New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

11/25/12

Curse Sphere
I am in a castle I don't recognize. I look around to see where I am. People are all freaking out, it looks like there is some kind emergency going on. I look out the window to see if I can recognize the location and I see a dark cloud in the distance, it seems to be consuming everything in its path. I immediately know where and when I am. I'm in the Once Upon a Time story, just as the curse was about to reach the castle. I enter the next room and I find Gepetto and his boy next to a closet built into a tree.

I tell him there's no time to explain, but don't send the boy anywhere… I can stop the curse. He looks at me with some doubt. I leave the castle and head in the direction the curse is coming from. I find myself standing on the drawbridge as the cloud is approaching. I focus on the song Blitzkrieg by Metallica, for the part that says "Save us from fate, save us from hate, save ourselves before it's too late…" The song starts a vortex within the cloud that finally pulls the entire thing into a small ball about the size of a marble. The marble drops into my hand, apparently harmless. People behind me are cheering for joy that I was able to stop the curse. Even the areas touched by the curse seem to have been restored to normal.

There is a burst of smoke not far in front of me and a pissed off evil queen materializes. She is going on about how I have ruined everything. I don't bother waiting for her to go on and on, I focus on the song Frozen to heal her heart. The golden energy forms and flows into the queen, seeming to have its intended effect. She seems a bit disoriented, but that is pretty normal. I am figuring my job here is done when another pissed off individual appears. Rumplestiltskin is pretty annoyed. He is getting mad at me and saying there's no way for him to get back to his boy now. I tell him I'll take him to his boy. He's suspicious and asks what the catch is. I tell him no catch. He says all magic comes at a price… what's the price for this? I tell him there is no price, I just want to help. It is clear he won't accept that I would do it for free. We finally agree that he will owe me a favor, with the limitations that the favor cannot put his or his boy's life in danger. I figure I'll never collect anyway. So now that Rumplestiltskin is cooperative I use the song Voices to help him stabilize his energy and then I open a portal while focusing on finding his boy. Unfortunately I wake up here.

Slaves of Darkness
When I get back to sleep I am able to return to the dream. I find I am with a somewhat worried looking Rumplestiltskin in a strange place that I hadn't expected.

It isn't the orphanage I had expected to find Baelfire, who is Rumplestiltskin's son. Instead there is a large open pit mine and there are children working the mine. I wonder who would make them do this. I then see some specters that remind me of dementors floating over the mine forcing the children to work using dark energy whips. I'm not sure what they’re looking for, but I bet it's a good bet they're looking for dark shards. Baelfire ended up here?

That's not good… I get closer to the mine, being careful to stay out of sight. Rumplestiltskin asks if his boy is in that horrible place. I tell him I think so, that's why we were brought there. Let's try to not get their attention and go in the back door.

There is a ventilation shaft in the side of the mountain that is barely large enough for Rumplestiltskin and me to fit through. It opens into a row of prison cells where there are children locked up. They all look sickly. Exposure to dark energy. I use the song Through the Never to open a portal and call to Q.

Q says he'll clean up the dark energy and make sure they all get home. Baelfire is not there. He must be in the mines. So Rumplestiltskin and I make our way to the surface. I disguise us both as specters, which is easier since Rumplestiltskin is already using dark energy. After a short search we find Baelfire, one of the specters standing over him with a whip. Before I can do anything Rumplestiltskin says he will protect his boy and rushes in to do so. Baelfire recognizes his papa, and the cloaked figure says Rumplestiltskin will die slowly. Rumplestiltskin tries to use his powers… the specter brushes it off. He tries again, harder this time, and the specter turns into a cockroach. A pissed off cockroach flits around Rumplestiltskin's face then flies a short distance before running off. Ok, so I am surprised Rumplestiltskin was able to handle a specter… but now many of them are coming. He can't handle all of them. We gather the children in close to us, where they'll be easiest to protect. Then it's time for the big spell.

"Suddenly the unreal silence is broken by a lament, a lament that comes from the deepest, darkest abyss. And from the seven gates of the dark fortress the dead come back to life to face them… this is hell! Immortal fire, now rise, light my heart, light my way through the darkness, a guardian of space and time!" The immortal fire erupts all around Rumplestiltskin, the children, and me, and extends outward, incinerating specters that make contact with it. Even as the fire spreads I open a portal to Q, so he can take the children out… all but Baelfire, who won't let go of his papa. No matter… I can get the three of us out of there. The fire is dying down, so I lead them through another portal and back to their home world. Baelfire seems both glad and disappointed to be home, though Rumplestiltskin promises him things will be different. Baelfire assumes he lost the power somehow… but that's not true, but Rumplestiltskin says he feels more in control of it. Things will be different. He looks at me strangely. I don't have a chance to say anything before I wake up. It looks like a happy ending for all.