Chapter 2 (James)

I follow Liz through the cold old metal hall, maybe she's just using an excuse to be with me. Maybe she likes me. Maybe she would want to marry. After all I'm a great person to marry I could protect her and make her laugh in fact I was able to make all the girls laugh when we were all in grade one, of course all except Liz. My fairy tales end at a cold door and a swift kick in the leg. "We're taking the skyferry, hurry it cloudhead" as we step outside I re-embrace the beauty of the world, from the distant golen orb, to the shining cities and ships. "look over there." Liz says while she points her fingers at the farmland just now starting to slowly move from around the orb."Thats where we're headed"  The farmland we were looking at just happened to also be the farm that had a bunch of bard horns. She motions to me to get up and get in the little ship and fly down under the cities, as to keep some privacy of a runners travel ship.

    We drift to the edge of the land mass touching on to the dirt, Liz jumps down and I do the same. Well... Maybe not exactly in the same grace but you get the picture. We head on over to the bard horn barn and spot the owner and jog over to her, Liz soeaks first. "Hello Farmare Grizael, you asked for some assistance dealing with some bard horns?" The old Farmare turns and in her thick accent says "Ey, i doo need some help with that one theer." she points over to a 2 foot tall and about 3 feet wide bard horn thats making noises nonstop and won't go in the barn, instead waiting in its mud pen.

    I make a face but i don't think anyone saw me do it luckily. Liz nods and starts to walk over to the pen. Hey wait a minute this is an opportunity, if i can single handedly get that thing back in the barn I'll be sure to impress Liz. "Relax Liz,  i got this" She looks blankly at me as if I was an idiot. Oh well, i start to climb over the fence with my foot but as you could have guessed... I tripped over the fence.

    The mud smears all over my face and upper chest, "fu-"mud gets in my mouth and the taste tells me this isn't just mud. I begin to stand when I have the wind knocked out of me... I officially hate bard horns. The bard horn knocks me into the fence and i recover and attempt to grab it by the small horns on its head but quickly slide onto its back and get tossed off again back first into the mud instead. The bard horn then proceeds to sit on me with a satisfied Trombone sound.

   Through my half crushed limb i manage to get out the words, "Lizzzzz, help this animal is crazy- the animal gets offended and sits up for just a second giving me naive relief only to plop down harder onto my chest. Liz looks at me with a raised eyebrow before sighing, climbing in, and throwing a piece of snark dust on the creature making it sneeze and walk away into the barn. She turns to me "I'm not doing your laundry" i look down and sigh at my nearly covered muddy body.

   We got the the Farmare and she gives me an amused look for a while and then eventually we continue to the skyferry. "Dont touch anything" Liz skolds. At this point i just give a blank stare. We get to the litle ledge and entrance back into base. We head inside, me being careful of what i touch. I start to head down the corridors toward the showers. Liz walks with me until we reach the turn towards the training area and she leaves.

    The rest of the day seems to go by quickly just training and talking in the meal room, i find my acquaintances who are talking  about conspiracies on the reason for there being a golden orb,  "what if one of the gods gave it to us?" "Which one would give us that and why?" Maybe the shadow gods put all their light energy from their universe and put it in there." They continue to debate as i start to realize the time and head off the the sleeping quarters.

  In the dream its always the same, light turns on. The man walks out with a knife, and kills someone I love. Then the knife spins out of reality and into the next dream as if following me, and it falls into the hands of another person, a woman this time. She proceeds to touch my shoulder in a way I can't help but cringe back. ".... " my shouts make no noise, i start to move around to get out of the ropes tied around me. The knife plunges into me and my mind goes black, then full of bright blinding light. Griff is standing there looking at me confused. "Sorry Griff, just another nightmare" the woman holds the knife in her hands behind him and begins to stab him over and over as he shouts and fights and screams and i try to speak but- "JAMES! Wake the hell up already! You were screaming again. You are lucky I shut the door so nobody could hear even though you left it open." I try to speak and it works but hurts, "thank you Griff" i say in a raspy voice.