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Fermius Firefly

A Dream Log, whenever I remember the dreams I've had.

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Location: San Marcos, United States

Fermius is a pen name drawn from a series of short fiction I wrote when I published the small press magazine Stellanova (on paper.) I play RPG games to escape from my daily grind as a technology wage slave for the state of California. I eat out a lot in order to do my part in supporting our increasingly service level economy. I am butler to 2 feline masters. If you ask them they will tell you I'm not very good at it, late with dinner, don't have enough hands with brushes in them, and sometimes I even lock them out of their office.

Friday, November 09, 2012

We're Mortal...Everywhere.

The dream started with me and my doctor wandering about in the
"backstage" area of a hospital. He was trying to convince me that I
needed a colonoscopy. I wasn't buying it. We eventually wandered into
the women's locker room because "Their locker room is closer to the
cafeteria."

The women who were there in various states of undress didn't seem to
mind once they saw that it was my doctor.

Good one, Doc.

However, instead of arriving at a cafeteria, I ended up outside a
rustic - bordering on the falling down - fantasy tavern. Dwarfs,
Elves, Trolls, etc. I was greeted by two people I knew to be my
"minions." And I was incredibly short. With only four fingers on each
hand.

"Dear me, I'm a Gnome."

My minions looked at one another and then laughed nervously. "Of course, boss."

I wiped the perspiration from my forehead with the end of my long
beard, and the three of us crowded inside. We sat in a booth across
from a mage and his apprentice.

They wanted me to take on another apprentice. I really wasn't up for
it, so pointed out how crowded our side of the table was already.
(While simultaneously reminding me of the last time I had sat at this
particular table with a young apprentice, a sweet memory made bitter
by the eventual outcome of that experiment.) The mage laughed a deep
mirthful chuckle, my minions pointed out that they could wait outside,
and promptly left me alone on the bench. I then pointed out that I
couldn't actually do any magic, and that brought a more serious
expression to their faces. "How do you survive?" I asked them, because
I knew their magic was gone, too. In fact, it all was, and had been
for a couple of years now.

"One rule. Remember this: We're mortal ... everywhere." The tall black
mage rolled out a map and gestured to the known world. "But there's
magic out there, I have proof. Let's make room for your new
apprentice." And with that the extremely tall mage and his young
apprentice stood up, and walked away. Behind them was a lanky, rugged
looking, red-haired woman, yet possessed of a powerful animal charm
that flashed behind almost luminous light green eyes.

As she moved in to stand just behind the bench, I could see that her
lanky grace had disguised fuller and quite attractive curves. I was
instantly, well, not in love, but something easily confused for it by
most beings. I found it a most delicious complication.

"I'm going to get us something to drink, what would you like?" She
stood, across the table from me, expecting an answer and no questions.
It was as if the apprenticeship was a done deal, no discussion needed.
I looked at her for a bit, and there behind the confidence, but well
hidden, was fear. I could feel it, not fear of me, but of being turned
away, of being unwanted.

"Orange juice, and not that small glass they'll want to claim is a
'large' but in a regular mug."

She stood, shifting between her feet. She held out her hand, there
were a few coins in it, no where near enough for what I'd ordered. I
dug into the pocket of my vest and sorted through a wad of notes from
all different regions until I found a ten ounce note from the region
we were in.

"It'll be enough if you can convince them I mean business." I pushed
the crumpled note into her hand.

With that the woman smiled, "Oh, I think I can..." and she shifted,
hunched over, face elongated, fur growing even as I watched. She
crouched down across the bench. I stepped up on the table to look at
her more closely. Her large green eyes looked up into my own. Her soul
remained the same inside, the roughness I had detected earlier now
made manifest. There was indeed still magic in the world, even if I
couldn't touch it, anymore, perhaps she could.

"I see, you'll do, you'll do." And without even thinking about it
possibly being impolite, I reached over and scratched her behind the
ear.

She smiled, or perhaps bared her teeth at me, then, tearing up, she
turned and stood, heading over to a now nervous looking bartender.

--
ad astra per technica,
FF

``Clearly something is going on. And it is fascinating. But the
question we need to ask, is it going on in outer space (or the outer
world) or is it going on in inner space (or the inner world)?'' -Carl
Sagan