Chapter 9
The House of Haunted Memories
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Lixul’s surroundings changed, Lord Solice’s throne room materializing around him. He stood before the dais, though to his surprise it seemed no one was paying him any attention, even as the room was filled with dreamwalkers, remnants, and shadelings.
“You idiot!” bellowed Solice as a dreamwalker was sent flying from atop the dais to crash to the ground not far from Lixul. “If you thought bringing him through would weaken the barrier then you should have said something!”
“My Lord,” said the semi-ethereal form of a remnant. “Lord Lars’s forces have taken the candle hall and will arrive here soon.”
Lord Solice glared down at his minions. “All of you! Go retake the candle hall and end these falselings’ dreams!”
A wave of those who had filled the room flooded out from it and down a passageway, leaving not but half a dozen people standing within the room. It was only then that Solice seemed to notice Lixul who stood before him, bowl of soup in hand as he regretted not rushing off with the others.
“Shadeling, how is it that your master came to die while you survived?”
“Uh,” began Lixul uncertainly. “The traveler from another world killed Veltis but I managed to persuade him into believing that I was his ally in an attempt to lead him here, which has now been subverted.”
Solice glared at Lixul, more specifically at the bowl of soup he held. “Where did you get that bowl of poison?”
“Oh this,” began Lixul, suddenly very happy he hadn’t had the chance to take a bite of the deceptively delicious-smelling poison. “We met this wandering chef but I was summoned here before being able to learn much about him.”
“My Lord?” said a tall dreamwalker. “Forgive the interruption but should we not focus on Lord Lars’s invasion?”
Solice blinked hastily. “Yes. Should his forces reach this room they will be within the height of my power and we shall destroy them and send their tortured nightmares back to Lars.”
The tall dreamwalker frowned. “My Lord, my shadelings’ reports indicate that Lord Lars has joined the fight.”
A barely perceivable shudder ran through Lord Solice, his words a whisper. “He’s left his throne. Why would he do that?”
“He may have an alliance with Lord Vilaya to protect his seat,” said a ghostly remnant.
Lord Solice sank into his throne, a scowl on his face as he surveyed his four officers and the singular shadeling. “It makes no difference, only that now we shall have an open path to Lars’s throne once he is slain.”
A sudden gust of air whooshed from the mouth of a female dreamwalker, she convulsed briefly before smiling up at Solice, speaking not with the voice of his subordinate, but with that of Lord Vilaya. “Lord Solice, you should have accepted my offer.”
Solice stood, conjuring an ethereal sickle. “Your offer would have made me a slave, as it seems you’ve done to Lars.”
“Accepting my offer was the best decision Lord Lars ever made,” said Lord Vilaya through the dreamwalker.
“Kill her,” ordered Solice, and the two remnants and remaining dreamwalker closed in on her.
Vilaya’s puppet’s hands’ twitched as if she were pulling at invisible strings. The tall dreamwalker suddenly stumbled, blood flowing from his nostrils and eyes. With a sudden tug from Vilaya, he crumpled to the ground. Lixul watched on, uncertain of what to do as both the remnants conjured ethereal swords which slashed through the air and toward Vilaya’s puppet. The skin began melting from her body as the puppet contorted unnaturally to avoid the strikes. “She never loved you,” Vilaya told one of the remnants.
“No, she did, she chose me,” said the remnant in his stilted voice.
“Only because you were convenient to her that night. She never loved you, or else she wouldn’t have cast you aside.”
There was a sudden unnatural and harshly grating noise as the remnant imploded. The remaining remnant’s sword sliced through the puppet, bisecting her even as she turned her head and smiled at Lord Solice. “Farewell my Lord, rest assured I shall make your corpse into a memorable trophy.”
Lord Solice let out a bellow of rage even as the puppet’s remains hit the floor. “I’ll make you into a trophy bitch!”
A shadeling rushed from a passageway and into the hall. “My Lord our forces are falling, we need your support!”
Solice transfixed the shadeling with an icy glare. “Get back out there and fight! Spread the word that I’ll gift Lord Lars’s throne to whomever kills him.”
“Uh, yes my Lord,” said the shadeling, turning back down the passageway.
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A sudden shriek reached them from the passage, then an amused voice came forth from it as a tall man with long black hair and pale skin strode from it, glistening sword in hand. “You’ll do what with my throne Lord Solice?”
“Make a gift of it to myself it seems,” said Solice as he descended from his dais.
It was at that moment that Lixul decided to take decisive action for the first time in his life. He turned and ran, fleeing down a passageway opposite to that which Lord Lars had entered through. The clash of the two Dream Lord’s echoed behind him as he ran. Suddenly he was within a small empty chamber, lacking any exits but for a trap door. Without hesitation he pried the trap door open and climbed down the ladder, pulling the door shut behind him.
As he descended the ladder shapes seemed to swim through the vibrant air around him. A silver heart fluttered about, carried aloft by twin wings. A rabbit chased a little boy as tears descended from his eyes, falling down and flooding a house within which lay an unconscious man.
Lixul reached the bottom and jumped from the ladder, though before he could fully take in his new surroundings, notifications appeared before his vision.
DREAM LORD Solice HAS DESTROYED HIS DREAM THRONE AND CHOSEN TO PASS HIS MANTLE TO YOU! TITLE GAINED: Dream Lord. EXPERIENCE GAINED = 2,000 LEVEL UPx5! +7 Wisdom, +2 Intelligence. YOU HAVE 5 FREE STAT POINTS TO ALLOCATE! YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED THE CLASS DREAMWALKER. +2 WISDOM, +1 Intelligence.
SKILL GAINED: Dream Drift - Uncommon, you may drift through the dreams of others. SKILL GAINED: Haunted Aura - Uncommon, you exude an aura which may frighten enemies close to you or imply an heir of mystery and mystique upon non hostile entities around you. 50% of haunted aura’s effectiveness is determined by your wisdom.
ABILITY GAINED: Dream Decent - Uncommon, you may descend into the dreams of others.
SPELL GAINED: Dream Walk - Uncommon, you may enter or exit another’s dream, cost = 50MP.
PLEASE SELECT A SUBCLASS: YOU HAVE 3 AVAILABLE OPTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM.
NOTICE: DREAM LORD Solice HAS FALLEN! HIS FINAL WORDS RING OUT ACROSS THE HOUSE OF HAUNTED MEMORIES: “I’m just doing this to spite you bitch!”
Lixul could barely believe what was happening as newfound power coursed through him. It didn’t matter that Solice had only committed this action to spite the other Dream Lords, all that mattered was the feeling of control which he now felt. He opened his status:
PLEASE SELECT A SUBCLASS, YOU HAVE 3 AVAILABLE OPTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM.
OPTION 1: Dream Crafter - Do you want the power to affect the dreams of others? The power to reshape their goals, strengths, fears, and weaknesses? If so then this is the subclass for you! The Dream Crafter subclass provides benefits to Wisdom and Intelligence.
OPTION 2: Nightmare Architect - There’s nothing you can do to change the past, she decided that her life would be better without you in it and that was that. So why don’t you begin creating and unleashing nightmares?! The Nightmare Architect subclass provides benefits to Intelligence.
OPTION 3: Shade Summoner - Summon shadelings to act as underlings or to serve as resources in your spellcraft. The Shade Summoner subclass provides benefits to Wisdom.
Lixul made his choice nearly instantaneously, feeling as if his heart were about to explode from his chest as adrenaline, excitement, and power coursed through him:
SUBCLASS GAINED! Dream Crafter: +2 Wisdom. SKILL GAINED: Dream Craft Mastery - Uncommon, +10% efficiency in crafting and maintaining dreams.
SPELL GAINED: Dream Craft - Rare, you may craft dreams, cost = variable.
YOU HAVE 5 FREE STAT POINTS TO ALLOCATE!
NAME: Lixul Shade, RACE: Shadeling, CLASS: Dream Walker. LEVEL 7, EXPERIENCE: 2,200, Subclass: Dream Crafter. Title: Dream Lord. HP 60/60, MP 210/210. STATS: Strength 6, Constitution 6, Dexterity 9, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 21. Skills: Dream Drift - Uncommon, Haunted Aura - Uncommon. Abilities: Dream Decent - Uncommon. Spells: Dream Walk - Uncommon, Slumber - Common, Dream Craft Mastery - Uncommon, Dream Craft - Rare.
His cheeks hurt from how wide his smile was. Was this truly his status?!
“Excuse me,” said a woman’s voice. “Who are you?”
Lixul dismissed his status to find a young woman with long dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes staring at him. Two remnants flanked her within the small room within which lay a crackling hearth and seven comfortable looking chairs, a singular passage led from the hall.
“He is our new Dream Lord,” said one of the remnants.
“But you're just a…” she trailed off uncertainly.
A sudden pang of annoyance undercut Lixul’s joy. “A shadeling?” he finished, then smirked. “I’m much more than a simple shadeling. I’m a dream crafter.”
The woman, who wore purple silks and surprisingly fluffy shoes, frowned slightly, her blue eyes still locked on his. “Solice chose you, a simple shadeling, just to spite Lord Vilaya. What level were you before receiving his mantle?”
Embarrassment was crushed by anger before it could form within Lixul who glared at the fluffy shooed women. In that instant, he made an impulsive decision and allocated three stat points into constitution and two into strength. He gritted his teeth as pain lanced through his slender form, his physical stats increasing by nearly a third. He took a step forward, fighting through the pain as he growled out his response. “I will not suffer such insubordination. Bow down and pledge yourselves to your new Dream Lord.”
The two remnants knelt immediately. The woman hesitated momentarily, then knelt.
Lixul repressed the urge to vomit as his very innards seemed to rearrange within him. He left the three kneeling for a moment as he collected his composure and the pain gradually subsided. “Rise, as my faithful minions.”
They stood, and he found to his pleasure that whereas before, the women had stood level with him, he was now seven inches taller than her. “What are your names?” he asked.
“I’m Hannah.”
“I’m Vest,” said the remnant who had spoken earlier, the other remnant remained silent.
“He’s never spoken since arriving in this room,” said Hannah, gesturing at the remnant.
Lixul glanced at the remnant, then nodded. “Very well. I am Lord,” he hesitated, then regained his momentum. “Shade. Where does that passage lead?”
“We don’t know,” said Hannah. “Lord Solice never ordered us to explore past this room.”
Lixul strode past them and toward the passage. “Then let my first order be for you to do what Solice never dared.”