[Mkguild] Asleep, Awake, Adream (1 of 2)

[C. Matthias]

So somehow despite surgery, a two-year old 
daughter, and a full schedule, I managed to write 
another Metamor Keep story!   And marvel as I keep it under 10,000 words!

I want to thank Ryx for proof-reading this for me 
and for the use of his characters.

Part 1 of 2.

Metamor Keep: Asleep, Awake, Adream
by Charles Matthias

May 13, 708 CR

Charles could not sleep.

He tried several positions, snuggled beneath the 
warm quilts with his wife, but none could silence 
the mix of euphoria and dread filling his 
thoughts. Even before the rise of the waning 
crescent moon the rat slipped from those quilts, 
draped his fur and tail in a cloak, and left his 
wife to her slumber with only a parting kiss 
blown from his cleft lips and hurried along on 
its way with a cupped hand resting atop his heart.

Kimberly had taken to leaving a single witchlight 
in a hooded lantern hanging on the wall outside 
the door to their bedroom to give them just 
enough light to see by should they arise before 
morning twilight. Only a sliver of the lantern 
was open, and though it was enough for a rat's 
eyes to find their way, Charles never had need of 
it. He covered the slit with one hand as the 
other lowered the thick forested tapestry lest 
any light spill into their bedchamber. With one 
last smiling twitch of whiskers towards his 
beloved, Charles turned and crossed the barely lit main room of their home.

He climbed the stairs up to the second floor and 
paused. Another hooded lantern revealed the 
wooden and cloth toys, all in the guise of 
various animals, strewn across the floor where 
his children had left them; most of the wooden 
toys showed signs of gnawing. His scalloped ears 
lifted to the sound of four little rats all 
asleep and snoring in their high-pitched voices.

His heart swelled and his steps carried him into 
the room, careful not to trod upon any toy, until 
he peered through the curtain on his sleeping 
children. Not enough light shown within for him 
to make out details but he still watched them. 
None of his four children stirred, each laying 
curled on their sides tail to nose. A smile 
stretched his snout and his chest swelled with 
warmth as he gazed. How little they were and how 
dear to him. Two eager boys and two darling girls. His children.

Charles lingered in their doorway for several 
minutes before letting the curtain fall. He 
walked back to the stairs and continued to climb 
through the darkness. After a minute of taking 
each step one at a time, the claws of his toes 
touching but not nicking the wood, light 
blossomed above. He came around the final curve 
to the balcony overlooking the Glen and rested 
his elbows on the railing. Though it was Spring, 
the air at so early an hour was very cool and he 
pulled the cloak tighter about his chest. He drew 
the tip of his tail around one leg to keep it warm.

The trees were too thick to see what sliver of 
moon had risen in the southeast, but he could see 
the glimmering stars in patches. Through one he 
found the milky band of midnight light crossing 
the sky and stared into its depths. The rich 
scent of pine filled his nostrils even more than 
the scent of rat clinging to his cloak.

He could not help but ponder what he'd endured 
and witnessed but a few hours before. So much 
horror and anguish, and yet a single glimpse of 
beauty was greater still. Would he ever truly 
understand what it all meant? He'd seen the edge 
of glory his youngest Ladero enjoyed, and now 
knew a daunting secret about his eldest. Did his 
little Charles scamper about the dreams of his 
littermates? Or did he enjoy one of his own? Would his father ever know?

The starry depths had no answers. A southern 
breeze stirred the branches, obscuring the 
numinous light, but the rat did not turn. He 
watched as they stilled, listening to the first 
cries of birds eager to welcome the morning. He 
idly wished he had taken up a pipe habit, for 
such heady thoughts as his seemed best with a bit 
of burl in his fingers and a trail of smoke teasing his nose.

Today was the first day in thousands of years 
without the shadow of Marzac. Yet the stars shone 
as they always had. And, Charles thought with a 
smile and a twitch of his whiskers, it was always 
so no matter the danger. The gift he'd received 
had lasted for the barest of moments, but the 
love and grace she'd given were always there. 
Everything good, even his own love, was an opening for it to pour through.

“Thank you, Eli,” he whispered. “I love you.”

And though he continued to speak until the sky 
brightened and those stars faded to blue, long 
tongue brushing against long teeth with each 
word, heart and mind lifted so he never felt the 
wood beneath him, he remembered not a word.

----------

Malger could not sleep.

After leaving the rats, he returned to the 
Mountain Hearth Inn with Misanthe. The vixen was 
quiet and other than prepare him a small chaser 
of wine, honored his unstated desire for privacy. 
The marten sipped the chaser while standing on 
the balcony, one claw touching the crescent moon 
hanging about his neck. Too much had happened for 
him to return to slumber and the Dream. The deal, 
bartered and broken, to hear more of it, to even 
have his goddess try and explain the barest whisper of it, would be too much.

So he stood in the cool night air of Spring 
listening to the susurrus of the forest breeze 
and the occasional stirring of the sleeping 
village. In his home of Sutthaivasse there was 
boisterous activity throughout the night; from 
some noble or wealthy merchant enjoying a 
decadent party, to the dockworkers loading and 
unloading cargo, something was always happening. 
Even in Metamor Keep for most hours of the night 
one could hear some strain of music or laughter 
and always the shifting of the guards along the walls wary of an attack.

Not so in Glen Avery. There were always scouts 
watching the forest and the road, but what little 
noise they made was obscured by the breeze and 
the rustle of needles and fresh-grown leaves. It 
seemed to the marten there had been more to 
listen to while on the road with Murikeer and 
Elvmere than greeted him in the Glen. If not for 
the occasional bird there would have been nothing to listen to at all.

In the silence his ears filled with the voice of 
his goddess. “All found the paths upon which to 
take their journey, my dear.” He could not blame 
himself for the turmoil of hours past. “Tell only 
one, Malger, who awaits with you. He has 
prepared, and knows what to do.” And now, 
exhausted from so much use of magic, the skunk 
mage Murikeer had retired to enjoy a well-earned 
sleep. Many other words she'd offered came to 
him, but her final rang in his ears loudest.

Still the massive crow, ice-blue eyes touching 
the rat child as he lay sleeping on the cold 
stone alter, the echo of Malger's question of his 
fate ringing, her black beak open. “The child 
remains his. But,” her wing stretched and the 
sharp talons brushed across the boy's fur with a 
caress incongruously tender and warm from those 
wicked black edges, “one day he will have no 
choice and must let the boy come.” Her voice 
filled with delight, so odd from her frightful 
visage and in such a forbidding place, “He 
Dreams, Malger. And with strength. You will need 
to help him; his father and mother as well.”

He'd risen from the dream to inform Murikeer, and 
then slipped back down to find altar and child 
gone. From the vantage of Nocturna's realm he 
watched in the way the gods watch, two shadowy 
figures passing through realms he could not 
glimpse or understand, just as he'd watched the 
defeat of Marzac nearly six months before. Though 
he did not know what it was Charles had endured, 
he had recognized the moment when the corruption was finally broken

And when he reached the end, his mind turned back 
to the moment Charles entered the prepared cellar 
to begin the dream anew. Malger took a deep 
breath and pushed it aside. After four reminisces 
he could stand it no longer. There was a little 
rat child, only a year old, who could Dream! He 
brought to mind what he had seen a few days past, 
the tree rising up over a vast black pit – the 
corruption he now understood. There had been 
something else watching, something small; it had 
fled the moment Malger turned his gaze toward it. 
The rat child perhaps, trying to see into his 
father's dreams unknowing of the dangers?

He welcomed the distant pounding of horses hooves 
from the road. Even though it took a full three 
minutes before the riders became visible at the 
far end of the Glen commons, the sound was enough 
to distract his thoughts. A trio of riders burst 
into the Glen at full gallop and only slowed as 
they neared the rocky hillside in which both 
brewery and inn made their home. A quartet of 
large witchlights trailed them, illuminating the 
road before them and making it easy to see who they were.

Malger sighed in relief and waved his arm once, 
before cupping his hands over his snout and 
shouting toward them. “Rickkter, Kayla, Kozaithy! Up here! The Inn!”

----------

He wasn't surprised to find a feral fox tucked 
under his chair watching as they all gathered in 
the inn's empty commons. Misanthe had said little 
since they returned to the inn but she had ever 
kept a watch on the marten. Now, as a 
sour-looking raccoon and cheerful but exhausted 
pair of skunks settled down at the end of their 
long ride, he realized how glad he was she had 
not said anything to him just yet. Malger needed those moments of silence.

Rickkter scratched the oaken table with one claw 
as if punishing it for not having a mazer of ale 
ready for him. “So I'm told we aren't needed here after all.”

Kayla's tail swung behind her, and though weary, 
her voice was filled with delight. “I felt it 
when it happened. It was like I could breathe 
again. I never understood how deeply Marzac had 
touched us and was still touching us. Now it's 
gone. Charles defeated it. We're all free!”

The white-furred skunk Kozaithy looked about the 
room for somebody who was not there. “I'm sorry I 
couldn't find you both in time. At least now 
everyone we love is well.” The last was a question for Malger.

“Murikeer was a great help in this fight. Without 
him aiding Lady Kimberly and helping her reach 
out to Charles, we might not have won. Once all 
was done he went to his rooms here to sleep, for 
the effort had sorely taxed him.” He gestured at 
the ceiling and rooms beyond with one arm. 
“Charles returned to his family to do the same.”

Kozaithy relaxed. Rickkter snorted and scowled. 
“Well, since there's nothing for us to do, I'm 
going to go raid the innkeeper's larder for 
something to drink and then find a room with a bed to sleep in.”

Kayla lashed her tail. “Rick!”

Rickkter stood up from the table and stretched 
out his back, striped tail flat against his legs. 
“I'll pay him back in the morning. The innkeeper 
should have come out to greet us when we arrived so it's only fair.”

Malger tapped his thumbs together and narrowed 
his eyes. “What's wrong, Rick? Aren't you glad Marzac is gone?”

“I just rode as fast as I could for four or five 
hard hours, if I read the stars right, to come 
rescue the rat and we were too late. Marzac 
stripped my soul from my body for six months, it 
made me an invalid, humiliated me, and has made 
me feel useless in all sorts of ways while people 
I love suffer. And not once have I been able to 
even so much as give it a punch in the nose. And 
now it's gone and I'll never get the chance.” He 
shook his head and took a step toward the door to 
the innkeeper's stores. “Yes, I am glad Marzac is 
gone and no mistake, but I'm just too damn tired to feel good about it.”

“Rick!” Kayla stretched out her arm, but the 
raccoon stalked toward the larder anyway. She 
sighed and shook her head after he was gone. “He 
wasted no time in coming here; he really did want to help.”

“You do not have to apologize for my sake. I know 
he wanted to help. But maybe he's right. We'll 
all feel better after some sleep. And, Kayla, if 
our good innkeeper Jurmas should complain I will 
set the matter straight. He has two young 
daughters; he needs his sleep too! So go be with 
him and then take your rest. Kozi, Muri readied a 
room for you when you returned; you'll know which 
one. I'm glad to see you safely returned and I 
know he'll be glad to have you back. For now, 
Rick is right, it is time all of us get our sleep.”

Neither skunk chose to argue. Nor did he press 
his suggestion with either, standing up to leave 
them to whatever they decided. And with a little 
fox trailing his feet Malger climbed the stairs 
back to his room to see what sleep and dream would hold for him.

----------

Kimberly found him still on the balcony not long 
after the sun's rays pierced the forest gloom. 
She carried a steaming cup of tea and he blew 
across it several times before risking a sip. 
“Thank you, my love. How did you sleep?”

“Better than you I guess. How long have you been 
up here?” She gestured at the balcony and trees 
around them but did not leave the doorway.

“A few hours; I'm not sure. We will sleep much 
better tonight. Are the children awake?”

“Not yet,” she lifted her cup and lapped at the 
acerbic tea. “This needs more honey. I don't know 
how you can enjoy it like this.”

Charles chuckled and then lapped it with his 
tongue, sprinkling a few drops on his whiskers. 
“I grew up with it, I suppose I just learned to 
enjoy it.” He stepped to her side as he flicked 
the tea drops off with a twitch of his jowls. “It 
is Sunday, and even after we say our prayers, I 
will stay here with you and the children. I 
expect our friends will stop and visit to see how we are doing.”

Kimberly nodded and smiled. Charles gazed at her 
in the dawn light and felt his heart beat faster. 
She had donned a thick robe to guard against the 
cool Spring air, but beneath she was already 
attired in one of the comfortable blue dresses he 
had bought for her. Nestled in her bosom was the 
amethyst stone she had taken to wearing a few 
days ago. Though she had refused to tell him 
anything of it, he knew it had played some role 
in his rescue. He resolved never to ask.

He reached over and cupped his fingers behind her 
ear, touching the soft flesh with tender strokes. “My Lady, I love you.”

Her dark eyes filled him and were filled by him. “I love you, my knight!”

Charles squeaked a laugh and nearly spilled his 
tea. “I love it when you call me knight.”

She leaned her head against his chest. “I love calling you knight!”

He slid his arm down her back and held her close 
as the cry of birds and the movement of Glenners 
below welcomed the new day. When they remembered the tea it was already cold.

----------

James and Baerle were the first guests to arrive; 
they did so not long after the children were 
awake. The opossum helped Kimberly keep the 
excitable rat children attentive while James 
assisted Charles in leading them in Sunday 
prayers. Once complete they enjoyed a breakfast 
of oats and honey and then the children were 
allowed to play inside. Other than a brief visit 
to the stables to tend his pony Malicon – in his 
taur form so he could give both of his sons a 
short ride – Charles never left his home.

While he and James discussed ideas for the 
Narrows as little rats scampered about their legs 
the next set of guests arrived. “Kayla!” Charles 
shouted with delight at seeing the skunk whom he 
had journeyed to Marzac stand at his threshold. 
“Come in! Come in! Rick, Muri, Kozaithy, please, 
all of you come in and make yourselves 
comfortable. Is there anything we could offer you?”

“I can have a fresh pot of tea steeping if you'd 
like,” Kimberly offered before turning to the 
children. “Now why don't you all say hello to our 
guests and show them where they can sit.”

Both Kayla and Kozaithy gladly let Charles's boys 
show them to the long couch facing the unlit 
hearth; the pair of skunks complimented the boys 
on their chivalry and made their whiskers stand 
on end with delight by calling them 'sirs'. Muri 
was well-known in the Matthias home and so 
Charles's second daughter Baerle rushed to grasp 
his hand and lead him to a chair where his tail 
could swing free. Rickkter was a stranger to 
their home, and so his first daughter stared up 
at him and he back at her for a few seconds 
before the raccoon held out his paw and allowed the girl to lead him within.

“Tea would be lovely,” Kayla replied and then 
patted little Charles on the head before turning 
to the raccoon. “Aren't they so adorable?”

The raccoon shrugged. “I suppose.”

Kimberly returned from the kitchen a minute later 
and smiled to the one-eyed skunk. “Are you well, Master Muri?”

Murikeer rubbed his forehead with one hand and 
offered a smile in return. “I am a little sore 
still, but knowing we, you both, triumphed last 
night makes it seem as nothing.”

“It is... we... I... ” Kimberly stammered for a 
moment before falling into the surprised skunk's 
arms, her eyes brimming. “Oh, Muri, thank you! 
Thank you! Without you we... we...”

His surprise lasted only a moment before the 
skunk wrapped his arms about the lady rat's back 
and held her gently, his churring voice soothing 
and compassionate. “My Lady, nothing I did would 
have helped if not for your deep love for Sir 
Charles, your husband. You won him back. You.”

Kimberly caught her breath and stood up, brushing 
the tears from her eyes, her expression grateful 
and embarrassed. “Oh look at me, I'm going to get 
your tunic all wet.” Two little rats, her girls, 
gathered at her legs and grabbed her skirt as 
they looked up curious why their mother would be 
crying. She smiled at them and cupped their 
snouts in her hands. “Oh, your mother is fine. 
Just a little something in the eye.”

Murikeer smiled at the little girls and then 
snapped his fingers; a bright flame danced at the 
tip of his claws. Their eyes went from worried to 
excited, and they squeaked as they tried to 
snatch at the flame which danced around their little fingers.

“Well,” Rickkter grunted as he stretched his toes 
and looked around the Matthias home, noting the 
tree rings on the floor and ceiling as if trying 
to count them, “I guess we won't need to meet 
every week now. I was tired of hanging around the 
Keep waiting for Marzac mischief anyway.”

Charles carried his little boys over to admire 
Murikeer's dancing flame while his wife returned 
to the kitchen to prepare the tea. “I suppose 
not. I have the Narrows to tend now. What of you, Rick?”

Kayla slid a little closer to the raccoon and 
favored him with wide eyes. “Aye, Rick, what of you?”

“Honestly? I want to get away from Metamor and 
find some brigands or Lutins or something I can 
kill. I've been cooped up too long. After we 
return to Metamor I'll talk to Misha and George 
and see if there is anything promising I can help 
with.” He turned his head toward the skunk at his 
side and offered her a faint smile. “I am sorry 
but I am not spending another week on my tail.”

Kayla walked her fingers up his chest as she 
leaned into him. “I expect you to bring your tail back home safe.”

Rickkter offered a roguish grin. “Just my tail?”

She poked his nose with a claw. “It's a start!”

Baerle and Kimberly returned from the kitchen 
bearing trays with a steaming teapot and a dozen 
cups, not all of them the same size. All four 
children came rushing over, squeaking for 
whatever it was their Mommy brought. Kimberly 
shushed them as she did her best to hold her tray 
level. “Quiet, quiet, you four! There's enough for all of you.”

Charles and James picked up two little rats each 
and despite some squirming kept them still long 
enough for Kimberly and Baerle to begin serving 
tea to their guests. Murikeer passed his cup to 
Kozaithy before accepting one for himself. As he 
did so he glanced at Charles and asked, “What 
will you be doing with Marzac gone?”

“Tending the Narrows,” Charles replied as he 
positioned his daughters on either knee. “I would 
like to build a Keep there so we have another 
fortified defense in the north of the valley. But 
it will take many years and much planning. For 
now it will be enough if I can keep Glenners and 
Lakelanders from fighting over it. I suppose 
you'll continue work on the villa?”

The skunk nodded. “With visits around the valley 
as time and need permit. I would enjoy showing 
any of you the home Baron Avery has gifted me if you wish.”

“We'll be returning to Metamor after we've had 
one more bite to eat,” Kayla noted with a 
grimace; but her snout then opened into a warm 
smile. “But I know we will return to the Glen in 
Summer. For now I have my duties for Andwyn to 
resume; I cannot tell you how grateful I am he 
has been so understanding of all things Marzac.”

“Don't let him overwork you,” Kimberly suggested 
as she finished pouring tea for her children. 
“Baerle, please don't spill your cup!”

As the little child squeaked an objection, Kayla 
laughed and waved one hand. “Oh, I look forward 
to it. Organizing reports of Lutin movements will 
be comforting after all of this. All I expect to 
see is any last reports on the refugees coming to Metamor.”

Kozaithy lifted her snout, eyes fill with delight 
and concern. “I should head south to visit those 
living in Iron Mine. There are more of my people 
there than the town can take. I want them to know 
the cities in the north of the valley will welcome them too.”

“I could use some to come and help cultivate the 
Narrows,” Charles said after taking a long sip of 
tea. It was not the acerbic blend he preferred 
but had a light sweetness palatable to most 
beastly Keepers. “We can discuss our land after 
you have visited them, milady.” The appellation 
made her blush in the ears. The rat looked into 
his tea cup and for a moment pondered the eddying 
ripples. Cascades of reflection and refraction 
through the dark drink settled into a distorted 
image of his friends sitting across from him, 
until his boy Erick nudged his elbow and stirred the tea again.

He patted the boy between his ears and then 
lifted the tea high. “I would prefer wine for 
this, but you, my friends, are here now and this 
is what we have. I know you must return to 
Metamor soon and do not wish to delay you any 
further. But, I want to thank each of you for 
coming to my aid both last night and in the days 
before. I could ask for no finer friends. I am 
honored to call you friends, as well as many 
others who cannot be with us today. Thank you. 
Eli's blessing be on each of you. If you call on 
me, I will be there for you. I will be there for you!”

His friends lifted the tea high, as did his 
children after a moment; they did not understand 
but it seemed right to do so. Rickkter offered 
the rat a bemused grimace as he lifted his cup. “Even me, Charles?”

The rat tilted his head and met the raccoon's 
gaze. A part of him wanted to dredge forth the 
animosity he had long felt for the Kankoran, but 
there was no strength to it. Instead his whiskers 
twitched as a smile stretched his snout and 
cheeks. “Aye, Rick, even you. Especially you. 
Thank you. May many happy days killing brigands 
afar and homecomings sweet with skunk await you!”

Kayla hugged her perplexed raccoon tight, neither 
caring as they spilled their tea.


----------

May He bless you and keep you in His grace and love,

Charles Matthias
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