Pt.23
Galen awoke with a start, the smell of decay and dust still heavy in his lungs. He looked up at the ceiling of his ship in confusion. "What happened?" he murmured, trying to sit up.
A gloved hand gently pushed him back. "Lay still for a moment," a familiar voice rumbled. "The Dreaming is often hard to recover from."
Galen lay back for a moment then blinked at the figure across from him. It was as though he was seeing himself in a darkened mirror. The Swordsman sat in a chair with his long legs propped up on Galen's bed. He was dressed in the same costume he had worn in the dreams with a dagger poking out of his high leather boot. He watched the young Technomage struggle upright with a smile. "I see you're no less stubborn than I am," he commented, reaching into the shadows beside his chair. A small crystal flask appeared out of the darkness, resting in his palm. He tossed it lightly towards Galen. "Here, drink this. It will ease the headache."
The Technomage caught the flask, wincing at the sudden pain between his eyes. "What is this?"
"Just drink it, little brother. The Master Healer swears by its efficacy."
Galen eyed it dubiously but did as he was told, trying not to gag at the over sweet taste. The pain began to recede almost immediately. "From where I'm sitting," Galen began conversationally, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, "we're about the same age. How did I become your little brother?"
"I'm older than I look," his double commented wryly. "So, what did you think of the Dreaming?"
"Is that what this was called?" Galen stretched his tired muscles then looked back at the other man. "I'm not sure how you downloaded those images to my mind…"
"Technomages!" the Swordsman snorted, a slight smile lighting his face. "You wouldn't believe in magic if it turned you into a toad."
"Magic? I think that's probably something we'll have to agree to disagree about." He started to rise, then thought better of it and sank back with a sigh. "You picked an interesting event to show me."
"I didn't pick it," the Swordsman replied somberly, the smile vanishing. "The King used you to bring your ship to this point in space so that he could entertain himself at another's expense. Your captain has something in his possession that the King wishes. I suspect by now he's got what he wanted."
"I'm so pleased I was so entertaining," Galen snarled, leaning back against the wall. "Why are you here?"
The Swordsman shrugged. "When you opened the doorway between our worlds I saw his interest in you. My Lady said you reminded her of myself when first she brought me into the fold. The King was not pleased to see her interest. I thought it best to make sure you weren't hurt by his boredom."
"I should thank you for that. The dream was not a pleasant one."
"Nor was the event," The Swordsman agreed grimly. He rose and held out a hand to the other man. "Are you ready to be with your friends? They are concerned for you. My Lord and Lady are with them but I suspect they would rather see you are well with their own eyes."
Galen sighed, the reached across and clasped the other man's arm and pulled himself back to his feet. "Sounds like quite the crowd. We'd best not keep them waiting. By the way, what do I call you? Swordsman seems more a title than a name."
His double smiled mirthlessly. "My name? My name is Galen."