Randell's Oddysey

It's been a long, long night. Another day has come to an end in this familiar little slum. The tattered walls, paint cracking and discolored, the musty air, stagnant and filled with dust, and the sounds of trains churning through the night all welcome you home. You no sooner make your way to the long since worn out bed, and plop down, than you slip into sleep in the moments just before dawn.

After some time, a few hours perhaps, an unsettling feeling grasps you. You feel as if you are basking in warmth, and then a nuzzling against your shoulder.

"Nerr... cmon kitty, get off..." Randell is annoyed by this silly thing stealing sleep from him, and rolls over, giving a quick blink to make sure it's still nighttime.

Your quick-blink reveals something is quite wrong.

The familiar room is gone. You are in a small glade. All around you trees surround a narrow path. Strange trees, with trunks that form a thick tangle, an impenetrable thicket blocking out even the light. The sun glares down upon you, yet the air is surprising cool with a wisps of gentle breeze passing by. Your clothes feel as light as silk, and you yourself feel invigorated. As you notice you are laying down is a soft bed of grass, with a strange blueish tinge, you notice an odd critter sitting beside you. Everything is vibrant shimmering in the sunlight.

It reminds you of a ferret, though somewhat larger. Light golden fur runs along its body with dark stripes along it's back. Large brown cat like ears tops it's head. It stares at you with curious, beady eyes. It cocks itss head as if confounded by the strange sight it beholds.

*meepofwtfandsuch* I quickly throw my head around, looking at all this nonsense, then back to the ferretcatthing of waking ups. Dreams not supposed to be so vivid. Closer examination of the ferretcatthing is in order.

(When in doubt, describe the onomonopeia!)

Despite the surreal aspect of it all, it feels real. The warmth of the sun, the texture of the cool grass beneath you. Even the strange fauna and flora, while odd, have a sense of presence. Nothing stands out as being "fake".

The ferret-cat-thing is alien to you. The look in its eyes seem to convey some level of thinking, and an innate curiosity, aimed at you. The creature scratches itself with it's front leg, much like a ferret. Suddenly, as if startled, the creature dashes of. It scurries of a ways down the path, and runs in a circle stopping for a moment staring back at you. It continues this ritual, as you sit back in path. As it seems, it means to lead you down the path.

Answers must be gotten, and silly ferretcatthing knows too much! Onward after the fct!

You chase after the critter down the path carefully, as to not trip over the uneven ground. Whatever it happens to be, it is quite fast, and before long darts around a corner far ahead, disappearing from view. As you round the corner the once narrow path opens into a large glade, the sun battering down from above. A moment of blindness, as you shield your eyes you can see in the center of this place stands a magnificent fountain. It is much unlike any fountain you have run across. The maws of dozens of creatures jutting out from a center column, atop of which an angel holding an urn above it's head all over flowing into the stone basin. The entire things seem to be carved from some sort of marble, or some another stone you can't recollect. Of the many creatures depicted, some are of otherworldly origin, dragons, what appear to be gargoyles or depictions of devils of some sort. Most others are of predatory creatures: lions, tiger, even snakes and hawks. All details are carved with intricate detail, nigh unbelievable craftsmanship.Yet, perhaps the strangest aspect is not the fountain, but what flows from it. A translucent red liquid, reminiscent of red wine flow ceaselessly from the many mouths and urn collecting in the fountain basing below. There you see the strange creature dawdling on the edge of the fountain, seemingly attempting to take a drink from the curious fountain.

I slowly walk over to the fountain, attempting to take a closer look, perhaps(if the fountain is small enough) to run my hands over it and examine it further. FerretCatThing can wait, as Randell has a new target of interest.
Barring any dramatic happenings in regards to the fountain, Randell instead moves to take a drink from the mysterious fountain, cupping his hands for a nice gulp of the wine-like substance.

(The Fountain)

Spoiler:

The mysterious substance is cool in your hands, oddly so for something that been sitting out side. A sip, and a crisp taste, unfamiliar somewhat of a bitter-sweet taste. The moment it hits your pallet you're hit with a sudden shock, causing you to jump a bit. Reminiscent of being jolted by static electricity, sans the numbing pain. If you weren't awake before you sure are now. The strange critter seems rather amused by this, or at least it seems that way.

"Dahhh!" I take a quick step back away from the fountain. The shock isn't very welcome, as is the FCT's snarky disposition.
Walking back up to the fountain, I cup some more water... then chuck it at the FCT, to see if he still thinks this is funny.

You hit the critter square in the face. It shivers and shakes the water off of itself. It gazes directly at you, letting out a low hiss If you didn't know any better you'd say the little guy wasn't too happy about that. Just as it seems the critter is ready to retaliate, a sudden chiming rings out from a distance. The critter suddenly perks up and looks onwards beyond the fountain. Again the strange critter darts away, rushing out of sight in a mere moment. It has run down yet another path some way past the fountain.

"Well ain't you fast. Cmon, get back here..." After a second or two of watching it dart away, I take off after it.

As, you chase the critter around the corner, the chiming grows louder and louder. The path bends and twist around, flanked by the odd trees on either side. You still see no sign of the creature. The twists and turns seem endless, the chiming coming to an abrupt end . While rounding a particularly sharp bend, and suddenly you find yourself slam into something, and fall square on your ass. After a moment to get you regain your bearings, and a you see an unfamiliar face standing before you.

He is a stout man, if a bit rotund, wearing a simple collared shirt and slacks held up by suspenders. He looks down at you with glossy beady eyes through brass bifocals. Though a beard covers most of his face, but you can't help but notice the sun reflecting slightly upon his balding head.

"And, who might you be?", he speaks in a loud boisterous tone, a sense of curiosity in his voice.

Behind him you now see a small cottage, picturesque and quaint in all regards.

I scratch the back of my head, still a bit frazzled from the collision. "I dunno... I'm me, I guess."
With a bit of sluggishness, I try to get up. "Who're you?"

He lets out a chuckle, gives you a hand up, and a firm smack on the back. You lose your footing a moment, but recover.

"You're a funny guy aren't you.", he chuckles a bit more. Still with a grin, he takes off his bifocals and wipes them on his shirt.

"Well, I guess you could say I am Mr. Adrik Ivanov.", he says with a particularly distinct accent, "And, you could say I am ruler of all you survey." Around you is the cottage, simple waist-high fence around a large yard teaming with flowers and a patch where red tomatoes grow, ripe as can be. Quaint, but hardly a kingdom. He speaks in a rather boisterous tone. He places his glasses back on before continuing.

"I suppose you have already meet Lisy." You see the critter from before peek from behind the man's legs where it was presumably hiding. "On top of that, I assume you are probably wondering where you are. Correct?"

Spoiler:

I look around, slightly confused, hoping to spot any landmarks I'd recall. "Well, now that you mention it, I do seem to be a bit lost. So, scary man, where is this wonderful place?"

Looking around, the skyline is utterly devoid of any significant landmarks.

"Well, in a sense I don't know where you are exactly. In another you are standing right here. As for where here is, I am not quite sure of that myself. Though in relative theory, we are both in a place that does not exist, but is somewhere. Somewhere yet nowhere, all the same. I don't suppose that helps any?", he lets out a nervous chuckle.

I glance back with a dazed look. "Right over my head, man. That explanation come in English?"

He looks up at the sky a moment.

"Perhaps. Let me see." He silently strokes his beard for a moment.

"Ah, yes. Let us just say that this is a place that exists only to you and me at this time. Somewhat like sharing a dream would be.", he continues ever jovial, "Where though is somewhat a difficult question. What is this place is far more interesting. Do you care to see?"

He maintains the same expression. Lisy has now gone and run off into the garden, seemingly checking the patch of tomatoes.

"Sounds like a plan. Doesn't look like I've got other places to go right now."

Ivanov eyes seem to spring to life, a gleam of excitement hiding behind his bifocals.

"Good, good. Fortunately this is quite a simple ordeal. You need only to close your eyes, and reopen them when I tell you to. Simple, yes?"

"If you say so, strange man." I closeth the eyes, and hope that his silliness won't take too long... I see no need for this person being all mysterious and such, but maybe if I play along, he'll finish with his odd dream antics.

You close your eyes, and then feel his hand placed gently on your brow. A warmth surges from his hand, like a warm breeze in winter. The air around feels suddenly thicker. Thousands of sounds like delicate chimes and bells ringing suddenly surround you. Soft and barely audible the seem to flutter both away and towards you.

I focus on the sound of the bells and chimes, trying to hear them more clearly.

At first what seems like a discordant chorus of clicks, bells and whistles, a much different sound begins to permeate. It becomes more reminiscent of the chirping of crickets and exotic,faint bird calls , and bestial sounds from goodness-knows-what kind of creatures. As your mind attempts to absorb the facets of sensory data around you, you feel something the floating in front of your face. A dim light and a faint warmth nipping at your face.