You try to scare the little purple people much like you’ve ran after pigeons in the park, however the purple folks won’t be chased away so easily, this is their home after all, they just nimbly get out of your way and continue to pelt you with stones, which are really starting to hurt at this point, and a particularly large stone smacks you in the head knocking you out.

When you wake up you’re nowhere near the Wizard’s house anymore, in fact you’re quite a ways outside of the village! The purple people must’ve dragged you here. As you groggily get up, you wish that someone would help you. Just then a shadow looms over you, at first you get scared again, but fortunately this one is attached to someone. You look up and see a woman dressed in leather armor, she carries a bow on her back and a sword by her side. She gives you a serious look while she grabs your hand to pick you up. You notice she has pointy ears.

“Boy, what’re you doing out here? Don’t you know it can be dangerous out here? Do you live in that village?” she asks.
“No, I was trying to look for help there. There was a wizard who said he could help me get back home if…”
“Wizard? There wasn’t any strong magic activity detected around here boy. Where are you from?”

You explain your story, as the woman listens intently. Much like the wizard you ran into earlier, she doesn’t seem surprised.

“Mm, yes you are a lucky boy indeed to escape from the Nightmare Tyrant, most never even have a chance. I think you better come with me, my name’s Lyssia”
“But the wizard…”
“Trust me, you’ll be safer with me, than that so called wizard you mentioned. Sounded like a hedge wizard that was just getting you to do some grunt work that he didn’t want to do. He couldn’t help you against the shadows, let alone get you back home. I might be able to though, well the Captain might anyway. We’ll head back to my platoon’s camp.”

You feel somewhat safer with Lyssia, not to mention she seems like she’s more readily going to help you, so you follow her. Eventually you arrive at a fairly large camp with armored knights, horses, and tents. Most of them look like they’ve been doing a lot of fighting recently and are still recovering from their wounds. When you enter the Captain’s tent, you see him looking over some maps before he looks up at you. He’s a man of average build, but his weathered and tired face shows the signs of having been in battle several times. His armor displays likewise.

“Lyssia, you better have a good reason for why you’re bringing this boy into my presence. This is a mobile military unit; you know we can’t be coddling civilians, let alone children.”

Lyssia explains the situation and the Captain’s attitude towards you changes to a more sympathetic one.

“Escaping from the Nightmare Tyrant’s minions is no small feat, especially for one unprepared for such an encounter. The terror they radiate is normally enough to paralyze most with fear. You’re obviously not a battle hardened soldier to such horrors, and there’s no evidence of any magic about you. You must have an innate strong will, boy. Which is good since you’ll most likely have to deal with them again.” He says grimly.
“Again?!” you exclaim.
“Yes, unfortunately the Nightmare Tyrant isn’t fond of losing those he marks for capture. He has no doubt sent his Shadow minions to look for you. Fortunately you have us to help you now. We are a recon team for the Parran Empire, we’ve been fighting the Nightmare Tyrant for years, trying to find a weakness with little success. Though after some searching we think there may be a powerful weapon that can help us. It’s in some ruins a few days from here, or should be. One can never know for certain with old legends. Now, I have a duty to defend innocents from evil, but I also have a duty to the Empire. I simply cannot take this team all the way back to the Empire just to drop you off there where our wizards can send you back home, I have a mission to complete first. You can either stay with us and then after the mission we shall all go back together, or I shall send a couple of my men with you back to the Empire. Keep in mind the Shadows are probably looking for you and they tend to hunt in swarms, so the more people defending you, the better.”

You really want to go back home, but you’re a little worried about not having all the protection you can.

“Well can’t Lyssia go with me?” you ask hopefully. Lyssia smiles a bit at your request, but the Captain shakes his head.
“Sadly no. While I can certainly understand and admire your judgment of wanting her to go with you, I cannot allow her to do so, as my mission will undoubtedly require her skills. As I said, I will send to two of my men, but that is all I can spare if you decide to head back to the Empire.”
> You go with the Captain
You don’t know anything about this place and you’re in great danger, so you decide it would be best if you had as many people defending you as possible. You’d rather stay with the Captain.

“Very well, you may stay with us, just don’t make a nuisance of yourself. We’ll also be on the move a lot, so don’t expect a high comfort level, however whenever we make camp, you’re welcome to stay in my tent. For right now though, you’ll have to leave it, I’m having a meeting with Lyssia and a couple of my knights to discuss an important plan of action. Explore if you wish, but don’t wander away from us, we’ll protect you, but we won’t baby-sit you.”

With these words in mind Lyssia leads you back out of the tent, upon which another knight comes up to her with a message.

“Sergeant, a man has arrived at the camp.”
“Is he hostile?”
“No, he says he was just passing through and figured maybe he could trade for supplies here.”
“Tell him to move on, this isn’t a trading post.” Lyssia says and goes back in the tent.

Not knowing what to do next you follow the knight back to the man he was talking about. When you see him, he looks raggedy, but well equipped. He a sword by his side and his leather armor looks more like a patchwork taken from several other suits. The most notable feature is the big backpack on his back. You wonder if he’s an adventurer.

“Alright you, move on, this isn’t a trading post.” The knight repeats to the visitor.
“Okay, okay, I’ll go. But can’t I just rest here for one minute? I’ve been walking a lot and it would be nice to at least know I’m safe for just a moment.”
“…well okay, but make it quick, and stay on the outskirts of the camp.” The knight says and leaves. You continue to examine this traveler, who immediately knows you are.
“Well, how come you get to stay here? Army camps aren’t known to house children.” He asks while sitting down on a nearby log.

You explain your situation to this adventurer, and once again you get an unsurprised look from your listener.

“Got the impression you weren’t from around here. I somehow could sense it. I always had that ability; it’s come in handy a lot. But yes, the Nightmare Tyrant is very bad news; you would do well to leave this world as quickly as you can, no doubt Shadows are already on their way.”
“Well I got this army to protect me!” you exclaim.
“Perhaps, but you said it will be awhile before they return to the Parran Empire where you can get properly transported back to your world, in the meantime they WILL be attacked by not just Shadows, but also by whatever they come across in their mission. Tis a long time to put yourself at risk. Not to mention I see a lack of magic in this camp, I wonder about their chances against Shadows if the Nightmare Tyrant unleashes his full power in order to re-capture you.”

You’re almost sorry you started talking to this man, within a few seconds he’s managed to worry you all over again. Here you were thinking that you were going to be nice and safe.

“But…but…well what should I do?”
“Well, if we were back in Null, I could probably get you back home really quick…”

Before the Adventurer can finish you interrupt.

“Null?”
“Oh, that’s where I live. It used to be a great city of fantastic magical power a long time ago, but it was destroyed by its own petty bickering. The powerful wizards there began to argue among themselves, factions were drawn and the entire city along with several miles around it went up in a big ball of flame. It was a terrible tragedy that could’ve been avoided, but there was an interesting effect of the aftermath of it though.”
“What happened?”
“Well, no magic works there now, hence the name Null. Powerful wizards can’t get a simple cantrip to work there, let alone a spell. Even the Nightmare Tyrant’s minions can’t go there. Still, it’s far from safe. Lots of the Forsaken live there.”
“Who are the Forsaken?”
“Oh they’re the unlucky folks who actually managed to survive the catastrophe. Not all of them bad, but understandably such a powerful magic disaster had an effect on most of their bodies as well as their minds.”

While this is all very fascinating, you still don’t see how this helps you exactly.

“While this is all very fascinating, I still don’t see how this helps me exactly. I mean if no magic works there, how can I get home? And why would you want to live in such a place anyway it sounds dangerous.”

The Adventurer moves closer to you and looks around before speaking.

“Okay, because I can sympathize with being in a tough position, I’ll tell you a little secret. Magic DOES work there, but only in one area and it’s only a place I know about as far as I know. There’s a deep, but small underground dungeon in Null where magic seems to work, I know because that’s where I live! I stumbled upon it completely by accident when I was exploring Null. Apparently one of the many trinkets that I had acquired in the past was a key of some sort. It began to glow and then the wall opened up the way for me. Pure random dumb luck. So I went in and discovered that entire section runs on magic or something like it at least. There are some sort of contraption that if you sit down in and visualize with clarity, your wish will come true! I tried it a few times and it was nice, but I’m a wanderer at heart and as such I couldn’t just spend the rest of my days wallowing in eternal paradise, plus I was always leery that something bad might happen if I over used the contraption for greed. However I did see it as a good place to make my home away from the road. In fact I use this magic chair to quickly travel to towns and other cities, of course it’s only one way, but at least it shortens the trip somewhat. You could probably use the chair to return home. Even if it doesn’t work, I could always take you to the Parran Empire to get you back home. It would still be quicker and safer than traveling with an army that has to complete some mission before it can back home. Who knows what responsibilities and dangers it might incur along the way? Think also, in Null, you wouldn’t be attacked by Shadows either. It’s up to you though, but choose quickly because I have to be leaving soon.”
> You go with the Adventurer
You have to admit, even though you want to go back home, part of you really likes it here. Null sounds interesting and anyplace where the Shadows can’t get you sounds even better. The Adventurer seems trustworthy enough, but you still hope you’re making the right decision.

“Okay, I’ll go with you.” you say a bit hesitantly.
“Alright, let’s get going, we still have a quite a trip ahead of us.”

You and the Adventurer leave the military camp and set off on your journey. The Adventurer explains that you’ll probably reach Null in a couple of days, but that you still shouldn’t worry too much about Shadow attacks, since the anti-magic effects from Null are also in the desert wasteland surrounding the ruined city.

As you travel further, you find that the Adventurer is quite talkative. He speaks about his many journeys, he also mentions briefly of why he chose his “profession” which was mainly because he was bored living in the small village where he was born. When you reach the desert you see a big ruined city far in the distance. You also notice night is starting to fall as it’s starting to get dark, though it seems to have come on all of a sudden. The Adventurer has noticed it too and he begins to go for his weapons.

“It’s not supposed to get dark that quick…The Nightmare Tyrant! Quick! Run towards Null, the anti-magic field gets stronger the closer we are to it!”

You and the Adventurer begin to run and suddenly you hear screeching behind you, and you turn your head to see Shadows coming out of the sky to capture you. However, they seem to almost be flickering in and out of existence. The unnatural darkness is also being affected bizarrely, since its still “day” in front of you and then complete “night’ behind. Eventually you and the Adventurer outrun the Shadows and the darkness, as they both are unable to withstand the sheer anti-magical forces emanating from Null. After some angry screeching the Shadows retreat back to where they came, while you and the Adventurer take a breather.

“See? Told you they can’t get you here. Whew, running in this hot desert is tiring. Let’s rest here and continue on tomorrow. The real night will be coming soon and actually walking around in Null after night isn’t particularly a safe thing to do either, the desert is a lot securer.”

You and the Adventurer settle down for the night, he brings out some water flasks from his backpack and gives you one. You drink it all up and it’s soon empty, but you still wish you had a lot more.

“Hey, don’t drink all of it! We have to conserve it…wait, I know that flask doesn’t hold that much water.” He says in confusion as you continue to drink what seems to be an endless supply of water in the flask. When you’ve truly satisfied your thirst the Adventurer takes the flask and attempts to look in it and shake it and finds there’s no more water in there.

“Okay how did you do that?”
“How did I do what?”
“You drank enough for two flasks! These aren’t bottomless canteens of everlasting water either and even if they were they wouldn’t work due to the anti-magic here. So I’d like to know HOW you did that.”

The Adventurer is looking at you suspiciously, almost as if you could possibly be dangerous. You stutter and fumble with an explanation mainly because you don’t even know.

“I…I don’t know…I just wished I had more water…I was really thirsty…” you reply a bit worried. He looks at you for a moment longer and then speaks again.
“Try to wish for a chest full of gold.”
“What?”
“Just do it, I want to see something.”
“Erm…okay.”

You wish and think as hard as you can, but nothing happens. Well that’s not entirely true, you get dizzy and fall to the ground. A single gold piece appears near you though. The Adventurer picks you up as well as the gold piece, which is somewhat misshapen and uneven.

“Hmm, so there are limits. Did you always have this ability?”
“Huh? No. We don’t have any kind of stuff like this in my world.” You say trying to keep steady.
“I’m not sure what exactly is going on, but it would appear you got some sort of weird mental powers independent of magic. I have fought monsters with similar abilities, which is why I was suspicious at first. You ability reminds me of the magic chair I was telling you about except your power can work even in this anti-magical place and it would appear it isn’t very powerful. I’d almost suggest that you could attempt to wish yourself back home, but as we’ve seen, it isn’t powerful enough to do that. Still, this is probably a good indication that the chair will be able to get you back home. Here, here’s a proper gold piece, I don’t need it. Well anyway let’s get some sleep, we should reach Null tomorrow.”

You pocket the faultless gold coin and the both of you go to sleep. Before you do though, you reflect on this little adventure. You also wonder about your Mom, she’s going to be worried about you and probably have the police looking all over for you! And when you finally do return, what will you tell her?

You don’t know, but what you do know for certain is that you DO want to get home as soon as possible even if you do find this place very fascinating.

The next morning the both of you wake up refreshed and ready to carry on your journey to Null. You don’t get far, when the Adventurer senses someone is following you. You both turn around and see a figure approaching. It looks like a teenage boy, but deathly pale. The odd thing is, he’s wearing modern clothing from YOUR world.

“Is that one of the Forsaken?” you ask
“Him? No, if it was it would probably coming from Null not towards it, not to mention it would probably be running at us trying to eat us. It also looks too human and it’s wearing strange clothing, in fact it looks more like…well your type of clothing. Friend of yours?”
“Not that I know of, I’m not friends with anyone his age.”

He doesn’t quicken his pace; he just continues to walk steadily towards your position. When he gets close enough, you can see his face, which looks emotionless. In fact it looks like he’s staring right through the both of you. The Adventurer draws his sword, but it doesn’t look like this person is showing any sign of going to attack. In fact he just stands there looking off into space.

“Alright, what’s your name?” the Adventurer demands.
“John…Johnny Doe…” he replies still staring into the space. “This place…it’s dead…numb…like me…”

As odd as he is, something tells you he’s from your world. Maybe he’s another person the Nightmare Tyrant tried to capture.
> You try to help him
You step forward towards him, an action that the Adventurer doesn’t approve of at all.

“What’re you doing?!”
“I think you’re right, I think he’s from my world. Maybe he escaped from the Nightmare Tyrant too.”
“I don’t trust him, he’s weird and in my line of work, if it’s weird more often than not, it isn’t good!”

You ignore the Adventurer and go back to talking to Johnny, who seems to have begun to direct his attention towards you.

“Are you from Earth?”
“Yes.”
“Did the Nightmare Tyrant bring you here?”
“Yes.”
“Did you escape like me?”
“No.”

This answer catches you off guard, so much in fact that you don’t react in time to jump out of the way of Johnny’s grip. When he grabs your arm, you feel an instant paralyzing numbness causing you to drop immediately. When this occurs the Adventurer leaps into action and strikes Johnny, but when his sword hits Johnny’s body, it’s almost as if the paralysis crept up the sword and was inflicted upon the Adventurer as well. He falls to the ground clutching his arm and dropping his sword. Johnny follows up by merely touching the Adventurer on the head, completely immobilizing him.

Having incapacitated the Adventurer, Johnny turns his attention back to you.

“No magic can work here, but I can. The Nightmare Tyrant wants to see you. You must comply. Perhaps you will become one of the Shadows. Maybe you will become like me. The Nightmare Tyrant will decide. He knows best.”

You attempt to speak, but you’re unable to. You can’t even think.

“No more talk. No more resistance. Just dead numbness.” He says and then picks you up and begins to carry you out of the desert. Eventually when you’re out of the anti-magic field, a dark portal opens up, and Johnny delivers you to the Nightmare Tyrant.


You have to admit, even though you want to go back home, part of you really likes it here. Null sounds interesting and anyplace where the Shadows can’t get you sounds even better. The Adventurer seems trustworthy enough, but you still hope you’re making the right decision.

“Okay, I’ll go with you.” you say a bit hesitantly.
“Alright, let’s get going, we still have a quite a trip ahead of us.”

You and the Adventurer leave the military camp and set off on your journey. The Adventurer explains that you’ll probably reach Null in a couple of days, but that you still shouldn’t worry too much about Shadow attacks, since the anti-magic effects from Null are also in the desert wasteland surrounding the ruined city.

As you travel further, you find that the Adventurer is quite talkative. He speaks about his many journeys, he also mentions briefly of why he chose his “profession” which was mainly because he was bored living in the small village where he was born. When you reach the desert you see a big ruined city far in the distance. You also notice night is starting to fall as it’s starting to get dark, though it seems to have come on all of a sudden. The Adventurer has noticed it too and he begins to go for his weapons.

“It’s not supposed to get dark that quick…The Nightmare Tyrant! Quick! Run towards Null, the anti-magic field gets stronger the closer we are to it!”

You and the Adventurer begin to run and suddenly you hear screeching behind you, and you turn your head to see Shadows coming out of the sky to capture you. However, they seem to almost be flickering in and out of existence. The unnatural darkness is also being affected bizarrely, since its still “day” in front of you and then complete “night’ behind. Eventually you and the Adventurer outrun the Shadows and the darkness, as they both are unable to withstand the sheer anti-magical forces emanating from Null. After some angry screeching the Shadows retreat back to where they came, while you and the Adventurer take a breather.

“See? Told you they can’t get you here. Whew, running in this hot desert is tiring. Let’s rest here and continue on tomorrow. The real night will be coming soon and actually walking around in Null after night isn’t particularly a safe thing to do either, the desert is a lot securer.”

You and the Adventurer settle down for the night, he brings out some water flasks from his backpack and gives you one. You drink it all up and it’s soon empty, but you still wish you had a lot more.

“Hey, don’t drink all of it! We have to conserve it…wait, I know that flask doesn’t hold that much water.” He says in confusion as you continue to drink what seems to be an endless supply of water in the flask. When you’ve truly satisfied your thirst the Adventurer takes the flask and attempts to look in it and shake it and finds there’s no more water in there.

“Okay how did you do that?”
“How did I do what?”
“You drank enough for two flasks! These aren’t bottomless canteens of everlasting water either and even if they were they wouldn’t work due to the anti-magic here. So I’d like to know HOW you did that.”

The Adventurer is looking at you suspiciously, almost as if you could possibly be dangerous. You stutter and fumble with an explanation mainly because you don’t even know.

“I…I don’t know…I just wished I had more water…I was really thirsty…” you reply a bit worried. He looks at you for a moment longer and then speaks again.
“Try to wish for a chest full of gold.”
“What?”
“Just do it, I want to see something.”
“Erm…okay.”

You wish and think as hard as you can, but nothing happens. Well that’s not entirely true, you get dizzy and fall to the ground. A single gold piece appears near you though. The Adventurer picks you up as well as the gold piece, which is somewhat misshapen and uneven.

“Hmm, so there are limits. Did you always have this ability?”
“Huh? No. We don’t have any kind of stuff like this in my world.” You say trying to keep steady.
“I’m not sure what exactly is going on, but it would appear you got some sort of weird mental powers independent of magic. I have fought monsters with similar abilities, which is why I was suspicious at first. You ability reminds me of the magic chair I was telling you about except your power can work even in this anti-magical place and it would appear it isn’t very powerful. I’d almost suggest that you could attempt to wish yourself back home, but as we’ve seen, it isn’t powerful enough to do that. Still, this is probably a good indication that the chair will be able to get you back home. Here, here’s a proper gold piece, I don’t need it. Well anyway let’s get some sleep, we should reach Null tomorrow.”

You pocket the faultless gold coin and the both of you go to sleep. Before you do though, you reflect on this little adventure. You also wonder about your Mom, she’s going to be worried about you and probably have the police looking all over for you! And when you finally do return, what will you tell her?

You don’t know, but what you do know for certain is that you DO want to get home as soon as possible even if you do find this place very fascinating.

The next morning the both of you wake up refreshed and ready to carry on your journey to Null. You don’t get far, when the Adventurer senses someone is following you. You both turn around and see a figure approaching. It looks like a teenage boy, but deathly pale. The odd thing is, he’s wearing modern clothing from YOUR world.

“Is that one of the Forsaken?” you ask
“Him? No, if it was it would probably coming from Null not towards it, not to mention it would probably be running at us trying to eat us. It also looks too human and it’s wearing strange clothing, in fact it looks more like…well your type of clothing. Friend of yours?”
“Not that I know of, I’m not friends with anyone his age.”

He doesn’t quicken his pace; he just continues to walk steadily towards your position. When he gets close enough, you can see his face, which looks emotionless. In fact it looks like he’s staring right through the both of you. The Adventurer draws his sword, but it doesn’t look like this person is showing any sign of going to attack. In fact he just stands there looking off into space.

“Alright, what’s your name?” the Adventurer demands.
“John…Johnny Doe…” he replies still staring into the space. “This place…it’s dead…numb…like me…”

As odd as he is, something tells you he’s from your world. Maybe he’s another person the Nightmare Tyrant tried to capture.
> Back away from him
From your world or not, something definitely isn’t right here. In fact you begin pulling at the Adventurer wishing to leave. He concurs, but attempts to warn this person to stop following.

“Alright, Mr. Doe, now that we’ve exchanged pleasantries you need to just stop following us, before you get yourself in a whole mess of trouble.”

The teenager doesn’t answer; he just continues walking towards you both.

“Get behind me. I get the impression that this guy doesn’t know when to take a hint.” He says picking up a rock and throwing it at the teenager. The rock hits him squarely in the head, it seems like it should’ve knocked him out, but instead it just makes him stop and blink a few times before addressing you in a monotone voice.

“You should not resist. You must come with me. The Nightmare Tyrant must be obeyed. He is…”

Before Johnny can complete his sentence, the Adventurer strikes him with his sword, but a strange thing happens. The Adventurer drops his sword and falls to the ground, clutching his arm. It would seem a kind of paralysis has stricken the Adventurer.

“RUN!” he yells trying to crawl away.

Wasting no time, you run towards Null. Johnny pays no more attention to the Adventurer and continues to follow you, but still doesn’t quicken his pace. Whatever Johnny is, it’s obvious his own powers are in full effect here too. Probably why the Nightmare Tyrant sent him here.

As you run, you realize you still need the Adventurer to help you get back home. You need to think of something.
> You lose Johnny in Null and then return to the Adventurer
Given Johnny’s seemingly relentless nature, it’s useless to try to reason with him, so you continue to run. He isn’t very fast so you figure you’ll be able to lose him in the ruined City.

Soon you’ve outdistanced Johnny quite a bit, and are in the City of Null. You’re winded, but you just need to hide out here for awhile and then return to the Adventurer, you hope he’s still alright.

Looking briefly around you try to find a big building that looks fairly intact for you to hide in, unfortunately you’re so busy trying to evade Johnny, you’ve forgotten that there are OTHER inhabitants that the Adventurer mentioned living here…

A hideously deformed creature suddenly snatches you when you enter one of the buildings and more of them appear out of the woodwork.

“Well what have we here? Fresh meat? Looks like we won’t be eating rats tonight!” he laughs.

Before you can try to think of something to escape, one the Forsaken knocks you unconscious with a rock.

Even Johnny doesn’t find you in time to hand you over to the Nightmare Tyrant.


From your world or not, something definitely isn’t right here. In fact you begin pulling at the Adventurer wishing to leave. He concurs, but attempts to warn this person to stop following.

“Alright, Mr. Doe, now that we’ve exchanged pleasantries you need to just stop following us, before you get yourself in a whole mess of trouble.”

The teenager doesn’t answer; he just continues walking towards you both.

“Get behind me. I get the impression that this guy doesn’t know when to take a hint.” He says picking up a rock and throwing it at the teenager. The rock hits him squarely in the head, it seems like it should’ve knocked him out, but instead it just makes him stop and blink a few times before addressing you in a monotone voice.

“You should not resist. You must come with me. The Nightmare Tyrant must be obeyed. He is…”

Before Johnny can complete his sentence, the Adventurer strikes him with his sword, but a strange thing happens. The Adventurer drops his sword and falls to the ground, clutching his arm. It would seem a kind of paralysis has stricken the Adventurer.

“RUN!” he yells trying to crawl away.

Wasting no time, you run towards Null. Johnny pays no more attention to the Adventurer and continues to follow you, but still doesn’t quicken his pace. Whatever Johnny is, it’s obvious his own powers are in full effect here too. Probably why the Nightmare Tyrant sent him here.

As you run, you realize you still need the Adventurer to help you get back home. You need to think of something.
> You attempt to reason with Johnny
You remember Null is filled with dangerous creatures as well, so you wouldn’t be any safer going there by yourself and Johnny’s likely to just keep following you no matter where you go. Maybe you can use your “powers” to reason with him.

You turn around begin to try to psychically talk to Johnny. You figure he’ll be more receptive that way. You also don’t know what you’re doing since you’ve never done this before!

Johnny steadily approaches you as you just stand there concentrating really hard while you attempt this unusual plan. Suddenly something happens, he stops walking and your own mind is flooded with a lot of weird thoughts.

You don’t understand all of it, but you get the impression he didn’t have a good home life in your own world. He used to “escape” to a fantasy world a lot and presumably that’s what attracted the Nightmare Tyrant. You attempt to reason with him, but the link is broken when he verbally shouts out!

“STOP! Get out of my head! Only the Master is allowed! You MUST submit! He makes everything better! Shadows around me always. No pain, no pleasure, just nothingness…”
“Johnny, you’re from the same place I am, don’t you want to return home too?” you retort.
“…better here than what was at home…at least here I have power…and soon you will too. Isn’t that why you came here, to escape the pain?”
“No! The Nightmare Tyrant kidnapped me! I want to go back home, my Mom’s probably worried about me!”
“…mine probably forgot about me years ago…yours will too…you need to just submit…the Nightmare Tyrant makes everything better…”
“NO! I will not! In fact I want you to stop following me! I want you to leave me alone altogether! You will NOT prevent me from going home! Johnny, you’re nothing but a slave to the Nightmare Tyrant. Is that what you want? Somewhere within you, you must miss something about your home.”
“…better than home…but…”

Once again you’ve managed to stir some sort of emotion in Johnny. Suddenly he slumps to the ground and begins to weep. You’re unsure of how to react, but you see the Adventurer staggering back towards you, which at least makes you somewhat relieved.

“Look, you don’t have to stay here; you could return back to Earth with me, all we have to do is…”

Johnny looks up with red eyes, but has regained his composure.

“No. I left Earth a long time ago. This is my home now. But I see now that I am still under a cruel…guardian. No more. I want to be free… Arrgh!”

Suddenly Johnny grips his head, and you too feel a pain inside your own. A dark malevolent voice pieces your brain. It’s the Nightmare Tyrant, somehow he’s managed to speak to the both of you from wherever he is.

“Disobedient children! How dare you defy me Johnny! After all I have given you! Didn’t I give meaning to your pathetic life? Didn’t I become the parent you needed? If you won’t obey me willingly then I’ll just have to destroy what little free will I still allowed you to have! And YOU, oh I have special plans for you! Such power cannot be ignored and WILL supplement my own!”

While you and Johnny fall on the ground in pain, the Adventurer scoops you up and proceeds to run with you under his arm towards Null.

“Hang on kid! Keep fighting whatever it is you’re fighting, I’ll get you to your destination, I haven’t failed in a quest yet!” he exclaims.

In the “real world” you fall unconscious, but in your mind you’re very much awake. It would seem you’re in some sort of dream world. You’re standing on top of a rock floating in the void of blackness. You see Johnny in the distance standing on another rock fighting off Shadows which are attempting to drag him over the edge. He’s punching them, but his fists are glowing with a white energy.

“I won’t follow your evil commands anymore! From now on, I shall fight you with the very power you gave to me and your Shadows can’t stop me!” He shouts as he completely destroys two Shadows at the same time with one blow of his fist. While you’re watching this the Shadows have become aware of your presence and are climb over the edges of the floating rock.

“Fight them off! Imagine yourself a powerful warrior! Or whatever you wish! The Nightmare Tyrant can’t stop you power of your mind if it’s strong enough!” Johnny shouts over to you.

You do just that, you imagine yourself in armor with a sword. You feel your strength grow and your reflexes quicken.

“Cool!” you say and strike at the nearest Shadow, destroying it.

This battle continues for some time until it seems that the endless amount of Shadows have become too afraid to attack anymore. You hear the voice of the Nightmare Tyrant again.

“FOOLS! You think you’ve won? I was just warming up! I will show you the personification of FEAR and of eternal darkness!”
“You always did talk to too much.” Johnny says and summons up a bright blinding ball of light completely enveloping the entire area. You hear an unearthly bellow as you shield your eyes from the blinding light. When you open them again, you see Johnny standing before you.

“Is he…”
“Gone forever? No, but he won’t be bothering you ever again. Me? He will. But I’ll be even more prepared for him for the next time we meet.”
“You’re still going to stay here?”
“Yes. I meant what I said that this is my home now, and there is nothing for me back on Earth. But now I see that the Nightmare Tyrant just used me for his own purposes, to help him in his ongoing hunt for more power. I need to stay to make things right again. Maybe even destroy him once and for all. I have to try, after all the evil he’s caused and lives he’s ruined. You should of course go back home, and be thankful for what you have there. Farewell and thank you for opening my eyes.”

Suddenly you wake up from a bed and you’re in an unusually colorful room. You see a broom sweeping by itself pass you by. Jumping up from seeing such a thing, you notice the Adventurer sitting by a table polishing his sword.

“Now you wake up! You know I had to fight through ten Forsaken trying to eat us, with you under my arm and you didn’t even blink! Fortunately I got us here though. So, what happened to you exactly?”

You and the Adventurer swap stories about what you both experienced in your respective journeys and you both think that each of you had the easier time of it! After showing you some of the “cool magical stuff” in his home, you’re ready to go back to your own. This entire world is very interesting, but you want to return.

“Well, I can certainly understand that. Like I said, I’m a traveler, but I suppose even I get a longing to return home. Y’know, maybe I’ll go visit mine. My real one, not this place. They might even have forgotten all the mischief I used to cause there!” the Adventurer laughs.

The Adventurer shows you the chair he was talking about. You instinctively feel a power coming from it. Not a magical one either, it’s the same one you have. Perhaps it was a device to enhance such abilities? Perhaps it was a secret weapon involved in the destruction of this City? You don’t know and the Adventurer doesn’t either, all you know is you’re hoping it will help you get home.

Sitting in the thing does make you a bit nervous as it resembles an electric chair, but you know you need to calm yourself of any sort of fear and doubt if you want to get back home. You bid goodbye to the Adventurer before attempting to concentrate and he mentions he’ll stand by to help in case it looks like you’re in trouble.

You are suddenly transported through a tunnel of blackness followed by swirling colored lights. It’s all so strange and overwhelming to you that you pass out once again.

“Hey! I told you breakfast is ready, are you going to sleep all day?” you hear your Mom call from downstairs as you awaken in surprise.

You quickly look around your room and nothing looks out of place. Your Mom hasn’t seemed to notice that you were gone; in fact it doesn’t look like you even left.

Was it all a dream?

You shake your head trying to decide if it was, then you notice a coin on the floor next to the toys you set up yesterday. A gold coin and oddly its right next to a sword wielding figure with a peculiar smile on his face.

It wasn’t a dream. It was real. Created by the power of your own imagination. You decide you’ll keep this information to yourself though, since nobody would ever believe it!

You had an interesting adventure, but you’re glad to be home and thankful for what you have in the real world you think as you go downstairs to eat.


You don’t know anything about this place and you’re in great danger, so you decide it would be best if you had as many people defending you as possible. You’d rather stay with the Captain.

“Very well, you may stay with us, just don’t make a nuisance of yourself. We’ll also be on the move a lot, so don’t expect a high comfort level, however whenever we make camp, you’re welcome to stay in my tent. For right now though, you’ll have to leave it, I’m having a meeting with Lyssia and a couple of my knights to discuss an important plan of action. Explore if you wish, but don’t wander away from us, we’ll protect you, but we won’t baby-sit you.”

With these words in mind Lyssia leads you back out of the tent, upon which another knight comes up to her with a message.

“Sergeant, a man has arrived at the camp.”
“Is he hostile?”
“No, he says he was just passing through and figured maybe he could trade for supplies here.”
“Tell him to move on, this isn’t a trading post.” Lyssia says and goes back in the tent.

Not knowing what to do next you follow the knight back to the man he was talking about. When you see him, he looks raggedy, but well equipped. He a sword by his side and his leather armor looks more like a patchwork taken from several other suits. The most notable feature is the big backpack on his back. You wonder if he’s an adventurer.

“Alright you, move on, this isn’t a trading post.” The knight repeats to the visitor.
“Okay, okay, I’ll go. But can’t I just rest here for one minute? I’ve been walking a lot and it would be nice to at least know I’m safe for just a moment.”
“…well okay, but make it quick, and stay on the outskirts of the camp.” The knight says and leaves. You continue to examine this traveler, who immediately knows you are.
“Well, how come you get to stay here? Army camps aren’t known to house children.” He asks while sitting down on a nearby log.

You explain your situation to this adventurer, and once again you get an unsurprised look from your listener.

“Got the impression you weren’t from around here. I somehow could sense it. I always had that ability; it’s come in handy a lot. But yes, the Nightmare Tyrant is very bad news; you would do well to leave this world as quickly as you can, no doubt Shadows are already on their way.”
“Well I got this army to protect me!” you exclaim.
“Perhaps, but you said it will be awhile before they return to the Parran Empire where you can get properly transported back to your world, in the meantime they WILL be attacked by not just Shadows, but also by whatever they come across in their mission. Tis a long time to put yourself at risk. Not to mention I see a lack of magic in this camp, I wonder about their chances against Shadows if the Nightmare Tyrant unleashes his full power in order to re-capture you.”

You’re almost sorry you started talking to this man, within a few seconds he’s managed to worry you all over again. Here you were thinking that you were going to be nice and safe.

“But…but…well what should I do?”
“Well, if we were back in Null, I could probably get you back home really quick…”

Before the Adventurer can finish you interrupt.

“Null?”
“Oh, that’s where I live. It used to be a great city of fantastic magical power a long time ago, but it was destroyed by its own petty bickering. The powerful wizards there began to argue among themselves, factions were drawn and the entire city along with several miles around it went up in a big ball of flame. It was a terrible tragedy that could’ve been avoided, but there was an interesting effect of the aftermath of it though.”
“What happened?”
“Well, no magic works there now, hence the name Null. Powerful wizards can’t get a simple cantrip to work there, let alone a spell. Even the Nightmare Tyrant’s minions can’t go there. Still, it’s far from safe. Lots of the Forsaken live there.”
“Who are the Forsaken?”
“Oh they’re the unlucky folks who actually managed to survive the catastrophe. Not all of them bad, but understandably such a powerful magic disaster had an effect on most of their bodies as well as their minds.”

While this is all very fascinating, you still don’t see how this helps you exactly.

“While this is all very fascinating, I still don’t see how this helps me exactly. I mean if no magic works there, how can I get home? And why would you want to live in such a place anyway it sounds dangerous.”

The Adventurer moves closer to you and looks around before speaking.

“Okay, because I can sympathize with being in a tough position, I’ll tell you a little secret. Magic DOES work there, but only in one area and it’s only a place I know about as far as I know. There’s a deep, but small underground dungeon in Null where magic seems to work, I know because that’s where I live! I stumbled upon it completely by accident when I was exploring Null. Apparently one of the many trinkets that I had acquired in the past was a key of some sort. It began to glow and then the wall opened up the way for me. Pure random dumb luck. So I went in and discovered that entire section runs on magic or something like it at least. There are some sort of contraption that if you sit down in and visualize with clarity, your wish will come true! I tried it a few times and it was nice, but I’m a wanderer at heart and as such I couldn’t just spend the rest of my days wallowing in eternal paradise, plus I was always leery that something bad might happen if I over used the contraption for greed. However I did see it as a good place to make my home away from the road. In fact I use this magic chair to quickly travel to towns and other cities, of course it’s only one way, but at least it shortens the trip somewhat. You could probably use the chair to return home. Even if it doesn’t work, I could always take you to the Parran Empire to get you back home. It would still be quicker and safer than traveling with an army that has to complete some mission before it can back home. Who knows what responsibilities and dangers it might incur along the way? Think also, in Null, you wouldn’t be attacked by Shadows either. It’s up to you though, but choose quickly because I have to be leaving soon.”
> You stick with the Captain
While this man seems to mean well, you’re still hesitant to just go wandering off with a stranger. Not that you aren’t with some already, but you know the Captain and Lyssia a lot better than this Adventurer. Also you still feel safer with more people defending you, so you decline.

“Very well, I hope you manage to make it home safely.” The Adventurer remarks and takes his leave.

You begin to wander around the camp looking at all the neat things. If you weren’t in so much danger and worried about getting home, you’d probably want to stay here. Still wishing to be around a familiar face, you go looking for Lyssia and hope she isn’t too busy.

You end up finding her tent, but she’s not there. You do see a sleeping black dog though, a big one, bigger than you’ve ever seen. Scary actually, in fact it’s even scarier when it suddenly wakes up and leaps on top of you!

“Grrrrr! What have we here? A little thief? Maybe eating your hands would teach you a lesson and I’m pretty hungry!”

You’re so surprised by it talking; you temporarily forget that you’re in danger.

“Y…you can talk!” you sputter.
“Of course I can talk!” it snarls before sniffing you a bit. “Snnnn…you don’t smell like you’re from around here.”
“I’m not, where I come from dogs don’t talk.”
“DOG?!” it growls gnashing its fangs. “I’m a WOLF and maybe you need to learn that lesson too!”

Thankfully Lyssia enters at this point.

“Black Fang, you leave him alone! He’s a guest!” she scolds. Black Fang gives you a dirty look, but backs off to his original position where he closes his eyes again

“Thanks…he nearly ate me.”
“Oh I doubt that, I know he doesn’t seem like it, but he’s really a softy.”

One of Black Fang’s eyes open and he makes a growl, but goes back to sleep. You begin to talk to Lyssia and ask her more about where you’re going.

“It’s an old ruin of an ancient civilization called Zodan. I know because I found it myself while scouting, of course I didn’t explore it in great detail since I figured it would be better to have extra help, but the markings are Zodan. The Zodan are no longer around due to an ancient forgotten war that lead to their downfall, but it’s possible that remnants of their power still exists, possibly something we can use against the Nightmare Tyrant.”
“Like what?”
“Well we don’t know. It’s a chance we’re taking, but anything that might help against the Nightmare Tyrant will be a welcome relief. Many people believe his powers to be magical in nature, but they aren’t. A majority of it is purely mental hence why he is anxious to always absorb the fertile imaginations of children. The Zodan also dabbled in similar psionic activity, so maybe…”

Suddenly a soldier comes running into the tent and you’ve just noticed how dark its gotten outside.

“Lyssia, we’re being attacked by Shadows! They’re everywhere!”

She instantly draws her sword and says a few words before leaving.

“You stay in the tent! And Black Fang, wake up, you protect him!”
“Huh? Wha…grah! I have to look after this whelp?”
“DO IT!”

Black Fang gets up and lopes over to the tent entrance and you hear the sounds of battle close by. Soon those sounds are nearly within the tent as a couple of Shadows find your location.

“HERE! HE’S HERE!” one of them hisses before Black Fang attacks them with his teeth and claws. You wonder if he’s magical in nature since they fall and dissipate from his attacks. However, it looks as if the Shadows are determined to get you as they begin to overwhelm him as well as some of them on the top of the tent attempting to tear it open.
> You try to escape
You have to get out of here! You crawl on the ground and lift up the bottom of one side of the tent and squeeze out. Unfortunately midway through your escape the Shadows see you and quickly drag the rest of you out of the tent and swarm you. You feel a paralyzing fear overwhelm your mind and the hideous laughter of the Nightmare Tyrant fill it.

“Now you shall join MY army!” you hear his voice say in your mind as the Shadows carry you off to his fortress.


While this man seems to mean well, you’re still hesitant to just go wandering off with a stranger. Not that you aren’t with some already, but you know the Captain and Lyssia a lot better than this Adventurer. Also you still feel safer with more people defending you, so you decline.

“Very well, I hope you manage to make it home safely.” The Adventurer remarks and takes his leave.

You begin to wander around the camp looking at all the neat things. If you weren’t in so much danger and worried about getting home, you’d probably want to stay here. Still wishing to be around a familiar face, you go looking for Lyssia and hope she isn’t too busy.

You end up finding her tent, but she’s not there. You do see a sleeping black dog though, a big one, bigger than you’ve ever seen. Scary actually, in fact it’s even scarier when it suddenly wakes up and leaps on top of you!

“Grrrrr! What have we here? A little thief? Maybe eating your hands would teach you a lesson and I’m pretty hungry!”

You’re so surprised by it talking; you temporarily forget that you’re in danger.

“Y…you can talk!” you sputter.
“Of course I can talk!” it snarls before sniffing you a bit. “Snnnn…you don’t smell like you’re from around here.”
“I’m not, where I come from dogs don’t talk.”
“DOG?!” it growls gnashing its fangs. “I’m a WOLF and maybe you need to learn that lesson too!”

Thankfully Lyssia enters at this point.

“Black Fang, you leave him alone! He’s a guest!” she scolds. Black Fang gives you a dirty look, but backs off to his original position where he closes his eyes again

“Thanks…he nearly ate me.”
“Oh I doubt that, I know he doesn’t seem like it, but he’s really a softy.”

One of Black Fang’s eyes open and he makes a growl, but goes back to sleep. You begin to talk to Lyssia and ask her more about where you’re going.

“It’s an old ruin of an ancient civilization called Zodan. I know because I found it myself while scouting, of course I didn’t explore it in great detail since I figured it would be better to have extra help, but the markings are Zodan. The Zodan are no longer around due to an ancient forgotten war that lead to their downfall, but it’s possible that remnants of their power still exists, possibly something we can use against the Nightmare Tyrant.”
“Like what?”
“Well we don’t know. It’s a chance we’re taking, but anything that might help against the Nightmare Tyrant will be a welcome relief. Many people believe his powers to be magical in nature, but they aren’t. A majority of it is purely mental hence why he is anxious to always absorb the fertile imaginations of children. The Zodan also dabbled in similar psionic activity, so maybe…”

Suddenly a soldier comes running into the tent and you’ve just noticed how dark its gotten outside.

“Lyssia, we’re being attacked by Shadows! They’re everywhere!”

She instantly draws her sword and says a few words before leaving.

“You stay in the tent! And Black Fang, wake up, you protect him!”
“Huh? Wha…grah! I have to look after this whelp?”
“DO IT!”

Black Fang gets up and lopes over to the tent entrance and you hear the sounds of battle close by. Soon those sounds are nearly within the tent as a couple of Shadows find your location.

“HERE! HE’S HERE!” one of them hisses before Black Fang attacks them with his teeth and claws. You wonder if he’s magical in nature since they fall and dissipate from his attacks. However, it looks as if the Shadows are determined to get you as they begin to overwhelm him as well as some of them on the top of the tent attempting to tear it open.
> You look for a weapon
You would think Lyssia would have extra weapons in here tent, but if she does she’s currently using them all, because you can’t find anything! Meanwhile Black Fang is being overwhelmed by Shadows and some of them are successfully ripping open the tent.

You wish you just had a weapon of some sort to fight them with…

Suddenly a glowing short sword appears in your hand. You’re surprised at first, but when a Shadow comes at you from above, you waste you time in swinging your new acquired weapon at it. The moment the sword touches the shadow, it dissolves and screeches before your eyes.

“HEY, you got a sword how about helping me out over here!” Black Fang shouts out seeing noticing your actions while still fighting off the Shadows.

Without hesitation you help him, oddly you no longer feel any kind of fear as you strike down the Shadows. Soon you and Black Fang destroy all the Shadows around the tent, but the rest of the camp is still locked in battle and when you look up MORE Shadows start pouring from the sky. Lyssia comes running towards the both of you.

“Quickly! We have to get out of here and head towards the Zodan ruins! The Captain says he’s going to stay behind to hold off the rest of the Shadows!”
“But…”
“Move!”

You, Lyssia and Black Fang take off into the woods, as the sounds of battle get further behind. There are still a few Shadows in pursuit, but you manage to dispatch them. Eventually you reach an abandoned cottage where you all take refuge in for the night.

“Okay I’m pretty sure we lost the Shadows, we’ll rest here for the night and set off for the ruins in the morning. A question for you though, how did you come across that sword?”
“I dunno, I just wished for something to fight the Shadows with and it appeared in my hand.”
“Oh yeah? You think you could think up something to get rid of ALL the Shadows? That would really help out a lot.” Black Fang says.
“Maybe I could wish myself back home…” you say before Lyssia stops you.
“No wait, don’t do that. Your abilities while obviously powerful are probably not stable. For all you know you might end up in the middle of an ocean! The power of the mind can be very dangerous. The Zodan experimented with it and they’re no longer around anymore. The Nightmare Tyrant wields mind power for evil purposes in his pursuit to conquer everything in his path. I suggest you don’t over abuse your gift. Don’t worry we will get you home eventually though.”

You sure hope so, while you trust Lyssia, you really do want to get home. You can only imagine how worried your Mom is going to be and you really won’t know what to tell her when you get back!

In the meantime you settle down to sleep. Lyssia does as well while Black Fang takes watch since Lyssia points out that he was sleeping all day. Fortunately the night is uneventful and when the morning comes you’re on your way. Black Fang doesn’t travel with you though; in fact he pads off into different direction.

“Why isn’t Black Fang coming with us?”
“He’s not my pet if that’s what you think. He’s a free being allowed to come and go as he pleases, but he’ll be around. He just prefers his own company for the most part. If we get into overwhelming trouble I have complete faith he’ll be around to help. Anyway the Zodan ruins won’t take as long to get to with just us traveling there. We’ll be able to cover more ground and take paths that an army couldn’t travel through.”

As you and Lyssia travel, you and her exchange a bit of information about each others’ respective worlds which you both find very interesting. You make a lot of progress in one day. So much that Lyssia mentions that you should reach the ruins by the next day. She says that she has orders to search the place as much as she can, and then return back to the Empire where you can get help from the wizards to send you back home. She hopes that the Captain and the rest of his soldiers are alright and will eventually reach the ruins themselves before she returns to the Empire. When night comes Black Fang makes his presence known again as you settle down to camp again.

“I feel I should warn the both of you that we aren’t completely alone in these woods. There’s something, possibly several things running around out there. Caught a glimpse of them a couple times, but they seem unnaturally quick.”
“Shadows?” you ask.
“No, they would’ve attacked already. Plus I can smell these things when they’re close by. They might be able to stay out of sight, but they can’t hide their scent. Smells rotten.”
“I had a feeling that we were being watched, I never saw anything though.” Lyssia replies.
“They’ve been staying further away from you two. I think they’ve been watching me a lot more. They probably think I’m a greater threat…and they’re right.”
“Glad to see that you’re…” Lyssia suddenly stops. “Okay I heard that.”

You heard it too and all three of you prepare yourselves. You also start to smell something bad like what Black Fang was talking about. Two demonic looking creatures come jumping down from the trees. One of them is much fatter than the other.

“Well there doesn’t seem to be anymore point in hiding, I’m pretty sure we can take them anyway.” The thinner one says.
“Uh huh, yeah. Um, Jarac which one are we supposed to take back to the Nightmare Tyrant?” the fat one asks.
“Hago, you really are an idiot, sometimes I wonder how we’re even related. The boy you moron!”
“I thought the Nightmare Tyrant only had Shadows working for him.” You say out loud to Lyssia.
“Oh the Nightmare Tyrant has many working for him, boy. However it seems that a new battle front has recently opened up and he has great need of them elsewhere, but fortunately we happened to be in the area… so here we are.”
“So the Nightmare Tyrant relies on half witted demons to do his work now?” Black Fang growls.
“Hey! Only my brother is half-witted! And for what he’s going to do to you, he doesn’t need to be very smart. Enough of this talk, let’s get to it. Are you ready brother?”

Hago doesn’t even reply he just smiles with a toothy grin and advances towards Black Fang. Jarak focuses his attention on you, but naturally Lyssia stands in front of you.

“Run away pretty one if you value your existence, though I’d prefer if you didn’t.” Jarak says and attacks. He’s incredibly quick and manages to hit Lyssia and knock her to the ground. A quick glace sees that Black Fang is struggling with Hago.

You need to act now, you can’t possibly fight either of the demons with just your weapon given how quick they are, but even they wouldn’t be quick enough to fight the power of your mind…
> You think of something to help your companions
You wish for something that could help Lyssia and Black Fang, and at first nothing seems to happen, but Jarek then notices something when he tries to grab you and you dodge out of the way.

“WHAT? I should’ve caught you! No human can move that quickly, especially not a boy!”
“Jarek, I feel like something just sapped my…UGH!” Hago grunts as Black Fang claws him across the face. Lyssia also gets back up to strike Jarek across the chest. He reels backward and realizes he no longer has an advantage.

“Our powers are gone! RUN!” Jarek shouts and runs off with Hago following behind. Black Fang pursues them.

“Black Fang wait!” Lyssia shouts and runs after him. Not wishing to be left alone, you follow Lyssia. You have a hard time keeping up, but after a short distance she stops when she sees Black Fang sniffing around a strange gray building. There are no windows, just a single door. It’s actually quite tall; you can’t believe you never saw it before even in this forest.

“What is this?” Lyssia asks.
“Don’t know, but the two demons ran in there. I was tempted to go in, but considering this thing just materialized out of nowhere I thought discretion might be the better idea for once. It’s completely featureless except for this small weird symbol on the door.”

Lyssia tells you to stand back as she examines it.

“This is Zodan! I saw these symbols in the ruins I briefly explored. We have to go in explore it If the Nightmare Tyrant’s minions are in there, who knows what secrets the Nightmare Tyrant might gain? We certainly don’t want him to get anymore powerful than he is!”

At this point the thought of getting home is still in the back of your mind, but with all that has happened you can’t help, but be caught up in this excitement even if a lot of it has been scary.

You all enter the building, which apparently is a lot bigger on the inside. All the rooms are lit and furnished, but again everything is a dull gray color, the furniture (Most of which looks like it comes from various time periods), the floors, the walls, all of it. Someone must’ve really liked that color.

Black Fang easily tracks the demons by their smell; however you all can hear their voices anyway. They sound like they’re arguing with someone. When you arrive in the room where they’re located, you see strange machines and the two demons arguing with a ghostly figure.

“What do you mean?! Teleport this place! We gotta get out of here!” Jarek shouts.
“This place isn’t your personal transportation system! I told you that this place uses up a lot of power and needs to recharge when it teleports. Not to mention you insisted on keeping this place invisible the whole time, didn’t you think that was going to use up power? You two are just going to have to wait awhile, there’s nothing I can do.” the ghost replies.
“Argh! If you weren’t a ghost already, I’d make you one! Okay Hago, check…”

Before Jarek can give whatever order he was going to give, Black Fang and Lyssia attack. The two demons stand no chance without their enhanced speed. A couple of quick blows and both give other worldly shrieks before they burst into puffs of smoke and disappear. The ghost on the other hand just floats there observing it all.

“Well, I’m glad they’re gone, they were really getting on my nerves. Never did like demons. Now what can I do for you?”
“What is this place exactly?” you ask.
“Oh just a relic of the past or the future depending on your outlook on life. It once was a mobile military base if you were looking for something a little more precise. Used for conquest and that sort of thing.”
“This is Zodan in nature isn’t it?” Lyssia says.
“Yes, but a fat lot good it did them, considering they aren’t around anymore, well not in the traditional sense anyway. I take it you’re not minions of the Nightmare Tyrant then?”
“Do we look like we are?” Black Fang snarls.
“Well you might, furball especially with that attitude! But the other two certainly don’t look the part, besides I know the Nightmare Tyrant turns children into Shadows. Nasty fellow. No redeeming qualities whatsoever.”
“So who are you and why are you working for the Nightmare Tyrant?” you ask.
“I’m not. I’m just a caretaker of this place and as such I’m tied to it. I can’t prevent someone from using it however they want, I’m just here to make sure it doesn’t fall into decay or get destroyed like so many of the other Zodan inventions. When the Nightmare Tyrant found this place he decided to use it to find other possible Zodan weaponry since this place can easily home in on other Zodan ruins. So far with little success as I said most Zodan equipment has lost all its power. Normally he has those mean little Shadows running around in this place chattering incessantly, but for whatever reason he put those two demons in charge. Guess he needed to reassign troops or something.”
“Hey I found a Zodan ruin not far from this forest, is that why those demons were here?”
“Yes, there was one located by me recently, but those demons aren’t like the Shadows and their minds weren’t as shall we say as sharp hence why we’re here in the middle of the forest instead of closer to the desired location. While this place is magical in nature, it was primarily designed to run on the power of the mind. The Nightmare Tyrant’s Shadows are all psionically linked to him so teleportation isn’t a problem. Those demons couldn’t focus on anything! Now you boy, I sense a great deal of mental focus in you. Your sword was created from your mind was it not?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Ah yes, I can see why the Nightmare Tyrant would want someone like you to add to his power.”
“Can this place take me home?” you ask.
“This place needs time to recharge as those demons used up much of its energy with their bumbling. However, you could probably take yourself home. This place enhances the powers of the mind. Normally I wouldn’t advise it since as I said it requires discipline, but you seem to have a natural gift at it and would probably be successful. Just visualize your home and concentrate.”

It seems so simple! You wonder if you could’ve done it all along, but that hardly matters, since you can do it now. Lyssia puts her hand on your shoulder.

“Well, it looks like you’ll get home quicker after all.”
“Thanks for protecting me from the Shadows and demons.” You tell her.
“Hey you helped in both battles.” She says.
“Oh and what did I do, sit around and watch?” Black Fang remarks to the both of you.

You nearly laugh and thank Black Fang too. The Caretaker then speaks.

“Okay, now I advise complete quiet when you attempt this. It’s better for concentration and noise won’t distract you. So your friends will have to remain quiet. I’d advise that they leave altogether, as even their random thoughts could interfere. As I said, the chaos of the mind is one of the reasons for the downfall of the Zodan. I’m a ghost so you need not worry about me.”
“Fine! Fine! I know when I’m not wanted I’ll go wait outside!” Black Fang says and lopes off. Lyssia is about to leave too, but you insist that she stay because you feel safer with her around. After seeing that you really want her to stay she does and says she’ll wish for you to get home as well.

You sit in the middle of the room and close your eyes and concentrate. You visualize your home. You see it. You can almost feel it. You’re there, until…

“LYSSIA!” Black Fang roars as he runs into the room.
“I told you the boy needs to concentrate and silence!” the Caretaker snaps.
“Shut up ghost! Shadows are outside! A whole mess of them!”

Lyssia and Black Fang quickly run out of the room. Lyssia shouts at you to continue to your concentration.
> You continue to concentrate for home
You were close last time to getting home, you can’t stop now. Besides you have to do it quickly before the Shadows get inside!

You attempt to drown out the sounds of battle outside and your concern for Lyssia and Black Fang. Its very difficult and you’re having a difficult time concentrating. You see your house, then various people you’ve encountered, then this place, then total blackness…

“HE’S HERE! GET HIM GET HIM SSSSSS!” you hear a Shadow hiss before you are transported, but it isn’t to where you wanted…

When you open your eyes and see nothing but darkness and you are being held down on some sort of smooth cold surface by Shadows and you no longer have your sword. A sinister voice emanates from the darkness and you’re completely paralyzed with fear.

“Welcome to your new home and family.”


You wish for something that could help Lyssia and Black Fang, and at first nothing seems to happen, but Jarek then notices something when he tries to grab you and you dodge out of the way.

“WHAT? I should’ve caught you! No human can move that quickly, especially not a boy!”
“Jarek, I feel like something just sapped my…UGH!” Hago grunts as Black Fang claws him across the face. Lyssia also gets back up to strike Jarek across the chest. He reels backward and realizes he no longer has an advantage.

“Our powers are gone! RUN!” Jarek shouts and runs off with Hago following behind. Black Fang pursues them.

“Black Fang wait!” Lyssia shouts and runs after him. Not wishing to be left alone, you follow Lyssia. You have a hard time keeping up, but after a short distance she stops when she sees Black Fang sniffing around a strange gray building. There are no windows, just a single door. It’s actually quite tall; you can’t believe you never saw it before even in this forest.

“What is this?” Lyssia asks.
“Don’t know, but the two demons ran in there. I was tempted to go in, but considering this thing just materialized out of nowhere I thought discretion might be the better idea for once. It’s completely featureless except for this small weird symbol on the door.”

Lyssia tells you to stand back as she examines it.

“This is Zodan! I saw these symbols in the ruins I briefly explored. We have to go in explore it If the Nightmare Tyrant’s minions are in there, who knows what secrets the Nightmare Tyrant might gain? We certainly don’t want him to get anymore powerful than he is!”

At this point the thought of getting home is still in the back of your mind, but with all that has happened you can’t help, but be caught up in this excitement even if a lot of it has been scary.

You all enter the building, which apparently is a lot bigger on the inside. All the rooms are lit and furnished, but again everything is a dull gray color, the furniture (Most of which looks like it comes from various time periods), the floors, the walls, all of it. Someone must’ve really liked that color.

Black Fang easily tracks the demons by their smell; however you all can hear their voices anyway. They sound like they’re arguing with someone. When you arrive in the room where they’re located, you see strange machines and the two demons arguing with a ghostly figure.

“What do you mean?! Teleport this place! We gotta get out of here!” Jarek shouts.
“This place isn’t your personal transportation system! I told you that this place uses up a lot of power and needs to recharge when it teleports. Not to mention you insisted on keeping this place invisible the whole time, didn’t you think that was going to use up power? You two are just going to have to wait awhile, there’s nothing I can do.” the ghost replies.
“Argh! If you weren’t a ghost already, I’d make you one! Okay Hago, check…”

Before Jarek can give whatever order he was going to give, Black Fang and Lyssia attack. The two demons stand no chance without their enhanced speed. A couple of quick blows and both give other worldly shrieks before they burst into puffs of smoke and disappear. The ghost on the other hand just floats there observing it all.

“Well, I’m glad they’re gone, they were really getting on my nerves. Never did like demons. Now what can I do for you?”
“What is this place exactly?” you ask.
“Oh just a relic of the past or the future depending on your outlook on life. It once was a mobile military base if you were looking for something a little more precise. Used for conquest and that sort of thing.”
“This is Zodan in nature isn’t it?” Lyssia says.
“Yes, but a fat lot good it did them, considering they aren’t around anymore, well not in the traditional sense anyway. I take it you’re not minions of the Nightmare Tyrant then?”
“Do we look like we are?” Black Fang snarls.
“Well you might, furball especially with that attitude! But the other two certainly don’t look the part, besides I know the Nightmare Tyrant turns children into Shadows. Nasty fellow. No redeeming qualities whatsoever.”
“So who are you and why are you working for the Nightmare Tyrant?” you ask.
“I’m not. I’m just a caretaker of this place and as such I’m tied to it. I can’t prevent someone from using it however they want, I’m just here to make sure it doesn’t fall into decay or get destroyed like so many of the other Zodan inventions. When the Nightmare Tyrant found this place he decided to use it to find other possible Zodan weaponry since this place can easily home in on other Zodan ruins. So far with little success as I said most Zodan equipment has lost all its power. Normally he has those mean little Shadows running around in this place chattering incessantly, but for whatever reason he put those two demons in charge. Guess he needed to reassign troops or something.”
“Hey I found a Zodan ruin not far from this forest, is that why those demons were here?”
“Yes, there was one located by me recently, but those demons aren’t like the Shadows and their minds weren’t as shall we say as sharp hence why we’re here in the middle of the forest instead of closer to the desired location. While this place is magical in nature, it was primarily designed to run on the power of the mind. The Nightmare Tyrant’s Shadows are all psionically linked to him so teleportation isn’t a problem. Those demons couldn’t focus on anything! Now you boy, I sense a great deal of mental focus in you. Your sword was created from your mind was it not?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Ah yes, I can see why the Nightmare Tyrant would want someone like you to add to his power.”
“Can this place take me home?” you ask.
“This place needs time to recharge as those demons used up much of its energy with their bumbling. However, you could probably take yourself home. This place enhances the powers of the mind. Normally I wouldn’t advise it since as I said it requires discipline, but you seem to have a natural gift at it and would probably be successful. Just visualize your home and concentrate.”

It seems so simple! You wonder if you could’ve done it all along, but that hardly matters, since you can do it now. Lyssia puts her hand on your shoulder.

“Well, it looks like you’ll get home quicker after all.”
“Thanks for protecting me from the Shadows and demons.” You tell her.
“Hey you helped in both battles.” She says.
“Oh and what did I do, sit around and watch?” Black Fang remarks to the both of you.

You nearly laugh and thank Black Fang too. The Caretaker then speaks.

“Okay, now I advise complete quiet when you attempt this. It’s better for concentration and noise won’t distract you. So your friends will have to remain quiet. I’d advise that they leave altogether, as even their random thoughts could interfere. As I said, the chaos of the mind is one of the reasons for the downfall of the Zodan. I’m a ghost so you need not worry about me.”
“Fine! Fine! I know when I’m not wanted I’ll go wait outside!” Black Fang says and lopes off. Lyssia is about to leave too, but you insist that she stay because you feel safer with her around. After seeing that you really want her to stay she does and says she’ll wish for you to get home as well.

You sit in the middle of the room and close your eyes and concentrate. You visualize your home. You see it. You can almost feel it. You’re there, until…

“LYSSIA!” Black Fang roars as he runs into the room.
“I told you the boy needs to concentrate and silence!” the Caretaker snaps.
“Shut up ghost! Shadows are outside! A whole mess of them!”

Lyssia and Black Fang quickly run out of the room. Lyssia shouts at you to continue to your concentration.
> You attempt to help
You can’t just abandon those who have helped you, and you wouldn’t be able to concentrate anyway. You stand up and wish for something simpler and more immediate

Suddenly you’re wearing shiny armor and armed with a glowing repeating crossbow.

“Hmm, didn’t expect that.” The Caretaker says as the sounds of battle start to get louder, in fact now they sound like they’re coming into the building.

You run into the next room and Lyssia and Black Fang fighting off dozens of Shadows and more of them seem to be pouring in. You waste no time and begin shooting them with your new weapon.

“Ha ha! Back to the void Shadow scum!” Black Fang laughs when he see you helping.
“There’s more of them coming in from the left!” Lyssia shouts and suddenly you all hear a booming voice.

“FOOLS! You think you can stop me and take what is rightfully mine? You cannot defeat me! And YOU boy! Your powers are nothing compared to my own, its time that you see what REAL mental power can achieve!”

Suddenly the lighting gets much dimmer, almost to the point of complete darkness. Fortunately your powers maintain their glow making you the proverbial shining beacon of light. Suddenly more Shadows pour in from the corners of the walls. You’re surrounded. However, help comes in the form of the very building you’re in…

“Nightmare Tyrant you have attacked this structure and as I am bound to defend it, you have made yet another enemy!” the Caretaker ghost exclaims and the entire building gets brighter, blinding most of the Shadows.

“Get ‘em while they’re weak! I’m using all the power that this structure recharged right now!”

You, Lyssia and Black Fang destroy more Shadows than you can count, but they still keep coming. You can’t believe it. You’ve got a lot in your favor except numbers, if you just had that, maybe you could finally defeat these Shadows once and for all…

Once again it would seem your wishes have come true.

“Back to the void! Forward men!” a familiar voice shouts. It sounds like its coming from outside.
“That’s the Captain!” Lyssia exclaims as she strikes down another Shadow.
“Bout time we got some help here!” Black Fang growls.

The battle is going badly for the Shadows who aren’t attacking so much as they’re trying to get away right now. The Nightmare Tyrant’s voice again is heard and filled with rage.

“COWARDS! FIGHT OR YOU’LL SUFFER FOR YOUR FAILURE!”

It’s no use though; even his threats can’t motivate the Shadows to victory. You can somehow sense that the Nightmare Tyrant is desperate for victory because if he can’t get you now, he won’t be able to get you ever again. Eventually all of them are defeated. You, Lyssia and Black Fang meet the Captain outside who has a handful of his original army left.

“How did you find us?”
“Well after we beat back the first Shadow attack we regrouped and headed towards the ruins as planned. Then we saw this tall gray structure looming in the distance so we head towards it, and found more Shadows, so finding you was somewhat pure chance! Well it looks like some of you have underwent some changes…” the Captain says when he sees you with your armor, sword and crossbow.
“We’ve got a lot to discuss about this structure Captain, but first he has to use it to get home.”
“Very well, I’m interested in hearing your report Lyssia. And as for you, I wish you a safe journey home. And thank you for your help with the Shadows, you’d certainly make a good knight.”
“Yeah, you’re a natural Shadow slayer kid.” Black Fang remarks.

After Black Fang’s uncharacteristic praising remark, you and Lyssia return to the structure where the Caretaker floats about fixing stuff.

“Blasted Shadows. It’ll take me forever to fix this place again. Oh well, I suppose that’s what I’m here for. So, are you ready to go now? I trust the fighting is over?”

You nod and get ready to concentrate again, but before you do, Lyssia gives you something.

“Here, this is medal I was awarded for bravery in battle. I’ve been awarded many actually, but I feel your actions were certainly deserving of such a medal. So this is for you.” she says and then gives you the medal and hugs you goodbye.

Cherishing the gift, you prepare for your trip home, and concentrate once again. Soon you can feel yourself being transported.

You float through a tunnel of blackness followed by swirling colored lights. It’s all so strange and overwhelming to you that you pass out once again.

“Hey! I told you breakfast is ready, are you going to sleep all day?” you hear your Mom call from downstairs as you awaken in surprise.

You quickly look around your room and nothing looks out of place. Your Mom hasn’t seemed to notice that you were gone; in fact it doesn’t look like you even left.

Was it all a dream?

You shake your head trying to decide if it was, then you notice a medal on the floor next to the toys you set up yesterday. The medal is next to three figures: A man in plate armor, a black wolf and finally a warrior woman in leather armor and strangely they all have a look of victory in their faces.

It wasn’t a dream. It was real. Created by the power of your own imagination. You decide you’ll keep this information to yourself though, since nobody would ever believe it!

You had an interesting adventure, but you’re glad to be home and thankful for what you have in the real world you think as you go downstairs to eat.


You would think Lyssia would have extra weapons in here tent, but if she does she’s currently using them all, because you can’t find anything! Meanwhile Black Fang is being overwhelmed by Shadows and some of them are successfully ripping open the tent.

You wish you just had a weapon of some sort to fight them with…

Suddenly a glowing short sword appears in your hand. You’re surprised at first, but when a Shadow comes at you from above, you waste you time in swinging your new acquired weapon at it. The moment the sword touches the shadow, it dissolves and screeches before your eyes.

“HEY, you got a sword how about helping me out over here!” Black Fang shouts out seeing noticing your actions while still fighting off the Shadows.

Without hesitation you help him, oddly you no longer feel any kind of fear as you strike down the Shadows. Soon you and Black Fang destroy all the Shadows around the tent, but the rest of the camp is still locked in battle and when you look up MORE Shadows start pouring from the sky. Lyssia comes running towards the both of you.

“Quickly! We have to get out of here and head towards the Zodan ruins! The Captain says he’s going to stay behind to hold off the rest of the Shadows!”
“But…”
“Move!”

You, Lyssia and Black Fang take off into the woods, as the sounds of battle get further behind. There are still a few Shadows in pursuit, but you manage to dispatch them. Eventually you reach an abandoned cottage where you all take refuge in for the night.

“Okay I’m pretty sure we lost the Shadows, we’ll rest here for the night and set off for the ruins in the morning. A question for you though, how did you come across that sword?”
“I dunno, I just wished for something to fight the Shadows with and it appeared in my hand.”
“Oh yeah? You think you could think up something to get rid of ALL the Shadows? That would really help out a lot.” Black Fang says.
“Maybe I could wish myself back home…” you say before Lyssia stops you.
“No wait, don’t do that. Your abilities while obviously powerful are probably not stable. For all you know you might end up in the middle of an ocean! The power of the mind can be very dangerous. The Zodan experimented with it and they’re no longer around anymore. The Nightmare Tyrant wields mind power for evil purposes in his pursuit to conquer everything in his path. I suggest you don’t over abuse your gift. Don’t worry we will get you home eventually though.”

You sure hope so, while you trust Lyssia, you really do want to get home. You can only imagine how worried your Mom is going to be and you really won’t know what to tell her when you get back!

In the meantime you settle down to sleep. Lyssia does as well while Black Fang takes watch since Lyssia points out that he was sleeping all day. Fortunately the night is uneventful and when the morning comes you’re on your way. Black Fang doesn’t travel with you though; in fact he pads off into different direction.

“Why isn’t Black Fang coming with us?”
“He’s not my pet if that’s what you think. He’s a free being allowed to come and go as he pleases, but he’ll be around. He just prefers his own company for the most part. If we get into overwhelming trouble I have complete faith he’ll be around to help. Anyway the Zodan ruins won’t take as long to get to with just us traveling there. We’ll be able to cover more ground and take paths that an army couldn’t travel through.”

As you and Lyssia travel, you and her exchange a bit of information about each others’ respective worlds which you both find very interesting. You make a lot of progress in one day. So much that Lyssia mentions that you should reach the ruins by the next day. She says that she has orders to search the place as much as she can, and then return back to the Empire where you can get help from the wizards to send you back home. She hopes that the Captain and the rest of his soldiers are alright and will eventually reach the ruins themselves before she returns to the Empire. When night comes Black Fang makes his presence known again as you settle down to camp again.

“I feel I should warn the both of you that we aren’t completely alone in these woods. There’s something, possibly several things running around out there. Caught a glimpse of them a couple times, but they seem unnaturally quick.”
“Shadows?” you ask.
“No, they would’ve attacked already. Plus I can smell these things when they’re close by. They might be able to stay out of sight, but they can’t hide their scent. Smells rotten.”
“I had a feeling that we were being watched, I never saw anything though.” Lyssia replies.
“They’ve been staying further away from you two. I think they’ve been watching me a lot more. They probably think I’m a greater threat…and they’re right.”
“Glad to see that you’re…” Lyssia suddenly stops. “Okay I heard that.”

You heard it too and all three of you prepare yourselves. You also start to smell something bad like what Black Fang was talking about. Two demonic looking creatures come jumping down from the trees. One of them is much fatter than the other.

“Well there doesn’t seem to be anymore point in hiding, I’m pretty sure we can take them anyway.” The thinner one says.
“Uh huh, yeah. Um, Jarac which one are we supposed to take back to the Nightmare Tyrant?” the fat one asks.
“Hago, you really are an idiot, sometimes I wonder how we’re even related. The boy you moron!”
“I thought the Nightmare Tyrant only had Shadows working for him.” You say out loud to Lyssia.
“Oh the Nightmare Tyrant has many working for him, boy. However it seems that a new battle front has recently opened up and he has great need of them elsewhere, but fortunately we happened to be in the area… so here we are.”
“So the Nightmare Tyrant relies on half witted demons to do his work now?” Black Fang growls.
“Hey! Only my brother is half-witted! And for what he’s going to do to you, he doesn’t need to be very smart. Enough of this talk, let’s get to it. Are you ready brother?”

Hago doesn’t even reply he just smiles with a toothy grin and advances towards Black Fang. Jarak focuses his attention on you, but naturally Lyssia stands in front of you.

“Run away pretty one if you value your existence, though I’d prefer if you didn’t.” Jarak says and attacks. He’s incredibly quick and manages to hit Lyssia and knock her to the ground. A quick glace sees that Black Fang is struggling with Hago.

You need to act now, you can’t possibly fight either of the demons with just your weapon given how quick they are, but even they wouldn’t be quick enough to fight the power of your mind…
> You think of something to directly harm the demons
You immediately concentrate on something that will hurt the demons, and your sword suddenly becomes a glowing blue axe. With Jarek approaching you strike at him and score a hit. He bellows in great pain, but it doesn’t stop him from knocking you out with his quick reflexes.

With you as no longer a threat, Jarek calls his brother to retreat. Lyssia and Black Fang attempt to pursue, but they’re not fast enough to stop the two demons from disappearing with you.

When you wake up you’re in near total darkness with only the sinister voice of the Nightmare Tyrant with you.

“Well it would appear my minions have successfully served me this night. I certainly hope you will serve just as well in the future.” You hear him say before the darkness completely takes you.