Child of Ember - Chapter 16

Celestia snored quietly as she slept in the garden. Her dreams were of places far away. She dreamed of being with her adopted family and their talk of taking a trip to Waterdeep. She dreamed of meeting the Elves at Silverymoon. She dreamed of meeting the Dwarves and Barbarians that lived in the Spine of the World Mountains. She dreamed of all the aspects of the place that she use to live in. The place that seemed to her more like a dream now.
As the sun rose, her dreams changed. They returned to the place that she was born in. It was a mystical place full of beauty and wonder. It could also be vile and ugly if one wasn't careful or watched their step. She dreamed of a moonlit night and being in the forest with others of her kind. Violence entered that dream but Celestia didn't wake up. She finished the dream and continued on with others until the sun woke her up.

Dea wakes an hour or so later with something furry staring at her over the bolw of porridge with large black eyes.

Dea screams, jerking back in fright. The stool clatters to the floor as she stumbles back, sleeplily waving her primary weapon (the spoon) at the intruder.

You see the creature sit up and run, scampering like a rat across the table and jumping for a nearby beam. It looks down at you, twitching its fluffy tail, and begins to groom some porridge from its wiskers.

When Lit hears Dea's scream, he bolts into the room and looks around, and seeing the squirrel, he smiles slightly and laughs but still feel as though the creature he's long seacrhed for is watching and laughing at him. He glances over his shoulder.

Dea's face turns red at Lit's laughter.
"Stupid animal scared me to death.', she mutters.
She slumps down in the chair again.
"At least one of us got a good bit of sleep.
So... do you like some porridge? It'll be ready in a moment."

Lit looks at Dea, and then the squirrel, then starts laughing.
"I'm guessing that if the squirrel liked the porridge, it must be good! I'll try some!"
He continues chuckling a bit as he looks back at the gray mammal.

Dea proceeds to warm the milk over the stove, meanwhile taking in Lit as he sits at the table.
"I have figured out what most people do here.", she says.
"Everyone has a place. A spot to fill. Except for you. Your presence is as mysterious as it is sudden.
So why are you really here?
And don't start about your fiend. Your not mad enough to have fiends haunt you."

Lit watches Dea warm the milk...then, at her question, he looks in her eyes.
"I'm the enigma. I'm the one you don't know. You said that everyone we've met so far has a clear purpose, a role to fill. This is mine, to take care of situations that the rest of you don't or can't know," he pauses.
"If I was overly dramatic, that would be my answer," he smiles, but the frowns, "but I'm not overly dramatic. I am here to pursue this creature because it destroyed what I knew as my home, my life. At least, I believe it's the same...I cannot be sure."
He looks back to the porridge heating on the stove...but then, to the flame below it, lost in it's blaze.

"I doubt the killer is your 'Fiend'." Dea says.
She sighs deeply.
"But that is besides the point.
I cannot say I welcome your presence. You are a wizard. And a temperamental one, no bet. I already have more wizards than I can handle. It's like a kind of test.
But I have no say in it. I will accept what assistence you can offer in finding the child of Ember."
She spoons some porridge in a wooden bowl, and slides it across the tabel to Lit.
"Eat hot. I prefer to add sugar."

"I don't know what to make of this killer yet...it is very possible that it's the creature that has haunted my dreams since I entered this land." Lit looks at her as he takes the porridge,and takes a bite, "I would just like to tell you, I am a 'temperamental wizard' as you put it. But I am still no different than you. And I always prefer to eat hot."
He smiles at his last comment as he spoons some more of the porridge.

"Do not presume you can compare yourself with me, wizard. In my country you would have been hunted down, hauled to the town square and quartered for practicing foul wizardry."
Dea's eyes burned angrily, and the beetle on her forehead twitched, as if it would fly away.
Then she closed her eyes, her cheeks turning red with sudden embarrassment.
"I apologize. I should not have veined my frustrations at you." Her eyes flew open again, staring into his. "But that does not mean it is not the truth. Be careful, Lit. Let us stay on good terms. Do not upset me."
She drew herself a bowl of porridge, adding a layer of sugar befor she started to spoon it up. Then she turned to Lit again, a friendly smile on her face, as if nothing had happened.
"Now, if you tell me your dream, maybe we can find out whether this ties in with Ember's child, hm?"

Lit looks at Dea calmly during her outburst, his red eyes staring blankly at her, when she finishes her apology, he adjusts his scarf then looks back to her.
"I'm sure that in your country I'm hated. In my own country I was hated." he keep staring at her, no trace of emotion on his face, "But if you remember, we are here now. There's no room for bigotry, we have been thrown together for a reason. In my travels, I have been to a country where the priests were zealots which condemned for no reason other than a speculation that someone was a witch, wizard, whatever you want to call it. For all intents and purposes, I should hate you for what you are and what was done to me in my country."
He closes his eyes, then reopens them, looking at the steam rising from the porridge, "But I do not. I hate this creature for what it did to me, and what it did to that poor man and woman."
He takes another bite of porridge...winces from the heat this time, and pushes the bowl away.
"Which bring me to my question...what dream?"

Dea smile faded, but she did not fall into another outburst.
She just nodded.
"Fine then. We understand each other.
You said the creature or what it is, haunts your dreams. Tell me one of those dreams. Dreams hold truth, even if they entail Fiends and other figures of the mind. If we know how it haunts your dreams, we may know how it operates. Sanity, dreams, magic, they are all close together."

"Tell you my dreams?" Lit looks at Dea again, this time scrutinizing her, and after a few moments, "Very well. But be warned they are not your average nightmares. They all begin differently, but they end exactly the same. If you feel at any point you wish me to stop, then please tell me..."
"I remember one day awakening in a cave, cold sweat drenching my body. It was as if I had just awakened from a nightmare. But it did not faze me as I was on the trail to a forgotten library which I thought would hold the secret to...conquering my fears and my foe.
"I dressed quickly and ate, for I was on the run from something. I'm not sure what, exactly, but I felt and made my way up to the entrance to the library. I remember the feeling of exhiliration and fear as I melted the chains on the gates and walked in.
"What I remember of the journey inside is vague and uncertain. I remember destroying a walking monolith seemingly made of bone and slime, facing a creature whose face mirrored mine and all the ones I'd ever loved and whose body was like liqid, and numerous traps that attempted to burn, slice, or crush me. But I surmounted all of them and reached the inner chambers of this "library."
"The books inside held all I needed to know. I spent who knows how many hour sporing over them, learning what I needed to master the flames. I was just about done when all of the heat in the room suddenly evaporated into nothingness..."
His mood has become incresingly agitated and fearful and continues to do so.
"I looked up from my book and saw that all the torches I had lighted were out. I was in darkness, until I saw a small flame at the center of the room begin to glow, casting a light that I knew to be death on everything. I was transfixed. I couldn't move even though I knew I was about to die.
His sly and bravado are gone now, only fear and pain are evident on his face.
"And suddenly, I felt pain! The pain of being burned alive all through my body. I looked down and realized the fire was inside of me! My muscles were singed and then burned away, leaving me unable to move, my bones were burnt I could feel my organs boiling...and I could do nothing to stop the pain!
"I looked up again, at the flame now coalescing into a form before me, and I was afraid. I feared this creature...and it became the one I feared: a being not of flesh, but of fire. A creature that HAD burned me, HAD tormented me before, a creature that smiled at me, burning my skin as it's hand caressed it...
"Then it looked at me with it's red eyes, and said, 'Do not fear me, for I am what you seek.'
His eyes start to tear...
"And suddenly the library was comsumed in it's fire, and I felt myself burning away into nothingness...I felt teh fir ein my veins, pumping through me and the pain was unbearable, and I cried out to the void HELP! HELP ME! THE PAIN IT HURTS I NEED IT TO STOP PLEASE HELP PLEASE HELP PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEDONTLETMEDIE!"
He screams the last lines as if he were re-living the experience and then collapses onto the table, spent and weeping.

Dea looked shocked, staring at the weeping figure of Lit.
"I... that... You dream that every night?"

Lit dries his eyes after a moment and looks up at dea, the color drained from his face.
"Not always...but when I do dream, it always ends in fire, consuming everything...and it's always something I love, a hope, a dream...something I deeply treasured or wanted. This demon haunts me every waking moment, in every flame, every hope I see it's face within..."

Dea was silent for a while, going through Lit's dream, as far as she had understood it, in her head.
'He - or it - said "I am what you seek." Do you know what was ment by that?'

Lit looks at Dea again,
"I seek to end it's rampage. That is all, and then to find truth and a life to replace what I've lost to it."

Dea leaned back, dropping her spoon in the empty bowl.
"You may believe that, but I sense there is more to these words. It is not the place or time for me to judge you on that though."
She stood up, opened her bag, and rummaged inside it.
"Now, I have promised someone else in this household a remedy against nightmares. A herbal thea, which will give a dreamless sleep. I have used it myself in the past. It is only a temporary solution, but it may be a short respite. I have limited supplies of what I need to make the thea, and the herbs do not grow here..."
She pulled out a small purse, spilling the contents, a few slices of blackened root, in her hand.
"...but I can make some for you too, if you wish."

Lit looks at Dea hopefully, but then looks away again.
"I'd rather not take from someone who truly needs this. As I said, these have been my dreams for a long while, and I'm used to them. In a sickening way, I feel that I need the pain to continue with my quest, to give me a reason to stop this creature."

Celestia's dreams slowly fade off and she became aware of the sun overhead. She stretched and opened her eyes. A slight gasp escaped her lips as she saw a bouquet of flowers placed next to her. Celestia picked up the flowers and her gear and headed for the bath.
When Celestia got to the baths, she quickly washed up. Taking a couple of the flowers, she woved them into her hair as she braided it. Feeling refreshed and presentable, she headed back to the garden.
Sitting on a bench, Celestia spent some time studying one of her books. From deep in the gargen comes the scent of fresh food. Delicious and enticing, Celestia follows it to the main hall. She sees Dea and Lit talking in the kitchen.
"Good Morning, or should I say Good Afternoon. How are you both fairing today?"

Lit sees Celestia enter, and a small smile crosses his lips when he sees the fresh roses in her hair.
"Good morning, ah...Celestia, am I right?" he stands and takes her hand, giving it a small kiss, "I trust you slept well?"

"Yes, it is Celestia. I slept as well as can be expected when you find yourself back where you started life." Celestia replied with a slight blush.
"Is it an open Kitchen or is there a cook around that we talk to about making something to eat. I wouldn't want to be rude and assume that I can just start using Lord Dolph's food?"

They hear from the door way, "Dinner will be started shortly, but I will need my kitchen back." However you don't see anyone.

Celestia jumped at the sound of the new voice.
"Well, since dinner is going to be fixed soon, why don't we go some place else to talk? Maybe look for the others and see what kind of action we are going to take once night falls. There might be a couple of things I can do to try and help out with solving this puzzle before us." Celestia says with a confidence that wasn't present last night.

"Well, Celestia, lead the way. I'm sure I have no other plans tonight...unless, perhaps, you are free later on?" he gives her a mischievous smile and a wink as he stands.
But his hand still trembles as he steadies himself.

Smiling at Lit, "Depends on what you have in mind."Seeing his hands trembling, Celestia asks "Are you Ok?"

Lit smiles back at Celestia, but then looks at his hand, and steadies it.
"Nothing's wrong...just a little shaky from sitting so long."
He follows her out to the room she leads them to, but before he's completely out of the kitchen, he looks at Dea,
"Coming?" he asks

Dea rose, dropping the purse in her bag.
"Yes."
She looks again in the direction where the cook's voice came from, but then shrugs.
If people don't want to be seen, that is their problem, she thought. She had another.
She turned and followed Lit out of the kitc

You see the face of the house keeper pop up over the countertop, "Dinner will be ready in about an hour." you notice that she is only about three feet tall...

Celestia takes in the castle as they try to find the study. She is amazed at the size of it all. Some place deep in her memories, she remembers stories told of another castle with a power and imposing Lord told to her by her mother before bed.
After a couple of wrong turns (and the scenic router through the castle), Celestia and the others arrive at the Study.
"Shall we start our discussions now or try and see if we can find more of the group?"

"I am afraid we have precious little time before the next victim falls." Dea says.
"We have a lot to do this evening."
She sighs.
"I had no wish to fall asleep."
She turns to the others.
"I am sure you all have leads and ideas to this mystery. This would be a good time to share them.
I myself have some places I think are worth investigating. The Three Rats inn, for one, would be a good place. The woman that gave us a that cryptic message might show up, or at the very least her grandson.
However, I will have to attend a funeral first. Duties cannot be denied, even in these circumstances. Because of the short time we have, I suggest someone else takes up the investigation at the inn. We can meet there later on, after the services."
She looks around at the people gathered, then seems to realize something, and adds, "if everyone else agrees, ofcourse".