Chapter 2

	The three youngsters broke apart, turning in time to see an old human come out of the woods. He leaned on a cane, about 6 feet tall, though proably more because he was hunched over. He had long white hair, part of which covered his face in a beard. His body looked  old, but his blue eyes almost shined as he looked Angela, Trom and Vicki over.
"Who are you?" Vicki stepped forward, rolling her spear onto her foot, kicking it up and grabbing it in her paw. The old man gave no sign that he noticed her actions.
"If you will all come with, I will explain." The human's voice had a strong sound to it.
Trom came forward now, stepping from Angela's right. "She asked you a question." He slipped his gun off and pointed it in one motion; Vicki came up on Angela's left, both in front of her.
The human's hand movement was so slight none of them would've noticed it had Trom and Vicki not suddenly been lifted off the ground and seemingly thrown backwards. The wolf flew into a nearby tree, sliding to the ground while Vicki turned a somersult in mid-air and landed a little unsteadily on her feet and free paw. Angela, completely uneffected, ran over to Trom and helped him stand before turning to look at the other human.

	"Why the hell did you do that? They just wanted to know...." Angela stopped short as the old man raised a hand to end the sentence.
"Please. Everything will be explained, But we must return to my home; we are in danger here." As he finished speaking, a dense grey mist came out of the ground, blocking out the forest and everyone's view. A few moments later, the mist dissapated, the scenery having changed tot he interior of a cave. Vicki already had her spear in a defensive stance as Trom and Angela looked around. The cave they were in was comfortablely large, being about 20 feet high and nearly 100 long. The room was filled with wooden tables, covered in a variety of glass tubes, small boxes, books and tools. Along the rock walls was an almost unbroken line of shelves, some reaching near the roof of the cave. Two passages on oppisite sides were the only things that seperated the shelves, each being lit by paired torches on the wall and going a long ways down. One of the side walls had nothing in front of it, the texture seeming quite smooth compared to the rest of the walls. Large oil lamps hung from above, providing enough light to blind for a few seconds; the smooth and polished stone floot reflected most of the light back.

	Trom had finished looking around the room, then turned his attention to the old man, who had sat himself down at a table by the blank wall.
"Nice trick, but give a little warning next time." The wolf set his gun on a table nearby, not caring what glasses clinked or books he covered. The old human just shrugged.
"As I said, we had little time out in the open. Now, as promised, I shall explain the purpose of you three being here." He looked at Angela for a moment. "But first, I think Angela will find more comfortable clothes in the next room." He gestured towards one of the side passages. Angela carefully went down the directed passage and returned several minutes later in a new outfit. It consisted of a red, sleeveless shirt and pants of the same color; both had a shine to them and felt like they were made of silk. Completing the outfit were a pair of black boots, ending at her mid-calf. Angela handed the blanket she had been wearing back to Trom before taking a chair near the old man, who smiled.
"Much better," he said to Angela, then motioned for the other two to sit as well. Vicki took one of the remaining seats while Trom hesitated, then finally sat.

	The old man smiled at the three in front of him. "First, I would like to apologize for taking you from your worlds without warning." All three gave a blank and startled look, so he continued.
"This is the world of Dremara; you'll find it quite different then what you are used to. Most of the population you will find is a mix of others like Trom and Vicki, while Angela will recogonize other humans."
"But who are you?" Trom cut in. "You seem to have a lot of resources, to pull that teleport trick...."
The old man shifted his cane slightly. "I am called Stogra and happen to be a very powerful person here, though few know that. Here we use magic rather then science and technology, like from Trom's and Angela's homes." The two mentioned gave Stogra a look of disbelief as he continued.
"Vicki and Trom are actually from the same world, though several millenias seperate their cultures; Vicki knows well that magic is true."
The leopardess nodded. "You used that magic to bring us here?"

	Stogra gave a short nod. "Correct. A time of great evil is coming and it was my job to search out the three the Gods of this world had chosen to prevent this."
Angela held up a hand. "Wait a minute. You're saying that these Gods can't handle something like this, so they send three mortals against whatever this evil is?"
"Yes."
Angela threw up her hands. "Oh, just great; the whole things sounds like a plot to a really bad fantasy story. And why me? I can see why Trom and Vicki were chosen, but I've never had to fight before...."
Stogra looked down at his feet. "I have been wondering about that too....but I know there is a reason why you were chosen."
Trom stood up, striding over to a wall, then turned back to the others. "And why can't your 'Gods' do anything about this directly?"
"W....they are not allowed to oppose one another directly," Stogra replied. "And that is where the evil is coming from; the God of nightmares, Kryton, has found a way to gain control of a sleeper's mind, using them to do his deeds. He also commands a legion of creatures that haunt people's dreams." 

	The three youths looked crestfallen at this information.
"But," continued Stogra, "there is a way to stop him. There exist three statues, one for each of the elements that make nightmares: fear, justice and power. They were created long before I was....born, but are said to hold the key to removing the God of nightmares from his post, if brought together by the right trio....hence my bringing you three here."
Trom just shook his head as Vicki spoke up. "You wouldn't happen to have these statues?"
Stogra sighed. "Sadly no. They were used once before, then were lost to the times."
Trom barked out, literally. "What!? You expect the three of us: a savage feline, an almost furless, weak-looking creature," he turned to Angela. "No offense; and a low ranking soldier to go ut in some unknown world, collect these statues that may or may not exist, then fight some lord of nightmares, that can invade our dreams, because the Gods here were stupid enough to agree not to fight one of  their own?"
Stogra gave a nervous cough. "Well, yes...."
Trom stepped in close to the old human. "Forget it. Send me back....get yourself someone who is more suited for this kind of suicide run." Stogra calmly leaned back from the wolf's sharp teeth.
"Please, do not think that your quest is hopeless. I will be able to give you all the knowledge I can of this world and will be able to get hold of me when you need advice." He turned away from Trom. "Besides, I can not send you back; I used the last of my power bringing Angela here. She barely made it here alive...."

	Angela muttered something that sounded like "I didn't need to hear that...." Then spoke up later. "Mr. Stogra, Trom makes a strong case....but if you say that we are the only ones that can do this, then count me in." 
The old human smiled and nodded. "Thank you, child; at least one of you believe." He turned to looked at Vicki. "And you?"
The leopardess stood and came to stand beside Angela. "You brought us here to help and I will give my best." Stogra nodded again.
"Spoken like the warrior you are striving to be." He extended a hand to each of the girls, then looked at the wolf behind him.
Trom was quiet since his last outburst, thinking about what kind of cruel fate brought him here. He noticed that the others were looking at him and waiting for an answer.
"Fine. I'm in....but if I find a way back home, I'm taking it." 
Stogra sighed. "Not the best situation, but I thank you all for choosing to accept this. Now, you must eat and rest before you start off." He started off down the passage Angela had taken earlier to change, leading the other behind. Trom stayed a bit behind, still lost in his thoughts.
"Why me? If he knows so much about me, then he would know how I let my squad get...." He stopped there, shaking his head. "But now I have another chance....besides, I'm sure there are worse ways to die."