• Closed • The Crossroad Room (Brent)

[Yrmellyn Cole]

The Crossroad Room

1st Ymiden 720

Yrmellyn was falling asleep in her bed in the inn where she and her partner Ha’zel lived during their stay in Volta.

During Ashan, she had recovered from the nasty flu she had caught at the end of Cylus. She was at good health now and she was even working again. Inspiration flowed stronger these days than it had in a long period of time. She slept well in the nights, undisturbed by the kind of lucid dreams the fever had triggered back in Cylus. It hadn’t been nightmares but it had been cumbersome dreams. Dealing with the veil and the abilities the Dreamwalking granted her had sometimes exhausted her so much that the fever had gone worse.

There had been no Easy Road for her in the realm of Emea.

In the end, she had almost not dared to sleep. She had only wanted the lucid dreams to stop and so they had done. She hadn’t had a single lucid dream in Ashan. A bliss! What a bliss it was to sleep a natural sleep! What a bliss to only dream natural dreams of the kind that dispersed from her mind only trills after waking up! It left her well-rested and free from troublesome memories and physical effects.

She expected to get the same nice sleep this night. And in the beginning, when she began to dream, she was only an unaware dreamer. She was floating through a whimsical stream of impressions. Soon she was floating through unknown corridors and rooms. Intriguing paintings and spectacular architecture appeared. As she passed by they faded out of sight again even as she looked at them. As she was not lucid she didn’t question this. It felt real to her sleeping mind. She floated, like a feather in the wind ...until the sudden insight came to her.

She was dreaming. She was dreaming. She was dreaming.



At this point, she woke up in the dream. Like an amphibian surging up from the water to breathe in the air of its second element, she went from ordinary dreaming to lucid dreaming.

Darn, she was awake in a dream again, but she wasn’t in the meadow where her dreams often used to start. No small Emean dragonfly-being was around. Instead, she was in a room with an intricate layout, many doors on the walls around it. There was a sign over one of them: “The Easy Road”. Yrmellyn read it with mixed feelings. It was nice with an easy road. But, she felt like there was something mocking with that sign. It was an “oh so you were looking for an easy road, were you” kind of feeling.

Could Emea itself be sarcastic to lucid dreamers? It seemed like an insane idea. Then again. Why not?

A collection of paintings hung on the walls between the doors. Sculptured pillars carried complicated vaults. A plethora of pictures decorated the ceiling. There were no windows but big lanterns lit the room up. It was impossible to know if she was above or under the ground. Outside the circles of lantern light, there were pockets of darkness and shadows. A small box of carved wood sat on a large table in the centre of the room. Heaps of paper and canvas flanked it. She saw tools for drawing and painting, some books and other items. Yrmellyn was giving them a closer look and was in the process of inspecting a paper with a drawing on when she heard a sound...of steps behind her...

A chill went up her spine. She wasn’t alone! Still holding the paper in her hand she began to turn around ...

[Brent Forrester]

The Crossroad Room
1 Ymiden 720

Birds chirped and the babble of a brook remained constant at his side as Brent hiked along the forest trail. Turning his gaze to the water, he seemed only mildly surprised to see the multi-coloured hues splashing at the surface. For some reason he knew he had to travel upstream to find the source. The rainbow colours must be a sign, a sign from Svariella as to what her temple must look like. As he began climbing the ever steeper trail, the rush of water start to grow louder. Jumping from rock to rock, he finally stood before the source of the sound. A waterfall. Cascading down the falls were a myriad of colours, almost too many to count.

With a walking stick in hand, he limped over to the waterfall, picking his way through the rocks and cobbles. As he reached the falls, he stepped through, and for a moment there was a thunderous impact of water upon his shoulders which soaked through his clothes, black cloak and all.

Then he was in a passageway.

Brent was puzzled. How had he just gotten from outside to this corridor? There was a perfectly placed torch and he picked it up in his other hand as he looked down the long hallway made up of stone walls. Turning to look behind him, the wall was blank. Why was that so? Had there not just been a waterfall? A hint of colour caught his eye, and he bent down to see a couple of droplets of what could have looked like rainbow paint on the stone floor.

His clothes were wet and dripping and… oh! It was in that moment that he realized that he was in a dream. Something about the waterfall had awakened his senses but it had simply taken his mind a little longer to catch up and realize.

A small smile crossed his face. His last true lucid dream had led him to see a grand cathedral and he wondered what was through these corridors. With a sudden energy in his step, Brent began his way along the narrow passage, looking at the stonework and heavy wooden doors. At the end was a set of stairs and a door, which he carefully opened. The cold dampness seemed to disappear as he took in the long lush carpet of this new hallway and the blazing torches spaced evenly. Was he in a castle? Or a mansion? Portraits with golden frames lined this new hall, and when he looked up he could see the high stone vaulting of the ceiling.

The faint tinkle of chimes caught his attention and he paused at the door where he thought he had heard the sound. Quietly, he opened it and it swung without even a creak. This room seemed even grander than the hallway with tall pillars and mosaic tiles upon the ceiling. Briefly looking back, he noticed he was leaving a trail of rainbow drips from his soaked cloak, although it was odd that the water only took on its fascinating hue when it touched the floor.

His footsteps were accompanied by the slight tap tap of his wooden walking stick on the stone floor. He spotted a large table in the middle of the room and… a woman! She had almost auburn hair, or at least that’s what it appeared as it glinted in the lantern light. He set the torch down into an empty wall bracket and approached cautiously. Yet the table of parchment and inks drew his attention.

“Do you live here, fair lady? Are these yours?” Brent asked as he gestured to the various supplies on the table.

When he glanced behind him, it was as though the door had molded into the walls and was no more. So much for taking that route back, although it was now the second time it had happened. One of the other doors had a comical sign above it, “The Easy Road.” Another had a small glint of a rainbow, as if an unseen glass window or crystal was casting the multi-coloured ray of light. A third door had a single white feather at its base that could have been a quill.

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Template Credit: Navyri

[Yrmellyn Cole]

The stranger was polite so Yrmellyn would be polite too.

But, odd thoughts arose in her mind when she saw the walking stick. Hadn’t there been a walking stick in another dream, another time, in some other place? somebody else? Hadn’t there been canals of cold, clean water between silent houses and a walking stick which hid a knife inside? The memory fluttered up in her like a butterfly flying out of the shadow and then it disappeared again. Still. She distrusted that cane. It might be a weapon and it might be poisonous. An odd notion, one of those odd notions which seem to come out of the blue, and maybe it did.

Fair lady? It seemed like he meant Yrmellyn, an age thirty-four painter. She had left dresses and other finery behind many arcs ago in favour of practicality. Now, she wore pants of course and her open jacket revealed a simple shirt of white cambric. Gone were the days when Yrmellyn Cole had sashayed around in salons and gambling dens dressed to the nines and looking for gold. Magic had changed her, magic, love and the time.

Still.

The laugh of the past arose in her. It was the artificial laugh of a flippant courtesan. It was also the feigned merriment of a soldier of fortune at heart, decked out in velvet and lace, wearing jewels of glass and gilded pewter. Or, the laugh of an actress, playing a role on the stage. It could even be a laugh coming out of another world so far away that the mind of Yrmellyn Cole was ordinarily unable to reach out and feel its existence... only in Emea could she discern it.

But, that laugh, wherever it came from, found her and flowed through her. A change came over her. Yrmellyn's hair turned true auburn and her attire turned into a long violet gown. But, beneath the gown, she felt a pair of heavy war boots on her feet. Worse, even as she glanced at it, the sign pointing to “The Easy Road” changed too. The words faded out and new words replaced them: “The Road to the Land of Happiness”.

She made an important mental note about a few observations. The change had happened when the newcomer had arrived. There was also new door signs now. A multi-colour stain and a feather? Had he caused this or was it only a coincidence?

Darn sign! Was it mocking her? And more doors were joining in, with rainbow signs and feathers! She would be damned if she would open any of them without knowing more!

Holding up the paper like a shield between her and the walking stick man she replied. “Not so long ago, I woke up here. We are in Emea. This is a dream. Currently, I’m clueless. But, according to this paper...”

She began reading it aloud.

13th Solarius of Orbit 111

To whom it may concern,

Oh, I cannot even describe the happiness I felt when I finally understood the network of narrow paths, all alike, weaving through this dreamscape like the threads in a piece of intricate dream lace. I don’t know how long time I spent here in total, Lucid but not Enlighted. I woke up uncountable times in my bed home in Cartough and continued with life as usual, but in Emea this crossroad chamber always waited. At unpredictable occasions, it summoned me back in my dreams and once again I found myself facing the many doors, all of them labelled but none of the signs very clear.

I was not always alone. But, unfortunately, some of the companions I found here disappeared without a trace. Others went astray and fell victim to their own delusions, fighting against adversaries only they could see. I don’t know if they escaped or if they still are wandering here. In hindsight, I would say that their mistake (and mine) was to look for a way out instead of looking for a way in. It’s only when you arrive at the core (or the heart, as the more emotional people put it) it becomes possible to figure out what it’s all about.

Now, when you read this letter to You, my unfortunate inheritor of Quirkholme Quagmire (I mean You) the best advice I can give you is to stick together with whatever company may share your fate and try to not lose your way in the passages. Don’t split up! Also, try to be civil to your fellow wanderer and not lose your temper in heated arguments about which doors to open or which ways to take. There’s plenty of crossroads, not only here but in the whole dreamscape. In my experience, the best way is the way you walk together.

It is a good idea to keep records and make sketches of what strikes you as meaningful and important. Random findings can often be useful here and following a whim can turn out to be the turning of a good card. I have learnt that there’s no patent solution same for all. I’ve made many notes and I’m afraid they litter the place. This is in particular in the attic and in the war room, though this workroom and the portrait gallery have also been favourite abodes of mine. Don’t forget the laboratory, but take it easy there. And there may be other places where I misplaced some of my notes, but I have forgotten. You will see them if you get there.


Good luck!

The letter wasn’t signed. Yrmellyn lifted her gaze from the paper to look at the walking stick man and attempt to gauge his reaction by his facial expression. The letter advised her to team up with him so she found it best to introduce herself.


“By the way,” she offered, “My name is Yrmellyn Cole. Are you awake or are you sleeping?"

[Brent Forrester]

The lady before him gave a long and full-hearted laugh. For a brief moment, it brought a smile to his lips. Her garments changed suddenly as she transformed into what appeared to be a noble, but the laughter hung on eerily and Brent felt a shiver run down his spine. Her hair, now a true and rich auburn caught his eyes but his gaze was both stern and suspicious. A temptress?

It sounded like she had not been there long, and certainly didn’t live here. When she began reading the paper, Brent pulled up a chair and leaned the walking stick against the table. With words of ‘dreamscape’ and ‘Emea’, he was reminded that this was still but a dream, but it was curious. A castle or old mansion to explore? Adventurers wandering astray amongst the many passages? He had always held a certain fascination for the great estates of the nobles in Melrath, but knowing he would never step foot in one.

As she read the letter, Brent perused the other papers on the table. There seemed to be various scribbled notes, the occasional sketch, and… Brent’s eyes widened as he pulled out a half finished blueprint from beneath several papers. There were a few corridors drawn in, stairs to a dungeon, a throne room, and what might have been a master bedroom. Yet it certainly didn’t look at all complete. If this was truly a dreamscape then it might not even be accurate either.

Brent frown as she finished reading the letter, but he was curious. At her introduction, he repeated her name simply. “Yrmellyn.”

He raised his eyebrows in confusion at her question, but then realized her meaning. “If you mean to ask whether I’m lucid or not, then yes I am lucid. The water helped wake me up.”

The last bit he said in part jest as he shook some of his straggly wet hair. Standing up again, he strode over to the different doors, leaving his walking stick at the table.

The door that he thought had said ‘Easy Road’ had now changed its tune. “The Road to the Land of Happiness…” Brent murmured. “It sounds as though this one is competing for our attention. Although I find it highly suspect.”

Moving over to the door with the glinting rainbow rays of light, he noticed that it too had a description. “The Leap of Faith,” he read aloud. His breath caught for a moment. Had Svariella summoned him here to test his devotion? He wondered if Yrmellyn saw the same looking door that he did or if it had a different meaning or vision for her. Brent dismissed the door with the single white feather and instead moved on to a fourth door. This one looked old but ornate and overtop it had a curious title.

“To Seek the Truth,” Brent spoke aloud. This time he didn’t hesitate and went to turn the knob. Rattling the door, it didn’t budge. “It’s locked.”

Turning back to his new companion, he scanned her face and lavish garments briefly. “The letter might also be a trick, but I would agree that it is better to stick together. My name is Brent, and I might be able to do something about this map.” He returned to the table and picked up the unfinished blueprint and a couple of drawing implements.

“So do we take the Easy Road to Happiness? Or take a Leap of Faith?” Brent asked. “I certainly don’t mind an easy road but I would be guarded against every room and passageway. We might as well get exploring and looking for those ‘clues’.”

With a gesture he concluded, “After you, Lady Yrmellyn.”

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Template Credit: Navyri

[Yrmellyn Cole]

Yrmellyn felt a bit surprised that Brent was able to use her first name with ease. (Not to mention that he called her “Lady Yrmellyn”.) Most people seemed unable to pronounce her name. It felt like a good sign though. And, he was also lucid, like her. That too felt like a good thing even if she wasn’t too sure that it was better to be awake than asleep in this place.

She had noticed his brief smile. Appealing, but ... The water he shook off was odd and multi-coloured. Uh-oh! This triggered Yrmellyn’s mental mutation, the enriched impressions. It was the first major lasting manifestation of the attunement magic spark in her. It was not magic, but a change in the way her mind worked. For a moment she felt distracted by it. The colours she saw turned into a tune. It made her think of summer flowers, warm wind in the foliage of tall trees, blue sky and a flock of birds. The trip her mind did was very short. But, Brent might have seen her look absent-minded for a trill or two.

Now, she saw him frown as she finished reading. Did he feel as intrigued as she felt? What did he think of the letter? Had he found more information of interest? Quirkholme Quagmire? Was it the name of this place or did I mean something else? She postponed the questions. Instead, she watched as her fellow dreamwalker investigated the doors.

Behind his back, Yrmellyn investigated the walking stick. She figured that if there was a weapon hidden inside the innocent looking item it should be easy to draw it. She supposed it might just be to pull at the end of the stick ... but nothing happened. It had been a moment’s work. She put the walking stick back where Brent had left it.

The man strode from door to door. When he said that he found the Easy Road to Happiness suspect she could only agree. “You’re reading my thoughts. That door seems eager to attract us. But why!?”

Brent continued to the next door, the one with the rainbow rays. He read its name aloud. “The Leap of Faith.” Yrmellyn expected him to continue, but instead, the man seemed stunned. It piqued her curiosity. She stepped closer to see what he was gawking at. “I wonder exactly how much of those rays we may encounter if we step in.” She made a short pause before she continued.

“I’m no friend of long explanations, but there is one thing you must know. Sometimes I experience things differently. Impressions of colour can turn into sound and vice versa. Other kinds of impressions can get mixed up too. That can make me flip out a wee bit. I don’t know what may happen if we step in and a lot of colourful rays hit me. ”

She left it to Brent to mull over that piece of information.

He dismissed the door of the white feather and moved on to a fourth door. “To Seek the Truth,” he read aloud. Yrmellyn watched with bated breath when he immediately tried to open it. It sounded promising. But, it was locked!

“Oh no!” she exclaimed.

Brent turned around, looking at her ... no, scanning her. In response, Yrmellyn scanned Brent from top to toe. As a painter, she was not new to giving people a once over. It was a brief thing. He was not half-bad as a motif!

To no surprise, he distrusted the letter. She agreed! “You are right. The letter might be misleading. Odd date. Not signed. But what else do we have to guide us? ”

Finally, Brent introduced himself and now he told her that they had a map! Yrmellyn followed him to the table and looked over his shoulder at the blueprint and drawings he had found. She didn’t know much about maps but as an experienced artist, she had no troubles understanding what she saw. Corridors. Stairs. A dungeon? A throne room? A master bedroom?

“We might be in a big place ... but the map doesn’t look complete. Maybe we can’t trust it any more than the letter. But, those are our only clues. Apart from the door signs, I mean.”

As Brent had skipped the door of the white feather she had forgotten it. The two options he saw seemed like the only possible roads forward. Hearing that he didn’t mind taking the door of the Easy Road (To the Land of Happiness) she concluded that he preferred that door!

Now, Yrmellyn recalled a quick fix solution she had heard about. “They say it’s best to pick the low-hanging fruit first ... try the easy route first. We can go for that. I agree that we must be cautious though...” And then she added something every teacher in her past had nagged about. "Only fools would play with unknown powers!" (She couldn't believe that she had said it! But, it seemed appropriate now.)

She would try to follow the letter’s advice and make notes along the way. It had told her to sketch too. She picked what she might need from the table. Notebook, pencils, a set of crayons in many colours. Pigments, oil and brushes. Turpentine, paper, palette and palette knife. She put it all in a bag she found under the table.

“Let’s go.”

The door swung open as soon as she touched the knob.

SWISH!

She stepped in and heard Brent’s footfalls and the sound of the walking stick behind her. The door slammed shut with a metallic sound.

BANG!

She stood in a chamber with empty grey stone walls and no windows. It looked like an older place than the crossroad room. On the opposite wall was an archway (without a door). Walking closer, she could see a corridor behind it. Near the archway it was light, but farther in it looked obscure.

“It seems like an old part of the place. Very old, even. Brent...Is this on the map? Do you think we ought to continue? Or would it be better to turn back?”

She supposed he had followed and she wasn't alone in there. She hoped it was so! It hadn't struck her (until now) that Brent might not have made it through the door before it had fallen shut with a bang.

[Brent Forrester]

The comment Yrmellyn made about how she envisioned colour as sound and other such things was unusual to say the least. However, Brent seemed to accept it with little more than a shrug. He was in a dreamscape and much stranger things could happen here. When the lady decided to seek the ‘Land of Happiness’, Brent wondered if it was more to avoid the dazzling rays of rainbow light which were hinted at in the other door.

With the unfinished blueprint and drawing supplies in tow, Brent picked up the walking stick and followed after Yrmellyn. The door swung open eerily at the lady’s touch. A shiver ran down his spine as he stepped through. The sudden bang made him jump and Brent looked back reflexively to see the now closed door.

In addition to the walls being dull, grey and windowless, Brent felt the dampness of the castle. Long shadows cast along the grey stone in the dimness, but he could see faint light just beyond the stone archway ahead of them.

“It does seem old…” Brent murmured and switched the walking stick to his other hand so he could run his fingers over the rough and worn stone. There were places where the mortar seemed cracked and crumbling, but it appeared to be from age rather than poor workmanship.

Squinting in the dim light, Brent pulled out the blueprint but it would be more trouble than it was worth trying to see the fine etchings in the darkened hall.

“We might as well continue. At the very least, to get to where it is better lit.” Brent replied to the lady. He strode down the hallway with less caution than he might. It did seem ‘easy’, almost as if he were going downhill. Yet despite several glances at the floor and the walls, he could not determine whether there was any true slope to it.

Upon reaching the lit portion beyond the archway, he was able to better see the ‘map’ of the castle they were in. However, he still didn’t have enough information to determine if any of the sketches matched up to the distance they had walked. So instead, Brent started with a new sheet to mark their progress. In addition to sketching the corridor, he made a few notes such as ‘dark’, ‘grey’, ‘old’, and ‘damp’.

Ahead of them, he could see a few more simple doors coming out from the corridor. He didn’t see any names on them yet, like in the room with the crossroads, but one of them was ajar and he could smell fresh bread wafting out. His stomach grumbled and he added door to his map with the label of ‘kitchen’. In what seemed to be beyond, he could hear wood creaking along with the delighted sounds of laughter. A bedroom? This ‘Easy Road’ was starting to get more and more appealing.

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Template Credit: Navyri

[Yrmellyn Cole]

Continues here

[Doran]

Yrmellyn:

Knowledge:
Skill Knowledge:
Appraisal: Trying to appraise the trustworthiness of signs over doors
Detection: Detecting signs over doors
Detection: Detecting changes in a dreamscape
Detection: Feeling the presence of another lucid dreamer
Psychology: Reciprocation of polite behavior
Psychology: Making mental notes to remember observations
Investigation: Reading an informative letter
Investigation: Finding out if a walking stick hides weapon

Non Skill Knowledge:
PC: Brent Forrester, fellow lucid dreamer

Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

Brent:

Knowledge:
Navigation x2
Navigation: Emea landscapes change suddenly
Navigation: Picking a path through a dreamscape
Cartography: Reading blueprints of building
Cartography: Basic sketches of a floor plan
Investigation: Assessing a mysterious letter
Investigation: Assessing a series of labeled doors

Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: I found it interesting that Yrmellyn wanted the lucid dreams to stop. I think she’s the first PC that I’ve read who isn’t particularly keen on having lucid dreams. I like that her dreams often have a surreal quality to them rather than being copies of the waking world.

When I read Brent’s first post, I was under the impression that it started with him being awake for a moment. His approach to dreamwalking seems to be different from Yrmellyn’s. I found it interesting that he even has a limp in his dream, and I like how polite he is.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a thread where Brent is impolite!

The letter that you included, Yrmellyn, was great, and it made me even more curious about the place that Yrmellyn and Brent found themselves in than I had been at the beginning of the thread. I couldn’t help but wonder what they would find! Quirkholme Quagmire is such a quirky name!

The ending was a bit abrupt – it didn’t really feel like much of an ending – but then again, you wrote a sequel, and if anything, ending things a bit abruptly made me curious about the next thread. Either way, both of you managed to impress me with your writing. I appreciate how many details you added to your posts, so enjoy your rewards!