They made it out of the tunnel that was filled with the strange monsters, the ones that had tried to eat her not long ago, and kept going until they found a cavern that was large enough to set up everyone’s tents, except hers of course. She still didn’t feel like setting it up.
She set the general down, and the tentacle propped him up. She took off her pack and then started to undo her belt.
“What are you doing?” the general asked.
“Taking off my clothes to get cleaned up,” Anna replied. Off came her belt which she set aside.
“I could use some help over here,” Elaine said.
“Sure thing,” Anna replied.
Tentacles appeared next to Elaine and started to help her with her tent again. Sometimes Elaine was able to set her tent up on her own, but she seemed to have trouble every night down here. Anna summoned a few to help Rose as well. The general looked at the appendages as they worked.
“How many can you create?” he asked.
“I’m not making them. They come from my dream world, and there are enough of them there to fill an open field from horizon to horizon,” Anna replied.
She pulled off her dress and flipped it inside out. He looked over her body as she got her water skin from the side of her pack and started to wash the ichor off. The ichor was sticky and gross, but she managed to get it all off. She tossed the ruined dress away thankful she’d put on one of her many adventuring dresses the day before.
She plopped down next to her pack and picked up her belt by one of the clean parts. A tentacle appeared and popped open the pouch that held her rings. It fished out the cleaning one and handed it to her. She put it on and then started to clean her belt off, humming a tavern song she’d heard at one of the inns they stayed at during the summer.
“If you let me go, I’ll forget all about this,” the general said.
“And lose the reward? Not going to happen,” Anna replied.
She finished cleaning her belt and put her ring back in her belt pouch. She took a clean dress from her pack and put it on, then put her belt back on, adjusting everything so that it was on right. She sat back down and leaned against her pack, summoning an eye to keep watch. The general looked at the eye for a moment and then back at her.
“You’re not human, are you?” he asked.
“What gave it away?” Anna replied. He laughed bitterly.
“Leave it to me to find the only outsider in the city and pick a fight with her,” he said.
“I’ve been called that before. What does it mean?” Anna asked. He looked at her a moment, searching her face before sighing.
“Something from another realm. In your case, I’d say a realm that’s nothing like ours,” he replied. Anna looked into the man’s dark eyes wondering what else he knew.
“You’re half right. My father is from another realm. He created me using a part of himself and the memories and dreams of a few dozen girls and young women that were sacrificed by men who wanted power,” Anna said. The general glanced at the eye floating nearby.
“Does your father look like that?” he asked nodding at the eye and tentacle.
“Yes, but bigger. Much bigger. Bigger than everything everywhere with more eyes and tentacles than there are numbers. He goes on forever in all directions and back and forth in time, dreaming, always dreaming,” she replied.
The general looked shocked.
“Do you know what he is? He calls himself the dreamer, and the only time he ever woke up was when he made me,” Anna asked. The general shook his head.
“No, but the master might know. If you let me go, I’ll take you to him, and you can ask,” he said.
“I can’t. My friends want to take you to the paladins, so that’s where you’re going,” Anna replied.
“We can just wait until they fall asleep and slip away,” he said.
“They are all I have. I’m going to be with each of them for the rest of their lives!” she snapped.
A look of sheer terror crossed his face, and he looked away.
She went to eat with her friends. They were in a good mood, joking and trying to guess what they would get as a reward for the general’s capture.
Does the dark one really know about the dreamer? Should I go and see him? My friends don’t want to meet him, but why? What could happen? I can’t be hurt, so he couldn’t do anything to me.
She chewed her jerky and listened to her friends talk about all the things they wanted to buy, each one getting more and more extravagant.
“I’m going to get a cupcake,” Anna said.
“That’s not really a surprise,” Lyreen said.
“I haven’t had one since we left Oldforge,” Anna replied.
“I thought you went out to eat all the time,” Elaine said.
“Well, yeah, but there wasn’t a bakery at the food market, and dwarves don’t really eat treats. At least, not the city dwarves,” Anna replied. Thokri just shrugged.
“Got a few places back in the mountain, but you’re right, we don’t eat them as often as humans and elves,” he said.
“Elves really like sweet things. I heard there are whole streets in the great forest city that are devoted to treats,” Lyreen added.
“Okay, we have to go there after we visit the dwarves!” Anna said.
“Get the cloud cake. They use cream sweetened with elder flower nectar,” the general said.
“You’ve been to the elven capital?” Voekeer asked.
“I have, and it was beautiful,” the general replied.
“Why would a servant of the dark one go there of all places?” Elaine asked.
“The master has no quarrel with elves, or dwarves for that matter, only humans and their gods are our enemies,” the general replied.
“What if a human doesn’t worship the gods?” Elaine asked.
“Then she would be fine necromancer,” the general replied.
“What happens to humans that do?” Anna asked.
“We give them a choice to stop, and if they refuse, they die,” the general replied.
“So, you’re not human then?” Anna asked.
“No, child. He’s a darkling,” Barika replied.
“You hit me that hard thinking I was human?” he asked.
“Yep,” Anna replied.
“You would have killed me!” he said.
“She’d have taken you’re head right off, lad. Seen her do it a few times,” Thokri replied. The general looked away again.
He’s being so dramatic.
The party talked for a while longer before the others went to their tents. She walked back over to her pack and sat, leaning back on it.
The general didn’t say anything else, and just like the days before, she sat there staring at the cave ceiling while the eyes searched for any danger.
The party made their way back to the Undercity. It took them less time to return than it did to find the treasure room in the first place. She chatted with the general while the others slept during their journey and was starting to feel bad about turning him over.
I hope Barika is right about this.
While he was kind of rude sometimes, he didn’t seem like some evil monster, so she hoped the paladins wouldn’t be too mean to him.
They walked through the gates to the Undercity and headed towards the nearest exit to the surface. She had put on her winter clothing before they made it to the Undercity. After being in her adventuring dress for a few days, she felt kind of silly wearing so much.
They walked out into the mid-morning sun. The others shielded their eyes for a moment.
“Let’s get to the transport gate as quickly as we can,” Voekeer said. People stared as they walked through the streets.
“Uh, does everyone know what a darkling looks like?” Anna asked, leaning over to get closer to Elaine.
“No, but a man tied up with one of your tentacles is going to attract attention,” Elaine replied.
“Shit,” Anna said.
“It’ll be fine,” Elaine replied.
Other than gawkers, no one bothered them on their way to the temple of light, which she found out was the name of the god of light’s temple.
Someone needs to come up with better names for these things.
Once they neared the temple, things changed. Priests and priestesses seemed to know that something was different about the general. They scurried away as soon as they saw him, darting into temples and shrines. When they neared the temple of light, a large group of paladins came marching down the street to meet them.
A paladin in gleaming silvery armor that was trimmed in gold walked away from the others.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Who is this prisoner, and what binds him?” the paladin asked with a voice that reminded her of the stuckup noblemen she’d met at the ball.
“Brother, this is the fifth general in the service of the dark one, and he’s bound with a spell from Anna. She’s the one holding him,” Barika replied.
“How is it that you captured such a fiend?” the paladin asked.
“I’ll tell you everything, brother, but can we go inside out of this cold first?” Barika asked. The paladin nodded.
“Of course,” he replied.
They found themselves surrounded by paladins, and they escorted them into the temple of light.
It reminded her of the temple she’d been taken to in Oldforge when she was questioned about being the chosen one.
I wonder if they have a bath here?
“Put him down here and release your spell,” the lead paladin said.
Anna set the general down and then sent the tentacle back to her dream realm.
“Was he armed?” the paladin asked.
“Nope,” Anna replied.
She had decided to keep his sword, and her friends agreed, other than Barika, but the priestess relented when Anna started to whine about it. She had swung it around a few times while the others weren’t looking.
It doesn’t do the waves of black mana when I draw it though.
Even without the mana, she was still able to cut through stone with it. The general had even encouraged her to test it out.
I still can’t believe the temple would destroy a sword this amazing. I’m glad he told me to keep it.
The general knelt down and put his hands out in front of him. One of paladins reached for him, and quicker than anyone could move, the general grabbed the man’s arm, twisted it around his back, and snaked an arm around the man’s neck. The general looked her right in the eye, grinned, and then snapped the man’s neck.
He held out his hand. His sword tore out from her pack and flew into his hand. The waves of evil magic started to flow from it. He flicked the blade out and took the head off another paladin. The paladins shied away, and he darted towards the door at incredible speed.
She summoned a tentacle to catch him, but he managed to dodge it, so she dropped her pack and ran after him. He might as well have been standing still compared to her, and she slammed her fist into the side of his head, sending him flying into one of the marble pillars.
He slammed into it with a horrible crunching sound. She thought she’d killed him, or at least knocked him out, but he jumped up and pointed his sword at her. A black beam shot out, aimed at her chest. She blocked it with her open hand.
Her mitten disintegrated into a cloud of black dust along with the first six inches of her sleeve. The beam dispersed as soon as it touched her bare skin, turning into wispy puffs of black.
“YOU’RE A FUCKING IDIOT! YOU KNOW WHAT I AM, AND YOU STILL TRIED TO FIGHT ME!” Anna shouted.
“YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A FILTHY LYING HUMAN! THERE’S NO WAY WHAT YOU TOLD ME WAS TRUE! NOTHING LIKE THE DREAMER COULD BE REAL!” he screamed back.
He lifted his sword with shaking arms and rushed towards her in a desperate attack. She stepped to the side, snatched his wrist and crushed it. She grabbed the sword by the blade with her other hand and pulled it from his faltering grip. He yelped in pain and clutched his shattered wrist. She flipped the sword in her hand and held it by the grip, ready to strike.
“Go ahead, human. Kill me, but it won’t change anything. My lord will come, and he will kill all of you!” the general said.
Anna looked at the sword for a moment. It had strange inscriptions covering the blade and an odd black crystal in the hilt.
I tried to push mana into it, but it wouldn’t go.
She spent another moment looking at the blade before she smiled.
“That power you use, it isn’t mana, is it?” she asked. He just spat.
“Do it already!” he said.
She pushed pure dreamer power into the sword, it started to crack. Bizarre power that shone with colors that should never have existed in this world started to leak out. The dreamer power flowed up the blade, cracking the metal as it went. The air around the sword started to pulse and crackle. She pointed the sword at the general who had a look of pure terror on his face.
Dreamer power dripped from the blade, falling to the ground and slashing like a heavy raindrop. It sizzled the moment it touched the pure white marble. Small tentacles sprouted from the viscous substance. They undulated angrily as if upset at their sudden presence in this reality.
“THE DREAMER IS REAL, AND SO AM I!” Anna screamed at the general.
“You’re a monster!” he replied with a trembling voice.
“I’M NOT A MONSTER!” she screamed.
Dreamer power surged through the sword. She raised it, preparing to cut him in half. Whispers started just on the edge of hearing. Flashes of things could be seen at the edge of vision. The general screamed at the sudden madness that surrounded him. He passed out from pain and fear a moment later.
She looked down at his unconscious form, and the rage she’d felt drained from her, leaving her feeling numb.
Her friends and the other humans snapped out of the fear spell that the general seemed to naturally cast when he was conscious. They rushed over to her. The lead paladin held out his hands which started to glow with brilliant golden light. The general was covered in a golden light.
“There, he won’t be able to use his foul powers now,” the lead paladin said. He shook his head. “I should have cast that to begin with. I’m a fool!” he added.
“I, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about the sword. I just wanted to keep it,” Anna said.
The sword was dull and broken now. Her dreamer power had disappeared into nothingness as soon as she cut off the flow. The tentacles and other bizarre phenomena had vanished as well, leaving only melted pits in the otherwise smooth marble floor.
“May I?” the lead paladin asked.
Anna handed him what was left of the general’s sword. The lead paladin looked over the blade.
“There are nicks on the holy sword from when a chosen one of the past crossed swords with this blade. There are marks on the haft of the goddess’s spear, a gouge in the vanguard’s armor, and before today, nothing had so much as marred this black blade, but with a touch of your power, this once invincible sword has been reduced to a useless hunk of metal,” he said.
Gone was the bluster and the look of distain that most men of noble birth seem to carry on their faces. Instead, he had a look she’d never seen before. All the paladins gathered around had a similar look on their faces. It made her nervous, so she started to fidget.
She glanced around, looking for her friends, but they were at the back of the crowd and unable to reach her at the moment. She took a step back from the crowd of men, unsure of what to do.
They hate me. That’s why they are all looking at me! It’s my fault their friends are dead! They’re going to find out what I am and chase me away!
She felt the wiggling in the back of her mind again, and this time her stomach got tight. The lead paladin took a step towards her, and she took another step back.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I won’t do it again!” Anna said.
The lead paladin paused. He looked confused.
There was a loud clack, and the paladins turned to look behind them. The crowd parted, revealing an ancient man wearing a simple white robe. He carried a staff made from polished wood and was leaning on it heavily.
He hobbled over slowly, his staff clacking on the marble floor. Her friends followed closely behind him, eyeing the paladins as they walked.
“You must forgive them, my child. They are rough men, despite their fine armor,” he said.
“It’s okay,” Anna replied.
It really wasn’t, but she didn’t want to make anyone else hate her. The old man smiled at her and walked next to the lead paladin.
“Get him out of here and clear the room!” he barked.
The Paladins sprang into action, every one of them trying to find something to do as quickly as they could. Within moments, they had removed the general and pushed the few worshippers that had been there between services out. The paladins didn’t return, leaving the party with the old man and the lead paladin.
The old man eyed the black sword for a moment.
“Never did I think I’d live to see this cursed blade broken,” he said.
“Nor did I, brother,” the lead paladin replied.
“That is not all. We have recovered the scepter of Octavius,” Barika said.
She took the scepter from beneath her cloak. Being a holy relic, the party decided she should be the one to carry it.
Both men looked at the scepter. The old man reached out and touched it reverently. Anna took this opportunity to creep behind them and scurry over to her friends. She felt better as soon as she was next to them again. She watched the old man take the scepter from Barika. It began to glow, and then he started to glow. Soon the room was filled with a golden light.
“This is a great day!” the old man said, his clear voice ringing throughout the huge open space.
“Not only was a great enemy to mankind defeated, but this holy relic has been returned to us in our hour of need!” he added. He held the scepter up over his head.
“RING THE BELLS, BROTHERS! LET THE PEOPLE KNOW THAT THE GOD OF LIGHT HAS BLESSED THEM!” he shouted.
“Brother, perhaps we shouldn’t let the people know until we move the prisoner to a more secure place,” the lead paladin said. The old man turned to look at the paladin.
“Oh, yes, of course. NEVERMIND!” the old man added.
Thokri chuckled. This caused both men to turn and look at the party.
“Well, lads, I’m glad you like the scepter, but it’s not quite yours yet,” Thokri said. The old man looked confused.
“What do you mean, sir dwarf?” he asked.
“That still belongs to us. See, we found it down in that cavern after fight’n our way through flesh eat’n monsters and breaking through a seal so strong that prick couldn’t get in. Not to mention bashing him over the head and dragging him here,” Thokri replied. The old man looked shocked.
“You, want gold?” he asked.
“Aye, lad. See, we’re adventurers, not heroes. We didn’t go down there looking for that thing. We went looking for treasure, so if you don’t want to pay us for it, we’ll sell it to someone else. We’ll take that lad back, too,” Thokri replied. The old man glanced over at the unconscious darkling.
“Him? Why?” he asked.
“Pigs got to eat, too,” Thokri replied. Despite her best efforts, Anna smirked at the face that the old man made.
“I see. Well, I suppose we can offer a reward for returning the scepter and capturing this man,” the old man said.
“Brother, they claim that this is the dark one’s fifth general, and I am inclined to believe them,” the lead paladin added.
“So do I, brother,” the old man said. He sighed.
“You’ll get your gold. Now, since you’ve shown yourselves to be nothing more than hired swords, leave this holy place!” The old man said.
He started to walk away. Thokri folded his arms and prepared to say something, but Barika put her hand on him and shook her head no. The lead paladin started to walk away.
“Can I have my sword back?” Anna asked.
The lead paladin hesitated for a moment before holding the black sword out. She took it from him.
“Why would you want it back? It’s no good as a weapon,” the lead paladin said.
“Do you have any idea how much I could sell the broken sword of the dark one’s fifth general for?” Anna replied.
The lead paladin shook his head in disgust and walked away, muttering about greedy adventurers as he left. She got her pack, put it on, and they were met by a priest carrying a scroll. He handed it to Thokri and left without saying a word.
Thokri opened the scroll and whistled.
“How much did we get?” Voekeer asked as they walked out of the temple.
“I can’t believe you did that!” Barika said as soon as they were away from the temple entrance.
“Did what?” Thokri asked.
“Threated to sell the scepter! You made us look like some kind of greedy no accounts!” Barika replied.
“Lass, we are greedy no accounts,” Thokri said. Barika looked stunned.
“Fuck,” she said with a sigh. Voekeer patted her on the shoulder.
“I’m sure you’ll get over wanting to be a hero one day,” he said. She shoved him away.
“Shut up, boy,” she said, though she was grinning when she did so.
“Thanks,” Anna said in dwarven.
“For what, lass?” Thokri asked.
“For getting me out of there,” she replied.
“Was that what I did? I thought I was just being a greedy dwarf,” Thokri replied.
“What are you two talking about?” Elaine asked.
“My new sword,” Anna replied.
“Why did you want that thing back?” Lyreen asked.
“I think it’s made from adamantine,” Anna replied.
“Let me see that, lass,” Thokri said.
She handed him the sword. He stopped walking and eyed it for a moment before touching his tongue to the blade. His eyes widened.
“It is, and some kind of mithril,” he replied.
“No wonder they couldn’t cut it with the holy weapons!” Voekeer said.
“Aye, lad. Even with the damage, this is still a fine sword,” Thokri replied.
She had inspected it closer and noticed that it wasn’t so much cracked as having the appearance of wood that had been struck by lightning. The blade had holes in it and was missing chunks, but it still had an edge, mostly, and the hilt and grip were intact, other than a few deep channels in the glossy black metal.
“I know you have a lot of mana, but even you shouldn’t have been able to mar adamantine like this,” Voekeer said.
“I couldn’t push mana into it, so I used dreamer power,” Anna replied.
“I was wondering why you summoned tiny tentacles instead of just crushing him with them,” Elaine said.
“Yeah, they showed up when a drop of it hit the ground,” Anna replied.
“Does that mean those whispers were real?” Lyreen asked.
“Oh, those. Yeah. They are real. I hear them in my dreams all the time,” Anna replied. Lyreen shuddered but didn’t say anything.
“Do you think it’s safe to keep it? I mean, he did yank it right out of her pack with magic?” Voekeer asked.
“Bah! Whatever enchantment this thing had is long gone. I mean, look at it,” Thokri said, holding the sword up and looking through a hole in the blade.
“Point taken,” Voekeer said.
Thokri handed the sword back to her, and she tucked it into her belt. The scabbard had been destroyed, along with a few straps on her pack, when the general had yanked it away.
They went back to the guild hall, and Thokri handed the scroll over to the attendant. She looked it over and nodded.
“We’ll send them a letter to make sure you get paid,” she said.
Anna took Lord Emerald and her flower back. They had replanted it in a large clay pot for her and fed each of the open flowers.
Wow, I didn’t think they would do such a good job!
She went to her room and put her things away, changing into one of her adventuring dresses. She looked at her ruined winter dress and sighed.
Oh well. Looks like I’m going to have to go and visit the dress maker again.
She met her friends in the main hall where they ordered food and ales.
“If I find any more treasure maps, hit me over the head, alright?” Anna said.
“What good would that do, child? We’d just break our hands,” Barika replied.
Everyone laughed and then started to talk about what they would do the next day.