities since ancient times. Therefore, there are large and small ancient ruins around the Randall River Valley, most of which are from the early Sixth Epoch, but a few are from the older past. Those ruins are the focus of Shade's exploration today.
Starting from the Wilde Opera House, the carriage carried the witch and Shade through the city to the "Green Grass Farm" owned by the witch... She owned a large piece of land outside the city. The coachman rested in the Green Grass Farm and waited for the two to return. The witch, wearing brown low-heeled lace-up boots, led a horse and walked out of the farm with Shade, and asked Shade provocatively:
"Hamilton from Rejade, you should know how to ride a horse, right?"
"certainly."
If it was before winter, Shad would not have had the confidence to answer this question, but he had already mastered his horse riding skills quite well after traveling between the White River Valley vineyards and the city in Huntington.
"We are heading to Eldron Creek Land now, taking this route."
She was wearing a hooded cloak to keep out the cold. A strand of her curly blonde hair peeked out from the side of the hood, fluttering in the cold winter wind.
The witch's slender white finger pointed to a country road with dense pine trees covered with silver frost on both sides, and the road itself was covered with snow:
"We'll start from here on horseback, and stop at the end of this road, at the river valley pier that no one uses in the winter. Do you want to compete in horse racing with me?"
She climbed onto the horse skillfully and seemed to be in a good mood because she was out of town breathing fresh air:
"Riding a horse on a snow-covered trail is different from riding a horse on a professional racecourse or pasture. Knight, are you interested in competing with me? If I win, I hope you can tell me more about your relationship with the other witches."
I heard "her" smile:
This can be classified as gambling, and the blessing of the gambling god is in effect.
"Sure, but what if I win?"
Shade patted his brown horse on the head, and the latter remained docile and did not move.
The witch on horseback looked down at him, her head slightly raised, her cheeks slightly flushed in the cold wind, which matched the snow scene behind her:
"And what do you want, knight?"
"I want to hear your story, too."
Xia De did not make any excessive demands.
"No problem, get on the horse."
Xia De also climbed onto the horse, and the two of them held the reins and moved forward together in the snow until the horses were almost level:
"Knight, get ready."
A ball of light emitting colorful rays of light like fireworks popped out from the witch's fingertips. The ball of light flew into the air and then fell freely, as if it had its own weight.
Xia De held the reins with both hands and lowered his body slightly.
With a slight bang, the ball of light fell to the ground and exploded on the snow. The two horses shot forward like arrows.
"Then we'll see you out front, knight!"
The bay horse that Miss Benanis was riding leaped up and jumped over the fallen trees caused by the blizzard that swept across the western part of the Old World last month. As Shad rode around it, she had already left him a short distance behind.
Riding in the woods in the snow is indeed very different from riding in ordinary fields. Not only is the snow easy to slip, but many situations in the woods are unpredictable.
The fallen trees on the path are just one example. While chasing the cloaked witch, Shad even encounters squirrels jumping out of the woods and wild wolves chasing the squirrels.
Although Miss Benanis's riding skills were indeed superb, she did not rely on her familiarity with the terrain to keep a large distance from Shade. Not long after they set off, Shade even caught up with her, but then he had to slow down because of a short uphill section, and the witch overtook him again.
Two figures in the snow galloped forward one after the other, and the pine trees covered with snowflakes and silver frost flew behind them one by one. The sound of horse hooves intertwined with each other, as if forming a wonderful forest music.
It can be seen that Miss Benanis was in a better mood after riding a horse in the snow in the countryside. Her personality was far from being as calm as she looked. As they kept moving forward, Shade could occasionally see a very natural smile on her face.
This horse race, which was not far away, soon reached the finish line. At the end of the snow-covered dirt road, there was a slight turn and the dock by the Ailon River. The Ailon River and the Yin'e River were the main rivers that flowed out of the mountains and formed the plain terrain of the Randall River Valley. However, during the winter ice age, the dock had long been out of use.
At the bend, Miss Benannis, who was one step ahead of Shad, loudly reminded him that the finish line was ahead, so Shad took the risk of not slowing down when turning. Fortunately, the horse was very stable and no unexpected accident occurred.
After the turn, there was a straight road less than 20 meters long, which was only a few seconds for a fast-running horse. Shade turned a small turn, while Miss Benanis turned a large turn. The two horses rushed out of the turn almost at the same time, but in the end, Shade entered the dock area first with a very slight advantage.
Several empty wooden boxes were piled in the snow. The rabbits living inside were startled by the sound of horse hooves and hurriedly ran into the woods. Shade jumped off the horse and smiled and said to Miss Benanis who also jumped off the horse:
"It seems I have better luck."
"I'm willing to admit defeat, but let's tell the story after we return to the city."
The witch was not upset, but generously admitted that she lost:
"We continue to move eastwards, yes, along the river ice, but it is best to lead the horses, the journey is not long."
The area known as the Eldron Creek Land is located between the city and the mountains, with the core area being the Eldron Lake, a large lake comparable in size to the Pantanal Lake, which provides a place for ships to dock.
Miss Benanis planned to take Shad along the river into Lake Eldron, and after landing, go deep into the stream to explore the saint's tomb.
"Wait a minute, is there an island in the middle of Lake Eldron?"
Walking side by side with the witch, holding the horse, Xia De suddenly asked worriedly. He had encountered accidents whenever he touched the island in the middle of the lake some time ago.
"You suppose the tomb is in the middle of the lake? No, there is no island in the middle of the lake."
The blonde witch shook her head slightly. She had already taken off the hood of her cloak and looked at Shade with her beautiful face as she walked:
"But if we really can't find the target, we can also go down to the lake to have a look. Although it's a bit more troublesome, it's possible that the tomb is underwater."
After saying this, he turned back and looked at the two horses behind him:
"It's a pity that we only have horses as mounts. If we had chocobos, we could ride them on the ice."
Chocobos were very common creatures in the Fifth Era, but in the Sixth Era, only a few areas of the church and the academy are suitable for breeding. The population is very small. You may see them in academy cities like Saint Byrons, but you can't see them in the civilized world of ordinary people. In the fifth season, the witches who were not yet famous liked to ride chocobos, while the famous witches pursued more beautiful and powerful mounts.