As Rhojeka stood at the side of the road, the little sack with her personal belongings right at her feet, watching this big... thing... approaching her with a loud roaring sound, she remembered what her friend Mervella had told her:

"Some things you might encounter will seem strange. Some are not meant for this world. But do not lose your courage over them! If it is a threat, then you will know. Anything else is nothing to worry about. Just be yourself, keep your wits about, and you will get through this in no time."

Soothing words, no doubt, from a person that had gone through this herself and returned to tell the tale. And Mervella had told of tasks that she had not been prepared for - but had accomplished anyway. Without even fighting or killing anyone. For Rhojeka with her bardic knowledge, her magic skills and her overall worldly experience this should be a walk in the woods.

But then she saw this monster coming closer, and doubt clouded her mind. Whatever this was, it was big - big enough to crush her on a whim. And as it came closer, it looked like it had a skin of painted metal. The eyes in the edgy face were of glass. The roar reached her ears long before she could even see it come around the corner. And the smell... like burning. It wasn't the worst smell she had ever encountered, but standing close to it made her feel like suffocating.

It came to a halt right next to her, and an opening appeared in the metal skin. Momentarily Rhojeka felt foolish - this was not a monster. It was a carriage. Though it was not pulled by horses or any other animals. Behind this opening she could see a man sitting in a chair, with a big wheel in front of him that looked like a steering apparatus. With a snort and a silent nod he signaled her to come aboard. Reluctantly, Rhojeka did so, dragging her sack behind her. She felt the grim gaze of the driver in her back as he watched her every move.

Inside the smell was less dominant. She found lots and lots of rows with chairs. Only some of them were taken, and the people she saw there looked... strange. Like they had been gathered from completely different worlds altogether. She nodded at them and showed her best smile, and some of the other people smiled back. But not all. As she took a seat somewhere in the middle of this strange carriage, the opening closed again with a hiss, and the carriage was set in motion with a thunderous roar. Rhojeka felt that she was pressed into her seat like by an invisible giant hand - this thing moved way faster than any carriage she had been riding in.

Outside the large windows of the vehicle, the landscape turned into a blur. They traveled at a speed that she had never deemed possible. As she looked outside and tried to focus, she could see some other vehicles outside, matching their speed and even overtaking them at times. Smaller vehicles, also driven by no visible power like the huge carriage she was sitting in. In the front seat, the driver started to belch a song. The carriage accelerated even more, swerving from one side to the other. The passengers had trouble staying in their seats. Baggage was falling all over the floor. Somebody screamed.

Rhojeka held on to the seat in front of her and glanced to the front. Was this man insane? He seemed completely unaware of the chaos he was causing right behind him. His "singing" - a term that she felt great reluctance to use in his case - grew louder and more agitated by the minute, and it felt like he was losing control of the monster he was steering. "He's gonna get us all killed," a man stated gloomily from the seat behind her. She turned around to him. Like the others he was clenching his hands around her seat, like holding on for his dear life.

"What's the matter with him?" she asked. Being in this vehicle was bad enough for her, but his attempts at barking some melodic tunes did more to her than she could bear. Her stomach felt like it began to turn upside down. Another turn of the vehicle, and she was pushed against the large windows along with everyone else.

"Motorway Madness," stated another passenger from a few rows behind.

Rhojeka had no idea what this meant, except that it sounded serious. She focused on the aura of her travel companions and saw the same in everyone: worry, fear, confusion. The driver on the other hand - his aura flickered, showing a purpleish red that she had seen on insane people before. The passengers were right to be frightened. This could not end well, unless somebody calmed him down.

Maybe another song would do it... She wasn't sure if the thought came to her on its own, or if some other passenger had spoken it. But this was what she had been trained for. The right song could affect listeners in a way that many people described as magic. It was the common trait for any good bard. But she had to act quickly - if she became really sick, she wouldn't be able to sing effectively. Also she had to overcome the gruff voice of the driver. For a brief moment she closed her eyes, going through the songs she knew by heart. Sharon once taught her a tune that would be able to comfort anyone in such a situation.

And the lyrics matched this. Weren't they all part of a story here? Wasn't that the reason they were gathered in this carriage, to be driven to a destination where their story would completely unfold? The lyrics became a source of power in her mind, boosting her confidence, and she took a deep breath before she unleashed her singing voice onto the vehicle. She decided to start with the chorus, in the hopes that the others would join in at the end of the song:

"We're part of a story, part of a tale.
We're all on this journey. No one's to stay.
Where ever it's going? What is the way?"

Her voice cut through the relentless roar of the machine driving this huge vehicle, through the fearful moans and screams of the passengers, even through the agitated voice of the driver. As the chorus ended he stopped singing, his glance reflected by the rear-view mirror rested on Rhojeka's face. With more confidence this time, she rose up from her seat and took a stand in the middle of the corridor between the seats. Holding on tight to both sides, she put all her energy into the song.

"Armies have conquered and fallen in the end.
Kingdoms have risen and buried by sand..."

Though it was unusual, the song even affected herself. She felt with each word that the confidence grew stronger in her, and her fear vanished into thin air.

"We'll all be forgotten, there's no endless fame.
But everything we do, it's never in vain."

Maybe the other travelers in here got the meaning of the words, too. From what she could see, the others regarded her with admiration, but also looked like in a trance as they considered themselves as part of the song. The next chorus came up, and the lyrics in that changed a bit, but still - the first ones attempted to sing along, and the mood inside this monstrous vehicle rose to higher levels.

"We're part of the story, part of the tale.
Sometimes beautiful, sometimes insane.
No one remembers how it began."

It worked! As the second chorus ended, she realized that she didn't have to hold on so tightly anymore. The others had returned to their seats, the luggage had been picked up and put into its place again, and the landscape outside the large windows was still blurry, but it looked much calmer than before. She continued to sing, and at the last chorus everybody else was singing along with her. Even the driver!

"We're part of the story..."

She closed her eyes, felt the sound waves of multiple voices holding the melody and the rhythm of the song in unison, felt the joy and warmth that the people felt at this moment. Moments like this reminded her why she had chosen to do this for a living. It filled her with pride. She stopped singing for a moment in the middle of the chorus, but the others sang the line for her, didn't even notice her pause. It was just beautiful.

As the song ended, she gained applause from everyone. Relieved, she returned back to her seat. Apparently her taking on this journey had been the right choice - she doubted that Mervella would have solved this problem as easily as her.

"Great song!" the driver commented with a grin. "Hey, anybody here ever heard of Bohemian Rhapsody?" He opened a small box next to him.

Author's note:

The song referenced in this story is "Never Ending Story" by Within Temptation.