Title: Immaterial World
author: Teri, Stana, Ian, Emily
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 21:13:12 EDT

Cirrus and Cumul had brought Grib and his Four right within the
center of the Nachtmer Fortress.  When the faint glowing haze of the
transfer-fog dissipated, the Naradans took a moment to absorb their
surroundings.

 "Not bad, not bad," Grib murmured, checking for alcoves and niches.
The
fortress was made of a dark, rough stone, darker than granite and
abrasive
 to the touch.  A thin greenish light, as if from a moon, shone through
a
few  slits in the high-vaulted ceiling of what seemed to have once been
the courtyard- the light was enough to see by, but not enough for
shadows.

The fortress was empty- and had been for a very long time, assuming it
had ever been occupied.
Tall columns stretched from the floor, dark stone stalagmites with
twisted carvings winding upward. The floor was uneven stone, and
moisture had
collected where the floor dipped considerably.  Grib turned to his
men with an eager smile. "This will be a piece of cake. Disperse- find
yourself positions around here." He turned to the two Nachtmer-born.
"You sure
they'll come here?" he demanded.

 The two exchanged hungry looks and nodded. "They will come, yes. You
will have to search the fortress. We do not know where in it they will
come.
But they will come to the fortress."

Grib nodded dismissively. The two had been talking in repetition since
they walked into the Dreaming room back on Narada. So the Chosen were
to
arrive here. Grib did not wonder why. His orders were to kill them
before
they left the dream. Grim cracked his knuckles and set about to find
cover.
His blood was beginning to heat. Soon, he told himself. Soon we will
spill
blood.

* * *

"How far is it?" Stana asked Ramdek. The boy turned and smiled.

"Not far," he replied. "We should be able to see it in a little while."

That was good to hear, Stana thought, although how they'd be able to
see
anything in this mist was beyond her. As they walked, the mist had
grown
progressively worse, as if their proximity to this fortress caused the
ground beneath them to exhale the milky, impenetrable smoke. Stana kept
envisioning something like the nightmare they fought creeping up on
them, hiding in the mist until it was close enough to attack. But
thoughts
like that only made things worse, so she forced them to the back of her
mind.
And yet, she turned and glanced at Shinji where he floated inside the
bubble, it might have been debated where the real monsters were. As if
on cue, Shinji spoke up.

"He's right you know," he said, arms crossed across his chest. "We are
getting close to something."

"Maybe," Estela answered, "But how are you so sure? I've been keeping
tabs on the vicinity, and I haven't felt anything yet."

Shinji smiled. "I might not be able to feel the fortress, but I can
tell
that there is something waiting for us whenever we get there, and
believe
me it won't be a warm welcome."

Stana cast a glance at Ramdek, but the boy just shrugged and started
walking,
occassionally kicking a pebble to skitter a few feet before sinking
into a
puddle of muck.

Estela looked down at the sword in her hand, and wondered just how much

protection it would be able to give her. Looking around in the gloom,
she
tried to bring all her fencing knowledge to the fore. Her left shoulder

ached, overly tensed from her watchful alertness.

Teri's let out a moan- almost a wail. Her patience was wearing thin,
she was
about ready to scream-- the others turned and found her knee deep in
muck.
Her eyes were closed, her face drawn, she prayed for patience. No one
moved
until she screamed angrily, "Will someone take this piece of shit so
that I
can get out of here!?"

Emily moved quickly, to push the cart to the side and offerr an arm to
the
other girl, who struggled her way out of the hole. Stana saw the muscle
in
Teri's cheek twitch as she looked once down at her legs and then
quickly
away. She thought she caught the girl muttering obscenities and
something
about boiling water, a brillo, and some lemon scented pine sol.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    As the group pushed on, the ground became harder beneath their
feet, the
area around them grew more defined and infinitely darker. So much more
so
that
Stana began to wish for the obscurity made possible by the pea fog of
earlier. Clip pranced along, the silvery mental voice silent, his head
thrust forward and
nostrils flared.  His hooves made a muted tinkling against the rocky
floor
of the Nachtmer.
    The boy, Ramdek, skipped along playfully ahead of the group. The
soft
sounds of a child's playtune caught the ears of the people behind him,
and
child-like, Ramdek seemed oblivious to his audience. Stana quickened
her
step until she was along side him, not wanting the boy to fade off into
the
Nachtmer-- he was their only guide through the mess around them. Clip
snorted, staying close to her as she moved. Wiping a damp strand of
hair,
brackish looking in the gloom, Stana cast an uneasy glance at her small
travelling companion. The boy
glanced up at her-- his washed out complexion and dark eyes solemn. He
held
out a hand for her to take, and she hesitated, then finally clasped his
palm.
     A disorienting double vision, much like the one before as she had
held
him inside Clip's sheild, caused her to sway dizzily. She would have
fallen
but that the boy's grip was iron around her fist. A moment more of
nausea,
her double vision black and swarming against the edges of her sight,
and
then it cleared, disolving back into clarity. If the Nachtmer could be
clear, she thought weakly. Both Clip and Teri were gazing at her
inscrutably.
     "What was that?" Teri asked, having moved herself and her charge
forward when she felt a wave of panic from Stana.
     "What was what?" the older girl answered.
     Clip tossed his head uneasily, sidling away from her and
whickering
softly. He had felt it, too. He cautiously moved back near the two.  He
glanced at the smirking Shinji, who, a few feet behind Teri and sitting
crosslegged within the bubble, looked arrogantly at ease. Clip snorted.
That
look steeled the Unicorn into complacency.
      Stana looked at the boy's head beneath her, and followed him
further
along the road. She noticed that as they travelled, a shadowy form
began to
materialize around them. She searched the surrounding vegetation- the
half-rotted carcasses of trees, skeletal brush and algae-covered stones
that
surrounded their path. No cause for the shadow came from above- and no
light
shone in the Nachtmer to cast them. Suddenly she gasped, bracing
herself
against imagined impact- only to find that she passed easily through
what
had appeared to be a stone wall-  Estela cast a wary glance at Stana,
and
Stana felt herself shake her head in confusion. Soon after she noted
that
corridors were appearing. A hundred feet more, walls and then finally a
ceiling.
        Suddenly the others caught on to what Stana had been witnessing, but
unable to voice.
      "The castle formed around us?" Emily asked. "That's.." her voice
dropped lower, disturbed as she turned in place, surveying what seemed
to be
a dark pathway in the bowels of the fortress, "That's.. unexpected.."
      "Teri..."Stana muttered, casting a worried glance at the thin
body
next to her. Teri pushed sweat-slick bangs from her face, and eagerly
dropped the handles of the cart. She looked over at Stana. "I dont like
this..."
      "Yeah." Teri agreed, wiping her hands nervously on her shorts.
        The sudden cry startled them, even the unicorn's dancing hoofs
ringing in surprise.
      "He's here!" Ramdek announced in the strange accent of youth.
"The
Chaos
bringer!"
        "Chaos bringer?" Teri repeated numbly, as if rolling the words on
her tongue.
      "My hero." Stana muttered, keeping down a shudder.
        "I don't like the sound of that- what is the Chaos Bringer?" Estela
demanded, her back to one of the recently formed walls, and one fist
clenching around the twisted metal of her sword. From the way she kept
glancing behind her, she wasn't certain she trusted the walls to stay
solid
long enough to give her protection.
        "I don't care-" Stana said, her voice trembling with anxiousness. It
was neither fear nor excitement- just a desperate desire to get their
mission over with, and return to the waking world. "Where is the book?"
        "The Book of Prophecy!" THe boy nodded eagerly, pleased that he had
knowledge he could share. "Down here!" The group followed him further
down
the path. The dull drip of moisture against the uneven floors echoed in
tandem with their footsteps.
        "We have to go into the castle more, and then up, then right and
around, and then through the big doors- and--" he stopped suddenly,
squeezing Stana's hand and looking at them with excitement in his eyes.
"I'm
so glad you came! It's so nice to have nice people in the castle."
        Teri rolled her eyes, and mumbled, "Wonderful- do we get 5 bucks an
hour for babysitting, too?" but her flippant words could not hide the
uneasiness she felt, too, as they all proceeded farther into the
fortress.
****