It was dark as they neared the site. It was a new moon, so only the stars lit the world, not that it mattered to Anna. She didn’t need light. Barika had her staff lit for her and Elaine to see, but they were behind her. She moved the eye higher. She wanted to catch a glimpse of the site before they got there.
“No, not again!” she yelled, starting to run.
“Lass, wait! Lass, what is it?” Thokri yelled, starting to chase her. She turned to face him.
“Please don’t hate me,” she said to him and turned back. She started to run full speed to the site. Her friends were calling to her, but she quickly outpaced them, coming up on the site.
“It’s just like before,” she thought. Five standing stones surrounded an alter with men standing around it. One held a knife to a young woman’s throat.
“Stop!” Anna yelled, but he didn’t. He drew the knife across, cutting deeply. The blood flowed out, and then it was pulled up to a portal above them. It was growing. “I have to stop them. I have to kill the nightmares. No, those men. I’m not the dreamer. I know what they are,” she thought.
She drew forth a huge amount of power from the dreamer’s core, causing her head to spin some. Countless eyes opened, and tentacles seem to appear from nowhere. One of them grabbed the man with the knife and crushed him, causing the knife to fall on the alter. More of them formed a barrier around the remaining women to protect them.
They started to scream at the sight. She didn’t exactly control the tentacles. They just kind of did what she wanted in their own way, and their way was tearing the men apart in all manner of gruesome ways.
She smiled at the sight. At first, limbs flew around. Then larger chunks of meat and viscera were flying around, finishing with the men being reduced to goo that was splattered everywhere.
“So that’s what happened,” Anna thought, remembering her first day.
She felt a malevolent presence and looked at the portal. Something was lashing around, trying to get through like a wild animal caught in a trap. She saw the portal open wider at its flailing. “I have to stop it,” she thought.
Pulling more power than she could handle, it poured through the tentacles which grew around the portal and sealed it shut. She felt herself falling.
“ANNNAAAA!!!” someone cried, and then she passed out.
She woke up to find Thokri holding her. She was still on the ground.
“Thokri?” she said.
He looked at her, tears in his eyes. “Lass, you came back,” he said softly. He gently set her down.
She stood up feeling fine. Her chest was burning, but nothing made her uncomfortable, so it was fine too.
“Anna, what happened? What was that? How did you do that?” Elaine asked, rushing over.
“I’ll tell you all when we are alone,” Anna answered, looking at the women. They shrank back at her gaze.
Voekeer returned with a dozen armed men. He had run to the local settlement for help. The women had given him directions.
The party told the men of an epic battle that didn’t happen and blamed Elaine’s death magic for the state of the cultists. Barika told them that the women had been traumatized and wouldn’t remember what really happened. That’s why they were talking about tentacles.
The men headed back to the village with the women, and the party left the site wanting nothing more to do with it. They found a clearing some distance away and setup camp.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
It was nighttime, but no one wanted to sleep after witnessing that, so they all sat around the camp fire waiting to hear the tale.
“I’m not a Fae. I know what I am and always have. I just didn’t want anyone to hate me, so I never told you,” Anna said.
“What are you lass?” Thokri asked. He still seemed worried for her.
“I’ll start from the day I was formed,” she said. Beginning the tale, she told them of the dreamer, the first cultist, her time in Fishport, and explained everything from her point of view leading up to this. “And that’s it,” she finished.
“They are going to hate me now,” she thought, preparing to be told to leave.
“I knew it! I knew you weren’t a Fae. It all makes sense now,” Elaine said.
“You knew?” Anna asked.
“I didn’t know for sure, so I didn’t say anything, but I’ve read about Fae, and your abilities don’t match up,” Elaine replied.
Lyreen started to giggle. “You’re a teenage girl’s fantasy,” she said, losing all composure and laughing like Thokri after a practical joke.
“Yes,” Anna replied with a pout.
“Sorry, but like Elaine said, it does explain everything,” Lyreen said, still smirking.
“Barika, can we still be friends?” Anna asked.
“What? Yes, why would you ask that?” Barika replied shocked.
“I’m not really alive. I’m made from part of the dreamer. I know the goddess doesn’t like things outside of the balance,” Anna said.
“Oh child, you’re not outside of the balance. Your more like the dreamer’s daughter then the dreamer itself, and the goddess loves children regardless of their parents,” Barika said. “Besides, what kind of person would I be if I stopped being your friend because I found out you were different?” Barika finished.
Thokri was just smiling.
“Thokri?” Anna asked.
“You’re the same lass as before,” he replied, his smile turning into a toothy grin. “I’ve got another story to tell the lads now anyway,” he said.
“What?” Anna asked.
“Lass, those tentacles of yours killed those bastards in ways I’ve never seen before,” Thokri said, starting to chuckle.
“How?” Anna asked.
“Well, one of them went right up one’s arse, then puffed out, and he exploded. I’ve never seen a man explode before,” he said, laughing harder.
“Oh, I remember that one. How about when they were playing toss with the heads?” Voekeer added.
“I liked it when they were sword fighting with the legs,” Lyreen said.
Now everyone was laughing and describing the gruesome, yet hilarious ways, the cultists met their ends.
They packed up and left the afternoon of the next day, everyone having slept in except for her. She didn’t sleep that night.
They didn’t bother with the ruins. They just noted that a cult was active in them and let the crown deal with it. They didn’t stop at the village either, not wanting to upset the women with Anna’s presence.
“I’m glad that other thing didn’t get though. Just looking at it made me feel wrong,” Elaine said.
“I would have stopped it, even if I had to drag the Dreamer here,” Anna said.
“The dreamer could have stopped it?” Lyreen asked, overhearing them.
“Yes. It can do anything, and it wants new dreams, so I don’t think it would let this world die,” Anna answered.
“We really shouldn’t bother it,” Barika said.
“You’re right. It just doesn’t understand this world. It would probably just make things worse. It’s better off dreaming,” Anna said.
“We might not want to tell anyone about this and keep the Fae thing until we get back and let the guild master know,” Voekeer said.
“The lad is right. Fae are stories for children, so people will trust that more,” Thokri said.
“I don’t mind lying to strangers. I’m glad I got to tell my friends,” Anna thought. “Why was it young women both times?” Anna said, thinking aloud.
“Virgins,” Elaine said.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Anna asked.
“Nothing, but a lot of old spell books say it does, so weirdos like that always grab them just in case,” Elaine answered.
“But why women?” Anna said.
“They are perverts,” Elaine said with a shrug.
“Oh,” Anna replied.
They camped in a nice clearing near a river. She was the only one to wash up. It was too cold for the others. She had the last watch, so she went to bed early.
She looked up. New eyes were there. They were huge and seemed to look through her. The feeling was alien even to her.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Anna asked. They blinked and then faded away, leaving her with the normal eyes and tentacles. “I guess I wasn’t calling the dreamer before. It must have just been my dream friends,” she thought, looking around as she walked through the field of tentacles.
“Maybe I am really its daughter now?” she thought. “I really should just leave it alone, and let it watch my dreams,” she said aloud.