Ch3. The DreamScape

Eric laid there dazed and confused. He opened his eyes to see a thick mist surrounding him. As he recalled what happened his mind began to race with questions, "What the hell was in that stuff, Am I dead, where is this place, how did I get here, what's going on?" Before his brain could go further Eric turned around and was able to see the mist start thinning out as what looked like a door came into view. He approached it hoping to answer some of his questions. As he neared he noticed the door was like his at home but was blue and green rather than a rich brown. As he reached for the door handle he felt something touch his back and throw him through the door. He hit the ground just inside the door, looking around he saw a giant stone slab table sitting in the center of a big open room. At the back of the room was a couple of small wooden tables and a few of chairs beneath a giant arched window. If he didn't know any better he would think this was in a fletcher hut, but it was too barren to be one by the looks of things. He stood up and looked back at the door to see what had touched him, but as he did the door swung firmly shut and would not open. He turned back around to see a cloaked figure standing at the other side of the stone table garbed in a dark green cloak. "Who are you and what is this place," Eric asks the strange person. The figure reaches up and lowers their hood to reveal a woman with dark brown eyes and long, curly jet black hair. "I'm sorry I had to have one of my sisters get you here the way you arrived, the astro-elixer doesn't always work well. I'm just glad we were finally able to meet. I can show you how to find the other half of that map," the woman says ignoring Eric's words completely. "The journey ahead will be dangerous but I Queen Lily of the Lilam, promise to aid you as often as I may. Now go forth and may your journey ahead be fruitful, and remember not everything is always as it may seem," she exclaimed as the door behind Eric burst back open. When he turned around he could see all the mist from before rapidly fading away. In its place he could see tall distant mountains and big red floating trees with purple leaves that seemed to be growing out of thin air. Amazed Eric steps out of the strange cabin and instantly sees enormous marble pillars grow in front of his eyes on either side of a small aqua duct that appeared just as the pillars had. "This is amazing!! What is this place," Eric thinks in excitement, as he forgets the woman from a moment before ,while going to follow the duct just to see it plummet off the side of the floating island he was on!! Ahead of him were more floating islands, some big others small. Some had little aqua ducts with some pillars, while the rest had mountains and trees. Eric sat down at the edge of the duct and as he did realized he still had his knapsack somehow. He pulls it off and reaches inside to find the map fragment neatly tied up inside. He pulls it out and unrolls it, as he does the blue X from before started glowing bright on the yellowing page. He took a closer look and realized that mountain pass he had seen before was on one of the other floating islands! Shocked he stood up and tried to figure out a solution looking for something he may use to travel the gap.

After wandering around the small floating island Eric was unable to find anything to help him cross the gap. Frustrated Eric picks up a loose brick from the aqua duct and throws it over the edge between the two pillars. He watched the brick as it flew threw the air and to his surprise it stopped midair landing on some sort of invisible path. Anxious Eric takes a step off the island into the giant sky filled gap and felt solid ground underfoot. Eric felt like a flame had been lit inside him, before he knew it he was running towards the mountainous island in front of him as the ground disappeared from under his feet and horror set in. He began to fall as a massive up draft picked him up and floated him up into the air. He felt like he was flying and as he thought it, it was almost like he could control his momentum and direction. "This is so fucking awesome! I don't know where I am or what exactly is going on but this is a dream come true," Eric almost screams as he soars towards the island. As he approached he realized it was much more colossal than it seemed from a distance. After a few moments the island was so close he could almost see it breath as if it were alive as it floats aimlessly in the sky. Eric lands at the edge of the island in a small clearing in the trees at the base of a mountain and realizes its gonna be dark soon. He begins to look around for supplies for a shelter as a small wooden one appears in front of his eyes! Surprised he aproached it cautiously to make sure it was safe, grabbing a sturdy stick as a weapon just in case. He opens the door and a lantern inside flicked on by itself to illuminate a single room with a little pallet and a small fire place. He walked in and set his things beside the pallet and sat down looking out of a little skylight in the roof. He sat their and watched the sky as the sunset changed from a bright sea of blues to hues of orange and red as they all blended together making the night sky. After taking in the beauty of it for a few moments Eric shut his eyes to take in the night sounds as a bright light shines through his closed eyes. "What the hell is going on" he began to say as his eyes snap back open to see the reddish pink morning sun rising into the sky.

"Well so much for getting some shut eye," he thinks to himself as he exits the small shelter.

Eric looks above and behind himself at the mountains as they towered over the shelter. He could see grass and snow along the mountains with a few of the floating trees trying to take root. He stood there for a moment then pulled the map out again and like before the blue X was still shining bright on the page, but this time he could see a path through the mountains magically appear on the page. Excited Eric goes to head up the mountain as a small path opens up leading through a small valley in the side of the stone. Cautious Eric inched towards the strange occurrence and checks it for any abnormalities but could not find so much as a scratch on the stone. He then ventured into the valley ahead of him as he heard a bone shaking screech somewhere up the mountain followed by a mighty roar. "Whatever that was can stay far away from me for all I care, and as long as I'm concerned I want nothing to do with it," he mumbles out loud as he continued forward. He walked forward as the path ahead started winding up the side of the mountain and the path expanded around him gradually. Little did Eric realize he was being followed. There was a figure crouched behind the entrance to the valley just out of sight. As Eric rounded the turn in front of him going up the side of the mountain the figure rushed him and tackled him over the edge of the path. Who ever had him had Eric's eyes covered as they plummeted through the air. Seconds pass by and the next thing Eric knew he was being slammed against a hard surface by the momentum as the thing was launched off of him. Eric scrambled up onto his feet and braced himself, but to his surprise was all alone. Puzzled he looks back up at the path he was on hundreds of feet above his head. "Well now what? How am I supposed to get back to the path now," he thought perplexed. As he was about to give up he heard that massive roar again and felt the ground shake beneath his feet as a path of stones floated out of the gorge making a path back to were he fell from. Without a second thought Eric leaped onto the rocks one by one till he was back on the original path. After collecting himself he continues forward while dragging his hand against the surface of the stone wall beside him. He kept going for what felt like forever as the path just stopped abruptly in front of him. He went to turn back and go the way he came but to his shock noticed that part of the path was gone as well. "Well now isn't this quite the predicament," he thought as he checked the map again. It now said he was half way there but he had nowhere else to go. Frustrated he leans against the wall to collect his thoughts as he falls through an invisible door! Eric falls down a strange stone tube for a moment till he falls into a massive and well light cavern. In the center of the cave was a hole at the top where beams of sunlight shone down onto a strange stone tablet standing on some sort of table.

Eric tries climbing back up the stone chute he came down but couldn't find any footholds he could grab. He turns back around and approaches the strange tablet and the closer he got the harder it was to decipher the strange language in front of him. As he got closer he saw a wall of gems in many assorted shapes and colors embedded in the stone behind the tablet. As the light shone through the hole above it made the gems sparkle and glow lighting up everything the hole could not. He was now standing directly in front of the tablet and for some odd reason he felt like he had seen it somewhere before. Curious Eric reaches up and touches the face of the tablet as all of the foreign glyphs started glowing a deep scarlet orange. The ground started shaking as a third roar echoed through the hole above and the stone slide behind. Shortly after he heard a loud crashing sound as something beat against the side of the mountain trying to get inside, as if it already knew he was inside the mountain. As his eyes came back to the tablet he noticed all the writing was now gone, and to his surprise the hand he touched the tablet with had a strange marking on it and his arm was now glowing. He thought he could feel a strange power flow through him. BANG! BANG! BANG! The cavern was starting to fall apart now and he was running out of options. Just then the wall behind the tablet cracks open to reveal what looked like a strange keyhole in the center of a pitch black stone. "Shit what am I going to do now, I don't have a ke~" he started to think as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, feeling a strange metal chain hanging there. Bewildered Eric pulls his clothes away from his chest to find the key from his dream hanging there. "Well I hope this works," Eric thought grabbing the key and slamming it into the keyhole. As soon as the key inserted the entire back wall of gems broke open like a gate from hell and sucked Eric inside. As quickly as he had been pulled in the door shuts behind him as the key reappears around his neck.

He wasn't sure what exactly was happening but he saw lights zooming past him as a strange ethereal glow swirls around him making his arm glow even brighter than before. Next thing he new he could see a faint white light ahead and he was approaching it at a very fast speed. As he neared it the glowing in his arm ceased and he began to feel like it was vibrating immensely and uncontrollably. Eric passed through the light at the end of the tunnel and was blinded by a bright light. As his eyes adjusted to the light he realized he was back standing in front of the strange hut from earlier. Queen Lily could be seen sitting on a short brick wall to one side of the hut tending to what seemed like a flower garden. As he approached her a massive gush of wind came rushing in like a cyclone knocking up dirt and debris around him. Then there was another loud roar from below the floating island. Before Eric could take cover a giant shadowy mass rose from the abyss below blocking the sun from view. As his eyes had to readjust to the light change he realized this wasn't just anything, It was a dragon!!! It was about as big as the mountains behind it with its four mighty wings spread out behind it. Eric turns to the Queen and asks, "what's going on? What's happening right now?" " Do not fret child all shall be revealed in due time. For now just accept what is and don't always believe what you think to be true. We shall meet again soon, hopefully under better circumstances than this time," Lily said as she fades away in front of him and a little brown sparrow takes her place. He turns back to the hulking mass behind him to see its deep blue scales shimmering in the now setting sun. Standing there frozen in fear Eric tries to speak but not a sound reaches his lips. "No need for fear little one. I mean you no harm," says a deep gravely voice inside Eric's head as the dragon lands beside him crushing the hut underneath his weight. "Whose there? Why can't I see you anywhere? What is going on?" Eric asks aloud frantically. "Such an inquisitive little mouse you are. No need for alarm. I'm here to guide you young one," the strange voice replies as the dragon crouches down lowering its head to Eric's level. It got eye to eye with him as the voice said, " The power you have acquired shan't be used without cause. It can be catastrophic if mishandled, It gives you the strength and power of the dragon clan but you may have to awaken it before you can use it freely." "Dragon clan," Eric thought, "Am I really talking to a dragon?" At this moment Eric saw the dragon lift its head as the voice bellowed with loud gravely laughter. " You sure are an odd one little mouse. My master definitely chose right when sending for you." Shocked Eric went to open his mouth to speak as the sky turned jet black and the air became ice cold. The dragon tenses up as it looks around worriedly. " We have run out of time little one. You must get out of here before it's too late," the dragon says. "Wait what do you mean get out of here, I-" Eric started saying as the dragon opened its mouth and swallowed Eric whole. "Sorry little one we shall meet soon enough," the dragon said as Eric's eyes snap back open.

He lay there in his doorway in Willow Woods dazed and confused. "Was that all really just another dream?" he thought aloud. As he looked down at his hand and saw the strange marking from before. Now that he wasn't in immanent danger he got a closer look and realized it was a crescent moon with what looked like a dragons head rising out of it. He stands up and goes in the other room to wash it off but it wasn't coming off. At this time he turned around and heard somebody at his front door. Mind racing he ignored it as he walked into the living room and sat at the table. Eyes locked on the strange symbol Eric doesn't even realize Jacobi had let himself in. "Hey everything okay man, your front door wasn't closed and when I knocked and you didn't answer I began to worry. Sorry if I'm intruding Eric," he says. "Your fine I'm not upset by it. You actually came at the right time I could really use some company right about now, especially after how today has been." " Today? We hadn't seen you in town for about a week. We all began thinking you just left without saying good bye. So I came by again in hopes of finding you here," Jacobi tells Eric. Eric sat there horrified, then says, "I've really been gone a week? Last thing I remember was coming home, the day of your hunting trip, after I visited the strange vendor on the edge of town. We talked for a long while and she gave me a strange elixer before I left. Next thing I know I'm drinking it as I walk up to my house. Then everything faded out of vision and i got really sleepy. After that it's harder to remember. All i can remember is i woke up with this peculiar mark on the back of my left hand." Eric touched it with his other hand as everything after the elixer came flooding back into his mind. He grabbed his head as his head began to spin. "Hey man, you good?", Jacobi asks. "I think so. I just remembered everything that happened while I was gone.", Eric tells him. Eric then tells Jacobi everything he encountered from the floating islands, down to getting swallowed by a dragon and waking up. " That's a little hard to believe, had you not had the mark and that weird key to prove your story. If not for those two things I probably wouldn't have been able to believe it myself," Jacobi says almost incredulously. "Wow some friend you are," Eric retorts mockingly. At this time he pulled out the map and the blue X was nowhere to be seen. "I wonder what that queen lady I met had meant when she said she would help me find the rest of the map", Eric says. "Since I'm not too sure myself because I was there I can't really tell you that, sorry though pal", Jacobi replies. "Maybe that odd vendor can give me some more elixer" Eric thinks to himself. "Well I think im gonna go for a walk Jacobi, I need to collect my thoughts after that experience", Eric says as he gets up and turns to his friend. "Sure, I wouldn't mind that one bit. Just don't go disappearing like that again. Okay Eric?" "Okay, okay" Eric says stifling his laughter, as he grabbed his map and the two of them walked out the front door.