Opium Dreams

Standing at the cliff was Zolf, listening to the waves caressing the rocks beneath. Not far from him sat Manong, who seemed to be enjoying the view as if seeing it for the first time. “You’ve been here for a while”? asked Zolf “A couple of days, more or less” answered Manong  “And you’re ready to leave?” “As ready as I can be” he paused, then added joyfully “In any case, I have no choice” “No, I guess you do not” smiled Zolf "at least you enjoyed your stay I hope?"  "It brought me immense pleasure" he answered. "I'm still enjoying it" he added, then made a swift gesture with his hand to Zolf.  a big wave crashed on the rocks, its violent sound filling up the space and commanding silence. "you've been a bit too harsh on the boy, don’t you think?" said Manong "Yes, I suppose so" answered Zolf. “I got excited and made a bad gamble”  "I see what you mean,” said Manong “It is truly marvelous to behold” "So you saw it too,...

Nile woke up inside a room of wooden structure. Through hazy eyes, he saw a boy sitting at the corner of the room, with a puppy on his lap. He noticed the sunlight coming through the cracks on the ceiling and from its angle, he deduced it was before noon.  Besides him on the floor was a bowl of a concoction that he did not know. The boy nodded at him and he understood that as a sign to drink. He drank and felt the flow of liquid inside his throat. It tickled a bit but quenched his thirst. He saw the boy looking at him but could not decipher his face from the distance. The boy patted the puppy's head gently with his right head. The boy kept his gaze fixed at Nile as he continued patting slowly. Nile's brows felt heavy and he dozed off. In his slumber, he sensed something familiar, an odor. Faint yet perfectly distinguished. Narjes flower extract. The smell of his mother. The scent took his by surprise and he started to look around but he could not see. It was pitch black. A stra...

Santa Laura was a city of immaculate beauty at night. Nile especially appreciated the cobblestone buildings, illuminated by those weird crimson-red lamps with no apparent fuel nor oil. "I can see myself coming here from time to time," he thought to himself "just to enjoy this view". Since the second beast joined the fight, the balance has been shifted violently against Nile. Even after he was able to recover from the collision with the wall, he had completely unable to land any hits and has been excruciatingly struggling to avoid taking in more damage. The two beasts figured out his moves and countered with terrifying calm and efficiency. At this point, it was no longer a question of "if" but "when" will they finish him off. They did not seem to mind taking time.  A couple of jumps and kicks later, Nile found himself flying into the stem of a tree, back-first. As soon as his body made contact he heard a crackling sound and new that something in h...

The night was young and starless. A shy crescent hid behind the clouds.  In the village center, things went out of hand quickly. In no time, the entire square was empty, but for two humongous beasts and a youngster holding a scythe.  Nile soon regained his composure after having slashed the big guy. his breathing gradually slowed and his sweat evaporated. He was now calm as a monk, waiting for the two beasts to make their next move. This choice was deliberate as he wanted them both to be fully committed for the remainder of this encounter, his pride needed to be restored. In hindsight, this was a regrettable decision.  The first Cross, who by this point seemed to be the leader, was immobile. The slash from Silva made him drop his sword. He did not move; The second Cross, impassive as always, looked at Nile, still with a surprising lack of animosity, then looked at his comrade. He went next to him, picked up his sword and handed it to him. He then stepped back a little and...

The sun came down, and two Cross's appeared instead of one.  This was a shock to Nile. He could not fathom how one being can exist twice, worse yet, three times. He remembered the amount of difficulty he had to endure to put one Cross down, even with immense help from the guy with the snakes and the sniper. The memory made his spine shiver a bit and he held tighter to silva for comfort. The two beasts, on the other hand, did not seem to pay particular attention to him. In fact, they did not seem to recognize him at all. They continued to advance calmly down the square. The one in the front seemed to sense the tension and looked at Nile and saw him holding Silva. He looked a bit bewildered but still uninterested.     Nile, still under a bit of shock, was convinced that he had no chance of coming out of this unscathed. That being said, he had a duty to perform. He made an implicit promise to protect the old man and he had no right to falter. He muttered a prayer and wa...

The road to the port city was long and arduous. Winter was waning off and a hot summer was brewing in the background, but for the time being, the weather was lovely. "Perfect weather to start the journey" reflected Nile, as they crossed a small bridge. He patted his horse dearly on its mane, the horse neighed. "So you guys are a group," asked Nile. " In the loosest sense of the word, Yes" replies Zolf. "we are a group of individuals who find it easier, from a logistical point of view, to work together".  "That's a group" said Nile, impassively.  "I suppose you're right" replied Zolf, with a smile.  Zolf was riding on his trusted old horse, Nigel. He was leading them to the Rendez-Vous point, at the portal city of Santa Laura.  The gates of the city were within eyeshot. Santa Laura was the main port of the island and the major outlet to the main continent. Illegal outlets existed, mainly due to the heavy taxation impose...

The man had a strange aura to him, strong sure, but not just that, confidence, not exuding, his aura had a peaceful calm to it, like the night, but not really antagonistic, he sat on a nearby rock facing them. '' Thank you for taking care of him'' he said, pointing towards Cross  '' So he was coming for you ?'' said the rookie  '' Yes, he was after my head'' he said, '' you seem to dispute ''  '' It is under control'' said the sniper '' no need for your interference ''  '' The bounty is not clear, we need an outside perspective'' rookie  '' The bounty is for the sniper, he shot first, that being said, you should be compensated'' said the man  '' I think you should take Silva since you're the only one here to withstand its mighty blow'' he continued. '' The sniper hid in the trees while I took the pre...

   He sat on the edge of a flat surfaced rock in front of the cave, a little gloomy but nonetheless focused and composed, he felt shivers as the cold chill of the northern wind hit his back, announcing ominously the departure of the Sun, and the inevitable arrival of the night.   'it has been a long day' he thought to himself, even though he didn't keep count, the sun was generous that day, all the more reason to be afraid of the dark, he took his dagger out of his pocket, it was still dripping, little red drops of fresh blood, he frowned at the misfortune, 'my pocket is now all dirty and smelly' he said with a hint of discomfort, two meters to his right side laid the body of a beast, dead and markedly injured throughout, its throat visibly slit and still pouring hot blood in progressively weakening thrusts, the beast gave its last jerks and went cold, the hunter looked at it, 'you hear that' he said mockingly, 'at least you managed to foul my cloth...