by J E Mueller
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 move 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.
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 on, 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 footsteps 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.”
“It would have to be.” Benz nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s weird things going on here for sure. Maybe there’s a book that’ll help. If anyone knows anything it would be the Watch but we’ve been out of contact recently.”
“The Watch?” Was there another alliance?
“Yeah, it’s formed of a combination of people from here to help protect the house, like the ultimate adventurers,” Benz replied vaguely.
Something came to mind though, a small dwelling raised well above the ground. There was only one set of stairs down and it was always the most dangerous at night. That was when the worst of the creatures emerged…
“Actually, I think I remember that,” I said surprised.
Benz looked equally surprised. “You haven’t remembered anything in forever.”
Nodding, I thought about the creatures of the woods. The ones with the red eyes and the weird clicking noises they would make. “Of course, I remember the nightmare fuel but still don’t remember you or Clove. You’ve both been around long enough I should know you.”
“We knew each other before this.” He motioned vaguely to the room around us. “We were all Dreamers here. I’m not surprised we’d haunt this place as restless souls.”
“I wonder how I forgot all of this. I mean, there was the accident, but I’ve recovered all my other memories. Or so I thought. This whole thing makes me question that now.”
Benz gave a sad laugh. “I think this place is supposed to be forgotten, so don’t be upset about it.” He came into the room more and leaned on the counter.
“
You’re probably right, but still. It’s not been fun trying to figure things out.” I shook my head. “Wait, you would know my abilities here then!”
Benz gave a bit louder of a laugh. “That’s the thing, as a Dreamer, those things can change and did change. I used to have a ranged weapon, and different types of magic, and now I’ve got a stupidly large sword. Nothing is set in stone until you are stuck here. I could give you a list of things but that doesn’t make any of it true now.”
“Ah, so it’s just as much of a guess as ever.” I sighed. At least it was worth asking.
“Usually it makes sense though once you get to know the person. So that might narrow it down?” Benz suggested.
I shrugged. What would fit me personally? Something with water maybe? I hadn’t a clue. Nothing actually felt right. We both turned as we heard the sound of static and a dozen tiny feet.
“Sounds like some Hedgeish.”
I raised an eyebrow at Benz. “Hedgeish?”
“About knee high hedgehogs with spikes that zap like lightning. They also have razor sharp teeth so…” Benz summoned his sword. “Easy enough to take.”
Sighing, I readied my bow. I could actually feel the arrow of light in my hand this time as I drew back toward my ear. Steadying it, I let loose the second I saw the first creature appear in the doorway. It seemed to be enough of a hit -the thing didn’t get back up -but the screams of its comrades were suddenly terrifying.
Benz closed the small distance between them, and in one swoop, hit three into the wall. I watched as the bodies slowly faded into smoke, just in time for him to take down the final two.
“That really wasn’t a challenge for you.” I felt a bit surprised, and it must have shown on my face since Benz just laughed.
“After a few years, yeah. It isn’t. You build up some good strength here and just learn how to hit things just right.”
“They vanished,” I commented, gesturing that way. “The Agmon Clove and Mare took down didn’t.”
“They probably just disabled it. A sword through the head is the best way. It won’t get up for at least an hour.” Benz shrugged. “You can only kill it kill it by removing its heart, which is no small task. It’s body is thick and difficult to pierce. Better to just get it down and continue on.”
I really didn’t like the sound of that, but nodded my understanding.
“You don’t remember any of this do you?” He sighed, frustration lining his face.
“Not really. Just apparently that random thing with the Watch.” I yawned, suddenly feeling tired. “I should probably try and get some sleep. No good reason to be up this early.” These dream meetings with the fog were not restful by any means.
“Time is an illusion.” Benz shrugged. “Souls don’t need nearly as much time to rest as we did in human form.”
“Technically, I’m still a Dreamer, so I might need more rest.” Did I? Probably.
“Probably.” He motioned to the hall the Hedgeish came from. “Ladies first.”
“What? You’re going to follow me back?”
“More like make sure you get back. You probably don’t remember it all just yet.”
“Way to call me out.” I gave a tired sigh, “It’s vaguely in that direction.” I waved where about I thought it was.
“Yeah, no. I’ll lead.” Benz waved for me to follow as he set off.
“Shouldn’t you not be helping me? Aren’t you completely mad at Clove?”
Benz shrugged. “Are you actually on her team or are you just following your gut on where to stay for now and will likely change as time goes?”
I wasn’t sure how to reply, but it was true I was mostly taking things in at this moment.
Benz nodded, never looking back at me once. “Exactly my point. While you may not remember everything Remilia, I remember you, and what I remember best is you didn’t have a side per se. You did whatever you could to help those around you, no matter what. So while I would rather you be helping my group, you’re clearly with them for a reason, and when the time comes, I’m sure you’ll be equally as helpful to my needful team.”
“I think Canton would rather stab me through the chest before that moment.” I shook my head. How did one change teams with people like Canton around?
“And what do you propose to do about someone like him?” Benz mused as we continued on.
“I’ve no idea… yet. Something needs to be done though.” I really wished I had a better idea. I wasn’t up for murdering him, but he was a handful.
“Exactly. It’s a tough one.”
“So, what were you doing up anyway?” I asked once more, changing the topic.
“For months I’ve been having weird dreams, and I usually get up sometime in the middle of the night and wander a bit. Sometimes there’s newcomers or Dreamers about so it’s not usually dull,” Benz replied truthfully.
I wondered if he dreamt of the fog creature, but then again that particular weirdness might just be me. I considered the bracelet for a moment and how I heard voices because of having it, and whatever it meant to be receptive.
“Is it because of the Creators being gone? Could that impact dreams?”
Benz gave a tired chuckle. “If only. These particular dreams are from the last few months, but the weird dreams started years ago. It hasn’t been unusual for me to be up around now for quite some time.”
Maybe the fog dreams were just me. Maybe not. It was hard to gauge. I’d hold that information for now.
“Did you really just need to get up?” he asked as we were nearly back to the safe zone.
“Yeah. After dreaming of my sister, I needed to get up and move for a bit. I’ve no idea if she survived everything.” I truly didn’t know. Who knew what part of that whole mess was real. I never mentioned Kegan here, so maybe, just maybe it was.
“That’s fair. This whole dead, maybe not dead is a bit weird to shake. Rest well.” Benz turned toward me, nodded, and headed back the way we came.
The painting was within sight now, I couldn’t possibly be that daft to get lost, but I wondered what Benz was really dreaming. Maybe I’d ask next time around. I doubted the nights would be good enough to let me completely rest anytime soon.
Morning, much like usual, came too quickly. I could make out someone calling chipperly to me to get up. My response was to pull the blankets over my head, in hopes to drown out everything. Of course, that never worked when I was fully up and alive, so why now?
The blanket was quickly yanked off me and the pillow pulled off my head as Mare’s voice became bright and somehow even louder than before. “Wakey-wakey!”
“What for?” I grumbled, still half asleep.
“We've got lives to save!”
How did one really save someone who was already dead? “Fine, what’s going on?” I started to rub the sand from my eyes.
“Leta got a nasty bite while helping with a quest. Clove and a few others are getting one of the harder ingredients from the fourth floor to make up a brew that’ll save her. We need to get something from the gardens outside.”
I stared at Mare like she was crazy, taking my time getting out of bed. “So us, you and me… we’re going outside where things are usually more dangerous.” She nodded a bit too cheerfully. “I’m hardly any help! We’ll die!” I didn’t bother to hide my shock.
“We’ve got help enough for this. It’ll be fine. Come along.” She beamed and headed out of the room.
I took a deep breath. I wasn’t dead yet, so technically if I died I probably wouldn’t be dead dead anyway. That didn’t really make me feel any better, but I followed Mare anyway.
Once in the common area, Mare motioned to a guy, around my age, maybe just a bit older. “This is Ze. Ze, Remi.” She nodded back and forth to us as she spoke. “Ze can use illusion magic, basically making us temporarily invisible.”
“Oh, that’s useful.” I gave an approving nod. “I’m surprised Clove didn’t want him on her team.” I directed the comment toward Mare.
Ze gave a small laugh. “It’s very temporary. I can’t keep this up for long, so, we need a game plan and not really deviate from it. Lots of ducking and dodging behind things to recharge and stay out of sight. The gardens shouldn’t be a huge issue. Just navigating the hedge maze they are in will be annoying.”
Ah, that did make sense then.
“Sounds like a good enough plan then.” I looked at Mare for further direction before remembering Ze probably had another gift. “What else can you do?”
Ze shrugged. “I have a sword, but I really really suck at using it. I’ve just been here about three weeks.” He looked at Mare for confirmation.
“Three weeks sounds about right.” She shrugged and turned to me. “He really isn’t a swordsman by any means yet. At least you have some range.”
“Yeah, bow sounds neat. Mare was explaining about your magic situation before she got you up,” Ze explained.
“At least she gave me time to sleep, I guess.” I eyed her tiredly, still not exactly ready for an adventure.
“Let’s head out then. We only really have about five hours before they need that plant back,” Mare stated as she moved to the painting.
“What flower?” I clearly wasn’t around for this specific part.
“Blue flower, deep red thorns. There’s a huge supply in the back garden, but it’s a bit of a pain to get to,” Mare replied before vanishing through the painting.
Ze followed quickly behind and I gave the jelly like substance a hard stare before pushing through to the other side. Once over, Mare continued on.
As we walked I decided to at least try and understand this illusion thing. “So Ze, how does this magic thing of yours work? Can you only cast them on items, or creatures, or maybe people?”
Ze’s eyes lit up. He was more than happy to talk about this gift. “Sort of both. It’s really the environment. I can even pick and choose who it affects. Want to see?”