Dream Season
Episode 1
And the Stuff of Nightmares
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Chapter 1
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Jones ambled his way through the thick forest, slapping away leaves with a random stick that he'd picked up.
The clipping book had sent the entire force of the library to a lakeside campsite with no explanation of what trouble they may be facing. With such a large area to cover, Baird had decided that splitting up would be crucial.
Jones hadn't taken this news well and was further annoyed by the lack of Wi-Fi in the area. He'd spoken at length about his issues regarding the plan, but as per usual, his complaints were ignored. So now he was wandering aimlessly through the trees not even looking for what had sent them there.
Luckily Stone was with him, and actually concentrating on the mission.
"I'm so bored," the thief whined causing the historian to roll his eyes in response. "Why do I always get stuck on forest duty, while everyone else gets to hang out in civilisation."
"Because, Jones, you plus people, equals crime. At least you haven't got Baird breathing down your neck this time."
That was true. The guardian had loosened his reigns a little by letting him work with Stone for a change. What the thief didn't know, was that Jake had to sit through a thirty-minute lecture on how to manage the light-fingered rogue. He would complain, but there were some pretty useful tips that he made note of.
"There's nothing out here. Just trees." He kicked the base of a sturdy oak before carrying on with his rant. "Big trees, small trees... Wow, is that a troll, oh no, just more trees."
The thief's voice was grating on Jacob's last nerve. With every step they took, he found another thing to protest about. Jake tried to ignore it, but he was given strict instructions to keep watch over Jones, no matter how annoying he got. The constant rumbling was giving him a headache... wait that's actual rumbling, like from the ground.
Jones' jaw clenched shut as he found the closest tree and hung on for dear life. The earth shook violently, almost making him lose his grip on the splintered bark. From where he stood, he could see the other librarian mirroring this action. They tried to call out to each other, but the sounds coming from below were far louder than anything they could produce. Soon they both conceded and simply kept their eyes fixed on the other. Jones could see the fear in those icy blue orbs and it startled him to see a moment of vulnerability from the man.
After no more than a minute, the tremors died down.
"Do you think that had something to do with what we're looking for?" Jones asked, his voice still shaky after the recent ordeal.
"Probably. We should head back and find the others."
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Over by the lake, Eve was helping Cassandra back onto her feet.
"What was that?" The librarian asked as she dusted the dirt off her yellow skirt and blue cardigan. She investigated the scrape on her elbow and was relieved to find it wasn't bleeding.
"Earthquake?" Baird suggested but wasn't too confident with her summary.
"It didn't sound like your typical earthquake. More like something growling."
Eve shuddered at the idea. Even after everything she's faced in her five years as a guardian, she still waits for that one thing that is just too much for them to handle. "Don't think I want to meet anything big enough to make that loud a noise." She shook off her fears. "Let's head back to the meeting point. The others are probably heading there as we speak."
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Flynn had stumbled during the brief tremor, causing him to trip over a fallen display case. The campsite had long since been abandoned, so he now found himself in the dusty remains of what used to be a souvenir shop. In the few seconds it took the librarian to pull himself up, he was joined by a mysterious stranger.
"Well, aren't I lucky?" The figure laughed to himself. "I thought I was going to have to go looking for you, but here you are, just as I wake up."
The grin on his face looked sly and his eyes radiated a kind of hunger. Hunger for what, Flynn wasn't sure, nor was he eager to find out. Despite the scraps of material that simply hung from his body, the man stood with a sense of grace and power more akin to royalty.
"Who are you?" Flynn asked.
The stranger laughed again. "I am too old for names. Although I am sure your kind has created some over the centuries."
"My kind? Is that your way of telling me that you're not human?"
"Yes."
At some point during their conversation, Cal had managed to dig his way free from under an old shelving unit. After shaking itself off, the legendary sword appeared at the librarian's side, ready for battle.
"Why were you going to look for me?" Flynn edged his way into a better position, with Cal held closely in his grasp.
"I need the keeper of magic to fill a prophecy. Without you, I will never be truly free of my prison."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm not really feeling breaking you out of jail. You'll have to find some other keeper of magic." He tipped the end of Excalibur's blade toward the exit, indicating his plan to leave.
"You mean like the three young ones out there?" The corners of his mouth quirked up as his line of sight moved over to the right. He could taste the other librarians' presence as it wafted through the air. "I'm sure one of them could help me."
Flynn drew up his sword swiftly and pointed it at the stranger's heart. "I will strike you down before you reach a single one of them."
The figure returned his gaze to the head librarian, the smile still sat firmly in place. He began rubbing his hands together, creating a magical energy between his palms. He repeated this motion a few times until he drew one hand away, pulling a sword along with it.
"Let's act like civilised gentlemen. Knight's rules apply, a fight till the death."
Flynn raised Cal's hilt to the end of his nose as an acknowledgement and acceptance of the terms. The nameless man nodded and returned the gesture.
Before long, their weapons were flying at deadly speeds, meeting in the middle with heavy impacts. Both seemed matched in skill and strength, but the calm confidence of the stranger unnerved the librarian. There was something else going on here, he just knew it. Flynn guarded his shoulder against a heavy blow, pushing back to knock the other man off balance. Instead of the typical fear or annoyance, he'd seen in his previous opponents, here he only saw anticipated joy.
"You seem rather happy with yourself. Care to elaborate?"
"I just enjoy a good fight." He remarked before launching himself at the librarian.
Their match continued, neither one losing a step between parries. Flynn couldn't see this ending quickly, until the other man made a mistake, leaving him open to a deadly strike. The librarian took his chance and plunged his sword into the stranger's heart.
Flynn breathed deeply; his heart filled with contentment for this victory. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before looking into the other man's face. When his eye-line finally did rise, he didn't see a dying man full of fear. No, he saw a Cheshire cat grin, mocking him for some unknown reason.
The stranger guided his adversary's eyes to the tip of his weapon. As it turned out, Cal had not pierced the heart, it had in fact, severed a thick chain that once bound the man.
"And as the prophecy once said, you shall not be free until a keeper of magic breaks your chains with a legendary weapon."
After a long pause where he accepted the sheer magnitude of his mistake, Flynn pulled his friend back into the safety of his arms. "What do you plan to do now that you're free?"
The man squinted and licked his lips. "I'm not sure. I haven't been in this world for so long. I'll have to think it through while I build up my power."
The librarian sighed with relief, it seemed they had some time before he could do anything.
"Oh, don't worry. I still have enough reserves to take care of you."
"Take care of me how?" Flynn asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
With a few waves of the man's hand, a portal started to open under the librarian's feet. He tried to hold on, but a strong magical force was pulling him in. In a last-ditch effort, he called out to the only friend he had present.
"Cal, get out of here. Warn Jenkins and the others."
The sword did as commanded and not long after, the lead librarian was gone.
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Jake and Ezechiel were still traipsing along the forest, trying to find their way back to the meeting point.
Stone was making his way up the edge of a small drop when a sudden wave of pain crashed through his head. The sheer pressure of it took the scream from his lungs, leaving him only with a silent gasp. After a few seconds of frozen agony, the historian's eyes rolled back into his skull sending him crashing to the ground.
The sound of a heavy thud alerted Jones to his friend's collapse. He ran over to him as quickly as possible, dragging the dead weight back over the ridge and up against a tree.
"Stone, you ok? Can you hear me mate?" It wasn't long until he got a grumbled response. "Can you open your eyes for me? What happened there, buddy"
Two dazed blue eyes appeared from behind their fluttering lids, the librarian's body shaking as he fought to stay upright. "Must have tripped and hit m' head." His voice was a bit slurred but still understandable.
"You ok to move?" Jones' tone was, oddly for him, full of concern for his friend.
Stone started to pull himself to standing, using the thief as leverage. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get back to the others."
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Eve and Cassandra were already waiting by the camp's entrance when Jake and Ezechiel got there.
"Finally. What took you guys so long?" Baird berated the guys as they dragged themselves slowly toward the guardian. "We haven't got all day people."
"Sorry. My fault, I had a small accident." Stone admitted before putting them back on task. "Any idea what that quake was about?"
The team all shook their heads and went into their usual tactic of brainstorming the problem. Each of them was suggesting ideas and providing any knowledge that could help. All but Jacob who found himself distracted by something.
"Oi, space cadet! Could really use that brain of yours. Where's it at?" Baird waved her hand in front of Jake's face in order to get his wandering attention.
"Is something missing?" He asked, forehead lined with confusion. "It feels like something's missing."
"Like what?" Cassandra queried.
"I don't know." He looked around, everything looked right but felt wrong. "I'm having a strange sense of jamais vu."
"Jamais what?" Jones repeated.
"Jamais vu. It's when everyday things that you should recognise feel unfamiliar." The others just shrugged. "It's like, I know that this is right, the team and the mission. But I still feel like something's off." He sighed and turned back to the team. "It will probably just go away eventually."
"Ok." The guardian clapped her hands together, ignoring the still lost looking librarian who stood to her right. "We need a new plan of action. Stone what do you want us to do?"
He was startled by the question. "Why you askin' me?"
"Umm, because that's what you do. Take charge, make decisions." She spoke slowly, trying to figure out what Jake's sudden problem was. "You're the smartest out of all of us and a natural team leader. That's why the library picked you as the head librarian."
