• THE DREAM!
    Chapter one
    Part one


    It was a stormy day in the region near the Great Peaks Mountains. A vast mountain range that nearly crossed the great land of Agoneia. Just as the rain started falling in the afternoon. A figure walks up to the mouth of a cave nestled into the mountains. It was dark just a few feet inward thanks to the storm clouds.

    "You sure this is the right one Graystone" the figure ask to the shadows.

    "Yes I am sure,” says the male as he walks out from behind a massive boulder near the entrance to the cave. He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a slender rod made of iron. A soft light issued forth from it as she struck it against the boulder she was behind.

    "According to the reports this is the cave entrance" Graystone said.

    "Why do they send just the two of us here if the reports are true?"

    "We're the ones chosen to verify if the creature is really here, Dawn"

    As Dawn takes the sunrod from Graystone and walks into the cave, She notices the smell for the first time. It is a sickly sweet smell, not the smell of death that she had expected to find in the creatures lair. Still unsure of what the cave holds, the to companions slowly start to move inside the cave. Just as Graystone puts his hand on Dawn’s Shoulder to move past her and take the lead, a loud thunderclap sounds.

    Dawn nearly screams out in fear, but she is able to control herself for the time being. "Don't do that Gray,” she says with a frown on her face. My nerves a bad enough as it is with out you scaring me too."

    " I'll try to remember that in the future." Gray says "Now lets move inside a little more and keep your eyes open for anything, Dawn"

    They start to move inside the cave. As the move on they notice the cave expand around them more. The lights they carry can't illuminate the other side of the cave, but they know by the reports this is not the only part to see. As they progress further into the cave they notice the smell getting more sickly than sweet.

    "There’s the other side there,” said Dawn.

    "And the way down from the look of it. Lets go in further,” says Graystone.
    "What do you suppose lives here?" whispered Dawn tiring to keep her voice low now they were further in. She was still unsure if she should have volunteered for the reconnaissance mission first. She was still young by her standards.

    "I am not yet sure, but I intend to find out soon. And return in one piece." Gray said in hushed tones as not to disturb anything that might be living in the cave. With a sunrod in his left hand and his right was on his sword at his side.

    After a few yards into the tunnel, Gray stopped and stood motionless. His stop was so sudden the Dawn nearly bowled him over.

    "Shhh" said Gray with his thick finger up to his mouth. " I hear something,” he whispered.
    As he started to put the sun rod inside his shirt to douse the light he noticed that Dawn was not concentrating on him. She was staring at the button of the wall of the five-foot wide tunnel.

    "What is it?" he asked in low tones.

    Dawn turned her head and looked into Gray's eyes. A look of bewilderment etched on her face, as she slowly raised her right hand, the sunrod held in her left, to the side of the tunnel. Deep marks scored the sidewall. They had the look of claw marks. About one and a half inches deep in the solid stonewall. There were three such marks, about waist high to an elf. The two elves looked each other in the eyes, both dreading what could have made marks such as these.

    "Do not think about it. If this creature made this we will soon verify it. Now douse the rod." Gray said as lightly as he could. The two made there way further in. As they did so the noise Gray heard started to become clearer. It was the sound of breathing. It was something rather big by the sound of the deep breaths. Dawn left just the tip of her sunrod poke out of her forest green shirt. It shed just enough to let the elves see clear in the dark cave. Elves could see in starlight better than a human in daylight.

    As they ventured deeper in, Gray slowly drew out his long sword from its scabbard at his side and a small metal shield of his back. Dawn slowly unhooked her mace from her belt and strapped her buckler to her left arm. The buckler was made of glassteel. It was made of an enchanted glass as strong as steel.

    About 25 yards down the tunnel they found an iron portcullis. It was down but in the dim light they could see a mass the size of a rather large woodland bear. As soon as Graystone looked around the door to peer inside, the mass shifted. Two large serpentine heads looked back at him and he froze. Not sure what to make of it Gray drew back and signaled Dawn to move up against the wall holding the door. Gray stood between Dawn and the door raising his sword and Dawn mimicked his move. Just as she held her mythril mace up high one of the heads poked through the door and started to look around.

    The hydra first looked right , further down the tunnel. At that moment Gray brought down his enchanted long sword with dizzying might on the snake like neck. His sword nearly severing the head . As soon as the sword hit, the hydra recoiled the head and shot out with the other. A loud roar issued from the snapping jaw.

    Gray hit the floor narrowly dodging the head. Dawn, with her mace, was ready with a strong over head chop on the head. slamming down the top jaw on its toung severing about three inches off. The head reared back and roared a second time.

    " We have to silence it before it brings its master!" said Gray

    "I am Triyng to!" called back Dawn.

    Just then the hydra's massive body slammed the door. Trying to knock it down. The head with the injured neck slipped back through the portcullis again. It went snapping at Gray, as he rolled away on the floor and turning a spin, ending in a crouch. The second head bolted for Dawn. She through up her shield to block its attack. It caught the shield in its maw.
    As the serpentine head bit down on the enchanted shield, Dawn shouted a prayer to her goddess. With one holy word, a bright light erupted from her mace next to the hydra's head . Effectively blinded by the spell the hydra swung its head, with the shield still in its mouth, and Dawn attached to the shield by the arm, and slammed her into the opposing wall heavily. Releasing the shield the now blinded head sought to reorient itself.

    Gray noticed Dawn's spell, and sang one of his own. It was not a blessed spell like Dawn the cleric had cast, but Gray, no accomplished wizard , was a sword dancer. He had only a small number of spells he can cast only on himself. With the spell cast he felt less waited down by his mythril chain shirt and the shield, felt himself grow faster. A spell of haste, to make one faster than they normally are. He completed the spell, not a moment to late, The hydra head he had been fighting was lunging at him with surprising speed. As the last syllable left Gray’s lips he feigned a jump to the left. Then turned and flung himself to the right. The hydra, not the smartest of creatures, fell for the feign and lunged to the left.
    Dawn, recovering from her hit, went into a defensive stance facing off with the hydra’s head she was fighting. It reared it’s ugly gray head and struck. As it’s head shot at Dawn, She ducked under and gave it an upward hit with her mace. She was not the strongest female from her village but luck was with her more than some. She hit the hydra under the jaw, shattering it.

    The hydras jaw hung sickeningly from it head. As it pulled it’s head back to its body, Dawn was able to unleash one more hit upon its head. This hit, helped by the weight of the mythril mace, cracked the skull and the head fell to the floor. Dead.

    Meanwhile Gray had his own problems. The cut he gave this head earlier was not enough to disable the head. It was still coming on strong. The hydra and Gray were facing each other waiting for the right moment. Gray risked a glance Dawn’s was to see how she fared. The hydra struck then. Gray was nearly caught off guard by the strike. He made a rash decision. He fell to his back just as the monster head neared. It passed right over. But stopped to change direction to bite at Gray.

    Gray being the faster, struck first. He shoved his sword, with all the might he could muster, into the bottom of the creature’s jaw. The incredibly sharp sword pierced the bottom of the jaw and ran through its head and into its brain, Some would argue that the hydra’s brain was so small that it would be impossible to stick while still in its skull. Though, now Gray is quite sure you can hit it while it’s still inside the skull.

    With the creature dead, lying on the floor. The two combatants leaned against opposite walls, and sagged to a sitting position. Dawn looked at gray and asked “ Are you all right Gray?”

    “Yes I am fine. Just a little winded. And you my dear, are you hurt?” He said to Dawn as he looked father down the long hall. The hall took a right turn just a little father down the way they were headed.