Reforged!

Cormanworth, The GrindHouse Guild

Once again he had a strange dream, he was sure something was going on. He checked his wards on the windows and doors. All the seals he had placed are still in place, he was worried, somebody was in his dreams. Night after night, he had dreamed about this silver-haired blue-eyed woman. He had decided to go talk to his friends, Hiro Hoko and Olivia Raven, the respected senior members of the Grind House Guild.

The GrindHouse Guild was Cormanworths own Adventure Guild, where young men and women who were into such challenges would go to get paid for their work. Most of the jobs offered by the guild were monster hunting, caravan protection, and other guard-related jobs. Oliver was one of the guild’s leaders, he dealt with the dark arts. His team was called the Dark Arts Division or D.A.D. for short, they dealt with the undead, demons, and things that go bump in the night.

This job lasted a while until he fell to the charms of the silent underworld of Cormanworth. His own temptations for power led him into becoming a thrall to a succubus, a demon who made him into a slave. He narrowly escaped her will with the help of the guild leaders, Hiro and Oliva.

Hiro and Oliva were able to break the mental chains placed on him by the demon, but they were unable to undo the horrors he went through. He was responsible for the damage he had caused to his soon-to-be wife, who the succubus caught and tortured. He could not forgive himself for what he had done, though she was saved; the damage to her psyche had been done and could not be cured. She now lived as a hollow shell at her parent’s house, they would have nothing to do with him and threatened him with death if he ever came back.

Oliver had recently come out of his mental shell after six months and now these dreams started happening. He needed help and the only ones he could trust were the guild leaders.

Oliver made his way across the Cormanworth streets to the Adventurers Guild. He entered the two-story building and browsed the common room, the shared room that everyone visited when first coming into the building. The room was equipped with a stage, a full bar. A few office doors, a balcony overviewing the room, and a stairwell going up and down.

The room only had one occupant, Madi, she was dressed in a black and white maid’s outfit, she was a young woman who when not adventuring worked the counter serving drinks for a few extra silver.

Oliver walked up to the counter where Madi was cleaning with a damp rag.

She looked up as Olver spoke. “Is Master Hoko in?”

“Master Martin, nice to see you again. Been a while, yes. Master Hoko and Master Raven are inside the office.” Madi replied as she went back to cleaning the bars counter.

“Thank you,” he said as he passed her by. He wrapped his knuckles on the office door. Oliver heard a muffled voice “Come in” from behind the door. He opened the door slowly and perred inside.

Master Hoko’s office had a large oak desk, a few chairs, and a few sparsely placed green plants. Some decorative pictures were placed on the walls, the light came in from a high window placed above the ground floor. Master Hoko sat in his usual plush chair. He was wearing his usual green shirts with the golden buttons. His clothing schemes were various shades of green with yellow trim. His hat and gloves were setting off to the side, revealing his greying hair with the streaks of remaining black.

Master Oliva Raven sat across from him, her hair dark with streaks of gray, she wore the blue robes and displayed priestly vestiges of the good known of the Opal, the goddess of magic. She carried herself a staff with a large opal held by a silver dragon claw. She smiled when she saw Oliver enter, her voice was soft and reassuring, “It sure is about time you left your house. Come to visit or work?”

Oliver started, “Not ready to work yet. I need you to check me out, just in case I am missing something. I have been having strange dreams. If it were something else I would not bother you, but these dreams are so realistic, almost directed. I see this woman, she is a bit younger than me. I have never met her before. The dreams are not violent, to say the least, they have become more intimate recently. The dreams are too detailed, I can tell you what this dream girl of mine likes, dislikes, her favorite foods are. I am visiting locations I have never been to, I have no reference for these places. I need you to probe my mind a bit to see if you can find any more tampering from Heather. I know she is still out there, she is not one who likes her toys taken away from her. I am not feeling drained or exhausted when I awake, so I am not for sure what is going on.”

Master Hoko looked at him, “Yes sure we can. How about this, you say these dreams are happening nightly? I will stay with you tonight and make sure nothing is creeping into your house.”

Oliver noddingly agreed.

Master Hoko grinned widely, “That’s settled then, a sleepover. I will make sure I bring the ale.” Hoko smiled. He was always happy to help a friend.

The Hidden Occult

That night Master Hoko and Master Raven had decided to stay at Oliver’s shop the Hidden Occult. Master Raven had performed her detections and divinations and used her mental purging spells on Oliver. She gave him an all-good health report, nothing adverse detected. He showed them the protective wards he had placed throughout the shop, they all agreed they were adequate for the job.

“So everybody is ready?” Oliver asked he was holding a home-brewed herbal supplement, that would help him sleep.

“Yes, we will check up on you and walk the residence tonight. If anything happens we will be sure to wake you. Good night.” Master Raven spoke and Master Hoko nodded.

Oliver nodded as well and headed into his room to lay down. He chugged his brew down. He tasted the bitter flavor of the concoction and felt the warming feeling come over his body. He sat down on his bed and laid back and was soon asleep.

Dreamscape - West Bale

Oliver was leaning back against a large oak tree. Andrea was laying in his lap, looking up at him. He could see the smile on her face and the admiration in her eyes. He had brought a blanket that covered his bed now shielded them from the grass and dirt, he was only a short distance from a steep hill overlooking a coastal area. He could see fishing boats out in the blue crystal waters. He smelt the sea air and heard the birds cry overhead, This was her favorite spot, she liked to come here and read her books. Her voice to him was the sound of a summer breeze as she read a text out loud to him. She had finished the last chapter and commented “How tragic, in the end, it was a trick. Diana and Jonus are trapped in time with an army of the dead. Her mother tricked Diana.” Andrea added as she closed the book, she looked at him with a longing in her eyes, “I am hungry.” she snaked a quick kiss from his lips.

“Well the idea is that the goddess would gather a force to handle the invasion of the dead, but she needed time to gather forces to stop the lich and the army of the dead. It’s a solid plan.” Oliver added as he struggled to reach the wicker basket that held the fruit they had brought.

“Then when the goddess’s body was destroyed and her mortal lover died, she lost all hope. I understand those feelings. The one she loved was gone forever.”

Andrea opened her mouth again, waiting for a morsel to fall inside her open mouth.

“You are always hungry.” Olver grabbed a few grapes. Andrea opened her mouth and waited for the little morsel to arrive. He placed a purple fruit inside her mouth on her tongue. She rolled the grape inside and chewed a bit then swallowed.

“Yes, you are my favorite.” She kissed him again. “There’s nobody around.” she moved to his ear and whispered to him.

Oliver shook his head and smiled playfully, then rolled her over onto her back and climbed on top of her, he kissed her back. “You have changed a lot, when we first met, you were as shy and quiet.” Oliver stroked her silver hair gently, enjoying the feel of her fine silken strands between his fingers.

“What can I say, you brought me out of my shell that I lived in for so long.” she locked her gaze and focused on his brown eyes, waiting for his response. “And you are a little kinky.”

He stared back, her eyes were like a deep blue sea, with a storm raging beneath, “A little, yes why not. This is a dream after all. I can do what ever I want, you won't die.” He rolled over and placed himself on top of her slim frame and kissed her.

"Yes, yes you can."

Cormanworth - The Hidden Occult

Oliver awoke he was back in his bed. He looked around the room, the door was open and his window shut. Master Hoko was sitting in a chair with a book out. “Welcome back to the world of the living. How did the dream go, you were mumbling. Is this dream girl of yours named Andrea?”

Oliver’s face turned a bit red. “Yeah, the dreams of late have become even more intimate than one would think, it’s like I have known her for years. Since you did not wake me, anything? No signs?”

“No, we have been here all night. No demonic signs, even random magic detections, no sign of any magical tampering.” Master Hoko commented. “Olivia made a suggestion, shared dreaming. She thinks somehow you have become entangled with someone else. We figure the gods have become interested in you, young man. Have the dreams been unpleasant?”

“No other than Heather showing up from time to time, I have some control over my dream state. But when a succubus has control, the dream is completely different, they have complete control over what you see and feel. The pain they can induce is real enough, Oliver got quiet and paused.

“Maybe you should see if you can find this girl, I got a feeling she is real and not just in your head. Well if that is all, I need to get some sleep, it’s been a long boring night watching you.” Master Hoko stood up, stretched, and let out a long yawn. “I hope you will return soon. The Dark Arts Division is currently leaderless.”

“Maybe soon. I will have to reopen the shop as well. I just don’t know who to trust. Will the customers who come in be customers or Heather’s agents. I even thought of hunting her down myself, but she does keep most of the darker demons from playing in the city, after all, she is the Night Queen.” Oliver continued, “Without her attention and resources our jobs would be more cumbersome.”