164 & 165 Late Night Experiment, The Rules Of Dreamscape

The group of adventurers fell asleep without a hitch. After all, they’d practically spent the last week in a cycle of grinding. They’d expanded their skills, however much possible in that short time frame and each was content with their efforts.  That is -- all but one.

She stood in the darkness, gazing down at the sleeping succubus. The imp’s arms were placed on her hips, there was a certain power in the pose, thus she often adopted it where applicable. The only problem was --

*I hate being short. Plebs, they look down on me. One day, they will all kneel before me.* She thought inwardly as she stared at her tent mates. Katrin was fast asleep, as was Agni, only Shula remained up -- and with good reason.

“Now is the time.” She whispered to herself, this was partially to test if either of them would react. Silence filled the air as she awaited any kind of reaction. When none came, Shula knew it was time to put her plan into action.

There was a certain aspect of her abilities that she’d recently become aware of -- the ability to manipulate and guide dreams. Due to her late night hijinks, she quickly came to understand the better nature of her abilities. What she did not fully understand were its applications. Thanks to Gates and Gigi’s suggestions, all of the adventurers had begun to look at their current skill sets in a different way. Shula was no exception.

One night, while performing her nightly ritual of toying with Katrin, something strange happened. It was this occurrence that Shula wanted to test. Her target for the evening would be…

“Definitely you.” She whispered as she began to hover towards the sleeping succubus. Soon she was levitating just centimeters away from her bondmate , floating in an unlikely position just parallel to the sleeping succubus. She reached out a single hand and pressed her fingertip gently against Agni’s forehead. A gentle blue glow issued forth from the point of contact, like a ripple traveling across the air. Shula took several deep breaths and closed her eyes, she focused on the sound of Agni’s breathing and soon managed to sync herself with it.

Slowly, surely Shula began to recede into her own thoughts until she found herself in a placid place devoid of light, sound or movement. She felt as if she was the only source of all these notions within this place. This only lasted for the briefest of moments before the boundaries of Agni’s consciousness became clearly visible in the form of memories which played out as a series of soundless images. Next came her thoughts, which resounded from everywhere at once. The extraneous ones sounded more distant and low, while her prevalent ideas seemed up close and personal.

Shula focused even further, allowing her to begin filtering through this sea of consciousness until she arrived at the earliest possible memory she could find.

“Tsk.” She verbalized her disapproval, for the memory she could access was Agni’s first upon coming to the world of Adventia.

“So much for that plan.” She said as she folded her arms. The “plan” referred to an idea, one hatched to help Agni confront her own traumas. By revisiting past memories and safely using her class abilities, the hope was to speed up the process of coming to terms. Instead all Shula could access was… this.

“Waking up in a pool of water.” Shula found that based on her own whims she could rewind or even slow the memory down. It hovered before her, like a gigant living painting -- vivid in unexplainable ways.  The closer Shula moved towards the images the more drawn she felt. Out of curiosity she reached out and touched the memory’s surface. It wobbled, almost like jello and began to ripple like the surface of water.

In a flash of light Shula found herself in a different place -- one that was familiar yet also foreign.

“Huh? What the hell just happened?” She asked as the imp looked around. The place was the Wilderness Tabernacle, specifically the spawning pool.

“Am I inside the memory? What the hell?” Shula asked, though no one would provide an answer. She cast her gaze downward and noticed a disturbance in the surface of the otherwise calm pool of water. A young woman burst forth, taking a deep breath as she broke the surface of the water.

It was Agni, at least Shula recognized this form as Agni. It was her, prior to becoming a succubus. An ordinary woman, nude in a strange place deep within the forest. She watched as Agni looked around , making an effort to survey her surroundings. She explored her own body for the briefest of moments -- all before being interrupted by Wayla, the guardian of the Wilderness Tabernacle.

“Ugh. Just when it was about to get X-rated.” Shula said as she floated towards the scene.

“Go away old woman. You’re ruining things.” Shula remarked with a wave of her hand. In that instant Wayla disappeared, turned to particles of magical dust.

“O-oh shit. I killed her.” Shula said, taken aback that Wayla seemed to be blown away on a whim. What’s more, ‘Agni’ seemed completely caught off guard by this.

“What the hell is going on?” The woman stammered as she splashed around aimlessly in the pool of water.

“Hmm? You can’t see me?” Shula asked as she floated downward, closer towards the pool. She locked eyes with pre-Agni and waited. Indeed, as she surmised -- the bewildered woman in the pool could not see her.

“Wait...a...minute..” Shula said slowly as realization began to dawn upon her.

“You are tressssssssssssssssss-passingggggggggggg.” Shula said as she endeavored to make her voice sound as creepy as possible. At the same time she focused her intent, the intent to be heard.

“Uwah! Who said that?” pre-Agni said as she recoiled and sank downwards, submerging her mouth below the surface of the water.

“You are trespassing. Get out...get out…. Get outttttt.” Shula continued her nonsensical prank, much to her own delight. She’d never seen someone exit a pool so quickly.

“I-I’m sorry! Please, whatever you are, I apologize!” pre-Agni shouted as she also bowed her head.

“Bwa. Ha ha ha ha!” Shula erupted into laughter, she couldn’t help it after all.

“I….is something funny?” pre-Agni said cautiously. The once creepy voice now sounded more youthful, like that of a teenager. Shula pressed her hand against her own mouth, partially because she realized her own gaffe.

*I forgot to cancel the sound of my voice.* She thought inwardly.

“Ahem. I suppose I should cut you some slack. I’m your guardian angel.” Shula said, willing herself to appear before pre-Agni.

“Angel? R-right… why do you have the wings and tail of a demon then?” pre-Agni said as she slowly began to back away.

“This? This is nothing. See?” Shula said as she willed her appearance into something a bit more angelic (and tall).

“See what?” pre-Agni asked as she cocked her head to the side in a questioning manner.

“Huh? It didn’t work.” Shula said as she lifted her hands to inspect them.

“Suspicious. Definitely.” pre-Agni said as she stepped away even further. Her senses were practically screaming for her to run.

“I’m not suspicious. Why are you like this?” Shula said, partially pouting as she folded her arms.

“That’s something a shady person would say.” pre-Agni said as she turned on her heel and began to run away.

Shula sighed and snapped her fingers. In an instant pre-Agni was dropped on her behind, just a few meters away from the spawning pool.

“What sorcery is this? I don’t taste good. Please, I have children.” pre-Agni blabbered off a list of random things, most of which weren’t even applicable to the situation.

“Ugh. This is not going the way I thought it would.” Shula groaned as she glanced down at the young woman who was currently prostrating herself.

“Time for a rewind.” She murmured. She took an extra few moments to bask in pre-Agni’s fervent pleas not to be eaten, sacrificed or possessed before Shula decided to reset the entire memory.

“Finally. Now we’re getting somewhere.” Shula remarked as she crouched behind a nearby thicket of bushes. She watched as pre-Agni and dream-Wayla followed their predetermined routine. Wayla led Agni towards the courtyard area of the Wilderness Tabernacle, explaining her newfound predicament along the way. Shula had come to realize some awkward truths to dream manipulation. 

Rule # 1: After revealing oneself inside of a dream, one could no longer hide.

This resulted in nearly a dozen introductions to pre-Agni and Wayla, most of which resulted in panic or battles. In the end, Shula decided it best to rewind the memory altogether and observe from afar. This went well until she spotted Katrin, at which point her urges to grope and fondle took hold. The ladies were bunched together in the bath when Shula chose to strike, latching herself onto Katrin’s exposed melons and furiously nuzzling them with her face.

“D-demon! Oh! Not you Agni!” A random woman shouted as she was met with a bevy of confused gazes. She pointed towards the Imp who was busy motorboating Katrin’s E cup breasts.

Agni glanced over from her attempt to work up the confidence to drop her own towel, just long enough to give Shula a genuine scowl. Within moments Wayla was upon the Imp, her sword drawn.

“Ha. This is just a dream. You can’t do anythi--” Shula’s words fell short as Wayla’s blade sheared off a good portion of her hair.

Rule # 2 : Dream bodies can be injured.

“What the hell Wayla!?” Shula shouted, suddenly she wasn’t so confident about her earlier statement.

“What foul manner of beast are you? You are not one of mine.” Wayla said as she strutted forth. With a single wave of her blade she’d forced Shula to release Katrin. The sight of Katrin’s bewildered gaze shot pangs to Shula’s heart as she fiercely clung to Agni. 

*Oh if you only knew how often I played with those fun bags in your sleep.* She mused in Katrin’s direction, even as the Guardian of the Wilderness Tabernacle towered before her.

“Speak now, or this will be your last breath.”

Shula sighed and hovered upwards before speaking her piece.

“Listen. You’re just a dream. A memory. Why should I have to listen to anything you say? You should be careful, before I erase you again!” Shula flicked her wrist, her intention was to blast away dream-Wayla -- but that would not be the case.

Rule # 3 : To manipulate a dream, you need mana.

She felt drained suddenly, her limbs going temporarily weak. Shula quickly realized it was the sensation of insufficient mana.

“Ugh.” She grunted, and within the same moment Wayla’s blade cut the air, lopping off the Imp’s head in one clean swipe. Shula had absolutely no time to react, and in the end she could only hear the voices of nearby women as her head bounced, rolling on the forest floor.

“Thank god! Did you see what it was doing to that Scribe?”

“Fucking perverts. Even in this world!”

“Are you okay? Wow! She left a huge hickey on your left tit!”

And just like that Shula awoke, screaming her displeasure at the top of her lungs.

Rule #4 : Dying within a dream resets the current memory.

“You bitch! How dare you cut me! I’ll send you to the land of the de--” She shouted, having been “resurrected” within the dream once again. Pre-Agni’s eyes widened for the dozenth time as she realized she was no longer alone, she shrieked prompting Wayla to quickly arrive and investigate.

In the end Shula suffered another catastrophic failure at the behest of Wayla’s blade.

“Muscle bound gorilla.” Shula muttered, her annoyance reaching an all time high as Wayla griefed her to no end. She came “alive” once more, this time she made sure to hide herself in the nearby brush before Pre-Agni could notice her presence.

And there she stayed. By Shula’s reckoning she had only been inside the dreamscape for an hour, and in that time she’d learned various other things. The most important thing is that every action, no matter how large or small, costs mana. She figured this out just before Wayla lopped her head off. The second was that rewinding the memory also cost mana, currently more than she could afford at the moment.

She would have no choice but to see things through to the end, and evade detection at all cost. Normally that would have been a piece of cake, however --

Rule # 5 : Your abilities and skills don’t work within the dreamscape.

her abilities didn’t seem to work in the dreamscape.

“Which makes sense. I mean...I am using my abilities out there. But it’s such a bother. Ugh.”

In the end, Shula decided to fly high above the area and keep an eye on things from above. 

“I guess it’s true. Paradise is a place far from home.” Shula said with the most devious of grins as she watched the group of adventurers undress for the first time since her dream voyage began. The woman closest to her, (4 meters away) was a redhead with a slender frame. And despite her obvious resemblance to Gigi, Shula was more than happy to watch the woman lose her clothing.

She clenched the bark of the tree, watching as buxom beauty and slim sexy women alike lost their skin tight bodysuits. Breasts bouncing, the gentle curvature of thighs into valleys where heaven resided. Shula simply could not wipe the smirk off of her face.The sweat rolling down their bodies caused their skin to glisten and the rising steam from the natural bathsite made the women drop their guard, creating a soothing atmosphere.

That is, everyone except Agni, Wayla and now even Katrin. Despite having the memory reset, these three seemed to be on their guard. What’s more they continually cast glances in Shula’s direction -- though she was almost 100% sure she couldn’t be seen.

Rule #6 : Dream denizens Don’t forget.

Wayla even exited the bath a few times to check the area. Her body was well chiseled and Shula thought that she might not look so bad, if she were a bit more curvy. Wayla’s platinum blonde hair, steely blue eyes and gruff features gave Shula the sense that the Guardian could be fun in bed--given the right conditions.

“Show yourself.” Wayla said suddenly, snapping Shula out of her self involved thoughts. The Guardian was now standing no less than two meters (6ft) from the Imp’s hiding spot.

“S-shit.” Shula muttered under her breath as she made to scurry through the bushes in an attempt to get away. Unfortunately, this only sharpened Wayla’s suspicion and she moved to intercept, sword at the ready--and nothing else worn.

In a panic Shula tried something she wasn’t even sure would work, she materialized a large rock and tossed it.  Wayla’s senses were too keen, allowing Shula a brief moment to change locations without a hassle.

“I’m surprised that it even worked.” Shula said as she wiped her brow. She was now sweating profusely. Even the smallest expenditure of mana was beginning to tire her at this point.

“What worked?” Wayla’s voice boomed from behind Shula, causing the Imp to shout involuntarily.

Rule # 7 : They’ll finnnnnnnd youuuuuuuu.

Moments later she was hoisted up by the back of her neck and carried towards the group of ladies nearby.

“Do any of you know this one?” Wayla asked as she released Shula , causing her to drop with a hard thud on the nearby ground.

“Demon! Oh! Not you Agni..sorry.” A woman shouted as she used a nearby towel to cover herself. The women began to murmur in unison, each voicing their disapproval of Shula’s presence.

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself, strange Grimlock?” Wayla asked, still nude as water dripped down along her well sculpted body.

“Grimlock?! Excuse you?” Shula said incredulously. She felt insulted.

“What else could you be?” Wayla asked as she dropped her hands to her side,and along with them, her sword.

“I’m an IMP. An IMP. And you’re just a memory out of THIS ONE’s head! How dare you--” Shula felt a breeze, and suddenly everything was dark. At least momentarily -- her body became sluggish and she felt as if she would never be able to hold herself upright again. Soon she was falling, but the trip was short.

Rule # 8 : When you run out of mana, the dream walking ends.

“Ow! Shula? What the hell are you doing?” Agni shouted as the Imp crashed into her, having been knocked from her hovering position upon exhausting her own mana.

DreamOfRen

It took a bit to wrap up some loose ends from last year. Seriously, I'm due a vacation -- but I can't stop just yet. With that in mind, I posted 5 chapters back to back today, and I will probably post another 5! At that point, next week the chapters will be scheduled for 1 chapter every 3 days or so. My way of apologizing for the long wait.

-Ren