Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph2 Ch2: The Grimm Troupe

Seven carefully climbed the cliffs, this time careful not to fall off. He had fallen to many times already, and he did not need to fall another time. He slipped his fingers into the right places, where he could get a good grip, and slipped his feet where he could get a good foothold. Many times he could walk on the cliff, and that was rewarding to him.

He arrived at the top of the cliff, and walked along the path lit with lights. He came to another side of the cliff, where he could see small town lights, along with some sort of red, fiery light. He looked down, and found out he needed to scale down the cliff to get to it. Just my luck. He thought.

Seven scaled down to cliff, and once he got to the bottom, he wandered through the long, twisty tunnel ahead of him. He came to a large, open door, with a perfect view of the town ahead. His excitement turned to annoyance once he figured out he needed to climb down another wall. He grunted, and then climbed down.

He got to the bottom without injury, and made his way into the town. He looked, and saw two red tents outside the town. The first one was large, but the second one was much smaller. In front of the big tent, there were two steeds, sitting in front. Seven walked past, and made his way into the center of the town.

There, he saw a bench, and nearby, there was an old bug, holding a glowing white flower, as if it was his child. The bug noticed Seven, and turned towards him.

"Ah, hello there little one," the bug said. "I am Elderbug. I must say, it's nice to see another traveler wander into our village again. Reminds me of later times."

"I'm Seven," Seven replied. "Nice to meet you. "

"Young one, if you're feeling tired, why not sit on the bench? It may be iron, but it can give a good rest," Elderbug said.

"Okay, thanks. "

Seven walked over to the bench, and sat down. A warm feeling filled up inside him, and he instantly felt much better. Curious about the tents, Seven decided to ask Elderbug about them.

"What are the tents outside doing?" He asked.

"I don't know," Elderbug replied. "They disappeared, and now they're back. They give me grief looking at them. I stay away from them. But if you want to see inside them, you best be prepared. "

"Okay, thanks again," Seven replied.

He got up from the bench, and his curiosity took over again. He felt drawn to the tents. It was like they were calling out to him. He walked towards them, and walked into the bigger tent of the two. He walked through a long room, and saw another large bug, playing the accordion. When he went to talk to them, they spoke first.

"So you called us," they said.

Before Seven could reply, the bug said, "Speak to Master. "

Seven nodded, and walked further into the tent. He came to a large open area, in the center of the tent. Suddenly, two flaming spotlights moved around the room, as a carnival music played. The two spotlights came together, and in a burst of flames, a tall, horned bug appeared, wearing a black and red cloak.

"So, it was you who called us," it said in a deep, scarred voice. "Well met my friend, well met. I am Grimm, master of this Troupe."

"I'm Seven," Seven, said. "But, what do you mean, I called you?"

"As the lantern you lit flared, your role was cast, our compact written in scarlet fire," Grimm explained. "Eager we are to see you commence, but first, some illumination is required."

In a flash of fire, a small, flying bug, with similar resemblance to Grimm, flew towards Seven, and started to float around him.

"Across these lands, my kin now spread, harvesting that essence peculiar to my... breed, the flame in dream," said Grimm. "Seek my kin; claim their flame and return it to me. Together, marvels shall be achieved."

"Wait what?" Seven asked, confused. "How will I be able to find them, and how will I-"

"Do not fret small one. For this task you won't travel alone," Grimm explained. "My child shall guide you to the flame, and gather within itself that burning essence."

From his shoulder, the Grimmchild happily chirped ad Seven.

"Like you, the child plays a key role in this task. Only with it by your side will the flame, and my kin, reveal themselves to you," Grimm said, and in a burst of flames, he disappeared.

Seven stood still. What had he just gotten himself into? First thing he knows is he's back from the dead and in the middle of nowhere, and next, he's about to go across the land, gathering flames from brutal kin members for a child? He looked at the Grimmchild, and it looked back at him, with adoring eyes. Seven sighed. He couldn't do this, he couldn't even fight decently. But he didn't want to let the Grimmchild down.

He walked out of the tent, and slumped down on the bench. What was he going to do? Suddenly, he heard a high pitched voice call him from one of the houses. Seven walked inside, and he saw a small fly, sitting at a desk.

"Hello there!" The fly said. "I heard from Elderbug you're an adventurer! That means you must know how to defend yourself right?" It asked.

Seven sighed. "I'm no adventurer," he said. "I'm just trying to find out what's going on, but I can't even use a weapon properly."

"Hmmm," the fly said. "In that case, why don't you visit the Nailmasters?"

"The Nailmasters?" Seven asked.

"The best of the best. They know how to wield a nail like no one else!" The fly explained. "If anyone can teach you how to defend yourself, it would be them."

"Well, where can I find them?" Seven asked, interested in the conversation.

"The nearest one would be Nailmaster Mato. He can be found in the howling cliffs. Close to where you came from actually," the fly said.

"Well, thank you, uh..uhhhh,"

"Sly," said the fly.

"Thank you Sly," said Seven, and he walked out of the shop.

He walked towards the edge of town, and stared at the cliffside he came down from. He looked at the Grimmchild.

"Guess we're going to the howling cliffs," he said.

The Grimmchild chirped, and they both set off.

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Okay! Second chapter done! I had to look at what Grimm's dialogue from the game was, and copy it directly into this chapter with my own fingers. I think it was worth it. Since school's almost over, I've had a bunch of spare time to write this. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

See you all in the next one!