"The Dreamers"

Chapter 01 Chapter 02 Chapter 03 Chapter 04 Chapter 05 Chapter 06 Chapter 07 Chapter 08 Chapter 09 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37

“Hey, Eliezer, see anything?”

“Shhh! Be quiet, Lukas. You’ve already gotten us chased out once.”

“Oh yeah…sorry.”

“There appear to be watchmen in several different areas. Considering their brutal, primitive ways, I’m quite surprised that their method of late-watch security is this intricate.” Eliezer glanced at his rudimentary map of the village of Okea. Lukas had unknowingly severed any possibility of friendship with the villagers, so the only alternative left was sneaking into the village late at night.

Sean gazed at the map, stroking his chin, and looked at Tristam. “Lass, it would be best if you stay here. If anything happens, I’d rather have you at least make it out alive.”

Tristam smiled naively and replied, “Thank you, Sean, but I’m part of this team too. I may be a girl, but I can pack quite a punch!” She brandished her walking staff proudly and smiled at Lukas. He rolled his eyes and turned to Sean, as if annoyed to have her along. He received a jolly slap on the back of the head for his efforts

“Owww! What was that for?”

“That’s for disrespect, laddie. You’ll treat the lady with dignity; she has as much right to be on this journey as you do.”

Eliezer cut in. “I hate to break this up, but if we’re going in, it’s gotta be now.”

 

Gideon Fenrir rode his steed at breakneck speed away from Apacia. “He expects me to head straight for Venge, I bet…In that case, I’ll do the exact opposite. I’ll find a way for Venge to come to me.” Gideon continued to think to himself, occasionally smiling as some old memory of some heroic deed from a battle returned to his mind. He glanced behind himself to see another man riding, apparently trying to remain inconspicuous. “This must be Egido’s dirty work.” Gideon chuckled and urged his horse to go faster. The other man continued to follow, but he would slow down and sway to the side when Gideon glanced behind. “This is getting ridiculous,” he muttered. Gideon finally sighed and slowed down, visibly irritated. He hopped off his horse and held his sword at his side, awaiting the stranger.

The rider slowed his steed, brought it to a halt, and stepped down. “Gideon Fenrir?”

“Yes, I am. May I have the pleasure of your name?”

“Some call me Agabus.” The man stepped forward, dressed in peasant garb wielding a small dagger.

“Well, Agabus, you’re not what I expected in an assassin, but I guess Egido’s resources aren’t too good these days.” Gideon laughed at himself and thought he saw a face in the distance, peering at him from the woods. Agabus spoke, forcing Gideon to refocus his attention.

“Say what you wish, Fenrir; I may not appear deadly, but you have met your match.”

Gideon glanced towards the woods again, only to see nothing this time. He returned his gaze to his would-be assassin and smiled. “Well, let’s get it on then.”

The two locked in combat, so to speak. Gideon brandished his huge broadsword, more that 3 times the length of Agabus’s dagger. The gruff assassin jabbed at Gideon’s mid-section, but the former Field Commander dodged. As the two dodged each other’s attacks, Gideon continued to spy a face looking at him from the woods, this time from a different spot. The distraction allowed Agabus to stab him in the side with his dagger, but obviously the blade was too dull to cause serious damage. This only enraged Gideon and he attacked full force, easily dispatching his opponent by running him through.

He picked up the “assassin’s” dagger, apparently amused by Egido’s choice of a killer. “Well, Egido, is this the best you can do?” A rustling of leaves caused him to look up to see a man in a black tunic. He had extensive scarring all over his body and a crossbow aimed directly at Gideon.

“No. That was my doing. I thought you might enjoy that. Obviously, the distraction worked. I have you right where I want you, Gideon. I can choose to kill you now, or I can play with you some more. I think I will play some more.” The man fired his crossbow, watching the arrow graze by Gideon’s head. A few strands of hair dropped to the ground and Gideon flinched for the first time in years. “If you haven’t noticed, I don’t miss. I could put this arrow through any square inch of your body if I wished. I’ll tell you what, Fenrir. Let’s play a game. You tell me the information the king wants you dead for, and I might let you go.”

Gideon was actually at a loss for words. He pondered his next move carefully, fully aware it could be his last. “…Why don’t we just have an old fashioned duel?”

“Oh, come now, Gideon. I’m no swordsman. But I am a crack shot with this.” He held his crossbow proudly, the smile peering through his dirty, disfigured teeth. He was too proud to notice the huge tree branch closing in on his head.

“Come on, Gideon, we gotta get out of here!” Tiras Fenrir tossed the rudimentary weapon on the ground, accompanied by an older, scruffy looking man.

“Tiras? What are you doing here?”

“Obviously saving your life! We gotta go. You won’t believe who it was that tipped me off!”

Gideon glanced at the man lying on the ground, and turned to his brother. “Come on, there’s two horses. We’ll talk about it later!”

Dazed, Agabus looked up to see his target escaping and shook his head. “Ah, blast it…! On to plan B.”

Eliezer sneaked passed two conversing guards and beckoned for Sean, Lukas, and Tristam to follow suit. The four were able to get out of the guards’ line of sight and Eliezer beckoned toward a cave in the center of the village. “That is our destination!”

Lukas, puzzled, asked, “Why would they have this cave out in the center of the village? And why are there no guards around it?”

“They hold the contents of that cave to be sacred, and only their priest enters.”

“Priest? I thought these guys were primitive cannibals.”

“Hey, they gotta have some kind of religion.”

Sean was amused by the remark and added, “I assume if we are caught we will be the next sacrifices to their gods?

Eliezer nodded, unable to contain the humor in his voice. “Either that or the main course at dinner.”

Tristam barged forward. “How can you guys laugh at a time like this? Chased by cannibals, sneaking into their holy place! If we’re gonna do it, let’s get it over with.”

Sean agreed. “Aye, we should hurry before the night turns to day.”

The four sneaked to the cave, unseen by anyone. Eliezer held his torch in front of the wall, which contained numerous writings and pictographs. “Yes! These pictures depict the Dreamers in their daily lives and even some of their history!”

They examined the pictures, one of which depicted a crude drawing of a man appearing to be sleeping, with another standing beside him with his hands clasped as if in prayer. “This must be depicting the Dreamers during telepathy.” They examined the other pictures, but Eliezer stopped on a picture of several men seeming to imprison another in a stone. Eliezer almost fell backward with excitement. “This is something. Could this be the Prophesied Evil? Oh, if only we knew how to speak Okean!”

Tristam pondered that for a moment, and spoke. “There’s only one man I know that could speak Okean and a lot of other languages too… “ With that, she hung her head and became quiet.

“Who, Tristam?”

“…My father.”