theworldofdreams.com

Days had passed since my surreal meeting with the man in the robe; he had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared to me. That did not matter to me now, for I had some contentment. Finally I began to feel at ease in this strange new world, this World of Dreams.

I continued to wander far out into the wilds of this world, my only constant companions the blazing Sun during the day and the myriad twinkling stars at night. I enjoyed the rich colour and vibrancy that this land offers, the colours and textures seem so new and wonderful after my revelation with the strange man. I was no longer confused; my mind was fresh and alert. Now the memory of another place was but a phantom of a dream and this place was the reality of the real.

One day, whilst I was admiring a crystal clear lake from its edge I noticed a ragged sack resting by a tall elegant birch tree. My curiosity won a short argument with my conscience and I took a peek inside the container. To my surprise, and I have to say my good fortune, I found a bow and a stack of arrows along with a sword. Both bow and sword were in fine condition. The scabbard of the sword was delicately laced in a pattern of gold and silver swirls. The blade itself was keen and holding it in my hand gave me a tremendous sense of focus. Slipping the sword into my belt and slinging the bow over my shoulder I continued my journey. I felt I was going to have a lucky day. I did not realise at the time how lucky it would be.

It was early afternoon when I first heard the noise. At first it was almost unperceivable, soft sounds that just seemed to gather on the edge of hearing. Did I really hear something? Or was my mind once again seeking to confuse and confound me. Straining for a while I managed to separate the sounds from the world of noise of environment around me. Slowly my ears focused on the sounds and soon enough all was clear. They were footfalls. I was sure of this. I was being followed.

I stopped where I was and looked around me. Foolishly I did not go for cover, I stood openly in the centre of the path I had travelled. I waited. Slowly the footsteps grew louder and drew nearer, and far off I thought I saw a shadow flit amongst the rustling trees. Then an unwholesome smell began to assault my senses, something putrid and foul was invading the air I was breathing. Suddenly I saw it, it was closer than I realised. It was an orc. I cursed myself for not taking cover when I had the time, now I was in grave peril.

Its twisted unnatural face broke into an awful stomach-churning smile as it saw me. It drew its rusty-notched blade and advanced towards me with deathly purpose. For a moment I was rooted to the spot, fear seemed to grab the core of my soul and wrench it in eight directions at once. Then from deep within I drew a long hard breath and moved.

As quickly as I could I drew back my newfound bow and fitted an arrow. I made my aim and let fly the sharp arrow. I missed. I missed by a long way. The arrow flew harmlessly far to the right of my quarry. The orc was nearly upon me and in my panic I threw the bow itself at the vile creature. I was lucky indeed. The bow hit the orc squarely in the face and stopped it dead in its tracks, long enough for me to draw my sword. Again by luck, as I moved back and drew my sword in a long arc, the tip of the blade bit into the stale flesh of the orcs’ sword arm. The monster cried in agony and dropped its sword; seizing this new initiative I charged forward with all my strength and might driving my sword deeply into the chest of the evil spawn. The wound was mortal, the creature died.

I slumped to the ground, my chest was heaving. I felt sick to the stomach and my whole body shook like a leaf. I was alive. I had been lucky. Kneeing there I tried to catch my breath and to slow my pounding heart. To my dismay I heard guttural voices in the distance. Adrenaline once more shot through my system. Fear quickly brought me to me feet and I gathered my belongings, including my dropped bow, and ran.

I ran for what seem like an age, the voices always seeming close behind. The scenery became a blur as my chest became a burning fire and my breathing was nothing more than a ragged desperate gasp. Eventually I came to a small hillock with steep rock sides and plenty of cover. I ascended this mound, and found a resting place under a large leafy holly bush. There I lay still and hidden once more seeking to get control over my frightened body.

From my high vantage point I could see for almost a mile in each direction. In front of me, maybe little under half a mile away I could see them. A group of ugly hideous twisted orcs they were. As I studied them closely I realised they did not seem to be chasing me. Far from it, they appeared to be laying waste to the beautiful land as they moved through it. The spot they now occupied seemed to be being made into some form of a camp. The trees, bushes even the very ground seem to be under attack from their evil purposes. Animals were killed; trees and bushes ripped up by the roots or burnt where they grew. They laughed too, as they destroyed the world around them, they laughed long terrible laughs of malice and hate. Something about that made me really very angry deep in my soul. I felt outrage replace my fear. Suddenly I recalled the old mans words about my reason for being in this place.

‘To bring balance to the land’

I knew what I had to do. As dusk closed in and the Sun vanished from the sky I grabbed my bow and secured my sword around my waist. Looking down towards the burning fires of the orcs makeshift camp I smiled grimly with no pleasure. Slowly, by inches, I made my way stealthy down to the orc camp………..

sighs with deep contenment and great anticipation of Lexus' further adventures....