RangerWickett
Legend
Kay. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. A long time.
Sagiro's Story Hour: The FINAL Adventures of Abernathy's Company (FINISHED 7/3/14)
- Thread starter Sagiro
- Start date
I've no idea if Sagiro is going to give us multiple climactic fights, but I suppose we could have: showdown with the Evil Trio, followed by a final bid to prevent the Adversary from escaping, FOLLOWED by a return to the surface and a second reckoning with Azhant AND the creature that killed King Crunard and Yale AND God knows what else...
Yeah, I feel pretty sure that the way they'll get back to the surface will not be through any mechanism we already know (Yulan's barrier) - it'll stem from the prophecy.
I remain skeptical as to how the Company could actually have melee combat with the Adversary.
RangerWickett
Legend
Nah, it'll just be like the classic days when Sagiro was busier. Every month or so I'd think, "Hey, remember that awesome story hour? I wonder if there are any updates!" And I'd check, and there shouldn't be, but it'd be okay, because the stuff that was already there was great.
It'll be like that, except less guilt for Sagiro.
It'll be like that, except less guilt for Sagiro.
carborundum
Adventurer
What are you guys playing now, Sagiro? Are you...ahem...recording it? 
Sagiro
Rodent of Uncertain Parentage
Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 388
Mind Cows
Everyone agrees that the vision of Sagiro and Kay is promising, if also confusing.
“First Tor, now Kay!” says Ernie with a big smile.
“Hooray for allies,” says Dranko. “Next thing you know, we’ll find out Mrs. Horn is an archmage!”
“Maybe the three of them will start an adventuring team,” says Morningstar.
“That will kill the dragon!” adds Dranko.
Cheered up by their optimistic banter, they pack up and exit the mansion, back to the fungus farm. This time they find it being worked, by dozens of small gnome-like creatures with pale yellow skin and bushy black hair. They wear simple clothing and wield metal tools. The tallest among cannot be more than four feet tall.
As each notices the Company stepping out of the doorway of the mansion, they drop their tools and stare in shock, then inch toward one another. The nearest of these creatures huddle and start whispering.
Morningstar is the last to exit. When the little gnomes see her, they stop their whispering and drop to their knees, eyes bulging wide.
“Uh… hello?” she says to them.
“H… hello,” one says back, voice trembling.
“We’re not here to hurt you,” Morningstar assures her.
“We know,” says the gnome. “You don’t look like a Great One, but you are. We can all see it.”
“I’m sorry,” says Morningstar, “but I am confused.”
“You are a Dream Lord, are you not?”
Oh!
“Yes, I do walk in Dream,” she says.
“Of course you do. But you are unlike the others. You are… small. And you don’t have horns.”
The whole party has the same idea at once. Mind cows! The purported enemies of the Keffet who crowd Ava Dormo.
“I have heard that there are mind cows,” says Morningstar. “Dream cows, I mean.”
The gnome is puzzled. “Cows?”
“With horns,” says Morningstar.
“Yes, the Egannic. The Dream Lords!”
“How large are they?”
The gnome regards Morningstar. “Two of you high,” she decides.
“Those are big cows,” says Ernie.
“Can you see into Ava Dormo?” asks Morningstar. “Into the Dreamworld?”
Again the gnome looks confused. “You… live there, don’t you?”
“I spend time there,” says Morningstar.
“She lives in our world, this world,” explains Dranko. “She just visits Ava Dormo.”
“We’ve never seen you there when we sleep,” says the gnome.
Morningstar tries again to explain what she is. “I worship a Goddess of the Time of Sleep,” she says.
“You… worship? No, no, no! We worship you!”
“I’d just go with it,” says Kibi with a grin. He’s been here before. “See where it goes.”
“You worship the Dream Lords?” asks Morningstar. “The Egannic?”
“Yes! They are so good to us. They teach us. They put in our heads the ways of the fungus. They give us peace and rest. Safety. Everything. They are all around us, but we only see them in sleep.” The gnome’s voice is reverent, almost a chant as she enumerates the blessings of the Egannic.
“Let’s try to get out of here doing as little damage to their theology as possible,” Ernie murmurs.
Curious, Morningstar asks, “What do they protect you from?”
The gnome thinks. “We… don’t know. No danger comes, because they protect us. Our land is one of peace and happiness. We farm our fungus, and build great statues to the Dream Lords.”
“Say,” says Dranko, “Did three people with red armor and black robes come through here a few months ago?”
“We did not see anyone like that.”
“They would have been mean,” Ernie prompts.
“Oh, no, the Dream Lords would have protected us from anyone like that!”
The gnome looks at Ernie, then back to Morningstar. “Are these your servants?”
Morningstar smiles. “These are my companions.”
“They are very lucky.”
“We are on a very important mission,” says Morningstar. “Together.”
“Can we assist you?”
At Aravis’s urging, Morningstar asks, “Do you know of the Leaping Circles? One of them brought us to here, to your farm. Have others appeared here?”
“No. We have not seen anyone but you and your ser… your companions.”
The Company decides that the Evil Trio would most likely have ignored these people entirely, which is all for the best.
“When we sleep,” asks the gnome, "will we see you? In the land of the Dream Lords? That is your home, isn’t it?”
Morningstar shakes her head. “No, that is not my home.”
“But you have been there, surely! It is a paradise of fungus, and clear pools, and jeweled caverns, and peaceful worship. We go there every night, to bask in the warmth of the Dream Lords.”
“And do you provide anything to the Dream Lords by worshipping them?” asks Ernie.
“What could they possible need from us? We pray to them, and sometimes we sing hymns of adoration. We pray to them for guidance, knowledge and protection, all of which they grant.”
“We have heard there is another race at war with your Dream Lords,” says Morningstar, thinking of the Keffet, particularly the little insane one, Checkle.
The gnome is shocked. “Who would dare such a thing? Surely you have heard incorrectly!”
“I must have.”
Dranko clears his throat. “The Dream Lord is passing through, and requires a guide. We would like to say hello to your leader, so she can properly bestow her blessings.”
The gnome nods gravely and speaks to Morningstar. “Is this acceptable to you?”
Morningstar throws a glare at her husband. “ Of course.”
“She will be honored to meet you.”
They start walking downslope. The gnome says, “Please be careful not to tread upon the fungus,” then realizes that may have been presumptuous, and so adds, “Is it pleasing to you?”
“It’s the most beautiful fungus I’ve ever seen,” Morningstar assures her.
“With the Dream Lords’ help, we have perfected the ways of fungus farming. It serves all of our needs, from subsistence to architecture to art.”
“Can you take messages to the Dream Lords while you sleep?” Morningstar asks.
“We would not speak directly to them, no! Not even our leader would presume so much.”
They are led down the slope of the farm, through a series of caves filled with a variety of fungus farms. One cavern has images of “dream cows,” statues twenty feet high, grown out of a fungus that has been engineered to resemble orange marble. The Dream Lords are not actually cows; the statues are of huge robed minotaurs. They remind the Company of Horny, the bouncer employed at the Eye of the Storm in Het Branoi.
The gnomish creatures, called the Navni, live in small individual caves. The leader, a woman named Epp, lives in one hardly larger than most. They find her facing the back of the cave, kneeling before an idol of a Dream Lord, a statuette grown of carefully tended fungus. Their guide clears her throat.
“We have visitors who would like to meet you.”
Epp turns around.
“I’m sorry to disturb you…” Morningstar begins, but Epp falls again to her knees.
“A Dream Lord in the waking world!” she cries. “Have I displeased you in some way?”
“No! No, I’m…”
“You are different,” says Epp. “Are you an enforcer?” Her mouth quivers.
“No, I am a protector.”
“You have shown proper deference,” says Dranko. “You may now stand.”
Epp doesn’t’ stand. She looks questioningly at Morningstar, who nods. “Please stand up.”
“The Dream Lord has come to accept your blessings,” says Dranko, “and to tell you they please her. But also, that we need a guide to a thing called a Leaping Circle.”
“What is a Leaping Circle?” asks Epp.
“A large circle that allows one to travel a long distance, instantly,” says Morningstar.
“Is it made of fungus?”
“No, it’s made of metal,” says Aravis. “They are thousands of years old.”
But Epp has no knowledge of the Leaping Circles, and, when asked, has not seen or heard anything about the Evil Trio passing through the Navni territory.
“They are my enemies,” says Morningstar, speaking of the Black Circle adherents. “And enemies of the Dream Lords.”
“The why have you not annihilated them already?” asks Epp.
“Because we haven’t caught up with them yet,” explains Aravis.
“But when we do,” Dranko assures her, “Morningstar will smite them.”
“It’s hard to contemplate that the Dream Lords have any enemies,” says Epp, frowning. “But perhaps the Dream Lords can tell you about them, or about your Leaping Circle. Tonight you should visit them.”
“Couldn’t we do it now?” asks Dranko.
“No!” Epp is horrified at the thought. “You may only visit them in your sleep, after dark-dust.”
Morningstar and her companions talk with Epp for another hour. They learn that the Navni have no immediate neighbors; their territory only comprises a hundred square miles or so, but no other races border their lands. The Dream Lords have warned the Navni not to venture too far afield, lest they be unable to protect them properly.
Dranko asks unabashedly if the Navni have a store of gemstones he might have. When his friends protest, he declaims that when they regain the surface, the gems will help rebuild whatever remains of Charagan. He and Flicker are allowed to scavenge from the Navni’s collections of emeralds, which they use to adorn the statues of the Egannic.
At lunchtime a number of Navni bring in a feast of fungus for Morningstar to sample, and they have truly performed some culinary miracles. The fungus is of a wonderful variety of tastes and textures, and the Company chows down appreciatively.
They spend the rest of the day walking with Epp through the Navni territory, heading southward, as that is the general direction of the next Leaping Circle. As they travel, Morningstar asks Epp if she knows about the Sister Gods, Yavin and Wlaqua.
“Yes,” says Epp gravely. “They are the False Gods. The Dream Lords have warned us about them. We do not venerate them, and we have never seen them here. Yes. we know that they are very powerful beings, and we are wise to fear them, but they are not worthy of worship. They are merely powerful mortals.”
“The mission we have been sent on is very dire,” Morningstar explains. “And as part of it, the balance between Yavin and Wlaqua has become unbalanced. Wlaqua has become far more powerful.”
“That is no concern of ours,” says Epp. “The Dream Lords clearly can protect us from them, keeping any harm from us.”
“Maybe they can,” thinks Aravis over the mind-link. “We don’t know how powerful these Dream Lords really are.”
The pass through dozens of caverns and tunnels, many adorned with statues of Dream Lords, including four different temples dedicated to them.
“The Dream Lords are very lucky to have you as worshipers,” says Morningstar.
“And you really do have a way with fungus,” says Dranko.
“It sustains us,” says Epp serenely, “so we sustain it.”
“You’re fungamancers!” says Dranko.
At dark-dust, all of the Navni all scuttle off to bed at once, eager to enjoy the paradise of the Dream Lords that they experience each night. Morningstar speculates that they don’t actually go to Ava Dormo, but that the Dream Lords grant them pleasant, if ordinary, dreams. She’ll know soon enough if she’s right. When all the Navni have gone to sleep, they backtrack to the nearest shrine, and Morningstar brings the entire Company with her into Ava Dormo.
The place they find themselves in is spacious and pleasantly lit. This is not the densely-packed territory of the Keffet. They are in a large temple, though one without any images of minotaurs. The walls are carved with rows of abstract shapes of varying hues. There is a domed glass ceiling, and light shines down through it, not the dust-mote light, but something more like true sunlight.
The temple is also under construction, being expanded by twenty-odd hard-working Navni, sweating as they labor with picks and shovels, chisels and trowels. And several tall shirtless minotaurs, male and female, lounge about on the steps and in chairs, eating fruit. Two Navni are carefully painting artistic patterns on the backs of one of the minotaurs.
The Dream Lords note the Company’s arrival, but none of them stir to offer any greetings. One of them does nod respectfully to Morningstar, then raises an eyebrow at her companions.
“You are new,” that one thinks to her. Its voice is entirely telepathic; there is no vocal component at all.
“My name is Morningstar, and I am from very far away.”
The minotaur makes a face. “Your name is… coarse. Why is that?”
“Define ‘coarse.’”
“It is not constructed properly,” says the Dream Lord. “My name is… “ It does not utter a name, but projects a pattern into Morningstar’s mind, connected with an abstract thought construction, partially a red diamond, partially the idea of a musical note.
“That is very lovely,” says Morningstar.
“Thank you.”
“As I said, I am from very far away.”
“I would like to hear more,” says Red Diamond. “But before we continue, how would you like your slaves put to work?” It motions pointedly to the others.
“I would like my companions to stay with me,” says Morningstar.
“That is uncouth.”
“Dranko, don’t say anything,” thinks Ernie quietly.
“Is it disrespectful to you that they stay?” asks Morningstar.
“That they remain here, standing in our presence, as equals? Do you even need to ask such a question?”
“I so want to kick its ass,” thinks Dranko.
One of the other Dream Lords takes a bite out of a piece of fruit, then lazily waves a huge hand. A freestanding stone wall appears next to Morningstar. “Perhaps you could ask them to stand behind that, so we don’t have to look at them.”
Morningstar gives her friends an apologetic look. They reluctantly stand behind the wall, not wanting to rock the boat. Ernie sticks out his tongue.
“Morningstar, you need a proper symbol by which we will address you,” says Red Diamond. And so she fills her mind with the power and presence of Ell. “I am Morningstar, and I am Ell’s Shield,” she says. “Will that suffice?”
One of the Dream Lords inches backward just a bit, but Red Diamond nods. “We will call you…” He projects into her mind a black triangle, connected with a mental construct of divinity and darkness.
“That will do nicely,” says Morningstar.
“Why are you here?” asks Red Diamond.
One of the Navni brings over a golden tray of crystal water goblets. She takes one and sips. “Are you aware of the shifting of power in the waking world? The imbalance between Yavin and Wlaqua?”
Red Diamond is confused. “You mean in the dreaming, not the waking world. But yes, there are constant struggles for power, in that cesspool of a place that those creatures go when they dream.” He waves vaguely at the Navni working on the nearest wall of the temple. “But they are not our concern. We have felt it out, explored it a bit in days long past, but it is not a place for the genteel.”
Well isn’t that interesting. The Dream Lords consider Ava Dormo to be the “real” world, and the waking world to be the “dream” world! “That’s why that little kobold was so confused about waking versus dreaming,” thinks Morningstar to her friends.
To Red Diamond, she says, “I am on a mission from Ell, my Goddess, a mission of great concern to her.” She projects to her hosts the sense she has when near to the Adversary’s blood. “A divine being of great evil has penetrated… the Dreaming.”
Red Diamond nods and yawns.
“In your sleep, do you dream?” Morningstar asks.
“There are some eccentric explorers among us, who have explored the land of dreams to a small extent.”
“And if the land of dreams was destroyed, how would that effect you?”
“I assume it would have an adverse effect on the Navni. We would need to find a new source of labor, for tasks which are beneath us. For instance, it would be uncouth for us to paint ourselves.” He motions to one of the Navni engaged in body-painting. “You do such lovey work,” he tells his servant. The Navni looks blissful at being complimented, as though there were no higher honor it could be afforded.
Most of the Navni, however, the ones engaged in manual labor, do not look happy. They look exhausted. There are no signs of pools or paradise.
“That evil being has three servants abroad in your lands,” says Morningstar. “Three people in black robes or red armor, very rude, very uncouth. Do you know of them?”
“Interesting that you would speak of them,” says Red Diamond. “Two Spirals spoke of something similar, months ago, during one of his excursions into the dreaming.”
“I’d like to speak with him.”
“One moment.”
Red Diamond vanishes, and returns a moment later with a second minotaur. Her companion is less kempt than his fellows, with no fancy tattoos. He projects his name into her head: two perpendicular silver spirals along with a notion of curiosity and knowledge. Morningstar asks him if he has met Evil Trio.
“I wouldn’t say met,” says Two Spirals. “I observed them, from a distance. I sensed they were dangerous, even though they were only in the dream world.”
“What were they doing when you observed them?”
“They were traveling, through tunnels in the dreaming. I followed them. They arrived at a place like a large ring set in the ground. They went in and vanished. I’ve thought nothing of them since.”
“And how do we get there? To the ring set in the ground?”
“You mean if you were in the Dreaming? Like this.”
Two Spirals projects a map into her head, finely detailed, showing the various tunnels and shafts one would need to traverse to reach what is presumably Leaping Circle Two.
“Thank you,” says Morningstar. She has what she came from, but has a few more questions for her hosts. “What do you do when the Navni are asleep?”
“Pursue our creative interests,” says Two Spirals. “We compose music, write poetry, build our own temples. Carve sculptures. We advance ourselves. Become enlightened. Hone our abilities to control reality.”
Morningstar brings up another topic. “We met a people who called themselves the Keffet…”
Red Diamond projects a feeling of disgust and contempt. “We have been at war with those nasty little things for as long as anyone can remember.”
“You actually fight?”
“Yes, we have a warrior caste by necessity. We are more powerful, but the Keffet are more numerous, and our ability to change reality is somewhat diminished in their territory. But they are no great threat to us, and eventually we will win the war against them. My understanding, which I admit is not great because I find the subject distasteful, is that we are making slow but gradual progress toward wiping them out. Which is no less than they deserve. They are filthy, rude, unintelligent, warlike.”
There seems to be nothing more to be gained by spending more time with the Egannic. Morningstar thanks them for their time.
“It has been an interesting experience to meet you,” says Two Spirals. “We have not seen anything like you before, and so our knowledge of the world is increased, and for that we thank you.”
Morningstar returns the Company to the waking world. They decide not to disabuse the Navni of what the Dream Lords are like, though they are appalled at the manner in which the little gnomes are exploited. It’s one more thing for the list; after they’ve saved the world, they want to come back to the Navni and set things right. But for now, it’s on to the next Leaping Circle. Morningstar knows the way.
…to be continued…
Mind Cows
Everyone agrees that the vision of Sagiro and Kay is promising, if also confusing.
“First Tor, now Kay!” says Ernie with a big smile.
“Hooray for allies,” says Dranko. “Next thing you know, we’ll find out Mrs. Horn is an archmage!”
“Maybe the three of them will start an adventuring team,” says Morningstar.
“That will kill the dragon!” adds Dranko.
Cheered up by their optimistic banter, they pack up and exit the mansion, back to the fungus farm. This time they find it being worked, by dozens of small gnome-like creatures with pale yellow skin and bushy black hair. They wear simple clothing and wield metal tools. The tallest among cannot be more than four feet tall.
As each notices the Company stepping out of the doorway of the mansion, they drop their tools and stare in shock, then inch toward one another. The nearest of these creatures huddle and start whispering.
Morningstar is the last to exit. When the little gnomes see her, they stop their whispering and drop to their knees, eyes bulging wide.
“Uh… hello?” she says to them.
“H… hello,” one says back, voice trembling.
“We’re not here to hurt you,” Morningstar assures her.
“We know,” says the gnome. “You don’t look like a Great One, but you are. We can all see it.”
“I’m sorry,” says Morningstar, “but I am confused.”
“You are a Dream Lord, are you not?”
Oh!
“Yes, I do walk in Dream,” she says.
“Of course you do. But you are unlike the others. You are… small. And you don’t have horns.”
The whole party has the same idea at once. Mind cows! The purported enemies of the Keffet who crowd Ava Dormo.
“I have heard that there are mind cows,” says Morningstar. “Dream cows, I mean.”
The gnome is puzzled. “Cows?”
“With horns,” says Morningstar.
“Yes, the Egannic. The Dream Lords!”
“How large are they?”
The gnome regards Morningstar. “Two of you high,” she decides.
“Those are big cows,” says Ernie.
“Can you see into Ava Dormo?” asks Morningstar. “Into the Dreamworld?”
Again the gnome looks confused. “You… live there, don’t you?”
“I spend time there,” says Morningstar.
“She lives in our world, this world,” explains Dranko. “She just visits Ava Dormo.”
“We’ve never seen you there when we sleep,” says the gnome.
Morningstar tries again to explain what she is. “I worship a Goddess of the Time of Sleep,” she says.
“You… worship? No, no, no! We worship you!”
“I’d just go with it,” says Kibi with a grin. He’s been here before. “See where it goes.”
“You worship the Dream Lords?” asks Morningstar. “The Egannic?”
“Yes! They are so good to us. They teach us. They put in our heads the ways of the fungus. They give us peace and rest. Safety. Everything. They are all around us, but we only see them in sleep.” The gnome’s voice is reverent, almost a chant as she enumerates the blessings of the Egannic.
“Let’s try to get out of here doing as little damage to their theology as possible,” Ernie murmurs.
Curious, Morningstar asks, “What do they protect you from?”
The gnome thinks. “We… don’t know. No danger comes, because they protect us. Our land is one of peace and happiness. We farm our fungus, and build great statues to the Dream Lords.”
“Say,” says Dranko, “Did three people with red armor and black robes come through here a few months ago?”
“We did not see anyone like that.”
“They would have been mean,” Ernie prompts.
“Oh, no, the Dream Lords would have protected us from anyone like that!”
The gnome looks at Ernie, then back to Morningstar. “Are these your servants?”
Morningstar smiles. “These are my companions.”
“They are very lucky.”
“We are on a very important mission,” says Morningstar. “Together.”
“Can we assist you?”
At Aravis’s urging, Morningstar asks, “Do you know of the Leaping Circles? One of them brought us to here, to your farm. Have others appeared here?”
“No. We have not seen anyone but you and your ser… your companions.”
The Company decides that the Evil Trio would most likely have ignored these people entirely, which is all for the best.
“When we sleep,” asks the gnome, "will we see you? In the land of the Dream Lords? That is your home, isn’t it?”
Morningstar shakes her head. “No, that is not my home.”
“But you have been there, surely! It is a paradise of fungus, and clear pools, and jeweled caverns, and peaceful worship. We go there every night, to bask in the warmth of the Dream Lords.”
“And do you provide anything to the Dream Lords by worshipping them?” asks Ernie.
“What could they possible need from us? We pray to them, and sometimes we sing hymns of adoration. We pray to them for guidance, knowledge and protection, all of which they grant.”
“We have heard there is another race at war with your Dream Lords,” says Morningstar, thinking of the Keffet, particularly the little insane one, Checkle.
The gnome is shocked. “Who would dare such a thing? Surely you have heard incorrectly!”
“I must have.”
Dranko clears his throat. “The Dream Lord is passing through, and requires a guide. We would like to say hello to your leader, so she can properly bestow her blessings.”
The gnome nods gravely and speaks to Morningstar. “Is this acceptable to you?”
Morningstar throws a glare at her husband. “ Of course.”
“She will be honored to meet you.”
They start walking downslope. The gnome says, “Please be careful not to tread upon the fungus,” then realizes that may have been presumptuous, and so adds, “Is it pleasing to you?”
“It’s the most beautiful fungus I’ve ever seen,” Morningstar assures her.
“With the Dream Lords’ help, we have perfected the ways of fungus farming. It serves all of our needs, from subsistence to architecture to art.”
“Can you take messages to the Dream Lords while you sleep?” Morningstar asks.
“We would not speak directly to them, no! Not even our leader would presume so much.”
They are led down the slope of the farm, through a series of caves filled with a variety of fungus farms. One cavern has images of “dream cows,” statues twenty feet high, grown out of a fungus that has been engineered to resemble orange marble. The Dream Lords are not actually cows; the statues are of huge robed minotaurs. They remind the Company of Horny, the bouncer employed at the Eye of the Storm in Het Branoi.
The gnomish creatures, called the Navni, live in small individual caves. The leader, a woman named Epp, lives in one hardly larger than most. They find her facing the back of the cave, kneeling before an idol of a Dream Lord, a statuette grown of carefully tended fungus. Their guide clears her throat.
“We have visitors who would like to meet you.”
Epp turns around.
“I’m sorry to disturb you…” Morningstar begins, but Epp falls again to her knees.
“A Dream Lord in the waking world!” she cries. “Have I displeased you in some way?”
“No! No, I’m…”
“You are different,” says Epp. “Are you an enforcer?” Her mouth quivers.
“No, I am a protector.”
“You have shown proper deference,” says Dranko. “You may now stand.”
Epp doesn’t’ stand. She looks questioningly at Morningstar, who nods. “Please stand up.”
“The Dream Lord has come to accept your blessings,” says Dranko, “and to tell you they please her. But also, that we need a guide to a thing called a Leaping Circle.”
“What is a Leaping Circle?” asks Epp.
“A large circle that allows one to travel a long distance, instantly,” says Morningstar.
“Is it made of fungus?”
“No, it’s made of metal,” says Aravis. “They are thousands of years old.”
But Epp has no knowledge of the Leaping Circles, and, when asked, has not seen or heard anything about the Evil Trio passing through the Navni territory.
“They are my enemies,” says Morningstar, speaking of the Black Circle adherents. “And enemies of the Dream Lords.”
“The why have you not annihilated them already?” asks Epp.
“Because we haven’t caught up with them yet,” explains Aravis.
“But when we do,” Dranko assures her, “Morningstar will smite them.”
“It’s hard to contemplate that the Dream Lords have any enemies,” says Epp, frowning. “But perhaps the Dream Lords can tell you about them, or about your Leaping Circle. Tonight you should visit them.”
“Couldn’t we do it now?” asks Dranko.
“No!” Epp is horrified at the thought. “You may only visit them in your sleep, after dark-dust.”
Morningstar and her companions talk with Epp for another hour. They learn that the Navni have no immediate neighbors; their territory only comprises a hundred square miles or so, but no other races border their lands. The Dream Lords have warned the Navni not to venture too far afield, lest they be unable to protect them properly.
Dranko asks unabashedly if the Navni have a store of gemstones he might have. When his friends protest, he declaims that when they regain the surface, the gems will help rebuild whatever remains of Charagan. He and Flicker are allowed to scavenge from the Navni’s collections of emeralds, which they use to adorn the statues of the Egannic.
At lunchtime a number of Navni bring in a feast of fungus for Morningstar to sample, and they have truly performed some culinary miracles. The fungus is of a wonderful variety of tastes and textures, and the Company chows down appreciatively.
They spend the rest of the day walking with Epp through the Navni territory, heading southward, as that is the general direction of the next Leaping Circle. As they travel, Morningstar asks Epp if she knows about the Sister Gods, Yavin and Wlaqua.
“Yes,” says Epp gravely. “They are the False Gods. The Dream Lords have warned us about them. We do not venerate them, and we have never seen them here. Yes. we know that they are very powerful beings, and we are wise to fear them, but they are not worthy of worship. They are merely powerful mortals.”
“The mission we have been sent on is very dire,” Morningstar explains. “And as part of it, the balance between Yavin and Wlaqua has become unbalanced. Wlaqua has become far more powerful.”
“That is no concern of ours,” says Epp. “The Dream Lords clearly can protect us from them, keeping any harm from us.”
“Maybe they can,” thinks Aravis over the mind-link. “We don’t know how powerful these Dream Lords really are.”
The pass through dozens of caverns and tunnels, many adorned with statues of Dream Lords, including four different temples dedicated to them.
“The Dream Lords are very lucky to have you as worshipers,” says Morningstar.
“And you really do have a way with fungus,” says Dranko.
“It sustains us,” says Epp serenely, “so we sustain it.”
“You’re fungamancers!” says Dranko.
At dark-dust, all of the Navni all scuttle off to bed at once, eager to enjoy the paradise of the Dream Lords that they experience each night. Morningstar speculates that they don’t actually go to Ava Dormo, but that the Dream Lords grant them pleasant, if ordinary, dreams. She’ll know soon enough if she’s right. When all the Navni have gone to sleep, they backtrack to the nearest shrine, and Morningstar brings the entire Company with her into Ava Dormo.
The place they find themselves in is spacious and pleasantly lit. This is not the densely-packed territory of the Keffet. They are in a large temple, though one without any images of minotaurs. The walls are carved with rows of abstract shapes of varying hues. There is a domed glass ceiling, and light shines down through it, not the dust-mote light, but something more like true sunlight.
The temple is also under construction, being expanded by twenty-odd hard-working Navni, sweating as they labor with picks and shovels, chisels and trowels. And several tall shirtless minotaurs, male and female, lounge about on the steps and in chairs, eating fruit. Two Navni are carefully painting artistic patterns on the backs of one of the minotaurs.
The Dream Lords note the Company’s arrival, but none of them stir to offer any greetings. One of them does nod respectfully to Morningstar, then raises an eyebrow at her companions.
“You are new,” that one thinks to her. Its voice is entirely telepathic; there is no vocal component at all.
“My name is Morningstar, and I am from very far away.”
The minotaur makes a face. “Your name is… coarse. Why is that?”
“Define ‘coarse.’”
“It is not constructed properly,” says the Dream Lord. “My name is… “ It does not utter a name, but projects a pattern into Morningstar’s mind, connected with an abstract thought construction, partially a red diamond, partially the idea of a musical note.
“That is very lovely,” says Morningstar.
“Thank you.”
“As I said, I am from very far away.”
“I would like to hear more,” says Red Diamond. “But before we continue, how would you like your slaves put to work?” It motions pointedly to the others.
“I would like my companions to stay with me,” says Morningstar.
“That is uncouth.”
“Dranko, don’t say anything,” thinks Ernie quietly.
“Is it disrespectful to you that they stay?” asks Morningstar.
“That they remain here, standing in our presence, as equals? Do you even need to ask such a question?”
“I so want to kick its ass,” thinks Dranko.
One of the other Dream Lords takes a bite out of a piece of fruit, then lazily waves a huge hand. A freestanding stone wall appears next to Morningstar. “Perhaps you could ask them to stand behind that, so we don’t have to look at them.”
Morningstar gives her friends an apologetic look. They reluctantly stand behind the wall, not wanting to rock the boat. Ernie sticks out his tongue.
“Morningstar, you need a proper symbol by which we will address you,” says Red Diamond. And so she fills her mind with the power and presence of Ell. “I am Morningstar, and I am Ell’s Shield,” she says. “Will that suffice?”
One of the Dream Lords inches backward just a bit, but Red Diamond nods. “We will call you…” He projects into her mind a black triangle, connected with a mental construct of divinity and darkness.
“That will do nicely,” says Morningstar.
“Why are you here?” asks Red Diamond.
One of the Navni brings over a golden tray of crystal water goblets. She takes one and sips. “Are you aware of the shifting of power in the waking world? The imbalance between Yavin and Wlaqua?”
Red Diamond is confused. “You mean in the dreaming, not the waking world. But yes, there are constant struggles for power, in that cesspool of a place that those creatures go when they dream.” He waves vaguely at the Navni working on the nearest wall of the temple. “But they are not our concern. We have felt it out, explored it a bit in days long past, but it is not a place for the genteel.”
Well isn’t that interesting. The Dream Lords consider Ava Dormo to be the “real” world, and the waking world to be the “dream” world! “That’s why that little kobold was so confused about waking versus dreaming,” thinks Morningstar to her friends.
To Red Diamond, she says, “I am on a mission from Ell, my Goddess, a mission of great concern to her.” She projects to her hosts the sense she has when near to the Adversary’s blood. “A divine being of great evil has penetrated… the Dreaming.”
Red Diamond nods and yawns.
“In your sleep, do you dream?” Morningstar asks.
“There are some eccentric explorers among us, who have explored the land of dreams to a small extent.”
“And if the land of dreams was destroyed, how would that effect you?”
“I assume it would have an adverse effect on the Navni. We would need to find a new source of labor, for tasks which are beneath us. For instance, it would be uncouth for us to paint ourselves.” He motions to one of the Navni engaged in body-painting. “You do such lovey work,” he tells his servant. The Navni looks blissful at being complimented, as though there were no higher honor it could be afforded.
Most of the Navni, however, the ones engaged in manual labor, do not look happy. They look exhausted. There are no signs of pools or paradise.
“That evil being has three servants abroad in your lands,” says Morningstar. “Three people in black robes or red armor, very rude, very uncouth. Do you know of them?”
“Interesting that you would speak of them,” says Red Diamond. “Two Spirals spoke of something similar, months ago, during one of his excursions into the dreaming.”
“I’d like to speak with him.”
“One moment.”
Red Diamond vanishes, and returns a moment later with a second minotaur. Her companion is less kempt than his fellows, with no fancy tattoos. He projects his name into her head: two perpendicular silver spirals along with a notion of curiosity and knowledge. Morningstar asks him if he has met Evil Trio.
“I wouldn’t say met,” says Two Spirals. “I observed them, from a distance. I sensed they were dangerous, even though they were only in the dream world.”
“What were they doing when you observed them?”
“They were traveling, through tunnels in the dreaming. I followed them. They arrived at a place like a large ring set in the ground. They went in and vanished. I’ve thought nothing of them since.”
“And how do we get there? To the ring set in the ground?”
“You mean if you were in the Dreaming? Like this.”
Two Spirals projects a map into her head, finely detailed, showing the various tunnels and shafts one would need to traverse to reach what is presumably Leaping Circle Two.
“Thank you,” says Morningstar. She has what she came from, but has a few more questions for her hosts. “What do you do when the Navni are asleep?”
“Pursue our creative interests,” says Two Spirals. “We compose music, write poetry, build our own temples. Carve sculptures. We advance ourselves. Become enlightened. Hone our abilities to control reality.”
Morningstar brings up another topic. “We met a people who called themselves the Keffet…”
Red Diamond projects a feeling of disgust and contempt. “We have been at war with those nasty little things for as long as anyone can remember.”
“You actually fight?”
“Yes, we have a warrior caste by necessity. We are more powerful, but the Keffet are more numerous, and our ability to change reality is somewhat diminished in their territory. But they are no great threat to us, and eventually we will win the war against them. My understanding, which I admit is not great because I find the subject distasteful, is that we are making slow but gradual progress toward wiping them out. Which is no less than they deserve. They are filthy, rude, unintelligent, warlike.”
There seems to be nothing more to be gained by spending more time with the Egannic. Morningstar thanks them for their time.
“It has been an interesting experience to meet you,” says Two Spirals. “We have not seen anything like you before, and so our knowledge of the world is increased, and for that we thank you.”
Morningstar returns the Company to the waking world. They decide not to disabuse the Navni of what the Dream Lords are like, though they are appalled at the manner in which the little gnomes are exploited. It’s one more thing for the list; after they’ve saved the world, they want to come back to the Navni and set things right. But for now, it’s on to the next Leaping Circle. Morningstar knows the way.
…to be continued…
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