| Logs |
2008 October 26
| When The Bough Breaks |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
| Realms: Bough Logs |
First Movement, Interlude: Part Two
Dabo wings her way over the otherwise featureless, grey-blue ocean. Faint reflections can sometimes be seen in it's surface, but nothing lasting. What's more interesting is the line of light that appears seemingly on the horizon. It barely moves, but if the ripples in the water below are any indica, Dabo is moving at a truly remarkable speed, especially since Tomas is barely feeling any breeze.Tomas says, "We are headed toward the light, Dabo? What will we see if we get there?"
"If you worry about finding yourself in Sheol, do not worry, Tomas. That, I hope, is a journey that will be far in your future. I am not Raven, after all. No, the light ahead is the wall, that which protects the Mirror -- where we are now -- from the rest of the Dreamtime, and vice versa."
Tomas thinks to himself, "That makes no sense at all. I wouldn't know Sheol if I fell on it." He says to Dabo, "That's great. I'll leave everything to you."
Dabo laughs softly, and continues flying. Shortly, it does appear that the thread of light up ahead is growing larger, bit by bit. Dabo starts to bank a little, turning so as to eventually fly parallel to the wall. In several minutes, then the wall looms huge and large over them. it is easily taller than the mountains near the village, a sleek expanse of smooth granite, glittering with dark green flecks here and there. There are no features to gauge it's scale, other than where the wall meets the Mirror below. It must dwarf mountains.
Dabo streaks along the wall, still for some unknown destination. Until, far ahead, an irregularity in the wall's perfect length is apparent; at the same time, the sky seems to actually begin to lighten a little, trending towards blue.
Tomas hangs on and tries to make out what the irregularity is.
Shortly, it becomes more visible: it is nothing less than an immense castle set on a promontory. The castle is made of white gypsum, glittering in some sourceless light. It isn't long before Dabo has slowed greatly, and they are ascending to see the palace grounds from altitude.
"This is the Winter Palace," she says easily. "It is a bastion for those who would fight the spider-wasps. I will bring you to someone who has experience in helping mortals who have just emerged from their dreamscapes."
Tomas grunts in reply, still somewhat puzzled by all this talk of dreamscapes.
The four-winged dragon circles the nearest part of the grounds briefly. From this altitude, Tomas can see the vast plaza that reaches from the castle towards the wall, where a massive and secure gatehouse stands.
"Ah, there's his home." With that, Dabo circles in descent, and shortly lands lightly outside of a small cottage to let Tomas disembark. "Armaros!" she calls out. "You've a visitor!"
Tomas starts to gingerly dismount from the harness.
Shortly, a normal-looking man with dark skin, wearing light muslin robes, opens the door to the cottage, looking a little surprised. "Two groups in one day?" he says, smiling genially to Tomas. "This is a pleasant surprise. Welcome, welcome! MY name is Armaros."
Tomas stretches himself to get out the kinks of the long ride. "G'day to you, I am Tomas.
He turns to Dabo and says, "Thanks again for the rescue and the ride."
Dabo ducks her head in acknowledgement. "You are welcome. Ah, I see Virgil over there! Please excuse me." She hefts herself up on four legs, and trots over to where a similar-appearing four-winged dragon is lounging with what looks like a large melon in it's forepaws.
Armaros says, "Your journey must have been long. Please, come in and make yourself comfortable."
Tomas follows Armaros. He looks around him suspiciously, keeping alert for any unwelcome surprises. His right hand never strays far from the hilt of his sword.
The cottage is set on the edge of a small grove of trees. The cottage itself is done in darker woods that are not immediately identifiable. Inside, it is warm and snug, with a fireplace and cushions on the floor surrounding it. Against the back wall is a curtained-off area. The walls are littered with a number of shields, all of the same basic type: roughly oval, made of single pieces of wood, and daubed with a variety of colored muds for color. In addition there are shelves carrying scrolls, books, clay tablets, and things that Tomas can't immediately identify.
"Please be comfortable," Armaros says, "I will make some tea, and you should please feel free to ask any questions you might have."
Tomas takes the shield and poleaxe that are slung across his back, and leans them against a chair, within easy reach. He moves the sword so it lies across his lap, and sits down. When the tea comes he takes the cup, sniffs the contents and takes a small sip. He will wait a bit to see if there is any bad reaction, and, if not, will drink slowly, enjoying the flavor. He will continue to be alert.
Armaros seems friendly curious as to Tomas's caution; at the same time, the man seems oddly familiar though Tomas is certain he's never seen anyone like him before.
Tomas says, "You said I could ask questions. Well the first thing I want to know is how do I get rid of that great git of a spider thing that Dabo says will destroy my world?"
Armaros makes a quiet sound. "Unfortnately, that is probably one of the hardest things to do in the Dreamtime. Possible, but very, very hard. THere are ways, and the elves here have learned of some ways to deal with them and defeat them. But they are involved, or take much time to prepare, or must be done at the right time, or require certain artifacts. It can be done, and the elves and what mortals are here are doing their best, but it does take time and effort.
Tomas says, "Dabo talked about that too, Dreamtimes and Mirrors and dreamscapes. What is that all about?"
Armaros takes a sip of his tea, before setting the cup down. "This may require some explaination.
"You are currently in the Dreamtime. It is, essentially, the spirit realm, and the realm of mortal dreams. You emerged from the dreamscape of your world, where you and the others of your world have been dreaming together. In essence, Tomas, and I am sorry to break this to you... but the world you know, the life you have lead, has been a dream.""
He lets that sink in for a moment, before continuing: "I do not know what your life is like in the Waking, that is, with your physical body. I can only imagine with a spider-wasp attempting to devour your world, it is not entirely pleasant. Fortunately, you are in a position, here in the Dreamtime, to figh back against the spider-wasps and those who would seek to aid them.
Tomas scratches his stubbly beard. "Let me get this straight. Up until that worm knocked me off the cliff and into the, I think Dabo called it the Mirror, I was dreaming, with my sleeping body in the big rock that the great git of a spider thing was webbing up. Dabo grabbed me (and very nice of her to do so) and flew me here, which is the Dreamtime. Here, in the Dreamtime, there are others who want to stop the great git of a spider thing (and others of it's ilk), and there are also those that want to help the great git, for reasons of their own (and they are probably no good).
Armaros shakes his head. "Not quite. Your waking body is on the other side of the Mirror, that great ocean you saw. It reflects what is in the Waking into the Dreamtime. You were, however, dreaming. The rock you saw was the symbolic representation of your dreamscape. But other than that... yes, I think you have it."
Tomas shakes his head. "Ach, that's not good." he says while thinking "If this wasn't so daft, I would think I was knocked out by the worm and dreaming all this, but I couldn't come up with anything like this."
Tomas says, "You said you had other visitors today. Were they like me?"
Armaros frowns. "Worm, you say? Can you describe it?" At Tomas's second question he looks thoughtfully at the man. "Mmm. Somewhat. Same general type of tools."
Tomas says, "It was a mucking big worm with a ring of pointed teeth and two tenticles, like those on a squid like my uncle told me about. It tried to attack the village and we drove it of. The next day, me and Nico tracked it to its lair. I went in to finish it off, but when I did, it knocked me over and I fell of a cliff and into the Mirror where Dabo found me."
Armaros considers, then nods. "I see. Dreamseed, parasites who ride on the spider-wasps. Well, then. Both unfortunately and also a good sign. They vacate the dreamscapes of the world that is being devoured sometime before it is too late.
Tomas says, "So there still is time to stop the great git of a spider thing"
Armaros. "Most definitely, yes. But your world is not the only one being devoured by a spider-wasp."
Tomas says, "Then it looks like I will have to stop a bunch of them."
Armaros smiles quietly, "Well, fortunately you will not be alone, Tomas. There are other mortals here as well, and many of the elves are able to assist in that."
Tomas says, "You mentioned that before, that you had other visitors today. Were they like me?"
He nods, tilting his head. "They looked much like you, yes. The weapons and clothing appeared similar. Hmm. It is possible they were from your world's dreamscape."
Tomas thinks over the recent events at the village. "How many were there? Two men and a women? Did you happen to catch their names?
Armaros nods, "Yes, actually. And they were were Mikal -- the young woman -- Norris, and Jareth. Do you know them?"
Tomas says, "Aye, they have been missing from village for over a week. So this is where they ended up. Would you know where they might be now?"
Armaros looks a touch abashed. "I do not know. They went off fairly quickly after, I fear, I became upset with a question that was asked." He shakes his head. "It matters not. Come," he adds, standing. "I will take you to the palace. Someone there must surely have seen them."
Tomas gets up and retrieves his equipment. He waits politely for Armaros to lead him out. Remembering his mother's teaching, he says, "Thank you for the tea.
Armaros smiles to Tomas, as he steps out. "You're very welcome. You and the others are welcome back at any time."
Tomas nods politely and says, "Thank you." He slings the shield over his back and carries the poleaxe over his shoulder. Following Armaros, he looks around him, keeping alert and trying to make a note of the path they are taking and any interesting landmarks.
Armaros leads Tomas towards the palace; the grounds are truly huge, and it takes a few minutes of walking, but eventually they get to where the plaza meets the castle walls. Ahead of them, Tomas can recognize Norris and Jareth, both talking with a trio of no kind of person Tomas has ever seen before: Tall and lithe, with elegantly pointed ears and fine features, two of them have jet-black skin and white hair, and very pale eyes, while the third has golden hair and porcelain skin. One of the black-skinned elves wears what looks like a belt with blacksmith tools and an apron, while the other dark elf and the light elf are wearing similar pale robes.
Tomas approaches Jareth and demands, "What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?"
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