The danger in your dreams

- Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! - screamed Otis as he jerked up in bed, sweat trickling down his forehead.

It was not a quiet night, people were still celebrating the harvest all over the town. Harvests are a big deal nowadays, happening only when there’s enough water for crops, so this is the only celebration that hasn’t been outlawed by the Theiwar. Still Otis had managed to fall asleep and even dream. The dreams were getting more vivid and darker by the day. He didn’t want to dream anymore, but then again he did, not only because it's one of the few things he can do that are outside of the Theiwar control, but because each dream revealed something more, and he could feel he was getting closer to…

- Another nightmare? – asked a female voice next to him. It took him a moment to realize that it was his wife talking to him.

- Yes, Louise. Another nightmare.

- They seem to be getting worse. Are you sure you don’t want Mother Alyssa to see you? She might be able to help you end those nightmares.

- I’ve told you already, I don’t want her to see me!

Louise lowered her eyes. Those deep brown eyes that attracted him when they first met.

- I’m sorry, Louise. But I really don’t want Mother Alyssa. And it might sound strange to you, but I need these dreams.

With as much gentleness as he could muster, Otis cupped Louise’s chin in his rough hand and looked into her inquisitive eyes.

- Trust me in this one, Louise. I know I sound terrified after each one of these dreams, but I think I’m supposed to have them.

- How can I trust you if you don’t trust me? You haven’t told me anything about these dreams. Every time I ask about them, you change topics and avoid answering me. I’m your wife, Otis.

Otis sighed.

- I don’t know, Louise. I’m supposed to protect you.

- Otis, I’m a big girl. I can handle it.

- You’ll think I’ve lost my mind and…

- Otis!

- Alright, alright. But promise you won’t tell anyone. ANYONE, you hear me?

- I promise – said Louise with a tenderness that reminded Otis just how much his wife cares for him, but at the same time made him wary of what he was about to reveal.

-“It all started when my great grandfather’s great grandfather, Olly Deepburrow, was still alive, before the Great Theiwar War. He was known for his merchant skills, which made him a not small fortune. But less known is that he was part of Urkhan’s explorers’ party. Olly was Urkhan’s chief scout. Urkhan was a great leader, but he would’ve lost himself in many caverns if it wasn’t for Olly. Olly’s knowledge and sense of survival was basically what kept the party alive. Anyways, it is said that one day when they were exploring up in the North, what is now the heart of Theiwar territory, Olly left the party in the camp and went ahead to inspect the surroundings. He was gone for several days and the party started to wonder what might have happened to him. Provisions were starting to run low, so some wanted to continue their journey, and count Olly as lost, but Urkhan insisted that they should wait. He was a good friend and leader, but moreover he knew that his chances of getting back home safely were slim without Olly. So they waited.

“Two nights later Olly came back, looking faint and somewhat deranged, covered in dust and clothes looking like rags, but wearing the biggest smile that a dwarf had ever worn. He mumbled that he had found a practically inexhaustible source of gems, two days’ march at full speed in some direction (north-west, I believe), hard to access, but worth the effort. And then he passed out.

“Most of the party didn’t believe him and the few that did wavered at the possible dangers of such enterprise. Urkhan gave in to the majority and decided to continue exploring for inhabitable places rather than chasing a treasure that he himself wasn’t entirely sure existed. After all, Olly had taken only so much food and water when he left. Urkhan was mostly sure that his friend had imagined things out of thirst and hunger. Besides, Olly had always been a dreamer.” Otis chuckled. His eyes were lost in thought.

“You know, my great grandfather used to say I’m a lot like Olly, not only physically, but that I get my abilities from him too. He also says I’m as stubborn as Olly was. Maybe he’s right. In any case, after they all came back home, Olly would spend hours telling his tale to anyone who would listen. There weren’t many willing souls, mostly his children. But one cursed day, he met a man from the Theiwar clan. His name I’ll never forget: Topple Mayhem. Olly had been trading with the Theiwar for a while and Topple came as the new trading representative for the clan after the previous one suddenly left. Topple liked to hear Olly talk about his adventures with the great Urkhan and he’d always ask Olly for a detailed account of his gem mine tale. He was especially interested in Olly’s description of what seemed to be a dark, glistening sapphire encased in a heart shaped locket. Olly didn’t understand the obsession with that specific gem; after all, he had seen so much more than that: rubies, amethysts, diamonds, emeralds, etc. But Topple liked to hear about it, so Olly talked.

“One day, Topple came to Olly with an idea: the two of them would go and find the mine again. Topple would provide everything that was needed and Olly would be the guide. For Olly, that was a dream come true. Olly talked to his wife Gilda about it, but she didn’t like Topple. She said he looked greedy. ‘If you’re going to go, find a different partner, Olly dear, I don’t like that Theiwar’, Gilda pleaded. But Olly dismissed his wife’s concerns and a week later they were ready to go.

“A month went by before they came back. They looked all raggedy, but as happy as they could be. ‘I told you you had nothing to fear! We found it!!’. They brought back what fit in their backpacks without encumbering them. They had drawn a map and planned to claim the property and share the wealth. Exhausted, happy, and sleeping in a soft bed for the first time in a month only added to their optimism. Two days later, Topple came back and they continued planning what they’d do with their discovery.

“A week into their planning Topple came to Olly looking distraught and with a proposition. He said that his wife, who was with child, had become ill and that he needed a large sum of money to get treatment for her. He asked Olly if he could give him the money for his wife’s treatment -which entailed not only giving him most of his savings but also selling his trading company- and in return Topple would renounce his share of the mine, which was worth much more than everything Olly, or even the whole Daewar clan owned at the time.

“Olly was of the generous type, so he accepted the proposition. Gilda opposed it, but no one has ever been able to change a Deepburrow’s mind once it’s made. So they went on with the transaction. Olly gave Topple all he had, but his house -this house- and a small portion of his savings to live off until he could start exploiting the mine. And with that, Topple left.

“Olly started the process of registering the mine in his name but he needed some specifics that had been in Topple’s notes, and Topple was nowhere to be found.

“That meant that Olly had to go back to regather the information needed for the deed. He prepared a small bundle with provisions and the map, which should have made this only a three day round trip at the most. He left one morning… and they never saw him again. Some claim to have heard an explosion in the direction of where the mine was supposed to lay. Others claim to have seen Topple coming out of the mine’s area after the explosion. One thing is for sure: nobody ever saw Olly again, nobody claims to have seen Topple again, and nobody knows where the mine is.

“My family tried for years to find the mine but when they got to the most approximate place according to Olly’s tales, all they could find was impassable terrain. They tried hard to find Topple too, with no success.

“That is… until a few weeks ago. An old friend came to my grandfather with word from ‘someone in the high clan’ that claimed to have seen someone matching Topple’s description… in Lord Harbek’s entourage. Of course that couldn’t be. Topple would have died more than fifteen hundred years ago. It is impossible that he’s still alive, and in the high ruler’s entourage of all places, right?”

Louise shivered at the thought. Living more than 1500 years would mean… She didn’t even want to think about it. And in the high spheres of government! Rumor was some Theiwar played dangerously with magic. But no. That would be too risky, even for them.

“But that’s when the nightmares started “ – continued Otis. “I’ve always had dreams about my ancestors and the lost mines, but never like these. I’ve only heard descriptions of Topple Mayhem, but I can assure you that the man in my dreams is Topple.”

- But why do you scream so? What happens in the nightmares? – asked Louise weakly, almost as if she didn’t want to know.

- “Horrible things, Louise. I see dead Theiwar walking. Those who should be resting, those who are not whole anymore, wake up and cause destruction, exploiting the rich Daewar land and their people until they turn them into… well, into what we have now. And on top of a mountain, controlling all of them, Topple Mayhem, wearing the locket with the dark gem. And I see other gems too, beating with an almost dark light where the heart of the dead should be. And in my dream, I see places that I’ve never seen before, which locations get clearer with each dream, but also the danger that surrounds them. And in those dreams I know I need to take that locket back, that somehow it is key to end the oppression that we have suffered for so long.

“But I have to be careful. This Theiwar in my dreams seems to know me, the way he looks at me. I know now that he’s key to our oppression, but also to our freedom. Do you see now why continuing to have these dreams, nightmares, is so important to me? I have to find him, Louise, I HAVE TO!”

Louise shivered and Otis held her close. Her heart was beating fast. Or was it his?

- Lets’ try to get some rest, Louise. We have to be up early tomorrow to open the storehouse.

- For all the noise they’re still making, I don’t think anyone but the two of us will be up early tomorrow – said Louise, forcing a smile and trying to forget what she had just heard.

- Let’s get some rest anyways.

Louise sighed and laid down. But she was too afraid to close her eyes.

Sleep finally came.

Not for Otis, though. He was still thinking what he would do if what he’d heard was true, that Topple was alive and part of the high spheres of the Theiwar government. And he was wondering how to keep Louise safe.