Haven's Addiction

Without any warning, two small creatures came running at me out from the darkness of the training arena. They were only about three feet high like an Oompa Loompa. They resembled brown leather dogs, but walked on two feet. Not walking, but more like running. They headed straight for me at the top speed their little legs would carry them, with spears as long as a broomstick aimed directly at my chest. At first I was startled, but as they neared me I withdrew the pistols and fired at them. A few shots missed to the side, leaving marks in the ground, but a few rounds hit each of the creatures, stopping them dead in their tracks. The not-so-dynamic duo lay dead a few feet away from me.

I stood out of breath, trying to recover from the shock when Drognaus called out, “Very good. Quick reflexes and a killer instinct.”

One of the spear tips landed only a few inches away from my boot and I kicked it aside. What surprised me was that it met resistance, and I not only saw but heard the spear skitter across the ground. I could still smell the foul little creatures that reminded me of a wet dog. I stepped closer, nudging one with my foot, and felt it. Blood from the mortal wounds I inflicted stuck to my boot.

This wasn’t an illusion at all. These were real creatures, and I had just killed them. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I had never killed anything before. Granted they were coming at me with spears, but this was a training exercise after all. My response didn’t have to be lethal to them. I looked up at Drognaus who was watching my expression, intently reading it.

“It’s not the same to actually kill something, is it?” He asked.

He knew this was going to happen. It was just another one of his tests. Was he taking joy in this? Was he going to have me sacrifice a villager next? I was furious with him. Granted these were slobbering disgusting creatures, but that made this place no different than a gladiator arena of death.

“There is a substantial difference between training in a safe environment and fighting in genuinely dangerous situation. You wanted to learn how to fight here as quickly as possible, and this is the best way to do it.” He was still stoic and uncaring.

He gestured toward the dead creatures, “You are correct in assuming that these are not illusions, yet they are not real either. They are magical constructs created specifically for our training needs. They are not living beings, but for all intents and purposes they are real. They can hurt you and you can hurt them exactly as if they were the real thing.”

“How is that possible?” I marveled in disbelief. “I know it’s through magic, but that seems to be pretty intensive magic, even compared to what I’ve seen so far.”

“You are correct. This facility is quite unique to the realms. Which, I believe, is much of the reason why you were sent to this particular place. This arena was created by my father, Draco. He was the most powerful enchanter in all the realms. He created this arena exactly for the purpose it is being used for, training. Here you can create any creature and any scenario in the known realms.” With that the little dog people dissolved into a translucent goop that seemed to be absorbed into the floor.

It took a moment, but it finally sunk in. This place was like the X-Men’s Danger Room, or the Star Trek Holodeck. Drognaus seemed surprised that I took such a quick understanding and acceptance of the place. I didn’t need to know how it worked, just that it did. He went on to explain that there are several safeguards in place. While I could seriously get injured, the arena also had the ability to heal me. It constantly monitored the events in the arena, and immediately halted whenever a lethal blow was about to strike.

I got giddy with glee about the possibilities. I essentially had free reign here to practice taking on any creature or situation that could possibly come up.

“What else have you got?” I asked him as I readied myself.

Without a word, a gaunt and frightening creature came out of the darkness. It was 8 foot tall and gangly, yet fierce looking. It’s skin was a sickly yellow, and I could smell what seemed like an infected wound already. The teeth and claws on the thing looked like they came straight out of a nightmare.

I immediately switched from pistols to the assault rifle and unloaded into the thing as it charged me. The ugly beast had broad enough shoulders that it was an easy target, and most of the bullets hit their mark scoring its chest. It wasn’t at all like the movies. It didn’t stop and seem to go into convulsions before falling to it’s knees. Even with the obvious injuries it continued coming after me. I had to dive out of the way to avoid being trampled. The creature was slow to turn back around as it stumbled to a stop. Fortunately I was quick to open fire from my position on the ground. Unloading the rest of the clip into the monstrosity. This slowed it down, but obviously didn’t stop it entirely. I gave up on the rifle and brought out the shotgun. After the first couple thunderous roars, the king of stubborn uglies fell to its knees. I pumped a couple more rounds into it and the beast finally collapsed.

I breathed a sigh of relief. When I looked down I realized my hands were trembling and my whole body was shaking. That had been pretty close. This creature nearly trampled and mauled me. I looked over at Drognaus.

“Whew, that was a close one.”

“Was?”

I didn’t understand what he meant, but followed his eyes back to the creature. It was getting back up. Sluggishly, but it was definitely getting back up. I stood close enough that I could see some of the gaping wounds the bullets made were closing shut right before my eyes. It wasn’t happening super fast like in the movies, but enough to be frighting.

“Crap,” I muttered as I pumped a couple more shotgun rounds into the mound of regenerating flesh. They knocked it back down, but the healing continued. “Double crap.” I got closer to the stubborn thing and kept firing. As I was standing right next to it the shotgun came up empty. I put it away and pulled out the sword. One of the creatures hands grabbed onto my ankle and I hacked it off at the elbow with a few swings. I was very clumsy in handling the shiny blade, but at least the target was difficult to miss. It didn’t even let out a shriek of pain. I couldn’t tell if this was because it was a construct or the way the creature normally reacted. The blood spurting out from the wound was brief as it already started to close. With my leg free I took a couple steps over and hacked the beasts head off at the neck.

“That’s enough for now,” Drognaus called out, and the creature finally became still. It melted away and vanished just as the other creatures before.

“You handled yourself well there, but that wouldn’t have stopped the Troll. It would have continued to regenerate even after you chopped off it’s head and all the limbs.”

“How do you stop them, then?”

“Anything that burns can not be healed by regenerating creatures. There are also spells that are effective. Or you can incapacitate and restrain them, preventing them from wreaking further havoc.”

“Why send me up against it if you knew I couldn’t kill it?” I was furious.

“To see how you would handle yourself. This is as much for my sake of seeing what you are capable of as it is for yours. Are you ready?”

I breathed an annoyed sigh, put away the sword, reloaded all the weapons I used against the troll, and nodded that I was ready.

I took a defensive stance, preparing for the next creature that would come at me. To my amazement, a gorgeous young woman came walking towards me sensuously through the darkness. Her long red curly hair captivated me immediately as being just like my wife’s when we first met, and it blew gently in a breeze that seemed to come out of nowhere. She was beyond gorgeous; stunning in every regard, a model of pure physical perfection. Her hips swayed as she walked completely nude, and I could clearly see all the pleasant shapely curves of her body glistening in the dim light as she advanced towards me. My face immediately flushed when I realized that the flowing red hair was the only hair on her entire body, and that I was staring; possibly gawking; probably drooling.

She wasn’t threatening in the least, but arousing; highly arousing. The instantaneous bulge in my pants made that much very apparent. It’s embarrassing to admit, but the only thoughts in my head at the moment were all the pleasurable acts I could, and wanted to, do with her. My mind swirled with imagery of all the carnal lust and passionate acts we would be engaging in together with at least a hundred different acts completed in my mind before she finished walking the twenty feet to get to me.

When she reached me she wrapped her arms around me, letting out a moan of delight that made me melt, dropping the weapon to a clatter on the ground as I returned the embrace. When she kissed my neck it felt like pure ecstasy. Shivers ran all through my body from the point where she touched me down to my toes and back up with electrifying force. Her kisses worked their way up from my neck to my mouth. I lunged into it, kissing her passionately, hungrily, with the desperate need to continue kissing her. My arms wrapped around her tender naked frame, feeling her warmth beneath my fingertips, and drawing her in closer. As I did, I could hear a primal lustful growl, and couldn’t say for certain if it came from her or me.

But something nagged at me. In the back of my mind, through the haze of burning passion, a little voice screamed to be heard, yet only came to me as a faint whisper. The voice reminded me all about my wife. Her beauty, her affection, her love, her embrace, her kisses; everything about her that I held near and dear. Everything that I hoped to get back to.

With every word that little voice uttered, it got louder and louder until it screamed in my mind to let go of this trampy tart and snap out of it. Out of sheer impulse I pushed the seductress away from me with all my might. She shrieked in outrage, her face contorting into a hideous monstrous scowl, and melted away like the other creatures.

I stood there like a fool still reeling from the insanity of the passion, the adrenaline coursing through my veins with a fervor, and the tightness in my pants still not going away. Drognaus looked over to me in amazement for the first time since I mentioned the Graxis.

“How did you do that?” he asked, bewildered.

“I just have that way with women,” I smirked, trying to cover my embarrassment, taking a slow deep breath to try and calm down.

“How did you resist the spell?” he continued, completely ignoring my smart-ass remark. “You have no magical skill yet to defy it, nor any psychic barriers built up. Did you really do it through sheer force of will?”

“I guess so. I just snapped out of it and pushed her way.” My heart still raced, and even as I said the words, couldn’t shake the feeling that if she appeared in front of me again, I would likely grab hold of her again and continue where we left off.

“Fascinating. Maybe you do have some potential after all. Are you ready?”

With my adrenaline already pumping, I felt ready for anything; at least I thought I was. I heard a slight chittering sound in the distance out in the darkness, soon followed by a beetle scurrying across the ground headed straight for me. The beetle was the size of a small mouse and had some horrible looking pincers. I promptly squished it with my boot with a glorifying crunch, cherishing my victory over it.

“Ha,” I shouted triumphantly. “Take that you creepy bastard.”

However, my victory was brief. Following behind him were several thousand of his friends swarming in mass.

“Shit,” I muttered, my eyes going wide in panic. “Why does it have to be bugs?”. None of the weapons in my vast arsenal would be any use to me against these things, not even the shotgun.

Instinctively I touched the metal stud on the bracer strapped to my left arm. A vial of one of the special potions Fenton sold me appeared in my hand. I quickly popped the cork and downed it in one quick gulp. It was like drinking ground up habanero chili peppers mixed with boiling hot grease. It burned all the way down and I could feel it scorching my throat and mouth. My stomach churned and retched, convulsing in protest. I crumpled to my knees on the ground. My stomach retaliated and I felt the burning coming back out. There was no way to stop it, but I tried to hold it back nonetheless. Only a small amount came out, but it wasn’t at all what I expected. Instead of retching burning potion and my dinner from earlier in the evening, a small spurt of flame burst out of my mouth scorching the ground in front of me, the liquid sizzling on the stone.

I looked up at the army of onrushing beetles that were inching closer. I held back the retching with all my might. The more I resisted, the easier it was to hold back. I noticed that when I stopped fighting against the burning sensation, the pain subsided. I took in a deep breath, preparing myself to retch it all out, waiting until the onrush of beetles came close enough. I didn’t know how long the effect would last and wanted to make sure I caught all the beetles in the blast. When the mass of horrid bugs were only a few feet away, I imagined myself as being a young Linda Blair and let loose. A gout of flame spewed forth from my mouth like a fiery hydrant. I tilted my head back and forth created an arc of flame shooting forth like a flamethrower. I could feel the heat of the beetles as they burst into flames, but not the heat of the jet as it propelled out of my mouth.

When the smoke finally cleared I gasped for air. A few more small bursts of fire came out, and the potion expired. The mound of charred beetle corpses lay in front of me before they melted away into nothing.

“Very clever,” Drognaus spoke up. “Your resourcefulness amazes me. Are you ready?”

As masochistic as it seems, I was not only ready to take on more, but looking forward to it. If there is anything I am absolutely terrified of, it would be bugs, especially spiders; creepy fuckers. If I could take on a horde of hundreds of them without needing to change my pants, then I was ready for anything. I regained my composure and nodded. I had no idea what would come next, but that was the point. Drognaus wasn’t preparing me for any situation, but how to improvise and handle whatever came my way with whatever means I had at my disposal.

I readied the shotgun I dropped when the slut/demon distracted me, and kept waiting for something terrible to come out of the darkness, but nothing happened. It took a moment after I noticed a breeze in the arena that wasn’t there before, when something slammed into me knocking me to the ground. I quickly got to my feet, looking around, but couldn’t see anything. The wind was still blowing all around when another blow, more powerful than the first, sent me flying several feet. Before I could get back up I felt something grab me by the ankle and drag me across the ground, eventually slamming me into one of the straw bales I used earlier as target practice.

I laid on my back wondering what in the world just hit me when the breeze started up again, escalating to a gale. This time the wind picked up another hay bale and sent it flying in my direction. I rolled out of the way as the two bales collided into an explosion of straw in every direction. I felt the movement of air go away, but this time I could see it a little more clearly. Bits of straw had been picked up in the wind as it blew around the arena, circling around for another attack. I opened up my Sense and reached out in the direction of the moving debris.

It wasn’t merely using the wind, it was the wind. It must have been some kind of air monster. I could sense wisps of air moving around the arena in unison, vaguely formed into a humanoid shape, but with about eight tendrils of air snaking out of its body in various directions. As I felt it coming at me for another assault I took out one of my fragmentation grenades. When it came at me I let it slam into me, sending me flying. While dodging the impact of the blow to soften it and avoid getting snagged by any of its tendrils, I dropped the grenade into the pile of hay from the destroyed targets. I had to use my rudimentary telekinesis abilities to keep the grenade following the swirl of hay around the arena. It wasn’t perfect, but stayed in the approximate area I needed it to be. When the hay got swept up, the grenade bobbed around in the mass of swirling air.

I had never heard a grenade go off before. It’s not a pretty thing. It’s nothing but loud and destructive. I didn’t actually see what happened. As the grenade was about to go off I looked away and ducked behind one of the targets. I didn’t need to open up my Sense again to know that the air creature was obliterated. I’m glad it wasn’t a real living being, or else I would have felt sorry for it. I could smell buts of burnt hay and explosive from behind my cover. I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to be exploded from the inside, and the thought of it made me queasy.

When the dust settled, Drognaus asked if I was ready for more. Instead of nodding I made a request. I couldn’t continue fighting like this. By the time this training finished, I would have been completely out of ammo and special weapons. Part of me wondered if Drognaus did that intentionally, after his remarks about the dangerous nature of the weapons. So I asked if I could have more specialized scenarios instead of just randomly killing things. He beamed with pride at my request, saying something about it being the next step towards my goal. The training that he put me through after that relied significantly less on using modern weapons of death and destruction, and more on learning new skills.

The training room of his is absolutely amazing. What I experienced so far only scratched the surface. It could literally create anything from buildings to creatures, and even weather conditions. There is no way to distinguish them from the real deal, at least not that I’ve been able to tell without using my Sense. There is a distinctly different energy signature to all of the creations, but they look, feel, smell, sound, and even taste (don’t ask) like the real deal. The training missions I went on were like living out a real life video game. I learned basic combat techniques, how to notice and protect myself from certain spells, vital points for causing maximum damage to a target on several different species of creature and how best to defend myself from such damage, and the strengths and weaknesses to a myriad of different creatures that seemed to come in a never ending array. I learned climbing, stealth, sword fighting, horseback riding, and so many other things.

I know it sounds sick and twisted in a way, but I even learned how to snap a persons neck from behind. It’s surprisingly easy. What’s more surprising is how easy it is to practice it when you have a living model to experiment on without worries of actually harming them. It’s not at all like sparring with someone where you practice throwing punches. Instead you are giving your all against an opponent who is really out to kill you. It’s immersion training taken to the extreme.

I trained in the arena for 6 consecutive days. Whenever I got significantly injured they healed me. Whenever I got tired they gave me vitality potions that kept me going. They charged me for the vitality potions, but I could afford it with ease. Although towards the end of the six day run, the effectiveness of the potions were less and less. When it got to the point that I would get groggy again an hour later, I knew it was time to call it a day. Everyone in the castle was completely amazed that I could hold out that long, which made up for their annoyance that I hogged the training arena for a week straight. I didn’t hesitate to join them in their own training scenarios even if I wasn’t anywhere in their league. I wasn’t afraid to take on everything they threw at me. My mental fortitude to withstand the training was like nothing they had ever seen before, and surprised even me. Most people could only go a couple days at most before they mentally crumbled.

I had no idea that 6 days passed until after the fact. I just went from one scenario to the next. There was no night or day in the dark bowels of the castle. Everything jumbled together into one long day that never seemed to end, but I was so distracted by the constant stream of activities that I didn’t even notice.

On the 7th day I rested. When I returned to my room I passed out for a couple days straight. I collapsed into the deepest slumber I’d ever experienced. It was also the soundest sleep since arriving in Haven; and the only one I’ve gotten since. Everything else has been riddled with nightmares.

I had been in this world for only 2 weeks and already I essentially went through a few years worth of intensive training. The subtle insight from Drognaus confirmed what the Mystic told me. I literally had all the time in the world to learn from this place. I could be here for fifty years and it wouldn’t matter. As soon as I learned everything I needed I would return home as if nothing ever happened, except with the knowledge I would now have that would come seemingly out of nowhere to those back home. I wondered if my wife would look upon me as the same person when this was all over. Even with just those couple weeks I metamorphosized into a vastly different person. What would I be like when this was all said and done?

But I try not to think about that. The motivation of getting back home is what drives me. While I may return home with only a few seconds passing for her, it is much more than that for me. Every week spent away from her feels like a year. The prospect of being here for several years until I learn all that I need is frightening, and not something I want to endure. I put every ounce of energy I can into learning as much as possible as quickly as I can. I fear that if I am here too long I may forget about her entirely.

Upon waking from my two day slumber I immediately got some food and set out to learn more. I may have had all the time in the world, but I didn’t have a moment to waste.