Spider-Bots Rising

Chapter Three: The Council

The Dreamseeker followed Chuck back through the crowds of dreams and reveries. As she watched Chuck's ears swaying back and forth, she thought about The Council.

The Council was a trusted group of elder reveries. They were very old and had been born from deeply powerful dreams. Some people thought they were almost as old as the Dreamscape itself. Though there was no real government in the Dreamscape, The Council was the next closest thing. They kept an eye on all the happenings within the realm. They offered advice and made suggestions. Only very rarely did they actually take action. Was this one of those times?

At last they reached their destination.

The vision core towered above them like an impossibly large diamond. The tiny point it rested on seemed too small to support its width and height. It glowed bright white. A faint blue light surrounded it.

Standing near it made the Dreamseeker's whole body tingle. Every hair on her body stood on end.

"If you're waiting for them to roll out the red carpet, you're gonna be standing here awhile," Chuck said. He started towards the base of the vision core and the Dreamseeker followed.

When they reached the point at the center, they went through a small opening and up a set of spiral stairs. From the inside, the vision core was a collection of shining surfaces and angles. Climbing the steps was like winding through some kind of insane mirror maze. The sky above was blocked out by a dazzling ceiling of crystal. The whole thing looked like it was carved out of ice. But it wasn't cold inside. In fact, it was very, very warm.

Finally they reached the top of the steps. An archway stood there, with only blackness beyond.

Chuck paused.

The Dreamseeker stepped up beside him, and lightly touched his shoulder. Then the two crossed the archway together.

They found themselves in almost total darkness. There was no way of telling the size or shape of the room they were in. There was no way of knowing where this room ended and another began. There was no way of knowing if this room even had an end. The only light came from the soft glow of the steps back through the archway behind them. The Dreamseeker could only see half of Chuck's face. He looked nervous. Almost scared.

From the Dreamseeker's left a low voice rang out of the darkness. She turned to look but could see nothing but sheer black.

"Thank you for coming, Dreamseeker," said the deep voice. It spoke slowly, like every word was being carefully chosen.

"Yes. The Council is grateful to you for granting us this meeting." This was spoken by a different voice, this time off to her right. It was smooth and melodic, like a strange song.

The Dreamseeker felt anxious, but she didn't know exactly why. It was odd to talk to people she couldn't see. And she still wasn't sure just why she was there.

"Hello," the Dreamseeker said. The word echoed a little in the silence. Her voice sounded small and silly in this grand place. She tried again. "I am honored to be sent for by The Council. But, um, I don't really know what I owe this honor...to..."

A third voice spoke to her from the darkness somewhere in front of her. It sounded higher and thinner than the other voices. But this voice spoke with the most heart. "We called you here because we need your help, Dreamseeker," it said. "As you know, the spider-bots have been causing more trouble than usual. The raids are larger and more damaging. Dwells all over the Dreamscape are being destroyed."

"Bunch a creepy, crawly thieves..." Chuck muttered, seeming to have found his nerve again.

"Yes. A spider-bot will always steal. It is their way," the first voice responded. "But something is different this time. As I'm sure you've noticed, Dreamseeker."

"They're only stealing imaginanium," the Dreamseeker said, quietly.

"Correct," the second voice chimed. "The Dreamscape cannot run without the flow of imaginanium. Without it, reveries cannot grow. Dwells will become unstable and dissolve. Dreams themselves will fade and disappear. This cannot happen."

"And, of course, there's the other question..." the first voice said, trailing off.

"What?" Chuck piped up. The Dreamseeker saw him turning from side to side, trying to look at the voices. "What other question?"

"What do they need all that imaginanium for?" the Dreamseeker said.

"Correct again," said the third voice. "The Council believes they are building something. Something that may throw the Dreamscape into great danger. We need you to find out what that is, Dreamseeker. And we need you to stop them before it is too late."

"What do you think they're building?" the Dreamseeker asked, her palms becoming clammy. "And why me? Why do you want me to try and stop them? There must be other Dreamseekers who would be better. Ones with more experience!" Her heart was beating fast now. "Or ones with–"

But the third voice cut her off. "It must be you," he said simply. "It must be you because of this."

Out of nowhere, a small glowing object appeared in the darkness. It hovered at the Dreamseeker's eye level. Without thinking, she reached out and took it.

It was a compass. A thin red arrow floated dreamily across its face as she turned it, always pointing in the same direction. Its round silver metal casing fit perfectly in her gloved hand. Something about it just felt right.

"That is yours," the third voice went on. "It is the duty of every Dreamseeker to protect and explore the Dreamscape. And every Dreamseeker has a totem. A totem is a powerful magic item that is one of a kind. No two are ever the same. It is created when a Dreamseeker first travels to the land of dreams. But it only truly works when its Dreamseeker is ready for it. Yours is ready for you. And you, for it."

A heavy silence hung in the air. The Dreamseeker stared down at her totem.

"But what does that thingy even do?" Chuck burst out. "Make you sandwiches? Tell ya jokes?"

"Perhaps," the first voice said in its low rumble. "The power of the totem is special to the Dreamseeker it belongs to. We cannot yet know what powers it holds. But we do know that your totem came alive in this time of great need. That is a strong signal. This quest must be yours."

All of this sounded crazy to the Dreamseeker. She had never explored farther than a few dwells outside The Center. Now she was supposed to take on a quest to who-knows-where and save the entire Dreamscape? It seemed insane. Unbelievable.Totally mad!

But, she thought to herself, when has anything been normal inside the land of dreams?

She squeezed the compass in her right hand. It felt heavy, solid, and strong. She raised her head and looked into the total darkness.

"Okay," she said. "I'll do it."

A loud groan erupted beside her. She turned and saw Chuck's half lit face looking back at her.

"I must be even dumber than you are," he said. "But if you're heading into this death trap, you bet your butt I'm comin' too."