Summary:Cerin and Varanim chase after her dream thief
XP:C1, V1
Tags:< You're Missing the Point | Sol Invictus Logs | Lines of Communication >
Varanim "I have a thief to catch," Varanim says, slouching in the doorway. "Interested?"
Cerin raises an eyebrow. "Intriguied might be more accurate."
Varanim "Well, I'm missing a set of playing cards with naughty pictures of Dragon-blooded on them, but someone also stole my nightmares."
Cerin "I suspect the two crimes are not related," he says with a small grin. "I assume it is the latter one which is bothering you however. When did you last ... experience them?"
Varanim "Around the time we went to visit Lytek in his office. Also possibly relevant at the time, there's a ghost thing in my Hearthstone hung up on the Green Lady, and I sort of told it to dig me instead."
Cerin "Perhaps," he nods. "Does she feature prominently in them? Were they manifesting oddly when you last experienced them? I suppose you have ruled out the fact that they have simply subsided naturally?"
Varanim "Definitely not natural, unless the Void has decided to embrace the optimistic spirit of the times by giving things back." She pauses to think about that, momentarily enthralled by the idea, then shrugs.
Varanim "She featured rarely but with notable force, and they've mostly been the same as always, although I did sleep nicely in the Blight of Aeons."
Cerin nods once more. "There is the question to be considered of 'Why do you want them back anyway?' but don't feel like you have to elaborate on that."
Varanim smirks. "I don't want them back but would love to say hi to the person who took them, or I'm proprietary about the contents of my head. Take your pick."
Cerin carefully slips the sheet he was working on into a folder now that the ink has dried. "I think I'll take a little of both," he smiles. "Could you take me to where the theft occured? Or at least where you were most likely asleep at the time."
Varanim "Sure," she says, leading him through the halls of the Cascade to her room. "Slept through the first half of Imrama's crisis, it was great."
Cerin "Ah, that was the last time you had them?" He says as he follows her through the corridoors. "This is a rather more personal question but. Who has regular access to your mind?"
Varanim looks askance at Cerin. "You mean besides the assorted thought-sending devices and mind-reading powers flying around this place more freely than body fluids at a brothel? There's my hearthstone, and at least occasionally the Green Lady." She looks like she's about to add another name, then reconsiders.
Cerin raises an eyebrow at the reconsideration. "Well, that would appear to leave the suspect pool at 317 people and other entities, some of whom are probably easy to eliminate."
Varanim sees his eyebrow raise and adds an eyeroll. "Lucent stopped by my dreams, but only after the theft." She spreads her hands in a shrug at the large list. "But who would do such a thing, everybody loves me, etc."
Cerin "So apart from your legion of adoring fans do you have any suspicions?"
Varanim "Only the nightmares are missing, so it might be simplest to start with people who would have some conceivable interest in making off with a necromantic sacrifice. Really, it's a sufficiently funny trick that I'm sorry I didn't think of it."
Cerin "That doesn't dramatically reduce the suspect list, but it does seem like a sensible avenue of enquiry."
Varanim "Since I'm not really sure what happens to my necromancy if part of the foundation hole goes missing, but someone else might be very interested in trying it, I agree." She smirks. "So, will you take the case?"
Cerin "It appears I already have."
Varanim "Great. What's next?"
Cerin "Well, since they vanished in the Cascade, the odds of the crime having a local and physical component are slim. So I will have to look at the other scene of the crime."
Varanim "Does that mean 'go to sleep, Varanim' or is it weirder than that?"
Cerin "At present, I must confess to not being entirely sure."
Varanim "Let's start there, I'm going to enjoy this sleep thing while it lasts."
Cerin "That just leaves the question of how I will get to your dreams. But I am sure something will occur."
Varanim --
Varanim To no one's surprise, Varanim snores.
Cerin As Varanim prepares herself for sleeping, Cerin occupies himself by drawing an elaborate diagram on the floor of her room in chalk, a series of graceful curves depicting a flower with himself at the center. At various points around the curve, he deposits flowers. Chia flowers, from deserts of the south, almost petaless and renown for their connection to dreams. At opposing points around the circle, he deposits adder's tongue, to
Cerin connect to Varanim. Then, doing his best to tune out the snoring, he meditates ...
< You're Missing the Point | Sol Invictus Logs | Lines of Communication >