More Explanations

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More background for the next section. Dugree Bogrude is a clairvoyant rediscovering her talent. One night Dugree had a dream...

The day they caught up with the bandits Dugree had a dream. She began by searching the river, when a light flashed she struck and was pulled under. She dreamed of the bandits camped near a stand of rocks, sentries were all over. It seemed like she was watching from a high place in the distance. A step startled her and when she turned she felt a sharp pain. Blackness came and she couldn't breathe, her eyes cleared and she was held underwater by something with tentacles. She tore at it with her claws and beak until it let her go. Her head broke the surface of the river and she flew away.

Dugree had trouble rising that evening, the dream disturbed her, for some reason she felt great remorse for tearing at the creature, more, she believed one day she'd know why. During chow she worked out the coordinates of the place she saw the bandits and when they'd be there. "We have four days to get to our objective," she told the team, "I want Wilder and the Snail there in two." She was glad when they moved out and the sands filled her senses.

Her dream comes back to haunt her later...

Dugree tried to keep her mind on what was ahead but she couldn't stop thinking about her last prophetic dream. The closeness of the tunnel walls and the sound of running water reminded her of being held by tentacles. She tore at the beast and got away but she knew she had done something very wrong. Dreams are often symbolic and she wondered what the symbols were telling her. When her light hit the stream they were following she remembered being pulled underwater and wondered if the tentacles had done that. As soon as the water engulfed her she had her vision of the bandits and knew it had something to do with the creature. She was filled with remorse and didn't know why, couldn't understand why actions from a dream could make her feel so guilty.

Dread followed Dugree but it wasn't the tunnel, the feeling of the walls closing in that filled her with terror, it was something she couldn't understand. They were in a sim, intense but nothing to fear, she was afraid anyway. The end of the tunnel and what lay beyond were waiting.

When the lights went out they moved in silence, they were coming to a small cave that led up to one of the sentry posts. When they drew near Wilder crept to the opening and saw the cave was clear, he got the team and led them through. The tunnel sloped down and was as slick as the first part, the going was slow and treacherous in total darkness. When Wilder got them to the rock Dugree was surprised how well everyone seemed. Arleen, who'd been so afraid going in, looked peaceful, on the other hand Dugree was terrified. Jestr went up the rock and took out the lone sentry, Dugree, with an overpowering sense of foreboding, went up next. It was all the same, the point of view, the time of day, the sentries were all where her dream had shown them. A step startled her and in that moment she realized why she'd been so afraid, why she felt so bad about hurting the creature, she turned and felt a sharp pain. Blackness came. Her head broke the surface of the river and she swam to shore.

Dancr just reached the top of the rock when Dugree started and turned to her, with a look of anguish their leader collapsed. Dancr rushed to Dugree's side and checked her out, there was no sign of injury and her vitals were normal. Dancr went back down and reported the problem to the monk who followed her up the rock. After he looked her over he said, "There's nothing wrong with her physically, she's received some kind of psychic shock and she's in a coma. We can't help her, she'll come out of it on her own if her mind heals itself."

Excerpt from Shadow Stalkers by S.E.Estes