NaNorWriMo 2009: The Oneironauts Part 4

Continued from Part 3 due to lame file size limitations. Which, quite honestly, are getting on my nerves.





         The next morning they woke up to find a rollicking orchestral adventure theme playing in the background. It was very motivating, and amplified the glorious size of the snow tipped mountains they slept beneath. It was to be an epic adventure yet. When they awoke that morning the air was chillier than normal. However, the cold did not bother any of the travelers.

         Upon embarking for the day Nivek forcefully pointed to the base of the mountain on their right. “That way.”

         “No,” said Lorelai, “The pass through mountain is here.”

         “Who is the Oneironaut here? I tell you, I looked it up last night while dreaming, that way is not only shorter, but there is a hot springs! It is perfect. You like shorter don’t you? Want to beat that bastard Sir Rodrick to the dragon?”

         “Yes…” she said, “But why do not others take this path? Many travel to Alcatant, yet none mention a shortcut.”

         “They just don’t know about it, that’s all. I, on the other hand, know everything I desire.”

         “Is it safe?” asked Eliot.

         “Of course,” said Nivek. “Let’s just go already. Follow me.”

         Lorelai followed, although skeptically, and Eliot much the same. It took three hours of walking that morning to reach Nivek’s destination. They crossed over many rolling hills, increasing in amplitude with every one they passed. Eventually the path was a thin rocky strip along the base of the mountain. From their height they could see down across the top of the massive labyrinth. It was truly a spectacle. The opening in the center of the labyrinth could be made out as well, even the minotaur in it could be seen roaming around in the circular clearing. From their vantage they watched as dozens of other travelers wandered its halls in search of the exit. Eliot was in a good mood and joked about it.

         “I wonder what their stories are,” he said. “Think any of the people down there stink as much as you do, Nivek? Poor hygiene is certainly one way to kill a minotaur. Rather effective, as we’ve learned from experience. Are you sure you want to wash? I think were losing a powerful weapon. From great power comes great responsibility, Nivek. You can be like a super hero. ‘Vomit-Man’ or something like that. What do you think, Lorelai?”

         “Yes. Vomit-Man. I agree. Good title.”

         “You see? And I bet they all have cows down there too. Silly cows. Think they’ll ever realize that their not really cows? How ironic. ‘I am a cow,’ they say. I wonder if it was positive thinking that made them cows, and not wizards? Just imagine. Say, I want to be a pterodactyl. So, while we’re walking I just need to tell myself, ‘I am a pterodactyl. I am a pterodactyl.’ See what I mean?”

         “Stop talking,” said Nivek.

         “I am a pterodactyl!” he said.

         “For the sake of all that’s good in this world! I don’t need another cow following me around!”

         “I am a pterodactyl!”

         Nivek snarled and Eliot laughed. “No need to get on nerves, dear Nivek,” he said, “I’m not really a pterodactyl. Had you fooled for a second though didn’t I? I realize I make a convincing pterodactyl. As soon as I can fool myself, you’ll never recognize me. I am a pterodactyl!”

         “Now I agree,” said Lorelai, “Shut yourself.”

         It was near noon when they arrived at the mountain pass that Nivek had claimed to be the best way. A light touch of snow covered the rocky ground, and just up the path a little steam billowed up from behind some rocks.

         “There!” said Nivek. “A bath!” He laughed maniacally, hurrying towards it.

         “Unfortunately for us,” said Eliot, “That won’t be water anymore after he uses it. It’ll be vomit soup.”

         “Hmph,” said Lorelai.

         For the next hour Nivek washed and soaked his clothing. The water of the hot spring indeed gained a muddy-pink tinge to it by the time he was done, and smelled quite rancid. Meanwhile Lorelai wandered the area, exploring. Eliot went off somewhere out of sight.

         Lorelai returned to the site of the hot spring when Nivek was putting his damp clothes back on. “What is the meaning of this?” she said.

         “Huh?” said Nivek.

         “You know, old man. There is no path near here. It is dead end. I looked.”

         “Are you accusing me of something?”

         “Yes, you led us three hours out of way for bath. Inconsiderate, fool. Do you not want new life in Alcatant? Wealth and glory? I should kill you.”

         “Hah! You still don’t trust me. You honestly think I would do that. It would be as much a waste of my own time as yours. I’m not that averse to a little grime. I assure you, there is a way from here to Alcatant.”

         “Liar. I looked. I made circle of whole area. There is nothing. You waste my time.”

         “I am insulted. You think my oneirology is flawed? I may be amateur, but I don’t make mistakes. I will show you the path, and then we’ll see who’s a fool. Give me a minute.” Nivek proceeded to refill his clothing with his potions.

         Lorelai paced about impatiently. Several minutes later Eliot appeared from around the corner. “Twenty-four,” he said.

         “Twenty-four what?” said Lorelai.

         “Mountain goats,” he said, “I just killed twenty-four of them.”

         “Are you really bloody serious?” berated Nivek.

         “Yes, and why not?”

         “You tell me you don’t hate animals, yet you go off and kill dozens of them at a time, god knows how you find so many, and then walk back and brag about it. You don’t hate animals?”

         “No, I don’t. It’s just good sport. And training.”

         “Training? You run away whenever there’s the tiniest sign of danger. What do you  need training for?”

         “I, I, well, It’s, well, What if I can’t run away sometime, then I’d have to fight, and, well, better safe than sorry, right?”

         “You’re a fool,” said Nivek.

         “At least I’m not grumpy and depressed,” muttered Eliot.

         “Twenty-four,” scoffed Nivek as he began walking off. Lorelai followed, but didn’t miss her chance to throw Eliot another condemning frown.

         “Ha!” thought Eliot, “And they act like they got where they are without grinding, themselves.”

         Nivek hadn’t walked far before he stopped and said, “Here, this is it.”

         “No,” said Lorelai, “This is rock wall.”

         “No?” said Nivek, “Are you sure of that?” He then walked up and pushed on a rock that depressed into the surface. Loud, adventurous success music began to play for the next thirty seconds, music full of trumpets and bolstering enthusiasm. With the grating sound of stone on stone, a giant rock in the wall sunk into the ground. The surrounding rocks rattled and vibrated. In its place was now the entrance to a tunnel that swiftly sunk into an inky blackness.

         “A cave?” said Lorelai angrily.

         “Yes,” said Nivek, “Why not?”

         “You said this way safe.”

         “Well, I have no reason to believe otherwise.”

         “Uh… I’m not going in there,” said Eliot.

         “See,” said Lorelai, “puny boy is afraid. Why? Because caves are dangerous.”

         “Well it might not be,” said Nivek.

         “Look,” said Lorelai, “It is black and scary. It is beneath mountain. No one goes that way, even though it is faster. You are fool,” she said.

         “Listen to her, Nivek, we shouldn’t go in there. Definitely bad stuff in there.”

         “No, no,” said Lorelai, “I say it is dangerous, yes, but we still go in. Wasted enough time already.”

         “What?!” said Eliot. “But if you admit it’s dangerous – ”

         “Get bone in back,” said Lorelai, “And blame Nivek if you urinate in yourself. He led us here.”

         “See, Lorelai,” said Nivek, “Just wait, you’ll be perfectly happy once we get to the end of this and you see how much faster it is. We’ll save days going this way.”





Chapter 9



         Lorelai and Nivek both entered the cave and slow, eerie music began to play. The hollow sound of wind instruments and of strings twanging in discord was chilling to the travelers. Eliot, however, did not enter the cave. He stood at the entrance.

         “I’m not coming,” he said, “This is just like what happened before we went into the labyrinth, and I am not going through that again. No thank you. No way we’ll be that lucky twice in a row.”

         “Suit yourself,” called Nivek, “I’ve got your money at the moment, remember.”

         “I don’t care. Keep it. I want nothing of my old life, I hate being noble. And I’m in no hurry to go slay some fictional dragon either. I just want to get to the city, and make my way like everyone else. Start fresh. So if I’m hiking for a few more days, so be it.”

         “Good luck making it through the mountains yourself,” said Nivek, his voice echoing more with every step into the cave. “No one ever said they were safe the other way either. There are trolls, and snow, and giant birds, and a number of other dangerous beasts. It’s not an easy journey, especially alone.” He raised his voice now, completely out of sight, “You won’t have a watch at night! Probably get eaten in your sleep!”

         “No!” said Eliot, “I am not coming with you. You have no respect for me, or my opinions. I say this cave is too dangerous. I’m not going in. I’ll take my chances with the mountain wilderness.” And then Nivek and Lorelai heard no more of him.

         “Well, he’ll come back,” said Nivek. “He’ll run back groveling, probably with some count of a hundred or so bats he killed on the way.”

         “Yes,” said Lorelai, “Likely we end up in some kind of trouble, then Eliot come back at just right moment to save us. Then he overcome his fear and save us. Then he is redeemed as character and all is happy. Yes?”

         “Indeed. That’s the way it typically goes,” said Nivek.

         Lorelai and Nivek continued through the cave. It would have been entirely pitch black if not for one of Nivek’s particularly useful potions. It was a vial of entirely translucent liquid, appearing to be water, but when he shook it and opened it to the air, then recorked it, it glowed with an eerie green luminescence, which, although not intensely bright, lit their way well enough. At the very least, it saved them from tripping or running into walls.

         The cave grew narrower with every minute. Their eccoes changed in pitch over time, starting deep and growing higher. They made no noise but that of footsteps and shuffling clothes. Eventually, Lorelai made to ask a question.

         “What would it take you to make more potions of explotion?”

         “Oh,” said Nivek, “Unfortunately, quite a bit. It’s nearly impossible to make useful potions while on the road. That’s why I packed up so many before we left. I do regret though, that I didn’t have a larger supply of those exploding baubles. I never made many because I couldn’t sell them legally. Honestly, even once were in Alcatant, it could take weeks to find the necessary ingredients.”

         “Do you make razcha?” she asked.

         Nivek chuckled. “Yes, in fact. But you are of course aware of the potency of the substance and how difficult it is to procure its ingredients. I can only make very little, and, of course, it must be kept well hidden. The royal guard searches potions masters’ homes and shops for razcha once a month. They are unusually strict about the drug, and it hardly makes sense. They act like banning it makes things better, but let me tell you,” Nivek grinned in a way that was difficult to interpret, it certainly seemed too much expression for his sentence, and thus when his eyes reflected the glowing light, it was not emotion that he portrayed, but insanity, “their laws just make things worse.”

         “It is perhaps much the same in Aissur. Why is loving female so bad? There is no harm. It is love. Why do they make such effort in fighting against love? Of all the things that can be fought, of all the evils, love is least needed to be fought.”

         “Yes,” he said, “What you say is very true. We are all trapped by rules that make no sense. There are too many rules to follow. So many rules, that you can’t even know them all. So many rules that you give up even trying to know them all. You give up trying to follow them. If there is one thing that I know for certain, it is that giving up is not a bad thing to do.”

         “Please explain, because to me giving up is weakness.”

         “That is where we differ then. I will try to explain, but I almost feel that it is something that must be realized, and not taught. You see, when things are terrible, and there are too many rules to live as you want to, one has two choices. He can push on, bearing the detestable on and on, always in hope of some intangible paradise. But you never know how long you will have to struggle. You may struggle for a short while, and find happiness, then struggle again, find happiness again, like so. Like a cycle. But you also might be simply struggling your entire life, and that happiness, that dream, never comes.

         “The second choice is my own. It is to realize that this never ending struggle, this world of invisible barriers is not what one desires, and then, instead of living on in misery, to simply choose not to fight in a battle that you never chose to fight in. I never wanted to enter into this miserable reality. But yet I am thrown in here. And I protest. And, as some don’t realize, one can protest. There are three excellent ways of doing so, they’re called alcohol, drugs, and dreams.”

         “Haha, they are good things indeed.”

         “But I am not joking now,” Nivek said gruffly. “I don’t take the three as a substance of recreation or pleasure. I don’t thoughtlessly drown myself or go drink with mates to have a good time. For me, it is my escape. Alcohol, drugs, and dreams take people away from this reality, but they take me into my reality. And the reality of dreams is my reality, because I choose it to be. And who says otherwise? Who says any realm of experience is any more than any other? I am an oneironaut, but I am more than that as well, I am an oneiro-denizen. I am a citizen of my dreams, and a tourist of my ‘Life.’”

         For several minutes Lorelai could say nothing. Nivek’s words were surprisingly deep, and shockingly intellectual. Lorelai, for the first time, fully realized the qualities of Nivek’s true person. He simply did not allow it to show, for half of himself truly was not here, but somewhere else, in his dreams perhaps. It would seem that if Nivek felt a desire to live in this world comparable to his want to live in another, he would be a great man. He would be intelligent, handsome, and, perhaps, pleasant. It was only because he cared nothing for his appearance here, or his station, or his relationship to others that his good qualities were blotted out by his bad. It was, in some sense, a shame, but yet from Nivek’s own perspective it was as acceptable a life as any other. Lorelai thought, that perhaps the people in his dreams see a side of him that is much more pleasant, and for that they are fortunate.

         “I am not convinced,” said Lorelai, “One must fight through to the end as I see it. And if things are miserable, it is no use to pretend otherwise. It is silliness. Yet, as my mind cannot be changed anyway, I do now understand you better, I think.”

         “I suppose that is as much as I can hope for,” said Nivek. “At least I am understood.”

         They walked now in single file, with Lorelai in the lead, as the passage had shrunk too far to walk side by side. The ceiling was low as well, just inches above Lorelai’s head, causing her to crouch a small bit out of paranoia, and thus she grew an uncomfortable crick in her back. The atmosphere was entirely claustrophobic, especially when they thought about the hours of cave behind them, and the day and a half of cave ahead.

         The dark, unchanging environment was hypnotizing. Their steps clocked against the stone like a metronome, and the lighting from Nivek’s potion was so soft… They walked on and on into a black void, the walls would materialize before them, seemingly forever, and then quickly dissolve into blackness behind them. They were a moving island of reality, as all that resided beyond their circle of light was a black, forgotten nothing. It was a dreamlike existence, and all track of time was lost.

         Lorelai put one foot after the other, and her mind drifted. She dreamt of beautiful women and a place of warmth and security. She dreamt of being in a place where she was not fighting to be who she was, and to be where she was. She dreamt that she was a man. She dreamt that she loved herself and that others loved her. She was not dangling just above the abyss of poverty, forever working, forever struggling. She saw it all amidst the blackness in front of her. In the blackness was everything, and nothing. And then she realized.

         It was blackness. Complete blackness.

         The light of Nivek’s potion was gone. She turned around, “Nivek!” she said. She warily ran forward, waving her arms in front of her. “Nivek!”

         There was no response. Nothing but her own echo, and a complete, suffocating silence. The darkness absorbed everything. It seemed to have absorbed Nivek, and possibly her as well. And all light, and all sound, and all existence… it was all soaked into the sponge of darkness. The claustrophobia set in when she began to panic. She moved her arms around and felt around her – the ceiling, so close; the walls, so tight. There were only two ways to go, and neither would lead to salvation in any amount of time that would preserve her sanity.

         “Nivek!” she yelled, her guise of unalterable will and confidence had melted away. Lorelai shivered. She lay her back against the wall, unsure what to do, and afraid that, even with only two choices in direction, that she would become disoriented in the dark. And what had happened to Nivek? If there was truly only one path she could not possibly have lost him. That meant that there was more. There was a turn somewhere, or a trap, or a hole in the ground that he fell through. He had the light. He was following her. How was it possible that he had turned away from her? It seemed terribly unlikely.

         She called his name again. Should she go on? Leave him? If he was truly only on a different path, by himself and safe, then he would be fine. He was the Oneironaut, he could find his way out. But on the other hand, if he was actually in trouble, and there was some malevolent force at work, then Nivek would need her.

         Then, she realized the final, most convincing argument, it wasn’t even a matter of Nivek needing to be saved. There was simply no way in Hell that she could travel for over a day in this cave in pitch blackness. She needed light, or certainly she would either die from a trap, from an accident, or from becoming lost and suffering a slow death of dehydration. There was no other choice but to find Nivek and his light.

         Lorelai retraced her steps down the tunnel. She moved slowly, making sure to feel every surface for some kind of opening. There had to be something. There was no way. “Nivek!” she called into the abyss. The cave felt so much colder now. The darkness, the loneliness, they affected the temperature quite dramatically. Her fingers grew from feeling the rough rocky surfaces.  Her legs grew tired of stepping quickly across the ground, not to miss a single thing. She called his name again and again.

         She continued this way through the darkness, then, she walked into a soft object in the middle of the path.

         She screamed.

         Catching herself, breathing heavily, Lorelai backing up from the mysterious entity, asked “Nivek? Nivek? Are you standing in the middle of the path Nivek?”

         There was no response. A chill ran up her spine.

         What if it was Nivek? What if Nivek was trapped in some kind of spell, frozen in the path? But then where was his light?

         She was afraid to draw her sword, for if it was indeed Nivek she couldn’t risk hurting him. But what if it wasn’t Nivek? There was no way to tell. She couldn’t risk walking up to it again without being ready to stab it…

         She stood still and her breathing echoed in the dark. It had definitely felt Like a human body she had run into. Cold, yet human. It could be nothing else. And whatever it was it hadn’t been there when they had come through the first time.

         Lorelai had never been so afraid in her entire life. And for that reason, she drew her sword. She liked Nivek, but in the end, it was his potions, and not him, that she really needed. At least that’s what she told herself.

         But then, she had a plan. Realizing that there was at least one move to be made with surety, some of her confidence was restored. “Speak, or I slay you,” she said.

         There was no response.

         “Then die, demon!” She danced forward and slashed out with her blade – and stopped it, just touching the creature. Suddenly there was the sounded of rustling movement as whatever it was leapt back from the blade.

         “Ha!” said Lorelai, “Your guise is broken, you are no Nivek!” Now with certainty that this entity was aware, yet unresponsive, as Nivek would not be if it were him, Lorelai charged forward with her blade and ran the creature through. Her blade gave easily through its substance (whether it was truly flesh or not, it was impossible to tell). The creature let out a piercing shriek. Lorelai response was to yell back at it, as loud as she could. All things paused as for a full minute the shriek of the creature and the warrior’s battle cry resounded through the tunnel. Their cacophony filled every nook of the cave with sound and energy. The wail of the creature died away, as did Lorelai’s breath. Upon ceasing its cry of pain, the thing disappeared into a puff of smoke, which made Lorelai cough. She pulled back her blade, as it now was stuck in nothing but air. She ran her hand down it to check for blood, but there was none.

         Silence.

         Then the cave shook with a pervasive, thunderous roar. Lorelai lost her footing in the tremor and fell to a squatting position, bracing herself against the walls of the tunnel. So much dust and bits and pieces of rock fell from the ceiling that she feared it would collapse at any minute. Lorelai could tell that this was no earthquake. The roar was certainly no roar of the Earth, it was the roar of a great monster, living in the depths of this mountain pass. “That,”said Lorelai, “ is why no one come this way.”

         She began to move forward again to continue her search of the tunnel, but she quickly stopped. She was no longer alone. There was a whisper behind her. She spun around, weapon drawn. Then there was a whisper on her other side, and she turned around again. Another whisper. Another. Suddenly, there were voices everywhere. Whispering, and chattering in every direction. Suddenly there would be a whisper right next to her, practically in her ear, and she would jump and swing her sword, but then there would be nothing there. But the whispers would be far away then, then close again, then far, and in every direction, and they made it nearly impossible to maintain a sense of direction. “Nivek!” she yelled. Only the whispers buzzed on, and she could not understand any of it. It sounded like English, but it flowed past her ears like some sort of gibberish.

         But then it began to change.

         She called Nivek’s name again, and this time it was no longer all gibberish. There was a response. “Here!” called a distant voice. “Here!” claimed another, in another direction. “Help me!” another cried in pain. It seems that whatever dark powers were at work here had taken to mocking her. “Cease this, demons!” she yelled. “No more trickery! Let us fight like men!”

         THAWUMP.

         Another mysterious entity rammed into Lorelai and she was thrown to the ground. “Yaaaaah!” she roared leaping to her feet, swinging her sword out. She hit nothing and blade sparked against the rock wall. THWAM. She was hit again, knocking the breath out of her and slamming her to the wall. It was impossible to know which side these blows would come from, and where to strike. Darkness was not a warrior’s element.

         THWAM. THWAM.  She was being checked more frequently now, and although she felt she could barely breathe from the blows, she swung out again, and this time struck. Her blade tore through the creature, and it let out another shriek, making her want to tear her ears from her skull. Her response, again, was to roar back. She charged down the tunnel, still swinging. Sschiling. Sliced another one. Then diced another. Her random blows hit more and more often as the creatures swarmed her, although she was hit more and more often as well. Lorelai soon found it almost impossible to move about, and impossible to think from the chorus of deafening shrieks. And THAWAMF. Another one made solid contact with her middle. She was thrown back against the wall. But something was very wrong.

         Because there was no wall.

         Instead she fell back, and back, and back.

         With an “oof” she landed flat on her dorsal, plummeting head-first down an incline of slippery rock. She screamed, sliding faster and faster and faster through the darkness. She could see nothing, but in her mind she imagined quite clearly the wall of rock she would collide with that would mash her skull in to half its size and none of its present value. Falling and falling. She threw out her hands to try to stop her fall, but it was no use, the rocks beneath her were to slippery and the walls beside and above cut her hands up on contact. She was at the full mercy of fate, and if not fate, the mercy of the spirits that seemed to dwell here beneath the Martisian mountains.

         As she continued to plummet to what she was almost certain to be her ultimate peril, Lorelai swallowed her fear. She held her screams, closed her eyes, and gave in to the sensation of falling. She attempted to control her rapid breathing and accept the fate that awaited her. She imagined herself, instead of falling through the blackness of the cave, to instead be plummeting through the night sky. She was diving through the depths of the heavens, and blazing stars whizzed by her. It was peaceful, silent, and beautiful, and out there in the sky she could fall forever, and forever be content with the poetic beauty of her journey through time…

         But then she felt a different force acting on her. She was slowing down. The slope was decreasing, gradually the slippery rocks beneath her were flattening out, and they did so more, and more and more…

         She gradually slowed to speed that was not at all threatening, and she opened her eyes. Lorelai tilted her head back and saw a glowing circle in the distance, growing larger and larger, rapidly, until, suddenly, she was upon it… and through it… and she gasped.

         Lorelai was thrown out of the slide on to a pile of dirt where she skidded to a stop. The skin on her back burned with cuts and scrapes.

         She was no longer in darkness.

         Lorelai looked up at the ceiling of an enormous cavern. It must have been a hundred feet high, and it shimmered with a soft green glow. A very familiar glow. And then Lorelai realized what it really was that lay before her. The entire cavern was filled with hundreds of Niveks, each with a luminescent potion hanging from his neck, and each tied to a stake. Once she had seen them, and stepped forward in a stunned daze, the entire army of Niveks saw her at once, and rose into an uproar resonating throughout the massive cavern.

         “HELPSAVEMEMESAVELORELAIMENOWDANGERHELPTRAPPEDCAN’THELPMELORELAIMOVENOWQUICKLYSTOPWASTINGTIMEINEEDMEYOUNOWHELPHELPAFRAIDDANGERMEHELP”

         Frozen, with the least idea of what to do with the situation, Lorelai could only gape. Then she immediately grew tense at the sound of footsteps. One of the Niveks ran towards her, in the typical shuffling Nivek fassion, dealing with clothing filled with glass objects. She readied herself, sword drawn; she would take no chances here.

         “No! Wait!” said the Nivek, “It’s me, the real one. Bloody hell, the last thing I need is for you to slay me in this bloody nightmare. I was able to free myself. Demons apparently have no talent at actually tying ropes. Doesn’t matter when they tie themselves up, as you can see,” he chuckled, “but their knots have nothing on actual people.”

         “Stop. Don’t take another step,” she said.

         “Hey? Do you still not trust me?”

         “You...” she said, “You are not Nivek. I do not trust you.”

         “Well fine then,” he said, “Just let one of those other ‘me’s out of their chains over there. Just watch, they’ll turn into a specter and kill you before you can even react. Look,” he wiggled his hands in the air, “I’m free, and I’m not trying to kill you. I am the real Nivek.”

         Lorelai watched him with scrutiny, stepping closer and closer, her sword still at the ready. She moved in right up next to the supposed real Nivek.

         “You see? I’m not attacking you. I haven’t burst into flames or whatnot. I just want to get out of this shithole. So are you done staring at me?”

         She leaned in a little closer and squinted, “Yes,” she said. And then quickly backed away and walked towards the rows and rows of Niveks, who then reinitiated their pleas for help with new vigor.