The stone steps beside the temple were steep and worn with moss growing in their corners. They were carved into the foundation block itself, which was not a flat slab of stone but rather a genuine block that went down at least as far as the temple was tall. This was necessary for any kind of basement or cellar structures in the swamp, as the ground itself was far too soft and wet to build into.

The bottom of the stairs was a simple flat square of stone wedged in the corner of the stone walls surrounding them. On the wall underneath the temple was a small arched wooden door with a tarnished silver knocker hanging from it. Nearly all the metal Iris had seen in the city so far had been silver, and she imagined they must trade with the gargoyles and giants of Gellorn for both the silver and marble they build with.

"Remember," Iris whispered to Victoria, "if Clariel's really in here, we don't trust her. She's a friend of Dala, and could be in on her tricks."

"And if Dala's in there?"

"We kick her ass and leave."

Victoria nodded, and Iris knocked on the door. There was no response after several moments, so she knocked again, and then a third time. Finally, just as she was withdrawing her hand from the final knock, the door swung open. An elderly swamp elf woman with white hair in a messy bun stared at them with slightly crazed eyes.

"You're lost," the woman said before slamming the door in Iris's face. She spoke in an accent, and Iris assumed she must have guessed the language they spoke by their out-of-towner appearance.

"We're looking for Clariel Fogborn!" she called out into the crack between the door and the stone.

The door swung open again, and the woman's eyes were squinted as if suspicious, "how do you know me?"

Iris held up the note from Dala between her fingers, "a witch named Dala gave me your name, she said you can help with a problem of mine."

Clariel let out a frustrated sigh, "damn that woman. Curse, ghost or plague?"

"Uh--" she hesitated, "a nightmare."

The woman's face softened slightly. She still certainly seemed annoyed, but Iris could detect a hint of pity in her eyes. Behind her, Iris caught glimpses of filled bookshelves and struggled to contain her excitement until they were actually invited in.

"Nasty business," Clariel grimaced, "very well, come on."

Clariel left the door open as she retreated inside. Iris glanced to Victoria, who shrugged in response, and the pair stepped through the threshold. The space was small, and made even more cramped by the rows of tightly packed bookshelves that filled it. The walls and ceiling were the same bare stone of the foundation, though much less weathered than on the outside. Small glow stones hung from strings hung across shelves and from silver hooks secured into the ceiling, giving the room of a warm and pleasant glow. Iris took note of the lighting technique for future use.

"Is this a library?" Iris asked as she gazed with wonder at the books and scrolls that filled the shelves.

"Archive," Clariel corrected, "I am the last priest of this temple, and the duty falls on me to preserve its knowledge."

"Which god is this temple devoted to?" Victoria asked.

"Not a god," Clariel answered as she began to peruse her bookshelves, "the Red Dragon Veris."

Iris and Victoria exchanged a quick glance.

"We saw a red dragon near Giantrock City," Victoria said.

"Then you are among a truly honored few who have witnessed Veris," she answered, seeming to be aware of that particular appearance.

"What can you tell us about him?" Iris questioned, her mind immediately jumping to the line of connections from the red dragon, to the lightning wizards, and ultimately to her mother's quest, "we saw carvings and murals of him in ancient temples, too. What does he have to do with the lightning wizards that attacked?"

Clariel opened a book, inspected the first few pages, and handed it to Iris, "don't open this yet." She then returned to looking through the shelves.

Iris stared at the dusty old book with intrigue. Handing her a book and telling her not to open it might as well have been casting a curse of distraction upon her.

"Most lands and seas have a god," Clariel began, pausing briefly to retrieve a scroll from a high shelf, "this land, which I imagine you know as Giantrock, instead has a dragon. Veris has watched over this land from shore to shore, from the northern wasteland to the southern jungle, for thousands of years. Many gods have tried to claim the land in that time, but none could outmatch his might. His worshippers have dwindled in the centuries gone by, but his power remains supreme."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The woman nodded in satisfaction and rolled the scroll closed before handing it to Iris. She didn't say not to open it, but Iris guessed that it was implied.

"And the lightning wizards?" Iris prodded.

The woman scoffed derisively as she once again returned to searching the shelves, "vile cultists following the crackpot prophecy of a failed god. We will speak no more of them in this temple."

"There are many powerful people working to stop them," Victoria said, "but they don't know exactly what it is they're trying to stop. Your knowledge could be invaluable--"

Clariel loudly clapped a book shut, "than these powerful people may visit and request my knowledge themselves. Speak no more of it, or I will banish you from the temple."

Victoria nodded apologetically, and remained silent as Clariel motioned them over to a small round table in the corner. She placed the scroll on the table before taking the book and scroll from Iris's arms and placing them beside it.

"Sit and study," Clariel instructed, "any knowledge this temple holds of nightmares will be in these. I'll make you some tea."

The woman disappeared through a curtained doorway leading to another chamber. Iris and Victoria slid into their seats and took deep breaths as they prepared to dive into the material. Victoria started with one of the scrolls while Iris cracked open the book. It was an old tome that creaked as it opened to pages darkened from age.

"How am I supposed to read this?" Iris frowned at the ancient script.

"I'm having the same problem," Victoria said, twisting the scroll one way and her head the other as she tried to figure out which way was even up. Giving up and placing it back on the table, she continued in a whisper, "how do we feel about her?"

"She seems fine," Iris whispered back, "but so did Dala. Don't get comfortable."

Clariel returned a short while later with a small tray baring three steaming cups of tea. She frowned at the sight of the girls neglecting the texts before them.

"You can't read them, can you?" she asked as she placed the tray on the table, clearly disappointed in them.

Iris grimaced apologetically, "we're from pretty far away."

Clariel flicked one of Victoria's slightly pointed ears, prompting her to flinch and swat her hand away.

"Where are you from, girl? Everveil?" the woman's voice took on the tone of an angry teacher, "do they not still teach the old languages there?"

"Not to everyone," Victoria said, bowing her head as she would when speaking to an elder instructor back home, "the scribes and scholars learn them, but I trained for battle and adventure."

Clariel shook her head in disappointment as she took a seat at the table, "very well, I suppose I'll do all the work for you. I expect you have something to write with?"

Iris nodded quickly and withdrew paper, ink and pair of quills from her bag. For the next hour Iris and Victoria scribbled notes as the priestess rattled off passages from the scrolls and tome. She rushed through much of the information, including descriptions of nightmares and their victims, but slowed to take her time with descriptions of their powers and weaknesses.

The girls avoided drinking their tea at first out of fear that it might be poisoned, even though the priestess had placed the tray down and only taken her cup after Iris and Victoria had chosen their own . Eventually, Victoria took a curious sip and was visibly surprised at how good it tasted. After several minutes passed and she felt no effects, she took another sip, which signaled to Iris to taste her own.

Of all the information Clariel provided, the most valuable was a detailed description of a ritual that was said to induce a hypnotic state of half-sleep for its subject -- a state which the scroll explained was the ideal method of confronting the nightmare. While reading from the tome -- which seemed to be a compendium of knowledge on various supernatural and otherworldly creatures -- Clariel emphasized the importance of caution and preparedness. She explained that, according to the tome, a nightmare could only truly be slain while in a place that was not reality, but not quite a dream. This place was described as the doorstep of one's soul, and the tome warned that a victim's defeat in this battle would almost certainly grant the nightmare access to their soul -- the meal it ultimately desired.

By the end of the study session Iris and Victoria had several pages filled with notes. Alongside the instructions for the ritual and a list of weaknesses, strategies and techniques one might employ against a nightmare were lists of herbs, medicines and meditations that would help prepare one for the battle. Also included were various calming techniques meant to help one endure the harassment of a nightmare until such a time that they could complete the ritual and defeat it.

"You are unfortunate to be afflicted with a nightmare so early in your life," Clariel said as she was returning the scrolls and tome to their shelves, "if you wish to conduct the ritual soon, I will offer you the temple's ritual room for the purpose. However, I must strongly recommend that you grow stronger before you attempt to slay the creature."

"Won't that mean the nightmare has time to grow stronger, too?" Iris asked.

Clariel sighed, "I hope your friend paid more attention than you, child. No, the nightmare will not grow stronger with time. Its grip on you will grow tighter, and its attacks more vile and desperate, but if you practice the techniques in your notes and are strong of will then you will survive until you're strong enough. Ultimately, the battle that awaits you will be no harder because you waited."

"How will I know when I'm ready?"

Clariel stepped down from a step stool after turning the last scroll to its shelf and turned to face Iris, "I imagine it's the sort of thing you'll just know. Or maybe it isn't. I don't know."

"You don't know?" Iris blinked in surprise at her bluntness.

"Girl, I'm a priest and a knowledge keeper, not a monster hunter. If the texts don't have the answers, neither do I."

Iris sighed, but thanked the woman for all her help. She accepted their thanks with a small smile, but seemed impatient to shoo them out of her temple. It wasn't long before they were back out on the sidewalk, making their way past the old tree once more and heading towards the center of the city.

"Huh," Iris said, "I guess it wasn't a trap. I blew up over nothing back there."

Victoria laughed, "oh no, I think you needed that."

Iris chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"So what's next on the errands?" Victoria asked.

"Let's start with adventuring supplies, we'll get the stuff Autumn wants tomorrow."