The Dreamkiller

You tracked your prey to the Inn. You knew how it worked, so you hid in the bushes on the other side of the street. You pet the snake coiled around your arm, you would be ready.

    Night fell. It would only be a few more hours, and he would leave the establishment. You ignored the other patrons. There were many, but they were not your quarry.

    It’s been a long time, so long you feel it would be dawn soon, but the quarry still hadn’t left the inn. You could feel your head slipping backwards, and each time you realized it your head shot forward, jolting you. You had to move now. 

    You rose out of the bush. You picked this night because there would be no moons, and so it was pitch black. You picked your moment, when the guards weren’t looking. They held torches, but they couldn’t be everywhere at once. 

    You scale the side of the building, some of the windows had their curtains covering the inside, others didn’t. You’d have to find a way inside somehow, for the quarry was not in any of the rooms that you could see.

     *                            *                            *

    “So brothers, we have come here today to discuss once more the travesties of the priests and the horrible abuses of the church,” said a voice. 

    “Aye, sir, may I begin?” said another. It was Richard, you’re pretty sure half the stories he told were made up, they were too strange to be believed.

    A nod from the dwarf follows, Richard clears his throat and begins, “So, as I am sure you are all aware, the church has been quite busy lately, getting in the affairs of private citizens, but this story I tell you is quite egregious! I was walking down the street singing a tune of bountiful harvest, as you know a melody birthed in the forest boughs of Atembra. You’d think the priests would not know how this tune goes, after all, being so busy with their priestly duties and playing their droning marches. But no, I was passing by a priest, singing this tune and he turned to me and fined me 2 gold for the insult! Can you believe that! Completely uncalled for!”

    “Everyone knows that tune man! Doesn’t it start with, ‘Stop the clock, fall underneath, to bless these plants, Atembra,’?”

    “No i’m pretty sure it’s ‘Take these roots, into the ground, to bless these leaves, Atembra,”

    Still another person says, “No, I thought it was ‘By your grace, guide my hand, to grow the trees, Atembra,”

    “Stop it! It really doesn’t matter how it goes sirs, what matters is that this man was fined for singing a tune none of you know the words to!” The dwarf says.

    After a few hours of similar stories, the meeting was adjourned, and the small talk began. You had no interest in that. You were here for one reason. 

    You walk up to Richard and start talking about random bullshit. Eventually you change the subject to the Eel. You feel you are getting good information, when Richard says,

    “Sorry, but, it seems we are the only people here, why don’t we continue this conversation in my room?”

    So you both make your way to Richard’s room. Along the way you have to climb the stairs to the main serving area. You see the counter has no one standing behind it, the place is clean, swept, and the chairs are on the tables. You note the bartender mopping the floor. He nods to you.

    You arrive at the room. Richard opens the door.

    There is another man inside, holding a snake up to eye level. He notices you standing behind Richard and his eyes go wide. Just then you feel pain in your stomach. You look down, and see blood seeping into your clothes, and the dagger sitting in your gut. The last thing you see is Richard, turned to stone.

     *                            *                            *

    You swore. This would make things complicated. The stabbed man let out a yell just before you lopped off his head with your saber. Blood was getting everywhere, spraying on the statue. You’ll have to clean that later. You take out the specially made bag and cover the statue with it. Richard was secured, but this mess had to be left behind. You never left a trail before, you knew this would haunt you. 

    But you had no choice.

Chapter 2

    The road was bumpy, but you knew that going in. You sat in the back of a carriage bed, head lolling with each bump. Eyeing the others in the carriage, all of them were sleeping except for the girl sitting across from you. She had been staring at you for the better part of the day and hadn’t let up for even a second. It was strange but you usually had an affect on people. Though most of the time they looked away, this one apparently didn’t get the message. You felt the sudden urge to speak to her and cut the tension, but that invited questions. Questions you didn’t want to lie to answer. So you sat there and waited.

    You were a few days out from your destination when you felt the carriage come to a stop. You heard voices outside. Your trained ear knew it wasn’t an ordinary stop. At first it sounded like bandits had waylaid your carriage. But then you heard a voice that you recognized. This was bad. You had to make sure they didn’t catch you or your prize would be confiscated and you likely killed. You hadn’t the time to reach a gate and so were understandably upset. You made an effort to cover your face. You already left a scene at the tavern and didn’t want to kill any more innocent bystanders.

    You pushed your face into the blanket wrapped around you. The latch on the door swung open and you heard the metal clapping. The high pitched squeal of the doors, followed by the scent of fresh air gave you a scene of what you should be seeing had you not covered your face. You could imagine it now, three men, armed, standing by the back of the carriage, looking for contraband, they’d say. But you knew what they were really after. You heard the voice again. It was the same voice you were familiar with. You imagine it now, her lithe body clad in fitted iron, her stern timbre cutting through dusty air. 

    “Everyone out. Now.” 

    You feel your entire body tingle. You felt the carriage tilt as people stood up and moved to get out. You looked up and joined them. It wouldn’t do to be the last one out. Soon everyone was out of the vehicle, and you saw the woman, stern faced, a lined face that spoke of many years on the road and foes bested and bested by. She nodded to the man to her right and he went in. 

    “Why are we stopped? I can’t be late for my daughter’s birthday!” said one of the people in the makeshift line the travelers had made. You stood by the end of the line and saw the woman turn to the man.

    “Just tell her you got to meet the Ulthar Ultras in person and you saw them apprehend a fugitive.”

    You knew you had to play the part, and so when everyone looked around you did the same. 

    “We have reason to believe the culprit of a vile murder and kidnapping is on this caravan. He is a man of around 30 years, dark hair, and has a snake with him. Everyone must be searched. Wilson, did you find anything in there?”

    There was no response. She walked up to the back of the carriage and opened the doors. We were stopped on a hill so the doors swung closed after the man went in. She gasped upon opening them. You couldn’t see from your vantage point but you could guess what had happened. You hear the sound of metal on wood and a frantic scramble ensued inside the carriage. Eventually she emerged holding a severed snake. She produced a bag and put the snake inside it. She motioned to another member of her group and they together removed the statue from the carriage, locked in a surprised expression.

    Everyone gasped including yourself. No one expected, or even heard of a snake that could do that. This made it serious, she wasn’t lying.

    “Alright! Everyone must submit to a search of their body. If you are the fugitive I would suggest you confess your crimes now.”

    Your benefactor would not be pleased. You already knew the price of a snake like that one was worth multiple jobs. You’re not sure you’d even have a job after this was through. Dreamcatchers who make a scene usually don’t last long, and you were about to make a big one. Before you got to do anything though, the girl in the line pipes up.

    “It was me!” She took a step forward. Wearing plain clothes and no visible weapons, the young lady seemed on the surface like she was covering for someone else, covering for you. It didn’t make sense but it drew the attention of the leader of the Ultras.

    There were only three Ultras left when you started the fight, but since they were caught off guard they didn’t last. The woman, though, was a tough opponent. You did eventually take her out, but you lost a lot of blood for it. Turns out they were all dreamers, and their bodies were whisked away when they breathed their last. Your traveling companions were all shocked into silence, only the girl was willing to talk to you. 

    “I never met a dreamcatcher before,” she said. She sidled close to you as you watched the fire, putting on the last bandage. Her voice was the first heard in the hours since the encounter. She put an arm around your shoulders and leaned close. “I never liked dreamers. They think they own the place because they believe if they get into shit they’ll just be fine.” You heard that before. 

    Once everyone was asleep you made sure to tie up the loose ends. When you had last got to the girl, you wiped the bloody dagger on her bedroll. You held the dagger up to her neck. C’mon, you thought. This should be easy. You thought of your benefactor, the face he’d make when you told him what had happened. It was no small feat, to lie to that person. One stroke, and it’ll all be over. You looked at the special bag again. You never got to know any of the people you captured, what they did, what they were going to do, their hopes and dreams. Before that man in the tavern you had never killed a man who hadn’t attacked you first. You didn’t know what your benefactor did with the statues. Today that number took two hands to count. Could it stop with this girl? There was only one way to find out.