Dream Storm Online

by Jareth Stark

  “So you made it then?” the Ice Widow said.

  Henry was instantly snapped out of his thoughts as her icy voice penetrated through his body, touching his soul. And then he saw something he hadn’t noticed before. Her whole body was covered in a web. It seemed to be supporting her, maybe even supplying her with life.

  “Who are you?” Henry demanded.

  He put his fears to one side and was surprised to hear his voice sounded strong, bold. He may not be as powerful as Nellie, but he knew he could talk the talk when it came to it.

  “Me? Who are you to ask me who I am?”

  “I am Henry, the most fearsome orc in all of Stormshire. And if you don’t want me to rip that web away from you, you will tell me who you are”.

  The Ice Widow faltered at these words and Henry knew he’d said the correct thing. She needed the web that surrounded her to survive. She may look human, but no normal human would be able to survive down here, not with the cold and the spiders.

  “I… I…”

  “I’m not going to wait for much longer,” said Henry. “If you won’t tell me who you are, tell me what you’ve done with Sara”.

  “Oh, that pretty little thing? I knew you’d only come into these caves for her. But you could stay here with me. We could have lots of fun together. Hardly anyone visits, it’d just be me, you and my spiders”.

  Henry thought about this for all of two seconds, and then chastised himself for even considering it.

  “Orcs and ice don’t go well together, and you’re beginning to try my patience” he replied.

  Henry placed his hands around the base of his axe and lifted it above his head. His hands froze instantly, the cold was that bitter, and he knew he couldn’t drag this conversation out for long. “This is the last time I’m going to ask you, who are you and what have you done with Sara?”

  “Sara is dead,” the Ice Widow replied. “My children cocooned her with their webs and she will have suffocated by now. There’s no way she could have survived”.

  How could she be dead, thought Henry. When Nellie did this quest, she said she’d managed to save her.

  “And you?” asked Henry.

  “I used to be mortal, but things change. I am now one of them, and you could be too if you gave it a chance. I could protect you. My children could be your children as well. They won’t harm you, they’ll protect you”.

  “What happened to you?” asked Henry.

  As she heard his question, the Ice Widow’s face changed. She looked melancholy, and Henry thought he saw a tear trickle from her eye.

  “It happened a long time ago,” she said, her voice less icy than before. “I was here with my husband looking for ore when we were attacked. He’d done this journey hundreds of times, but I’d begged him to take me along, to take me on an adventure. I should never have gone. My husband sensed it before we’d even reached the mountains; something strange was going on. Usually he’d come to the mountains, mine his ore, and travel back home in a day. But this trip took longer. The blizzards were strong and creatures were attacking us from all sides. After hours of fighting and hiding, we thought we’d escaped the worst of it, so we made a camp. But then the spiders came. They froze his body, and left him to suffocate under the ice. But they didn’t touch me”.

  “They let you live?”

  “The spiders killed my husband and left me alone. I watched them walking into this cave so I followed them. I tripped on the way, and a shard of ice ripped through my body. I thought I would surely die, be taken away to wherever it is my husband went, and when I fell asleep I thought that was the end. But instead, when I awoke, I was here, surrounded by the webs. The spiders protected me. I can’t explain it, but they treat me like their mother. You could be like me too, if you wanted”.

  Henry wasn’t sure how much of this story he could believe, but he assumed not much of it. He’d heard of Black Widow spiders in the real world. He knew they tempted their prey, had sex with them and then killed them. Despite her dazzling beauty, he wasn’t about to let that happen to him. Henry also knew, however, that if he cut the web surrounding her down, the whole cave may become overrun by her children, and he wasn’t prepared for that either.

  “I’ll think about your proposal,” he replied. “But first I need to find Sara”.

  “Sara, Sara, Sara, silly little, pretty little Sara. She’s down there,” the Ice Widow snarked, pointing in the direction Henry needed to go. “But she’s dead. I already told you that”.

  “I’d just like to check for myself,” said Henry. “After that, I’ll give you my decision”.

  “My spiders will be home soon, so don’t take too long to decide,” she warned.

  Henry walked back out of the passage and took a right turn. The cave sloped down further still, but he didn’t have to walk too far. In a cavern at the bottom was a large cocoon, just as the Ice Widow had said. Henry knew he had to open it, to see Sara’s body for himself. He still didn’t completely believe she was dead. If the Ice Widow could survive when being secured by a web, maybe Sara could too.

  Henry grabbed hold of the base of his axe once again and swung it into the left side of the cocoon. Pieces of web flailed everywhere, so he did the same on the right side, and then the back. With three large dents in the nest, he was able to pull it apart, revealing the body of Sara inside. Her skin was a pale white, and she had scraps of web covering her face.

  “Sara, can you hear me?” Henry asked. He shook her slowly, hoping she would say something, anything. But she didn’t.

  Henry slowly peeled the cocoon back as far as it would go, and lifted Sara out. He gently laid her on the floor, fully aware of the danger they would both be in should more spiders spawn. If Nellie couldn’t hold them back, he would surely end up in a similar fate.

  “Sara, Sara, please say something,” Henry said again, his voice urgent.

  Slowly, Sara opened her eyes. She looked around at her surroundings, and it looked to Henry like she was trying to work out what was going on. He supposed waking up with an orc in your face would probably shock anyone, but he needed to get her out of there and fast.

  “What happened?” Sara asked. She sounded scared and Henry knew he needed to subdue her fears, but now was not the time.

  “We have to get out of here,” Henry urged. “Do you think you can walk?”

  “I can try,” Sara replied.

  Holding on to Henry’s arm, Sara tried to steady herself on her feet, but it was no use. No sooner was she standing before she fell back down to the floor.

  Fuck, thought Henry. “I’m going to have to carry you. If we stay here we’ll both die”.

  Sara looked up at Henry and tried to work out if he was trustworthy. But Henry had no time for this. He gulped down the stamina potion he had purchased earlier that day, and the second he felt the effects flowing through his veins, he scooped her up, and hauled her over his shoulder. “I’ll explain everything when we’re as far away from these caves as possible,” he said. “Until we’re out of here, you need to stay quiet”.

  Sara did as Henry had asked and he retraced his steps quickly and methodically. When he reached the light of the Ice Widow’s lair, he moved past quickly, not wanting to speak to her again. She’d lied, that much he was sure of, and he was glad he’d been able to trust his instinct. But if she saw he’d rescued Sara, who knew what she would do. No, he would not speak to her for a second time.

  Henry walked back up the slope of the cave and finally saw the entrance. Nellie was still there, and the flashes of light from behind the door made it clear the spiders were continuing to respawn. He hoped he hadn’t endangered Nellie by taking so long.

  Wanting to help if he could, Henry laid Sara down on the floor close to the entrance and urged her once again to keep quiet. He couldn’t help Nellie in the fight, but he could heal her from a distance. So that’s what he did.

  “Take that you big bastard,” he heard Nellie say as she used her blaze spell on one of the l
arger arachnids. “And you can have it too,” she said as she blew three or four little ones up with ease.

  Once the fighting was done, Nellie walked over to him urgently. “We have to go,” she said. “They’re respawning every ten minutes, and I can’t keep fighting them on my own”.

  “I found Sara,” said Henry, pointing in her direction.

  “Grab her and run!”.

  8

  Henry did as Nellie commanded, and by the time he reached the horses he was exhausted, despite the benefits he was receiving from the stamina potion. Sara had regained some of her strength by that point and began to hit him.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he said to her, dropping her on the floor.

  “I’m not about to be attacked by spiders, to then be kidnapped by an orc and his human,” she said defiantly. “You should have left me to die”.

  “Maybe I should have left you in the cave if that’s how you’re going to react. I saved your life. Ever heard of a little phrase called ‘thank you?’”.

  “We’re adventurers,” Nellie butted in, seemingly unsurprised that Sara couldn’t remember her from her own quest line. “The stable master sent Henry to rescue you, and I helped him, otherwise he’d probably have joined you down in that cave”.

  Sara looked up at Nellie, and then across to Henry and realised they were telling the truth. “I only went to find some eggs,” she said. “We needed them… and… then…”.

  “I know,” said Nellie, the stable master told us. “Now come on, let’s get you home”.

  Still unable to fast travel, the trek back to the town of Eelry seemed to take forever. Henry, however, was at least glad they were travelling south, and away from the snow. They stopped a couple of times en-route; once so that Henry could remove his fur coat and boots, and once again so that they could replenish with food and water.

  By the second stop, Sara had begun to look a lot more human. Her skin wasn’t as pale as it was in the cave, and she was asking Henry and Nellie all kinds of questions.

  “I wish I could be an adventurer,” she told Nellie, after asking her about all the quests she’d been on. “It would be so much fun. Do you enjoy it?”

  “Adventuring’s in my blood,” Nellie told her. “I do enjoy it, but it takes skills and patience (she said the last word while looking at Henry) in order to tackle dangerous things alone. Next time you need spider eggs, ask an adventurer to get them for you - don’t risk it on your own”.

  Nellie knew she wouldn’t do as she was told. She’d re-spawn once they’d had sex and she would forget every part of this conversation. But maybe if she kept finding the adventurers who were heading her way she would be able to get through to her. That was, in actuality, the reason she hadn’t left Dream Storm Online even though she had the chance to do so. She wanted to save Sara and she was willing to do whatever it took to change her story.

  “I don’t think I have it in my blood,” Sara replied sadly.

  “That’s okay,” Henry replied. “After today, I’m not sure I do either. I’d much rather work in the stables if I could”.

  “I suppose you’re right,” Sara said. “I do like the horses. It was nice of Mister Rizon to give you Shadow”.

  “It was,” Henry confirmed. “Shall we get off? I don’t think we’re too far now, and we should be back for nightfall. Although it feels like we’ve been away for much longer than a few hours”.

  Henry was right, and they did reach it back to the town of Eelry before the sun fell beneath the trees. Rizon seemed genuinely surprised that they had made it back in one piece, and his expression reminded Henry that he wanted answers.

  “Why did you send me on that quest Rizon?” Henry demanded.

  “What do you mean?” he asked. “You’re an adventurer, you found me”.

  “I met Nellie here along the way. She told me you should never have sent me on a quest that difficult when I’m only level 6. So why did you?”

  “I… uh…”

  Henry wasn’t planning on going anywhere until his question was answered, so he did what he did best. He puffed out his chest, made himself look intimidating, crossed his arms, and stared into Rizon’s eyes.

  “Speak to Arabella,” Rizon finally said. “She told you I had the quest. I just went along with what she told me”.

  Henry looked at Nellie, but she just shrugged her shoulders. It didn’t seem to make much sense. Before he could talk to Arabella, though, he needed what was owed to him.

  “Do you remember our deal?” Henry asked.

  Rizon handed over the coin he had promised, and Henry deposited it in his Stormcom quickly. He offered Nellie some for her assistance but she wouldn’t take it. He’d begun to think a lot more highly of her over the last few hours. Her attitude seemed to visibly calm once Sara was safe and on her way home. She must really love her, Henry thought. Especially to go to all this effort, time and time again.

  “And…” Henry said, knowing that Rizon was forgetting something.

  “Just give her time to wash up and she’ll come over to the inn. You are still staying there, aren’t you?”

  “I suppose so. Just make sure it’s not too late. My stamina potion will wear off soon and I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay awake after that long trek”.

  Henry walked away, leaving Nellie talking to the stable master. If he was going to have to spend another night at the inn, he might as well get his conversation with Arabella out of the way.

  The door to the inn creaked as he opened it, and Henry didn’t think twice when he let it shut behind him. Arabella was standing behind the reception desk as Henry hoped she would be.

  “So you survived I see?” said Arabella. She sounded surprised and Henry didn’t like it.

  “Did you expect me to die?” he replied. “I think we both know that quest wasn’t suitable for someone of my level”.

  “Erm…” said Arabella. She looked flustered and Henry knew she was hiding something.

  “I’m waiting,” Henry replied. Why were the NPCs in this game so annoying? It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go, he could wait here for all eternity if he had to.

  “I had to,” she finally said. “That girl you came back with, she keeps showing up here. She’s done Rizon’s quest but she keeps wanting to help other adventurers complete it too. It’s weird and it’s ruining the mechanics of the game. She’ll break it if she carries on”.

  “So you thought that if you sent someone low level to do it, we’d both die? Is that it?”

  Arabella looked down at her hands. Her expression seemed genuine to Henry but he was mighty pissed. “Something like that,” Arabella replied.

  “Well, it’s nice to know how little my life means to you,” said Henry. “And what happens if I die in here? Do I die out there as well?”

  “It’s not like that,” said Arabella. “I can’t explain it because you’re not supposed to know. Not yet anyway. But if she keeps on doing what she’s doing and breaks the game we all die”.

  Henry was too tired to keep talking. It was clear Arabella had something to do with the mechanics of the game. Or, if she didn’t, she was being controlled by someone who did. Either way, there was no way he was going to get the answers he wanted, beyond what he already knew.

  “Just give me another room for the night will you?” Henry said. “And if you’ve got a problem with Nellie and Sara, you can wait until after they leave my room to sort it. I’m not going all that way and not levelling up”.

  9

  Arabella passed Henry the key to a room and told him she’d send Nellie and Sara up when they arrived. She offered to join them as well, but Henry declined. He didn’t trust her, and until she was ready to give him answers, he wasn’t interested.

  Henry had just got out of the shower when he heard a knock on the door. He never had to shower when playing the game in the real world, but when actually inside it, it was a necessity. The scalding hot water had warmed his body and he had begun to fe
el slightly more orc-like. Now he was ready for his reward. Henry wrapped a towel around his waist and walked to the door.

  The second the door opened, Sara jumped on him, and wrapped her small legs around his middle. After cleaning away the remnants of the spider webs, and dressing in something slightly more revealing, Henry was surprised by how beautiful she looked. He kissed her deeply and motioned to Nellie to shut the door.

  “We’re going to have to be quick,” Nellie said. “I need to get Sara out of Eelry tonight. But she knows she owes you for saving her life and she wants to do this. I do too”.

  “Do you think leaving is wise?” Henry asked, breaking away from the kiss. The few words Arabella had said had been playing on his mind, and he wasn’t willing to die for their love.

  “I’ve told Sara everything. We have to try”.

  Henry released his grip on Sara and let her slip to the floor. He sat on the bed thinking. “Can either of you tell me what’s going on?” he said.

  “Not yet,” Nellie replied. “When you’ve done the quest I told you about earlier, you’ll know more. We’re going to the town of Thornforest and will wait for you there. Don’t ask around about us, we’ll find you”.

  It would take Henry forever to reach level 20 if he continued at this rate. But he supposed he had no choice. In the morning, he’d complete as many easy quests as he could to quickly level up. With any luck, he could reach level 20 within the week.

  While he was thinking, Sara knelt down between his legs and opened the towel he was wearing. His cock was hard already, and Henry was still impressed by his size. It was a novelty that he doubted he’d ever get tired of.

  Sara began to stroke her hands up and down his hard shaft, and then placed the tip into her mouth. As she did, all of Henry’s worries and fears drifted away and he became fully lost in the moment. He closed his eyes, and let himself lay back on the bed as the beautiful human he’d saved just a few hours earlier pleasured him. Henry knew he could get used to this - it was by far one of the best parts of the game.