The Dream

---- Some Establishment in the Border Forest, Early Morning, 1 DSTR ----

Ceriden found himself walking through a forest, one that was more densely foliaged than the one he had been traversing earlier. The think canopy cast great, ominous shadows across the gloomy forest floor, creating quite the sinister scene. Ceriden could hear a deep, somewhat effeminate voice calling out ahead, and for some reason he felt drawn to it.

He continued to walk toward the voice, struggling to control his growing anxiety as the shadows seemed to close in around him. As he got closer to the source of the voice, he could make out words, but not words from any traditional speaking language.

"Isani dak Ceriden Malkaan fesonii. Jesson isatti halcon visteth."

A shiver went down Ceriden's spine when he recognized the language. It was a language any incantation casting magician would be at least somewhat familiar with, for the voice was speaking in the ancient language of magic, often called Aetherian.

Ceriden himself was fairly well versed in Aetherian, but he was not necessarily conversationally fluent. Despite that, he was somehow able to make out the meaning of the words being spoken to him. "<Come to me, Ceriden Malkaan. Do not be afraid.>"

The mage pushed himself forward despite his unease. As he trudged onward through the dark forest, he spotted a pack of wolves ahead. He paused for a moment to consider the best way to avoid drawing their ire when the voice repeated, "<Do not be afraid.>"

Only then did Ceriden notice the unusual nature of the wolve's eyes, which were glowing with some sort of a green light. Although Ceriden was quite unnerved by the whole thing, he followed the call of the voice and moved forward, approaching the wolves. When he got close, the wolves looked his way, but they did not make any threatened nor threatening noises nor gestures. Instead, they just sniffed him curiously as he passed, behaving much like well-tamed hounds.

Leaving the wolves behind, Ceriden continued to walk toward the voice. "<You are almost there. Do not be afraid.>" He then noticed some movement ahead through the gloom. As he moved closer, he was able to make out some figures, and as he came nearer still, he was able to make out what they actually were. Dryads. What is this place?

More dryads appeared out of the darkness as Ceriden forced himself to keep moving forward. Although the dryads did not appear to have any intention of harming him, Ceriden still found their presence unnerving. What on earth am I doing? Why am I doing this?

"<You are so close, Ceriden Malkaan. Keep going. Do not lose your nerve now.>"

The mage took a deep breath and kept walking. As he got nearer to the source of the voice, the shadows grew even deeper, causing the darkness to become so thick that he could barely see trees that were a meter away from him. He started walking up a fairly steep hill, which, in conjunction with how frayed his nerves were, took the breath right out of him. He was panting heavily by the time he reached the top, at least until he saw what awaited him. As Ceriden crested the hill, he beheld a deep, oppressive darkness, through which he could see nothing but a massive pair of blue eyes.

"<Ceriden Malkaan, you have arrived at last.>"

Ceriden shivered as he heard these words that emanated from whatever large creature stood before him. "Who are you?! What is this place?!" he cried out.

A moment passed. The creature blinked, then replied in Aetherian, "<I do not understand the tongue you are speaking. You understand me, yes?>"

Ceriden nodded. "<Do you understand me?>" the creature continued, apparently not comprehending or noticing the mage's gesture.

"Yes," Ceriden responded. Then, realizing his error, he corrected himself. "Vy (he was pretty sure this was the Aetherian equivalent of 'yes')."

"<Very good. Listen to me, for we are almost out of time. You are playing with forces you do not understand, forces that you have no means of understanding. I have sensed this. You tread a dangerous path, Ceriden Malkaan, and one mistep could destroy the lives of many more beings than just yourself. Yet your intentions seem to differ from most others who seek the power of the spirits, so perhaps you are not yet lost. Find me, Ceriden Malkaan, and I shall equip you to handle this quest of yours.>"

That is all well and good, Ceriden thought, but... "Who are you and why should I trust you?" he demanded, not realizing that he was speaking in common tongue again. "And how do you know all..."

"<Cease your unintelligable blabbering and listen,>" the creature growled from the shadows. "<If you want the answers you seek, travel northwest to the place you people call the Mithilnir Deepwoods, within the Skeldergate Forest. There, you will hear my call. Follow it as you did tonight, and you will find me, then all will be revealed to you.">

Switching to Aetherian, Ceriden said cautiously, "<You still haven't given me a reason to trust you...>"

"<You do not need to trust me.>" the creature replied. "<I know many things that you do not. You want my knowledge, Ceriden Malkaan, and that alone will be enough to bring you to me. Now, your companion needs your assistance, and it is inadvisable to keep him waiting...>"

As the mysterious entity said this, the scene began to fade, and Ceriden found himself looking at Gareth, who was standing over him. "...help me get some food? Otherwise I think I'll try go into the woods to find something."

"Wha...?" Ceriden moaned, slowly coming to. After Gareth repeated himself, the mage was able to take stock of the situation. "Yeah, sure, lets see if we can buy something from the innkeeper," he mumbled, rising out of the bed. After putting on his boots and robe and grabbing his coin purse, Ceriden left the room with Gareth in tow. He walked through the hall back to the lobby and up to the front desk, growing a little anxious when he didn't see anyone.

"Hello, anyone here?" he called out in a hushed tone, for he didn't want to wake up everyone in the building.

(OOC - I don't know if Jocelynn is still up or if she has a night shift manager. If she has a night shift manager and you (LSP) are okay with me writing for him/her, then I will probably do that for the sake of expediency. Also, sorry it took so long for me to make a post guys.)