Triäsa's eyes follow Ludolf as he leaves. "I guess old Mr. Crowley does not care for nautical stories. But I would still like to hear about your exploits as a mariner Dav!"

Seeing Ludolf leave, Pardot looks up to Dav, and says, clearly something on his mind, "Dav, with all the powers behind this, I am a bit worried... How sure are you that your new patron can be trusted to lead us safely there?"

Daventry downs her whiskey and pours up another as Triäsa asks her question, watching as Ludolf disappears off to another part of the ship. "It's... been too long. I love it. The smell of the salt in the air, the cool breeze, the freedom of this entire side of Toril out before us. The last time I was really out on the sea, was on a lot smaller one. A little boat called the pinnace, single sail, that we'd use for runabouts on shore or if we needed something more discreet than a three-master. Weren't mine, though, so I couldn't keep a hold of it. She was a fun ride, though, just enough for one person to handle in normal seas. Left a note saying which ship it belonged to in Caer Callidyrr and made my way back to the Sword Coast on a merchantman, though I kept my head down on that one and stuck to the holds."

She thinks a bit. "Maybe I get a boat when we get back to Candlekeep. Keep myself busy on the waves instead of just lookin' at em."

At Pardot, she shrugs. "Maybe we can't, maybe we can. We got broken out of snake jail by a mummy cat that spoke highly of him, so perhaps it's not the strangest idea of the last week... Wouldn't be wise to relax our guard, no matter what may come."

Triäsa smiles at Daventry as she describes her experience being at sea again. "I am so glad you are enjoying it, Dav. I rather like being on the sea too. If you get a boat I hope I might be able to join you now and then."  After her comment her gaze returns to glance off where Ludolf just departed. But she quickly returns to the conversation. "I think we are going to have take what help we get at face value. Dandelion did help us and did recommend Nodens. It seems the best chance we have." 

She sits quietly, gazing out across the dark waters. After a few moments she sits back in her chair, putting her feet up against the edge of the table. She pulls up her lute, letting it just rest on her lap.  She slowly plucks at the strings, faint notes barely heard, not really playing anything but just seeming lost in her thoughts. 

"Let's see what Ludolf learns," Pardot says. "Time is always of the essence, but sometimes it's good to remember that the stars do move at a different speed than we." He then gets up to follow after Ludolf, having done his own divination, he's curious to see what others gods have to say.

"Yes, we will just wait a day or two for Ludolf to do whatever it is he is doing," Triäsa says. "You think he is just going to use divination magic? Why would he not just say that plainly?" She shakes her head. As Pardot leaves she continues to sit, just plucking still at the strings of her lute.  "Guess that is it for tonight."  She again reaches for her cup, taking a small drink then setting it back down. 

After his less than enlightening attemtp to seek advice about Pardot's ailment, Ludolf would retire for the night to ponder the madness the team was heading into, like they were the playthings of some mad unfathomable entity.

Seeing Ludolf return wordlessly and drop into his bunk without an additional consideration, Daventry looks to the others.

"Right... Guess it'll be tomorrow night, then."

She will refill her whiskeyskin and head to the top deck, wanting to see the starfields that only exist at sea in the deep of night, before remembering that there aren't any stars any more.

She feels a sense of loneliness up there, and recalls the dream she had, of the first star that disappeared from the Warrior Women constellation so long ago while they were in Baldur's Gate.

"What happened to you, fallen star? And where have you all gone?" She says to no one. 

"We can make sure we are well prepared I guess," Triäsa says to Daventry's comment.  She heads for her bunk to rest as well. 

One by you each head to your rooms and bunk down. The night passes uneventfully and with the sun comes the blazing heat and the hard work of sailing. The ship continues on a record pace northward. The food and drink is adequate and the mood is lively with the crew. Captain Jois seems to think you could reach Waterdeep in two more days at the current pace, a full three days ahead of schedule. 

The day wares on and the sun gets low on the horizon. If your intention is to try Daventry's ritual and travel to the Dreamlands now might be the time. Otherwise ship will continue to sail toward Waterdeep. 

Daventry gathers all who are ready. Prior to the ritual, she'll let Captain Janis know what they intend... both to ward off any questions from crew prior to them being complete, and as a failsafe... ("If it's late morning and we're all being weird, please chuck a bucket of water on me and slap me a few times, and that'll hopefully pop us back out...")

"Thank you for trustin' me this far... I'll be honest, I might have tried it just by myself, but... I think this will be better if we take the step together, versus me jauntin' off to another realm just by myself."

She looks at Triäsa and gives a small smile. "Prudence, right?"

She tells everyone to settle down for the night, as she sits cross legged in the middle of their three hammocks (rearranged as required). 

As everyone relaxes, Daventry closes her eyes, deep in thought and focus, her hands outstretched. She speaks in a rythmic voice, like a lullaby for an adult.

"Think of a magnificent city. All golden and lovely it blazes in the sunset, with walls, temples, colonnades, and arched bridges of veined marble, silver-basined fountains of prismatic spray in broad squares and perfumed gardens, and wide streets marching between delicate trees and blossom-laden urns and ivory statues in gleaming rows; while on steep northward slopes climbed tiers of red roofs and old peaked gables harboring little lanes of grassy cobbles. Listen to the fever of the gods; a fanfare of supernal trumpets and a clash of immortal cymbals. As you look upon it, you consider the mystery about it as clouds about a fabulous unvisited mountain; and as you stand breathless and expectant on that balustraded parapet there swept up to you the poignancy and suspense of almost-vanished memory, the pain of lost things, and the maddening need to place again what once had an awesome and momentous place. Walk it with me, step forward as fellows to one of the tree-lined squares, the magnificent fountain in the middle, as we stride to find our path to Nodens..."

From each hand, an rusty orange energy, like ethereal sand particles, swirl around her like a dust devil as she concentrates. It expands and surrounds her, then a tendril of spectral sand reaches out for each of the others, touching their temple...

Cast: Dream Guide

A strange fatigue settles over all of you. You feel your eyes get heavy and unnaturally tired. You blink and welcome the strange sleep. You body feels light and floaty as your eyelids feel like sand paper being drug down over weary eyes.

Then there is a moment of panic. This is wrong. You can feel a creeping chaos wash over your skin. You fight to stay awake but it's hopeless the paralysis of sleep is too much. 

You hear a familiar chuckle from a nearby shadow.

The only thing that works are your eyes and those just barely as darkness descends like a heavy velvet curtain. There is something shifting just beyond the darkness... If you could only stay awake.... 

But you can't....

This is it, you are going to die.

Triäsa returns Daventry's smile after her comment. "Yes, very prudent to not just go by yourself." 

Just a bit later, as the strange effects of Daventry's spell start to take effect, she tries to get ahold of her thoughts as the panic creeps in. She tries to reason with herself - she knows normally she is immune to magic putting her to sleep. So although it feels like sleep, it must be something different. She tries to think back on all she knows to see if this seems like it might just be part of the interplanar travel. (Arcana: 29) The chuckles from the shadows though is still a bit disconcerting. 

Whatever type of magic or ritual this is, Triäsa knows this is certainly not planar travel. This is something... older... something very unnatural.

Your eyes close, involuntarily there is nothing you can do about it and you await your death.

Then your eyes open and you are awake. Probably. You don't feel dead. You don't feel asleep either. You feel, strangely, fine.

Looking around it appears that you haven't moved or changed everything looks just as you left it, with one exception. In the center of the room, between your cots,  is a giant stone archway with strange symbols etched along surface. From one side of the arch way you see stairs that lead down into a deep dark abyss.

Daventry opens her eyes, rising from her cross-legged position. She looks around. "Well, everyone here and with us?"

Then looking into the stone archway, she sighs.

"Damn. Well, I'd hoped to have skipped this part... but at least I know where we are, at the beginning."

Looking back to her friends. "Welcome to my dreaming world... every night of mine since I bathed in Sune's waters. Please, follow me."

And she steps through the archway, down what are surely 70 steps.

Ludolf joins hands with the others and lets himself be swept into the Dreamlands. As he sees the giant stone archway he looks upon it with somewhat skeptical gray eyes, standing up and starting with studying the strange symbols etched along the surface, trying to deduce where the stairs would take them.

LotFR: 27

"Is this familiar to you Dav?" Pardot asks skeptically. "What was that laugh...?"

"Yeah, very familiar. Though the laugh was something new." She says from a few steps down through the arch. "70 steps down, then a curtain of fire, then 700 more. And you'll see the Dreamlands, least, what's left of it as best I can tell." She sighs. "It's a long hike."

Triäsa nods, "Yea, maybe I can buy that this is some dream thing. But while we were..."  She pauses at a loss for words for a moment. "Dragged. Yes, we were dragged into sleep.  There was a rather disconcerting laugh. I must not have imagined it! But do you know what it is Dav? And... it might help, if you think you know what's coming, to let us know." 

(Well, my last post could have almost gone before Dav's... Well, makes sense since I wrote it without seeing it!  Think it works though) 

"How do we get past curtain of fire?" Triäsa asks.