Roleplay - Ruby and Rhys discussing Dreams on Dolor

Ruby jerks awake from the knocking at her door, sitting bolt upright. Breathing heavily, she tries to blink the images of the church out of her mind's eye.

"Comin', I'm comin'! Sorry..." She stumbles over her things and, hastily running a hand through her hair, opens the door. Her eyes widen with worried surprise. "Oh! Rhys, hiya. You... You okay?"

Rhys looks pale... er than usual. His hair is soaked and strewn across his face which is drenched in sweat. "Hello, Ruby. Sorry, I hope I haven't woke you, but I have just awoken from a horrid dream..."

With intense concern she gestures for him to come in. She brushes a chair free of papers for him to sit, and finds a spot nearby for herself.  "You're not botherin' me none, Rhys. Not one bit."

She goes to a water basin near the window and, wringing out a soft cloth, brings it over to him. "W-what kind of dream did ya have?"

He graciously takes the cloth, wiping his face. "I was in the shadow realm... which isn't uncommon... a pack of Umbris were heading towards the cliffs along the ocean. They usually avoid the deep waters, so I followed them... as I got close, the sky split open and pure void began pouring in..."

She contemplates that, remembering their journey there in great detail. "Void? Like... What... Gideon was? The fellow who destroyed Saar?"

"Not in body... but his essence was..."

"And... He--it--was coming for the shadow realm?" She's completely taken aback seeing him this way, and fetches another cool cloth from the basin. She drapes it across the back of his neck, then fidgets.

"I... I don't know... as soon as I saw it, I ran. I ran as fast as I could, but I couldn't get away... I suddenly woke up when I felt like it caught up..."

Ruby shudders at the thought. "T-that's terrifying. I'm sorry you dreamed that..." She grabs her wooden box and sits down again, offering you dried fruit from it. "Would something to eat help, maybe?"

Rhys eyes the dried fruit, the tart cherries in particular. "Normally I would never think of turning down those deliciously tart little bites of wonder, but I'm a bit queasy... perhaps later."

Ruby nods, setting the box nearby.

Rhys drapes the cool cloth over his head. "Are you okay, Ruby?"

She shifts uncomfortably in her chair, looking distraught. "I had a strange dream too, but... Nothing like that. That sounds worse, getting swallowed up by that kind of... Evil. Just dreams though. Aren't they?"

Rhys smiles weakly. "Quite. I made sure the shadow realm was still safe... my magic draws its power from there, so I quickly threw a dart out my window as soon as I woke up..."

"It... Really seemed that real, didn't it?" She looks at him with concern. "Armella did have that dream once where she woke up...glowing. It seems our company has had funny luck with dreams." Her brow furrows.

"And the shadow realm still works now? Should... Should we go check it?" She looks a bit uneasy suggesting it, like asking to look for a monster under a bed.

Rhys holds out his hand, shadows congealing and coagulating to form a dagger. "Seems to be working fine on this side..."

"That's reassuring..." She watches the shadows ebb and flow with ease, contemplating things. "I suppose here is the best way to tell, huh? It's gonna be... Difficult when we leave Dolor."

Rhys nods his head. "Unfortunately magic is... unpredictable in the rest of the world..."

"True. I've seen it there, it's... Nothing like here." She looks sad, remembering. "If this is what it used to be like, it truly doesn't sound so bad..." she trails off, looking sullen.

Ruby looks up. "I feel so full of doubt... About what we are planning to do. If we can do it. I worry I'm not strong enough to really help, I don't want to make things worse... I'm trying to be stronger, I really am. I've been pushing forward without trying to think too hard about it. About magic. About war. About revenge. About home, and church."

She rubs her hands against her knuckles, brushing at the scars as she rambles. "In my dream, I was at church again. I... Was called to be an Alkahest. I didn't know if it was a real Alkahest, which is good... I think? I used to think was good... But then that poor girl who was eaten... And the statue of Tarj protected me from paladins, who hacked away at it."

She shudders. "It's nothing as intense as yours was though... But... I'm kind of glad you woke me from it all the same."

Rhys nods his head slightly. "Dreams are strange... sometimes they are messages. Other times they are desires, and other times yet, they are merely our minds exploring the furthest depths of our own creative abilities..."

She nods in return. "What do you think yours meant? I've never seen you look so... distraught."

"I hope that it's horrible memories combined with my imagination, and nothing more..." He looks out the window as he speaks, as if searching for something.

"Well I'm always here if you need anything, or just want to talk." She looks outside at the mountains. "We are in this together, now."

"Thanks, Ruby. I appreciate it. You said you had a dream? About the church? Paladins attacking a statue?"

"Yeah..." she stares at the towers in the distance along the cliffside. "It seemed so surreal. I apologize for prattling on about it earlier... I'm not sure if you're that familiar with all of the terms and ordinances... since..." she trails off, changing a glance at her friend.

Rhys cracks a slight grin. "Well, I know a bit... mostly that they don't like magic, anyone who uses it, or anyone born of it."

"Yeah..." She chuckles, embarrassed. "That's a pretty good explanation of it." She leans over to her desk and pulls a thin dark book out from under a pile. Handling it to him, she says, "This is the Sacred Lodestar, the texts that were written shortly after Tarj came in 1500 ar."

Rhys hesitantly takes it, like touching it will cause him physical harm, before thumbing through it, pausing briefly to read every now and then.

She sighs gloomily. "At... church, we go and sit and recite from this.  We'll repeat it as each individual goes up to a statue of Tarj, and transfers... some... alchemical salts from one basin to another. It's supposed to symbolize new knowledge, and other things of that sort."

"It used to just be that. But..." She reaches up to touch a necklace that is no longer there, out of old habit. "After the Rhen took over Alwyn, and we got to Elingrad... I went to church again there. They...changed things." She looks up, bothered by her thoughts. "Now the statue's eyes will open, choosing an Alkahest. A... Sorry, it feels odd to explain, somehow..."

She takes a deep breath, continuing. "They are someone pure or holy enough to be chosen for true enlightenment. Someone who Tarj chooses to ascend to a glory of knowledge above, in the next plane. Usually that only happened in the big churches, with higher order members. But..." She fidgets. "Now it's all church buildings.”

Rhys frowns. "Planar travel is broken. It's a miracle that Nerezza and I can access the shadow realm..." He leans forward, again wiping his face with the cool, damp cloth. "Nerezza used to be able to shadow step to other planes. He can't, now..."

"I'm... Not really sure what it means. It's like being born into the other worldly knowledge of the cosmos. Becoming... Knowledge." She rubs her cheek. "I don't really know, just that it's the highest honor to be chosen."

"But in Elingrad, Hikaru, Zander and I saw a girl chosen for it. But..." her face darkens. "That monster killed her instead."

"Hikaru told me a bit about that... absolutely despicable. Atrocious... "

She shivers, and rests her head in her hands. "We faced it. Rod was there, too, of course. It almost ate Armella during the struggle we had. That's… That's why I wanted to get stronger. To fight more monsters. I don't want to freeze up again. I don't..." She tries breathing deeply to calm herself.

"Well, you did great against the Umbris... and that nasty Felpid..."

"T-thanks." She shudders a sigh. "I-I really tried, Rhys. I was scared, but I knew I had a good reason to fight. To keep trying."

"Like I said when the wolves attacked us, never back down. As long as you keep yourself focused on why you are fighting, you will be a much more difficult opponent than someone who isn't focused likewise..."

"Yeah..." she breathes deeply. "Yeah. I have some good reasons to fight." Ruby glances up. "In my dream, I was picked... And the statue kept the paladins from taking me. I don't know what that would mean, though... It's usually an honor to be chosen." She pauses. "But... Like you said, probably just bad dreams... Right?"

"Could very well be...  could also be just your mind creating things to play with you."

"Very true." Ruby looks bothered. "It has before."

"I believe that is true for all of us... "

She pulls a necklace from her bag, something in the shape of the lodestar. "The church gave us these. Rodrick realized it had... Magic on it. He made me one with none, because it made my head all fuzzy... Why would they have that, though?" Ruby looks imploringly at you. "Hikaru, Zander and Mella got one too I think. You... You know magic best."

"I... vaguely remember that. You were disguised as Arabella, correct?"

"Y-yeah..." she shakes her head. "She's just a disguise though. But... I started believing I really was her. I forgot about... about everyone." She tears up a bit thinking back on it.

"Hmm... I see. The magic effect could be something a simple mind effecting spell, or something larger like a mind control spell... perhaps something of those... what did Balgor call them? Mindflayers...? Something of their own creation or origin..."

"Maybe... But..." Her eyes widen. "But the whole area got them..? I'm not sure if the whole church did. But it... It sounded like it. Maybe Balgor is right… Maybe there are really that many more out there, hiding. Feeding on unsuspecting patrons. I couldn't believe I forgot everyone. If... if Karu hadn't come back, I..." She trails off again, dreading the thought.

"If these mindflayers are as widespread as Balgor suspects, then the necklaces may have been acting as a type of branding, distinguishing one herd from another..."

Ruby looks somewhat sickened at the thought.

"Maybe they were to make the wearer less likely to fight back or act out..."

"I can see that being true. I just remember peaceful thoughts. Everyone always seemed so happy. I feel uncomfortable using her as a disguise nowadays. It's... too strange, remembering how it felt."

"I can understand that... "

She blinks, then looks at you again. "Oh.. I..." she gets sheepish. "I forgot I told Rodrick, but not... Anyone else tied to him... Unless you heard some..? I'm sorry, my name isn't... Ruby. Not really." She fiddles with her sleeve. "I'm--she's... Just been another disguise for a long time."

"Rodrick made that known to all of us, but I appreciate your honesty." He smiles.

She chuckles, relieved. "That's good. It feels good to be honest." She nudges you with a slight grin. "He said you hid some of that wolf fight from them..." Her expression softens quickly though. "You feeling better now from all that?"

Rhys nods. "Yes, just some scars that'll be forming soon."

"No worse for wear from that Umbris, either?" She looks up at your face where you fell. "Your burn seems healthier now. I feel like I'm a bit of bad luck..." she scoffs.

"No, you're just fine Ruby. Perks of being half shadow, I heal quickly from shadow inflicted wounds..."

"That's really good... I'm glad. She smiles really warmly.

“Oh!" Looking excited, she continues, "I forgot to say before, when I saw you last... Thank you for the book." She looks down sheepishly. "I started reading it... It's wonderful. I've always loved books like that growing up. It brought back happy memories. You have many great stories."

"Thank you... I enjoy writing them down.”

"Will all of our adventures end up in another one of your stories?"

"Eventually, I'll write them down. They are important to have."

"I wonder what kind of story it will be... I hope to hear it someday."

"Well, provided we survive to the end of everything, I'll make sure to make a copy of the book for you."

"We'll make it." She looks imploringly at you, a fire in her eyes. "We won't lose anyone else... We'll make it to the end.... together."

"That sounds like a plan, Ruby... well, with the plan set, Ragnar has some work to do... and since there's no way I'll be going back to sleep anytime soon, I guess I'll let him get to it. Thanks for talking, again."

"Sure thing." She walks you to the door as you head out, then adds, "And... You can call me Delilah."

"Delilah, huh?" Rhys smiles at her. "I'll try and remember that, but habits die hard, especially in old people."

"Well Ruby it is, then. You old geezer." She chuckles. "Good luck with the forge."