Dreamwinder #1

By NFDoggo

Report of Investigation – Dreamwinder - Exhibits

Exhibit A – Cpt. A. Forgund

Journal Entry Dated [REDACTED]

I remind myself that it was just a dream, but it was unlike any dream I ever had, vividly reliving every moment from the debrief in painful detail.

Though I dare not speak out, in confidence, I am anxious about the news from the front. Were the insurgency to discover that reinforcements had been delayed by the recent ley line tremors and resulting dust storms, I believe that they could overwhelm our position and, with the pass lost, the heart of the kingdom would be exposed, and the campaign would take a sudden and dramatic turn. What started as routine unrest during difficult times had seemingly evolved overnight into something much worse and far more dangerous. The insurgency’s leaders preached the end of times as we know them and a glorious rebirth from the ashes, instilling a zealous fury in their followers that spread like wildfire.

My superiors believe that we can end this uprising if we cut the head off the snake, that even with the recent delays the enemy forces are not sufficiently organized to take the pass, but I’m not so sure. With magic dissipating and record low yields from the harvest, the people are hungry, scared, and, I fear, desperate. I think the insurgency’s leaders are opportunists, but they are right - something is coming.

In my dream, the General quickly identified my reluctance to be forthright about my concerns, dragging my insecurities into the light. What was worse, he did not react in anger or defiance when I described our vulnerabilities and how the enemy might exploit them. No, he had smiled, lips drawn back into a grin the ghost of which still haunts me.

Dreams do not portend, however, and I must steel my resolve.

- Adam

Captain Forgund’s last journal entry before he was killed in battle during the fall of Benten’s Pass. As discussed at length in the accompanying report, this is, I posit, the first documented encounter with the entity that I refer to as the “Dreamwinder.” - Inquisitor Lesant.