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Dream World Mirau by Josephina Mari
Day Eighteen of NaNoWriMo

Time flew by quickly and before I knew it we were walking towards the west gate to report in for our mission. Karou was already at the west gate when we arrived. Karou was sitting on the ground playing a card game with the silent guard and from the looks of it Karou was losing, unless the objective was to have the least amount of cards possible. Karou placed two of his remaining cards down and then I watched the guard looked at his hand of cards curiously for a moment. The guard placed down two cards across from Karou’s and then I heard Karou mutter something under his breath as his cards were flipped over and picked up by the guard. “Looks like I’ve lost. Good game. It’s about time to switch places anyways.” Karou said as he handed the rest of his cards over to the guard then he got to his feet. Even the card games of this world looked complex. “Fire and wind are a dangerous combination. It was indeed an enjoyable game. Do come back and play again sometime. We will leave the imp monkeys to you then.” The silent guard said as he stood up and then he brushed the dirt off of his pants before he looked over at the other guard signaling that it was time for them to leave. I watched the two guards leave wondering if this was really such a good idea after all. “Now we wait. Soon enough the imp monkeys will wake up after the sun has set. Be on your guard. We can’t allow them to get into the city.” Karou said as he drew out an old looking sword from the sheath at his side. “Now you are talking. I’ve been itching to try out my new spell since we left the Weapon Shop. Prepare to be amazed Mari.” Baer said giving me a thumbs up before we heard rustling of some bushes just outside the gate.

“Karou had his sword ready, and Baer would use his magic, so what did that leave for me to do?” I wondered and then I quickly took my bow down off of my shoulder and held it with my right hand. With my left hand I pulled out an arrow from my quiver then I positioned the arrow in the middle of the bow string. I pulled back on the string slightly as I did my best to aim for the area in front of the bushes. Suddenly one of the imp monkeys charged out from the bushes straight at us so I reflex released the arrow I had ready. I closed my eyes out of fear that I might have missed allowing the imp monkey a chance to attack me, but then I heard an unusual cry followed by Baer’s shocked voice “She killed it in one shot...Are you sure she’s a novice Karou?” Karou scowled at Baer then he walked over to examine the imp monkey I shot. Just as he thought, it was dead with the arrow logged only a few centimeters from its heart. “Is there something she’s not telling me? Maybe it was beginners luck. Even so I’ve never hit one with an arrow before. How she managed to baffles me.” Karou thought to himself as I heard animal cries come from the trees all around us as we stood in the gateway. Suddenly a group of five imp monkeys came charging for Karou as I struggled to get another arrow ready. I released the arrow like I did before, but this time the imp monkey was able to side step enough to dodge as the arrow hit the ground next to it. “Let me deal with them.” Baer said as he stood in front of me. I heard him begin to chant in Mirau’s language until I recognized the words “Blazen Karas” at the end. I felt the air around me and Baer suddenly get hot, as flames rushed towards the imp monkeys that were charging Karou. Instantly the imp monkeys became surrounded by a wall of flames in all directions and then I watched as the flames closed in on them and then vanished without a trace after the imp monkeys were killed inside.

“You just had to show off didn’t you Baer? I had it under control.” Karou said looking annoyed. I could see why Baer wanted that magical spell so badly now. “Is that so? Well the next wave is all yours Karou.” Baer said motioning towards another group of imp monkeys charging at us. “How many of these things are there...I hope we don’t spend all night fending them off.” I thought to myself as I readied another arrow. Karou took down two of them with swift sword slashes and then I took down a third as it was about to pounce on Karou. “Let’s have some fun with these mongrels.” Baer said switching to an ice based spell which he cast on some of the imp monkeys near by. Ice began to form on the imp monkey’s feet pinning them to the ground so that Karou and I could finish them off. By the fourth wave of them, I was starting to feel more comfortable with using the bow and arrows and it seemed like my aim was getting better as well. The odd thing about the imp monkeys was that when we defeated one after awhile the body would seem to vanish leaving my arrows behind where they fell. Suddenly I noticed the remaining imp monkeys run away from the battle field as the full moon reached its highest point in the sky. “Do you think they will come back?” I said as I sat down on the ground panting a little. “Doubt it. They would be dumb to return after suffering the loss they did tonight. We should get some rest now. We have to report to Dellan in the morning. We will split the reward three ways, since Baer came to help after the mission started.” Karou said as he swung his sword in the air for a moment as if to remove some blood from it which I couldn’t see and then he sheathed his sword.

“About tomorrow I wanted to ask...Are you two sure you want to go with me over to Mesa? Once we get on that boat there’s no turning back. Ever since the Akuen took over, it has become a very dangerous place.” Baer said sounding worried. He wasn’t worried for himself, he was more worried about Karou and me though. “We are in this together Baer. That’s what being a team means. We have each other, besides I think you have a better chance if we come along.” I said hoping that I wouldn’t let him down. “Thank you both. There is no ‘I’ in ‘team’ so I’ll make sure to do my part as well. I hope to see a world without the Akuen someday soon.” Baer said as we walked into the inn again. Karou said a quick good night to me and Baer before he went into his room. Karou was glad to finally call it a night after our exhausting first lesson. “Good night Mari. See you in the morning.” Baer said smiling before he walked over to his bed. Baer climbed into bed facing the wall and shortly after he fell asleep. I was worried Baer’s nightmares might keep him up again tonight, but so far he seemed to be alright. I took off my shoes and placed them at the end of my bed next to my backpack then I climbed into bed under the blankets. It took me a while to fall asleep since I was worried about Baer and thinking about what tomorrow would bring for us. The sooner we found Baer’s Master the better since Mesa sounded like a pretty rough place.

I must have fallen asleep eventually since I woke up in my own room back in my world. I quickly got ready for school, grabbed my backpack, and then I headed downstairs to the kitchen. My family all had already left to their daily tasks so I was home alone. I popped two slices of bread into the toaster then I took a plate down from the cupboard. Once the toast was done I ate it quickly. This was probably the first time I had ever ate my toast plain without my favorite strawberry jam, but somehow it slipped my mind while I was thinking about the trip to Mesa. Before that though, I would get the chance to see Ben Sammons again and hopefully muster up enough courage to ask him if he was the Ben I knew from the Kageru wolf tribe. Once I finished my toast I put my plate away in the dish washer, picked up my backpack, and then I headed outside to wait for the bus. Once I arrived at school I went straight to my English class to find the room empty. Even Mrs. Harris had not arrived yet. I sat down at my desk and pulled out my Literature book to review what I read for class discussion today. I heard a familiar voice greet me with “Good morning Mari.” Before I saw Ben Sammons sit down in the chair next to me. “Good morning Ben. There’s something I wanted to ask you about. It took me awhile to figure out the right words, but I think I have it now. Please try to keep an open mind and not laugh at me okay? Well here it goes. For about the past month I’ve been having these really odd dreams where I go to this place called Mirau and while I was there I met a guy named Karou who has a sister named Claria. I also met a guy briefly that shared the same name as you and kind of looked like you as well. He could turn into—“ I started to explain but was interrupted when Ben raised his hand as if he had a question to ask me.

I was expecting Ben to get upset that I was comparing him with a person I saw in my dream but it was quite the opposite “A black wolf of the Kageru tribe right? Your dream sounds very similar to the one Clare and I have been having lately. Clare said her brother brought home a girl with brown hair from the desert and so Clare helped her brother take care of the brown haired girl who has the same name as you. Looks like we all had the same dream. How strange right?” Ben said looking at me curiously. So it was true, Ben Sammons was the same Ben of the Kageru...Did that mean Clare was Claria as well? So maybe if I met Clare I’d be able to meet Karou’s real world persona as well. We all needed to think of a plan on how we would save Mirau, but the big question that lingered in my head was how? What would happen to all of us, to this world even, if Mirau was taken over by the Akuen? “I don’t think it’s strange at all. I think Mirau is calling out for our help and we were chosen to save it. At lunch time could I talk with you and Clare about some things that have happened since we left Carson Village? I get the feeling something big is going to happen soon...” I said to Ben in a low voice even though we were the only ones in the room still. “Sure I don’t see a problem with that. I hope you have some kind of plan in mind. I never thought a world I saw in my dreams could be real or that someday I would be fighting to save it. It’s kind of cool.” Ben said smiling wide as I heard a couple students walk into the classroom talking amongst themselves. It looked like they didn’t hear what was said so far so I let out a small sigh of relieve as I said to Ben “We can talk more at lunch. Class will be starting soon.” Ben nodded to me and then we both returned to our reading while we waited for class to begin.

The rest of my day passed by slowly until lunch time finally came around. I scanned the lunch room with my eyes for Ben and Clare, and then I found them sitting at one of the end tables in the middle of the lunch room. Ben was sitting next to a girl with long blond hair and freckles on her face that were easy to see when she smiled or laughed. She seemed like a very quiet girl since she only said a few words to Ben or the blond boy sitting across from her. “Excuse me...um Ben? Sorry I’m late. We had a test in history today so class ran over a bit. Can I join you?” I said feeling it was more polite to ask first. “Of course Mari have a seat. No need for apologies. Kyle and Clare this is Mari the girl I told you about in my English class. She seems to be having the same dream we are so maybe she can help us figure out what it means. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence.” Ben said as he looked at me and then Clare and Kyle to see what they thought. “It’s nice to meet you Mari.” Clare said sounding a little shy as she peek around Ben’s shoulder for a moment to look at me then she looked over at Kyle who was sitting across from her. “You look like Mari...Even the same backpack too. What do you think that means? Please join us and share your ideas...” Kyle said as he took his backpack out of the chair next to him to allow me to sit down. I placed my backpack down on the floor next to me then I sat down in the chair and I placed my hands on the table with my fingers interlaced. I was about to speak when Kyle asked me the most unusual question I had head so far today.

“That bracelet where did you get it Mari?” I had to stop and think about it for a moment and then I remembered I found it in my backpack one day when I opened up my Literature book, and there it was. “I found it in my Literature book one night when I was going to study...I thought it was kind of strange, but I figured it was probably a surprise from my parents or something. Why do you ask?” I said looking at him curiously as I totally forgot about what we were talking about prior. “That bracelet is identical to the one Clare made me for my birthday. I lost it while I was in Mirau and when I woke up it was really gone. I thought that I might of taken it off , but after a few days of searching it was no where to be found. The reason it was in your bag is because I was snooping around to see if you had any candy inside. Normally the bracelet would be on my wrist, but in my animal form it appears around my neck. I was trying to get out of your bag when the bracelet got caught on something. By the time I wiggled free the bracelet had become untied and fall into the bottom of the bag. I was for sure if I transformed human to retrieve it you and Clare would have seen me. I didn’t want to get caught so I left the bracelet in your bag. The fact you have it proves you are the same Mari from my dream...from all of our dreams. Mirau is real and it is in grave danger.” Kyle said and suddenly I felt several emotions hit me at once. At first confusion changed to disbelief, then I felt anger and finally sadness. “I’m sorry...I should give it back to you if it does belong to you. As for Mirau I’m not really sure what to do. I want to help please believe me on that.” I said looking from Ben to Clare then to Kyle. “Please keep it Mari. I want you to have it as a way to remember us. Looks like we will have to continue this discussion later. Lunch is almost over. Let’s get together tomorrow and try to come up with a plan alright? Same place and same time.” Kyle said and then I heard the bell ring signaling that lunch was over. I nodded to Ben, Clare, and Kyle then the four of us went our separate ways to finish off our day of school.