I woke up and rubbed my sleepy eyes. I rolled over towards the bunny in my bed and crashed onto the floor. It took my brain several seconds to figure out I was on the cold stone floor instead of the soft bosom of a cute brunette. Wait, stone floor?
I pushed myself up and saw I was dressed in my gear, ready to explore. I had on everything, but felt a weight that was absent. It took a few moments for me to figure out my family sword was gone.
“You are not a morning person, are you?” came a silky smooth voice that massaged my ears and drizzled sweet honey into me, flowing down to my core.
I looked around for the source, and saw I was inside a stone tower or keep. When I didn’t see the speaker I walked towards the window and saw we were on a solidarity island on the open ocean. Mist surrounded the banks, and I could only see a few leagues out before the horizon was swallowed up. Even the sun struggled to come through the clouds making the whole place feel dreary and shaded.
I reached out to the natural world around me and found it muted. This place wasn’t natural, it was all magic. Powerful old magic as old as the world, dripping with layers and layers of magic from the deepest wells of power.
“Not the brightest either it seems,” the voice said again, lightly laughing. “I’m upstairs love.”
I searched around the room I was in. It was a sitting room with couches arranged around a low table, able to accommodate a dozen people. There was a kitchen and larder off to the side, and a smooth stone floor with a metal pole in the middle, connected to the roof. It was pretty secure and I wondered what its purpose was. I saw the stairs and went towards it, curious about what was going on.
“This is a dream realm,” I said to myself, remembering the old stories. “This is old magic.”
“So you are a smart one. Come find me and get your reward,” the voice cooed, persuading me to come.
I went up the stone stairs, my boots finding secure footing on account of tiny abrasive rocks set into them for grip. There was also a wooden rail to hold onto. It curved, following the wall all the way upstairs. With the open windows set every few steps and the constant mist assailing the shores making the ground slick, it was a smart idea to have some extra precautions for secure footing.
I reached the next floor and opened up the wooden door. The brass door handle felt warm in my hand and when I looked inside I saw a lit hallway. Heat came off some of the doors and I carefully crept into the hall. There were four doors, two on either side, and at the end was another set of stairs going up.
I opened the first door on the left, looking side. There was a small room, with a couch covered in pillows set against one wall. I opened the door fully and checked out the rest. There was a wooden platform, rising an inch above the floor. There was some kind of wood bench, long enough someone could lie down on it, it was super skinny and looked uncomfortable. Perhaps it was for people to sit on, but there were leather straps bolted to the floor around it. It faced towards the couch and I could only guess its purpose.
The door across the hall was a similar set up. A couch, pillows and facing it was another wood platform with a brass pole. The wood platform had a slight lip to the edge and I saw there were runes engraved into it. I crouched down and checked them from a distance, seeing what they were for.
“Containing? This is all in the old tongue too,” I said, scratching at my head.
It was the kind of stuffy old language that old elven epics were written in. I never had a good head for that kind of stuff, and now I was starting to regret it. The purpose of the pole eluded me and I shook my head as I left.
The second door on the left side was a bedroom, with leather straps attached to the ends of the bed. I saw there was a whip laid out on the bed and I was starting to seriously question where I had ended up.
“Is this a place to banish bad spirits?” I asked.
I had heard about some clergies setting up hidden fortresses like this. Far out of the spots to hide people possessed by powerful spirits or dark beings. They could carefully use their divine magic to undo the curses these people had and attempt to cure them. If that failed, then the afflicted would be far from any innocents.
I checked the last room, finding a torture room confirming my theory. A flat table with leather straps on either side just like Orinda had in her dungeon. There was a cabinet off to the side with a lock on it, and I didn’t fancy seeing what was inside.
I headed upstairs and listened to a soft melody lull me in. The woman singing upstairs was a master of her craft and I ran up the stairs feeling a desire to meet her. I reached the door at the top of the stairs and opened it up, ignoring the sign written in the old tongue on the door.
Inside was a wonderful bedroom, a huge four post bed draped with thin sheets. There were lovely looking pillows and blankets to dive into and sleep the night away. I felt the warmth of a crackling fire by a couch, the ornate fireplace had a hearth with a few tiny stone statues along its surface. Leaning against the one window in the room at the top of the tower was a woman, with dragon wings and a long, thin tail ending in a heart-like shape. A demon.
“Devil actually,” she said, reading my thoughts.
It was the speaker of the voice and I drew my swords ready to fight. The devil woman slid down the wall, sitting on the floor and groaned. I looked at her soft blouse, fuzzy pants and slippers and realized she was in her sleep wear.
I put away my swords seeing how she wasn’t aggressive and got a good look at her. She was pale, with snow white hair in a loose ponytail, and a pair of cute black horns. I saw a tiny cutie mark on her cheek, and full lips that made my heart want to kiss them. Her eyelashes bloomed and drew me into the depths of her ruby red eyes, which I tore my gaze from so she couldn’t charm me.
I couldn’t keep away, and looked back. She stood up and threw out her hands, slowly turning in a circle so I could get a look at her. Her outfit was all red, but I had to admit the colour really worked for her. It tightly hugged her sides and the shirt was low cut enough to show off her small bosom, her fit figure, and wide hips. I could see pushing against the fabric two circular bumps, and I guessed her nipples were pierced.
Her slightly pointed ears had silver earrings and beyond that she had little to show off her vanity. The devil snapped her fingers and dismissed her wings. She flicked her hair out of her eyes and I saw her smile grow under her cute small pointed nose.
“So you like what you see,” she said in a matter of fact tone.
“You are…what I would call cute,” I said. I questioned how good of an idea it was to feed into the ego of a devil, but I had nothing to lose by giving out some flattery. “I would call you quite beautiful.”
The devil blushed and she picked at her hair, almost unsure of what to say. She gestured to the couch by the fire and I cautiously followed her lead. I saw from behind her curvy little butt bounce a bit as she walked and I had to admit she looked good from behind too.
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I saw she had a smile plastered on her face, and I sat across from her on the couch feeling the fire get the chill out of my arms. We sat awkwardly by the fire for some time and I looked around the fine bedroom seeing several portraits around the room of her. There was a male elf in some of the pictures, but his face had been torn off.
“Your ancestor,” she said, answering the question before I said it. She then shook her head and clasped her hands. “Sorry, it’s been forever since I had a guest. I’ll try my best to not interrupt.”
I was taken aback by how polite her tone was. I had run into a demon once before and they were full of pride and fury. This devil woman was the exact opposite. She was polite, sat calmly and waited for me to speak. I saw her tail slowly move behind her, almost like it was wagging. I looked at her enchanting face, and it pained me how cute she was.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“We are in the dream realm and a very powerful space in it. Woven with magic from one of the most powerful spellcasters of the age. This might as well be a real world hidden away from everything,” she said.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
She blinked, taken by surprise. “My name? That’s your second question?”
“I needed to know where I was. Now I want to know about the most interesting thing here,” I said shrugging.
“Raven, and who is my delightful guest?” she asked.
“Willow Silverthorne,” I said.
“So you are his descendant,” Raven whistled, leaning back on the couch. She tilted her head and looked at me from a new angle. “You look just like her. His wife.”
I blinked and thought I misheard. “What?”
“Your ancestor, first of your house. May he forever be damned. It’s a long story and as much as I could spin this tale I’ll be honest. I was tricked, me, a devil, can you imagine?. Your ancestor promised me love, adventure and a way to escape the hells. I fell for his silver tongue and at first, he was truthful. He wove this place together for us to have a place hidden away where I could reveal my true form and make love.” Raven said.
The stiff tone the devil delivered her story with made me worry. I was invested now, I needed to know more. Perhaps it had something to do with my lost years and she could help me. Then again, maybe she was mad.
“I’m not mad at you. In fact, I lack anger. That emotion was long tapped out. Sorry, I was interrupting again,” she said looking embarrassed.
“No please, go on,” I said. “I’m still trying to figure this all out. I hope you're not upset if I take what you say with a grain of salt.”
“I hope you are cautious. Learn from my mistakes,” she said. She sighed and prepared herself. “Care for a drink?”
I nodded and watched her open a wine cabinet. It was fully stocked and after she made her choice I saw a flash of light behind her as the wine bottle was replaced. She grabbed two fine glasses and poured us each a half glass.
“Can we get drunk in this place?” I asked, sniffing the wine. My mouth hung open in awe. “God’s of the woods, is this-”
“A memory. You can’t get drunk here, it’s just for the ritual of getting the wine to calm my nerves,” she said, sipping from the glass with such grace she made me look like a drunken sailor. “We were happy for many years, searching ancient places to find hidden magic to loosen my bonds from infernal magic. Things went well, we were making progress until she came into our lives. At first I was happy to have a third, it made things exciting. He even brought her here.”
I looked closer at one painting by the bed, there were three figures in it, my ancestor missing his face and the third figure completely torn from the image. I saw a scorch mark beside the frame of the painting and I guess I wouldn’t see a single image of her around here.
“However, her tongue proved powerful and wormed into his ear. After a time I felt him drift from me and during a heated night I entered this place to cool off. When I tried to leave I found my exits blocked, and I used my magic to determine what happened,” she said, her shoulders shaking.
I instinctively reached out and touched her arm. She flinched, but didn’t pull her hand away, instead putting down her wine and touching my hand. I saw a tear well up in her eye and all the sorrow inside her burst, tears streaming down her eyes. I rose and sat beside her pulling her into a hug.
“Hey, it’s alright, I’m here,” I said, squeezing her tightly.
I felt her hands rub my back, and then I felt something that made me jump. She rubbed her cheek against mine, and her tail coiled around my leg, the heart tip touching between my thighs. Her breath was hot and heavy, carrying a scent to it that made my lust rise.
I broke the hug and stumbled back, falling onto the far side of the couch. We looked at each other, both blushing and looking flustered. There was a tension now, a budding desire and a part of me wanted to take her, and I could see she felt the same.
“I’m so sorry Willow. It’s been so long since I felt another's touch,” Raven said.
“It’s fine. I’ve been drinking potions and got handled by slimes so my body is all confused,” I said.
“I know,” Raven said, smiling. “I’m in the sword, it’s the key to this place. Everywhere you have gone in the past day I have seen. It’s odd, like the sword has soaked up your recent members and let me view them.”
Raven rose, and went towards the fireplace, touching the statues in an order from left to right. A shimmering purple lens appeared in front of the couch and I shuffled over to sit beside Raven. We were close enough to feel each other's warmth, our hands a hair’s distance away from the other.
In the lens I could see myself cuddling up the Dreama, my arm around her waist as she snored into my neck. The perspective was odd and I realized I was looking at myself from where the sword was in the chest.
“So we are in the sword?” I asked.
“Yes, in a sense. They bound me to this place and used my power to further enchant the weapon to be powerful enough to split the heavens. In my rage I damaged the connections and weakened the sword over time until it was nearly useless. They threw me down into the cellar of your family home, forgetting me and trapping me. Your great grandfather found me and made a tradition of the sword getting passed down,” Raven said. She had a confused expression on her face as her eyebrows knit together. “Only now have I been able to reach out.”
“Why now though?” I asked. I thought about my recent adventure and my eyes shot open. “The dungeon, I got separated from the sword and it was put in a room stocked with magic items.”
“Years ago I felt a spark and connected to it. At first I could get nothing but a vague feeling when I dreamt and I saw a pretty elf girl. I see now it was you. Something happened in your past to kick start our connection, and if I had to guess the sword might have drained some of those magic items you had by the sword,” Raven said. She then pointed towards the lens. “Now I can do even more, watch.”
She waved her hand and the views changed, showing the sword getting tossed into the treasure room, then me sneaking in, and our great escape. There was some weird interference however, it looked like mist was coming off the magical items and flowing towards the sword.
“Ah, I see,” Raven said, nodding her head. “As I thought, the sword drained those items to empower itself.”
“Do you have any idea how much money I lost from that?” I asked, tugging at my hair. “That was a solid haul, and now half of them are useless. I could have retired from the fortune.”
Raven’s anger suddenly found its way back as she hissed, and clenched her fists. “I’ve been stuck here for an age! This is the first time I’ve gotten to see the living world and all you care about is pocket change?”
“Wait, you said a few years ago you connected to a spark. Were you responsible for my lost years and all the memories that are missing?” I pressed.
“Oh, let’s blame the devil. Let’s blame the woman who literally has to sit here and has been stuck for an eternity,” Raven spat. She threw her palm into my face. “I think we are done here.”
“Have you affected my emotions?” I said, glaring at her, slapping her hand aside. “I’ve had all these weird thoughts, weird desires and needs. Have they been from you?”
Raven went red in the face, matching her eyes. She glared at me and pointed a nail at my heart. “Get out!”
I cracked open my eyes and woke up, this time for real. I looked over Dreama’s sleeping form and saw the chest wasn’t completely closed. I reached over and snapped it shut. I mentally prepared myself for the day, because I had a sword to purify.