temordreams

[temordreams]

Wrong identity

Victoria went along with the crowd, her head lowered and hidden within the hood of her trench coat. As far as any potential observer was concerned, she was completely unnoticeable, one of many people going about their business on a rainy afternoon. She could barely contain a grin, her hand closing around the wallet she had pocketed just moments ago. Or to be more precise, the wallet that she had just pickpocketed. The elderly fragile looking man had been a target of opportunity. While she was quite adept at relieving people of all kind of valuables, her target had made it all too easy for her. A gentle brush was all he could have felt before she had disappeared into the crowd again. By the time he would notice what had happened, Victoria was long gone.

After several minutes of taking random turns through the streets of the city, Victoria finally allowed herself to glance around. So far, she could spot nothing unusual and proceeded to a more deserted neighbourhood. Glancing over her shoulder once more, she dashed into a narrow side alley. She closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath, allowing her victory to sink in. The wallet felt heavy, no doubt filled with the promise of riches this elderly well dressed man had represented to her. Finally releasing the wallet from her pocket, she flipped it open – and paused. This was unusual. Instead of a wallet filled with the usual abundance of cards and notes, this wallet looked almost completely empty. Flipping quickly through the pouches, all she could find was a small note – and a key. She frowned; disappointment written large across her face.

Glancing around once more and making sure that she was still unobserved, she considered throwing the wallet and its strange contents into the nearby trash bin. Her arm already half raised, she paused again, curiosity getting the better of her. Why would an old man carry around such a wallet? Lowering the wallet again, another thought struck her: The wallet did seem a little heavy for having such little content. With a thought forming at the back of her mind, she retrieved a small pocketknife from her trench coat. One of many tools of her trade, she smiled, then quickly proceeded to carefully cut through the fabric. After long moments of nothing, she finally encountered resistance. There was something tied into the fabric, something small but still heavy enough to have caught her attention. After several moments more, she finally produced a small disc shaped object.

Raising an eyebrow in puzzlement, Victoria looked around the empty alley once more. Just like before, there was no one else around. She picked up the noise of the nearby traffic in the distance and she thought that she heard the sound of an approaching chopper, which was unusual for this area, but she paid it no further attention. Instead, she flipped the small object in her fingers, trying to make out some detail. It was a dark shape and she thought that she could make out small wires, but it was difficult to be sure in the gloomy light of the alley. She frowned, then looked at the remaining contents once more: The key was most likely that of a storage locker, which could mean anything. Her eyes focused on the small note instead, which contained what she assumed was a phone number. Victoria had already halfway reached for her cell phone, when she paused again and shook her head – she would of course not call that number from her own phone.

The buzzing of a radio shook her out of her thoughts. At first, she had paid it no attention over the traffic, but now it came again, more insistent than before. On second thought, the area had become quieter and nothing further could be heard from the chopper. She glanced around suspiciously, trying to zero in on the buzzing of the radio. But so far, she could make out no further sound. A strange feeling of foreboding started to creep in, and she decided to walk back to the main street. Spotting another trash bin on the way out, she made the decision that she would rid herself of all evidence. Her hand was already brushing a handkerchief over the wallet and its content, the gesture coming natural from her many years of experience.

Just as she was about to pass the trash bin, a window behind her shattered, followed by another and then a third. She had barely half turned in the direction of the noise when she made out the dark shapes from the corner of her eyes. Momentarily stunned by the outburst of carnage around her, Victoria was unable to react in time. Several bullets winced past her, followed by a sharp pain in her chest. She was hurled backwards by the impact, groaning as she slumped against the wall. The dark shapes resolved into heavily armed special forces, zeroing in on her prone form. She weakly tried to lift one hand to shield her face against the beams of flashlights, but she had no strength left in her. She coughed up blood and felt her vision blurring. As her eyes closed, a final thought manifested in her mind: The small object must have been some kind of tracking device. Out of blind misfortune, she must have come across a secret operation.

By the time the soldiers had fully surrounded her, Victoria was already long past questioning. The soldiers barely took notice of her, instead recovering the wallet and its content. Time was of the essence, but they were confident that they could still salvage their operation. The local police would clean up here, no questions asked.

Episode 36, dream wallet, first dice-roll uneven (female), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Upholding tradition

Harald closed his eyes, trying to block out the noise. The shouting of the crowd had turned into a roar and combat was imminent. Being the champion of the small village, this custom had always struck him as odd: Even though the Vikings seemed overly brutish to him, they apparently held tradition - and to some degree honour - in high esteem. Instead of simply attacking the village outright in the cover of the night, they would announce their arrival from the sea long before the ships themselves could be seen. They would disembark in good order and present their own champion, which would then battle the champion of his small village. The winner could then decide about the price to be paid. Or at least that is what the legends told. Harald was in his early twenties and had been trained for this moment his entire life – or at least for as long as he could remember.

Unable to shut out the noise entirely, Harald snapped his eyes back open, taking in a deep breath. The enemy champion was still glaring at him, shouting what Harald suspected were vile curses. He did not understand what was being said and he cared little about it either way. He strengthened his grip around the haft of his short-sword and steadied his buckler. In turn, the enemy champion roared even louder and banged his twin axes against his chest. Harald barely supressed a sneer, his enemy appeared more brute than warrior and he found the behaviour pitiful. Harald responded with a few practised swings with his sword. Speed and agility were what he had been trained for and no doubt his superior skills would see him victorious. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he got a reassuring nod from his father, a mighty warrior by himself, but far too old by now to participate in the challenge.

The ring of a bell brought abrupt silence. Once more, Harald was impressed by the almost fanatic way this tradition was being upheld. Many years ago, when he was still a boy, he had made the mistake of asking why they did not simply attack the ships the moment they became visible. Surely, with the advantage of the enemies being reckless enough to announce themselves, it would be much simpler to sink their ships and spare the village from future attacks. But the whipping he had gotten from his farther had made sure that he never dared to ask the question again. Apparently, tradition – or more like superstition, as he personally thought – held a firm grip over both his village and its infrequent attackers. Harald sighed and banished the thought. He would need all his concentration for the fight ahead.

The moment the word was given, the enemy champion charged him. Harald was almost caught off guard, he had not expected the brute to act with such speed. His thickset frame belied his agility. Nonetheless, he evaded the first clumsy blow almost effortlessly, spinning out of reach of the two axes. Set entirely for offense, the enemy champions tactic was as simple as it was brutal: He wanted to overwhelm his opponent with brute strength, chopping him to pieces before he had any chance to counter. Harald grinned as he sidestepped around the brute. He would not be so easily overwhelmed. Against his better judgement, it was his turn to taunt the enemy champion, which charged at him once more, even more enraged than before. Harald dodged the attack once again, but this time followed up with a stab to the enemies back as he charged past him. The sword bit deeply and the brute roared again, this time out of pain. Blood was running freely, but the maddened stare of his opponent told him that this was far from over.

Bracing himself for the next charge, Harald feigned the same evasive tactic once more, but at the very last second, ducked underneath the blows instead. This turned out to have saved his life, as the brute had clearly been expecting him to repeat the previous action. As such, he had already aimed his axes at the place he thought Harald would be next. But much to the brute’s misfortune, all he hit was empty air and as a result overbalanced, stumbling ahead. Harald gave him no chance to recover, his blade biting deep between the ribs of the enemy champion. Rewarded with a grunt of pain, Harald pushed the blade further and he felt how he cut through vital organs. The brute staggered on for a few more moments, as if unable to accept that he had been mortally wounded. While the enemy champion had no doubt come here expecting the fight to be over quickly, he had not imagined himself on the receiving end of the duel.

Harald grinned as the enemy champion finally collapsed, a pool of blood forming quickly underneath him. He had already half turned towards his people, expecting their praises to wash over him. Instead, he stared into masks of horror. A split second later, an arrow erupted from his chest, making him stagger and drop to his knees with a groan. He stared down in disbelief as his blood started to mix with that of the enemy champion. What had happened? This was impossible, the tradition said that the battle would be sorted through the duel of honour alone. They had been betrayed. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come forth. His vision was blurring now, the last thing he saw before collapsing to the ground, were the enemy attackers madly charging into his people. His last thought was that he would no longer be there to protect them. It was a small mercy that by the time the screaming started, his heart had already stopped beating.

Episode 35, dream Viking, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

The inside job

Jessica let out a deep breath as she closed the door to the toilet behind her. Quickly locking herself in, she wasted no time ridding herself of her bulky business attire. She had deliberately picked the outfit not only to be as unnoticeable as possible, but also because the heavy cloth allowed her to wear an additional layer of clothing underneath. Glancing down at the second outfit that had now revealed itself, she smiled in satisfaction. She quickly reached into her purse and produced more items that would complete her disguise. Only a minute later, she looked every bit the security guard she intended to mimic. Quickly folding the now obsolete business attire and purse together, she reached for the doorknob. She stopped herself from unlocking the door just yet and instead listened intently. Upon arriving at the restroom, there had only been one other person with her, and that person had been about to leave. Nevertheless, she had to be sure that enough time had passed before she stepped out in public again. She closed her eyes and willed her breathing to slow, letting another minute pass.

The briefing for her assignment had been unusually short: Infiltrate the art exhibition, gain access to the designated room, place object, retreat unseen. The task itself was not unusual, but over her many years of service, she had more than earned the position of senior secret agent in the eyes of her superiors. Usually, the briefings were done in person and with more details. Jessica suspected that either this was a top-secret operation even by the standards of her department, or that the assignment had come up in a hurry. Subconsciously touching the object stored in the breast pocket of her uniform, she suspected the latter. If she had to take a guess, it would be that she had to bug the room that would no doubt soon host an important meeting of the political or economical sort. She wondered how the information would be retrieved, as her assignment had been strictly one-way only. She shrugged; perhaps other assets would clean this up.

Snapping back to attention, she opened her eyes again. Having not heard a sound for another minute, she opened the door and quickly headed for the garbage bin located near the exit. The bundle of clothing she was currently carrying was something she had to leave behind as soon as possible. As per standard procedure, none of these clothes could be tracked back to her. Nevertheless, carrying them around could potentially blow her cover. She had just made her way to the bin and opened the lid when the door to the restroom suddenly swung open. Silently cursing, Jessica quickly threw the bundle into the garbage bin and closed the lid with a tad more force than she had originally intended. Spinning around, she stood face to face with a young woman who stared at her in shock. Jessica’s mind raced- had her cover been blown?

Several seconds passed, with both women staring at each other. The young lady reached towards her chest and Jessica was prepared to jump her in an instant should she produce a weapon. But much to her relief, the woman simply rested her hand on her chest and let out a deep breath. “Oh my, officer, you scared me, please excuse me”, she whispered with a thin voice. Jessica smiled, of course, it was easy to forget how quickly common folk were intimidated by armed forces. She nodded in return and quickly passed the woman, exiting the restroom. Making her way upstairs with purposeful strides, she had no further encounters. People made space for her and none of the staff dared to challenge her. Having reached the second floor of the exhibition, she hid a smile as she laid eyes on the door halfway across the floor. Almost there.

Jessica glanced around as she casually approached the door. So far, the second floor had turned out to be deserted. By the looks of it, this floor seemed to host staff rather than being part of the exhibition. She was just about to reach for the doorknob when a noise to her left made her flinch. Much to her dismay, the door opened, and a youngish looking professor stepped outside, his eyes being immediately drawn to her. As she had done before, Jessica gave him a curt nod and made to walk past him. “Uh, officer, a moment?” the professor stammered, he was clearly agitated. Suppressing a sigh, Jessica faced him once more, looking him up and down. “Are you new? I have never seen you before.” he said, looking at her appreciatively. Jessica’s eyes widened. Was this guy overly clever or overly stupid, she really could not tell, but either way, she could ill afford the delay.

But before she could reach a decision, the professor’s phone rang, agitating him even more. He reached for it instantly, sweat building on this forehead. By the sound of the voice that she could make out even from a distance, this was not going to be a pleasant conversation. She raised an eyebrow in an obvious display of mockery. Noticing her reaction, the professor flushed and hastily retreated back into his office. Letting out a deep breath, Jessica reached for the door of her designated room once more. Much to her relief, it was unlocked. While lockpicking was one of her many abilities, it would have been a big risk doing so in a long hallway. Carefully peeking inside, she smiled again as she confirmed the room to be empty. Reaching into her breast pocket, she strongly gripped the object. Placing it and getting back out would be a quite simple matter from this moment on. Whatever would happen next was none of her concern. Yet another mission successfully completed was all that mattered to her.

Episode 34, dream exhibition, first dice-roll uneven (female), second dice-roll even (good ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

New heights

Joseph closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, his hands locked firmly around the metal railing. There was a disturbingly loud creak coming from the metal as it started to buckle under his weight. With his legs dangling freely out in the air, his hold on the metal railing was all between him and about a hundred meters of free fall. With his heart hammering in his chest, he snapped his eyes back open, gazing into the sky above. Nearly at the top of the construction site, there were only a few platforms and supporting pillars. The sight of the sky would normally have filled him with joy, but given his current circumstances, all he wanted now was getting back to safety.

It had started as a poor joke and ended up as a childish game of dare challenge. As the leader of his group of teenage friends, Joseph was supposed to be the fearless one, the one the others were looking up to. When his secret crush had put that to the test, Joseph had realized far too late that he was being played. Angelica, which he fancied above everyone else, had suggested that whoever would venture to the top of the construction site, was surely worthy to go out with her. His group of friends had looked to him expectantly, leaving no doubt in his mind that he had to take her up on the challenge. At first, he had secretly hoped that the construction site would be guarded, but as it had turned out, there was no one around during the weekends. Apparently, the construction was not far advanced enough to warrant the additional expenditures.

Initially, Joseph’s progress has been fast and easy. On the lower floors of the upcoming skyscraper, some stairs had already been in place and the middle levels were secured by broad and well secured platforms. For the initial few minutes, Joseph had wanted to laugh at the ease with which he was progressing. With his friends – and Angelica – waiting down below, there had been no turning back, not even as the passageways became narrower and the climb more dangerous. He had estimated that he was about three floors away from the top of the construction, when he had made that unfortunate misstep. Slipping on the narrow platform still soaked from the morning rain, he had hit the railing hard and stumbled. This momentary lap of focus had been enough to push him over the edge. It happened like in slow motion, him hitting the ground of the platform hard at first, then groggily sliding off the edge. Misfortune aside, his fall had at least been slowed enough for him to still get a hold of the railing.

Joseph swallowed hard, then tried to push himself back up. He grunted with effort but failed to summon enough strength. His arms were getting heavy and holding himself in position was hard enough as it was. With his desperation rising, Joseph wanted to try once more, but decided against it. He doubted that he would be able to hang on for much longer should he fail to pull himself back up once more. He sighed, slowly daring to shift his gaze downwards. Upon gazing all the way down to the ground, his heart sunk, and a feeling of mortality crept in. He spotted figures below, which were most likely his friends. Anger at the stupidity of the challenge filled him and he started to focus on his immediate surroundings once more. It was then when he laid eyes on the platform further below and an idea started to form in his mind.

Securing his grip on the railing once more, Joseph did the only option still left to him: Instead of trying to push himself back up, he instead angled with his feet for the metal pipes located slightly below him. To his relief, he managed to get a hold, placing both his feet on the pipes, giving his arms some much needed rest. He still did not dare to let go of the railing, but this was enough for him to regain the strength needed to continue. Finally letting go with one hand, he reached over to another pipe located slightly below. Making sure that it was strong enough to hold his weight, he let go of the railing above completely, instead gripping the pipe with both hands. Looking around, he could see another platform behind the pipe he had just climbed on. Grinning for the first time since he had entered the construction site, Joseph prepared himself for the jump of his life.

Closing his eyes once more, Joseph murmured a short prayer to whoever was listening. After several seconds of nothing, he snapped his eyes back open, focused on the platform and then jumped. Once more, it felt like he was moving in slow motion. The air was rushing past him, he saw the construction in great detail, the landscape behind, the sky above, then suddenly the railing of the platform shot closer and he gripped it desperately, letting out a yell of pain as he crashed into the railing as much as he was trying to get a hold of it. But a split-second of struggling later, he was halfway over the railing, with his feet still dangling in the air, but more importantly, his body and arms back on what passed as solid ground up here. Letting out a yell of triumph, Joseph took stock of his ruined clothes and bruised body, but at least he had made it. By the time he had made it down to the ground floor, most of the physical pain was forgotten. And much to his surprise, Angelica came running and falling into his arms, making him forget about anything else that might have occupied his thoughts.

Episode 33, dream construction site, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll even (good ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Under investigation

Jack slammed his fist on the table, but the person seated in front of him did not even flinch. Taking in a deep breath, Jack turned around and walked a few slow steps towards the armoured window. As a senior police investigator, he had seen much in his career, but rarely had a suspect been as uncooperative as this one. The questioning had been going on for hours, but the suspect had hardly revealed anything. Jack had made a point to detail all the troubles that this unwillingness to cooperate would bring to them both, but the suspect did not seem to care. All in all, the suspect seemed to care about very little. If anything, as far as Jack was concerned, this made the man even more suspicious. Having calmed his breath, Jack turned around again, facing his suspect once more. A remarkably unremarkable man that did not stand out in any particular way. He remained seated as before, with both hands resting on the otherwise empty table. Jack sighed, recollecting his thoughts.

The crime scene had been abhorrent. The brutal slaughter of a whole family had been difficult to stomach for everyone involved. The townsfolk could think of no reason why anyone would do this, and no one had seen anything. Jack had found this to be a little strange, as from his experience, in small towns like this, the neighbours usually kept themselves informed about what was going on around them. More often than not, they showed a little too much interest in the affairs of others. One of the many reasons that Jack preferred to live in the middle of the city, even though the noise was getting to him these days. But at least the neighbours kept to themselves. Coming to think of it, he didn’t even know who exactly was living on the same floor as he was. He shrugged away the thought, returning his attention once more to the suspect.

“We know that you murdered them, you may as well talk”, it was an obvious enough bait, but Jack had gotten annoyed over the continued silence and there was no point trying to mask it any longer. But again, no reaction from his suspect. He glanced at his wristwatch. With any luck, the information would be delivered to him within the next couple of minutes. The waiting would finally be at an end, or at least he hoped so. But still, personal pride dictated that he tried everything he had regardless of what would be revealed within the next quarter of an hour. Slowly and deliberately, the suspect looked up, locking eyes with Jack for the very first time. Much to his surprise, the suspect spared him a mocking grin, and then continued to say nothing more.

Jack’s temper flared up immediately at the attempted slight, taking in a sharp breath and raising his fist in annoyance. If his suspect had indeed done what Jack suspected him to have done, then a proper beating would be the very least Jack wanted to offer as a reward. A split-second away from striking the suspect, Jack managed to reign in his temper. Over the course of his long career, he had slipped only once – and the consequences had not been pleasant. He doubted that he would be able to recover from a second slip. His suspects grin widened, obviously, he had been aiming for precisely this kind of reaction. Jack let out a long breath, lowering his fist again. It was in this moment that his wristwatch released him by finally buzzing – the signal he had so desperately been waiting for. This time, it was Jack’s turn to grin. Apparently taken by surprise, the suspects grin froze, turning slowly into a mask of confusion. Good, Jack could use that.

Walking over to the door, Jack patiently waited for the locks to be released from the other side. With the heavy door slowly opening, Jack spotted the duo of guards still stationed outside. His eyes fell on the third, more slender person, his assistant. She handed him the old book with only the slightest of nods, but it was enough. Jack had been right, the information delivered would finally bring this interrogation to an end. Without further comment, Jack turned around and walked back into the middle of the room. He had reached the table the moment the heavy door fell back into place again with a loud clang. However, Jack dropping the old book on the table rang even louder within the confinements of the interrogation cell. Jack’s grin widened in triumph as the suspects face grew pale.

For the first time during this interrogation, the suspect truly showed a reaction. His face now having turned beyond the pale, he started to tremble. Tears started to run down his face, followed shortly after by agonized sobs. This time, it was Jack’s turn to remain silent, towering triumphant over his broken suspect. The book had delivered the message more clearly than Jack could ever have hoped to do himself. His suspicions had been right, one of the neighbours had been involved in the planning of the slaughter. The exact motives were irrelevant for now, all that mattered were the information contained in this book – or the diary, to be more precise. The suspect had thought himself to be clever, cleverer than the police, no doubt. But pride comes before the fall, as they say, and Jack had suspected that a suspect as arrogant as this one, had wanted to tell the story – one way or the other. “Let’s start again, shall we…”, Jack slowly but deliberately spoke again. For the first time, he was sure that his investigation would finally come to an end.

Episode 32, dream investigation, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll even (good ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Heavy gear

Spartan 5 hit the ground hard, but she hardly felt the impact. Shock absorbers in her armor easily compensated for what would have pulverized the bones of any unaugmented human. Fresh data scrolled across her visor: Several vehicles blocking the street, including the two disabled police cars that had sent the emergency call. Further up the street, she could see the heavy vehicle of her “package” flipped over, the wheels still spinning, but hitting nothing other than the air above. There was smoke and fire, but Spartan 5 could see clearly thanks to the advanced systems of her tactical suit. She had easily spotted the targets before the first rounds pierced the air around her. She grinned, sprinting faster and reaching for her sidearm.

As the fifth incarnation of a secret military project, Spartan 5 was unlike any other human that she knew of. Heavily augmented and clad in the most advanced combat armor available, there was very little that could match her combat prowess. Spartan 5 knew almost nothing about the four experiments before her, but it was her understanding that they had all been male subjects. Initially, the brains behind the tech had concluded that the stronger bone and muscle of male subjects would provide an advantage, but it had turned out that the female body was better suited to interface with the armor. Spartan 5 grinned again, she could have spared them the previous four failures. She, in turn, would not fail, of that she was sure. She had very little memory of who she had been before entering the project, but to her that was irrelevant. She was Spartan 5 now and she would see her mission accomplished.

With her sidearm coming up in front of her, the built-in targeting system was already highlighting the enemies arranged in front of her. There seemed to be around a dozen of them, clad in ragtag clothes and mostly carrying light armaments. She spotted two assault-rifles, but even these did not have the firepower to stop her. She did not want to put her armor to the test though and before the two opponents with the assault-rifles could get an aim on her, she had already gunned them down with two single shots from her sidearm. Like the rest of her equipment, it was a highly advanced model, its projectiles piercing even the most heavy of body-armor. It made a mess of her only lightly armored opponents. As she gunned down several more targets, panic broke out and several of them managed to escape her wrath. She had no time to chase them down though, her eyes focusing on the heavy vehicle containing her “package”. From the outside, there was no way of telling if anyone was still alive. Switching to heat signatures, she detected several weak returns inside of the vehicle. By the looks of it, its occupants had not yet departed.

Passing the two disabled police vehicles, Spartan 5 glanced at several police officers hunkered down behind the cars. They all suffered from various wounds or minor bruises, having attempted to rescue the “package” on their own, but failing miserably. She gave them a barely perceptible nod as she passed them, drawing astonished gazes. When they had called for backup, they clearly had not expected her. In fact, it had been a surprise to her as well that she had been sent into the middle of the city. So far, her deployments had been far away from the curious eyes of the general population. The project was still designated as highly secret, she had always been told to draw as little attention as possible – and to leave no witnesses of her deeds. This time however, her commander had advised no such precautions. She shrugged, whoever the “package” was, it must be someone important. Striding over to the heavy vehicle, she checked the doors. Locked, or jammed. Taking a quick glance around to ensure that the area was secure, she reached for the door and ripped it straight out. With the enhanced power of her armor, the action was near effortless. Glancing inside, she spotted the driver and could tell instantly that he was beyond saving. Strapped next to him, there was her “package”. An elderly woman in an unremarkable business suit. They locked eyes for a moment and Spartan 5 was sure that she had seen this person before, but she could not recall from where. Reaching inside the vehicle, she ripped out the seat belt that was holding the “package” firmly in place. Without much ceremony, she dragged the elderly woman out of the vehicle.

Having recovered from the initial shock, the person she had just rescued looked her up and down, not giving away anything. Either she knew about the project, or she was still struggling to recover from the accident. Just as Spartan 5 was about to speak, the elderly woman’s eyes widened in shock. Some reaction after all, Spartan 5 grinned, but her grin turned into horror as the bullet blew the head of the elderly woman clean off. More shots followed, ineffectively sparking off her armor. Spartan 5 wanted to scream in denial, but she raised her sidearm instead, aiming at the figure crouched on the nearby rooftop. Much to her dismay, no targeting systems came up, her armor was simply unable to get a lock. She fired in frustration, but her shots missed and the assassin hastily ducked away. She had only gotten the quickest of glances, a dark-haired woman clad in some kind of light armor by the looks of it. Her own systems could detect nothing however and even as she ran up the stairs of the building, she knew at the bottom of her heart that by the time she reached the rooftop, the assassin would be long gone. The unthinkable had just happened, she had failed her mission.

Episode 31, dream spartan, first dice-roll uneven (female), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Running low

Samuel’s heart skipped a beat as the light beam of his flashlight went out. For a second that felt to him like eternity, he found himself in complete darkness. Then much to his relief, the light beam came back on. He swore and glanced down at the flashlight held firmly in his grip. It was an old model that had clearly seen better days, but for the time being it was his salvation. Being stuck underground, this was his only source of light. But judging by what had just happened, the flashlight was either damaged or the battery was about to give out. He had found it by accident and had no way of telling when it had last been used. Closing his eyes for a moment, he gathered his thoughts.

As the caretaker of the small hospital, he had been called late at night due to an emergency. The person who raised him from his sleep had not been very specific, but it sounded like there had been a leak with one of the pipes, and the nurses from the nightshift were afraid of any medical devices giving out on them. Samuel had sighed and accepted the nightly disturbance with good grace, knowing that his retirement was near and the amount of times he would be called back to work like this limited. If he were lucky enough, the damage to the pipes was minor and he would spend the rest of the night drinking coffee and being offered cookies by the staff.

Much to his dismay, after having surveyed the scene, Samuel had discovered that the leak was with one of the very old pipes running straight through the entirety of the old building. But even worse, it was one of these pipes he had always silently prayed would never fail him. After making sure that there was no way that he could simply cover the leak – or leave it unattended for the specialists – he had made his way to the underground levels. Samuel had been with the hospital for almost twenty years, but even he remembered only a single time when he had to go all the way down. Having arrived at underground level number two, he had sighed and moved away empty trays and crates that were loosely scattered across the room. Obviously, no one had expected having to access the levels below. Sighing once more, he focused his attention on the trap door that had been freshly revealed.

With a grunt, he heaved the door open, revealing the darkness below. He was so focused on trying to pierce the darkness, that he jumped at the voice behind him. It was one of the nurses, asking him if everything was alright. He sighed again and sent her away with a light joke, that sounded more forced than anything else. Much to his relief, the nurse had taken the hint. As much as Samuel tried to downplay it, he was afraid of the dark. Swallowing hard, he reached for the light-switch located a few steps into the darkness below. Much to his dismay, nothing happened. He flipped the switch again, but still nothing. He cursed loudly, flipping the switch back and forth, but again, no reaction. Glancing around the room with growing desperation, he finally spotted the old flashlight. Lighting was hardly ever a problem in the hospital and there were so many backups that he had not needed a flashlight in years – if not decades. He flipped it on quickly, reassured by the light beam. Looking over his shoulder one last time, he made his way down the stairs.

Snapping his eyes back open, Samuel continued his stride through the underground. So far, he had made it down two more levels and he would have to go deeper still, but that was when the flashlight had started to act up. He only made it a few more meters further when darkness swallowed him once more. This time, the light beam remained absent. With his heart racing fast, he shook the flashlight angrily, but nothing happened. He desperately fumbled for the battery compartment, barely managing to remove the lid. He removed the battery and put it back in, flipping the switch once more. Much to his relief, the light beam came back on. A few meters ahead, he spotted the final accessway to the ancient machine room that powered the lowest areas of the old hospital. Only a few more meters and he would be safe.

Having made two more steps, the light beam disappeared again. Like before, he fumbled for the battery compartment, but this time, his hands were trembling too much, and he dropped the flashlight, which burst into several pieces. In the darkness, he could hear different parts rolling across the floor, including the battery. There was no way he would be able to retrieve it now. Closing his eyes again, he felt his heart hammering desperately in his chest. Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm himself. The machine room was only a few meters ahead, he should be able to make his way through the darkness. As he took a first shuddering step in complete darkness, a noise from behind made him jump.

Samuel froze, listening intently. There was the noise again, followed by a breeze of wind. Turning around in confusion, Samuel could see only darkness. This time however, he heard a giggling, followed by footsteps. They were coming closer, even running. He called out with a shacky voice, but no one answered. Something brushed his left arm and he turned in the direction, but again, there was no one to be seen. His heart kept hammering, followed by agonizing pain in his chest. He wanted to cry out, but he found that he could not. Suddenly, a pale face appeared in front of him and Samuel stared right into it before his heart finally gave out and he collapsed to the floor.

Episode 30, dream battery, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Stealth Suit

Tom swore loudly as the object zipped past him; his outburst only muffled by his breather-mask. As a veteran fighter pilot, he had thought that there was very little that could still surprise him these days. But it seemed like he had just been proven wrong. Banking hard to the left, he struggled to get his jet back under control. His comrades affectionately referred to him as “Tom Cruise” – in reference to one of the old movies. Steadying the jet and with it his breathing, he felt that he would have made his comrades proud in that very moment. With the jet back under control, his attention wandered to the radar, in search of the object that had almost disabled his fighter jet.

After long seconds of nothing, he finally spotted the blip on the radar. It was faint and far further out than he would have imagined, but at the speed the object had raced past him, perhaps that was not much of a surprise. Tom had been up in the air as a matter of coincidence, few pilots were on active duty during these times and the jets still required their regular schedule. Usually, finding volunteers was hardly the issue and as a veteran pilot, Tom was more than happy to give the younger pilots their very much needed practise. However, as it turned out, today there was simply no one else available. Tom snapped back to attention as he pursued the blip on the radar, slowly gaining on it. Finally, some progress, he thought, as he tried the radio once more. But just as before, only static answered him. He wondered whether the plane had taken damage or someone – or something – was jamming the signal.

His attention returning to the radar, he noticed that the object of his attention had come to a halt. Tom frowned, being well familiar with this area, he knew that there was no landing field out here. As a matter of fact, there was nothing out here at all, just sand and the odd country-road or two. Shrugging, Tom was about to circle the area, when a beam of light momentarily blinded him even through the protection of his helmets visor. He cried out in pain and shut his eyes to avoid further injury, but the angry beeping of his fighter jet brought him back to attention. Something with the fuel pipes, the engine was overheating, and he judged there to be mere seconds before the plane would spin out of his control. Decades of training set in and he instinctively activated the ejection sequence. Moments later the cockpit exploded in a rush of air and he was out, the parachute automatically activating and bringing him down to earth – and safety, or so he hoped.

Slowly steadying his breathing, Tom observed the deserted area below, trying to control his decent as best as possible. As he suspected, there was not much out here. To his right, he spotted an odd building, but his attention was drawn further out, where a light smoke trail could be seen. Squinting his eyes together to better see into the far distance, he wondered if that might be the object he had encountered up in the air. Coming to a decision, he steered his chute into that direction, hoping that he would arrive in time. With the object coming ever closer, Tom tried to make out more details. By the looks of it, the object was a crashed drone – or at least it looked like it. To his dismay, Tom had difficulties getting a focus on the drone. It was almost as if it was phasing in and out of visibility, but he suspected that this was simply the desert playing tricks on him.

Having safely landed and dispatched of his chute, Tom carefully approached the crash site. Nothing moved. Even though he was now only a few dozen meters away from the drone, he still found it difficult to focus on it. There was a strange buzzing sound and Tom finally realized what was going on. The drone seemed to be equipped with a highly advanced version of a cloaking device. This also explained how it had managed to almost ram his jet. The device was in the process of malfunctioning though, with the drone phasing in an out of plain view. As Tom approached, the cloaking device finally gave out with an angry bark that made Tom flinch and dive for cover. Laughing at his failing nerves, he picked himself back up and shook his head. Good thing none of his comrades had seen him. Roughly two meters away from the crashed drone, Tom came to a halt. He knew better than to touch anything. Carefully studying the drone, Tom tried to make out markings that would give away its origin, but he found nothing. Suddenly, a compartment opened with a hiss and a lens appeared, followed by a beam of energy that blinded Tom once more. He yelled and fell to his knees.

The loud bark of a weapons discharge filled the air and Tom expected to be its target, but he remained unharmed. Two more barks could be heard, followed by a minor explosion. Tom opened his eyes again, seeing sparks appearing all over the drone. He picked himself back up and put a good distance between him and the drone. Only moments later, the drone exploded in a shower of sparks. Tom cursed again, thinking of the valuable intel that had just been lost. He looked around, his eyes finally spotting a man in priestly robes, with an automatic shotgun held firmly in his grip. The gun was still pointed at the location where the drone now fiercely burned.

Tom shouted at the priest to drop his weapon and stop this madness, but the man shouted very unpriestly curses at the drone, telling it to return to its master down in the depths of hell. Sighing heavily, Tom finally approached the man and wrestled the shotgun from him. Offering no further resistance, the man dropped to his knees and prayed. Tom shrugged and simply waited for the man to recover his wits. There was not much else he could do at this point, other than thinking how he would ever be able to explain this to his superiors.

Episode 29, dream stealth suit, no dice rolls.

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Running free

Victoria snapped her eyes open, momentarily disoriented. She blinked in confusion, willing her surroundings back into focus. She immediately noticed the tall trees surrounding her. Green light radiated all around her, it looked both beautiful and a little frightening. She blinked again, banishing the thought. There was nothing to be afraid of, she was all alone by herself and the forest was completely quiet. This made her pause for a moment, a thought forming at the very back of her mind, but she could not quite catch it. She attempted a shrug, but her body was slow to respond and she ached a little. Intrigued, she looked around again, wondering how she had ended up here.

She was an adventurer by heart, the nature was where she felt at ease the most. She trained her body every day and usually spent the weekends roaming the countryside. There had not been a track around her area that she had not yet explored and frequently she would travel to different countries. Some of her adventures had turned out to be quite risky, pushing her to the limits of her abilities, but so far, she had always prevailed. A little bruise here and there, but she could stomach that easily. In general, she found that people underestimated her, because of her slender looking build. She always joked that she was extra though for what she lacked in size. Smiling broadly, she thought back of her latest adventure.

Victoria had taken a few days off, hiking a longer distance across a neighbouring country. She had not known the area well but talk of the steep cliffs and rocks to climb had picked her interest. As she always did, she had wandered off the official tracks at the first opportunity, preferring to explore the beautiful countryside on her own. Her friends would always voice concerns about a woman travelling all by herself, but how could she be in danger out here, far away from civilization. It was far more likely that she would get run over in the middle of the city. Her hips ached at the thought and she glanced around the forest again, a strange feeling forming in her gut.

When she had arrived at the region’s most famous cliffs, she had ignored the warning signs and ventured on, well past the areas that were safe for hiking. She was far too senior a hiker to let herself be dissuaded by such warnings. They were for the elderly and generally unfit people that seemed to occupy the cities these days. After having left the public areas behind, her suspicions had been confirmed: Out here, nature was still at its most beautiful, untouched by civilization. She had taken deep breaths of fresh clean air. Inspired by the memory, she took a deep breath now, but instantly winced as sharp pain hit her. She blinked in confusion, trying to move her hand to her chest, but she felt like she was moving through water, so slow and awkward were her movements.

Victoria closed her eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling immensely tired. She thought of how energized she had been not long ago, overlooking the beautiful countryside. She had felt like she could go on for hours, but not so much anymore now. She had finally managed to place her hand on her chest, trying to find her inner peace. But all she could feel was the absence of something. She thought hard on this, but now even her thoughts moved at a crawls pace. She willed her eyes open again, taking in the surrounds once more. The huge trees were still there, as was the green fog. She did not remember coming here. Her gaze wandered to her own body, taking a closer look at her slender frame. She admired her toned legs for a long moment, she had always been immensely proud of them, and she especially liked the shape of her feet. But this time, she frowned. Something just was not right.

She swallowed hard and felt a tightness in her chest as realization finally hit her: She was without shoes; in fact, she was barely covered. There was no way that she would ever go on a hike like this. Sharp pain hit her, and she gasped, but no sound would come forth. She looked down at her body once more, but this time it was bloodied and torn. Tears were freely rolling down her face as realization hit her. The warning signs, the cliff, the rockslide – she had overestimated herself and paid the ultimate price for it. She could hear bells in the near distance, voices, a song she did not know, yet felt strangely familiar to her. With great effort, she finally managed to rise to her feet.

The moonlight fell through the thick forest and a ghostly figure finally stirred. It was feminine in shape, a slender body covered only by a long gown. The figure looked around for some time, as if confused, unsure where to go. Finally, she moved in the direction where the song was coming from. Had there been any observers, they would have noticed that the figure moved in lockstep with the song, as if animated by it. This would go on until daylight when the figure and the song finally became one.

Episode 28, dream adventure, first dice-roll uneven (female), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

On your tail

Hank was rushing up the stairs, two to three steps at a time. He was panting heavily and had nearly tripped several times, but he pushed himself on. Briefly leaning over the railway, he glanced up the stairways and just about caught a glimpse of the red raincoat several floors above him. He cursed silently, having gained the impression that he was losing ground on his target. By now, he was sure that he had been spotted, or at least given away his location. At this late hour, the stairways had been abandoned and even his initial cautious steps had made noise like gunshots. He flinched at the comparison but found that it was accurate enough under the current circumstances. Throwing stealth aside, he had started to run after this target.

His target – the thought felt strange to him. Only minutes ago, he had been on his way home from his late-night shift as a security guard. Having left all his gear behind at the workplace as was customary, he found himself ill-equipped for what had followed. Upon rounding a corner just a few streets away from his apartment-block, he had been greeted by a morbid sight: A stranger in a red raincoat was looming over what looked like his most recent victim, still in the process of wiping blood from an elongated blade. Judging by the pool of blood ever increasing around the victim, the stabbing had been recent and fatal. Hank had instinctively ducked behind a nearby container, rendering himself invisible to the stranger. Only split seconds later, the stranger had looked around, as if suddenly aware that he was being watched.

Hank had held his breath and cursed himself for a fool, but shortly after he had heard footsteps slowly moving into the other direction. Whatever the presumed killer had sensed, Hank had not given away his position. Counting down a few more seconds, Hank had hesitantly followed. Upon passing the victim – a young woman by the looks of it – it was plain obvious to him that she was beyond help. All he could do now was tailing her killer and finding out more about his motives and whereabouts. Absently reaching into his pockets, Hank had momentarily panicked when he realized that his mobile was no longer there. Either he had left it at work when he changed attire, or he had managed to lose it on the way here. He swore under his breath, his attention returning to the stranger in the red raincoat.

Having almost reached the top of the stairways, Hank slowed down instinctively. In case the stranger had indeed spotted him, it would do no good to barge straight into an ambush. Slowly approaching the last floor before the roof exit of the apartment building, Hank listened intently. There was noise coming from further up, Hank could make out the distinctive sound of wind and rain. This meant that the door to the roof had been left opened – either the stranger had been in a hurry, or he was using the additional noise to cover his tracks. Hank carefully approached the door to the roof, readying himself for an ambush. Taking up position to the left side of the doorway, he took a quick glance outside. Apart from heavy rain splashing onto the rooftop, there was nothing to be seen in the darkness. Hank swore again, any second he spent waiting would give the stranger an additional lead and he would risk losing him for good. Taking a deep breath, Hank burst through the doorway out into the open.

With the rain mercilessly soaking him, Hank tried to get a bearing on his surroundings. The darkness made it almost impossible to see further ahead than a few meters, and the additional rain only further impacted his sight. Hank carefully lowered his arms that he had raised in front of his face as a means of protection in case the stranger would be laying in wait for him. There was no one to be seen. Hank blinked in confusion, his gaze wandering across the rooftop. The apartment building was relatively large, but it only had this single access to the roof. The stranger could not just have disappeared. Squinting his eyes to better pierce the darkness, Hank finally spotted the red raincoat in the near distance. Apparently, the stranger was hunched over an access panel near a series of pipes, presumably from the buildings ventilation system. Hank slowed his movement, approaching as silently as possible. Under these circumstances, the weather conditions were now working in his favour.

Hank had made good progress and was only a few meters away from the stranger now. The red raincoat really stood out in the darkness. As he took another step forward, something registered at the back of his mind. Since he had spotted him, the stranger had not moved at all, this was far too easy. Panic slowly rising within him, Hank abruptly stopped and focused on the red raincoat again, finally realizing what was really going on: The stranger had flung it across the pipes as means of distraction, he was not actually there. Hank was about to raise his guard again, but a blur in the corner of his eyes made him realize that he had reacted too late. He gasped painfully as someone barged into him with full force. Stumbling, Hank reached out with one hand, trying to catch his fall. He cried out in pain as the sharp blade stabbed him in the back, causing him to collapse instantly. Far too late he realized that the stranger had simply been toying with him. Before darkness finally overtook him, Hank wondered just how many victims had fallen to the stranger before – and how many more would follow.

Episode 27, dream murder, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Inside the lair

Shawn blinked several times, willing his eyes to focus. He held his left arm outstretched, steadying himself against the cold stone pillar. In his right hand, he firmly clasped the pistol and its precious contents. Momentarily disoriented, he was glad that he had retained enough of his senses to keep his grip on the pistol. Had he lost it, his chances to escape from this place would surely have dropped to zero. He wondered just how much worse that would have been from his current situation. “Shawn, are you alright?”, the soft feminine voice behind him made him jump and he half raised the pistol as he turned around to face the woman, but he stopped himself the moment he laid eyes on her. The woman repeated the question with a concerned look on her face, and Shawn quickly gathered his thoughts.

There had been strange disappearances in the small town he currently found himself in over the last couple of months. At first, the old sheriff had suspected that it was simply young kids leaving the town in order to look for opportunities elsewhere. The locals had a hard time accepting strangers and they felt alienated by the thought of moving elsewhere. These days, this caused friction within families often, as the younger generation was drawn to the nearby cities. But as the number of missing people kept rising – both young and middle-aged – the townsfolk became more and more afraid. So much so that they had hired him, an outsider, out of desperation, because they no longer trusted in their aged sheriff to be up to the task.

The smile on the woman’s face broadened and Shawn felt increasingly at ease again, his momentary disorientation entirely forgotten. She glanced at the pistol still grasped firmly in his grip and raised an eyebrow. Shawn shrugged apologetically; he did not even remember drawing it. Shawn was about to put it back into its holster, but paused midway, blinking in confusion, then shaking his head. The town physician had repeatedly insisted that he kept it drawn, the blessed bullets within being his only protection, aside from the charm he was supposed to be carrying around his neck. The charm, Shawn realized, that he had lost upon making his entrance into the abandoned mansion at the outskirts of the small town. He shivered at the thought, trying to remember what had happened. His gaze fell again on the woman, she had not moved, patiently observing him.

Shawn shook his head once more and then moved on, making his way through the dark passageway as silently as possible. The woman followed closely behind him, making no sound. She was apparently trusting in his abilities. He wished that he shared her confidence. As a young detective, most of his past assignments had been spying for overly jealous husbands or wives, with a case of burglary or two. He had not expected much from this assignment and had first wanted to dismiss it out of hand, runaway teenagers were hardly something he wanted to concern himself with. But finding clients had turned out to be increasingly difficult as of late, so Shawn had accepted a task that he had felt was clearly beneath his abilities. However, from where he was currently standing, he found that he had grossly underestimated this particular case.

Shortly after Shawn had started his investigation, the first body had been found. What had been immediately apparent was the huge loss of blood. Upon further examination by the local physician, they had found that the body had been almost entirely drained of blood, yet it was not clear how exactly this had happened. Aside from strange marks around the neck area, the body looked unharmed. This phenomenon had repeated itself as more bodies were found. It was difficult to keep anything secret in such a small remote town, and soon the townsfolk were in full panic. They kept pointing at the abandoned mansion and insisted that Shawn would go there. Even the physician was about to lose whatever remained of his sanity and he had provided Shawn with what he called blessed bullets for his pistol. Just before Shawn stepped out of the physician’s shelter, he had heard him murmur one final word: “Vampire”.

Shawn shivered at the recollection of this memory. Back then, he had thought this superstition to be ridiculous. It had been apparent to him that these people had spent far too much time in this backwater they called a town. But now, Shawn felt the creeping sensation of having made a terrible mistake. Glancing over his shoulder once more, the woman urged him on. Coming up at the end of the hallway, he saw a massive wooden door. Summoning all his courage, Shawn pushed it open, momentarily surprised by how readily it moved. For what was supposed to be an abandoned place, everything was still in exceptionally good condition. He realized only now that indeed the place looked anything but abandoned. Taking in his new surroundings, his eyes fell on a lean shadowy figure at the back of the room. It watched Shawn with amusement. “Ah, Lilith, here you are with the new prey.”, it finally said.

Shawn was frozen rigid to the spot, his vision blurring again, he felt sweat running freely down his forehead, further impacting his eyesight. He was about to raise the pistol, but his body would no longer obey him. Behind him, the woman sniggered. Only now he realized that he had no idea who she was; for he had come here alone. Too late he realized that something terrible must have happened upon entering the mansion. He had indeed not just lost his protective charm. As realization came to him, Shawn attempted to open his mouth and scream, but even that was no longer possible.

Episode 26, dream vampire, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Into the breach

“Forward!”, the sergeant’s voice boomed across the battlefield, clearly heard even over the gunfire. Private Jackson had always secretly wondered how the sarge did not end up getting hoarse, but he had gained too much respect for the man to voice such thoughts out aloud. Or perhaps he simply did not want to attract more shouting than absolutely necessary. An explosion to his right snapped him back to attention, he half-stumbled but then ran on, seeking cover with the rest of his squad. The five-man strong unit took shelter in a nearby crater, with Jackson peering out quickly, just to hastily duck back into cover as machine-gun fire roared overhead. He swore and turned to the sarge, who was already barking further instructions.

Their squad was part of the first attack-wave that had been hastily deployed by choppers, but their initial intelligence had been poor, visibility almost zero and the enemies had seemed to be more than prepared for them. Jackson had briefly wondered whether they had been tipped off, but a few seconds on the battlefield had been enough for him to stick his thoughts to his immediate surroundings. Briefly glancing over his shoulder, his gaze fell on burning chopper wreckage and bodies littered across the ground. His squad had been lucky so far and suffered no losses. Peering out from his cover again, he could not help noticing the heavy fortifications ahead and he concluded that their luck might not last forever. The landing site had turned out to be poor for deployment, with only a narrow channel leading past the enemy structures. Circumventing them was not an option at this point and the choppers were no longer able to retrieve the squads without heavy losses.

As if answering his prayers, the sound of approaching aircrafts filled the sky. Detonations rained all over the enemy fortifications and Jackson had to avert his eyes, he and his squad weathering the storm of missiles inside the safety of the crater. The air was filled with smoke and visibility was non-existent at this point. Jackson could make out shapes in the darkness, but he could no longer tell whether they were friend or foe. “Into the breach!”, the sergeant finally barked the order and the squad was up in an instance, running through the smoke, Jackson being able to just barely make out the ruins in the near distance. What had formerly been impassable terrain, had now been reduced to rubble. The enemy resistance had not been fully neutralized though and shots started to fly in their direction once more. A strangled cry and the squad-mate to Jackson’s left went down and did not come back up.

Jackson swore and was about to turn to see after the downed squad-mate, but the sergeant angrily urged them on. Others would look to the wounded – or the dead. Coming up on the enemy fortifications, Jackson peered through the scope of his assault rifle, hunting for targets. He fired off a few quick shots at what looked like shadowy figures, but they hastily ducked away, and he could not tell whether he had scored a hit or not. Finally, having reached the wall of the former fortifications, they paused and waited for other squads to make it to their location. After what could only have been a handful seconds, they had gathered a strong enough force to make the push through the gap in the enemy defences. Peering around the corner, Jackson could see no further than a few meters. The area was still filled with smoke and dust, giving them the perfect opportunity to advance – or end up running into another ambush.

Offering a silent prayer, Jackson moved behind the sarge and the rest of the squad. So far, they were encountering no return-fire. Jackson desperately tried to pierce more than a few meters ahead, but between his squad and the smoke he could make out nothing. Finally, after what had felt like an eternity, the sarge brought them to a halt, sheltering behind a half-collapsed observation tower. With a few barks he ordered Jackson up the ladder, which was now ending just about two meters off the ground, but it would still provide them with a good overview of their immediate surroundings. Having reached the end of the ladder in just a few seconds, Jacksons muttered another silent prayer, before sticking his head over what was left of the wall.

To his relief, his head was not blown clean off and no gunfire was aimed in his direction. Taking in his surroundings, he was now able to overlook the area more clearly. The smoke was slowly lifting, and he could see friendly squads clearing out light resistance in the rubble. Behind the initial fortifications, the landscape was mostly bare, and no enemy reinforcements were in sight. Apparently, the defenders had simply been quick to react to their assault, but they had not known that they were coming. He started passing down this new intel to the sarge and he could tell by his reaction that this were good news. Now with the smoke having cleared almost completely, he could see more enemy emplacements in the far distance, but now that they had successfully made the breach, they were able to bring in heavy armour and siege equipment.

Jackson closed his eyes for a moment, relief written large across his face. He thought of his home, his family, his squad and the fights still ahead of them. For the first time this day, he felt confident that they would come out of this victoriously.

Episode 25, dream invasion, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll even (good ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Out to get you

Scott was running along the narrow track, his heart hammering in his chest. He pushed himself on, always mindful not to trip over one of the wooden planks that had become lose over time. The track was not well maintained, leading through one of the areas many swamps. While it might have been somewhat of a tourist attraction a few decades ago, people did no longer come here these days. But for Scott, the place held a very special memory: It was the place where he had met his fiancée. He swallowed hard at the thought of her, hoping that nothing bad had happened to her. Upon arriving home late in the afternoon, he had found the front door wide open, with a note placed on the kitchen table. There had only been one word on it, but that one word had made his heart skip a beat. Immediately, he had ventured out here into the swamp.

Glancing at his wristwatch, he estimated that there would be roughly half an hour of daylight left. Cursing himself for a fool, he realized that he had not brought a flashlight. He had been so intent on reaching the swamp, that he had thrown all preparation out of the window – or any kind of precaution, for that matter. As he ran further down the track, he started to take in his surroundings. The area was deserted, as was expected. The last person he had crossed several minutes earlier had been an old lady walking her dog, but he doubted anyone would venture further into the swamp for that matter. His thoughts returned to his fiancée just a moment before his gaze fell on the familiar boulder next to the track.

Back when they had first met, she had been sitting on that boulder, her head buried within an old and worn-out book, seemingly lost in the swamp. As he now approached the boulder many years later, he could almost picture her sitting there, and his mouth ran dry at the thought of what might have happened. Coming closer, he immediately noticed the handprint that was still visible upon the boulder. Someone had passed here very recently, perhaps it had been his fiancée, or perhaps someone else entirely. He glanced around nervously, it had almost gotten dark by now, and it was difficult to make out anything at this point. He thought that he heard a whisper, a feminine voice, somewhere afar, but he could not say for sure whether it was his fiancée or not.

He was shouting her name, but immediately regretted it afterwards. What if she was in danger and he was unnecessarily giving away his location. He stumbled on a few more meters, before his eyes fell on a silhouette floating in the shallow water. Moving away from the track, he thought that he could make out the body of a woman, covered in what appeared to be a white gown. Her hair was long and dark, just like that of his fiancée. Panicking, Scott shouted her name again, trying to get closer through the shallow water, but his progress was slow. He flinched as he heard that same feminine voice again, this time clearly saying his name.

Scott turned around just in time to make out the dark figure behind him. Shadowed and covered by a long robe, the person had raised a knife high above and was about to stab him in the back. Momentarily stunned by the sight, Scott failed to completely evade as the knife came down on him. He cried out in pain as the knife buried itself partially in his chest. Scott collapsed on his knees; the knife still stuck in his chest. The shadowed figure had let go of it, apparently satisfied with the blow they had dealt. Scott clasped his fingers around the grip, but then decided against trying to pull it out. With disbelieving eyes, he kept staring at the figure. He opened his mouth to speak, but all he could do was cough up blood. His lips managed to form the question though, “Why?”.

The shadowy figure retreated a few more steps, before getting rid of the dark cloak, revealing their true identity. Scott gasped in shock as he laid eyes on his fiancée. She was staring at him with baleful eyes but said nothing. The pain in his chest was immense and he knew that he was about to pass out any moment. Blinking, he tried to focus on his fiancée again. He stared in confusion, no longer seeing his fiancée, but more like a mythical creature, not unlike a fairy, that seemed entirely at home in the swamp. Further in the background, he thought that he could see white horses. His fiancée had kept talking about them, placed pictures and statues of them in their apartment, but he had never actually seen her with one. With his pain becoming unbearable, Scott collapsed to the ground completely. As darkness was about to overwhelm him, he wondered just who exactly he had found back then when he had ventured deeply into the swamp.

Episode 24, dream swamp, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Showdown at the harbour

Agent Wayne cursed as he hunkered down behind the stack of barrels. Further ahead, the gang was in the process of loading the small cargo ship. Once it left the harbour, it would be near-impossible to track it down. His agency was small and lacked the reach of similar organisations stationed in bigger cities. Wayne was even more determined to stop the gang of smugglers this time though. For months, he had been following their trail, always a little too late, up to the point where he had started to doubt himself. His superiors had given him some leeway because of his flawless service record, but he suspected that even they thought that he was chasing ghosts.

Wayne pressed down hard on his transmitter once more. Regular mobile devices had been considered a security risk, so he had equipped himself with an old transmitter that would signal his position to the rest of his unit upon activation. Trying to make sense of its display, he was not sure whether the signal had gotten through or not. The harbour – which was a very generous word for its size, he felt - was located at the very outskirts of this region and had not shown up on any of their official maps. No surprise then that it had taken him so long to track down the gang of smugglers. They had almost perfectly managed to be where no one else suspected them to be. Almost perfectly. Both money and alcohol still made people talk, at least these things did not change, Wayne thought bitterly.

He peeked out from his hiding place, taking in the surroundings once more. Five gang members were in the process of loading the ship, with two more being on guard duty. Neither of them was paying much attention, more evidence that this location was simply not known to the general public. Wayne suspected that there must be at least that number of gang members on and inside of the boat itself. Even with the element of surprise on his side, the odds were not in his favour. He stared down on his transmitter again, willing it to answer him whether the signal had gotten through or not. He desperately needed the backup of his team – and especially their firepower.

Nearby shouting made him flinch and for a moment he suspected that he had been found, but the gangers were turning their backs to him, pointing in another direction. Something had gotten their attention and indeed three of them were trailing off. Two of them were the guards with the heavier automatic weapons. Wayne instinctively realized that if he wanted to act, he had to do it now. He double-checked his pistol, reassuring himself that it was fully loaded, with a backup-clip tucked in one of his pouches. It would not be enough, but faith – and the transmitter – willing, his team would be here any minute now. Perhaps the distraction had even been caused by them. Sprinting from behind the barrels, Wayne took in the situation: Of the four remaining gang members, two were loading the last crate, with the other two glancing in the direction of the disturbance. The perfect opportunity for him to make his move.

Running in the direction of another pile of barrels, Wayne unleashed a burst from his pistol. One of the gang-members went down instantly, the other being hit by his second pistol-burst before he had even turned fully in his direction. The remaining two gang-members panicked and dropped the crate, half-spilling its content. Explosives, grenades, by the looks of it. Wayne ducked behind the pile of barrels just a split-second before the return-fire started. There was shouting and confusion, but the gang quickly organized. More members were appearing on the deck of the cargo ship, pinning Wayne down behind his improvised barricade. He unleashed another burst from his pistol, but it was impossible to take proper aim.

Peeking around his barricade once more, Wayne immediately spotted the one gang member who had picked up one of the grenades from the broken cargo crate. Reacting on instinct, Wayne fired two shots, but then hastily had to duck back behind the barricade. The ongoing screaming told him that he had hit his target, but that the shots had not been fatal. There were more panicked shouts joining in now and Wayne immediately realized what was going on: The wounded gang member had already armed the grenade before he shot him down.

Abandoning all sense of caution, Wayne sprinted away from his improvised barricade. Only moments later, the first explosion hit, then followed by what could only have been a chain-reaction of the remaining explosives. Wayne was hit hard by the blast-wave and thrown several meters, straight into the wall of the nearby storage container. He hit the ground hard, his vision going momentarily dark, suspecting multiple injuries. As he snapped his eyes back open several seconds later, the agony was immense. He tried to take in a deep breath, but blood was clogging his mouth and he felt a sharp pain in his chest area. Reaching down with the one hand he could still move, he noticed how it came away in deep crimson. He started coughing up more blood. His vision was about to fog again, but he could now make out the sirens in the near distance. Regardless of the transmitter having worked or not, the chain-detonation would have given away their position anyway. His team would arrive any moment now, all specialists with the tools required to finish the job. Wayne closed his eyes, his pain and fatigue about to overwhelm him. His last thought was that at least he had succeeded in his mission – his service record would remain flawless and he had not been chasing after ghosts.

Episode 23, dream secret agent, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Secrets of the green temple

He watched the figurine fall towards the ground in slow motion. Time itself seemed to stop and he wanted to open his mouth and scream, but no sound came forth. He willed his fingers to reach out, but he was utterly powerless to prevent what was about to happen. As the figurine inevitably hit the ground, it shattered into a million small pieces of clay. Only now his mouth would finally obey and he screamed at the top of his lungs as lizardmen and giant cobras came down on him, dragging him down, stabbing him, biting him, consuming him. All the while, the mad laughter of the young lady resonated in the background.

The archaeologist woke with his final scream still on his lips, sitting upright in his bed. As the many times before that he had suffered from this horrible nightmare, it took him several seconds of utter confusion to reorient himself. His heart was hammering in his chest and he looked around the room in panic. Eventually, his gaze would come to rest on the emerald sceptre located on his desk and he would relax, slowing his breath and reassuring himself that everything was alright. He had successfully escaped the green temple and taken the beautiful sceptre with him. At first, he had wanted to sell it to the highest bidder, but after what he considered his narrow escape from the temple’s main chamber, he found that he could not part with it. It gave him comfort and his dreams had stopped, at least for a while.

It was only a few months after his successful recovery of the artefact that a young lady had approached him during one of his alcoholic evenings at the nearby bar. He had immediately been suspicious but played along in order to find out about her true motives. Unsurprisingly enough, she had been after the map. After faking an overly drunk state, he had let her take the false map he carried with him. She was hardly the first to ask about his adventures and she would very unlikely be the last. After his initial discovery of the green temple, he had burnt the original drawing of the map and forged several others that harboured random locations of past adventures. The green temple was a secret he was willing to take to his grave. That she had liberated him of one of these fake maps had been exactly his plan. Given the nature of what she took from him, he doubted that she would ever return to hold him accountable for the subterfuge. Or at least that was what he had naively thought back then.

A few weeks after the encounter, the nightmares had started. They were different from his original dreams about the green temple, but what they all had in common once more was his agonizing death. In addition to the lizardmen, there were now giant cobras in it – and the young lady he had tricked. She was different though than he remembered her, ghostly in appearance, with long dark hair and a white dress. Initially, he had found her beautiful and had been more than willing to trail alongside her in the dream, but each time she led him to his death and at this point he was simply afraid of her. Had she returned in his dreams to haunt him? What had happened to her in real life? He was not sure if he was feeling guilty for his subterfuge, or if he was simply afraid of what the dreams meant for his own life. At any rate, he could not continue for much longer. The lack of sleep was taking its toll on both his body and his mind.

What his dreams told him however was to return to the green temple. There, he would find his salvation, of that he was sure. His dreams started to blur with his reality and sometimes he could no longer tell whether he was dreaming or not. It made his many agonizing deaths even worse to cope with. His hand reached out, grasping the nearby stone pillar, steadying himself. Just as he remembered it, the green temple was abandoned, its main chamber guarded by tall lizard-like statues. Based on his last encounter, he was sure that they had come to life. Or had he just imagined things? Or had it just been a dream? He could no longer tell the difference. In the near distance, he heard a woman giggle. Or was it just the wind? His head snapped back up, squinting his eyes, trying to pierce the darkness. Was this the young woman in the white dress? He half-stumbled on, finally reaching the altar where he had previously found the emerald sceptre resting upon. It should have been empty, but instead he stared at the clay figurine that he kept dropping to the ground in his nightmares, just a few moments before he died.

He blinked, sweat was running down freely from his face, half-blinding him. He heard the giggling again, followed by rattling. There were lizard-like noises and he thought that he heard the hissing of snakes as well. He shivered, looking around in panic. There was only darkness. He stumbled another step, his hand reaching out to the clay figurine. It was ancient and difficult to make out, its original shape having been lost in time. Had it been a lizardmen? A snake? To him, it looked more like a duck. He wanted to laugh, but his laughter died in his throat as the giggling came again, this time from straight behind him. He jumped, half-turned and lost his grip on the figurine. Time slowed as he watched in horror as it fell towards the ground. He knew precisely what would follow now and his laughter turned into a scream of utter horror.

Episode 22, dream clay, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Judgement day

With the siren’s blaring in the background, Jason tried to push through the crowd. Following tightly behind were both his wife and his five-year-old son. Gripping his hand firmly, his wife was about to lose her nerve, he could tell as much based on her facial expression alone. Every few seconds, he turned to her, uttering what he felt were reassuring words, even though he felt anything but sure himself. So far, there had been a complete absence of communication, except for the emergency sirens. Like many others, he had tried to check on his mobile, but the connection was simply unavailable. Whether this was due to the high amount of traffic or a malfunction, he did not know. Coming to think of it, at this point he felt like he knew extraordinarily little. All he cared about for the time being was to get his family to safety.

In the small city they lived in, it was standard emergency protocol to seek refuge in one of the nearby fallout shelters in case the sirens went active. This was something they had taken brief note of when moving to this area, but spared it no further thought. In times of peace, why would one concern themselves with fallout shelters that had the sound of bad science-fiction movies to it. But now, all he wished for was that he had taken the time to check out the place beforehand on a quite Sunday. With the city in uproar, it was impossible to ask for directions, so he had simply decided to shove in the direction of where most of the crowd was going. If this would bring them to their designated shelter he did not know, but he would have to deal with one problem at a time. He elbowed another person who strayed too close to them, worried for the safety of his wife and son. His son had stopped asking where they were going some time ago, simply staring with fearful eyes at his surroundings. His wife was crying now, and he gripped her hand more firmly, urging them on.

Glancing over his shoulder once more, Jason could make out smoke in the near distance. Or was it fog? It was difficult to tell, but he felt that visibility got worse by the minute. He could now barely see more than a few meters ahead, but with the streets still cramped with people, that hardly mattered. He pushed on, narrowly dodging an elderly person who had collapsed to the ground. A few meters to the left, a person came running, screaming at the top of their lungs, before running straight into another person blocking their path. They were both shouting, flailing their hands and hitting each other’s with their bare fists. Jason cursed and urged his family along, telling them to avert their eyes. The city was going mad and he still had absolutely no idea why.

Jason froze the moment the sirens went dead. They had become an irritating background noise by now, but he immediately noticed their absence over the mad shouting of the crowd surrounding them. There was a screeching sound, followed by mad laughter hailing through the speakers. A moment later, a scream that did not sound quite human almost made his eardrum burst, then finally the speakers went out and did not come back. For a moment, the crowd went completely silent, making no move, as if frozen to the spot by this strange incident. It only held on for a few seconds thought, before the mad running, shouting and skirmishing of the crowd continued. Jason punched a man blocking his path straight in the face, his desperation and concern for his family making him abandon all else. The man collapsed where he stood, and Jason felt a moment of relief as he could make out the fallout shelter just a few dozen meters ahead of them. People were still running towards it, while some others had been caught up in small skirmishes. Jason decided that it was time to make a run for it.

Shouting to be heard over the carnage, Jason ordered his wife to grab the kid and run for it, not stopping before they reached the shelter. Jason himself remained by their side, punching or pulling away whoever blocked their path. His desperation gave him strength, but the crowd was thickening, and progress became slower. A man he had just dropped to the ground wrapped his arms around his legs and pulled at him. Jason stumbled. His wife looked back and was about to stop, but Jason urged her on, telling her that he would be right behind them. He turned towards his assailant and kicked the man in the head again, slipping away from his grip. But more people joined in, apparently drawn to them by the prospect of violence. Jason was screaming at them at the top of his lungs, but then a hard object connecting with the back of his head dropped him to the floor. He almost lost consciousness but remained aware enough to see a man looming over him with a rusty metal pipe. A moment later, the man was snatched from his feet, without even the time to scream.

Jason blinked in confusion. More people were disappearing left and right, seemingly snatched out of thin air. Not air though, he thought. The smoke – or fog – had increased in intensity. He could just about make out the fallout shelter in the distance. To his great relief, his wife had managed to carry the boy to safety. They were dragged inside hastily by what looked like military personnel. Jason had no time to dwell on this, feeling a strong grip around his ankle, before being dragged away at lightning-speed. He hit the ground hard several times, knocking his head against the concrete. For a moment, it seemed to him like he could make out strange figures in the darkness that approached, but before he could take another glimpse, he had already lost consciousness.

Episode 21, dream shelter, first dice-roll even (male), second dice-roll uneven (bad ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube

[temordreams]

Fire and fury

Hailee stood at the foot of the ancient tower, her hands resting on her hips, looking up defiantly. As usual, the dragon nested on top of the tower ignored her. She grimaced, pacing back and forth in frustration, raising her hands imploringly every now and then. She considered shouting, but she had tried that before and it had only resulted in her being hoarse for the rest of the day. As far as she could tell, she was simply beneath notice for the ancient creature. But today, she had promised herself, today she would finally draw its attention.

She closed her eyes briefly, focusing on the task at hand. Opening the heavy pouch that she had dragged all the way, her hands grasped the old and worn tome. It had taken her considerable effort to sneak it out of her father’s library, but under the pretence of serving him his favourite tea, she had finally created the opportunity to go around the place unnoticed. To her father, his library meant the world to him, and on dark days she wondered if he treasured the books within more than her. He was certainly paying them more attention. She sighed, banishing these unwanted thoughts. She would need all her focus for the spell.

Hailee flipped through the pages of the tome with speed, finding the passage easily. The scripture was ancient, but she was well trained in all sorts of languages, some of them long forgotten. “The binding of creatures” seemed like an overly simplistic ritual to her, but she was determined to see it through. She read the short passage one more time, the words long memorized. Looking up at the dragon once more, she started shouting at the top of her lungs as she recited the binding ritual. At first, nothing happened, and she almost broke off halfway through the spell, but then she suddenly noticed a slight change in the dragon’s posture. The creature stirred, slowly at first, as if roused from a long slumber. Hailee continued the ritual of binding and her heart almost skipped a beat when she noticed the dragon focusing his attention fully on her. The citing of the ritual completed, she stared back, summoning all her courage.

Slowly, with majestic grace, the dragon stirred, unfolding its powerful wings, before releasing a burst of flame from its mouth. Hailee swallowed hard, for the first time realizing that perhaps she might have gotten more than she had bargained for. But it was too late to turn away now, the dragon taking to the sky, before swooping down to her location. For a moment, Hailee wanted to run, but she defiantly stood her ground, being fully aware that she could not have outrun the creature anyway. Finally, the dragon landed next to her. There was barely any impact and she realized that the dragon had a mastery of the sky that was unrivalled by anything she had seen before. For a long moment, the dragon stared at her – Hailee stared back. She had thought that it would be bigger. After long seconds, the dragon started to laugh.

Hailee was baffled, frozen rigid to the spot. Out of all things, this was not what she had expected. At first, she was stunned, then her fear threatened to manifest itself again, but after long moments, her feelings turned towards anger. How did this creature dare to mock her? She had executed the ritual of binding flawlessly, if anything, the creature should now obey her every wish. No sooner had she manifested this thought, the dragon laughed even harder. For a moment, Hailee thought that the creature was about to collapse where it stood. Tears of shame rolling down her face, she shouted at the dragon: “How dare you, I summoned you, I command you!” The dragon paused, cocking its head in amusement, then after long seconds, finally answered her: “I see now that you are HIS daughter. Like your father, you have great power, mostly dormant still, but promising. Be that as it may, little girl, you do not command the likes of me with binding rituals intended for lesser creatures at best. We predate these rituals by millennia, and we will outlive even your kind by millennia’s yet to come. “

Hailee lowered her head, shame written large across her face. She felt foolish, having picked the tome in a rush, overconfident in her belief that she could control such an ancient creature through such simple means. With tears streaming down her face, she was about to turn and walk away. But the dragon cocked its head again, making her pause. “Wait”, it finally said. “I am old even by the standards of my kind and this world is progressing at a pace that is confusing to me. I shall grant you your wish to make use of my abilities, at least to the degree that I see fit. In exchange, you shall teach me about the recent developments of this world.” Wiping her tears away, Hailee cheered and jumped forward, giving the dragon an affectionate hug. The ancient creature almost recoiled at first, the loving embrace clearly unfamiliar to it. With a sigh, the dragon let it pass, it was an inconvenience it simply had to accept.

Taking to the sky again, the dragon carried Hailee on its back. It spread its wings wide and Hailee cheered in joy, causing the dragon to unleash another burst of flame. It was more for show than anything else, but it seemed to please her, and the creature found her reaction surprisingly satisfying. These were strange times and perhaps they required strange alliances.

Episode 20, dream dragon, first dice-roll uneven (female), second dice-roll even (good ending).

Find the full dream episode on youtube