Brigid woke up in the dead of night. Something was very off about this night she’d woken up in, but she couldn’t figure out what. The leaves above her rustled in the wind as it blew through the hollowed out tree she was sleeping in. She could see sunlight just about peeking through, the bright sun surrounded by absolute darkness.

  “Ah,” She muttered, “so that’s what’s wrong.”

  She climbed out of her hammock and quickly changed into the green dress all the druids of Lakinos Oasis wore. She walked outside into the lush green micro-forest that the druids had created here long ago, a piece of beauty in the otherwise dead desert of Hammerfell. She also saw every single druid in the process of doing a tightly choreographed tango, some up trees.

  “Oh, this is a dream.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “25 dreams I’ve woken up in isn’t so bad I guess…”

  She was hugged from behind by her mother. She looked a lot like Brigid, but her features were notably more elven: pointier ears, darker skin that was much smoother, longer hair and a lankier frame. How many elven traits were passed on to half elven children varied drastically from child to child, and although Brigid had acquired mostly elven traits in some form or another, she seemed to have a human’s rate of growth. It was entirely possible her mother would outlive her.

  “Hey Brigid,” she said. “Watcha doing?”

  “Trying to get out of these dreams.” Brigid smiled back. “Like, they’ve been nice, nice change of pace from being trapped in one, but I’d like to wake up now.”

  “I can’t help with that, unfortunately. You see, I’m trapped in one too right now.”

  “Yeah, I know. Me and Nathan got out, but we couldn't save anyone else. We’re going to stop Kable, and we’ll get you out.”

  “And what if I’m already dead?”

  “...What? I mean, Kable wouldn’t kill you, would he?”

  She smiled. “Oh, my sweet little thorn. He’s killed gods. He's killed worlds. He’s already killed me.” She lent in to whisper in Brigid’s ear. “Why wouldn't he kill you?”

  Brigid felt a blade stab through her chest before she woke up.

  For the first time in what felt like forever, Brigid woke up in a bed. There was a springy mattress, warm covers and soft, fluffy pillow. She’d had dreams, too, more than the one that had just woken her up. Some were happy, some sad, some plain weird, but all hers. She hadn’t been trapped in the fake garden, fighting to keep a semblance of who she was as the Man of Hands searched for her every second. She wasn’t suspended in mid air with the other people of Sable, being used like some sort of living battery. Her nightmares no longer bled into reality, sleep was welcome, and she could lightly doze for a while.

  Of course, when you’ve been sleeping for a year, you’re generally not tired.

  Brigid climbed out of bed and looked around at the room she was in. It was a hotel room with a soft carpet, a desk, two beds and all the walls coloured in a shade of dark green that was pleasant but didn’t feel homely. The man who had saved her was looking out of the window. He’d gotten rid of his cloak and had replaced it with a white shirt, blue tie and black gloves, a matching blue blazer strewn over the desk chair. His name was Nathan Elcot; a traveller, warrior, the basis for Sable Online’s Saber class, and above all, a hero.

  “So, you’re finally awake.” He turned around and smiled at Brigid as she got out of bed. His voice and manner hid how old he was. Brigid knew he’d made deals with higher powers to extend his lifespan, but she had no idea what that consisted of or how long it would let him live. She just knew he would keep extending his time until either Kable died or there was nothing left he could do.

  “Finally. I’m so happy I’m free,” Her voice was weak. She tried to walk over to him but her legs were shaky. She’d gotten so used to walking the dream that a world with normal geometry and physics was suddenly alien and strange.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Take it easy. Drink some water. I’ve ordered room service, make sure to eat something.”

  She collapsed onto the office chair and sighed. At least she still had her dress, a green and white dress that went down to her ankles. It was the traditional garb of the Sylvian Druid clan she’d been raised by since she was a preteen, and in this unusual place, it was good to have a little something to remember home by. Well, a kind of home, anyway.

  “How long was I out?” She asked

  “About a week,” Nathan replied. “Even after James freed you, your body was still recovering from whatever Cythotek was doing.”

  “Then…what happened to the dragon? I remember teleporting out of Sable, but then everything went dark.”

  “Draconautis didn’t show up. Either he was sent somewhere else, or the teleporter killed him. I think it might be the former, I’m hoping it was the latter.”

  Brigid drank the glass of water Nathan had prepared for her earlier, healing her dry throat a little, before she stumbled over to him.

  “Where are we, anyway?” She asked. Nathan took a step back so she could look out of the window, and was almost blinded by the lights that pierced through the night.

  “We’re on Earth,” he said. “This is the city called Las Vegas.”

  Brigid glared at him intensely, her left hand glowing green.

  Nathan sighed. “It means a different thing in Elvish than it does over here.”

  “Oh.” Brigid looked a little embarrassed, the glow subsiding. “Sorry. So, is this the country where the Tree Guardian came from?”

  “Same language, but no. This is the United States of America. Our home.”

  Brigid was mesmerised by the brightly lit buildings and signs, only just glimpsing the desert beyond. They were high up, and yet there were so many buildings that were bigger.

  “I never wanted to come back here,” she said.

  “I know. Honestly, after everything that I did on Sable, neither did I. We have to do this, though. This is everything we’ve been working towards in the past two years. We might win this now.”

  Nathan pulled out a wristband that showed holographic images. Brigid vaguely remembered the design: it was first being designed when she was on Earth. After some confused swiping, clearly not understanding how it worked, Nathan eventually brought up a map.

  “I wanted to teleport us to Avalon,” Nathan explained. “Then we could make contact with James Marlow immediately and avoid being targeted by Kable’s agents. Unfortunately, we’ve ended up a thousand miles away. Kezodoran tech is so unreliable…anyway, we’re going to have to find a way to get to Avalon. Maybe we can hitchhike, or steal a car, or pray they improved public transport since the last time I was on this planet.”

  “How much time have we got?” Brigid asked.

  “Not enough. Kable will probably be on to James by now, and we have to hope the kid lives long enough for us to rescue him. We’ve been holed up in this hotel for a week and have barely moved in that time, and I’m sure the monsters who run the dream have reported our breakout to their master. As soon as you’re ready to go, we’re running for our lives, and we will not be able to stop until we’ve won.”

  “How did you pay for the room?”

  Nathan raised an eyebrow. “That’s question number two after teleporting into an alternate dimension?”

  “I mean, yeah. You haven’t been to this world in like, what, 100 years? You can’t have money here anymore.”

  “It was only 60. Damn elves and their…” Nathan muttered, before speaking up and actually answering, “I can create any metal I want. The receptionist was a bit surprised when I paid him in solid gold, and I admit it goes against our attempts to keep a low profile, but it worked.”

  “How did you get me in?”

  “I said you were drunk. That happens a lot in this city, they didn’t bat an eyelid.”

  “I’d never drink,” Brigid pouted. Then she asked, “Did anything else happen while I was out?”

  Nathan paused before replying, “One thing. A few days ago, I felt something. Someone on this planet tapped into the Soul Armoury. I don’t know who it was, but that power has seeped into Earth now.”

  “Surely that’s a good thing? The Soul Armoury is on our side, right?”

  Nathan paused, stuttering a little as he kept talking.

  “O-Of course, but if a human uses it with no understanding of the risk…the consequences do not bear thinking about. You’ve seen the damage it’s done to me. I wouldn’t wish that power on anyone else, especially someone from a world as rooted in science as this one.”

  “Then we’ll meet them on the way, and you can help them. Just like you always do.” Brigid smiled before hugging Nathan. “I never thought I’d get out. Thank you, uncle Nathan.”

  Nathan hugged back. “It’s good to have you back, Brigid.”

  She looked out of the window. “Thank you too, James. I’ll see you soon.”