The Dream Quest

     There was no way to keep track of the passage of time within the caves. Occasionally Xantan would call a halt and they would keep watch in shifts, nibbling their dwindling food stores while the other slept. By the time they finally reached the final cave, they had barely spoken a word for hours, too drained to expend energy on anything other than walking.

     “We’re almost at the end,” Solanza said, wincing as her voice cracked from disuse. “Once we make it to the grass, we’ll be out.”

     Xantan nodded silently. The constant casting of fireballs had left him exhausted. The Lupe’s paws scuffed the ground with every step.

     “I think we’ll encounter more monsters the closer we get to him.” Even in the darkness of the cave, even in a hushed voice, she didn’t say Jahbal’s name aloud, as though speaking his name would summon him.

     Light shone ahead. Her pace quickened. Please, please, let this be the end, she thought. And it was! She could have cried just looking at the cave exit if she wasn’t so tired.

     They burst outside, squinting beneath the midday sunshine. There was a nearby stand of trees that looked to be sheltered from the elements, and they hurried to make camp beneath it. Solanza took the last piece of stale bread from her pack and turned to share it with Xantan when she realized he was already fast asleep.

     The Xweetok huffed a laugh. “All right, I’ll take the first watch,” she said quietly, careful not to wake him. She draped her cloak over him for a blanket and watched the furrows of his brow ease.

     She let him sleep for a long while, watching the sun as it slowly set. When the darkness set in and she was in danger of falling asleep herself, she woke him up and he took over the watch while she slept. They spent the following day sleeping in shifts, foraging for berries in the nearby bushes, and restoring their strength.

     “Where will we go tomorrow?” Xantan asked during one of the rare moments they were both awake.

     “To the city of Kal Panning, far to the east,” Solanza replied. “The undead sorceress Faleinn is there, and she has the key to the Two Rings, where we will find Jahbal.”

     Xantan frowned. “How will we defeat an undead sorceress?”

     Solanza pulled the Keladrian medallion from her pack and dangled it before him. “With this! Well, I hope it’ll work the same way here. It worked like a charm in NeoQuest.”

     He still looked doubtful, but didn’t argue.

     They left with the rising sun the next morning. Solanza thought it was too far of a journey to make in a single day, but she wanted them to make camp as far past the Two Rings as they could get. She wanted to be as far away from Jahbal’s reach as possible.

     The day was clear and warm, and they made excellent time. The sun was barely overhead when they passed by the cave that was the gateway to the Two Rings. They were approached only once by a feral Kougra wreathed in shadow, but the brilliant flames from Xantan’s wand were enough of a warning to keep it away. For the first time in several days, Solanza felt hopeful.

     As they passed the other side of the mountain range, clouds began to form overhead. Solanza eyed them with trepidation. She had endured monsters, starvation, and exhaustion. Getting rained on seemed a little unfair.

     They picked up the pace as the clouds grew ever darker, but they hadn’t gone far into the forests surrounding Kal Panning before the sky opened up. They looked at each other beneath the flurry of raindrops, then broke into a run as thunder rumbled overhead. Dodging through the trees in the sudden darkness, Solanza used Xantan’s luminous white fur as her guide.

     “How much farther?” he called over his shoulder, his face suddenly illuminated by a flash of lightning.

     “It’s in the center of that lake up ahead,” she shouted back.

     They dashed across the thin strip of land that formed a bridge between Kal Panning and the forest and skidded to a stop on the other side, gasping for breath. Solanza doubled over and tried to catch her breath. They rested there for a few minutes, heedless of the pouring rain, until they had recovered enough to face whatever obstacles lay ahead.

     Before they entered the city of Kal Panning, Solanza found the Keladrian medallion in her pack and held it tightly in her paw. If she was right about this, they would be able to avoid this fight entirely.

     They hesitated at the threshold of the city. It had clearly once been a glorious place, but the siege and following thousand years of neglect had left it destroyed. There were crumbling houses, cracked tiles, and an area where the lake had encroached and swallowed part of the road. Solanza looked at Xantan, who gave a firm nod.

     Solanza took a deep breath and stepped inside the threshold. Suddenly, she could hear the angry mutterings of unseen creatures, the moans and groans of beings not at rest. She had to do this quickly before a horde of the undead could attack them. “Faleinn!” she shouted, her voice echoing across the empty space. “Sorceress of Kal Panning, come and face me!”

     An unholy, wordless shriek was howled in response, and suddenly a creature out of a nightmare stood before her. It had the shape of an Aisha, but was twisted and gnarled almost beyond recognition. The undead Faleinn bared her fangs and rushed at Solanza.

     Acting more upon instinct than anything else, Solanza thrust out her hand containing the Keladrian medallion, which gleamed despite the darkness. Faleinn stopped short and seemed almost to study it. Solanza held her breath, and then…

     “Oh…” The undead Faleinn let out a sigh, and with it, a wind tore through the ruins of the city. When it ceased, Faleinn’s sharp edges had softened and blurred, and her gaze was kind and wise as she looked upon them. The Keladrian medallion had freed her from her curse.

     The ghost of Faleinn bowed her head to Solanza. “Thank you for releasing me from that corrupted state, and for freeing my city and its people. I do not know how I can ever repay your kindness.”

     “We came to defeat Jahbal. Any wisdom you possess that may aid us in our goal would be welcome,” Xantan said.

     Faleinn looked at him then, as if she had not noticed him at first. “You are an interesting one, are you not? Visions of what you were and what you may become… I know not how to reconcile them.” She looked back at Solanza. “You as well. You have been here before. The past and the future swirl around you like a tempest.”

     “How do you know this?” Solanza gasped.

     “The undead see the unseen,” Faleinn said. “I have been undead for a thousand years. I have seen much.” Her eyes closed. “And yet some things I have not seen. You say you have come to defeat Jahbal?”

     “Yes,” Xantan said, eyes glowing.

     “Jahbal has been dead for many centuries. He repented towards the end. I felt his sorrow reach me in the spirit-world. He is not who you seek.”

     “Then someone has brought him back to life,” Xantan said hotly. “He has been unleashing monsters upon this world who know his name. He must be alive.”

     Faleinn opened her eyes and looked deeply at him. “You are blinded by anger and grief. You will not find the revenge you seek.”

     Xantan looked like he might snap, but stalked off before he could say anything else. Solanza could see him struggling to control his breathing all the way across the room.

     “Faleinn, is there anything you can tell us about who is creating these monsters?” Solanza asked quietly.

     “I feel rumblings from the palace. There is something dark there, dark and secret. But I know not what it is. It is hidden even from me.”

     “I see,” Solanza said, trying to hide her disappointment.

     “But I can help you in this way.” The ghost took Solanza’s paw and pressed something into it. Solanza closed her paw around the shape of a key. “This will grant you passage through the gate that leads to Two Rings. From there, it is up to you.”

     “Thank you, Faleinn,” Solanza said.

     “No, it is you who has my gratitude. Without you, I would have remained a decaying shell of what I once was until my city crumbled and buried me beneath the rubble. Now I am free.”

     Xantan rejoined them, having regained control over himself. “Is that the key to Two Rings? Shall we leave tonight?”

     Faleinn smiled at him. “You should rest here tonight. There are no monsters here, and I will watch to ensure no harm comes to you both. Then you will be prepared to take on your foe tomorrow.”

     Xantan seemed restless, but even he couldn’t suggest venturing out into the pouring rain in the dark again as a good idea. With some reluctance on his side, and happy acceptance on Solanza’s, they agreed to spend the night in Kal Panning. After all, tomorrow might find them both defeated by a dark wizard. Why rush it?

     The End.