Return of the Fish

The dream starts out without knowing that it's a dream. There's a sun in the sky, blue sky beautiful and the world is warm. Cor'lana is at his side, laying back on the so-green grass pointing out the clouds as they pass by. She turns toward him, and smiles, reaches out for him, and her normally purple eyes flash black. All the way black.

Well, that's not a good sign, especially in light of how unnerved they've been with the news about Karan'taara. Those black empty eyes remind Tel too much of the necromancer's. And so he flinches back, saying, "Wait!" He scrambles to a seated position.

Her smile widens, and she sits up with him, reaching out still. "Join me." She says but it's not her voice. In the way of dreams he knows its not. It's the necromancer's voice. He's _controlling_ her somehow. Suddenly she looks paler than before and she moves toward him unrelentingly.

Telamon scrambles backwards, heart pounding. Dream or not, this is horrific for him -- and he lashes out with his magic. Spraying glitterdust into the face of the monster wearing the likeness of his wife. "No! I -won't-!" He has to speak the refusal, as much as he lashes out with sorcery.

The - thing - rises to its feet, shaking off the glitterdust and yet it seems to be confused by the spell. Giving Telamon vital time to think, to realize that this _is_ a dream, that the vision before him is not Cor'lana, isn't even a monstrous version of her.

He fights off the panic. And then Tel shows his teeth in an expression which isn't quite a grin. As he rises to his feet as well, his fingers form an intricate pattern, calling forth the flight spell. Lifting him into the air, buying him a little more time. "Alright, now... how do I get -there- from -here-?" he says rhetorically. "Ni'essa, I am listening, but I admit I am -really- new to this..."

The world darkens around Telamon in response to his question, and then the vision of Cor'lana fades entirely. Instead in the distance there's a flicker. A flash? A tiny, gold dot. It resolves into a little golden dragon no bigger than a cat that dive-bombs Telamon mid-flight. The dragon lands right in the middle of his chest, clinging to him with tiny claws. "PEOPLES!" She - the voice is feminine - exclaims.

Of course. Tanith. Or by her proper name, as Tel gasps it out with a whuff. "Tanithariairisixchel!" He holds onto the little dragon as he cartwheels in midflight. "Hello there, my friend. I hope the fish have been plentiful and tasty." Straightening, he looks around as the daytime darkens to night, and he hovers in place, breathing slower. "Well, I did ask for guidance..." He grins at the little dragonet. "I'm glad it's you."

"Yes!" She exclaims again looking up at him, and then snaking her way up to his shoulder. "What are peoples doing?" She asks curiously, looking around at the darkness and the moon in the sky last.

Telamon takes another deep breath, calming himself. "Well, I'm dreamwalking with something Ni'essa crafted a long time ago. I'm trying to... well, figure out how it works, and maybe if I can use it against a very, very dangerous creature. There's so much mystery involved, and sometimes I wonder if I'm even asking the right questions."

The golden dragon sits on his shoulder, warming it. Wisely she offers, "Peoples rarely do." Which is perhaps not the most kind statement, but is probably accurate. She sprawls a bit, using up the whole space of his shoulder for her comfort. "Can I helps?"

Telamon pets Tanith on the head. "I think that's why you're here. And I can't think of a better guide." He smiles at the pointed remark. "I know. I studied as a diplomat -- it's very hard to negotiate when you don't know what to ask in the first place." He looks up at the moon, his expression thoughtful. "I wonder... if it's a dream, could I get from here to there?" His eyes twinkle.

"Peoples can fly." She offers to him, pointing out rather obviously that he is floating high above the ground even as they speak. "But why? It is just a moon." The tiny dragon talks very rapidly, as if trying to get all the words out at once. It's actually quite difficult at times to understand her.

Telamon hmms. "Well, yes, it's the moon. But it is also Ni'essa. It..." He pauses. "Alright, maybe I am overthinking this. Tanith, I need to find someone who can tell me how the totems work. So far, all we've figured out is that they like to attune to devotees of the god that crafted them, and they sometimes give terrible dreams." He pauses. "Oh, and they're what's holding the Nightmare in place."

Tanith makes a thoughtful noise. "I help!" She says suddenly, and nudges his chin until he looks at her. It's not easy given her position, but worth it. "The things are blood-magic made! Things make dreams come. Make mostly bad dreams because peoples think of bad things more than good things. That help?"

Telamon furrows his brow. "So... alright, that makes sense. Sort of." He scritches Tanith under the chin. "I wonder if that applies to the dreams as well? If they'd be more constructive and useful if... hell." He heaves a sigh. "It's what you bring into it, isn't it? And because there's been so much woe, people are nervous and twitchy."

The dragonling rumbles low in her throat, practically purring as she's given the scratchings. Hums also, so that the double-noise makes her vibrate. "Yes, I help. I am very helpful."

Telamon floats there above the grasses. Thinking. "Maybe... let me try this." He focuses, and reaches down, drawing on the happiest, best memory, the one that overshadows so much of his life. A festhall in Ylvaliel, standing before Grandfather as Tel and Lana were married.

The world around them shifts dramatically and quickly. Soon enough there's a festhall surrounding them, like they'd teleported there. Cor'lana's Grandfather stands there, speaking wordlessly to Cor'lana herself who turns toward Telamon as he appears in the place he'd been and holds her hand out for him.

Telamon steps into his place, unhindered by Tanith on his shoulder. "This was, well is, the happiest day of my life," he says to Tanith. "I would've sent you an invitation," he quips, "but, well, you went off with Ni'essa and didn't leave an address." Taking dream-Lana's hand, he continues, "Gods, I hope some of this isn't leaking back through our bond, she'll be confused as anything..."

Tanith doesn't reply, sitting on his shoulder as the vision continues to play out. Oddly, this feels more dreamlike than it had been before. As if the only things that are real are him and the dragon on his shoulder.

The marriage ceremony plays out in a bit of a dreamy haze. "So many of our friends were there," Telamon continues. He laughs softly. "There was even a friend of mine, Jyndei -- a faerie dragon -- and the garden pixies, Lily and Mirabilis. And..." He pauses, as he and dream-Lana turn to face the crowd. He points at a hooded figure. "My long-passed ancestor, Feadril Atlon. A lesson in why chasing power and knowledge can be a fool's errand."

Tanith chirps at him, looking around a bit. "Were there fish?" She inquires; politely.

Telamon laughs softly. "Yes. A couple of my friends do enjoy fresh fish, so there was in fact fish. Greatmouth bass, I believe." He sighs happily as the ceremony ends. "A pleasant walk down memory lane. Feel free to visit if you get the chance, Tanith. Lana's quite fond of you, after all."

"I go now?" She inquires, hesitantly padding her back paws on his shoulder. Ready to lift off. "We get fish later?"

Telamon strokes Tanith's back. "If you need to. But yes... I'll happily get you fish, Tanith. You're a good friend." He means it, too. Wondering where the dream will take him next, though.

The vision of the wedding is gone, but nothing has taken its place. Nothing. Just darkness stretched out across forever. "No need. Only go if peoples not need. Peoples need." Tanith replies, relaxing once more. "What now?"

Telamon looks around at the shadows. "Well, this is a singularly unmarked canvas." He glances at Tanith. "Alright. So my friends have been studying these things as well. There's a place in the Vast which is connected to this -- a place with blue roses, striving against black in a desert landscape. I've seen this before -- where Ni'essa's avatar landed." He focuses, imagining his viewpoint going up. Far enough to study the world of Ea. "Sometimes, you have to step back to get a better view of things..."

As Telamon focuses, the world revolves around again. It is very akin to teleporting. The area that has come to Telamon has seen in visions before is visible, but laid out like a map in front of him. It's a distinctly odd perspective and Tanith clings to his shoulder as if he might lose his footing at any moment and fall down on the world. Black roses sprawl out over the desert, no blue ones anywhere to be seen. Even as Telamon watches a black wolf crawls out of the midst of the black roses and wanders toward the edge of the map and disappears.

Telamon rocks a little, but his eyes narrow. "...Where did that wolf come from?" He feels a sudden chill. "...The roses. Somehow, the roses are... it's like a fruit tree, but instead of apples, you get werewolves with bad attitudes beholden to the Nightmare." He scans around, but sees no blue roses. "Damn. We're going to -have- to destroy this, especially if these things spread." A hard exhalation. "Alright. Another question. How did Verna pull her archnemesis out of the Dreamlands? And could someone do the same with... something a lot more friendly?"

Tanith snorts in Telamon's ear. "I'm here!" She says, as this is an answer to his question. "Peoples think of bad things - bad things come right? Think of good things and good things come! Like me!"

Telamon looks at Tanith, puzzled. "But you're not, well... the bad man I'm thinking of, he was destroyed. He was a vampire and a bunch of heroes held him down in running water till he was vanquished. But somehow, Verna made a mistake and called him back into existence." A pause. "Did someone do the same for you, call you forth from the Dreamlands?"

Tanith laughs and laughs, all but rolling on his shoulder. There's no answer for at least a minute before she stops laughing and peers around at Telamon. "You did!"

"Well, yes, -now-, but... what about before? When we were in Quelynos? Verna knew you too, before that." Telamon can't help but feel like he's groping towards something important, but he's not sure what the answer is. "Tanith, the bad man is called Kol Demontry. We need to find a way to stop him, take him out of the picture permanently."

GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (3)+12+6: 21
GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (20)+12+6: 38 (CRITICAL SUCCESS)

Tanith seems distracted for a moment, tilting her head and then looking at Telamon very seriously. "I help!" This seems more a suggestion than it does anything else. "Peoples pay _attention_."

She points toward the darkness with one claw, and an image resolves there. It's a tall, ginger-haired man wrestling with... Kol. The vampire is grinning, laughing as the man shoves him into a fountain. People leap forward, helping the first man keep the vampire pinned in the water. It's horrible to watch, the way that Kol's skin bubbles and boils away from his skeleton and even that becomes potted and marked until he's whittled away by the water. Gone.

Telamon's eyes widen. "That's Sir Seldan! And..." He watches as Kol is tackled, driven into the water, and comes apart. "Alright... that's how they killed him... well, destroyed him, vampires aren't exactly alive... the first time." He glances at Tanith. "But how could he come back? You can't call them back to life exactly..."

The vision fades and Tanith peers at Telamon with her golden eyes. "He was peoples at some point." She says very seriously, and then continues.

"The rest is..." There's a waggle of a claw and a wrinkle of her snout. "A very long story!" She grins, satisfied. "And I have not had fish."

Telamon looks completely lost. "Well, yes, he -was-, but he became a vampire and that kind of moves him out of the 'peoples' bucket." He rubs his temples. "What? Someone -seriously- put down the gods damned cash to -resurrect- him, -then- turned him back into a vampire? I feel like I've been into the dwarven whiskey."

He sighs, and scritches Tanith's head. "I'm sorry, friend. I just... I'm fumbling and lost and I don't know what to do." He offers the little dragon a smile. "You know I'm good for the fish, but... I'm afraid. And I don't know how to fight the things we're facing."

Tanith rumbles again, well-pleased with the attention. Her eyes half-lid. "You are doing the right-things. Good things. You are good peoples." She sings his praises warmly and tilts her head into his hand so that he can scratch the itchy places where her horns meet her scales. "You should ask your people-friends. I bet they have answers! Peoples always figure these things out, then give me fish for helping! And I will help!"

"There are worse deals to make," Telamon says with a grin. "Alright, Tanith. I will ask my friends, see if they have more pieces to this puzzle we're trying to put together. You're a good friend too -- if you ever want a good meal, come to my house in Alexandria. Lana and I will happily get you fish."

"I will be there!" She says with excitement, and the dream... shreds.

You wake up suddenly, hearing what is the sound of a very shocked awakening of Pothy downstairs. Then the cat-call of a very familiar voice. "I am here for fish!" It doesn't take long to figure out that Tanith is downstairs, causing a bit of a ruckus, and waking everyone in the house up to get her some of her promised fish. Fish promised in a dream? It was a dream... right?

-End