Dream Storm Online

by Jareth Stark

  Nellie fumbled with her own Stormcom and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw she’d also been provided with a new quest. The description purely said ‘Kidnapping in Thornforest: Taken from Their Beds’. There was no other information, but it was something. They still had a chance.

  “There’s a map marker, look! It’s just outside of the town,” Henry urged. “We should go there. Save her! If these work the same way as they did in the real world, the quest will update to ‘failed’ if something happens to Sara. We still have time! The marker is moving too, so it looks like they’ve not even reached the destination yet. Wherever she is, she’s still alive!”

  Nellie checked the quest information again and tried to make sense of the message. Henry could see she desperately wanted to go, but something was holding her back.

  “What is it?” Henry asked.

  “What if it’s a trap? What if they’ve taken Sara to lure us out of here? To stop us doing what we’re doing. I didn’t even know they could completely kill people in here!”

  “You said yourself Nellie that Arabella won’t be here until after Flinn Searcy’s visit. You can stay here if you want, but I’m not letting Lily get away with this. I’m sick of being treated like I’m stupid, and seriously, what’s she gonna do? She’s tiny! She might have some potions that can buff her up a bit, but she’s still not going to be any match for us! We have to try don’t we?”

  Nellie wiped her eyes, put her feet firmly on the floor and lifted herself into a standing position. “You’re right. I won’t let her take my Sara, not after everything we’ve been through! But let’s keep this between us, for now at least. If everyone else finds out and starts panicking, no good will come of it. I’ll let Jackal know what’s happening, but if anything happens to us out there, if Lily does somehow defeat us and we can’t come back, we can’t let it affect the escape. They have a plan and they need to go through with it!”

  Henry gulped. “Do you think this could end badly?”

  “I don’t know Henry, but if NPCs can be disposed of, it looks like we probably can be too. Her words could have just been a threat to stop us following her, but if it is true, it’s a chance we’ve got to take. Come on”.

  As they ran back down the tunnel on their way to the main workroom, Henry couldn’t help thinking about how stupid he’d been to be blinded by Lily’s beauty and believe someone like her would actually be interested in his him. Rather than make him sad though, he felt angry. There was no way she was going to get away with what she’d done. No way at all. No-one made a fool out of Henry and got away with it… not anymore! He’d dealt with enough of that in his normal life and was damned if he was going to put up with it in game too. He was an adventurer and it was damn time he started acting like one!

  24

  “Shit Nellie, how did she get past us? How did anyone even find us here?” Jackal was visibly concerned about the turn of events.

  “I don’t know. Lily’s an alchemist so maybe she made some kind of invisibility potion and forced Sara to drink it? I don’t even want to think about what that bitch has done to her”.

  “Here, take my staff. You need it more than I do. Is there anything else you need?”

  “If you could spare a few potions, I’d appreciate it. Maybe just something to increase our health, or the power of our magic?”

  “Take anything you need Nellie. You too Henry. We need you both to return”.

  “Thanks Jackal,” Nellie replied. She patted him gently on his shoulder and grabbed a few potions from the stash Sam and Paul had made, before stowing them in her Stormcom for easy access. “If we don’t return, you still have to go ahead with the plan. Maybe it doesn’t matter where we are in the game - maybe we’ll all be released somehow after Arabella dies”.

  “Don’t think like that Nellie! You will return! I’ll be waiting for you”.

  Nellie tried to smile, act confident, but it was clear to Henry that she was scared. He couldn’t even imagine what she was feeling, but he could see that she was a far cry from the adventurer he’d met outside the Ice Widow’s cave. “I have enough anger inside me for both of us,” he told her. “Come on, let’s go get her back!”

  The air was cool and the town of Thornforest was eerily quiet when Nellie and Henry made their way back out into the night. The quest marker was pointing east, so they walked through the deserted marketplace, past the inn where Henry had paid for a night, and down through a number of hidden alleys and walkways before they made it to the edge of town. Aside from the drunken commotion coming through the doors of the inn, and hearing the odd rat scampering about, the town was silent.

  “This is weird Henry. I’ve never known it so quiet”.

  Henry was surprised. Eelry was always like this during the night; he’d begun to think it was normal. Henry looked down at his Stormcom to ensure they were heading in the right direction and was surprised to see the map marker had stopped moving.

  “Look Nellie!”. Henry pointed to his map, appreciating the way the text glowed during the night hours. “They seem to have stopped at an abandoned barn not far from here”

  “I know it! It’s where me and Sara first hid when we first arrived”.

  “Don’t you think that’s another weird coincidence?” asked Henry, quickening his pace.

  “I don’t know. I mean, the only people who knew about it were Sara and Rizon, and there was nothing weird about it when we stayed there. I guess anyone travelling through to Thornforest would pass it if they entered from the East”.

  Henry wasn’t sure, but the uneasy feeling he’d had all night was growing even stronger. Had Arabella captured Rizon as well? Forced him to tell her everything he knew? It was a stretch, but definitely possible.

  “I think Rizon may be there,” Henry whispered as they came closer to the barn. It looked deserted alright, and no lights were on inside. The moonlight basked the outside of the building in a creepy effervescent glow, and there were no signs or sounds of movement.

  “What? Why do you think that?” Nellie whispered in reply.

  “Unless Arabella has been watching your every move, which you don’t think she has, it’s too much of a coincidence for her to bring Sara here. There’s no way Lily would have known about it - she had never left Eelry before yesterday. Rizon had some truth potions in his house. Maybe Arabella used one of them on him after I left… I don’t know how she did it, but I’m beginning to think this is a trap. If we go in there, she has us all where she wants us”.

  Nellie was silent as she contemplated what Henry was telling her. “But Flinn…”

  “Rizon also had some speed potions for the horses - he gave me some when I left. Arabella could have taken them and travelled down here quickly - especially if she knew the way. It only took me and Lily so long because we were riding blind and got stuck with that stupid light faerie”.

  “Shit Henry, what do we do?”

  And then they heard it… a scream coming from the building. The sound tore through Henry like a blade through a corpse. His eyes widened, on high alert, and his pulse quickened. That wasn’t Sara, that was “LILY!”. Henry threw caution to the wind and ran as fast as he could into the abandoned barn. There was no time to take any of the potions Nellie had brought. Lily wasn’t the kidnapper… she was the one who had been kidnapped.

  25

  As Henry pushed his way through the door of the barn, sweat poured down his face, chilling him with every drop. “Lily!” he shouted again. Tears of anger and overwhelm brewed in his eyes, threatening to fall. “Where the fuck is she you bitch?”

  “Henry, wait!” Nellie puffed catching up to him. “What is…”

  “Hello Orc. Nellie”. That voice. No, it couldn’t be!

  “Henry, help me!” Lily cried again.

  Henry struggled to see what was going on. His stupid orc eyes wouldn’t adjust to the darkness of the room. He had no clue where Lily was, no idea what was happening, but he knew the other voice the second it spoke. “Riz
on you dirty double crossing bastard. What the fuck have you done to her?” He drew his staff for protection, and used the fire spell Nana Lurgi had taught him to lighten the room. Within seconds, though, the light had disappeared cloaking everything back in darkness.

  “Henry the torch!” Lily shouted again.

  He could almost see its outline, but not enough to direct his spell. “Nellie?”

  “Got your back,” she shouted to him.

  Henry built up his fire spell for a second time and pushed it in the direction of the torch. With help from Nellie, he caught the wick, drowning the small barn in light.

  “Henry, look out!” exclaimed Lily.

  By the time he saw the sword heading towards him, it was too late. Henry ducked, but not enough. Rizon’s sword cut through his shoulder, blood pouring out onto the floor. He tried to build up another spell quickly, but there was no time before the sword plunged into him again. “Fuuuuuuuuuuck,” he shouted.

  “Move Henry! Get out of the way!”

  Henry was bleeding too much to do anything else, so he let himself slip to the floor as Nellie thrust a spell over his head and into the stable master, knocking him backwards off his feet.

  “Get up again and I’ll destroy you!” Nellie sneered. “I mean it Rizon, don’t even try it! Why would you do this?”

  Rizon ignored her and stood up, laughing. “It’s too late Nellie. There’s nothing you can do for her… or that rotten orc. I’ve made sure of it”.

  Nellie thrust another spell at Rizon, the force of which pushed him straight into the wall, cracking his head on an old, rotten beam.

  “You fucking piece of shit,” said Henry. His voice was pained, anxious as he clutched his shoulder, trying to stem the blood. “Enjoyed double crossing your ‘friends’ did you? Did it make you feel powerful? What did she promise you, eh? Your freedom? You don’t deserve to live after what you’ve done!”

  “Pretend to be your friend Orc? I never fucking liked you. Never liked her either. Taking my hired help away like it was no big deal. ‘Oh Sara, I’ll save you. I love you’,” he mocked.

  With the last bit of energy he could muster, Henry thrust a fire spell directly at Rizon’s body, setting him alight. He watched as he screamed, and rolled about on the floor, trying to put out the flames that were encompassing his body.

  “Are you really willing to die for this?” Henry asked him, almost hoping he would realise what a big mistake he’d made.

  “Just fucking do it Orc,” he shouted, breathless. “You’ll never win, you know that. You should have helped Arabella like she’d asked instead of joining some fake ass resistance. Ha, you’ll all just die in here and end up in the same place as me!”

  “Fuck you Rizon!” Henry ignored the pain in his shoulder and fired another fire spell at him, and another one.

  The screams and manic laughter increased in intensity with every spell Henry fired, but he continued to shoot them.

  “Fucking make me think my girlfriend was a psycho! Make us think you were on our side!” he screamed, tears of anger and frustration rolling down his face. Henry shot another spell and another, and didn’t stop until he physically could no longer move. Nellie tried to restrain him, but he’d been pushed too far. He was sick of people treating him like he was worthless. Not this time. He wouldn’t stand for it any longer.

  Realising there was nothing she could do to help Henry, Nellie ran over to Rizon and aimed her staff directly at his heart, silencing him for good.

  With death finally taking Rizon into the deepest depths of hell where he belonged, Henry reluctantly let himself fall to the ground. The smell in the room was unbearable as his blood continued to pour, and Rizon’s skin continued to singe and melt from his body, the bones underneath turning black and charred.

  “Henry,” he heard Lily sob. “Henry! You can’t let him die Nellie. You know what will happen!”

  Henry drifted in and out of consciousness as Nellie tried desperately to help him. She pushed potions down his throat, encouraging him to drink them when he came around, and used a myriad of healing spells to try and knit his wounds. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he opened his eyes and managed to sit up. Nellie sat with him, supporting the weight of his body in case he passed out again.

  “Did we do it?” Henry asked, hopeful.

  “Rizon’s gone,” Nellie confirmed.

  “And Sara?”

  Nellie tried to hold back the tears. “The quest is still showing as open. But I can’t see her. I don’t know where she is”.

  “I do,” shouted Lily. “Please, untie me and I can take you to her”.

  Henry looked over to the stage at the back of the barn where Lily had been tied to the rafters with ropes. “Lily? I…”

  “It wasn’t her Henry,” Nellie told him softly. She was unsure how much Henry remembered. How much does anyone remember after passing out from blood loss?

  “I know… I…”

  “Shh, just try and get a bit of rest while I help Lily. I’ve got some food here that should help you regain your strength”. Nellie clicked a few buttons on her Stormcom and passed Henry a bowl of beef stew and a piece of bread. “Eat them,” she told him. “You’ll feel better”.

  Henry did as commanded and was once again surprised by how quickly in-game food and potions worked. By the time Nellie had cut Lily down from her restraints he was feeling much better, and the wound on his shoulder was no more than a scratch.

  “You’ll have a nice scar,” Lily said, running over to him and embracing him tightly.

  “Lily, I’m so sorry. I should never have doubted you. Rizon… he said you’d been meeting up with Arabella, telling her our plans. He told me not to trust you. I didn’t ever think he could be the one behind all of this”.

  “I did try to tell you Henry. But it was like you didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t know about Rizon, but I would never do anything like that to you, I thought you knew that”.

  “I never understood why someone as pretty as you would be interested in someone like me,” Henry replied sullenly. “And then when we travelled here, and you weren’t listening to me. I’m sorry, I don’t blame you, it’s my fault, but…”

  “Stop it Henry, this is all on Rizon”.

  “Are you two about done?” Nellie interrupted, her tone sharp. “We need to find Sara! You two can sort Rizon’s mess out later”.

  “Sorry Nellie, of course,” Lily replied. “After Rizon tied me up, he took Sara through the back door. He’d given her some kind of potion and she wasn’t coherent. It was like she was sleeping, but she kept mumbling things”.

  “Can you stand Henry?” asked Nellie.

  Henry let Lily help him to his feet.

  “Good, then let’s go!”.

  The three of them ran through the back door of the barn and back out into the cool night air. The undergrowth was thick, and the dark night still made it difficult to see.

  “He wasn’t gone for long, she has to be around here somewhere!” said Lily. “Maybe he hid her in some bushes or…?”

  “I’ve found something!” Henry shouted. “Over here. It’s a trap door, just like the one behind the church!”

  Nellie and Lily ran over to him, and helped him heave the heavy trap door open. “I hope this is it!” said Nellie, her whole body shaking with nervous energy.

  “It has to be,” Henry told her. His voice was firmer now, more confident. They would save Sara, head back to the resistance, and plan to attack. This had to end, and quickly!

  Henry walked down the steep stone steps first, followed by Nellie, with Lily at the rear. It didn’t take them long to reach the room at the bottom. It was small, but tastefully decorated, and looked like someone had at one point created it to be used a hideout shelter. Cans of food were stacked neatly on the shelves, a small sofa was in the corner, and there was plenty of gasoline and materials for torches. Did Rizon do all this? Henry wondered. How would he have had the time?

  The small roo
m they retreated into had a doorway, just like in the resistance building, which entered into a bedroom. As Henry opened the door, he came face to face with Sara. She looked peaceful, and almost like she was sleeping. Rizon had placed her under the covers of a large double bed, and surprisingly kept her comfortable.

  “Sara!” Nellie exclaimed when she laid eyes on her. “Sara, wake up!”

  She didn’t respond.

  “Lily, surely there’s something you can do?” Henry pleaded. “Do you know what he did to her? If he’d wanted her dead, he wouldn’t have left her here surely!”

  Lily walked over to where Sarah lay, and placed her hand on her head. Her skin was cold, clammy, but she had a pulse.

  “I think he may have just given her a deep sleep potion Nellie. I’ve never used one myself, but I’ve heard about them. They can make people appear dead, but then they wake up and it’s like nothing ever happened. She has a pulse so she’s not gone”.

  “What do we do?” Nellie asked her.

  “I don’t think there’s anything we can do except for wait it out. She could be asleep for hours or days depending on how much Rizon made her drink”.

  “If he wanted to get away quickly Nellie, he won’t have given her too much. He’d never be able to carry Sara back to Eelry, not without help”.

  Henry’s words made Nellie nervous, but she knew that he spoke sense. “We need to get her back to the resistance at least Henry!”

  “We can’t Nellie,” Lily interrupted. “If we move her, it could cause lasting damage. She needs to sleep it off somewhere comfortable, and she looks like she’s in a good place”.

  “Fucking Rizon!” Henry exclaimed.

  Nellie climbed up onto the bed, and wrapped her arms around Sara, sobbing softly.

  “We should leave them alone Henry,” gestured Lily.

  26

  Henry still hadn’t got fully used to seeing words appearing in front of his face, but when he saw the words ‘quest pending completion’ flash before him, he breathed a sigh of relief. They had got to Sara in time. She would be safe. Henry almost wanted to go and see if Nellie had noticed her quest update, but he didn’t want to disturb her. However he was feeling, she would be feeling it a thousand times more. Rizon had pretended to be her ally for a lot longer than his.