The Alchemist's Dream: Dreamwalker, #2

By Matthew Summers

Life was supposed to be simple.

 

As an alchemist-in-training, Alana's life was an easy one. Boring and predictable, yes, but simple. At least until an unexpected twist in a good deed turned her life upside-down when she awoke in another reality.Forced to accept her new life as she moved between her world and the new, she quickly discovered that the people in that world needed her as much as they did back home. With only her potions and her wits, Alana must find a way to survive or perish within the depths of the Hole.

 

The Dreamwalker novels are a portal series chronicling the journeys of Dreamwalkers, those that move between two distinctly different worlds every time they sleep. One world is a dystopian near-future City ruled over by the ever-present Corporation - the other, a world of fantasy where alchemists craft magical potions and dragons rule the skies.

 

Suitable for most ages and reading comprehension levels.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matthew T. Summers
• Release date: Nov 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393047483

Book preview

PROLOGUE

It wasn’t all that long ago that my life was simple. I had little to do but wonder what my life would be like from day to day. Gods, that seems like a lifetime ago... and I guess, depending on your viewpoint, it really was.

I was so naïve then, just wasting away in the village of Amaethon at Barthan’s alchemist hut, wishing I could follow my friends as they moved on with their lives. I must have asked the skies daily for guidance. Those three suns never responded to my questions of course, but by the gods, did I ever get my answer. Not quite in the method I was expecting, but hey, when did life ever happen how you planned, right?

Barthan often told me that the beat of a single butterfly’s wing in flight could change the weather halfway across the world. I didn’t understand him at the time, but I think I get it now. If not for that one simple act of kindness, perhaps none of this would have happened. If I’d just left well enough alone and continued on my way, well, I’d just be the town alchemist by now, wouldn’t I? Alone in that hut, with my dreams of exploring the world filed away with the rest of the herbs in the back of the shop.

Perhaps, perhaps not. It’s hard to judge fate. So do I regret it? Absolutely not. Besides, I wasn’t raised to ignore others in need; that’s not my way. That shouldn’t ever be anyone’s way in life, you know? Help each other; we’re all in this together.

Even if helping out lands you into more trouble than you could ever imagine, in a world beyond your wildest dreams? Yeah. Even then.

Still, who could have imagined that something so... incredible... started on such a boring, sunny, peaceful day? That when I started my routine that morning, nothing would ever be the same again? Gods know I couldn’t have. Still, there was nothing to indicate that particular day was any different from any other.

It started like they all tended to start. With someone shouting my name, because I’d stopped paying attention again.

CHAPTER ONE – ALANA

A lana!

The sound of the old man’s voice, a crackling edge that always seemed to be just on the verge of breaking down and giving up the ghost, jolted me out of my reverie. I blinked twice and turned around, straightening out my leathers as he stormed through the shop. Barthan’s wizened and broken form still managed to cross the floor at speed to peer up at me with a mixture of disgust and anger. He waggled a bent, wrinkled finger in my direction as he scolded. You were daydreaming again!

I pulled some of my copper hair out of my face where I’d been chewing on the ends while I gazed out of the window and shrugged. I might have been. So? It’s not like anyone’s come in to see us in two days. I motioned around the empty shop, with all the instruments of alchemy perfectly aligned and freshly dusted. I’ve already done all I can do today, and the third sun has only been up for an hour. The village is quiet and the skies are clear. It is likely to be another quiet day today as well.

That matters not, Alana. The old man scolded me gently with more waggling of his finger. I watched as it swung back and forth, fearful for a moment that it might snap off and break, brittle as it seemed. An alchemist serves the people, whenever and wherever they need us. We have to be ready. You might be an adult now, but you’re still quite an infant when it comes to being an alchemist. His voice softened as he took my hands in his, the calluses on his hands itchy and rough in my less-experienced palms. You have the gift, my dear, the only one here in Amaethon that does. You just need some focus, and time, and study-

I sighed, interrupting the old man before he started rambling off into his own world again. I know this, Barthan. And I appreciate everything you’re showing me, you know this. I want to help, I do. It’s just... I sighed again and released his hands. I turned back to the window and opened it further, letting the bright lights of the three suns shine fully into the shop. It just seems like some days, I don’t-

His voice was gentle. You don’t want to be stuck, when there’s this whole world out there, waiting for you?

My shoulders slumped. Yes. Exactly.

Ah. Youth. Barthan chuckled and took one of my hands in his own again, patting it in what I’m sure he thought was a reassuring gesture. You’re young, my dear. There isn’t a person in this town that hasn’t felt the same at one time or another. These are things young people think when they have the luxury of time. In time, those thoughts will pass, and you’ll come to understand... appreciate, and yes, even love what you have here. The world is a big place, yes, but we each must do our part in our little corner of the world to ensure our page in the story. Do you understand?

It was the same thing I’d heard growing up from my mother. Just like she didn’t understand then, he didn’t understand now. And since arguing with Barthan never resulted in any change in opinion, I took a deep breath and nodded. I do.

Good. Now, I need you to do something for me, if you’re done daydreaming.

If it’s about the courier, I checked yesterday.  We haven’t gotten our order from Sath Tal this month, but we still have a good amount of stone and glass vials to last us a while.

He chuckled.  No, it’s not about the courier.  I have two errands I’d like you to run for me. Barthan fished two scraps of paper out of a fold in his tunic.

Oh? Errands at least would get me out of the shop for a time, into the sunlight and around the townsfolk. I might even run into Ethal or Brokei, and find out what I’d missed over the past few days while I’d been stuck indoors.

Yes. He unfolded one of the pieces of papers and handed it to me. This is a list from Aia. The Town Elder wishes for a poultice-

I groaned. For her mother. More poultice? Surely her skin is more radiant than even the brightest night star by now?

Now child. Forgive your elders their vanities. There was an underlying weariness to Barthan’s tone. Elder Aia’s mother only has a few years left, and the poultice is a simple one to create. If it eases her transition into the next world, I see no reason to not continue making it for her.

Fine. I took the paper and glanced at it with annoyance. Thankfully, she only wanted the poultice this time, and not any of the rest of the chores she typically tried to attach to her order as ‘extras.’ I tucked it into my leathers. What’s the other errand?

There are visitors from Syniar arriving sometime today, visitors that will be bringing supplies with them. Barthan moved over to a nearby desk and removed a small bag from a drawer. I’d like you to look over their goods if they happen to have anything to sell, and purchase anything you think we could use here.

Syniar? I raised an eyebrow. We haven’t had any visitors from there in a while. I wasn’t even sure the town still existed.

Well, all the more reason to see what they have to sell. Barthan pressed the bag of coins into my hands. I don’t hold too much hope for anything rare, mind you; Syniar has always been a farming town, at the very edge of civilized lands. Though they could have stumbled onto something no one else has found, I suppose.

What did they usually bring when they came through?

It’s been years, but typically they’d bring a hearty grain that does well in these lands, or stocks of centidragon scales or bone. The lands near their village are apparently full of the creatures. He smiled. If they’re going to start making regular visits to us again, it’ll be good to have a steady supply of scales. They are quite useful.

Ah. I frowned. Centidragons. I’d never liked the creatures much, but it was rare to see a centidragon near Amaethon, so it wasn’t too hard to avoid them. The creatures were relatively shy and tended to steer well clear of the humans in the village. So... you want the grains, or just the scales or bone if they have it?

We have no use for the grain. Other than that, use your best judgment. Now shoo. Barthan made a dismissive motion with both of his hands after he handed me the bundle for Elder Aia. If I let you stand in that spot much longer, I’m going to have to turn you toward the light occasionally and water you once a week. Get going.

I tied the pouch of coins to my belt and stepped out of the shop. The alchemy shop was right in the heart of Amaethon, but many of the townspeople were still working in the fields or forests at this time of day. The only ones left to wander were those like me, ones with professions that did not take them outside the town’s city limits. So for the most part, the dirt roads and wood and thatch porches were deserted as I walked, save for a few children playing and the occasional village Elder.

I waved greetings at any who called out to me, my thoughts elsewhere as I headed straight to Elder Aia’s house. Visitors from Syniar were at least something new and exciting; we hadn’t heard from that small town in at least a decade. There had even been a rumor, years ago, that the town had been attacked by a dragon.

That, of course, was nonsense. If a dragon attacked the town, there wouldn’t be anyone left alive to visit today. My thoughts were interrupted when a short, dark-skinned woman stepped out of a hut nearby and waved at me cheerily. I smiled at the woman and waved in greeting. Morning, Brokei! I was hoping to bump into either you or Ethal today.

Well, bump away, Alana! Brokei slung a small spear across her back as she continued preparing her gear. Brokei was one of our town’s scouts and hunters, and even as she did something as simple as pack her gear on her front stoop, her movements were fluid and graceful in a way that made me envious. I’d never been very physical, which made my attunement to the alchemical arts a boon; but Brokei was outside constantly, hunting and fishing and scouting. It was a life I honestly envied.

She flashed me a grin as I approached. I’m assuming you heard the news about our visitors?

I nodded. Yes, from Syniar. Barthan’s already given me some coins to see if they’ve got anything to sell, but I’m doubtful a small town like that has much that will be of interest to us. Though a small part of me is sorely hoping for some fresh herbs, maybe even something that doesn’t grow around here.

Never know! You’d be surprised. Brokei hitched up her breeches and flung the rest of her gear onto her back. Let’s walk. She fell in step beside me and continued, There’s good odds, actually, that they have some decent goods for trade. Some of the scouts that came back yesterday claimed it’s a fairly sizable caravan coming from there.

Oh?

At least three or four wagons. Brokei’s eyes gleamed with excitement. And that’s not all. The wagons were not being led by horses.

Not being led by... I frowned. That doesn’t make sense. What are they doing, pulling the wagons themselves?

No. Sarasni told me he thought it looked like the wagons were being pulled by centidragons.

What? I pulled up short in surprise. I quickly fell back in step with Brokei before I was left behind. That’s absurd. You can’t tame those things... can you?

Brokei shrugged. No one that I know of has ever tried, to be honest. Who knows, maybe they figured out a way? We’ll know soon enough since they’ll be here in a few hours. She clapped a hand on my shoulder and grinned. If they are tame, maybe we can ride one, eh?

Pass. The thought of even touching one of those things made my skin crawl. You and Ethal can ride them all you want. Have you seen him today?

No, and I probably won’t. His little one is sick again. Brokei shook her head. Poor little thing’s cough is going to keep him inside all through the summer.

I’ll get with Barthan when I get back, see if we can make something to help. I sighed. Ethal’s son had gotten sick not long after he’d been born last year, and try as we might, Barthan’s and my alchemy had done little to sate the poor thing’s misery. Sometimes he’d improve for a time, but invariably he’d slide right back down. I wondered how long he had before he didn’t come back up.

I shook my head to clear the morbid thoughts and smiled. So where are you headed off to this morning?

Nowhere special. Brokei shot me a grin. Sarasni and I are going hunting later in the afternoon, once at least one of the suns has crossed the horizon. She made an exaggerated motion with her hands and sighed. He claims he’s found a herd of plains deer with a few males that are the biggest he’s ever seen. And, as usual...

I chuckled, shaking my head in amusement. As usual, Sarasni’s ego got the better of him and he challenged the best hunter in the village to see who brings in the biggest kill. How many times does he want to lose this contest?

Brokei’s voice rose in pitch. I know! It’d be almost aggravating if he wasn’t so annoyingly cute when he pleads his case. She affected wide, innocent eyes and clasped her hands together. She continued, It’s all, ‘Come on, Brokei, let me try one more time, please?’ I mean, how can I say no?

Ah, Brokei. You two are going to have beautiful babies one day.

I know. But that husband of mine is going to drive me crazy trying to prove himself. She thought for a moment. Either that, or he’ll go after something too big and wind up leaving me a widow. I wouldn’t put it past him.

Laughing, we continued through the village with well-practiced ease. It wasn’t long before we parted our ways, Brokei heading to the pasture lands and I to Elder Aia’s home. As I watched her walk away, it struck me again how different my life was than the lives of my friends.

Both Brokei and Ethal were already wed, my childhood friends moving into new circles as I stayed in my alchemist’s hut. And while Ethal’s child was sick, he had at least started a family; wasn’t that what all of us were supposed to do, in the long run?

I wondered idly what my mother would think of me, standing on the sidelines and watching my friends move on with their lives while I waited for a sign from the heavens to do... what, I didn’t know. The life of an alchemist required a huge amount of study and concentration, I knew this. Not everyone had the talent or aptitude, but there were days like today where I wished for the simpler lives my friends had.

I sighed and knocked on the thatch door to Elder Aia’s home, pulling the parcel for her mother out of my leathers as I did so. There would be time for daydreaming later. After all, I had a few hours until the caravan arrived, and nothing to do until they got here once I dropped this parcel off.

As I waited for the door to open, I couldn’t help but steal a glance over my shoulder to the Northwest. The caravan was arriving in a few hours, she’d said. Barthan wouldn’t have given me his money if he didn’t expect them to arrive soon. But could what Brokei said really be true? Could they truly be coming into town, pulled by centidragons of all things?

I’d find out soon enough, I reasoned, and steeled myself as the door swung open to Elder Aia’s piercing gaze. Time to get this over with.

CHAPTER TWO – THE VISITORS

U gh. I leaned against the doorframe as it shut behind me with a finality that marked the passing of three long, dull hours. A visit to Elder Aia and her mother was never an easy one. Though both were kindly and well-respected in town, they were also exceedingly long-winded. Today had been no exception.

The fact I’d managed to get out of there in a mere three hours was amazing. My stomach reminded me that it was getting close to the midday meal, but a commotion from the edge of town took my attention away from eating. Townspeople were gathering to watch what looked to be quite the spectacle, judging by the crowd that had already gathered. But whatever they were looking at, I couldn’t tell from Elder Aia’s residence.

I had a pretty good idea what it might be, though. If Sarasni had been telling the truth, then likely quite a sight indeed was approaching our quiet town. I sighed and shook my head.

With nothing better to do, and a bidding from Barthan looming over my head, I headed toward the edge of the village. As I neared, I nodded at a few people that waved at me in greeting. I wasn’t particularly in the mood to be chatty, so I hung back from most of the gathered population and leaned up against a nearby retaining wall to watch.

I didn’t have long to wait. The four wagons were nearly upon our town. As the first wagon pulled up to a stop just at the edge of the waiting townsfolk, I got my first good look at the creatures pulling the wagons, and a shudder of revulsion ran down my spine.

The creatures were the size of large draft horses, but only by mass. Their scaled, serpentine forms were connected to the carts by specialized harnesses obviously crafted for their unique body forms, as well as for their dozen pairs of heavy, muscular legs. While the other centidragons were dusky colors of browns and dark green intermingled, the lead centidragon was bright orange in coloration and sniffed at the air once it had come to a stop, not even breathing hard even though it was obvious they had been going at speed for some time.

Camphen’s people, aside from the centidragon taming, obviously led similar lives to the people of my village. They could easily have passed for villagers from my town. Their builds reflected a livelihood of farming and hunting; tall and fairly muscular, skin that was darkened from the sun, and hair that was a mixture of lighter and darker tones. One, in particular, was considerably larger than the others and had been in the lead wagon with the orange centidragon. As he joined his companions, some of them greeted friends in Amaethon they hadn’t seen in a decade enthusiastically.

The centidragons, for their part, seemed content to simply stand where they were attached to the wagons and wait for their next command. For all the excitement of their arrival, it was turning out to be as routine as anything else in this town.

I was about to approach them myself until the last cart started to disembark. The man that climbed down from the wagon caught my eye, and I found myself staring at him unconsciously. He was markedly different from everyone else in the group from Syniar; he was shorter, for one, easily almost a head and a half smaller than the next shortest of the arrivals. There were teenagers in town that were taller than he.

For two, his build wasn’t anything like anyone I’d seen. This man looked wiry, almost sickly if it weren’t for the fact he moved with a very solid purpose to his movements. There was a strength to his walk, but not one I’d ever seen before.

His facial features were hawkish and dour, though he wore a smile that helped to lighten his appearance. What had caught my eye, though, was his most striking feature; his nearly jet-black hair. I’d never seen hair so dark. Any idea that it might be dyed was dashed when the man turned around and helped a young child out of the wagon. The child was obviously his son, a ten-year-old copy that had the same hair color that he did.

As the child excitedly looked around in wonder at the new village, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I glanced to my side and smiled at the man standing beside me. He was taller than I was, his blue eyes peering down at me through his blonde locks as he fixed me with a questioning look. His voice, normally strong, sounded considerably tired today as he said, What are you waiting for, Alana? Let’s go meet them. I know you’re not fond of them, but I’m dying to know how they tamed those centidragons!

They just got here, Ethal. I sighed and rolled my shoulders, trying to release the tension I could feel building up in them. Half the village is going to be clamoring for their attention over the next few hours, they don’t need me barging in just yet. Changing the subject, I continued, You sound tired. How’s Kiel doing?

Not well. The cough and fever have returned, and it’s all Lia can do to keep the little man from crying all night. He sighed deeply. We’re doing what we can, but...

The defeat in Ethal’s voice was alarming, but I didn’t know what else I could do at this point. I took his hand in mine and patted it in what I hoped was a reassuring gesture. It seemed to work for Barthan, at least. I’ll speak with Barthan when I get back this afternoon. He’s asked me to check with these folk for alchemy supplies; maybe they’ll have something new we can work with that’ll help him. Either way, we’ll work up something to help, I promise.

I know, Alana. You’ve been a big help so far. Ethal shook his head and pulled his hand from mine. You’re right about the crowd, though. I think I’ll stop by later, maybe tomorrow, after some of the excitement has worn off. I’ll see you later.

Bye. I waved at him as he walked away. Ethal was one of our town’s better field workers, but lately, the sickness of his child had taken his full attention. I had to do something to help that poor boy. It just wasn’t fair.

I turned back to the newcomers and steeled my nerves. They might have something that could help, but I’d have to talk to them first. I gritted my teeth and started walking toward the man who looked out of place, reasoning that if he’d brought his child along, he might be easier to talk to.

The man was busy adjusting the harness on the centidragon, so I hung back a bit to watch. My eye drifted down to his belt, where a flash of light from a strange object caught my attention. He wore a device that I’d never seen before, a strange solid piece of metal with a crescent shape on both ends. It reflected the light of the three suns.

The man caught my stare and chuckled, unhooking it from his belt. When he spoke, his voice had an odd accent to it that I couldn’t place. It’s called a wrench. Here, would you like to see it? He held it out to me with an open palm.

Um. Hesitantly, I carefully took the