Sanctuary Imprisonment!

[jtbadn]

Salutations to ye, Dreamers of the Underlight,

I humbly come before you, not with the intent to regale to you any events of late . Instead I come to you to forewarn you of a great evil that draws ever so close to the gates to the City in which we dream. I will do this by enlightening each one of you by explaining the truth of what had happened, from the perspective of my own eyes, concerning events that had happened upon me personally, on the night of the 29th day of the 3rd month

Listen closely to the words in which I say unto you. In this tale, you will find answers that will likely only lead you to more questions. Nevertheless, both must be known. I will leave this for each of you to decipher individually, or in a group. I advise you to seek me out not, for I do not possess either the wisdom or the knowledge of any possible answers at this time. I am not any more special then any one of you and we, the collective dreamers of Underlight, are all in this together.
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I had arrived late in the City, about half past eight bells. With the evocation of the Art of Sense Dreamers, I gathered that most dreamers could be found within the Palisade and on the Barrows. I made my way through the Edgeward Barrows and slipped into the Gold Sanctuary where I heard from Silverwake, Dissoc and Sadara of a fight between the dreamers of our City with those of the Arretian City. Before leaving the Gold Sanctuary, making my way up to the Free Spirit Sanctuary, I noticed something on the floor, near the center of the Gold Sanctuary. A sequence of blood droplets, smeared and dried on the floor

After studying the droplets some and surveying the room for more of this, I made my way to the Free Spirit Sanctuary where I was joined with Brother Timothy, Purple Lace, cyborg, Fin Marda, Kelos, Kivander. It was cyborg who had explained to me that the blood droplets in the Gold Sanctuary were the result of removing Dr Grave's cuffs. Yet why did the blood remain on the floor of the Sanctuary? It hardly seems possible.

Marda and Lace had explained to me that the trial of Dr Grave had come to its end and that the Arretian dreamers had found him guilty. Timothy added that he was found not guilty for disturbing the peace but guilty of actions done on house facades without prior approval. He added that he was sentenced to undoing what he had done as well as anything else he had done to dreamers, namely the one who is called Mistress and another called Bloody Teeth. Brother Timothy stated that it was a fair sentencing.

Now, with this all being said, I also learned of Grave's escape from the Palisade with the help of our own dreamers. Kelos asked the question, "What else was there to do? Dreamstrike him?" Oddly timed did he pose that question when just moments later, Eldryck Venym steps into the Free Spirit Sanctuary, taking the lot of us by surprise. Also in attendance was, pinhook and Flower of Cienn.

Shortly after the appearance of Eldryck Venym, Kelos requested his aid in rescuing Aileron who was, I believe trapped inside the Palisade. Eldryck Venym agreed and left with Kelos making their way to the Palisade. Master Purple Lace, Fin Marda and myself remained within the Free Spirit Sanctuary where Purple Lace and I took up a private conversation regarding my apprenticeship to teach.

*** I should interject this here, Master Lace has given me permission to quest dreamers for Arts (the ones that I know of course) up to the 5th sphere.

Not long after, Eldryck Venym returned to the Free Spirit Sanctuary.

Folko had joined us then and after a bit of time he asked of Venym, "You have some knowledge of how the Ring of Passage Works," which the questioned replied he did not. Folko then asked if, in his visits to other places, he had used the ring or any other method, to which Eldryck replied that he travels through the chaos.

This is the part where everything becomes very interesting and almost unreal to the point where I had thought I must have slipped into a vision within my own dream state. I had whispered to Master Purple Lace that I had truly forgotten where the location of the Ring of Passage was. However, Lace's answer found my ears after the answer came from Eldryck Venym when he had said out loud, almost as if he had heard my whisper to Lace, "Belom, it is in Edgeward." He claimed that I whisper loudly and yet, he himself was all the way across the room from myself and Master Lace.
After Venym's response, I heard Lace's whisper as she said, "Right afore ye go to the Chasm of Souls." The City of Lyra and Lyraclesia call this place something different than I remember from the City of Idoaclese. We had called the Ring of Passage, Sala Erosa's Anvil, however I do not believe that was always what it was called, to be certain.

Then it happened...

Just after Eldryck had announced that Aileron was freed, I whispered into Lace's ear once more. I no more allowed the whisper to reach its target when I realized that I was no longer on the Barrows. I thought for sure I had just slipped into a Scrying Vision as I was no longer in the presence of Purple Lace, Fin Marda, Eldrick Venym etc.

Quite nearest to where I stood, the apparition of an attacking Agoknight caught me by surprise. Along with it I could hear the muffled sound of voices but I was unable to make out the words at first. Then the cries of dreamers did find my ears, as they cried out my name in wonder. Dumah, Liolira, Dissoc, Hrrum, Aileron, Silverwake, and Sadara were there with me. I should say, they were near enough for me to hear their voices.

I was fortunate to be rallied out by Dumah. Aileron stated the bars could have been weakened from his own escape and further went on to say that the rally did not work on him when he was imprisoned there. They asked if I had encountered an Arretian, but I did not. Only a handful of dreamers were present in the place I was before my arrival here.
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I hope that you have been paying attention thus far. Do take note that when this happened upon me, I was in the Free Spirit Sanctuary. That tells me that not every Sanctuary in our City is safe. Perhaps none of them are?
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Just then, the Art of Blast was invoked on me two times, leaving the dreamers in wonder of who had done such a thing. I had fallen off the edge of the Bluff Depths within the Palisade and as I painfully hit the bottom, I was immediately stricken by an invocation of the Art of Blind. Fortunately for my sake, I was able to regain my position with the others at the top of the Bluff where I heard them all talking about vacating the place as quickly as possible.

Hrrum had suggested going to the Threshold Caves and Silverwake suggested that translocate would be a good option. Then, I had become unable to move and I was not alone. Liolira mentioned the same. It had worn off fairly quick, so most who were able to had taken off right away. Sadara and I were the only two that remained. I told her to go with them but she hesitated. She said she did not want to leave me alone there but I assured her that I am never alone.
...
Alone on the Bluff Depths, I looked around curiously. There was only the one portal that I knew of, not being one to frequent the place. It led to the Threshold Caves. I said aloud, "I couldn't have gone with them even if I had tried," the portal to the Threshold Caves did not spin for me. I tried pushing through but it did remain inaccessible and would not allow me to pass through it.

Just then, a flash of energy stood before me but only briefly and when I turned around to face once more the portal, somehow, it was spinning. Oddly however as I went to pass through the portal into the Threshold Caves, I was whisked away again. To where you ask? Back into the Edgeward Barrows and the Free Spirit Sanctuary. Dissoc was there, Folko and Silverwake too.

I left there soon after Folko began to think I was a potato and told me of his hunger. I made my way then to the Threshold Caves, where Folko was there and had said, as I entered, "After Belom was imprisoned. I suspect at the moment of his release?" He spoke to Dissoc but I am unsure what exactly they were talking about. Dumah had said more than one time that the Arretian's have been placing traps within the Palisade.

What happened to me, stemming from the Free Spirit Sanctuary on the 29th day of the 3rd month to the Palisade Prison, could easily happen to any one of us. Mark my words that we should consider the fact that we are safe from nothing. There are great powers at work here. All along, I had considered Grave's experiment with the selected dreamers the power that I had spoken of in a prophecy that I had written not long ago. I have reason to believe I was wrong. Perhaps it is the Arretian's that hold this great power?

Hrrum mentioned that we might seek out Grave once more in secret and request that he ascend us all so we might stand a more even ground against this foe. Liolira mentioned a final experiment of Dr Grave which I am not aware of. So I posed this series of questions in the Threshold Caves, "Do you feel the Arretian Dreamers are welcome here? Or do you see them as unwelcome? The same can be asked of Grave."
Folko had a great response in my opinion when he replied, "Arretian dreamers are ... dreamers. They're not evil. Or good. They've got their own goals, ambitions, desires, and methods. Right now. We are at odds. But eventually, they may be a source of knowledge we do not possess."

Folko went on to say, "The thing is that Arret had a presence within our city always. They've come to us before. Before the ring was repaired." So with this, I invite you back to the prophecy which I had given to you all not terribly long ago. I spoke then of a great power coming to the City. Folko, in conversation with Eldryk Venym regarding the Arretian dreamers said, "He described them as old dreamers..." In that same prophecy, I also wrote of the 'Old Ones'. Put two and two together.
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I would hope to see that each and every one of us meditate very seriously on what I have said here and what has transpired. I will all of your dreams be balanced and clarity finds you in all of your dreams. Wellness be with you all.