New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

03/04/13

On the Road: Campfire
I am sitting on the side of a road with some other people. I recognize them all. I see MoSh, Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susanna, and Oy all gathered around a campfire. Everyone is watching Roland very closely. Roland is finishing his story about what happened in Hambre with Susan Delgado. He says he didn't meet her where he had said they would meet. He said he knew if he was to meet her he wouldn't have the strength to do what needed to be done. He said he would have liked nothing more than to make a life with Susan, but the tower… He talks for a bit more about why he has to find the tower and fix what is wrong within it. He finally stops and looks around. He looks like something just occurred to him. He says there were parts of the story he himself hadn't remembered until he told it… like the fact MoSh and I were both there. But while he has aged, we were both the same then as we are now. We were part of his ka-tet back then and we are again… ka is a wheel… but how is it that we aren't changed? I tell him MoSh and I travel through both time and space to arrive where and when we need to be, those events in Majis are like yesterday to MoSh and me… I literally rescued Susan yesterday. So what happened to Susan anyway? Roland said he saw in the glass when she was almost burned alive… had been sure she would be… he had already accepted that they would not be together, but wasn't ready to accept that. He says part of him would swear he saw here actually burn…

On the Road: The Emerald City
I am on the road traveling with MoSh, Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susanna, and Oy. There is a palace ahead spanning across the road. The palace is a green crystalline color. There are shoes in the street. It looks like someone left out a pair of bright red shoes for each person in the group. We all pick up the pair of shoes that is intended for us, mine looks like the ruby slippers Dorothy wore in the Wizard of Oz.

We continue to the entrance to what I can only think of as the Emerald City. There is a large gate in the front of the palace, it looks more like a palace than a city. The road leads through the gate and I can see the road extending into the palace. After figuring things out for a short while it is determined that we all have to tape the red shoes together at the same time, three times, to open the door. So everyone puts on the shoes and taps them together. There is a reverberating sound that makes everything vibrate, but nothing happens. Oops… everyone forgot about Oy. The billy-bumbler hadn't clicked his shoes together. So we do the test again, this time with Jake and Roland taking care of clicking Oy's shoes together… and the sound is even louder. The entire structure of the emerald palace seems to vibrate.

The gate doesn't open… it shatters into a billion tiny shards. Fortunately none of them seem to be sharp enough to cut anyone. We go into the palace, following a long hallway to a door at the end. The whole thing looks like the Wizard of Oz. The door at the end has a sign that states the bell is out of order… please knock. The door is unlocked, however, so we go through. There is a loud voice coming from everywhere, asking how dare we enter the presence of the great and powerful Oz. Eddie says not to worry… it's just a bumhug… I think he means a humbug. I think the voice considers itself to sound threatening and scary, but it really just sounds a bit ridiculous to me. Oy is also unaffected by this, he is over near a curtain pulling at it. He pulls it aside to reveal a man there. The man doesn't look good, it looks like a piece of his skull is missing… ouch! He is throwing threats around until Eddie puts bullets in his head. There is another man there, however. He is standing in the middle of the main room where there had been a blazing fire special effect, he is holding the wizard's glass orb. He says he will give us one final chance to cry off and forget about the tower. Everyone says no, they will not do that, including MoSh and me… I tell him, "You wish… not gonna happen." Roland tries to shoot him with his gun, but it doesn't fire. The man laughs at that and says Roland will get only misfires with him. Maybe the bullets are all bad. Roland responds by drawing a gun from Eddie, Susan, and Jake's home world… He draws it lightning fast and fires at the man, who disappears in an explosion of smoke. He does not get away unscathed, however, I hear a cry of surprise and pain before he manages to dematerialize. Now we are alone in the huge room, Roland says he thinks he will have to tell the rest of his tale before we can continue… no… he will have to show us. He points to where the man dropped the wizard's glass as he disappeared. We go over to the orb and Roland indicates we should look into the orb. I don't see anything in it, I wonder why that is. Roland and the others seem to see something in there… and I notice Roland has a shocked look on his face. He says that's not how it happened… but now he remembers differently… which one is true? The first thing I think to say is nothing is true… and everything is permitted, even changing events that have already happened… I look back into the orb and this time I can see an image. Roland is walking down a hallway and into a room. There are shoes underneath the curtains but he doesn't see them. He is looking for his mother. The others are all gathered around as well, all except for Roland. The younger version of Roland turns around when someone is behind him. At first it looks like the witch Rhea, come back for revenge, holding out a dead snake towards Roland. She looks like a corpse. But then that image looks transparent, and it is really Roland's mother.

She is holding out a belt that looks handmade. Roland is drawing his guns, apparently he still sees Rhea. Everyone is yelling at Roland not to do it, it is a trick. I say nothing out loud, but I focus on sending a telepathic signal through time and space… I send a message to MoSh to do the same… maybe it can get through, even just enough to make him hesitate… a second is all it would take… and he does hesitate. Due to my telepathic message? He hesitates just long enough to see the illusion waver… and then he sees her for who she really is. I hear Rhea's voice of rage, yelling curses, saying she will still have her revenge… I am thinking I should have killed the witch in Hambre. Roland's mother interprets Roland having his guns out to mean he knows she had planned on betraying his father. She quickly tries to explain that she didn't know what she was doing, Marten had gotten into her head somehow... he'd been using her the whole time. Roland has no interest in just shooting his mother, he looks around to see if the witch is still present in the room. He looks straight at me for what seems like a long time before turning back to his mother, who says she wants a chance to make up for what she has done. The images around us fade to pink. I feel a bit disoriented and then find I am sitting on the road, it looks like we are far past the Emerald Palace. The others are all there, too, they also look disoriented. From the look of our shoes we have been walking the whole time. I notice the road isn't what it used to be… not really a road at all. And the path of the beam can be easily seen in the clouds in the sky. We are back on track. Roland is looking at me strangely. He says he doesn't know how it can be. He still remembers shooting his mother, but it is like it was a dream… and what we just saw is much clearer. It is here that I wake up.

03/03/13

Into the Thinny
I am in a place I don't recognize. I look around and I see I'm not alone there. Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain are there with me. I'm having a Dark Tower dream. Roland is not exactly with us. He is staring into a glowing pink ball and looks completely zoned out. I recognize what is happening just as Alain punches Roland in the face. Roland drops the glowing orb and falls over backwards. Alain catches the orb. For a minute I think he's going to zone out, but he puts it in a bag and the light goes out. The others say we have to get moving if we're going to blow up those tankers. I am thinking MoSh would want to be here... so I focus on a portal to find him. A portal opens but then I realize he is right beside me. Why didn't I see him before? There are some guards on the tankers who are quite surprised when we go charging through their line, apparently no one has any interest in stealth this time. Alain is shooting with a machine gun, perforating all the tankers and spilling oil all over the place. Cuthbert fires burning fireworks into the oil puddles. Roland, MoSh, and I are covering them so they don't get shot while doing that. For some reason I have a crossbow instead of a gun, but it serves the purpose just fine as I take down an enemy as he is aiming at Cuthbert. Then the explosions come. One tanker after another. The enemies have made the mistake of keeping them too close. They probably figured it would be easier to defend, but they are so close that one explosion sets off the next one. Only one tanker fails to ignite. I use a fire spell to set it ablaze. There is chaos, but the enemies are regrouping. Roland is leading everyone away, I grab a horse and follow. All of the enemies are following us towards what I remember is a box canyon and a thinny. A thin spot between worlds. To enter a thinny is to die. I look at the enemies following us on horseback and think the horses don't deserve to die like that. Maybe I can save some horses. Roland dismounts, and the rest of us do, too. We enter the canyon on foot. Roland is staying behind to light the brush on fire to trap the enemies with the thinny. I want to save some horses.

I ask MoSh to help me save horses. He agrees. I tell him I'll open an exit portal and only riderless horses are to pass through. We all head towards the place where we can climb out of the canyon. MoSh and I break off, however. We head towards the thinny. I hear the sound of the thinny but it doesn't seem as bad as the books described it. Apparently that's not true for Cuthbert and Alain. They are staring at the thinny. I see smoke from the mouth of the canyon and I hear horses coming. Roland arrives and sees Cuthbert and Alain approaching the thinny. He fires two shots over their heads to wake them from their trances. He calls everyone over to where we climb out. I tell him to go ahead, MoSh and I will catch up. He seems hesitant. I tell him we're from the other side if a thinny... we'll be fine. They head up the steep rock wall. Horses are panicking and throwing their riders. I open a portal in front of a panicking horse. The horse goes through. Most of the horses are going the wrong way. I wonder how I can redirect the horses to the portal without having everyone get out. A couple of riderless horses find their way to the portal. I mount a riderless horse and head around, getting other horses to follow. I see MoSh doing the same. We manage to gather a small herd. I see people running around in blind panic. Others seem to be in a trance, gazing into the thinny. MoSh and I get the horses through the portal. The thinny is growing. I think there is no way we have gotten all of the horses. Roland is calling to us to come quickly. MoSh and I climb up the rock after the others. We reach the top of the cliff. Roland is yelling like crazy. Telling everyone to move for their father's sake. He tears the wizard glass away from Alain and opens the bag, and pulls out the glowing pink orb.

He looks into the orb, screaming "NO!" over and over again. He then finally stops. He looks at the orb and then at me, then back at the orb again. He has a look of disbelief on his face. He asks how that can be... then tells me I have to get going for my father's sake, he doesn't know how I do it, but I am in two places at once. Or maybe the orb is lying... but it can't lie... but it can mislead. That means maybe it hasn't happened yet. Maybe there's still time... But it looks like I have to do it... so go before it's too late. I remember he is probably talking about saving Susan. I thought I had already done that... maybe not good enough. I tell Roland I will get her to safety. Roland says he will have to be gone, he tells me to please make sure Susan is safe. He says he would wait for her forever, but his destiny lies elsewhere. I am not sure what he is talking about, but I figure I had better get to Susan if the wizard glass has already shown me rescuing her.

Charyou Tree
I am in what looks like a town out of a western movie. It is dark out, and the moon is full and shining brightly. There are people standing around and yelling. There is a cart being pulled down the street. Everyone is throwing stuff at the cart and yelling charyou tree. There is a corpse driving the cart, or a woman who looks like a corpse. That is Rhea, the witch who had the wizard's glass for too long. There is a woman standing in the back of the cart, her hands are tied in front of her. That's Susan Delgado.

They're taking her to the bonfire to burn her. That was what Roland had been looking at in my previous dream. I wonder how I can manage to stop it. I wonder what Roland has already seen in the wizard glass. The cart passes by me and the crowd falls in behind it, yelling and throwing things at it. I follow after the cart and the crowds, everyone is still chanting charyou tree. The cart pulls ahead of the crowd, pulling ahead to where the bonfire is set up with stuffy guy dummies all over it. They're carrying Susan to the pile, throwing her on it. A woman is yelling at her, calling her a whore. They have torches. They're about to light the fire. I wonder how everyone got filled with so much hate. I know for a fact that isn't their natural state. Maybe it's something Rhea did to them... and maybe I can fix it. I use a song spell to try to drain it away... and distract everyone from the burning at the same time. I use the song Touch My Heart from the Devil Hunter soundtrack, focusing it on spreading positive energy through everyone. The song plays out loudly in the night, and it does get everyone's attention. I go over and get between the people with the torches and Susan. Susan's aunt Cordelia seems more resistant to the positive energy than the others. While most everyone is looking rather disoriented she is still trying to urge them on. So I focus the energy of the song on her specifically. Soon everyone has stopped chanting, the only one who still wants to burn Susan is Rhea. I direct the final part of the song at Rhea, I wonder if it could be the energy from the wizard's glass that is making her behave as she is. When the positive energy surrounds Rhea, however, she just gets more angry. When the song is over everyone is looking disoriented. Someone finally speaks up. It is a man who says the witch has been using them. Now people are getting mad at Rhea. I untie Susan, who seems more concerned about Roland than herself. I wonder what effect this will have on the story... Rhea is calling curses at everyone, but has become more concerned with getting out of there. She steers the horse and cart around and rides through the crowd.

The people scatter to clear the path before they get run down. Rhea disappears down the street, still yelling curses. People are starting to talk to each other now, they are talking about a witch that is more powerful than Rhea, some are worried about Rhea's curses. I tell one of those people that the positive energy from my song will keep the curses away. I'm not sure how I know this, but it sounds true. Susan is thanking me for saving her, she wants to go meet up with Roland. I'm not sure what to tell her about that, since it seemed to me Roland had already chosen his quest for the tower over a life with Susan. I walk with Susan through the crowd. None of them can look her in the eye, some of them are murmuring apologies, Cordelia is beside herself trying to apologize… she says the witch Rhea had used them all, and she can't believe what they had been about to do… Susan isn't paying much attention to her aunt, she wants to go to Roland. She says she knows where Roland will be, she will go meet him there. Him and Sheemie, they'll all get away together. Susan and I are now clear of the crowd. I wonder what to do now, but it isn't up to me, I wake up.

03/02/13

Kidnapping
I am standing near a cabin of some kind, it looks like a rather old cabin, and I see there are other people around. I recognize the people from the Dark Tower books I have been reading. I see two of the big coffin hunters there, I identify them as Eldred Jonas and Clay Reynolds.

The third one I am not immediately able to place. Susan Delgado is also there, her hands are tied in front of her, she is talking to the others. I can't hear what they are saying, but she motions to Jonas to come a bit closer. When he gets close enough she spits right in his face. He smacks her for that, knocking her to the ground. I come out of the brush and tell him he shouldn't have done that. He looks at me strangely, then says I don't want to get mixed up in this. I have one chance to just walk away, which is more than I deserve. I tell him he had better be the one walking away if he wants to live to see tomorrow. Last time we met it wasn't his time yet, but now I figure it's close enough to his time to die. He laughs at me, pointing out that I am unarmed and he and his men have guns. He points his gun at me, but that doesn't worry me. I walk directly towards him. He fires his gun at me, but my Witchblade armor blocks the bullet, so I just keep walking towards him. He has a baffled look on his face as he fires twice more, neither of those shots having any more effect than the first one. I am standing right in front of a stunned Jonas who doesn't seem to know what to say or do. I say he has one more chance to cry off and leave Susan alone. There is now a gun to the back of my head, Clay Reynolds is immediately behind me.

Jonas says I have made the last mistake I'll ever make… which is the last thing Jonas ever says before he finds himself with a hidden blade buried in him. Clay clearly hasn't seen what happened, though he does notice the shocked look of pain on Jonas' face. He asks Jonas what is wrong, but Jonas is unable to answer. While he is paying more attention to Jonas than to shooting me I spin around and stab Clay before he can shoot at me. The third guy is pretty freaked out by now and he takes off, no doubt to tell the others what just happened. I go over and cut Susan free. She seems worried about where Sheemie might be now. I look around for a bit and I see Sheemie come running out of the brush, he hugs Susan and says he is so glad she is ok, he got so scared when he saw the bad coffin hunters but he didn't know what to do. He then gives me a big hug and says he will thank his friend whose name he doesn't even know. I tell him my name is Raven. Susan says this place obviously isn't safe… they need to find another place to hide. I am trying to think if I can remember a good spot when I wake up.

Ambush
I am hidden in tall grasses, and I see I am not alone there. There are four men there with me, though three of them look like they're still boys. I recognize all of them. The three boys are from the Dark Tower series. Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain.

The fourth isn't from the Dark Tower series at all, I recognize MoSh. I look around and it seems we are following some people. I look and see a man I don't recognize come running from somewhere behind. He is out of breath and finally manages to say that Jonas and Reynolds are both dead, the crazy bitch killed them. When he mentions the crazy bitch everyone looks over at a black wagon with what looks like a corpse driving it. I realize that must be Rhea, the local witch / bitch / crazy old woman. As if realizing what crazy person everyone thought he meant, the man says no, not her, some crazy bitch with a knife for an arm. Now people just stare at him as if he was the crazy one. There is a brief period of chaos, then finally Roy Depape takes charge of things and says they need to keep going.

If Jonas and Reynolds are really dead, there's nothing to wait for. And even if they're not, they dare not be late or all of them will wish they were the ones who were dead. So the group of people moves on. I can't tell exactly how many of them there are, the group is traveling in a long drawn out line. There are only three horses there. I figure the first thing to do is jack one of the horses being used by the parade of assholes passing by. But not all of them are on horses, so maybe a horse isn't even needed. Cuthbert nails a couple of horse riders from behind with his slingshot, the two fall off of their horses without being noticed. Roland says to take out as many as possible silently before alerting the whole group. He says he thinks there are about 50… now 48… but maybe we can get that number down before the real fight even begins. Cuthbert isn't waiting to be told, he has nailed two more of them with his slingshot. 46. Take out some of them silently… time to play a little Assassin's Creed with these guys. I make my way around to the other side of the path and then I make just enough noise to get the curiosity of one of them. He comes over to investigate and gets rewarded with a hidden blade to the neck. I haven't had a chance to do anything else before I hear a gunshot. Now the fighting is really getting started. There is a lot of shooting going on. Someone on a horse is taking aim at one of the boys I was with so I grab him, pull him off his horse, and stab him before he can fire. There's a gunshot and someone falls over right behind me, I look in time to see the gun was aimed at me. Apparently someone has my back as well. I see MoSh pull someone off a horse and kick them hard in the head before climbing up on the horse. He rides off in the other direction after a couple of the enemies. I climb onto the horse right beside me. For some reason I find I have a crossbow instead of a gun… but I figure it will do the trick. I fire several quick shots and take out two more enemies, though I miss the third as he turns to fire at someone off to the right. I see Roland riding after Depape, just as he rode after Jonas in the book. Depape has the bag with the wizard's glass in it, I wonder where Rhea has gone after having it taken from her. Crawled into a hole, no doubt. Roland shoots Depape through the hand to make him drop the bag, and catches it on the way down before firing two rounds directly into Depape's face. There are a few shots fired after that, but it seems most of the enemies have lost their desire to fight and they are retreating. Roland is holding the bag with the wizard glass in it, gazing into the bag with a strange look on his face as the others try to get his attention. I think I could try to snap him out of it but before I can do anything I wake up.

02/26/13

Bullies
I am in what looks like a western town, I am walking down a dusty road. I have no idea where I am or how I got to be here, but this doesn't seem odd to me. I just keep walking down the road until I hear a commotion around a corner. I follow the sound of the commotion and I find three men picking on one boy who looks like he is mentally disabled. I recognize the people from the Dark Tower series. The three men are Eldred Jonas, Clay Reynolds, and Roy Depape. The boy is Stanley Ruiz, aka Sheemie. Roy Depape and the others are all making fun of Sheemie, I think Roy might be considering shooting him.

Branch A: I am thinking I should do something about the situation when I see there is another man there, and I recognize him as MoSh. MoSh says he doesn't like to see someone picking on someone who has limited mental capacity… then walks up to Sheemie and says he should go ahead and leave these three unfortunate men alone. Sheemie looks a bit confused but glad to leave, and he hurries off. Eldred Jonas picks up on the insult right away and gets pissed. His face turns red. He tells MoSh he had better take that back. MoSh says he would get into a battle of wits with Jonas, but he makes a point not to get into a fight with someone who is unarmed. Jonas has his gun out instantly and fires a bullet right at MoSh's feet, and he seems surprised when MoSh doesn't even flinch. MoSh takes the gunslinger challenge and pulls out a gun even faster than Jonas, shooting the gun right out of Eldred's hand. All three of them are stunned now. They are still staring at MoSh when the sheriff shows up with Sheemie. It looks like Sheemie thought there might be trouble and brought a cop. They arrive just in time to see Eldred Jonas picking his gun up off the ground, I notice he has a gun of his own out but seems uncertain. MoSh has concealed his own gun. The sheriff wants to know what is going on, and Eldred is the first person to respond. He says he was showing off his piece to their new friend (MoSh), nothing here that requires the law to intervene. The sheriff seems glad at the idea that nothing is really going on here. He tells Sheemie he knew there wasn't really anything serious going on. I notice Eldred Jonas wants to keep his ruined gun from being seen, he holsters it as if it was still useful. Apparently he doesn't want to admit he was outdrawn so easily.

Branch B: I am thinking I should do something about the situation. I tell the three of them they had best be leaving Sheemie alone. Eldred Jonas says it's none of my business and I'd best be moving along. Roy Depape seems to have a bit of a different opinion… he eyes me over a time or two and says maybe there is something I could do to distract him if I want the retard to live for one more day… the way he is eyeing me I know what he is thinking and the thought makes me a bit nauseous. But I don't want him to just shoot Sheemie before I can get to him so I pretend to be considering his proposition… until I get close enough. From the look on his face I think he is expecting to get lucky… instead he gets my knee in his groin, as hard as I can do it. Eldred Jonas has his gun in his hand almost instantly, but he isn't fast enough before I kick the gun right out of his hand using a martial arts move. I follow that with a kick to the gut, knocking the asshole flat on his ass. I tell Sheemie he might want to take this opportunity to leave… which he does. Clay Reynolds seems too stunned to do anything but stare, I think he is shocked at the idea of a woman fighting back like that. That doesn't keep me from knocking him on his ass. With the three of them all nursing injuries I tell them to leave Sheemie alone, or next time I might not be in such a good mood. I manage to make it around the corner before I wake up.

02/23/13

Note: Someone named Lara has been visiting us for the past few days with the goal of helping break some psychological blocks I am having problems with. After she was here it was discovered she had been working for some Templars in her home world, but she has agreed to help with the blocks in exchange for a cure for her son, Anthony, who has an inoperable cancer. Of course it's not inoperable for someone like Q or Washu… The area she works in looks for time fluctuations which can be used to see through time, know the outcome of certain operations before doing them… know what Assassins are going to do before the Assassins even know… She said they found a timeline where an Altaïr was about to die in the natural course of the timeline. They managed to grab him, Lara said the point was to use energy healing so Altaïr could learn how to feel love… but the truth no doubt has more to do with mind control. Lara truly believes people like Altaïr (Assassins) don't have the capacity to care about anyone due to how they grew up so they need to have their hearts healed… the final point being my goal, to go into the facility where they are holding Altaïr and get him out of there… In order to make sure as few people as possible get hurt Lara says she can get me in by telling them I am a soul healer (not a lie) and I can have the effect they are looking for on Altaïr.

Moon Assassin
I am on a beach taking a walk on a very peaceful day. I remember my goal, and first I have to go meet up with Lara so she can sneak Sailor Moon into the Templar facility. Before I can even open a portal, however, Q appears with a woman I don't recognize, who turns out to be Lara. I have never actually met Lara face to face… Q says he will take us to the correct world, then snaps his fingers to transport us. When we appear, we are in a house. In a bedroom. Lara leaves the room and heads downstairs. An older woman eyes Q and me suspiciously as we follow Lara. Q says he will take care of Anthony's treatment, it is almost done, then it is not only guaranteed that Anthony's current cancer will be gone, but he will be immune to any cancer in the future. I notice that Q looks like a doctor. The older woman looks similar to an older version of Lara, and I realize she is primarily looking at me. She says she doesn't want any of "them" around Anthony… then asks what I am doing here. She says she knows the doctor has to see Anthony, and has even accepted the demons Lara has to deal with in order to get Anthony cured, but no one else is to have access to Anthony. Lara starts to tell the woman my name… then hesitates… I say my name is Serena… Serena Usagi, using the name off of Sailor Moon… and I am a healer, so who is this "them" she thinks I am? She scoffs and says I already know… and if I am a healer she is the queen of England… then tells Lara to get me out of her house. I am about to question why the woman doubts my being a healer, Lara points at a mirror… I am dressed like an Assassin from Assassin's Creed… oops… that's not how Serena dresses… so I use the crescent moon wand to transform into Sailor Moon.

The older woman, who I determine is Lara's mother and Anthony's grandmother, does a double take. Lara hurries me from the room and outside. She eyes my Sailor Moon form for a bit. She says she has no idea who Sailor Moon is, but that means the others probably don't, either. I ride in a normal car with Lara for a while into the mountains, then up to a gate that is mostly hidden. It reminds me of the entrance to some secret military installation that's not supposed to exist. The guarded entrance leads to a tunnel that leads deep within the mountain.

Lara pulls up beside a guard gate and says she has to speak to the captain… whoever that might be. The guard asks who I am. She just says the captain will want to talk to me, she was looking through a time flux and might have found the answer. He wants to know what answer she has found. She says she might have the cure, and the captain will know what that means. He asks again who I am. She gives him the name Serena Usagi, known in my home world as Sailor Moon, the moon healer. He talks on the communicator inside the guard station for a bit and then finally comes back. He opens the gate and tells Lara to follow the vehicle in front of us, and do not leave the path at all, he says we have only limited access here. With a relieved sigh she agrees and drives on after what looks like a jeep of some kind. Lara drives through what seems like a maze of passages. There are numerous large doors along the passages. Now and then one of them will open and the jeep will lead us through it, then it will close behind us. After getting completely disoriented we finally come to a stop. There are several guards around us when they lead us into an office room. There is a man there, and he looks me over closely. He asks who I am. I tell him I am Serena Usagi, Sailor Moon, a soul healer. Lara says she has seen me heal the hearts of those who have never learned to love. He turns on a monitor. He indicates I should look at it. There is a white room with only a bed and bathroom facilities. There is a man in the room. It looks like Altaïr, though he isn't dressed as an Assassin, he is just in plain white clothes. He is sitting on the bed doing nothing. The captain tells me to do what I have to do. I ask if he really thinks I can heal someone over a television link. I have to be in there with him. He looks at me suspiciously. He says if I am in there he can't guarantee my safety. I tell him I have healed people as powerful as Vegeta when he is attacking me… He says he has no idea who Vegeta is. I tell him I have to be in there with Alt… the person he wants me to heal. Did I just screw up? Maybe not… he says I will be taken to the holding cell, but I will be on my own, even if the prisoner attacks me. I say that's ok. I am led through some halls and to an airlock. What do they think Altaïr is, an alien? Maybe just to make sure he doesn't get out? I remember Lara saying he got out once and killed a bunch of Templars, almost getting out of the facility before getting trapped again. I guess they don't want a repeat occurrence. I go into the middle area of the airlock, the door behind me closes, the one in front of me opens. I go into the small room. Altaïr is looking at me now… hatefully glaring at me, though I notice a slightly puzzled look when he gets a better look at my Sailor Moon form. The door immediately closes and locks behind me. No matter. I'll open a portal. I focus on opening a portal. Nothing happens. A dampening field? A voice from nowhere asks if I really thought they would let a stranger walk right into a secure facility and then walk out with their most valuable prisoner. I decide to stay with the Sailor Moon theme. Open the door or in the name of the moon they'll be punished. The voice says he knows perfectly well I am not Sailor Moon, she is a dumb cartoon, I am an Assassin, so now they have two. I do a Cosmic Moon Power blast on the airlock door, it looks like a Final Flash from Vegeta…

and it blasts the door off of its hinges, practically melting through it. Altaïr is doing a serious double take… another Cosmic Moon Power blast takes out the outer door. Alarms start going off everywhere. I tell Altaïr it's time to blow this pop stand… up… I wonder how far I have to go to pass the dampening field. There are guards outside the second melted door, it looks like they're not sure what to do. Some of them shoot at Altaïr and me, others turn and run. The ones who are firing change their minds after "Cosmic… Moon…" before the blast goes off. They run down the hall and around the corner. I try a portal… nothing. Altaïr and I head farther down the hall. Someone tries to ambush us from around a corner. I hear the popping noise when Altaïr breaks his neck. I try a portal. It opens! I tell Altaïr that is our exit, I figure the dampening field was probably just around the holding cell. I lead Altaïr through the portal and into the control room on the moon before I wake.
 
Secret Escape
Note: This is a case where I think I was having two variant dreams at the same time. In one of them I went to meet with Lara so she could sneak me into the compound where Templars are keeping Altaïr, but in the other one I used Avalon to get in on my own. The previous one is journaled above, this is the second version.

I am on the beach as in the first dream. But this time Q doesn't show up. I wander down the beach for a while longer before deciding I need to go find the Altaïr who is being held by a bunch of Templars. I focus on opening a portal to find him. I focus on finding the one that Lara has told me about. After a brief hesitation, during which I wonder if it is going to work, a portal finally opens. I go through the portal into a long hallway that is large enough to handle vehicles.

It looks like some kind of underground military facility. I wonder if this is where Altaïr is being held. I wonder how I can find him. I need to get access to their computers. I can locate him through that. I go through a door and into an office. The people in the room seem to know who I am, and a man asks why I'm not dressed. He throws some lab clothes at me, so I put them on. He then hands me a syringe. He says that's the drug, the strongest version yet. He says Altaïr will either be very receptive to the programming, he will be dead, or go stark raving mad. I look at the syringe... there's no way I'm giving that shit to Altaïr… The man, apparently sensing I am hesitant, says this is my project… he's not going in there. I look and see I have a keycard. I use it to open the door the man is looking at. It leads to what looks like an airlock, and then into a white room. I see Altaïr is in the room, he is chained to the far wall. I am being watched. So I try to act like they expect. I go over to Altaïr… who looks like he is unconscious. A voice comes from the speakers, telling me to administer the drug. I have to get Altaïr loose… then open a portal. The needle on the syringe… I can pick the lock with that! So I reach for one of the chains and I realize it isn't really attached to anything. It looks like the locks have already been picked? The next thing I know the syringe has been taken from me and is stuck in my neck, Altaïr is loose, he says we are leaving here now unless I want a dose of my own medicine… An alarm is going off, I tell Altaïr to cut it out, we're on the same fucking side. He takes my key card and injects the drug into me, pushing me aside and going for the door. Great… I'm wasted on drugs… I toss the syringe aside and try to clear my head. Everything sounds echoed and far away. I hear a commotion outside, someone has come into the room with me and is saying something about an antidote. I focus my energy on clearing out the drug and my head clears. I push the two men away from me and head in the direction I think Altaïr went. People behind me are asking me what I'm doing… I need a doctor if I hope to survive that drug… I ignore them. In the next room there are two dead people. One of them has his head at a really awkward angle, the other has an unidentified object sticking out of his neck… ok… on the right path. I follow the commotion down the hall.

A couple guards shoot at me before realizing who I am. I send a wall of telekinetic energy down the corridor that stops the bullets and pushes the guards back against the wall. I see Altaïr around a corner, he is looking right at me now. I'm not sure how to convince him I am actually there to get him out… Altaïr disappears down the hallway. I follow him. When I come around the corner someone shoots at me. Altaïr is shooting at me? Apparently he grabbed one of the guards' guns. I see someone behind Altaïr, aiming at him. I use telekinetic energy to knock that person back against the wall. Altaïr disappears down a side passage. Shit… this is ridiculous. Maybe my disguise is too good… so I switch to my usual Assassin robes before following Altaïr again. I hear more gunshots. I am on the right path when I find a dead guard. Altaïr aims a gun at me, but then stops when he sees I now look like an Assassin. He points the gun at someone behind me and fires… but gets only a click, he's out of ammo. I look behind me and see a couple guards there aiming guns. More guards on the other side of Altaïr. I get over closer to Altaïr and tell him it's time to get out of here before opening a portal. Someone is yelling to shoot them both, so I just shove Altaïr through the portal before following him through and waking up.

02/19/13

Blaine is a Pain
I am in the back yard of my house. It is nighttime. I am holding a burning match. There is a small pile of kindling in front of me, and on top of that pile of kindling is a toy that looks like Altaïr. For some reason I want to watch it burn. I pour a bit of alcohol on the toy to make sure it burns good, I'm not sure if the plastic will burn or melt. I toss the match into the pile and watch the fire blaze up, brighter than I had thought it would be. The toy melts and distorts as it burns, stretching the face into an expression that looks like pain. But no… it's a toy… toys don't feel pain. I don't want to watch it burn after all. I want to put the fire out and restore the toy to its previous condition. But it's too late for that. The face has now melted beyond recognition. The toy is a smoldering pile of plastic. I can't believe I just burned my toy Altaïr. Why did I do that? I pinch my nose to block the smell of burning plastic. I can still breathe. This is a dream! My concern with a toy Altaïr has faded, and now I focus on opening a portal to a Dark Tower dream. I want to pick up MoSh first. The portal seems to shift. I reach through and grab MoSh's hand without really looking at the surrounding area. I pull him through a second portal. On the other side of the portal we are in what looks like the interior of a very fancy train.

The walls have no windows, and I see we are not alone. Roland, Susanna, Eddie, Jake, and Oy are all in the train staring at us. The portal closes behind us. Blaine is the first to speak, giving a formal greeting to (MoSh's real name) of (MoSh's place of birth) and Raven Knight of (my place of birth). I say hello to Blaine. Blaine says they were just getting started on some riddles. He says our interruption is quite rude, but also interesting… so he would refrain from killing us, and we could join in the riddling. Susanna asks a riddle, an easy one. What has four wheels and flies? Blain pauses, then irritatedly says it's the town garbage wagon. He says dumb riddles like that won't keep us alive. MoSh blurts out a riddle… why don't zombies eat clowns? Blaine is annoyed again, but pauses before he says they taste funny… now tell a real one. A little voice says not to make Blaine angry… please… what can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a face but never weeps. Blaine answers quickly this time… a river. Roland asks what has four legs in the morning, two at noon, three at night. Blaine answers a human. Eddie told the next riddle. No sooner spoken than broken. Blaine answers silence. He asks me for a riddle. I think for a bit… then tell a riddle from The Hobbit. It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life, kills laughter. Blaine answers immediately. Darkness. The riddles continue, Roland telling them all, Blaine answering instantly. Susanna asks me quietly if I can't open one of those doors to get us all off of Blaine. I know I can, but that would disrupt the story… so I tell her I can't always control where they go, so that would be a last resort. Blaine says skipping out on our agreement would be very rude. Eddie looks like he is zoned off into some other world. I am trying to think of some riddles, just to pass more time until we get closer to our destination. Then is the time for the riddles that will drive Blaine insane. But I wake up.
 
Riddles in the Train
I am inside Blaine the Mono as if no time has passed. It seems even Blaine hasn't noticed I disappeared, or at least hasn't said anything about it. Roland is still telling riddles. Eddie still seems zoned into another world. I sit down on one of the seats, not even sure why I am here. Blaine sounds amused, but doesn't seem close to being stumped. I figure since he's a computer, if he hears a riddle, either the answer will be in his memory or it won't… so he'll either answer instantly or not at all. So far he is answering instantly. Blaine comes to a point where he charges his batteries near some large waterfalls. The outside of the train has become transparent to show a massive waterfall pouring past two large dog statues.

Then there is sound… the sound of the waterfall, which is so loud I am sure it will wake me up. Soon the sound passes, however, without waking me up. I look over to be sure MoSh is still there. Blaine charges his battery through blinding lightning from the eyes of the dog statues. After a brief pause the train becomes opaque again and then we start moving. And the riddling continues. Roland says he is running out of riddles. Everyone seems surprised and a bit dismayed at that. Roland asks if Jake will be ready with his riddles, Jake says yes. He asks MoSh and me if we have any riddles from our world. MoSh says he knows a few. Eddie looks zoned completely. Roland says to leave Eddie alone. More riddles from Roland. More instant answers from Blaine. Blaine says there is just 25 minutes left, Roland tells Jake to tell his riddles. Jake tells some riddles from the back of his book. Blaine answers instantly to all of them. Blaine asks if anyone else has a riddle, he even asks Oy. Eddie finally says he has a few, just to kill the time.

He asks what has four wheels and flies. Blaine is clearly annoyed, says this one has already been asked and was dumb the first time. He is calling Eddie a fool and an idiot when MoSh asks what you get when you breed a shitzu and a pitt bull. Blaine pauses, says the riddle is dumb… then finally says the answer is a bullshit. Eddie asks when a door is not a door. Blaine pauses, makes a clicking noise, and says when it is ajar then starts insulting Eddie again. MoSh asks a riddle. A big moron and a little moron are on a bridge, the big moron falls off, why doesn't the little moron fall off? Blaine gets pissed again, says the riddle isn't worthy of the contest and he will not answer. Roland says that means Blaine loses. Answer or Blaine loses. Blaine is whining now. Would you like a little cheese with your whine? After another pause and a louder click, finally Blaine says because the little moron was a little more on. He says he feels soiled. Eddie makes a hand gesture which he says is the world's smallest violin playing "My Heart Pumps Purple Piss For You." Next riddle. Why do cops wear belts? The lights are flickering, the walls look semi-transparent. With each riddle this effect seems to get worse. The smaller voice says to stop, it's killing Blaine… Eddie says we'll all stop if Blain stops the mono, to which he refuses. What does an evil chicken lay? Deviled eggs. The answer was very slow to come. Strange noises are coming from the walls. Why did the dead baby cross the road? Blaine is not answering, he says there is no time limit. Roland says he has to answer before we crash. Blaine starts spouting nonsense. Because it was stapled to the chicken. Things are exploding, and it feels like the train is no longer being propelled forward. Roland says everyone needs to gather in the back of the compartment, we are still going to crash. Everyone is gathering at the far end of the compartment. I notice I don't see MoSh… but I really don't have a chance to think much about it before I wake.

02/18/13

Countdown to Extinction
I am in a tree. I am dressed in my usual Assassin robes. I am not really lucid, though I do remember the goal I had for the dream. The goal is to hunt poachers after reading an article about people poaching elephants for ivory got me pissed off. I look around and see I am in a forested area, standing on a large branch.

I look down from the branch I am standing on, and about 15 feet below me I see there are two men. Both of them are holding rifles and looking up at me. One of them is pointing his rifle at me, the other seems a bit more hesitant. The one pointing his rifle at me is laughing. He says it looks like someone has been playing too much Assassin's Creed and adds his little brat nephew plays video games. The other guy says he doesn't want to shoot a person. The one aiming his gun at me says he's going to bag himself an Assassin. Don't worry… no one will find the body. Just as he pulls the trigger to shoot me I jump out of the tree and land on him hidden blade first, killing him before he can kill me. The other guy takes a startled step backwards, he says he is there to hunt, not to kill any people. I ask what he is hunting. He doesn't answer, but he aims his weapon off to the right. I see what looks like a white tiger over there.

I tell the man he gets only one warning not to do it. He ignores me and cocks his weapon. I grab the rifle out of his hands and hit him with the butt of it. He falls over but gets up again, now pointing a hand gun at me. He asks what the fuck I did that for, he wasn't threatening me, just a dumb animal. His commotion alerts the cat and it disappears into the forest. The man is angry now, and he says that pelt would have fetched him a couple thousand dollars. I tell him to leave the animals alone. He says he sees I'm one of those bleeding heart animal lovers… well I'm about to have a real bleeding heart. He shoots at me. I actually deflect his shot with my hidden blade before burying that hidden blade in the man's chest. I hear a gunshot not far off. More poachers! I follow the sound of the gunshot. I look down off of a small cliff and I see a hunter has a white tiger cornered in a rocky area. I pull out a crossbow and aim at the asshole. Someone behind me tells me not to do it. She says she doesn't know why I am planning on killing that man, but… I interrupt her and say because he is a fucking poacher. I shoot him with my crossbow before looking to see who has told me to stop. There is a Templar standing behind me pointing a gun at me. I don't really care about Templars. I see movement in the trees and I head off after what I believe to be another poacher. He is crouched over an unconscious white tiger and has a knife. He hears there is someone behind him but clearly doesn't realize who. He is telling me that he's not going to ruin a single square inch of that pelt by shooting the cat. Just paralyze them… they'll die when you skin 'em. The Templar has followed me and stops short. Clearly disgusted, she asks if the man really plans on skinning that cat alive… He looks over, surprised to see the Templar and me. He asks who the fuck we are. I comment that he has done what I thought was impossible… he has gotten a Templar and an Assassin to agree on something… that being that he is an asshole. The Templar says asshole is too nice a word for this guy. He moves to cut the paralyzed cat but the Templar aims her gun and puts a bullet between his eyes. The Templar says she hates poachers more than Assassins… Well I hate poachers more than Templars. I wonder if there are any more poachers around, but I wake up before I can look.

02/16/13

Going Hunting
I am in my room looking through Facebook articles on my computer. I see photos of cute cats and I click 'like' for all of them, adding a brief comment on a couple. I come across a photo that has already pissed me off in my waking life. A photo that shows a dog shot by an arrow with a caption saying that happens to all Pitt Bulls that come around the home of someone I don't know but immediately hate.
Note: I found the image disturbing, so I put it in a spoiler in case anyone would rather not see it...

Spoiler for Disturbing Image:

I think I would like to have a dream where I go hunt people like that. Just on the off chance I do a RC by pinching my nose and I find out that I am dreaming. It's time to go hunting. I remember that MoSh has recently gotten a Pitt Bull mix puppy and I wonder if he wants to go hunting with me. So I focus on opening a portal to find MoSh. A portal opens and I go through. On the other side I find MoSh in what looks like the biggest Walmart I have ever seen. It would be sooooo easy to get lost somewhere in that Walmart. But I see MoSh right away. I go over to him and tell him I don't have a Dark Tower dream planned for tonight… there are other things to be done. I tell him about the photo I saw on Facebook. He doesn't seem to like it any more than I do. I focus on a portal to get somewhere that dogs need us. On the other side we are in a forest area. I see two people down below, and realize I am in a tree. MoSh is down below on the ground. There are two men making their way through the trees, they have bows and arrows. One of them is taking aim at a Pitt Bull dog. MoSh steps between the two of them as the man is firing and grabs the arrow right out of the air. He quickly flips the arrow over and throws it back at the man, the arrow sticks in the man's left shoulder. The man curses loudly. MoSh begins kicking the shit out of the guy using martial arts. The other guy is aiming an arrow at the dog, he doesn't seem too concerned about his friend getting beat up. Before he can fire the arrow at the dog I jump out of the tree and land on top of him… hidden blade first, stabbing him as I land. MoSh has beaten the shit out of the other guy. I am not sure if the guy is dead, but he's not moving. MoSh is petting the dog now. A very friendly Pitt Bull dog, a cute one, too.

This is a dog I wouldn't mind taking home. I am really pissed off that these two assholes were going to kill the dog. I realize I am still stabbing the dead guy I landed on and make myself stop. MoSh is staring at me now, still petting the dog. He makes a comment that he has to remember not to piss me off. I tell him the only way to get that reaction is to abuse animals. As if to prove MoSh is no animal abuser, the dog licks him on the face. I go over and pet the dog with MoSh. We are both petting the dog when a woman comes along and seems relieved to find the dog. Damn… the dog already has a loving home. She looks at the two dead people on the ground and seems a bit nervous. I tell her they were going to shoot her dog… but they won't be bothering her or her dog again. She takes the dog and disappears down a path quickly. MoSh seems sorry to see the dog go. I tell him if he wants a dog to keep I'm sure we can find one that needs a home. But we won't be finding it in this dream because it is here that I wake up.

The Dogs of Ludd
I am in a city that looks like it is far past its prime. The buildings are collapsing and everything is in a state of disrepair. The first thing I think of is the city of Ludd from the Dark Tower series. Realizing that I am in a Dark Tower dream I think I should try to get MoSh involved in this one. I focus on a portal to find MoSh. A portal opens and I see MoSh is on the other side in what looks like a dog kennel. He is petting a dog that looks like a Pitt Bull mix.

I want to go pet the dog, too, but someone comes into the room and takes the dog away. I tell MoSh that there's a Dark Tower dream waiting. MoSh comes through the portal. We explore Ludd for a short time. There are dead bodies hanging from the light posts. Definitely a grizzly scene. We finally spot someone who is alive. It's Eddie pushing Susanna in her wheelchair.

We go over to them, I figure that they are probably looking for the train station where Blaine is parked and waiting. I hear something going on around a corner, sounds like a lot of excitement. I am planning on ignoring it until I hear dogs snarling and yelping. I head over towards the sound. I find there are a number of mobile kennels standing around a group of people. The people are gathered around a makeshift ring with two dogs fighting viciously. A dog fighting ring! People are cheering, dogs are snarling and yelping. I sneak over to the kennels to release the trapped dogs. I wonder if they just want to get away or if they will want a little payback against the people. I am trying to open a kennel when a large guy asks me what I am doing. I tell the truth… I am letting these dogs go. He points a knife at my neck and says no I am not. I bury a hidden blade in his chest and tell him yes I am. I hear a gunshot. Everyone is looking at Susanna, who has fired her gun to get everyone's attention. It doesn't have the intended effect, however. Instead of being afraid, everyone charges at Susanna and Eddie who start shooting at the attackers. MoSh separates the two fighting dogs as soon as the people are distracted. I get the kennel open and move to the next one. I let dogs out of numerous kennels. The dogs are mostly just glad to get away. The dogs run away from the sound of the gunshots. Finally the gunshots stop, there are numerous dead people on the ground and the others have dropped their weapons. Eddie is saying they need someone to show the way to Blaine's Cradle. They think the idea of going to Blaine's Cradle is insane. Two of them finally agree to take them. MoSh is trying to coax a scared dog out of the shadows. The dog is a Rottweiler.

Eddie and Susanna tell the people to disperse except for the two who will take them to the Cradle. They quickly do so. I hear the sound of snarling dogs just out of sight. The sound of hunting dogs. Now to find Blaine's Cradle. I head to follow Eddie, Susanna, and the two people who are showing them the way. But before I can get anywhere I wake up.

02/15/13

Zombies in the Dark
I am in a strange place… it is totally dark, or almost totally dark. I wait for a couple minutes and my eyes seem to adjust to the lack of light. I am in what looks like an underground sewer system. There is a small amount of water sitting in the bottom of the passage. I look around and I see I am not alone there. MoSh is there with me. I wonder if I have managed to end up in a Dark Tower dream as well. I see a small animal pass through a cross passage up ahead. I recognize the animal as a billy-bumbler, an animal from the Dark Tower world.

Shortly after the billy-bumbler passes I see a man pass, and I recognize Roland. It seems I have ended up just where I wanted to be for a change! I tell MoSh we should catch up with Roland and see if there's anything he needs help with. Before we can act on that, however, there is a slumped figure slinking after Roland. Then another one. The figures are vaguely humanoid, though they seem as comfortable on all fours as they would be on two legs, maybe more so. A third one comes to the intersection and looks towards us. The eyes are glowing gold in the darkness, and the thing hisses menacingly.

It has sharp teeth that look more appropriate to a shark than a person. It charges at MoSh and me, hissing and snarling. When it jumps to attack us I make sure it lands on my hidden blade. It keeps pushing towards me for a bit longer, snarling and hissing and spitting gross stuff all over me before it dies. It looks and smells like a zombie. I tell MoSh we should get the other two before they try to sneak up on Roland. I don't know what the odds of sneaking up on Roland really are, but I don't like the idea of firing a gun down there… the walls look ready to collapse at the least disturbance. MoSh agrees and we hurry on to follow the two that went after Roland. By the time we catch up I see that Roland has killed one of them with his knife and is facing off against the second. Apparently they failed to sneak up on him. Oy is hiding behind Roland. MoSh comes up behind the second one and takes it out with what looks like a large knife. Roland asks who is there. I answer and tell him it's Raven and MoSh. Roland says he could sense someone there but couldn't see who it is. I tell him there are some mutants creeping in the sewers with us, but we should keep going to find Jake, MoSh and I would help keep the creatures off of Roland and Oy. As we travel, Roland confirms the part of the book we are in, but is then interrupted by some bad singing… followed by even worse singing… Roland says that was Jake. I hear something moving in a passage to the right and I turn just in time to meet a mutant attacking me with a hidden blade to the neck. Roland asks if I can actually see them. I tell him I have good night vision… at least in dreams I do. I hear MoSh fighting one in the other direction, he returns soon. He says they are mean. I ask if he got bitten, for some reason I think it would be bad to get bitten. He says no. Oy is getting impatient. It seems like we have been going in the dark for a long time when there starts to be a bit of light. Oy indicates we have to go down to a lower level. We descend a ladder into a long hallway that ends with a door like might be found on a ship. I remember that Jake is just on the other side of the door. Roland tries the valve, but it is tight. He looks around and spots a vent shaft, then tells Oy to go and look and come back. The billy-bumbler seems glad to cooperate and hurries into the vent when Roland boosts him up to it. I wonder if any of the mutants will come this far into the light. I never get to find out because I wake.

For the Love of Alex
I am lying on my own bed, feeling particularly lonely. I am not lucid to begin with, so I just lie there wondering if there is anyone out in the world who would be a match for me. I am thinking there is not. I finally get up and leave my room to find my mother using an elliptical exercise machine in the living room. The living room is much larger than it is in my waking life, and there are so many exercise machines that I can't even see the furniture. My mom says if we are to watch tv we will be exercising. I think this is odd. I finally do a RC by pinching my nose. I can still breathe. I am dreaming! I go outside and look around, trying to think of what I want to do. I think I could complete a task… either a task of the month or of the year. Since I was feeling lonely I decide on a task of the month… get a cupid to make a celebrity fall in love with me. And I know just the celebrity. Now to find him… I fly towards town where there are more people, so there is a better chance of finding who I am looking for.

I soon spot him. Alex O'Laughlin. He looks like he did in the series Moonlight. Now for a cupid… I focus on summoning one. A cherub appears, hovering in front of me with a bow and arrow ready.

The arrow has a heart on the end of it. The cherub is actually a bit cranky, and impatiently asks who it is I want to fall in love with me. I point at Alex O'Laughlin. The cherub laughs and says me and every other woman… but I got to him first. He fires his arrow at Alex. The arrow hits Alex in the left shoulder blade and then fades to nothing. Alex looks over at me, I notice the cherub has already disappeared. Alex stares at me for a bit and then comes right over to me and kisses me square on the lips. It is a warm and passionate kiss. Beth, the reporter who falls in love with Mick St. John, is staring, incredulous like she can't believe her eyes. I kiss him back, and we are kissing for a good length of time before I get too excited at what could happen and I wake up.

02/11/13

I am flying over the Nile River in Egypt. I see movement down on the ground, but I already know what I want to do with this dream so I don't pay any attention to that. I focus on opening a portal to find MoSh. A portal opens and I go through it, ignoring some voices calling to me from behind. The portal closes and leaves me in an open field. I look around to see if MoSh is around. I don't see anyone there with me at all. I wonder why I have been brought here if MoSh isn't here. There is a Templar there, a woman with long red hair. She is watching me closely. I ask her if she has seen MoSh. She says no, she was looking for me. I really have no interest in talking with a Templar, so I look around for MoSh a bit more. The Templar says she knows someone with the cure for depression. She asks if it is not yet obvious to me that the Assassins have no intention of helping me. She has something in her hand. It is a pill of some kind.

She hands it to me, but I don't take it. I tell her I am just looking for MoSh, not doing a drug deal. I wander away from the Templar, looking into the distance across the green field. I see someone else is there. I head over to that person and I find it is MoSh. I call to him and ask if he is ready for a Dark Tower dream. The Templar has followed me and asks if the Assassins have come through with any single promise they have made. I tell her I am heading for a Dark Tower dream… takes place in the Land of No Templars. No Assassins, either, for that matter. Just Gunslingers. I open a portal, focused on a Dark Tower dream. A portal opens, and I lead MoSh through it. We are on a bridge that crosses very high over a river. The bridge is in terrible condition, looks like it could fall down at any moment. There are already some parts that have collapsed, the center portion is connected only by the support cables.

It looks passable, but only for someone with no fear of heights and good balance. MoSh doesn't seem to notice that we are high up. At the place where crossing looks possible I see there are some people. Roland, Eddie, Susanna, and Jake are all there. Jake has a small animal hanging off of his hand, and is holding onto the support cable with the other hand. I hurry over towards them. An ugly man is approaching from the other side of the bridge. I see that Roland and them have things in hand, so I fly over the gap and land in front of the ugly man that looks diseased.

I remember the ugly man is there to kidnap Jake. He has a grenade in his one hand. He says to stay back or he will make it go boom. I tell him if he does, he will be going to hell alone, it won't hurt me any. He says it will bring the bridge down. I look back and I see MoSh is helping get the others onto the semi-solid ground of the bridge. I tell the ugly man to go ahead and throw the grenade if he is in such a hurry to die. He says if I thought he wouldn't do it I am wrong. He throws the grenade. I use telekinesis to grab it from the air and hold the pin. He doesn't seem to know how to respond to my impossible catch. I throw the grenade off of the bridge, throwing it hard and it blows up in mid air at a safe distance from the bridge. The ugly man pauses and then runs away. I look to see where MoSh is, but then I wake up.

02/10/13

Human Vampire
I am flying over the Nile river in Egypt, looking down at the green foliage and sandy beaches. I make note of the fact this is the first time for quite a while that I have been able to enter a dream through this method. I fly off over the desert towards the pyramids. I realize there are people following me on the ground. I identify them as Templars. I don't really want to deal with Templars right now. I remember a task of the month for DV, however, is simply to give a flower to the next DC I see. I fly back to the banks of the Nile and look for a flower. I find a pretty one and I pick it before flying back to where I spotted the Templars.

I scan them from above and select one that looks kind of hot. They are approaching me, but I ignore most of them and land directly in front of the one Templar I have chosen. All of the Templars surround me, there are about ten of them, but I am focused on the one. I walk over to him and tell him that this is all a bit awkward… but I think he's hot. I hand him the flower with a smile. He just looks confused. Another Templar grabs the flower away, throws it on the ground, and stomps on it a few times. He says it was probably poisoned. I tell him he's just jealous because he didn't get one. I figure I have completed the task, so I focus on opening a portal to somewhere I need to be. A portal opens, and I go through it before the Templars can interfere. I close it immediately behind me. I find I am now on a dark street. There are several people there. They are in a fight. One of them looks like Alex O'Laughlin. He's so hot.

There are two other guys there fighting him, and they seem to be kicking his ass. I think that is strange since he looks like he did when he was a vampire in Moonlight, he should be kicking ass. Mick's ex-wife, Coraline, is also there. I wonder if this is the brief period where Mick was human but got in a fight with a couple of vampires. Coraline says she will give them what they want if they just leave Mick alone. Mick has just gotten thrown up against a dumpster, so I get between him and the vampire thugs and tell Coraline not to give them anything, I have a different deal for them… leave Mick alone and I leave them in one piece. One of them, a vampire that has one solid black eye, sniffs the air and tells me to stay out of what I don't understand. I tell them not to underestimate what they don't understand. The vampire says he's a little hungry anyway and grabs me like he thinks it will be easy. I twist his arm around and kick him away from me, which clearly takes him by surprise. I tell them it is their last chance. The vampire with one eye says to kill the fucking bitch. They both come at me. I form Witchblade into a sword and remove both of their heads, both heads have a permanent look of shock on them. Coraline asks how I did that, how could any human do that. I go over to Mick and focus some healing energy into him. I remember he will be a vampire again before too long, but for now he needs healing. I am gazing into Mick St. John's eyes when I wake up.

01/30/13

Secret Rescue
I am flying over the Nile, phasing into a dream. I land on a beach and wait for the dream to stabilize. I realize I am not alone. There are numerous people all over the place. They are all attacking me. I am surrounded by and being attacked by Templars. I focus on opening a portal to a Dark Tower dream. A portal opens, I go through it and close it immediately behind me to block them from following. On the other side I am walking the street of a city I don't recognize. It looks like a city out of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

I wonder how I ended up here when I was aiming for a Dark Tower dream. I walk down the street when I see someone hidden behind a merchant booth signaling to me. I go over to the woman behind the booth, and she indicates she wants to get farther away from the main thoroughfare. She seems really worried or scared about something. I quickly look around, wondering if she has something to do with the people that attacked me on the banks of the Nile. We appear to be alone. She says she has something to tell me, but I have to promise to hear her out before doing anything. I agree to that. She says she knows I have been looking for the person in the market district that has been reporting Assassin activities to the Templars… she pauses, then says she is that person. She backs away from me and quickly adds that she doesn't want to, but they have her daughter and will kill the girl if she doesn't cooperate. She looks around nervously, she also seems unsure about me. She says she just wants her daughter back safely. I ask if she knows where the girl is being held, she says in the large house at the end of the street… yes, the one surrounded by Templars. She asks if I will get her daughter back. I tell her that's the plan. She says she has to disappear, if a Templar sees she is talking to an Assassin they will surely kill her daughter. She heads the other way quickly and disappears around a corner. I go back to the street and look to the end where there is a home that looks much larger than the other buildings, almost like a small palace. There are Templars guarding it.

I wonder where in there the girl might be. I don't want to be seen until she is safe or they might realize what is going on and either move or kill her. I go down the street but I turn off before getting in direct sight of the Templars. I look along the side of the building, looking for a way in. About halfway up there is an open window. I shoot a tendril of Witchblade out like a grappling hook and use it to climb up the side of the building to the window. I find myself in a bedroom that is currently unoccupied. I wonder where I should start looking for the girl. I peek out into the hall. I see the girl isn't content to wait to be rescued, she is creeping down the hallway. I see the resemblance between her and her mother, she looks like she is about 10 years old. She sneaks by the door I am peeking out of. As she passes the next door, however, it opens. A Templar guard steps out and grabs her from behind. He says he should cut her open right now. She bites his hand to try to make him let go. He gets mad and says no one said the kid couldn't be injured. He has a dagger out now. To get his attention off of her I tell her she shouldn't bite that thing… it's probably diseased. She says he is a disease and stomps on his foot. He shoves the girl down and attacks me with his dagger. He practically impales himself on my hidden blade… I tell the girl I'm there to get her out, her mother sent me. She comes with me back the way I came from, and I use Witchblade to lower us back out the window. We disappear into the city before any other Templars are aware she is gone. I go back to the place where I met with the woman, and she is clearly relieved to see her daughter safe. She says she can tell me a lot about what the Templars have been doing… but I am about to wake up, so I tell her to tell one of the others if she wants, I am unable to stay. I wake.

01/28/13

River Crossing
I am flying over the Nile river when I decide to go for a Dark Tower dream shared with MoSh. I land on a beach and let the dream stabilize before opening a portal. I realize I am not alone on the beach. There are people there, and it looks like they are attacking me. They are all armed with swords, axes, and other melee weapons. I go through the portal and shut it in their faces without giving them much attention. On the other side I am in a field with MoSh. I get his attention and tell him we can go to the Dark Tower now… when I left them they were almost to Ludd. I open another portal and go through. I take MoSh with me. Now we are in the small town just outside of Ludd that is called River Crossing. There is a gun aimed at my head.

Roland, who had aimed at me, lowers his gun and says popping in like that is a good way to get myself shot. He adds to MoSh and me to keep our eyes open, there are others in this town and we are being watched. A couple of really old people come out of the buildings to greet us. A man leading a blind woman. He seems to be in awe of Roland, exclaiming about finding a gunslinger after he thought all of them had passed from this world. The woman seems worried that we might be harriers. Everyone is in agreement to get off of the main road, so we go into the buildings. The interiors of the buildings are much better cared for than the outside, no doubt to camouflage the presence of these people. I look out of a window and see a good view of the road below. They were surely watching Roland and the others from shortly after they entered town. I see there are people out there, and I think they are the same people that tried to attack me on the banks of the Nile. The man is watching them, he says he doesn't like the look of them. Harriers, most likely. Not to worry, the harriers never hang around here for long, they are heading for Ludd no doubt. The blind woman shudders, the man reassures her that it is certainly safe here in the presence of a gunslinger. He says it was harriers that blinded her about 25 years ago, they used a fire poker, and they did it because they said she looked at them too defiantly. The woman shudders again. We go farther into the buildings, the man says they have lookouts that will tell them if the harriers get closer. I think maybe I should go out there and get their attention… after all, they were after me back at the Nile. They couldn't be ordinary harriers. I don't want to lead my enemies to the people of River Crossing. I tell MoSh he can stay with the others and enjoy the dream, hopefully remember something of it… but I'm going to lead my uninvited guests away. He does not object. The old people say there is no need to do that, the harriers will leave on their own. There's nothing left in River Crossing to keep them. MoSh is talking to an elderly woman about dreams. I turn and leave the group of people, sneaking out through a small hole to avoid revealing the main entrance. I call to the intruders and tell them if they want me come and get me. They yell that there she is, and they all come after me at once. I run down the street for a ways before turning a corner away from the place where the people are hiding. The harriers follow me. I open a portal and go through it, not really caring where it goes. I never find out where it leads… I wake up.

Home Invaders
I wake up in bed, not realizing I am dreaming. I roll over to go back to sleep but I hear noise in the other room. I grab a pole that I have near my bed, I keep it there since for a short while I had been trying to learn to use it as a staff, and I sneak to the door of my room.

There are people in the other room. I think I need to call the cops. They are tearing the place apart, throwing stuff all over, emptying drawers and cabinets. They seem desperate to find something. They are breaking stuff. I go to get my phone to call the cops, just then one of the men pushes past me into my room as if I am not even relevant. They don't seem to care at all that I have seen their faces. The man starts tearing my room apart, which pisses me off. I jab him with my staff and tell him to cut it out. He seems to notice me for the first time. He says if I would return what I stole then they wouldn't have to look for it. I can't think what I stole. I can't remember stealing anything from anyone. The man resumes his search. I jab him harder with my staff. He pulls out a sword and cuts right through my cheap staff. He points the sword at me and tells me to return the artifacts. I tell him I have no idea what he is talking about, which I don't since I am not lucid. He laughs and says something about me not being dangerous, they must have just sent a bunch of incompetent morons before. I see a Templar symbol on his sword. Templars… reality check time… I pinch my nose and find I am dreaming… and my home is being invaded by Templars! I drop the remaining piece of my cheap staff. I form Witchblade into a sword.

I tell the Templar to get out of my house, and he is the moron if he thinks I'd really keep anything of value hidden here. He glares at me. He tells someone to get me out of the way. I see motion behind me and I turn just in time to dodge an attacking sword and do a counter attack of my own with my Witchblade sword, running him through. I hear the Templar behind me say that there is nothing here. He tells me I won't have a moment of peace until I return what I have stolen. They start leaving through the front door, I am thinking I will have to clean up this mess before my mother wakes up. Instead I wake up.

01/27/13

Dark Tower Fail
I am in the sky flying over the Nile river in Egypt. I land on a beach near the river and wait for the dream to stabilize. I think I would like to go for a Dark Tower dream. So I focus on opening a portal and I go through it. On the other side I don't recognize where I am as a scene from the Dark Tower. I am in some kind of underground temple ruins that look like something out of a Tomb Raider game.

I wonder if this is some variation of the Dark Tower world or if I have ended up somewhere else entirely. I go with the Tomb Raider game, and I do a couple jumps from one pillar to another in order to keep off of the ground. I see there are people on the ground, they seem to be looking for something. I get the idea I'd rather not be seen by those people. I see an exit passage over a door at the far end of the room. A couple jumps get me to the passage, though I succeed in knocking some debris down as I go. Some of the people down below notice that, though they don't actually see me. One of them says they are not alone in here… another says there is an Assassin here… my thought is there is no one here but Lara Croft. I do a final jump to reach the passage over the door, though I almost miss the jump. I scramble up the edge feeling a bit less graceful than Lara Croft right now. I hear the people behind me talking about finding something before the Assassin. Assassin? Maybe I'm not playing Tomb Raider… I follow the passage over the door and drop down on the other side. There is a long hall that looks like a place that would be perfect for a trap. I think maybe I can avoid setting off any traps by not touching anything. I fly down the hall, being careful to touch nothing. The hall ends at a dead end. I think that is a bit strange. I hear an explosion behind me. Whoever is trying to get here first is behaving like a bull in a china shop. I look closer at the dead end and see there is a keyhole of some kind. It looks about the right size for a hidden blade… which I use to open it. A slab of concrete slides to the side. In the next room there is a treasure chest in the middle of the room. I open the chest and find there is a glowing orb inside it.

I wonder what that is. I hear voices behind me, the people from the other room are almost here. I grab the orb and slide it into a pocket on my robes, which are my usually Assassin's Creed style robes. Now to split. I focus on opening a portal to my intended Dark Tower dream. A door forms, standing on its own in the room. I open it just as the people reach the far door and see me. I hear one of them calling to me to stop right there, but I go through the door and slam it in their faces…

Note: I woke up at this point, but actually succeeded in a WBTB lucid dream that continued the same dream…

House of Spiders
I am in a strange house, I have just come through a door. The door closes behind me and then disappears. I wonder where I am, I pause to clear my mind. I know I am dreaming, and I know I had been looking for a Dark Tower dream. I feel the weight of something in one of the pockets of my robes. I look at it and find it is a glowing orb about the size of a baseball. I put it back. I look around the house. It looks like some kind of haunted house, and I soon remember that Jake had to pass through such a house in order to join Roland and the others.

I wonder if in this case he will need help or if I'm just here to make sure it's ok. I remember MoSh. I open one of the doors off of the hall I am in with the intent of finding MoSh. The door opens on a library, and I see MoSh in the other room. He is standing near a book case full of old books, he is paging through one of them. I try to get his attention, but he seems quite distracted by the book he is reading. There is someone behind me. I turn around, certain I will see someone there, but there is no one. I go down the hall and reach a landing that overlooks what must be a living room. There are people down there, they are looking around as if confused. One of them says it doesn't matter where they are, find the fucking Assassin and get the artifact back. I recognize the people as Templars. I think they want the orb in my pocket. I am watching them when a big fat spider drops down on the railing right in front of me. Spiders don't normally bother me, but this is a fat reddish one that is the size of a softball… and I am immediately grossed out.

I take an involuntary step back, issue an involuntary "Gah!" as I trip over my own feet and fall on my ass. The Templars down below hear me and one of them points and announces to the others that the Assassin is upstairs. They head for the stairs, I don't want to bother with Templars right now. I go back to the door where I saw MoSh. I get lost. I wonder how I managed to get lost when the hall had seemed so simple before. It's like the whole place has changed itself. I am in a long hall with doors on both sides. There is a Templar right in front of me, he is demanding that I hand the artifact over. Something drops on my shoulder. I practically freak out, it is one of those spiders! The Templar demands again that I hand it over… so I grab the spider and hand it to him, desperate to have it off of me. The spider feels hairy, wiggly, and gross. The surprised Templar takes the spider, then instantly drops it and steps back with a cry of shock and disgust. I don't have time to view his reaction, there are more spiders. I want out of there. I run down the hall, dodging a couple more spiders as they drop from the ceiling. I see Jake at the end of the next hall, groping at a hole in the ground. There is a door at the end of the hall that seems to be glowing. The walls of the house are moving all around me. I see figures emerging from the walls, and a large face at the end of the hall. The face has sharp teeth and it looks hungry. As if to prove that it devours the Templar in one bite. Jake is freaking out, but he has apparently gotten the key. The door at the far end of the hall opens. I head down the hall as hands reach out of the wall, groping for Jake. I use my Witchblade sword to cut the hands off of the walls as Jake finds a wall of solid dirt behind the door. More hands grope for Jake and me. I cut them off as they reach for us. A door has opened in the end of the hall. A large plaster figure is coming from the end of the hall, reaching with huge hands. Something flies in from the door… something invisible… passes by me in a rush of air and collides with the figure with a loud crash. I give Jake a boost forward (up?) through the door. Roland grasps his hands and pulls him through. He reaches back for me, but I don't make it before I wake up.

01/25/13

Note: I have shifted my nighttime hypnosis program from one to help with my depression to one that is supposed to develop ESP abilities in the hope that it will allow for some passive defense against constant psychic / astral attacks I have been getting lately. This has a different opening image, but it should still lead to easy WILD's as I fall asleep.

Suicide by Gunslinger
I am in the sky and flying over the Nile River. I look around to see the area, the area right around the river is lush and green, though the area a bit farther away is desert. This isn't where I want to be, I know I want to have a Dark Tower dream. So I open a portal and fly right through it into a different forest… where I promptly crash into a tree. Ow… I now find I am up a tree that is standing over a clearing. Down below I can see some small robotic machines wandering aimlessly around. I remember that scene from the Dark Tower books. I know Eddie is about to show up and start shooting them. An arrow flies by my left ear. Someone is shooting at me! I wonder what that could be, and I turn around to see a couple of Templar archers on the ground taking aim at me with more arrows. I see Eddie emerge from the bushes down below and take aim at the first of the machines. The Templars apparently see him as well, one of them aims at Eddie. I don't want to let them interfere with the Dark Tower progression, so I form Witchblade into a hidden blade on each arm and do an air double assassinate before they can shoot at Eddie. As I land on the pair of Templars I hear Eddie's gun roaring as he shoots the radar dishes off of each of the robots. I see movement in the trees as I am crouched over two dead Templars. Is there more chance of Eddie being attacked? I wonder why Templars would want to attack Eddie. There is a pause, then there is another explosive gunshot. Now I hear Eddie yelling at Roland, telling him he would shoot him if he had one more shot left in the gun. This is followed by Roland yelling for Eddie to get down, and another gunshot. Then there is silence. I see there has been more movement in the trees. I am surrounded by Templars. I tell them to butt out of my Dark Tower dream. One of them asks if I really think they would mind turning this place into one big paradox. Three archers are aiming arrows at Roland. That was a mistake. It seems some light has reflected off of their arrows, or maybe it was just Roland's keen instinct… but in a blur Roland has his gun out and shoots all three of them right out of the trees. I tell them that committing suicide by gunslinger won't create any paradoxes. Someone else is trying to shoot Roland in the back. I manage to jump on top of that Templar, hidden blade first, just in time to cause his arrow to go wild. And now Roland is under cover, as are Eddie and Susanna. Four more archers have arrows pointed at me now. But now they have Roland, Eddie, and Susanna hunting them. The four of them are taken out in several quick shots. One of the last Templars standing says they will have their treasure back, and there's nothing I can do to stop them. The last two disappear. Roland emerges into the area, holstering his gun. He asks who my friends were. I say they weren't friends… they were Templars… and then I wake up.

New Confidence
I wake up in bed. The first thing I notice is that I am not wearing my dream mask… which triggers me to do a reality check. Before I can do the reality check, however, I see something standing over me. Two somethings, actually. One on each side of my bed. Both of them are cloaked figures, so I can't see any details of them. One of them is draining positive energy out, the other is putting negative energy in. I can feel the energy drain as they are doing it, my mind being filled with negative thoughts. I also have the clear thought that if I return the treasure I stole from the Templars that they will leave me alone. I don't believe that one. The thought adjusts itself to if I return the treasure and stop interfering with their business then they will leave me alone. I try to get myself out of bed, but I can't find the strength to move much. Then a big black cat enters the room. A black cat the size of a panther. The cat pounces on one of the two creatures. It is Shadow! She pounces on the one draining my positive energy and tears into it with teeth and claws. With one of them off of me I am able to form Witchblade into a hidden blade and drive it into the face of the remaining figure. The thing lets out a scream of rage and then both of them have disappeared. I feel a bit drained, but ok. I know I need to do something to create protection around here. I lie down in bed to rest for a bit. Shadow has transformed back to a kitty cat, and she is now curled up beside me. I don't feel like sleeping, though I have completely forgotten the idea I might be dreaming. I get out of bed and load up my computer. I feel particularly motivated to work on making a game right now. I think I will make a game from scratch instead of using an existing engine. I feel amazingly confidence regarding making the game, and I can't wait to get started. When I wake up I still have this feeling lingering.