Chapter 21
The canoe made the trip back up the mountain lake much easier, and the view was doubly enjoyable. Steep mountainsides, covered in trees and bushes, hugged the crystal-clear water. Fish swam along just under the surface, though the bottom was too deep to see.
As I approached the far shore, the lake became shallower, and I had no issue in landing. I made sure to pull the boat up onto the gravelly beach so there was no risk of it floating away.
I began to explore the area, searching for the perfect spot to build a cabin. The beach gave way to a small rocky rise. It was a short cliff, only a couple meters tall, that bordered this side of the lake. The small knoll was covered in a thick grove of cedar trees. It seemed a shame to cut them down, but it was such a beautiful spot. Besides, Id be needing the lumber anyway.
Having picked out the spot to build my home, I looked for a place nearby to make a temporary camp. Building my sanctuary was not going to be a quick process, so I needed a place to live until then. A little farther up the stream was a grove of trees clustered around a large boulder with a natural overhang. Retrieving my equipment, I stacked it under the overhang, claiming this hideaway for my camp.
The overhang was big enough that it almost created a small cave, and I was confident my gear would stay dry. I retrieved my new ax, a solid lumber jacking ax with a thick blade and a sharp edge, that I purchased from Derek. I carried it and my blade-staff with me to the site of my new home. While I could use my weapon to clear away some brush, cutting anything thicker than my arm was going to be problematic. I wasnt in any risk of breaking the blade, but an ax gave weight and power in cutting through tough material.
I used Mercy to cutaway brush and low hanging bows. There was a small grove of, what I thought was lodgepole pine, and I began to cutaway at the small trees with the ax. Each tree was no bigger around than what I could wrap my hands around, and they fell quickly.
Having stacked up enough trees, I began cutting them in half and removing their limbs. It took several trips to bring the material back to my campsite, again thankful for my undead endurance and strength. Using the shovel Derek insisted I needed, I dug holes and planted the posts. By the time the sun was going down, Id made myself a small enclave surrounded by a wall made of the lodgepole pine.
The remaining logs and longer limbs that had been previously cutaway were used to form a roof. It wasnt going to be weatherproof, but after getting some animal hides, it would make for a solid roof. Satisfied with my work, I made myself a makeshift bed out of moss and smaller limbs from the cedar trees. Tossing a blanket over it, I tentatively lay down. It was surprisingly comfortable.
Though my undead body didnt get tired, I was mentally exhausted. Closing my eyes, I attempted to sleep, even though that luxury would evade me. The meditative mental rest that I slipped into just wasnt the same as actual sleep. As I lay there, I decided I should probably visit my mindscape. While right now might not be the perfect time, I needed to go thereId been avoiding it for far too long.
Forcing myself into deeper and deeper meditation through my practiced techniques, I found myself standing in my mindscape. The madness that was my current mindscape was more or less how I remembered it: floating, upside-down islands and strange misshapen objects scattered around.
An explosion bombarded my senses, and I looked around in alarm. Damien was fighting something on the underside of an island. At least from my perspective. That couldnt be good. If it was meant to be there, Damien wouldnt be in conflict with it. I rushed to his aid.
My mental training while in the game had taught me how to move through the mindscape, and I rocketed away. My flight path swerved, and suddenly my inner ear alerted me that the world had flipped upside down, and Damien was now right side up. Id partly been expecting this effect, but it was still rather alarming on how sudden the gravity was skewed.
Ignoring the strange effects, I summoned a weapona version of my staff with a long powerful spearhead. The strange creature didnt even know I was there until it was too late. I hit it like a meteorite falling from the sky, impaling it to the ground. I rolled away to safety and stood.
Good timing, boss, Damien said.
What is this thing? I asked.
Just looking at it hurt my mind. It didnt seem like something that should even exist. Overall, it was shaped like a blob of flesh, or more accurately, a steaming pile of garbage. Parts of its body fuzzed in and out, changing in texture from rocklike substances to gross fleshy things that oozed. Appendages whipped out into the air, leaving behind strange distortions.
I have no idea, Damien said. The best I can tell is its some creation of your twisted mindscape, somehow warped by time.
The creature began to move toward us. The fleshy glob molding itself around the weapon until it was free.
How do we kill it?
I dont know, Damien said with a shrug. If we beat on it enough, it will eventually disappear, but they always show back up.
What are they after? I stretched out my hand and summoned my weapon back to me, willing the blades shape to change from that of a broad headed spear, to a long, curved slashing blade.
Theyre trying to consume the few denizens of your mindscape that remained, Damien said in disgust. Its a good thing I started gathering the survivors into one place. Its made it easier to defend them. The strangest thing about these creatures is when you do eventually drive them off, when they show back up, its like nothing had ever happened to them.
What do you mean? I asked, stepping back from the creature.
I have fought this particular one probably a dozen times. Damien met my gaze. I know its the same one, because each of them looks and feels different. Its hard to explain. I hit this particular one a while ago with a very powerful death spell that left a visible mark. It remained for the entire fight, but when the creature disappeared and showed back up again, that mark was gone.
Lets worry about that later, I said. For now, we just need to drive this thing off.
Damien grunted in agreement and we attacked the blob in unison. The creature wasnt particularly hard to beat, it was merely persistent. It took an incredible amount of punishment. Both Damien and I carved off chunks of fleshy substance that dissolved into a strange hypnotic glowing light. When it finally disappeared, both of us were tired.
Im glad you came, Damien said. I think I have an idea of what we can do to fix your mindscape.
Whats the plan? I asked.
Well, your mind has been warped by seeing through time, in some capacity or another, so I figured if we summoned another mental assistant that was a time wizard, they might have some insight in how to fix it.
Time wizards are a thing? I asked in surprise.
Not time manipulation like youre thinking, Damien clarified. They cant move through time, but do have limited control to manipulate the flow of time around them. Mostly they can speed things up and slow things down to varying degrees of effectiveness.
Is there some limit to the number of mental assistants I can have? I asked. I was under the impression I could only have one.
No, you can have as many as you want, Damien said. But the cost of getting them is exponentially more after your first. Most of the time such mental energy is best spent elsewhere.
Okay, guess that makes sense. Pushing off the ground, I began to fly toward the center of my mindscape, Damien following close behind. What must I do to summon him?
It will be just like summoning me, Damien explained. We just need to sell off some of your constructs so we have the mental energy to spare. I will start doing that if you want to start looking through the list of assistants.
It shouldnt take me that long to find one. There was bound to be a search feature I could use. How much of my mental constructs survived so we can even sell them off?
More or less all of them, Damien answered. The reworking of your mindscape didnt so much destroy things, as it rearranged things. All the constructs are either in odd places or lost. For example, the place where you spend your focus points, I have no idea where it is.
Well, thats annoying I was planning on visiting there during this delve. Finding that should become one of our top priorities then.
I disagree, Damien said. Spending your focus points can wait. We need to get your mindscape stabilized before anything else.
I guess I see your point, I said, landing on the central platform of my castle.
Damien landed beside me and headed over to a building I didnt recognize. Then lets get to workwe dont need this. It was a barracks, and theres no threat of being attacked right now.
That was not the barracks we designed. They had been large, multi-story buildings with a courtyard in the middle. This was more like a house that wouldnt be out of place in modern America.
I grunted in agreement, and Damien placed his hand on the building. It began to dissolve, the effect spreading out and consuming the whole structure.
I was fascinated by the display of the outer walls disappearing. The structure was much thicker than what made sense, and layered in ways that shouldnt have even been possible. We likely would have needed to destroy the building anyway. I doubted it was still of use.
We should also target the defensive buildings, Damien said.
I agree. With the barrier Altor placed around my mindscape, nothing can threaten us.
We flew off together, looking for different things that had once been defensive structures.
The central area of my mindscape in which I spawned was no longer connected to the ground, having also been warped into a floating island. In fact, thousands of islands floated all around me. Far below were barren stretches of the outer mindscape. In some places, obscure ripples marred the area. Damien directed me away from them, explaining that those were distortions that twisted everything around them into strange versions of themselves.
My mindscape was oddly beautiful and terrifying. Filled with creatures that should never have existed. One second, they would have a thousand eyes covering their bodies, and the next theyd all be gone. Creatures moved through the air, propelled by wings or simply drifting. The most disturbing ones were those that didnt have any indication of movement, they just moved. Almost as if they remained rooted to the spot and the world twisted around them. It was a strange thing to witness.
Then we came upon something truly disturbing. I shuddered just glancing at it, wishing I could scrape the memory of its twisted form from my mind.
We should avoid that, Damien said. Were not ready to deal with itits one of your core emotions.
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