Chapter 165: The Rules Of Dreamscape

"Finally. Now we're getting somewhere." Shula remarked as she crouched behind a nearby thicket of bushes. She watched as pre-Agni and dream-Wayla followed their predetermined routine. Wayla led Agni towards the courtyard area of the Wilderness Tabernacle, explaining her newfound predicament along the way. Shula had come to realize some awkward truths to dream manipulation.

Rule # 1: After revealing oneself inside of a dream, one could no longer hide.

This resulted in nearly a dozen introductions to pre-Agni and Wayla, most of which resulted in panic or battles. In the end, Shula decided it best to rewind the memory altogether and observe from afar. This went well until she spotted Katrin, at which point her urges to grope and fondle took hold. The ladies were bunched together in the bath when Shula chose to strike, latching herself onto Katrin's exposed melons and furiously nuzzling them with her face.

"D-demon! Oh! Not you Agni!" A random woman shouted as she was met with a bevy of confused gazes. She pointed towards the Imp who was busy motorboating Katrin's E cup breasts.

Agni glanced over from her attempt to work up the confidence to drop her own towel, just long enough to give Shula a genuine scowl. Within moments Wayla was upon the Imp, her sword drawn.

"Ha. This is just a dream. You can't do anythi--" Shula's words fell short as Wayla's blade sheared off a good portion of her hair.

Rule # 2 : Dream bodies can be injured.

"What the hell Wayla!?" Shula shouted, suddenly she wasn't so confident about her earlier statement.

"What foul manner of beast are you? You are not one of mine." Wayla said as she strutted forth. With a single wave of her blade she'd forced Shula to release Katrin. The sight of Katrin's bewildered gaze shot pangs to Shula's heart as she fiercely clung to Agni.

*Oh if you only knew how often I played with those fun bags in your sleep.* She mused in Katrin's direction, even as the Guardian of the Wilderness Tabernacle towered before her.

"Speak now, or this will be your last breath."

Shula sighed and hovered upwards before speaking her piece.

"Listen. You're just a dream. A memory. Why should I have to listen to anything you say? You should be careful, before I erase you again!" Shula flicked her wrist, her intention was to blast away dream-Wayla -- but that would not be the case.

Rule # 3 : To manipulate a dream, you need mana.

She felt drained suddenly, her limbs going temporarily weak. Shula quickly realized it was the sensation of insufficient mana.

"Ugh." She grunted, and within the same moment Wayla's blade cut the air, lopping off the Imp's head in one clean swipe. Shula had absolutely no time to react, and in the end she could only hear the voices of nearby women as her head bounced, rolling on the forest floor.

"Thank god! Did you see what it was doing to that Scribe?"

"Fucking perverts. Even in this world!"

"Are you okay? Wow! She left a huge hickey on your left tit!"

And just like that Shula awoke, screaming her displeasure at the top of her lungs.

Rule #4 : Dying within a dream resets the current memory.

"You bitch! How dare you cut me! I'll send you to the land of the de--" She shouted, having been "resurrected" within the dream once again. Pre-Agni's eyes widened for the dozenth time as she realized she was no longer alone, she shrieked prompting Wayla to quickly arrive and investigate.

In the end Shula suffered another catastrophic failure at the behest of Wayla's blade.

"Muscle bound gorilla." Shula muttered, her annoyance reaching an all time high as Wayla griefed her to no end. She came "alive" once more, this time she made sure to hide herself in the nearby brush before Pre-Agni could notice her presence.

And there she stayed. By Shula's reckoning she had only been inside the dreamscape for an hour, and in that time she'd learned various other things. The most important thing is that every action, no matter how large or small, costs mana. She figured this out just before Wayla lopped her head off. The second was that rewinding the memory also cost mana, currently more than she could afford at the moment.

She would have no choice but to see things through to the end, and evade detection at all cost. Normally that would have been a piece of cake, however --

Rule # 5 : Your abilities and skills don't work within the dreamscape.

her abilities didn't seem to work in the dreamscape.

"Which makes sense. I mean...I am using my abilities out there. But it's such a bother. Ugh."

In the end, Shula decided to fly high above the area and keep an eye on things from above.

"I guess it's true. Paradise is a place far from home." Shula said with the most devious of grins as she watched the group of adventurers undress for the first time since her dream voyage began. The woman closest to her, (4 meters away) was a redhead with a slender frame. And despite her obvious resemblance to Gigi, Shula was more than happy to watch the woman lose her clothing.

She clenched the bark of the tree, watching as buxom beauty and slim sexy women alike lost their skin tight bodysuits. Breasts bouncing, the gentle curvature of thighs into valleys where heaven resided. Shula simply could not wipe the smirk off of her face.The sweat rolling down their bodies caused their skin to glisten and the rising steam from the natural bathsite made the women drop their guard, creating a soothing atmosphere.

That is, everyone except Agni, Wayla and now even Katrin. Despite having the memory reset, these three seemed to be on their guard. What's more they continually cast glances in Shula's direction -- though she was almost 100% sure she couldn't be seen.

Rule #6 : Dream denizens Don't forget.

Wayla even exited the bath a few times to check the area. Her body was well chiseled and Shula thought that she might not look so bad, if she were a bit more curvy. Wayla's platinum blonde hair, steely blue eyes and gruff features gave Shula the sense that the Guardian could be fun in bed--given the right conditions.

"Show yourself." Wayla said suddenly, snapping Shula out of her self involved thoughts. The Guardian was now standing no less than two meters (6ft) from the Imp's hiding spot.

"S-shit." Shula muttered under her breath as she made to scurry through the bushes in an attempt to get away. Unfortunately, this only sharpened Wayla's suspicion and she moved to intercept, sword at the ready--and nothing else worn.

In a panic Shula tried something she wasn't even sure would work, she materialized a large rock and tossed it. Wayla's senses were too keen, allowing Shula a brief moment to change locations without a hassle.

"I'm surprised that it even worked." Shula said as she wiped her brow. She was now sweating profusely. Even the smallest expenditure of mana was beginning to tire her at this point.

"What worked?" Wayla's voice boomed from behind Shula, causing the Imp to shout involuntarily.

Rule # 7 : They'll finnnnnnnd youuuuuuuu.

Moments later she was hoisted up by the back of her neck and carried towards the group of ladies nearby.

"Do any of you know this one?" Wayla asked as she released Shula , causing her to drop with a hard thud on the nearby ground.

"Demon! Oh! Not you Agni..sorry." A woman shouted as she used a nearby towel to cover herself. The women began to murmur in unison, each voicing their disapproval of Shula's presence.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself, strange Grimlock?" Wayla asked, still nude as water dripped down along her well sculpted body.

"Grimlock?! Excuse you?" Shula said incredulously. She felt insulted.

"What else could you be?" Wayla asked as she dropped her hands to her side,and along with them, her sword.

"I'm an IMP. An IMP. And you're just a memory out of THIS ONE's head! How dare you--" Shula felt a breeze, and suddenly everything was dark. At least momentarily -- her body became sluggish and she felt as if she would never be able to hold herself upright again. Soon she was falling, but the trip was short.

Rule # 8 : When you run out of mana, the dream walking ends.

"Ow! Shula? What the hell are you doing?" Agni shouted as the Imp crashed into her, having been knocked from her hovering position upon exhausting her own mana.