Chapter 7
Blood Dream
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“God damn it!” yelled the man dressed in fine silks as he looked down from his carriage at the pile of horse shit which clung to the frontmost wheel of his carriage.
Kail hurried past the carriage, both relieved and shocked that the shouts he’d heard seemingly had nothing to do with Corvis and his obscenely conspicuous sack. Approaching the gate, he passed through it, wondering how on earth Corvis had managed to smuggle the bloody sack past the soldiers. He was so very tired and the bright sun shining down upon him was so awfully bright. He was just about covered in blood, both fresh and dry, he hadn’t slept properly in days, and he was absolutely famished.
A scowl made itself at home on his face as he strode toward the graveyard where a distant figure was digging a hole. “How did you get that sack past the guards?” asked Kail iratibly as he approached Corvis who was shoveling dirt into the freshly dug grave.
“I bribed them, cost me half our pay but we’re still coming out on top after this little adventure.”
“Adventure?” asked Kail exasperatedly. “You call whatever just happened an adventure? It’s as if everyone here is insane. You're burying a dead man you know nothing about for some mob of gangsters we just met.”
Corvis planted his shovel firmly in the ground before turning to face Kail. “I’m sure it’s convenient for you to condemn everyone else as insane but that needs to end. You're a Valien and it’s about time you start acting like one. Father chose you to lead us and if you don’t start adapting to the environment around you then you’ll surely doom our future.”
Kail opened his mouth, then closed it, uncertain of what to say, a moment of silence passed, then he spoke. “You're right. I guess I’m just exhausted.”
Corvis withdrew his shovel. “Then let’s head back and enjoy the benefits earned from this easy job.”
Kail nodded. Walking beside his brother as they headed back into town, shovels in hand.
Tucker opened the door mere seconds after Corvis knocked upon it. He led them to a table where they sat as he went to fetch supper. They’d barely sat down before the muffled noises of what sounded like an argument seeped up from below. The exchange became clearly audible as Verick emerged from the staircase, he seemed not to notice them as his attention was firmly on a blue gem he held in his hand as he paced around the dining room.
“Do you want me to put my shoes on and come down there?!” asked an angry voice which emanated from the crystal. “Because that’s what I’ll do if you don’t get this mess under control.”
“No Mr. Velington,” replied Verick hurriedly, “I promise you won’t be hearing from Alfredo again, and Big All is delivering a clear message to the Frazettis.”
“He’d better be. Because if I hear word of another rat I’ll put my shoes on and come down there.”
“You won’t Mr. Velington I promise.”
“Good, now make sure everything goes smoothly tonight. I have enough to worry about already.”
“Yes Sir,” said Verick before pocketing the crystal. He inhaled deeply before looking up and noticing Kail and Corvis for the first time. “Oh. Right, you two are still hanging around. That body better have been disposed of discretely.”
“It was,” said Corvis just as Tucker arrived carrying a heavenly smelling platter which he placed on the table.
Saliva formed instantly in Kail’s mouth as he stared down at the bowl of soup placed before him. He quickly submerged a spoon in the soup, bringing it to his mouth and chewing greedily. The broth tasted deliciously of garlic, and chives, and carried mild hints of onion, while the rich flavors of beans and carrots flooded his taste buds. He’d finished half his bowl before even noticing the piece of bread which lay beside it. Its exterior was a crisp golden brown and its interior was vast and beautifully fluffy.
He quickly drowned the bread in the rest of his soup, enjoying every bite until the bread was gone and his bowl was empty. He wiped his face off with a napkin and took a long sip from a cup of cool water before looking up to find that Verick was gone and Tucker sat across from him and Corvis.
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“Shall I show you to your room?” asked Tucker, there’s a chance we may have two more bodies for you to dispose of before dawn.
“Lead the way,” said Corvis as he stood.
Tucker led them up the steps to the second floor, down a hallway, through a door on the left, and into a small room primarily taken up by a comfortable-looking cotton bed. However, a basin filled with water was also present.
“Sleep well,” said Tucker before leaving them.
All thoughts of the insanity of his current situation had fled from Kail’s tired mind and he hurriedly removed his bloodied clothes before briefly washing himself in the basin and collapsing into the left side of the wonderfully comfortable bed.
***
Colors swam about him and it was as if he were flying as he moved down the dark corridor. “Come.” whispered a voice. “You are wanted. You are needed. Good, keep going, nearly here. You're doing such a good job.”
His surroundings changed, he flew through a staircase, past looming houses, and through an open gate. This is a nice dream. He thought idly.
He was in a forest now, standing before a cloaked figure whose silver hood obscured his face.
“God?” asked Kail dreamily, for the figure felt as he imagined a God would.
“Follow,” commanded the figure as it turned away, casting two long shadows which flanked Kail.
“Kail!” called an oh so annoyingly familiar voice. Could Corvis not let him sleep undisturbed for just a while?
A sudden stinging pain erupted from the side of his head.
HP 106/110
“You allowed the brother to follow?” asked an all too real sounding voice as the world around Kail gained painful clarity.
“He should be asleep,” said a pale woman in black silk who he’d previously thought to be not but a shadow. “I don’t know how he broke through the…” she trailed off as Corvis erupted beside them, sword drawn.
The cloaked man turned to face them, his hood now seeming black rather than silver and his God-like aura nonexistent. “Sleep,” he said and Corvis collapsed to the ground.
Kail extended a hand out of reflex, catching his brother’s sword and grasping it by the pommel before it could potentially harm him.
YOU HAVE RESISTED DREAM STATE!
YOU HAVE RESISTED MIND MESMER!
YOU HAVE RESISTED SOLICE’S AURA!
A sudden wave of unwanted emotion washed through Kail. “I can’t even have a pleasant night’s rest without it being interrupted!?” He was angry about being brought to this wretched world. Angry about all the people he’d watched die gruesomely in a matter of days. Angry at Audrie for convincing him to donate blood. Angry at his Father for the mess he’d made of his life. All of his unwanted anger was now directed toward whoever this cloaked man was who had taken it upon himself to rip him away from the sleep he’d desperately needed.
All of his anger seemed to concentrate within his abdomen, and then a sudden burst of pain erupted from within him as a spiraling stream of blood shot from him and directly into the cloaked man’s neck.
DAMAGE DEALT TO DREAMWALKER = 60x2 CRITICAL HIT! TOTAL DAMAGE DEALT TO DREAMWALKER =120
HP 46/110
MP 40/100
With an unseemly shriek of agony, Kail forcefully cut off the flow of blood and the stream ceased. The Dreamwalker’s hood had been turned red and blood flowed down from it as he gurgled, his hands clasped around the bloody mess which his neck had become. He staggered, and Kail grunted in pain as he stepped forward, running the man through with Corvis’s sword.
EXPERIENCE GAINED =700. LEVEL UP! YOUR HP and MP HAVE BEEN RESTORED! +1 CONSTITUTION, +1 WISDOM. YOU HAVE 1 FREE STAT POINT TO ALLOCATE! PLEASE SELECT A SUBCLASS, YOU HAVE 3 AVAILABLE OPTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM.
***
Veltis’s thoughts were muddled and he felt strange as the sword entered his body. He felt so disconnected from it all as he stared at the notifications flashing before him.
YOU HAVE RESISTED SOLICE’S WEAVE!
YOU HAVE RESISTED DREAMER’S ENVY!
YOU HAVE RESISTED MIND MESMER!
He was free, truly free. His thoughts were his own. He remembered it all. His mother who had carried him from their burning hut. The scary figures who had darted through the night. They’d run away into the forest and stumbled upon The House of Haunted Memories and that was where…
The memories continued flashing before him as his body toppled over. He saw it all, all the events which had led him here. I’m free… Finally free. Those were his last thoughts before all concepts of thought fled from his extinguished mind.