Dreamer's Melody

by J E Mueller

  Getting up, I nodded at them. “Maybe it’s just the outside in. The eel thing and the Moglozas didn’t chase me to the third floor.”

  Mare gave a slow nod as she led the way. “That’s good to know. Still, something coming from outside to inside is big. The outside is where the hardest creatures are, and no one on the first floor would be ready or expecting them.”

  “Those things would make short work of most of us.” Clove sighed tiredly. “There’re even things I can’t beat out there.”

  Oh. That was bad. That was really bad.

  The walk back was fast paced but it was clear Mare was taking the most direct route possible. I was surprised nothing stood in our way, but even if there was a chance of that, Mare and Clove would take anything down here without effort. If it was supposed to be here.

  As soon as we were through the painting, Clove loudly declared, “House Meeting! Grab everyone.”

  People looked up from where they were sitting and several of them scattered. Some to the rooms, some through the painting. The rest started to move the furniture to all face the center of the room.

  As I glanced around, I realized I still had my bow in my hands. I could feel the tug and push on my magic now, probably because it was getting tiring. I tried to let up and nothing happened. I looked up at Mare.

  “How do I make it stop?” I gave a bow a vague wave.

  “Oh, just release it. Let it go.” She shrugged. “You really just drop the connection and pick it up as needed.”

  With a sigh, instead of pushing it away I tried to just drop it, envisioning it hit the ground and watched the bow just vanish. Relief swept through me and a wave of exhaustion filled its place. For a moment I wobbled in place.

  “That was more tiring than I expected.”

  Mare gave a small laugh as she motioned for me to sit. “It takes time to build up. Keep using it. Practice summoning it faster and faster. Sadly, you’ll probably need it.”

  “What would happen if I got injured or killed here?”

  Mare thought for a moment. “I don’t know. Since you’re a Dreamer, I’d assume you’d reappear again in a little bit, but I can’t be sure. Maybe it would be the jolt that wakes you up.”

  Or the jolt that actually kills me. I didn’t want to be too grim so I kept the comment to myself.

  Soon, people started to filter back into the room and take seats until there was only room to stand. Clove and Mare stood in the center of the circle of furniture and waited for everyone to arrive. After a slow look around the room, Clove gave a nod.

  “Welcome. It’s been a while since we’ve done an impromptu meeting, but we’ve had an event,” Clove stated bluntly. “There was a Daidogze found on the third floor.”

  There were equal gasps and looks of confusion.

  Mare stepped in. “A Daidogze is a creature from outside.” Confusion turned to awestruck horror. “It’s a deer-like creature with six legs, larger than necessary antlers, and ice crystals along its fur. If it hits you with its hooves it stands a fifty-fifty chance of turning that spot into ice. While you can recover, it is far harder to move with parts iced over. It will happily stomp you to death if it gets the chance, and it is faster than everyone.”

  Clove cleared her throat, bringing the attention back to herself. “There is a chance that the barrier did not work for a moment. The only outside creatures to ever get in before were the Ragnest, which we all know how to avoid. They are more slow and annoying than deadly.”

  I glanced at her wondering who this ‘all’ was since I didn’t know what she was talking about, but figured now was not the time to question her.

  “Any questions?” Clove asked loudly.

  Someone raised their hand and spoke right away. “What should we do about this?”

  “Travel in groups,” Clove stated simply. “If it has eyes, you can blind it and escape.”

  “And if it doesn’t have eyes?” another person chimed in.

  “Don’t move. The few creatures without eyes are all attracted to motion or detect things like a bat calling into the night. If you stay still, it’ll assume you are an object.”

  “What about things that sense heat?” a third person asked.

  “Stay out of the basement.” Clove shrugged. “I’m fairly certain we all keep that door closed unless there’s a damned good reason to go down there.”

  Most people were nodding their heads in agreement.

  “Anything else?” Clove asked.

  “What can we do to fix it?” I didn’t see who said that but the murmuring began with that question.

  I really liked that one. Could this be fixed? It had to be, somehow.

  Clove sighed. “It’s no mystery to those who have been here for a time that the Creators have been missing. They control these things. I assume once they return it’ll be fixed. I don’t know where they are, where they can go, or what even happened to them.”

  “Didn’t someone say Benz got rid of them?” the first person asked. More murmurs.

  Clove nodded and spoke over them. “That is the rumor. If you’d like to take this up with him, feel free. Maybe he’ll give us the answers we need. Likely not though. You’d have to be a fool to get rid of those who control the realm you’re trapped in. Dismissed.”

  With that, Clove nodded at Mare and walked to the bedrooms.

  I glanced at Mare and motioned for her to come over.

  “What are the Ragnest?” I asked simply.

  “Oh, those.” Mare gave a tired laugh. “They are large hunch-backed creatures with a mouth that never closes and shows too many teeth. It has two long sharp talons on either arm and it basically tries to impale its victims. Thankfully, it’s slow, and usually easy to lure back outside.”

  “And they are somehow the only ones that could come inside before?” I asked, surprised.

  “Yep, that really sums it up.” Mare nodded. “I’m sure one of the Creators has a reason for it, but I’m not sure what. If we ever stumble upon them again, we’ll have to be sure to ask.”

  I nodded slowly. “Right. I am fairly certain that will not be the first question I’d ask.”

  “Good luck with that. No one really gets their first question out.” Mare snickered. “We try to, but I think I ended up asking ‘how did you even create this place’ or something along those lines first.”

  “Well, what was the answer?” I asked curiously.

  “To be honest, it was weirdly complicated. I guess they needed to trap some evil things, and then they needed someone to support the world, and I guess there was a lot of weird things with missing memories, but yeah…” Mare shrugged, “I lost track and stopped paying attention. Sorry.”

  “You are trapped in this realm and you didn’t pay attention to its creation? That might have had the answers to solve so many things.” I wasn’t sure how to handle her response.

  Mare shrugged. “It’s not like anyone really remembers all the things. I’m sure plenty of others have asked too.”

  Well, maybe that could be of help. I shook my head. “I think I need a nap.”

  “‘Night,” Mare called chipperly as I headed to bed. This place was getting to be too weird.

  “We heard your words…” The weird olive green fog said to me.

  I glanced around where I stood. My dreams seemed to have dropped me off with the mutant fog again. Random candles were floating here and there, casting shadows as if their sole purpose was to make the fog more ominous. Darkness laid claim to everything else, making it seem like there was a helpless void all around us.

  It was working.

  A chill crept down my spine and I wondered if this was even actually a dream. Didn’t something happen in the last one? Something when I touched it?

  I drew myself several steps back away from the thing. “Wow, you heard my words,” I replied, trying to put on some bravado. “Eavesdropping is so very becoming.”

  “We hear all, we see all…” The fog declared, its voice shifting from ba
ritone to alto. From male to female. “We cannot keep track of everything, but you are worthy. You are worthy of watching.” The voices kept shifting randomly throughout the speech.

  “Still, no less creepy.” What the heck was it listening to? Why would anyone, or anything, want to watch me?

  “You long for your sister,” it declared, and the fog changed.

  It rippled and grew but as it grew it flattened and became like glass. Pictures started to swirl on it and I saw a small girl in bed. At first I hesitated, but then dared to take a step forward, followed by another, and another until I could see the picture perfectly.

  It was Melly, wrapped tightly in a mound of blankets that I couldn’t place. They looked familiar but they weren’t from home.

  “We can make sure she lives…” the fog whispered softly.

  Well, I couldn’t help it. “How can you make sure she lives?” How did I even know this was real?

  “We have magic of old, we were trapped for sins that weren’t committed.”

  That totally sounded one hundred percent innocent. I shook my head. “No one is sinless.”

  “We agree.” The voices shifted again and again. “But the sins they hold us for, we are guiltless in.”

  Uh huh. I found that very hard to believe, despite their alluring offer.

  Suddenly, Kegan came into view and I knew Melly was at the inn. Kegan placed a cloth on Melly’s head before turning quickly and fiercely to look at me.

  “I sense you lot. Get!” Kegan waved her hands and suddenly the image blackened and started to reform as the fog.

  “What happened?” I asked, surprised by the change.

  “One of those fools who helped to trap us. She doesn’t want you to know about your sister,” they replied sharply.

  Now I knew that was a lie, but bit my tongue. If Kegan, by whatever powers that be, could sense them and wanted them gone, they must be evil. I had always thought something was off about that innkeep, but she was keeping Melly safe as best as possible and that’s all that mattered.

  “What about my body then?” I asked them. I figured even if they weren’t giving all the correct answers, they were, at least, giving some truths.

  “Away in another bed, barely hanging on.” The fog let tendrils move near me and I took a step back.

  “No surprise there.” I shrugged, ready for this dream to be done.

  “We could save you too, if you desire.” The tendrils spread out but did not come toward me this time. “But we see you don’t much care about that, so we leave the answer in your hand.”

  “If it’s truly my decision, then I choose to make no move at this time,” I replied, standing as tall as I could.

  “You sister fades quickly. You don’t have much time there.” The fog’s voice turned deep and threatening.

  “She is stronger than most give her credit for. I’ve no doubts of her strengths.” Melly wasn’t the rock beneath my feet, but the water that gave life to the land around me. She was the crashing sea, the fresh spring rain. If Kegan was watching her, she would recover.

  The fog said nothing. Did nothing.

  For a time we stared at one another, lost in our own thoughts before everything around me went black and I awoke to a rough shake as I fell out of bed.

  Chapter 8

  The cold ground was not the place I wanted to wake up, but I was certainly glad to be done with that fog. I was doubly grateful that I had this room to myself. Mare had stated that sometimes there were more people here, and sometimes far less. The Creators had told her unrest was more widely built up in times of desperation, war, and chaos. Normal times where most of the lands were faring well left a smaller ripple.

  I honestly didn’t care about those details. I hoped to be up and moving soon back in my body. At home with my sister. It pained my heart to think of her struggling on her own. No, not on her own; she at least had someone as strong-willed and helpful as Kegan around. Melly could do this. She would pull through. She had to.

  Me on the other hand… I hit those rocks hard, and it was difficult to survive such a thrashing at sea.

  Sighing, I pulled myself up and decided I needed to get up and moving for a bit. It was still late, the magic around me said around two in the morning, so I wasn’t surprised to see the common area empty. I didn’t really need anyone with me. I did plan on just wandering to the kitchen for some water. The first floor was supposed to be easy enough. Right?

  The barriers were a mystery, and some creatures could get inside, but overall I should be safe…

  I forced myself out and past the painting before my confidence could be too shaken. I needed some me time and this was a surprisingly easy way to get it.

  I had to stop in the hall to summon my bow. It felt like it took several minutes, but hopefully that wasn’t the case. Still, with it I felt more confident in my adventure. Even if I couldn’t actually beat something, I could probably wound it and escape. It wasn’t like killing these things really made a huge difference. They were only dead for a few hours, maybe a day.

  I hated trying to figure out mentally the difference between dead and dead dead here.

  It is annoying.

  At least the voice agreed. I wondered why this voice talked to me.

  You’re receptive.

  That didn’t mean a thing to me, sadly.

  The voice laughed for a moment. It’s all in the magic and the kind of soul you are. Dreamers tend to be more receptive since they think it’s all fake anyway. But you… your soul has always been this way. In my time you would have been a guide for spirits.

  That sounded neat, but why only in that time? Was I even heading in the right direction for the kitchens?

  We changed things to move the creatures once called angels and demons. They wanted to horde the souls to either feed off their emotions, or turn them into minions. Souls need to rest so they can eventually be reborn and continue to grow.

  Ah. I guess if that was a thing that made sense. Anything felt like it could be a thing now. Why did this voice only talk in my head anyway? Why not meet in person?

  It’s complicated, but to put it simply, I’m trapped, as are the other Creators.

  So the Creators weren’t missing. I likely couldn’t just tell everyone this. That would be too easy.

  Indeed. Sadly, with how things went, I am not positive who did this. I have several guesses and I can observe things now thanks to you.

  Wait, what did I do? I hadn’t done more than fumble around here.

  Well, to be fair it wasn’t entirely your doing.

  That made more sense.

  I am going to guess here that the one or ones responsible for this locked all of the Creators in various forms of artifacts.

  Wait, was she in my bracelet?

  Yes, and I figured how to fasten myself to you so that way no one can re-hide me. Or worse. I’m not even sure what worse they can do to me, but if I don’t get out soon, the balance here will slowly crumble and they will escape.

  They… I wonder if that could be the fog.

  What do you mean?

  I visualized my dreams and explained every detail I could to the voice. There was certainly something going on there. Something bigger than I wanted to deal with, but here I was, accidentally toting around a trapped Creator. At least I wasn’t going completely mad, and I found the kitchen.

  So, if you are trapped as the artifact, do you have the artifact’s abilities?

  In a sense. I cannot use them on my own, but if you listen in on a mind I can hear it as well.

  I stood in the center of the kitchen trying to remember why I came here in the first place and wondering what to do about this Creator issue. Maybe I should join the artifact hunting team and see if I could find more. Or maybe I needed to find out who had all the current artifacts and see if any Creators were trapped in them. How did one even know?

  I could tell if you get close enough.

  At least there was that. Nodding to myself, I heard foots
teps approaching and drew my bow. I wasn’t too sure who I could trust here yet, so I wanted to be ready. Luckily, it was just Benz. Was that luckily? I wasn’t sure I would ever grasp this alliance nonsense in a fight or die realm. Or was it fight and die again realm?

  I lowered the bow after a moment. “Why are you up?” I tried to start a nice casual conversation with Benz. I’m totally not listening to voices coming from a bracelet. How had the bracelet talked to me before I had it on, anyway?

  I was projecting and hoping someone was listening.

  “I could ask you the same,” Benz replied, startling me. There was too much talking at once.

  I gave a tired nod. “I suppose that’s true.” I went about looking for a glass and fetched myself some water.

  “You seem… distracted,” Benz commented.

  “There’s been a lot to take in recently.” I wasn’t sure what else to say to that.

  “I see you’ve figured out a weapon though.” Benz waved at the bow I had tucked under my arm.

  Shrugging, I sipped on my water before responding. “A well timed accident. Any later I could be dead. Maybe dead dead. I’m not even sure anymore.” I shook my head. “It’ll be useful to know what else I can do.”

  “You’ll get it figured out eventually, I’m sure.” Benz shrugged.

  “And what can you do?” I asked him. “I’m sure the rest of this place knows so, what is it?”

  “The sword is all anyone is sure about anymore.” Benz smirked. “It’s not necessarily a bad idea to keep one a secret. Times are weird.”

  “Because the Creators are missing right? I heard you had a hand in that.” I took a sip of water and watched for a reaction.

  None came as he simply shrugged. “That’s a complicated answer. A few on my side were the first to notice they were missing. We haven’t denied having a hand in it, but come on. What could we have possibly done? We’ve got two gifts, and I doubt any of them include ‘trap the Creators’.”

  I gave a slow nod as I considered his answer. “So, whatever happened would likely be because of an outside source.”