**Dream-Stone**

  **The Awakening of the Gods**

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  **CHAPTER 2: Encounter**

  Cautiously, Dirk and Max made their way through the dense undergrowth of the forest.

  The trees stood so close together that the entire woods were wrapped in an oppressive darkness.

  Startled crows took flight.

  It was quiet—almost too quiet.

  ?Hey, why exactly did you want to go this way?“ Dirk asked.

  He had already drawn his sword and was expecting something to leap out of the bushes at any moment.

  But the suspense only continued.

  Max turned to him, pulled a sheet of paper and a quill from his side pouch, and wrote something.

  When he was done, he held it right up to Dirk’s face. Dirk squinted in the dim light to read it:

  ?This path leads to the city of Onepiecia. Or are you scared?“

  Annoyed, Dirk snapped: ?I’m not scared! It’s just hard to walk here and way too dark. And why don’t you just talk to me like a normal person?!“

  Max scribbled again.

  Dirk read aloud: ?Because it’s more mysterious this way.“

  They looked at each other for a brief second, then continued walking.

  Dirk muttered under his breath: ?You’re seriously nuts.“

  Suddenly Dirk froze.

  Max stopped too.

  A loud rustling of leaves came from above them.

  Both looked up—and saw something large falling straight toward them.

  They jumped aside just in time.

  Dust billowed up; Max coughed.

  Dirk held his sword protectively in front of him.

  When the dust settled, they saw it: a tree-ant.

  It was about 3 meters long and 1 meter tall.

  Its black, smooth body glistened faintly in the weak sunlight.

  The chitin looked carved with wooden grooves, as if it were made of wood.

  The creature’s pitch-black pupils were fixed on them; its mandibles were lined with sharp spikes.

  ?That’s a tree-ant. What the hell is something like that doing he—“

  Dirk’s sentence was cut short.

  The ant opened its mouth and shot a jet of green secretion at him.

  He ducked at the last second; the liquid hit the tree behind him instead.

  The trunk sizzled and dissolved where it was struck, then collapsed entirely.

  Meanwhile Max had scrambled up a tree and was now standing on a branch sturdy enough to hold him.

  He fired three arrows in rapid succession—but they bounced off the ant’s body and fell uselessly to the ground.

  Max clenched his teeth.

  ?You stupid piece of filth!“ Dirk roared, charging from behind and swinging hard at the ant’s rear.

  A loud, metallic *clang* rang out.

  Before Dirk could process what happened, he saw his sword blade shatter.

  The broken pieces clattered to the ground in front of him.

  The force of his own blow threw him off balance and he fell hard.

  The ant turned toward him and advanced.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  No matter how many arrows Max shot, nothing worked.

  The insect’s mandibles opened wide.

  Dirk squeezed his eyes shut.

  ?Spocky, what are you doing! Stop it, for heaven’s sake!“

  Dirk cautiously opened his eyes again.

  The creature from before was now standing in front of an elderly man, excitedly wiggling its abdomen.

  A pinkish-red tongue lolled out of its mouth—and it actually sounded like the ant was panting.

  Max stood frozen in place on the branch.

  Eventually he climbed down and helped Dirk up.

  ?Are you two all right?“ asked the voice, which now clearly belonged to an old man patting the ant’s head.

  Once Dirk was back on his feet, he dusted himself off.

  ?Yeah… everything’s fine—aside from the near-death experience. But who are you?“

  The old man smiled warmly.

  ?I’m the owner of this sweet, adorable tree-ant. My name is Tufan.“

  He wasn’t even looking at them—he was busy scratching the ant under the chin.

  The arrows lying on the ground were now blunt and broken. Max sighed.

  ?I’m really sorry Spocky greeted you so… enthusiastically. He almost never sees other people. Come with me, please—I’ll make you some tea and we can have a few crackers.“

  Completely baffled, Dirk and Max exchanged glances, then followed Tufan—who by now was riding on the ant’s back.

  They walked for quite a while until they reached a dilapidated old house.

  Blue smoke curled from the chimney.

  When Tufan opened the door, the ant scampered inside.

  Dirk and Max hesitated on the threshold.

  Even from outside the room looked like a bomb had gone off.

  Tufan waved them in cheerfully.

  Inside it was stuffy and chaotic.

  The ant retreated into a white doghouse in the corner and watched attentively as Tufan cleared a stack of papers off the stove plate.

  ?Yes, I know it’s a bit of a mess—but that’s nothing new around here, right Spocky?“

  A sound came from the doghouse—a strange mix of barking and screeching.

  Tufan put a kettle on and rummaged through the cupboards.

  While searching he said: ?Go ahead and sit down, you two.“

  But Max was fascinated by the kettle.

  He clapped his hands loudly to get Tufan’s attention—but Tufan was completely focused on his search.

  Dirk burst out laughing.

  Max stomped hard on the floor. Still nothing.

  ?Well, that’s what you get for wanting to be all ‘mysterious’,“ Dirk teased.

  Max cleared his throat loudly.

  Only then did Tufan look up from the cupboard.

  ?What is it?“

  Max pointed first at the kettle (where something green was bubbling) and then at Spocky.

  Tufan looked at the kettle, then at Spocky, then at Max—and shook his head.

  ?No, Spocky is not on the menu.“

  A loud smack.

  Max had facepalmed. He finally gave up and sat down at the wooden table.

  Dirk was still snickering as he sat too.

  The kettle whistled.

  ?Oh!“ Tufan said. ?Tea’s ready. And I found the crackers.“

  ?Tufan,“ Dirk asked, ?what exactly is that ant? It doesn’t behave like any of the ones I read about as a kid.“

  The old man poured tea into three cups.

  ?This is Spocky. My dog.“

  He gently carried the three cups and the crackers over to the table.

  ?You see, I’m an archaeologist. Back then I was exploring the Ant Temples with my dog Spocky. At that time Spocky was… well, actually still a dog.

  I was thrilled—everywhere huge ants, everything made of gold, golden water flowing from the fountains…

  But the ants didn’t appreciate the visit. They chased us out of the temple.

  Right before the exit one of them blocked our path. We couldn’t get past.

  But Spocky was brave, weren’t you, Spocky?“

  Another barking-screech. Tufan smiled and nodded.

  ?He charged the ant that was blocking us and bit its leg—all so I could escape. But he got badly hurt.

  I wanted to go back for him, but more of them came and stood between us.

  Then suddenly someone rushed past me and killed every ant—except the one that had injured Spocky.

  Incredible speed… and an even more incredible weapon. A dagger.

  That dagger had an unbelievable power: it could absorb the souls of the freshly dead.

  He looked at me and asked whether I would save Spocky at any cost.

  Of course I said yes.

  Then he drove the dagger into Spocky—and then into the ant.

  I still don’t know exactly how he did it… but since that moment, Spocky’s soul has been inside this ant’s body.“

  Max pulled a piece of his cloak up and loudly blew his nose.

  Even Dirk looked shaken.

  ?I don’t remember his face anymore,“ Tufan continued, ?but I remember his name. It was Christian L. Haase.“

  He took another sip of tea and offered crackers to both of them.

  ?In return, he received a book I had taken from the temple.“

  Tufan took yet another sip, then looked curiously back and forth between them.

  ?So… what brings the two of you here?“

  Dirk hesitated for a moment—should he lie?

  Then he decided against it. He took a cracker and answered:

  ?Max and I are searching for the 12 Dream-Parts. We want to find the Dream-Stone.

  We heard someone in Onepiecia knows something about it.“

  Tufan’s eyes widened.

  ?The 12 parts? You’re serious? That’s going to be dangerous.“

  Dirk nodded.

  Then he looked at Tufan in confusion.

  ?Wait… you actually believe us?“

  Tufan nodded.

  ?Sure. Why not? I think every myth is built on some grain of truth. And even if you don’t find anything… the adventure itself might still be worth it.“

  Dirk nodded in agreement.

  Then he stood up.

  ?Thanks for your hospitality, but we should keep going now.“

  Max stood too. They both bowed politely.

  Just as they opened the door, Tufan called out:

  ?Wait. I’m coming with you. Could be fun—and there’s bound to be plenty to discover.“

  Dirk stared at him in surprise. ?You sure?“

  Tufan quickly packed a backpack and set out some food for Spocky.

  ?Yes, I’m sure.“

  He disappeared behind another door for a moment and returned with a large sword.

  It was silver like Dirk’s old one, but the hilt had four holes—and one of them held a brown orb.

  ?Here you go. Compensation for your old sword.“

  Dirk examined it. The blade was flawless—no rust, no scratches.

  Gratefully he slid it into his scabbard.

  Max pointed at Spocky, but Tufan shook his head.

  ?It could get dangerous. I don’t want to put Spocky in harm’s way again.

  Besides, tree-ants can survive for years without food.“

  Finally they left the house. Tufan left the door ajar so Spocky could go outside to “play” whenever he wanted.

  It felt like forever before they finally emerged from the forest.

  Before them stretched wide meadows dotted with single trees; in the distance cows and sheep grazed on pastures.

  On the horizon lay a large city.

  ?All right then—onward to Onepiecia!“

  ?By the way,“ Tufan added casually, ?have you ever heard of the Tree-Person Theory?“

  ...

  Hidden in the shadow of the forest trees, four eyes watched Tufan, Dirk and Max leave.

  ?Do you think that’s the sword, Rolf?“ one voice whispered.

  ?Yes. No doubt about it. We’ve found it, Christian.“

  Then the eyes vanished back into the deep shadows of the trees.

  ---

  Ende of Chapter 2