Arcana Ad Kine - Chapter 1: nightmare
(this is a story based off of a ttrpg game I played and creating a light novel/ outline version to later make a comic out of. It is not DnD but my home system Altered Ages so some things may be familiar and unfamiliar. feel free to ask questions)
Deep below the blistering deserts and grassy woodland plains of Sirouk’s surface and down into the vast networks of caverns and caves of the Underdark a grand laboratory silently awaits for its next rotation of researchers and engineers. The facility is tucked away in an offshoot chamber east of the drow citadel of Lesurn, built into a single massive stalagnate tower.
Of the tower’s three permanent residents two stay awake in the small hours of the night ready to welcome their new guests. The pair is the owner and head researcher of the facility and his assistant. They lounge about their residence’s sitting room in some of the many large and plush sack chairs. They each choose to spend their time in their own ways through books and shows.
The assistant is a sickly thin lamie homunculus with dark gray speckled by purple blotches. He lays draped over his chair lazily, his chin resting on his palm and the metallic neck brace with injectors glowing with an orange liquid silently humming. His green serpentine lower half spills off into a heap on the rug. He watches a newly released series with great fervor as his madables and thin diminutive insectoid wings twitch and chitter in between his piercing cackles and tail thrashes at the amateurish acting. Snacks are plucked from a bowl next to him with needle-like fingers and popped into his mouth without as much as a glance from their crimson eyes currently locked on the screen.
The owner stands from his chair rising into a stretch. He is a tall lean cambion drow bearing the drow’s signature purple toned skin with the unique blushing of red from his fiendish lineage of the tips of his long ears, shoulders, and long slender forked tail. He flares open his small underdeveloped webbed wings stretching them out before nestling them against his back once more under his black house jacket. As he sets down the medical journal he was reading onto the coffee table another piercing cackle hits his sensitive ears. He looks at his “assistant” with a disgusted sneer ready to sew him shut, but decides against it and shakes his head. They turn away, stepping out of the sitting room and down the neighboring hallway. He passes five doors locked, long sealed to time, down to the sixth at the end. A humanoid golem dressed in soft simple white clothes stands at attention beside the door. The golem turns its head towards its masters approach.
Keji “Good evening master Grimm, how may I be of assistance to you?”
Grimm “Hello Keji, what is his current condition?”
Keji “The current trial is running smoothly, but the young master’s heart rate is abnormally elevated.”
Grimm “Noted. Keep observing as you were. Though I predict the elevated heart rate is due to REM sleep. He tends to have very vivid dreams while starting new medications.”
Grimm steps past the golem into the dark bedroom. His basil green eyes adjust to the lightless bedroom as he creeps to the bedside of a drow child. A tiny boy of only six years old lay curled in thick cozy blankets and his soft round face lay nuzzled into their pillow. Grimm kneels down next to the foot of the bed, and carefully ducks his head underneath the low fabric canopy to not catch his tall singular horn protruding from the right corner of his hairline. He reaches under the blanket to carefully pull out one of the boy's feet that wears a strange sock-like device on it. He taps on a milky white cabochon gem on the device and a panel of transparent light pops up. The panel displays general information about the child and a variety of vital signs. As the golem had reported the child’s heart rates are abnormally elevated, but as Grimm cross examines it with his neural activity their hypothesis is proven correct until otherwise. As Grimm knows that many unexpected things can crop up at any time so it is for the best to keep track of anything out of the ordinary. He continues to review the other vital data and soon determines them to be within acceptable ranges to continue on with his next task. They rise to sit up onto the bed moving closer to the boy. He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding in then softly chuckles with a tender smile.
Grimm “My my, it looks like I will be in for quite the story in the morning,” he muses “Now I have to check your head again. I know you don’t like me doing it, but it will be quick I promise”
Firstly Grimm carefully rolls the boy onto their back and takes extra care to comfortably adjust their long mousy tail underneath them. The boy’s ears and tail are starting to bloom a blue hue similar to Grimm’s red blushing, although his tail hasn’t developed any forking or distinctive tipping yet. Once the child is settled into his new position Grimm leans over them and gingerly cradles their tiny head into his hands. Grimm combs his fingers through the boy's snowy white hair feeling for any abnormal bumps on their scalp. Each gentle press upon their scalp the boy whimpers in pain while he sleeps and wiggles uncomfortably.
Grimm “Shuu, shuu you are okay my boy, please bear with it a little longer. Your daddy is sorry you are hurting.”
He finishes checking the scalp and moves down to his child’s neck quickly feeling around the sides and the back looking for any developing bumps there too. The boy begins to stir awake and the soft glow of peridot green eyes flutter open in the dark. Grimm finishes his check and moves his hand to cup his child’s cheek who moves into the touch this time.
Child “Daddy?” He groggily mumbles.
Grimm “I’m sorry for waking you. I’m all done now, are you still feeling any pain?”
They sleepily nod and mumbles. Grimm softly smiles and nods as he pulls his hand away to pull out a small squeeze tube from his pocket and unscrews the cap. He squirts out a small dollop of a clear purple goo onto the tip of his finger and approaches his finger to the boy’s mouth. The child opens his mouth without instruction and Grimm gently rubs the goo onto their gums. The child’s face scrunches in disgust at the taste of the goo in his mouth, but the effects of the medicine soon take effect and he soon dozes back asleep. Grimm watches his child fall back asleep, a hand on their stomach to ease them off, but his expression is conflicted and pained. Once his child is sound asleep he steels his emotions and rises from the bed solemnly walking to the door. His body tenses as he forces himself to not look back at the boy.
Grimm “Sleep well, Kine.”
After the soft click of the door the boy, Kine, rolls back onto their side and nuzzles back into his pillow. Their lidded eyes dance as he descends back into the land of dreams. The colorful space of his mind shift and and swirl about him as he flies through landscapes he has only seen in his textbooks. He halts his flight as he stumbles upon a group of men and women traveling through the Underdark. Their visages look like paper cut outs of his drawings only animated and talking now. Intrigued by their appearance in his dream they decide to follow them along on their journey.
The troupe travel through lush and warm mushroom forests, around thermal reefs brimming with life, through echoing chambers of towering columns of stone and crystals, traversing over raging rivers and rushing waterfalls, and trudging through vast empty fields of thick snow occasionally spotting a herd cavern knockers. As they settle down for the evening before the last stretch of their journey Kine lurks closer to the group and snoops amongst their conversations and things. Their conversations range from gripes about their long journey and the cold to the excitement of new work possibilities and a nice warm bed. Most of the items are the usual travel gear, food stuffs, and personal luggage, but some of the crates are full of science equipment Kine vaguely recognizes. What gives him pause is the insignia inscribed on their equipment, it is a straight rod with an electric bolt zigging around it. He has seen this symbol amongst many others around his home and on his father’s paperwork. Before he can try and remember the name of that particular group the dream suddenly warps into a void with a window showing a glimpse of the group cresting over a hill and a massive tower in the distance. As they stand to see the tower Kine falls past the window the darkness of the void. He does not know how long he falls but it is abruptly ended as he falls hard onto his bottom as the dream begins to settle once more.
Kine “Ouchie… That hurt.” He grumbles and stands, rubbing his sore back side “ Where the heck am I?”
As if answering his question a lamp hanging from an unseen ceiling pops on. Beneath the light’s soft yellow glow the sickly assistant and a much shorter man enveloped in shadows despite the light above them stand.
Kine “What is Uncle Jekel doing here? Who is he talking to?”
Kine tries to get closer to the illuminated pair, but no matter how much he walks or runs towards them he gains no ground. Neither can he make out what they are saying, their voices sound like they are underwater. Their body language seems relaxed as his uncle stands in a loose coil lowering to meet a better height with the shadow man. They chat for a few minutes before they each pull out some hidden items. Jekel hands the shadow man an ornate crystal bottle filled with a dark cherry red liquid and in turn he receives a hefty two inch thick binder stuffed with papers. They check over their received items for a moment and the meeting suddenly ends. Jekel turns their head like they heard a voice in the voice and he groans and sneers. He looks back to the shadow man and says their goodbyes before storing the binder in a bag and slithering out into the void. The dream doesn’t end there, the shadow man lingers under the light as they silently stand watching the direction Jekel slithered off to. Kine watches confused as to why the dream is still here, then he feels it. An eerily cold that grazes his back and caresses him, sending a sharp shiver down his spine. He looks to the shadow man and they have turned to look at him. Despite their lack of facial features Kine can feel their eyes looking him over and smiling. The chill intensifies.
Shadow man “Oh there you are my D’vat. Eager to see me already?” They chuckle darkly, “Don’t worry, I’ll see you soon.”
Kine attempts to question the strange man, but a loud crashing sound from behind steals his attention and he turns towards the noise. Behind him is nothing but the endless void and turning back towards the man again they are gone, replaced with the destroyed remains of his home's grand library. Kine now finds himself surrounded by bookcases broken and knocked over, tables broken and thrown about, books, papers, and broken glass scattered across the floor haphazardly. The lights are broken and sparks pop from broken bulbs. A singular flickering light pours out from an attached office illuminating a thin path just barely reaching to where Kine stands. The previous eerie chill weighs heavily in the air and on Kine’s small frame, anxiety gripping in his chest.
Kine “W-why is everything broken?”
??? “shush! An angry dragon is running amuck!” A high pitched voice calls out
Kine jumps in surprise letting out a squeak. A childish giggle echo in the room and a warping figure of black ink and smoke peeks out of the doorway with the light. The figure steps out their form sways side to side in a playful manner. Kine tilts the head looking at the strange creature. They hold a smoky finger up to where the mouth be, in a quieting motion.
??? “We must be careful the dragon might show up again.” the figure warns
Kine quiets down looking around the room for the sight of a “dragon”. Seeing nothing quite yet they start to observe the figure to try and wrap his head around what they are. He waddles side to side to get different perspectives. They seem similar to the shadow man they met just ago but their form is unstable and evershifting. On a closer inspection they have red shifting spots or “eyes” floating about the ink and smoke. The figure squashes their shape down to match Kine’s height giggling and mimicking his waddling.
They continue this small game of theirs and Kine’s anxiety begins to ease. That is until Kine takes a step too far and onto a sharp shard of glass. He yelps in pain and tumbles to the floor holding his foot. He whimpers and tears prick at the corners of his eyes but he tries to keep his voice down. The eye spots on the figure bulge in shock and worry, their once easy flow of their visage starts to rapidly warp erratically. Inky spikes jut from their center mass and their hands fret in front of them as they want to go over to them but they don't go past the door.
??? “Oh no no no! Oh do be careful prince! The floor is not safe! The dragon might smell you please come here the room is too small for them.”
They squash and stretch their arms out towards Kine to sweep away the glass shards and wood splinter, falling just short of touching the boy. The path of light acts almost like a barrier keeping them in. Kine looks at the tendrils reaching for him straining to escape the light. A strong smell of oil and earthy rot strikes his sensitive nose. Something deep within his chest screams at him to run away. With the black basalt floor clear of debris the appendages retreat back out of the room.
??? “Come this way little prince! I can treat your foot and keep you safe from the dragon.”
Their voice cracks from the sweet childish voice to that of a deeper darker, more adult, voice. Sickly sweet like thick metallic honey and filled with malevolent desire. The desperate scream to run in Kine’s chest freezes him in place and his breathing becomes quick and shallow. The figure gestures for them to come, but with each passing second Kine sits frozen, their urgent calls lose their softer edge, degrading into impatience. Kine’s eyes widen and he starts to shut down as they begin to get louder.
??? “GET OVER HERE YOU SNIVELING WELP, NOW!”
The shout shocks Kine out of his paralysis and he jumps back in fear cowering into a ball covering their head with their arms. The room falls silent but the air is still heavy with tension. Kine peeks his head out from behind his arms and looks to the doorway, now lacking any traces of the ink creature. His heart pounds in his chest and the urge to run aches in his muscles. Kine tentatively stands up and carefully looks around him for the figure. The lit doorway where the creature stood fills him with dread. He carefully walks to the other side of the room to the grand wood doors of the library. A heavy wooden table lays against the doors blocking them. The table looks like it only needs a few good pushes for him to get to a door and slip out.
Kine clears away debris from the floor with a makeshift broom of scattered papers. He goes to the edge of the table grabbing at the solid wood top and pulls with all his little might. The table moves just a smidge but its immense weight is too much for a child's tiny frame. He continues nonetheless making tiny bits of progress. A gap big enough for him to slip in between the door and the table is made so he changes tactics and braces his back against the table and feet onto the door. Better progress is made in the short bursts of his energy. He almost gets the table just pushed enough for him to escape before the table is snatched away and thrown across the room in a thunderous crash. Kine drops hard onto the stone floor, head thudding so hard he is seeing stars.
Cackling echoes all around the library. Kine feels something cold grab his ankles dragging him towards the dreaded office. He is hoisted up and the cold gooey liquid wraps around his body tightly and the smell of oil and rot fill his nose again. He feels a hand grab his chin steadying his spinning head. They patiently wait till Kine can focus once more. A goat-like face grinning like a Cheshire cat greets his regained focus. Many red eyes look deep into his soul and true fear paralyzes Kine. He tries to scream but sharp wheezes are all that he can muster. The goat creature looks displeased at the lack of a scream and wretches one out of the boy by tightening his grasp on their tiny body. They cackle and loosens his grip just enough for Kine to breathe and focus back on them.
The goat speaks in an unfamiliar tongue, deep and dark like the abyss itself and manyfold “You should have come when I asked, little prince. This would have been so much easier on you, but nonetheless,” The goat creature caresses Kine’s face admiring the color of his skin changing to red where they touch. They brush back his bangs to see budding horns growing and he genuinely looks pleased. “My dear little prince, so young and sweet. So full of light and hope, oh but soon! So very soon you shall fulfill your destiny and that insignificant light will be snuffed out and fed to something greater. And no matter how much you fight your end is nigh.”
The goat laughs and the oily goo begins to consume Kine climbing up his shoulders and neck. Kine tries to struggle and break free but his efforts are met with amused laughs from the goat. He is soon swallowed and plunged back into the darkness of the void.
