Dungeons and Dreams

Sapnap

Sapnap paced around his room, carding his hands through his hair frantically as he resisted the urge to burst into flames - he might be a wizard rather than a sorcerer, but that didn’t mean he didn’t get impulses to burn stuff down with his magic. Though, that was less of his magic trying to get out like with sorcerers, and more of just arsonist tendencies.

“I just- It doesn’t make any sense! The exorcism got rid of the demon! We know it did, the priest said that there was no way it was still there! So why in the king’s name is Dream still acting like he did when he was possessed?!” He ranted, a mix of rage, concern and confusion making itself as clear as day.

“I dunno Sap. Maybe he’s just recovering from it? The priest did say that it might take a while.” Suggested George, his wood elf friend who was currently sitting on his bed.

George and Dream were Sapnap’s two closest friends, but ever since Dream had been possessed he had been acting odd, and.. Well, naturally, he and George were concerned about it. But until they figured out what was happening with Dream, they couldn’t help, which.. Well, it wasn’t going too well for them.

“But that can’t be it!” he replied, not looking at George, “The priest said that he’d be tired and weak from it, not this! It’s like we didn’t do the exorcism at all!”

“Well, the only other explanation I can think of is that it just didn’t work right,” George said, sounding all too calm though Sapnap knew that wasn’t really the case. He might put on a mask of calm, but he knew George well enough to know that he was just as distressed as him. Dream was their best friend, after all. They both cared about him, George just wasn’t always as expressive about it.

Sapnap groaned, coming to a stop as he finally turned to look at the elf. He threw his hands up, "That's even worse! If it just didn’t work- Who knows what's happening to him now! The demon could still be there, hurting him, and if it is-"

"Then it's more powerful than the best priest in Esempi, I know." George finished. "Which makes it difficult to help him."

"But we can't just give up on him!"

"I know," George replied, teeth gritted. That had hit a sore spot, huh. George hated the idea of abandoning either of them - he'd probably kill for them if he had too. For Sapnap to imply that George would give up on Dream so easily..

"Sorry," Sapnap replied, looking away, "I didn’t mean- I'm just frustrated. And worried"

George nodded, "We both are"

With a sigh, Sapnap sat down on the bed next to him - pacing was only serving to stir him up more.

They sat in silence for a moment, before Sapnap slumped onto the bed, his head wacking the wall. "What are we supposed to do? The best priest in the Esempi couldn’t help us, and we don't know anything about this shit!"

George hummed in response, staring at the ceiling in thought. "...We'd need more information, probably. Which. I mean, we could ask him, but I don’t think he'd tell us anything if the demon is still there…"

“I don’t know, maybe if we make the demon tired of us it’ll tell us how to get it out of Dream’s system,” Sapnap said with a chuckle, though there wasn’t much humor in it.

George didn’t respond to that, so Sapnap just closed his eyes, sighing. “This sucks.”

“Yeah,” George agreed.

There was a sort of tense silence for a moment, before George spoke up again, “Hey, I just had an idea. How much time do you think we have before Dream gets back from the market?”

“Well, he only left a little while ago, and the market is pretty far from our house. We haven’t really gotten many chances to head out to the market with all the demon stuff, and since both me and Dream live here he’ll have to get a lot of stuff, so it should be a while before he gets back. Why?” Sapnap answered, opening his eyes to glance at George.

George stood up, causing the bed to shift a bit, “Well, I was thinking maybe we could go ask the priest for advice, since he knows more about this than we do. If Dream’s gone for a while, now would be a good time to go, right?”

“Well, that’s definitely a start.” Sapnap replied, standing up as well. “Let’s go.”

------

The priest, for whatever it was worth, didn’t look annoyed in the slightest when he saw that they had returned. Though, the guy had also insisted that they didn’t pay him for his services because he was ‘giving good back to the world’, so maybe he just didn’t mind helping them out.

“What brings you two back on such a fine day, friends?” The priest asked.

“The exorcism didn’t work,” Sapnap replied, not having the patience to beat around the bush. Not when Dream was still in danger.

George nodded in agreement, “We think so, anyways. Dream’s still acting like how he did when he was possessed. He’s still… Off.”

The priest’s cheerful expression immediately disappeared, “Oh dear… That is extremely concerning, especially considering what he said when we completed the exorcism..”

He raised a fair point, there. ‘Finally, he’s gone! I’m- He’s gone! I’m free!’ Didn’t have very good implications if the demon was still in Dream’s body..

Sapnap shared a look with George, and he knew in an instant that George was thinking the same thing he was. 

“... Do you think that Dream’s soul got pulled out instead of the demon?” George asked, sounding oh-so very calm. Probably knowing that if Sapnap said it, it would come across too hostile, too angry. And damit, Sapnap sure as fuck was angry about just the idea of it, but that wasn’t the priest’s fault by any means. It was the demon’s.

The priest shook his head sadly, “Unfortunately, it is a possibility if the demon was stronger than my holy magic. And if your friend is still possessed… Well, that means I am not powerful enough to truly help you any more than I already have.”

Sapnap had to restrain himself from bursting into flames right then and there. It wasn’t the priest’s fault, he knew that, the man had done everything in his power to help them. But it wasn’t enough, and now Dream was in danger! His soul might already be trapped in the Abyss, and what then? How could he be saved then?!

George, ever the charmer, had a hold on the situation though, “Do you have any idea of who could help us?”

The priest seemed to consider it for a moment, before giving a nod, “Yes, there is someone who I know of that might help you. Ponk. He is a cleric and a doctor. He used to live here, but he moved to Manburg because there weren’t any doctors there. You should be able to find him fairly easily.”

George nodded, “Thank you so much for your help. We’ll be off now, goodbye!” With that he led Sapnap out of the church, onto the dirt roads they walked on to get here.

“Dream could be rotting in the Abyss, and there’s nothing we could do about it!” Sapnap said, making his frustration at the situation clear.

George gave a solemn nod, “I know.”

“We’ve gotta help him- Fuck, what if that Ponk guy can’t help us either?”

“We’ll find a way. We have too.”