Gods above, give me strength. I just pulled Ollie aside and I’m not feeling great right now. Sigh. I should probably say something.
We are currently inside the wagon, hopefully out of earshot of his mother. A few crates and bags are stuffed between us as we take seats across from one another.
“So… what did you want to talk about? This isn’t like a confession or something right? Cause I feel like that’d be a weird thing to bring up given everything that’s happened recently.” Ollie is giving me a wry smile over the sack of coins my parents gave us before the trip.
“What?! No! Gross. This isn’t the time for that! Ah, no offense though.” He makes a dramatic clutch at his chest. “You know I’m not into you, I mean I don’t really see you like that.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m just teasing. Trying to feel like normal. So, what did you want to talk about?”
I take a deep breath. “I overheard your conversation earlier this morning!” I rapidly spit out, somehow not tripping over my words in the process. I don’t meet his gaze, which I can feel burning a hole through me, mostly out of shame for eavesdropping.
“Oh. Okay.”
What? Really? That’s it? No big reaction? No gasping? Surely he didn’t notice that I was awake. Right? I mean, I don’t think he knows that I’m a really light sleeper…
“I take it, you want me to explain it to you as well?” Ollie sighs as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “I guess I should. You should know, plus I told Mom I’d try trusting others with what happened.”
“Yes please, only if you want to though. I’d rather you want to trust me enough to tell me what’s going on.”
“Of course I trust you! It’s just… I don’t know, it’s hard to explain you know?” He sighs again and starts to fiddle with his hair.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself to explain anything if it’s too difficult.”
He takes a deep breath and finally looks me in the eyes. There’s something there, besides the stars which aren’t equally spread out between the two of them. Like a fire of conviction.
“So some godlike, but not a god, entity wants me to go fight that Demon King we heard about back in the cave. The one that I sorta died in and then she gave me powers after I agreed to fight the Demon King. And she seems nice but a little weird and lonely and I couldn’t just let her be like that so now I’m in this mess and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind helping me a little bit.”
I’m a little taken aback. I did hear all of that earlier, but Ollie wants me to help him too? Oh gods…
“Ollie I–”
“You’re right. What am I thinking, of course you wouldn’t want to fight some villain. Sorry I asked, that was silly of me. I’ll just go back outside.” Ollie gets up and starts to climb out of the wagon.
I reach out and grab his arm right before he can get out fully. “Ollie. Stay here with me for a moment.” He climbs back in and stands awkwardly near the flap. “I want to help you, but I’m also afraid.”
“Afraid of me?”
“Yes and no. I heard you say that you weren’t in control and that whoever this lady is was the one who killed all those people. But even knowing that, I still saw your face and your smile during all of that.”
“I was… smiling?”
“Yeah, it was unsettling to say the least. Seeing your best friend of six years, a person you know wouldn’t harm anyone if they could help it, coated in blood and smiling while people died around them isn’t something you forget easily.”
“I’m sorry.”
Now that makes me mad. I stand up and walk over to him, slapping him across the face. “Don’t say that! You said it yourself, it was that lady who killed them not you.” I go to hug him, stopping for just a moment as I see him covered in blood briefly, and push through it to wrap my arms around him. “Ollie, you know that you’ve done more for me than anyone else. I’ll always have your back, even when you doubt yourself I’ll be by your side.”
He starts to cry quietly into my shoulder. “Charlie… you’re so much better than what I deserve sometimes.” I hug him tighter in response. “You don’t have to help with this though, it’s my fight not yours.”
I pull away and look him dead in the eye. “Are you serious right now? You aren’t getting rid of me just like that, dude. I’m going to see this through, mostly because I’m invested in this now that I’ve been traumatized by some otherworldly being, but also because I want to be there for you when you need me.”
Ollie lets out a dry chuckle, trying and failing to hold back tears. “Thank you,” He sobs, “Thank you so much.”
I don’t think I’m the only one of us broken anymore. I suppose it’s time for me to pay him back for helping to get me fixed up. Don’t worry Ollie, Big Sis Charlie will make sure you don’t need to cry alone!
We stood there for a few minutes and honestly, I think we only stopped because my arms were getting tired and he was running out of tears. Afterwards we exit and get ready to go to sleep. His mother gives us the side eye as we exit, but doesn’t say anything. I think she knows what happened, she always seems to know whatever we talk about.
…
The next week is pretty uneventful. I play with Nico and Chev, Ollie tries to meet with that lady but doesn’t seem to have any luck, and Mrs. Giterale keeps giving us short lessons on traveling. We actually meet another set of people traveling as well! They’re some band or something from the Bardic Republic actually, which is where we’re going.
They were nice people and told some neat stories after Ollie’s mother threatened them when they approached our camp that evening, following the scent of cooking which Mrs. Giterale then told us and the bards that that was the reason people don’t cook full meals when traveling out in the wilderness. All in all, a pretty fun life experience.
I managed to teach Chev to come to me when I whistle, which was harder than you’d think. Mostly because I didn’t know how to whistle until one of those bards taught me. Bards are surprisingly good teachers. They said it’s because all their teachers were like that. Supposedly, the teachers over in the Bardic Republic are seriously passionate about their subjects and do their damnedest to pass that onto their students.
But back to Chev, he comes over to me whenever I whistle in a specific way and lets me ride on his back. It’s great! I’ve been trying to teach Nico to do the same but for Ollie. It’s been… less than great. Ollie keeps falling off Nico’s back whenever he gets on and also gets really stiff so that’s not helpful. I keep telling him that Thistle Wolves are actually really friendly, even to humanoids, and that they won’t try and bite him.
Honestly, I think I love traveling. Sure I don’t have any plumbing or cooked meals all the time or warm, soft beds… okay nevermind. This is a sometimes thing. It feels nice to be outside and in nature, but I like my bed too much to give it up forever. But, I have been able to gather some herbs when we’re stopped. Lots of plants are similar to what we had back home but some stuff is new, like the prairie sheaths.
Prairie sheaths are named after the sheaths that cover blades, because if you cut them open the right way you can get a razor sharp blade of grass out of it. Great for causing bleeding, but also for dealing with indigestion. Super cool stuff really, I don’t get why more people don’t like to learn about plants. I mean, I don’t like to study them much, but I still find some stuff neat. More people need to appreciate apothecaries like my mother and I. We can make some really helpful medicine for people.
Whoops! I’m ranting again. Where was I? Oh right, traveling. So yeah, we’ve been traveling for about a week now I think. Mrs. Giterale says we’ll be across the border soon and in another week and a half we should be able to get in sight of the capital.
“Charlie! Can you give me a hand with this?” Ollie calls out, struggling to lift a tree trunk that’s fallen in the middle of the road.
“Why? Can’t we go around it?” I ask as I approach him.
“Yeah, but it’d be good for others who have to pass by here later.”
That’s kind of him to do. “Can’t you use that tentacle thing of yours to move it?”
“I could.”
“Will you?”
“No. Now grab that side over there and lift.”
I walk over and move to the other side of the trunk, lifting with Ollie to shift it off to the side of the road. It takes a little while and I’m starting to think this was a trick to get me to exercise by his mother. Mostly because she doesn’t help and the tree looks like it was cut around the base rather than natural rotting.
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…
Another few days have passed. I’ve gotten pretty good at whistling which is cool. Helps pass the time. Ollie can ride Nico like, I dunno, sixty percent of the time? I’m not great with numbers like that. I can measure ingredients just fine, weight and volume no problem, but statistics? Not a chance. Anyways, currently Mrs. Giterale is giving us a lesson in checking food. I’ve already learned most of this from my mother, but it’s good that Ollie learns this too.
“...So to finish this up, to check if a berry is safe to eat you should take a small pinch of it and rub it on your skin. If your skin reacts poorly to it, it’s probably not safe to eat. But still the best way to avoid this is to have someone with knowledge about plants, like Charlie’s mom.”
“Or me!” I say, pouting at the fact she neglected to mention me in having knowledge of plants. I know tons about wild plants and what’s poisonous!
“I would have to disagree. Last time you had something poisonous, you licked a concentrated paste made of it. Knowing that it was poison.” Mrs. Giterale gives me a sharp look.
“...”
“That’s what I thought. Now, time for sleep kids. We’ve got another long day of travel ahead.” She says that almost every night. But that’s fine.
I go reach into the wagon and pull out our bedrolls while Ollie puts the fire out, leaving just a little bit of embers for light if we need it. I clear out some space of sticks and rocks, Ollie sets the bedrolls up and Mrs. Giterale makes sure that the wolves are comfy where they’re lying down.
Just before bed, Ollie stares off into the stars, as if they were having some kind of conversation. As I close my eyes he whispers something to me. “Hey.”
“Mmm?”
“The lady just spoke to me.”
“What? Really? What did she say?”
“She wanted to see you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Do you want to?”
I lay there in silence for a minute. Talk with the person who basically traumatized me, using my best friend to do it? Feels a little wrong.
“Charlie?”
“I’m still awake.”
“Oh. Sorry, you don’t have to. I can tell her–”
“No, I’ll go. I want to talk to her about the whole murder ordeal.”
“Ah. Okay. Yeah. Just, give me a moment.”
I feel a hand reach out and wrap around my arm. Suddenly, I feel very tired. I try to stay awake, but slowly I fall into a trance as the night stars disappear into blackness.
…
Someone is shaking my shoulder. “Charlie. Wake up, we’re here.” Ollie’s voice calls out to me and I open my eyes.
Woah. Ollie was right. This place is weird looking. The bluish mist, the sofas, the bookshelves, even the little kitchenette. And standing by the sofa closest to us at the very ornate door, is the lady in green.
She’s wearing a nice evening dress that goes from dark green to light as it travels downwards. I also notice her shoulders look like they’ve been scarred from something. Her hair is definitely similar to the tentacles Ollie keeps summoning. She’s really pretty though…
“Charlie Teafle.” Her voice is so commanding, but it’s also smooth. Like, um what’s the saying, smooth like velvet? Yeah, supple velvet…
“Uh huh…”
She clears her throat, looking a little flustered all of a sudden. “Right, well I have to apologize for my previous actions. You have suffered quite the traumatic experience, while it is not in my power to erase that from your memory. I can have someone talk with you about it if you’d like a professional’s assistance.”
Shit. Right. I’m supposed to be mad at her for making Oliver kill a bunch of people in front of me. “Oh um yeah, that… I want to be upfront about this right now, I don’t have a very high opinion of you right now Miss…”
“You can call me The Dreamer, at least until someone gives me an actual name. No pressure Oliver, you don’t have to give me a name I’m sure I can wait for something else.”
“You don’t have a name? And wait, Ollie is going to give you one? Why? I’m getting all turned around now.”
“To answer your questions in order, yes, maybe, and because I thought it might be easier for people to talk to me if I had a name. Although you could use my family name if that’d make you feel better, it’s Pollyanna.” The lady then moves away from the sofa and towards the kitchenette. “Would you like something to drink? We have tea and also coffee… if you’re into that stuff.”
“What’s coffee?” I ask, moving over to stand by Ollie who seems to be rather unfazed by all of what’s going on.
The lady stops and slowly turns back to face me. “You don’t know what coffee is? Hmm, just another reason why I’m going to do what I can to set you lot on the right path to avoid the end of the world.” She then goes back to the kitchenette and pulls out a tray with a few cups on it.
“Ollie? Care to explain what’s happening to me right now? I feel way too calm for all the things happening.” I face my friend and stare at him, confused.
“We’re in a place that apparently calms emotions, it really only works on mortals though. At least that’s what I’ve gathered from how The Dreamer talks about it. It’s called Soul Space and it’s where people’s souls go when they die.” He starts making his way over to a table, just past the kitchenette. “Oh, but we’re not dead or anything.”
“Cool, just wanted to get a better grip on what’s happening. Mostly because I’m about to sit down and drink tea with an otherworldly entity that gave me trauma. So is this like a normal thing now? Am I just going to show up here some nights or what?” I ask as I follow Ollie over to the table and sit down.
The Dreamer sets down a tray with tea already poured, which I swear I didn’t see her do, and sits across from us. She takes a sip from her own cup before setting it down and locking eyes with me. I try not to blush from the intense eye contact as she begins to speak.
“No, it’s far too difficult to keep you here. Oliver happens to be an anchor for my powers, which means it’s not too much trouble to keep him here for a period of time. You however are not as easy to hold onto. If I lose control over this space, you’d die and I’d rather that not happen.”
Gods, this mist or whatever is doing the calming effect, is really potent because I’m not freaking out in the slightest right now. Scary. I reach out and take a careful sip from my tea cup. Tastes pretty good honestly.
“Lovely. So I could die at any moment here.”
“Yes but that isn’t untrue at any other time. I could have someone explain it to you if you don’t believe me. Personally, I’m not great with the passage of time so forgive me for not explaining it right now.” One of her tentacles floats off back towards the kitchenette and returns with a plate of cookies. “Would you like one?”
Ollie reaches out and takes one, so I do the same. It's a bit dry, but I think that’s because I’m supposed to have it with the tea. “Thank you for your hospitality. If it’s all the same to you Ollie, I’d like to speak with Miss Pollyanna in private for a minute.”
He looks over at me with concern, but sighs and gets up from the table. He makes his way out of earshot and sits down on one of the sofas awkwardly. I turn to face The Dreamer again.
“So, what’s the deal?”
“I’m sorry?”
“What is Ollie doing for you?”
“Oh that? Simple, I’ve asked him to go see to it that the Demon King or whatever he’s called himself is stopped so that a Nightmare, a monster from my past that’d I’d like to avoid talking about, cannot gain a foothold in your world and tear it apart.”
I take another sip of tea and munch on a cookie. “Okay, but why him? I mean he’s just turned eighteen and has never been much of a fighter before.”
She sighs and shakes her head. “I knew I should have looked into the people he was close to… Okay you’re smart. He’s not a fighter, you’re right about that, but I never asked him to fight. Only to find a way to stop the Demon King from doing anything terrible that would end your world.” She waves her hand and a little envelope forms in the air. “To explain this, I’ve got to read back the message the Fates gave me.”
To The Dreamer,
It has come to our collective attention that another Nightmare has appeared and is planning to interfere with a world that is a part of the N.W.I. We would like to ask for your cooperation in quelling the threat and ensuring that this world is not lost to war like the last. We’ve discussed the situation with the Author and the members of The Pantheon, they are all willing to work with you and your companions in whatever way you deem necessary in order to stop this world from falling. We, the Fates, have selected three candidates for being Champions of various gods from The Pantheon and are willing to select one for you as well. We understand that you prefer to use reason over violence and will take such into consideration when selecting your candidate.
With respect,
Janice Bound of the council of Fate
“Ugh, these stiffs… Oh sorry, I suppose that ruins the illusion of me being regal and commanding doesn’t it?” The lady looks up from the letter in her hand and gives me a warm smile. Part of me cringes in fear at the sight of it, but at the same time, it’s reassuring to see someone smile like that…
“No problems here ma’am. Just one question, what does that all mean?” I tilt my head to the side.
Most of that went over my head. I didn’t understand like half of that. Something about a nightmare and maybe a war, also an author and what I’m assuming to be the gods? Oh and there are going to be other people who help Ollie on his quest or something like that.
“I suppose that was a little tough to follow for someone who doesn’t really know much about what is happening beyond their world.” She laughs briefly before getting serious again. “Basically, I’ve been asked to help some people deal with a Nightmare due to my previous experience with them. However I’ve chosen to take a less conventional route of using mortal proxies, er, stand-ins who will carry out this mission. Oliver and some others will be going and serving as heroes in a way, hopefully stopping anything bad from happening.”
“Oh okay. Am I one of those chosen?”
The lady gives me a sad look. “No. You aren’t.” I hang my head. After all that, I’m not even supposed to be here? “But, this wouldn’t be the first time the Fates got something wrong.”
I perk up as soon as she says that. “You mean I could be some kind of divine champion?!”
“Ah not quite but sort of.” She takes one of her tentacles and reaches into the mist. A small rectangular slab comes back with it and she pokes it for a few moments before a small chime sound comes from it. “There. While I doubt they’d assign a god to you, they will most likely make it known that you are also a candidate for being a Champion.”
I’m happy that I can at least be considered someone cool, but I wonder if I could even help if I’m not blessed by some god. Let alone keep up with the powers Ollie and whoever else joins him gain.
“I see that you have some doubts in your ability. I can assure you that you’ve got potential to do great. Now how about getting your friend so we can finish up this little meeting? He seems to be trying to read through a rather lengthy history book that I could summarize for him later.”