Dreamscape: Infinity (Book 1)

by L. R. Wolf

  To my BAD peoples- Aya

  As most, if not all of you know, through sheer talent I managed to get myself into a coma. Fortunately I’m still able to lurk around the Dreamscape so while my body may be asleep, my mind is constantly around now. I deeply appreciate the thoughts and gestures, but I would ask that while Ray aka Voksil and I adjust to what’s going on please don’t be mad or upset if we don’t respond to any messages whether it’s a forum post, an email or a private message in Infinity when the servers come back up. Once the guild is up and running I likely won’t join right away, but again it’s only because I’m trying to adjust to my new Dreamscape life. I love you all and I am Bound And Determined to be reunited with my body and my family!

  Aya sent a few emails to family members and then closed out of the browser. Elohwa was standing in front of her patiently waiting for Aya to finish perusing her emails. Aya blinked away the after image of the browser.

  “Sleep well, I hope?” Elohwa had slept just as comfortably as Aya, and had woken an hour before her. She’d been roaming the city looking for any spirit that might know anything about where her parents might be, but everyone seemed to be tight lipped regarding the whereabouts of the royal family for some reason.

  “I slept only three hours and that’s probably the best sleep I’ve had in years!” Aya felt absolutely great. She wasn’t suffering from the normal all day lethargy that she’d been enduring for years. She could sleep for nine hours and still wake up tired. She had no idea how she managed to slog through her days without coffee or any other kind of caffeine injection or a brief nap. She knew it was likely partly because her body was technically resting at the moment along with the games programming.

  Elohwa grinned and nodded, she had been used to sleeping on a threadbare bedroll over stone for such a long time that when she used the bedroll that had come in their new satchels she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep. Though she had only slept for two hours she felt the same as Aya, she was completely refreshed and ready for whatever was to come that day. “Oh here, you might want to have a look.” Elohwa held a bag out to Aya, it was the loot the women had gotten the night before.

  Aya took the bag and dumped it into her satchel letting it auto sort the contents before she started going through it. Her eyes bulged when she noticed the amount of coins they had gained. 523p 32g 27s 49c. That was a gigantic amount considering the game had only really been online for an entire day before it was brought down due to the bug that had incapacitated some of the Dreamers like Aya. She managed to tear her eyes away from the coins and glanced through the loot they had obtained. Since they had been fighting undead, most of the loot had been comprised of alchemical ingredients and the heavier weapons and shields that the Skeletons and Zombies had carried. Aya didn’t see anything geared towards a caster which wasn’t surprising since none of what they had fought had been a caster type. She noticed a few rather decent bows and some dexterity based gear which she put aside into a temporary bag to give back to Elohwa. She split the money in half adding it to the bag and then dumped all of the alchemical and other crafting ingredients they had gained the previous night into the bag that she handed back to Elohwa. “Here take this.” Aya held the bag out to Elohwa.

  Elohwa tilted her head to the side, “You really need not give me anything, I am but a Companion.”

  “The hell I don’t! If it wasn’t for you supplying me with mana potions all night I would have wound up respawning more than a few times and I might have lost you.” Aya choked a bit, though she had only known Elohwa for a short while and she knew that she was just lines of code, she knew it would still be painful to lose someone she had grown attached to. “And you are not JUST a companion, you’re a friend, don’t forget that.” Aya reached out, grabbed Elohwa’s hand turning it over so her palm was up and then dropped the bag into her palm. “Besides, you can use some of the stuff that’s in there, and you can use some of the money to buy anything you want or need, well whenever we get to a merchant that is.”

  Elohwa looked down at the bag Aya had given her, she hesitated a moment before dumping the contents back into her satchel. She couldn’t believe that Aya had split the money with her evenly, not to mention the fact that she had also given her the bulk of the crafting materials and some rather nice upgrades to her gear. Elohwa chose the best bows as well as some of the better pieces of dexterity gear.

  Short Bow of Piercing- Damage 45-65. Has a chance to pierce through a target causing additional damage and a bleed effect as well as hitting a target standing behind the current target. Can pierce multiple targets based on the skill of the user.

  Sureshot Longbow- Damage 50-65. The arrows fired from this bow will always hit their target, so always aim for the head or heart for maximum damage.

  Earcuff of Quickness +15 dex . +10% attack speed. This earcuff causes the wearer’s movements to become quicker.

  Ring of Dexterity- +20 Dex

  Earcuff of Command-Surrounds the wearer in an aura. Anyone within 10 feet gains more control over their skills making them more powerful and extending their range by 5 feet. (+25 dmg modifier to skills and spells)

  Pendant of Dexterity- This simple silver pendant grants the wearer increased dexterity. +25 Dex

  Elohwa slipped the jewelry on, her dexterity stat soaring. She looked up at Aya, still not knowing what to say to the Dreamer’s constant generosity. Her eyes met Aya’s, but then looked past them to a spirit standing just behind Aya. “Va'lore!”

  Aya noticed Elohwa’s eyes had shifted and turned to look behind her jumping at seeing a tall elven spirit standing behind her. “I swear I’m gonna start putting bells on all of you so you can’t sneak up on me!” Aya took a deep breath to calm herself and her racing heart. The Spirit chuckled a bit before it floated closer to Elohwa. This Spirit must have been incredibly powerful as it didn’t try to move with the shadows as the other spirits had, rather he came right out into a sunlit area the two women were currently standing in.

  “Dear sister! I had heard rumours of your return, it is good to see they were true!” The spirit that Elohwa had called Va'lore smiled, but his smile immediately faded as he took in the sight of the two women. “What happened?”

  Elohwa and Aya had both pulled their cloaks closer around them so their tattered and bloodied clothes had been hidden, but the slightest shift of Elohwa’s cloak had revealed the strips of leather that had been torn open by the Ghoul just a few hours ago.

  “We were in the Dead Fields above the city. We were beset by hordes of undead.” Elohwa would have elaborated further, but Va'lore interrupted. “Ah yes, you are fortunate to be alive then. Those hills are crawling with all sorts of foul beasts. It is good that you are now home.”

  Elohwa nodded to him before continuing on with the introductions. “Aya, this is my younger brother Va'lore. Va'lore, this is my Dreamer, Aya.” Elohwa was overjoyed at seeing her little brother. Besides Tharas, he was the only other one of her family she’d been able to find thus far.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Va'lore.” Aya had to stop herself from reaching her hand forth for a handshake and just nodded at him instead.

  “The pleasure is truly mine, M’lady!” He flashed a charming smile in Aya’s direction.

  Aya happened to notice Elohwa rolling her eyes, “Please do not mind him, he is a terrible flirt.” Elohwa said something to him in what Aya assumed was Shadow Speak, but she didn’t know the language just yet. Va'lore shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands out.

  Elohwa switched back to common tongue so that Aya would understand. “Do you know where Mother and Father are? No one has been able, or wanting, to answer me.”

  Va'lore’s grin faded a bit, “Honestly, Sister,” he paused a moment as if looking for the right words to say, “no one really knows. The last thing any of us remember is being down in the mountain praying for a miracle. I remember seeing our parents at the front by the Eternal Altar leading the prayer, the next thing we knew we were all outside the m
ountain as Pure Spirits. No one has seen them since.”

  Aya raised an eyebrow, “You can return to your bodies though? Or rather, the crystal that houses them?” The spirits seemed to know more than what they were saying, or as the case may be not saying.

  “Well,” he paused again, but before he could continue Elohwa snapped at him, anger rising in her voice.

  “What the hells is going on, Va'lore?! We know something is being hidden from us, just TELL us!” Elohwa’s fury faded a bit as she felt guilty about yelling at her little brother, but both women had sensed something that none of the spirits seemed willing to share with them and she was tired of it.

  Va'lore sighed heavily, his face had lost any semblance of humor and charm and now just looked utterly defeated. He raised his hands to his face and rubbed his ethereal temples with his fingers. “My apologies, Ladies. It is just, while we have been encased, monsters have taken over the section of the mountain in which our bodies are trapped. For awhile, we could journey back to the altar and scout around, but as the strength of the monsters increased we were no longer able to return to check on our bodies as they erected some kind of barrier against us.”

  “It has become a dungeon then?” Elohwa didn’t seem surprised. Monsters had always been drawn to this city as it housed incredible artifacts, but without the Shadow Elves there to keep them at bay, they had taken up residence in the most powerful place within the city, the Eternal Altar, the birthplace of the Shadow Elves.

  Va'lore nodded, “The only reason they have not taken over the rest of the city is because we still have power here due to all of the temples. However, the inner buildings, closest to the entrance, are also inhabited by various tribes of gnolls we were unable to frighten away.”

  “So just to get to the dungeon we need to go through gnolls first?” This was something Aya was used to. Most entrances to dungeons or raids were guarded by one thing or another, they served as a warning to what was beyond, like an enter at your own risk sign.

  Va'lore nodded again. His form flickering a bit as clouds blocked the sun temporarily as they passed through the sky.

  “Do you know anything about the Heart of the city?” Aya knew if anyone would know it would hopefully be a member of the royal family, but Elohwa had no inkling as to its whereabouts herself.

  Va'lore’s head slowly turned to stare at Aya, suspicion creeping into his face making his eyes narrow, his mouth pulling down into a frown. “What do you know of the Heart?!”

  Aya was surprised at the vehemency behind his question, but before she could respond Elohwa stepped in. “We were given a quest to find the Heart so we could reclaim the city for our people.”

  Va'lore’s face flashed with anger, “You would lead a HUMAN to our city’s very Heart?! You would let a HUMAN claim our greatest city?!” He was practically radiating anger and would have been spitting if he’d been in his actual body. Aya took a step back in surprise as Elohwa placed herself between Aya and the raging spirit.

  “I trust this woman with my life, Brother!” Elohwa was surprised at his sudden change, she had never seen him like this before.

  “YOU were not here when we became trapped, our spirits torn from our bodies!” With every statement he jabbed his finger towards Elohwa. “YOU did not have to watch the Eternal Altar desecrated by our enemies! YOU did not have to watch OUR HOME pillaged and looted by humans like HER!” He jutted his chin towards Aya, his eyes met Aya’s over Elohwa’s shoulder as he turned his ire on her. “You have NO idea what it has been like for me and my people! You have NO idea what it is like to lose EVERYTHING and EVERYONE you have ever loved or cared about! To have your home fall down around you, your city looted by the likes of YOU!”

  Aya’s eyes twitched, her hands clenched into fists, blue flame appearing around her fists and travelling up to her wrists. Other spirits were drifting closer and taking on their elven forms as they watched. “You don’t know a damn thing about me or what I’ve been through.” Aya started to snarl as she spoke, she took a step towards Va'lore but was stopped as Elohwa turned towards her putting her arms out to either side. “Don’t you dare deign to pass judgement on me for the actions of someone else!”

  Elohwa knew she had to diffuse the situation fast as the air pressure started to change around them, that mysterious unseen of power beginning to build up within Aya as her anger grew. She turned her head, looking back at her brother over her shoulder to address him, “She has lost as much as we have, Brother, her family, her children.” She let that hang in the air a moment.

  Va'lore’s anger started to fade, the realization of what Elohwa said sinking in. His shoulders slumped and he hung his head in shame. “My apologies, I let my pain and anger over take me. I am...deeply ashamed.” The very reason he had remained in the shadows until now had been the fear he would lose control. He had heard the whispers of yet another human in the city, and as it so happened, that human was accompanied by his long lost sister. He had only revealed himself to the women when he believed Aya could be trusted, but when she had asked about the heart of the city, that rage that had simmered under the surface for years had exploded to the surface.

  Aya wasn’t appeased so easily, the blue flames slowly creeping up her arms. “You have NO right to judge me based on the actions of others just because I share the same race as those who looted your city.” The other spirits who had surrounded them to watch this exchange were stepping away as they, too, could feel the change in the air around them.

  Va'lore’s head sank even lower in shame. He could feel the disappointment practically rolling off his sister as well as the power radiating from Aya. He so wanted to raise his head and look at this woman whom his sister trusted with her very life and who could harness so much power, but the sheer pressure that was being exerted in his direction was almost completely overwhelming. “You are right. I should not have judged you solely on your race, but rather by your actions. You not only saved my sister from where she was being held, but returned her to us. I deeply regret my words, please forgive me.”

  Aya’s eyes narrowed a bit more before she eventually turned away from Elohwa with a huff. The flames surrounding her arms died away as she tried to calm herself by pacing a short ways away back and forth. She stopped abruptly as a message flashed across her screen, one of the special warnings she had added to her interface that would alert her to incoming messages from family members. Her face lit up as a smaller screen appeared in her vision and her daughter’s face appeared. “Hi honey! How’s my big girl?!”

  Jean was holding her favorite stuffed animal tightly to her chest. “Mommy! We miss you!”

  Aya wandered away from Elohwa and Va'lore, spirits backing away into the the shadows to give her some privacy as she spoke to her daughter. Elohwa could see the change in Aya, her face brightening as she spoke to her daughter. Elohwa turned her gaze on her brother. “I may not have been here to bare witness to what happened to you, to our people and our city, but I assure you, brother, she is here to help.”

  Va'lore raised his head up to look Elohwa in the eyes, searching for any sign of deceit, but seeing none. “The heart of the City,” he turned towards the ruins that ran back towards the very mountain where they had said that various gnoll clans had set up camp. “Is above the city, in the Sky Temple. You will have to climb to get there. The humans could not see it from the city, so it was left untouched except by time and weather.”

  Elohwa looked up to where she knew the Sky Temple rested. It was nestled back against the face of the mountain, unseen except by those who knew exactly where to look. She knew the secret paths leading to the temple, but she wasn’t sure how the paths had fared through the years. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aya, having finished with her call with her daughter, approach them. “We know where the Heart is.”

  Aya stopped beside her, her eyes following Elohwa’s gaze to the hidden cliffs above the city. “Why are you looking up? Please for the love of all that’s holy tell me it’s NOT up
there?!” Aya’s stomach was already dropping as fear started to creep it’s way into her heart. She’d already been flown to the city, carried between two Spectres. They hadn’t even been flying that high. Judging by how far up Elohwa was gazing, they would be going much much higher than what the Spectres had flown.

  Elohwa nodded solemnly as she started to make her way to the closest path that would take them to the Sky Temple. A visible shudder passed through Aya as she followed behind Elohwa. Va'lore had turned his head away, a silent snicker escaping his lips as his keen ears heard Aya grumbling under her breath, “...of all the places in this entire world, I end up in a place where I have to climb a freaking mountain.” Elohwa shook her head in amusement as she, too, could hear Aya’s displeased mumbles. “May as well get to it and get it over with.”

  ***

  The path Elohwa had chosen was perfectly camouflaged against the side of the mountain, the start of the path was marked by a nearly imperceptible line at the base of the mountain. Here, the path was wide enough for three people. Elohwa reached out and gently grabbed Aya’s arm pulling her across so that she was placed directly beside the mountain and away from the edge. Va'lore floated up behind the women. As they made their way up the path, Aya looked up. She could see the path switch back and forth as it went up. She gulped a bit as she could see areas of the path above that were much narrower than what they were on, having been washed out or worn away. Va'lore floated ahead of the women to scout out the paths further ahead beyond their vision. As they continued up the path, the sky was starting to darken a bit, thunder rumbling in the distance.