Chapter Eleven
Adventure is Out There
----------------------------------------
“Is he normally like this?” A voice whispered in the dark of the morning. “Yeah. He always slept real bad growing up,” A gruff voice answered. “This isn’t normal. Adam, can you hear me? Wake up,” Simon said as he shook Adam awake. He was breathing heavily, his eyes darting around the unfamiliar room to very familiar faces in a dim light. Simon handed his glowing staff to Damien and placed Adam’s face in his hands. It was still dark but the predawn light was to come shortly. He looked carefully into his eyes, “What did you see?” Adam looked back at Simon in confusion, “See where? I didn’t see anything when I came up here. I just went to bed. What’s going on?”
Simon let go of the younger man's face, standing to pace between the other beds. Without looking at him he continued, “Do you dream often?” Adam shook his head. When he realized Simon wasn’t looking at him he answered, “Yes sir. I have very vivid dreams. Sometimes, I even have lucid dreams I can control and I’m aware I’m dreaming.” “That brings me back to my question. What did you see?” “Huh, something about a meeting. I’ve had a few dreams about Angels recently but that isn’t uncommon. There are a lot of times where I have a series of dreams related to one another.” “Please, tell me more.”
Adam sat up properly in bed and took a deep breath before retelling what he could remember about the recent dreams as best as he could recount. There were a lot of details that were fuzzy but the broader strokes were fresh. The army of Angels, the Red Dragon, the ambush, the meeting. Once he wound down Simon was staring off into the distance, lost in thought. When no one said anything for a long time, Adam was the first to speak, “So, is it time to wake up or can I crash for a bit longer? ”Simon finally turned and spoke, “Yes, it is almost time. I’ll get some coffee brewing for all of us. Damien, would you care to help me make breakfast before you head out?” “Yeah. Not a problem,” Damien said, descending the ladder after Simon.
Michael sat quietly until they were gone and he heard Damien and Simon working downstairs, “I don’t get it. What does that mean?” “Dunno brother. I wouldn’t put stock in my dreams. Heck, I’ve had dreams with zombies attacking the president and fighting a Vampire with a lightsaber. Did you read already?” “No. Simon woke us up asking about you. I’ve only been up for a few minutes. Are you sure you are ok?” Michael asked with concern clear in his voice. “Yeah. I’m sure. Let’s go down and get some coffee. Reading is always easier with caffeine,” Adam said as he stood and clasped his friend on the shoulder, "thanks for caring. I'm glad you came."
They both descended and sat at the same table from the night before as Simon placed two cups of coffee in front of them while Damien was cooking on a wood stove. “Thank you sir,” Adam and Michael said in unison. Adam pulled out his Bible and Michael followed his lead, having a bit more trouble navigating the WHIP inventory system. Adam pondered for a few moments on where to read from. Finally, he turned to the first chapter of John and read the first few verses out loud, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Adam closed his Bible and placed it back in his inventory. The room was quiet save for Damien frying food in a pan. “Gentlemen,” Adam said, “We are the beacon in the darkness. Let us be a lighthouse of hope for our people.”
Damien finished cooking and plated the eggs and fried ham in silence while Adam and Michael prayed for breakfast. Simon helped him place their breakfast at the table and they all sat down. When Damien took his seat, Michael stood so quickly he knocked his chair backwards, “What the heck?” Damien was shrouded in a dark miasma, “In order for the light to shine, darkness needs to be there,” he said in an overtly gravelly voice. Adam spit his coffee into his hands and lap trying to avoid everyone's food. His laughter and coughs finally slowed down enough to speak, “Man oh man. Two things. First, points for being the first to use powers for a joke. Second, what is that? Shadow meld?” “Shadow Form. Close though,” He said as he deactivated it. Michael finally resumed his seat.
“Ah, that makes sense. Thank you for breakfast. This looks awesome. Simon, can you walk us through today?” Adam asked Simon as they all started into the very healthy portions Damien had made, “There is breakfast of course. After that I have one more gift before you depart. Then, I'll promptly send you on your way to battle and glory.” He said with a bit of extra pep, “Before we do, I need you to invite me into your party so I can check on a few things.”
Adam swiftly invited Simon to the party and continued to eat quietly. Once they all finished their meals and coffee, Adam and Michael gathered the plates and took them to a wash basin. “Sir, do you have a rag we could use?” Michael asked. Simon got up and pointed his staff at the pile of dirty dishes and they were made clean with a silver light. “I told you,” He said, “I have a Crux set up for making recruitment and my life very easy.” He gave them a wink and struck the ground and three mannequins donning simple leather armor rose up from the floor. “And he thought we were the dummies,” Michael quipped as Adam gave a heartfelt chuckle.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
They were outfitted in leather chest armor, bracers, pants and boots. They approached to get a closer look. Simon held out his hands to display the quality, “Where I came from, there is an outfitters shop that specializes in mass producing recruits armor. You three are in need since none of you conjure armor. The quality and durability is good for as cheap as it is. It should help you shrug off some lesser hits. None of you will need weapons since you all have a conjuration spell for them.” “Now hold up just a second,” Damien said, “I ain’t got a weapon conjuration. All I got with me is my Glock, some knives and an axe. I don't know how effective those will be.” “Yours is waiting outside,” Simon said. Adam ran his hands across the chest piece and a prompt appeared in his vision.
Armor : Leather Tunic of Durability (Uncommon). Can self repair over time.
“Woah,” Adam murmured. “Yes, I don’t doubt this will be beyond anything you could have imagined. Just think, this is only uncommon because of the self repair,” Simon said. “Self repair as in it fixes itself? How is that?” Michael asked after reading the same prompt Adam received. Damien attempted to undress the dummy in front of him, “What part of magic is unclear, bud? How does this come off?” “I got it," Adam said, "Hold on to part of it and use [Scan]. I’m guessing that is the difference between active and passive scan?” Adam said as his tunic disappeared. They all took the armor set off the dummies and started putting them on directly from their inventory.
“I can get used to this,” Michael said as he adjusted the bracers. “Perfect,” Simon said, “I think you three will do just fine. You got the inventory system basics down and the user,” “WHIP,” Damien interjected. “Thank you, Damien. Take the time when you can to go through all of the options in your WHIP. When I say all, I really do mean ALL,” Simon paused for effect, “Of the options. There will come a time that your WHIP and heads up display will save your lives with the increased awareness and attention to details that might otherwise be missed.”
“I have a question,” Michael started, “If this portal world here connects Hell and Earth, how did the portal end up in the treehouse of all places?” Simon nodded in appreciation, “You are very observant. I built the treehouse to encapsulate it and give me a safe landing. I’ve found portals all around the world that lead to some less scrupulous places. One was about a hundred yards above a canyon. That one was tricky to balance out but it is accessible now.” “Where is it at?” Damien asked. “Western Germany. It was near the grounds of the Heidelberg Castle. Wonderful place to visit in May. There is this festival that lasts a few days. It is worth the trip if you get the chance to go,” Simon fondly reminisced.
Michael took Simon out of his trip down memory lane, “Sir, is there anything we should be aware of before we venture out?” Simon pondered the question, “There is one thing. As a general rule of thumb, if it looks dangerous, it probably is. If it doesn’t look dangerous, it’s probably dangerous. Use your instincts and your WHIP to make sound decisions. You may even come across things that look dangerous or evil that end up being a boon to you. Any other questions?” "That was about as clear as mud. No questions from me," Adam said. None of the others added anything and Simon shook his head slowly, looking out of the window. The darkness was slowly starting to lift and dawn was on the horizon. "It is time. Please gather all of your belongings and lets go," Simon said. Once they were all geared up and loaded up they made their way down the winding steps and out into the brisk morning.
Adam, Michael and Damien lined up in front of Simon in front of the closest tree to the tree house. Simon placed his hand on the Hickory tree and muttered something under his breath. When he stopped, a faint glow came from the tree and Simon pulled away a fairly straight staff about six foot tall. He took out a knife and started carving the one of the ends. He was hunched over too much for the others to see what he was doing. Working quietly and swiftly, Simon finished with pulling a purple crystal out of his inventory and securing it to the notch he made in the wood with a bit of strands of what looked like paracord. When he was done, he hefted the large staff and gave it a few practice spins and strikes with it. He adjusted the staff with some quick knife work, whittling away and retesting the balance. Once he was satisfied he nodded to the staff and handed it to Damien, "A gift from one caster to another." Damien took it with both hands and carefully examined it. After a moment he used [Scan] on the new weapon.
Staff of Shadows. (Uncommon). A staff made of Hickory with a Shadow Crux Core.
Increases shadow damage by 5%. Can cast Shadow Bolts for half Mana when used with this weapon.
"This is awesome," Damien whispered, "Thank you sir." Simon nodded. He took in a deep breath and looked around their area. He didn't say anything until he pulled out a pocket watch out of his robes, "This should be good. I will see you back here on the sunrise of day seven." With that, Simon walked back into the Tree House and left the group alone for the first time in the new world. They looked down into the valley laid out in front of them. Adam appreciated the winding mountains and the lush trees they were surrounded by. It helped him feel less home sick. Then he remembered his wife and daughter and the feeling turned bitter sweet. He took a calming couple of breaths before he addressed the others, "Well fellas, lets get going. Adventure is out there."