A test, sort of

[The Red Muse]

Originally posted by Silversnow
(Ståtlig är inte något jag får höra om mina historier så ofta, tack tack )

...erm...

No problem... *nervous grin*

Det var min pleasure!


*runs behind a barn and shoots herself*

[Adder]

I'm glads to see someone finnaly psoted before me!
Unfortuitly I can't read Sweedish (or Dutch, not too sure). Did The Red Muse post her opinions on the next plot, or is it still open for what the decision is?

[Silversnow]

No, she didn't post the next plot, just her opinions about my story. Me happy

[Adder]

Okay... interplanetary travel in a D&D style game, uh story.

Mmm...

Somehow I think that going to Michael could be worthwile, even if you do end up killing him

after all, he DID make fun of your clothes!

There's just something about going off of a planet when you're not too sure who you are that seems worrying...

[Silversnow]

It is, isn't it?

---
You resist the urge to let your anger loose on this poor lady and manage to simply look angry.
"Silencing an actor can't be too much trouble, now can it? I'll do it."
She smiles at you.
"Great!" she says and glances at Zeke. "You go with him, I don't want him to get lost."
Zeke doesn't reply, just growls something. You get a feeling that you shouldn't talk to him until something cheers him up.
"But it's a long way to the compound, isn't it?" you say.
"Yes, on foot it is. But there are faster ways, you know." she says and hands you a map. "I've drawn a way on this with a red marker. Just follow that way and it'll lead you to something more useful than your feet." she says and smiles at you again. You smile back and turn around to leave. Zeke is already through the door, and you look at the darkness for just a second before entering. But when the door closes behind you and you walk alone in the darkness, you feel that something is different. Your head feels... dusty, somehow. Like something had drawn a furry tounge over your brain. As you try to look around, you see two tiny, red dots in the dark. You stare at them, they do nothing.
"What the hell is this?!" you whisper. You get a strange feeling that two voices said the same thing. The two dots grows bigger, as if they were coming against you. From the dark suddenly comes a blinding light. You scream in surprise and cover your eyes. You hear a gasp from the dark. You look up when your eyes doesn't hurt anymore. You gasp as well.
What you see is you. Someone thinner, with silver hair and metallic blue skin, and the face defenitly doesn't look like yours, but the way the man moves and the strange "feeling" around him is identical to yours. You stare at yourself. The mans eyes widens.
"What? Who are you?!" he says. The voice is yours.
"Vidash..." you say, slowly. "Vidash Welfos. Who are you?"
The man doesn't reply for a while.
"Sleepwalker." he finally says. "That's what my companions called me."
"People here call me sleepwalker too, but I haven't accepted it as a name. Is that your real name?"
He stares at you, his mouth and eyes wide with surprise.
"Well, um. No... But, ah..." he manage to say before he gets his bearings. He holds his head higher and say:
"My name is Paño Elfaras, soldier in the army of the king!" he says proudly. His shoulders sink a bit. "That would be before these dreaded time. First someone steals me to the nothingness, place me unknowing of my recent past and present in a unknown city and then they make me meet a living mirror!"
You get a weird feeling and want to run.
"That's exactly what has happened to me..." you say silently. You and Paño look at each other for a while, no one saying a thing. The light in his hand flickers. He looks at it and then at you. He slowly turns around and stands still. Before he disappears in the darkness, he says over his shoulder:
"Have you met the man with eyes like a cat...?"
When he's gone, you continue on. When you step out of the darkness onto the street, Zeke glares at you with his one eye.
"You just had to stay and rest for a while, eh?"
You decide not to tell him anything about your strange meeting with Paño and give him the map. He opens it and looks at it.
"Um..." he says. You take the map back from him and looks at it. It's covered with runes and on the bottom it says, written in a shaky, hectic way:
"YOU SHaLL NEVER FIND ME DIE AND GIVE Me WHATEveR SECRET YOU HAVE"
As you look at it, the letters blend together with the runes and begins to tremble in a worrying way. Before you can say anything to Zeke about it, the letters and runes have formed some sort of draconic creature that leaps out from the paper and begins to shred your face. The tiny wounds it makes burns like flames going all over your body. You scream and try to tear it off your face, but your hands just go through it. It bites and shreds your face with teeth and claws, the pain forces you to your knees. Zeke's attempts to help you and your own screams fades. You disappear into darkness.

When you wake up, you feel blood running down your face. You look at Zeke, that is watching you. You can't think of anything useful to say.
"And my face was already scarred from that accursed bottle..." you mumble. He grins.
"So you're alive after all! And don't worry, chicks like scars." he says while helping you to your feet.
"Yeah, well I don't like getting them. What happened to the creature?"
He shrugs.
"It was magic, that's for sure. But apparently not strong enough, that thing was out to kill you, but after almost shredding your face and throat to bits it just faded away and took its paper with it."
"So the map is gone."
"There was probably no map from the beginning."
"Why did the lady do this to me?" you ask. He looks offended.
"Hey! The Lady wanted to help you! She can't weild magic anyway. Someone else did this." he says.
You look on the street and think how many there are of them. How would you ever find the lady's gift without the map?
"Did you know where that map lead to?"
"Nope."
"Then now what?"
Zeke shrugs. You wipe some blood of you face and looks at it. As you do you get a strange feeling of being more than one person. The only thought that's in your mind is, for some reason:
They've found me.

[Adder]

Okay, it's taken me a while to reply to this cause I'm not too sure what happened in the last part. The plot just seemed to zip ahead, and then come near a blank!

I guess you (Vidash) could go back, or take the long way... but which to do..?

And the plot hints when you meet yourself:
"That's what my companions called me."
Also, did they find you or your double?
(I don't expect you to answer that question, I'm just thinking aloud!)

As for what to do next...

...um

...I guess you ask Zeke if he can go back to the Lady. If not, continue onward and search for faster travel.

[Silversnow]

Yeah, I know about the zip and blank, but I felt I couldn't just keep the poor guy wandering around in a stupid city all story long. It'd be boring after a while, both to read and write.
Going to write new chapter soon.

[Silversnow]

Sorry for double posting.

---
You and Zeke try to go back to the lady, but the door refuses to bugde. When you can't get in, you don't know what to do. Zeke seems to be as lost as you are. You exchange ideas with Zeke, but you can't get up with anything better than taking the regular walk to the Northern Pillar. You think that conversation might make it a bit more fun.
"So Zeke," you say. "How do you know the lady?"
He seems to be a bit surprised about the question.
"How I know her? Well, I used to be one of her 'contacts', until we met in person. Our first meeting wasn't very friendly, but we struck a deal. We kept our parts and then we simply stayed in touch." He suddenly smiles. "I did the same things for her that you do now. Better than my old job."
"How come your first meeting wasn't friendly, as you say?"
He sighs.
"Well, I was a double-crossing little creep back then. I pretended to be her friend, just so I could get close enough to kill her and get paid for it. I was an assassin, you see."
Before you can ask any more questions, he grins and glances at you.
"But enough about me. You then? What is your past?"
You tell him about yourself, your past. Your wife, your daughters, your profession and your home. You realize how happy you were, and regret that you never were happy with what you had. You look around yourself and see that you and Zeke has come out on a big street, full of people. Everyone is walking in the same direction, not paying any attention except to where they are heading. You find this very strange.
"Zeke? What's this all about?"
Zeke look at the people on the street without any remarkable interest.
"Religious travelers. I forgot about them. We have to take another way."
You look on the flood of people and notice one face not looking in the same direction as everyone else. A dark, young woman is staring at you, without even blinking. You look at her. She smiles.
"Sleepwalker? How come you have followed me to this place, so far from your home?"
You don't even find it strange, to hear her voice in your head. You think an answer to her.
"I don't know you. There are others like me. You must be speaking of one of them."
Her smile fades and she looks in the same direction as everyone else.
"Maybe so. Should I find you on his or my loves place, you shall feel my wrath. My warning to you, false sleepwalker. Travel with true vai."
Without saying a word, you follow Zeke to a new way.

You can hardly keep your eyes open. You have followed Zeke's ways all day and long into the night. He seems to be as tired as you are, he has stumbled and almost fallen several times. You see a house where warm light shines trough the windows. Over the door it hangs a sign that says:
"The bar of Imps"
To your great joy, Zeke opens the door and steps right in to the innkeeper. He looks at Zeke, then at you, but decides that Zeke is the one who should get attention.
"Ye want a room?"
"Two rooms." Zeke replies and gives the barkeeper a couple of coins. He gives you and Zeke a key each. Thinking you shouldn't waste a second, you rush up the stairs and crash into your bed. You fall asleep immidiatly.
---

The whole point with this chapter was probably just getting to know more about Zeke and "talking" to the woman on the street. Woo-hoo. No choice here, so I'll post another part sooner, unless someone has a wish.

[Adder]

Well, now that you've finnished 13 pages, the plot seems to be rolling nicely!

The only problem with the story I have is that there was nothing said on what "Travel with true vai" means.
Did you miss a letter (as in "vain")?
Or was it a name (as in "Vai")?
Or something else???

Maybe Vidash should ask Zeke...

[Silversnow]

Tam-de-dum! Me rolls up new chapter in a jiffy. And I don't mean the zillion year jiffy.

---
You wake up in the middle of the night. You are quite sure that you are dreaming, but your entire life seems like a dream right now, so you’re not sure. You see something white and ghostly moving at the end of your bed. You stare at it, not knowing what to do. It suddenly turns to you, it’s like seeing someone from underwater. It brightens, and you suddenly look at your wife. A couple of years younger and wearing her wedding dress. You stare at her. She smiles shyly at you.
”Why are you there? Come up here.” She says. You quickly get out of your bed and take her hand.
”Jenna…” you whisper, not believing what you see. She smiles at you again.
”I know were not supposed to see each other before the wedding, but…” she whispers and leans closer. You smile and move closer to kiss her. You haven’t ever thought you’d see here her. But when your faces are just inches away from each other, she steps back from you. You look at her again, and is surprised to see that it isn’t Jenna anymore. The strange woman glares at you.
”What did you call me? Yena?”
You don’t reply, still wondering what happened to Jenna. The woman shakes her head and turns away from you. When she looks back at you, it’s a male elf you see. The elf smiles happily.
”You? What are you doing here?” he says and turns to you completely. He puts something invisible (and apparently heavy) away and puts his hands in his sides.
”There, now. Told you adventuring wasn’t your thing. Welcome back.” He says and laughs happily. His happiness makes you smile, so you still stand and smile like a fool when he suddenly draws a long, gruesome sword. It’s not the elf anymore, now it seems to be an old warrior that grins madly at you.
”Heh, gave you a chance…” he growls and makes a quick attack at you. When you think you’ll feel the sword puncture your skin and impale you, the sword suddenly becomes a soft hand that lies on your stomach. The woman in front of you is dressed like a prostitute, but moves and acts like a princess. She smiles.
”Missed me?” she says lowly and kisses you before you can stop her. When you look at her again, it’s a strange birdlike creature that stands there and stares at you.
This (or these) creatures in front of you change all the time. It’s like a chain of events, the same person comes many times but do different things. Each creature shows itself to you for about 10 seconds to 5 minutes. It’s all very confusing. But each and everyone you see, you feel you have a strong connection too. Yet there’s only one you recognize at all. You start to get used to them, they slowly fade. You drift back into sleep.

You and Zeke sit by a table in a corner of the inn. You are sharing a meager breakfast for the money you can spare. You suddenly remember the strange woman on the street.
”Zeke.” You say. He mumbles something. ”What is ’Vai’?”
He glances at you, and you can’t help but catch a glimpse of worry in his eye.
”Vai? Who said that to you?”
”A woman on the street with the religious guys. She said ’travel with true vai’ to me after saying a lot of things about murder. Is it something bad?”
”Well, I’d worry more about the murder. But vai… why would she wish it for you? It means that you should travel with only your goal for your eyes. Did you know her?”
”Uh…” you try to remember if you recgnized her. ”Nope.”
Zeke shrugs.
”Don’t mind it then. I guess she just got something wrong.”
You follow his advice and continue eating. You don’t pay much attention to everyone else in the inn. When you’re half-way through the not too fresh apple, the light from the lamp is blocked out by a large figure. You look up at the man that seems to be taken from a gladiator arena. He’s HUGE!
”You Welfos?” he mutters with a voice like two stones being grinded at each other.You glance past him and notice four more people surrounding a table that looks just the same way. You can’t help but stare at the mountain of muscles.
”Welfos who?” you ask and remember the beating you recieved from the thugs. You have a feeling this would be worse. The man growls.
”A Welfos who looks like you. Are you Welfos?” he replies and crosses his arms over his chest. Zeke seems to be willing to give away his right arm just to run. Frantic thoughts run through your mind. Is it hot in here? I think it is… Oh, lords, look at those… He’s got fists like melons.
You don’t know what to say to him.
---

There there. This just become more and more weird. And I couldn't think of a better way to explain Vai. Just what happens when you try to write without planning.

[Adder]

I've been going back over the story. There's a lot of stuff I'd forgoten, like Vidash's "fangs".
As for what to do about the huge guy...

I doubt he's very smart, so you might be able to think of a way out after you say that you're not Welfos (and you technicaly aren't, your Sleepwalker)... but not if your frightened...

mmm...

I'd get ready to run, and ask him what he wants with this "Welfos" character.

[Silversnow]

*grumbles* Stupid computer that doesn't wanna get rid of these fecking viruses...

---
You manage to open your mouth and stutter a few stupid letters. The size of the man is still somewhat frightening, but you've gotten over the chock by now. You clear your throat and change position on your chair (and you pray to the lords that he won't notice you only did that to get a clear run towards the exit) and try to stop your hands from shaking. You clear your throat again and glance at Zeke. He stares down in the table. You look at the huge man.
"No.." you want to say clearly, but you only manage to make it a tiny whisper. Isn't it something wrong, being this afraid of a normal (not really accurate word, but whatever...) man? You think that to yourself.
"You not Welfos?" the man says, surprised.
"No... dear lords no. I'm... uh..." you lose your thought and use the emergency exit. "Sleepwalker. Yeah. Dash Sleepwalker, that's me."
You grin nervously and keeps thinking that this is the very wrong way to lie. He glares at you and leans down towards you. Every muscle in your body seems to be so tense they could break.
"You... look like Welfos." the man states. You freeze and smile again, hoping it would look self-confident.
"Oh, no I'm not. What do you want to do to him anyway?"
"To Welfos?"
"Yeah?"
The man grins. You see his teeth, they seem to be perfect.
"Only grab him and hurt him little. Then take home. Oh, that reminding." he says and then scratches the back of his head. You move your chair towards the exit. The man doesn't seem to remember what he was supposed to say, so he turns to his friends around the table and seem to ask a question in a language you don't understand. Zeke gently tugs the fabric on the sleeve of your shirt and you understand perfectly. You slowly get up and heads for the exit with Zeke right behind you. Roaring laughter follow you and the man turns around. He doesn't seem to mind that you want to leave.
"Hey, Sleepwalk? Remember Serr?" he shouts. You are about to start running when your body seems to shut down. No part of you do what you tell them to. You begin to panic, but a strange feeling flows into your mind. Serr... Shouldn't you remember Serr? How come you don't? You remember everything else that's important. Except the blank weeks of course. Blank weeks? Wasn't it months, now that you think about it? How long have you been away from Se... home? You whisper the name to yourself and feel strangely safe. Then a part of your mind that you didn't even know existed breaks in.
No! NO! How DARE you even THINK to say that name in my presence!? Curse that old scum! I wish I could remember him, so I could seek him out and KILL HIM!
You wake up of your strange trance and looks around yourself. The man is standing right in front of you. He grins victoriously.
"You are Welfos!"
You frown.
"No." you simply say and go past him. The man seems to be willing to say something, so you quickly spin around and glare at him.
"What? WHAT? What do you think you can do to me, ape? Call that name out so loud the stars will wonder what it was? I don't give a living shit about Serr. Tell him that when I find him, I will make him choke to death on all the filth he made me do!" you scream. While he thinks about how to react, you leave the tavern. Zeke waits outside.
"Who the heck is Serr?" he asks. You feel very tired. Or exhausted. And strange. You just give Zeke a look.
"Run." you say.

When you try to catch your breath after running (you seem to be suffering from lack of air all the time), you notice Zeke is looking at you in a strange and almost worried way. In some universe, you might have found that touching.
"Tired so soon?" he asks. You gasp for air to reply.
"No... just... some...thing."
He grunts and look at the wall.
"So, Vidash. Who or what is Serr?"
An image flows by in your mind.
All you see is a painful red mist. You howl in agony as the other man in the room continues his 'punishment'. He repeadetly stabs you with invisible knifes and make you feel like something peels the skin off your back. He screams accusations at you. You try to answer.
You try to forget this.
"Zeke... I don't know who Serr is, just that I have to stay as far away from him as possible."
Zeke shrugs.
"Good enough for me. Do you want to go to the Northern Pillar now or what?"
---

[Adder]

This is where it get's interesting...

Best to continue on towards Michael, although I don't konw why.
Also search for some way to restore Vidash's memory, or at least a book that contains basic knowledge on people on this planet

[Silversnow]

*hums a cheerful tone*

---
Zeke leads you through this apparently never ending town. You still feel very strange, but manage to keep up with Zeke somehow. You have no equipment, no food and very little money. You hope that Michael lives close to where you are after every corner, but Zeke doesn't say anything. You will have to keep walking for days, no matter what you think you can do about it. But during this long walk, you get time for thinking no matter you like it or not. You think about who you've become, why you aren't the same man you were a couple of weeks ago, who or what changed you and why. You think of Paño, The Lady, the man with the strange eyes, the catman, everyone that has suddenly got involved in your life. You think of your daughters and of Jenna. Your eyes well up with tears when you think of them. You quickly blink your tears away, telling yourself that you will see them again. Even if they don't recognize you. You look at the back of Zeke's head. You don't take your eyes away again.
"Zeke? You aren't human, are you?" you ask and the second after you realize how incredibly stupid the question was. Zeke stops and turns towards you with a surprised look on his face. He grins.
"Took you so long to figure it out? No, I'm not human, I'm something that is a mix of the evolution's cruel jokes and some wizards' games. If you haven't found out, I'm part of the Boneblade clan back home."
"So you are a...?"
"Goblin, yes. But I prefer to call it lesser humanoid. Or, well, yeah."
A thought strikes you.
"The people in the Compound... they were all strange. What are they?"
He seems to think hard about the question. He finally looks at you with a strange look in his face.
"You know what, I have absolutely no idea. Everyone who's been there knows, I just don't remember what they are. They're something..."
You smile at the look on his face, but your smile quickly fades away. A small depression sneaks up on you.
"What do you think I am, Zeke?" you ask quietly. He looks away for a while and clears his throat.
"Um... Lets get going again, shall we?" he says and starts walking again. You ignore your aching feet and follow him.

You sit next to a wall, waiting for Zeke to make his choice. He stands in the middle of a intersection, looking after the right street. He seems to be concentrated, so you don't disturb him. Your feet complains at you. He points at one street, so you get up to start wandering again. But he points at another one while moving his lips as if he was talking to someone you can't see. He looks back to the first street and seems to have trouble deciding. You can't help but wonder who he's talking to. When he starts walking about, just staring out in nothingness, you interrupt him.
"Zeke? Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
He glares at you.
"Quiet. I'm thinking here." he says and ignores you. You sit down again and fall asleep.
---

Unless someone has got a wish or anything, I'll write more in a couple of days. I'm drowning in schoolwork right now.

[Silversnow]

Seriously, I need help. I have no idea what should happen next. Please?

[Adder]

When you said "I'll write more in a couple of days" I didn't think you wanted help!


Um....
I don't know where you want to go with this, but it's a good time to add another character to the tale... maybe someone from Vidash's past?

[Silversnow]

I didn't think I needed help either. But apparently I did. *sigh* Always digging...

---
When you wake up again, your legs and back hurt. You look for Zeke, but don’t see him anywhere. It’s light enough to see clearly and there’s already a lot of people on the street. But not Zeke. You sigh and wonder where he could have gone and why he went there without you. You come to the conclusion that he probably just wants to point out that you’re not his master or something like that. So you wait by the wall. Then you get up and start walking around. When the street gets more crowded, you become more and more worried. You tap on a mans shoulder.
“Excuse me...” you say. He looks at you.
“What?”
“Have you seen a goblin man around here? Short, looks like any of them and with just one eye?”
“No, I haven’t seen one of those for years. You ought to look for one of ‘em where they live or something.” He replies and starts walking again. You ask a lot of people if they’ve seen Zeke, but no one have. Tired, you sit down by the same wall you slept. You lean your head in your hand and wonder what you should do to find Michael without Zeke’s help.
“There you are!” someone suddenly says loudly. You suspect the person is talking to someone else, but you look who it is anyway. A middle-aged woman smiles and tries to make her way towards you. You have no clue who she is. She breaks out from the crowd and come towards you.
“Vidash! I thought I’d never find you!” she says happily and claps her hands. “You certainly knows how to hide, that’s for sure! Very clever to create a duplicate of yourself, you fox!”
You still don’t know who she is.
“Sorry, but I don’t recognize you... I know it’s not exactly nice to say, but I don’t have good experiences with strangers who know me.”
Her smile doesn’t fade.
“Oh, it’s ok. I didn’t expect you to recognize me. My name is Claire, and I helped you with your bussiness a couple of weeks ago. You never really met me though.”
“And you are here because...?”
Either she’s very happy, ignores what you say or doesn’t understand, because she lifts her hands to shoulderheight and sighs dramatically.
“I so wish we would’ve met before these little troubles, because then I could have helped you. Now I think it’s a tiny bit late.”
“Look, why...”
“I’m SO sorry for your customer, how awful that it had to happen right when you were there. Did you get any trouble with the guards? I mean...” she starts and is interrupted by you who loudly asks:
“What customer?! What did he look like?! What did he buy or sell!? Was it the ‘asi’ or something, a cat man?! What happened to him?! Does it have anything to do with me at all?!”
You try to catch your breath again while she stares at you, apparently surprised.
“Cat man? Vidash, I don’t know what you are talking about. Your customer’s name was Dasri tar-Ien, and he was very human. And I don’t know what you bought or sold, I just took care of the economical part. Dasri was assassinated shortly before you disappeared. Don’t you remember?”
You shake your head. Nothing sounds familiar.
“No. I can’t remember... much. Do they think I assassinated Dasri?”
She shrugs.
“I don’t know about that, I was supposed to find you so we could finish the deal. It isn’t good for anyone of trades are left unfinished.”
Your mind runs through that sentence again. Something is wrong.
“’They’ sent a financial manager to find me? Why didn’t they send a messenger or a soldier or something?”
The question seems to make her speechless for about two seconds.
“They, I suppose you mean Dasri’s department, didn’t send me, I volunteered. There are other people to mind finances while I’m gone.”
You get tired of talking so much to her.
“You want me to come back with you?”
“Yes, so we can...”
“Great, that’s all I need to know. I just need to find a man.... well, two men here and then we can go.”
“I hope it won’t take time.”
You look on the crowd on the street in an attempt to spot Zeke but sigh when you don’t.
“I don’t know about that.”

The sun runs over the sky. Neither you nor Claire can find anything or anyone, so you have no choice but to wait for Zeke to come back. When it darkens, Claire groans loudly and get up on her feet.
“I should drag you off there right now! Do you call this finding someone?!”
You give her a tired look.
“What do you suggest that I do then? I don’t know where to go here, that’s why I can’t run up and down the streets looking for him.”
She lifts her hands towards the sky and groans again. Then she turns her back on you.
“I’m off to find a bathroom. Don’t go anywhere.” She says and quickly disappears. About two seconds after she’s gone, you hear someone or something next to you. You quickly stand up and your hands draws the knife almost instinctively. Zeke looks at you.
“Ok, so you’re quite fast.”
You sheathe the knife again.
“Where the hell have you been? We’ve wasted a whole day!”
“Don’t talk so loud! She can hear you!”
“You mean Claire?”
“Yes! She’s not who she says she is, Vidash. She’s creepy. I’ve kept my distance all day to see what she’d do to you. What is it she wants?”
You rub your temples and sigh. It just never seems to be simple.
“She just want to finish a deal. Why do you find her so creepy?”
He gives you a look that anyone would give a child or an idiot.
“Zeke, you know what I am? We are spawned by magic, so we can recognize it. Remember the map dragon?”
You touch the scars (some wounds hasn’t healed yet) and grimase.
“If I do.”
“She stinks of the same kind of magic. I think she sent it on you.”
“What? The map said ‘die and give me what you know’ or something. How could I do that if I’m dead? What could she want? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Look, trust me on this, ok? I was told to keep you alive, not necessarly well, and I intend to do that. Just dump her and follow me as far away from her as you can.”
You sigh and continue to rub your temples.

[Adder]

I think you can trust Zeke more than some woman who knows you...
I don't know why I think that, but I do!

[Silversnow]

Boredom, colds and crappy stories...

---
You stop rubbing your temples and glance over your shoulder. The woman hans’t come back yet. You make your decision.
“Well, she’s kind of weird anyway. I never thought she’d shut up.” You say. Zeke’s face lightens up a bit.
“Yes, exactly. What has she told you anyway?” he asks as the two of you starts going towards the Pillar again. You shrug.
“Just that she was dealing with the economics somewhere and that the only one except Michael that might know anything about me, Dasri tar-Ien, is dead.”
Zeke nods slowly and frown.
“Dasri tar-Ien?”
You look down on him.
“Yeah? Atleast I think that was his name, but I’m not very sure. Why, do you know who he was?”
Zeke doesn’t reply at first.
“No... no, I just thought it was a familiar name, but I guess I’m wrong. So he’s dead? Did you kill him?”
“Probably, I mean that would be just my luck. First I murder someone and then something weird happens to me that changes me and makes me forget everything.”
No one says anything for a while as you try to make your way through the crowd. The few glances you can get of Zeke shows that he apparently is thinking hard about something. When the crows thins out and you can talk somewhat easily, he asks:
“That woman, did she know you only during the bussiness with Dasri?”
You shrug.
“I guess.”
“Then she just knew the old look of you, how did she recognize you now?”
You try to tell him, but realize you simply can’t figure out how Claire could recognize you. In fact, it was a very good question. Zeke looks away from you and stares at the streetsigns.
“I told you she was suspicious.”
“Yes...” you whisper with chills running down your spine. Another strange thing happening to you. As you think of this, her face becomes clear in your mind. As clear as if she was standing right in front of you. Her smile is strangely cruel and victorious, but her eyes is filled with grief. She speaks, but you can’t make out the first words.
“...was nothing you could do about it. I... I’m...”
Her face changes. Her smile fades and is replaced by cold wrath. Her eyes doesn’t change. You wonder how she manages to do that.
“...I’m sorry, my friend Vidash. Atleast you aren’t insane like the rest of us. Yet.”
Her voice grows thick and deep as her face changes, becomes more metallic and filled with complete disregard.
“You should know that it was he, Serr, who did and wanted this... don’t hate me now.”
He seems to shrink, but she just ‘moves’ so you can see her body. Her skin is metallic, like her face, and her fingers has become long, vicious claws. She grins, screams a piercing scream and stabs her claws into your chest. You loose your breath and is forced backwards by the hit. You can feel her claws within your real body. It hurts terribly everytime your heart beats. She moves closer to your face and hisses.
“Sairant Ialytr asrel, Vidash. I, with their will, drains you now and takes over your mind, sanity and knowledge. Merge with me!”
Her face blurs. You feel darkness crawling against you and your heart beats more slowly.
“No! You cannot loose it now! Give it to me, I need it better than you!” she screams, her voice distant. But normal. “With me it will be safe! Vidash!”
Her claws has left your body. You feel gravel under you.
“Vidash!”
You hear her scream. At first a wordless scream, the same piercing kind as before. Then you make out a word. Her scream is accusing someone.
“SERR!”
Darkness creeps into your eyes... and you are quickly pulled back to consciousness. A man is leaning over you, but looking on someone else.
“Does he have these kind of fits often? It could be a natural disease.”
You hear Zeke’s voice.
“No, listen to me! That was magic or any other strange thing for sure. I don’t know who did it, but it can’t be good for him. It could kill him! Listen to me, dammit!”
You raise your hand (that feels like a piece of stone) and put it on your chest. It hurts slightly, but it doesn’t seem to bleed.
“Vidash! You’re alive! Are you okay?”
You shake your head and try to get up on your feet. It doesn’t seem to be much trouble, even if you take much time.
“It was... Serr. Claire hardly exists anymore, Zeke.”
You grit your teeth.
“I have to get Serr out of my head. One way or another. How long does it take to get to the Pillar, Zeke?”
“Just about three or four days.”
“Is there no faster way?”
Zeke shrugs.
“None that I can think of.”
The man behind you clears his throat and taps you on your shoulder. You turn around and glare at him. His eyes widens for a small while and he stares at you, but his face quickly turns normal.
“Sir, I must get you to a doctor. The fit you had was a most unusual one and you should be examined. Will you come with me?”
You look at him for a long time.
“What will you do if I refuse?”
“I will take you there by force, of course.” He says and smiles. You nod and get an idea.
“How come you doctor guys are always everywhere?”
He smiles.
“That is classified.”
“Yeah, yeah, so you ain’t walking. That’s good enough. Will you take me to a doctor in the Northern Pillar?”
Zeke looks up at you and grins.
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
The doctor, however, doesn’t look as happy.
“Hm... well, I guess I could if you insist. Are you a Pillar citizen?”
“Well...” you say slowly and glance at Zeke. He shrugs.
“I won’t take you there without a legal ID.”
You pretend to check your pockets and think. Maybe you could force him to take you there and save you days of walking...
---

[Adder]

Sorry it took so long, but when the forums went down I started to re-read the entire thing. It's really getting long, and there seems to be little future hints in the first few chapters.
Anyway, the future:


"Classified" seems a bit too suspicious...
um...

Unless Vidash somehow finds ID in his pockets, I'd go peacefully with the doctor... at least for now, you can always attack him later. (stabby, stabby)

[Silversnow]

I had to rewrite this several times. The last time I was a bit sick and tired of it, so apologies for minor mistakes if you find any.

---
You decide to simply get examined and get it over with. You remove your hands from your pockets and smile excusing.
“I, uh, must have dropped it. It’s the third time this happens.” You say and turn to Zeke. “Remind me of getting a new one soon. It can’t go on like this.” You turn back to the doctor. “So, is that guy around here?”
The doctor smiles.
“Kind of. Just relax a bit, will you? Just like that. Done this before?”
You shake your head and then frown.
”Atleast I don’t think so.”
He doesn’t comment this.
“Then you might find this a little bit unnerving. Just relax, it won’t hurt and this is a completely safe procedure.” He said in a very mechanical way. He then waves his hand over your head. You see something shimmering in his hand. He mumbles something and tries it again.
“Damn piece of junk... gonna have to do it the old fashioned way...” he growls behind you and puts his hand on your back. You’re about to turn around and ask him what the heck he’s doing, when reality stretches out around you. Everything becomes stripes of light, while you feel like you’re being dragged forward by an icecold rope tied to your intestines. You don’t have time to scream before everything is perfectly normal again. You’re standing on a torn rug with your hands over your head for protection. The doctor stands behind you. You look up, amazed. You’re standing in a tiny room with a table, a chair and a rug. In front of you stand two men. One of them looks a little surprised.
“Unpleasant trip?” he asks. “Another malfunction?”
“You bet. Had to do it the traditional way.”
The doctor in front of you looks at you with a sympathic face.
“I know how you feel. The old way sucks.”
You’re a bit confused.
“Where the heck am I?”
The sympathic doctor points with his hand on the third doctor.
“In his home. In lack of other spaces.”
“How did I get here? Teleport?”
The third doctor (who looks very strange) shakes his head.
“That’s a secret.”
You growl:
“Incredible. Doctors can teleport, but you can’t take a damn train around here.”
The third doctor chuckles, but is silenced by a harsh look by the sympathic one. The doctor behinds you disappears. The sympathic doctor stretches out his hand.
“I’m Dr. Stephens. This is Ashdrau, but you can call him Ash.”
You shake Stephens hand and glances at Ash. You meet his gaze, and see that his eyes are red. This gives you an uneasy feeling.
“Half-orc?” you ask before you even wondered. Ash doesn’t seem to take offense.
“Yes, I am.” He looks like he wants to add something on the end, but Stephens gives him a dark look. Stephens crack his fingers and puts on a pair of thin rubber gloves.
“So, shall we get started?” he asks cheerfully.
He asks you many questions, about your body and mind. After your answers, he writes something in a notebook. He seems to find it very interesting that you suffer from partial amnesia. The questioning takes a long time, and with each question, you feel a greater wish to be anywhere but there. He finally puts his notebook down and takes a good look at you.
“Last question.”
You want to bash your head against something, just to see if you still have some senses left.
“Yes?”
“What did you say that your name was?”
You give him a murderous look.
“Vidash Welfos.” You reply. “Though everyone calls me Sleepwalker.”
He nods and scribbles something in the notebook. He reads it through one last time and then hums.
“You seem to be in good mental and physical health. I guess that it was magic after all then. Just one more thing.” He turns to Ash. “Now it’s your thing. Work your magic.”
Ash steps up to you and leans towards you. He puts the tips of his fingers on your cheeks. A warm sensation spreads over your face. He looks into your eyes, not even blinking. You can’t tear your look away from his eyes.
“I can see. Your spirit is scarred, S... Vidash. But it wasn’t caused by yourself, emotions or magic. A man has hurt your spirit.” He whispers very quietly. You get an image in your head. You are chained. Someone screams. A lot of pain that goes deeper and deeper. You block out the unpleasant pictures.
“Your memories of that time isn’t lost, just hidden. Someone has hidden them from you, but not good enough for you not to find them. You will know where to look one day, believe me.” He whispers and then smirks.
“I know what you are. Consider us equals.”
“What...? I’m no half-orc. Hm... I hope.”
“No, maybe you’re not a half-orc like me, but you’re like me. You’ll see one day.” He whispers and lets go of you. You scars and wounds on your face is gone. Ash goes back to the table. He leaves you there, wondering over what he’d just said.

You are rushed back to the place you originally were. You see Zeke and the doctor on a parkbench. Zeke looks extremely bored, and the doctor seems like he’s telling a joke. You walk towards them, Zeke spots you and seems to sigh in relief. The doctor sees you a few minutes later and gets up.
“Well, thanks for the company. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a long break.”
He smiles at you and seems to prepare to teleport away. You remember something.
“Stop!” you say. He stops in a motion and looks curiosly at you. You wonder if you should do what you thought about doing before.
---

So, how about a little attacking now? Or not?

[Adder]

Would Vidash try to kill someone who hasn'e seemed to hurt him...
hmmm...

Nah. Best to leave the doctor be, even though it's obviously a big cover-up for something deeper.
On to Mike!

[The Red Muse]

Grah! It's taking me ages to read all the new chappies-that-I-haven't-already-read!

I do have comments and I thought I'd say them in Swedish, but... I really suck at ...speaking Swedish. So I'll just say it the simple way;
Mycket bra.

*sarcastic voice*
Oh hurray me.
*end sarcastic voice*

...I can always say my comment in finnish...(What a great idea!!)
here I go;

Yllättävän hyvä, tää on yks niitä harvoi stooreja joita mä jaksan lukee ilman nuokkumista ja säännöllisiä tupakkataukoja. Ja se on helvetin hyvä homma !
Jatka samaan malliin niin saatatpa jopa saada jonkin palkinnon... mikäs se oli se kirjallisuuden palkinto... Nobel? No jaa... emmää enää muista !



( )

[Silversnow]

Eer... yes. I can't speak a word finnish, so thanks. Heh.

---
You decide not to. No point getting in to even more trouble. You smile at him and lift your hands in a excusing manner.
“Nothing. Sorry, go on with whatever you were doing.”
He nods and disappears. You turn to Zeke and start explaining before he can ask you for it.
“I didn’t think he could help us anyway. I mean, who knows where he could take us?”
Zeke shakes his head.
“Yeah, whatever. Your choice. We still have a long walk in front of us so I suggest that we start walking about now.”

You walk for days. You don’t stop often, and when you do you take all your chances to rest your feet and get some sleep. Zeke doesn’t have much money, and Mike’s bag is soon empty. You find yourself sleeping on the street and begging, stealing or even taking food from the few trashcans you can find. You see a lot of people doing the same thing. You grow thinner and you often wonder how someone as small as Zeke could survive that way. You wonder how you can live that way. Everytime you sleep, pictures of your past haunts your mind, if the creature called Claire isn’t there to chase the little calm out of you there is. But everyday you get closer to the Pillar.
One day.
You stumble forwards. Your feet are bleeding and your innards seems to be writhing around themselves. You think that you are hallucinating, but you aren’t sure. Zeke is somewhere behind you. You walk into something soft. In your state, you’re convinced it’s a pillow and almost falls asleep on it. It pushes you away.
“Hey! Keep off me.” Someone says. You look on him. It’s a big man standing in front of a very, very high wall. You try to focus on his face. It’s blurry, but it’s definitly there.
“Who are you?” you ask. “Am I in the Pillar yet...?”
“Aah! I see! Another freak from the Compound. Look, buddy, if you want work, I’m sure you’d find something over there. Don’t drag everything over here.”
“Noo...” you mumble. “I’m here to see Mike.”
“Mike who?”
“Uuuum...”
You search through your pockets, trying to find the card. You find it, but can’t read it. You give the card to him instead. He looks at it and then back at you.
“You don’t look much like an actor.”
“I’m not. I’m a friend. Or, uh, yeah.”
He hums and gives the card back to you.
“Why do you need to see him?”
“He’s got something to tell me. I’m not sure what exactly... But hey, I’ve almost died to get here.” You say and frown. You look back. Zeke is standing a bit back, looking at you. You turn back to the man. “And he too.”
The man shakes his head.
“You look like trash, the two of you. Look, I’ll let you in, mkay? But I advice you to go to someone who can help you first. A doctor or something.” The man says and opens a door next to him. You look at him, the door and then on your feet. You come to a conclusion.
“I don’t think... I can go anywhere right now. Excuse me...” you say weakly and collapses on the street.

You wake up a day or two later, feeling much better. You’re lying in a large bed. Your feet are bandaged, you are full for the first time in... a long time and you’re not thirsty. You don’t think that anyone ever felt as good as you do now. Someone comes in through the door.
“Good afternoon.” Zeke says, he seems to be in an extremely good mood as well. “I just came in to ask a question. Do you want to stay and rest or should we get going?”
You try to move your feet. They don’t hurt the slightest. In fact, you can’t feel them. You sit up and touch them. You still don’t feel a thing. You stand up to try walking on them. You manage to take a few steps before something cracks loudly. You sit down again.
“I’d like to, but I don’t think I can.”
Zeke shrugs.
“I don’t mind. I like it here anyway. Have you tried the soup? It’s fabulous!” he says and goes out of your room, still talking about the luxuries.
You later find out that you are in a local helper thing. You don’t know where exactly or who owns it, you’re just glad that you get a little help. You and Zeke leaves a couple of days later (your feet still feels like someone else owns them) to find Mike. When you first step out of the house and takes a look at the city, you are amazed. You’ve never seen anything like the Pillar. Every house looks like it belongs to a rich man back on Aeris. You don’t know if it means that everyone in the Pillar is rich, or that the houses are very grand. You ask around, trying to find Mike from directions, but no one seems to know him. You then asks a man about the numbers on the card, and get directions almost right away. You follow them to a house that seems to hold atleast six or seven large families. You go in and look for the door with the right numbers. It’s on the top floor. You ring the bell and waits for him to come answer it. Instead, you hear something familiar. Inside of your head.
“Who is it?”
You groan. Another problem.
---