The Circle of Dreams
by holyflpncows
I haven’t woken so serenely in years.
I stir, throwing off the blankets to see myself dressed in a white silk robe. As I move to prop myself up, I realize my hand is clutching a roll of paper. I sit up, feet dangling off the side of the bed, and carefully unfold the paper. It takes a couple of tries to get through reading it, between the disbelief, getting the paper the right distance from my eyes, and the tears of relief forming.Dear Vae,I close my eyes and focus. I try to seek him out with my thoughts. Arslan, you big idiot, I send out, stay safe. I don’t feel the connection snap into place. I hang my head, lost as to what I can do. I open my eyes and look around the large room. Everyone else is up and about, grabbing their things from chests at the end of their beds. I heave a sigh and do the same. What else can you do?
Firstly, I’m sorry to leave you and the group. I understand I am leaving a power gap, let it be known that I have been kidnapped but where I am now is precisely where I need to be.
Second, I miss you all dearly and I hope that you escaped from the nightmares.
Thirdly, my captor is that of someone of great powe…
apparently…
location is that of…
being helpful and is expe…
me. I have much more to s…
Please do not seek me un…
this place evil.
Your dear friend,
Arslan
P.S. I was righ…
I step out into a small clearing filled with other log cabins similar to the one we woke in. Many of the other cabins have decorations around or on doors. There are a few other people milling about. I approach a group of people garbed in robes of cream, light green, and pale pink, and ask where I might find Myuon. One of the group points east, telling me she’d be in the Navigator’s District. I don’t see anything but trees, but thank him and go back to the cabin. Before we can leave the clearing, a middle-aged halfling approaches us. She introduces herself as Siasu, Circsom City Guide. We accept her guidance and she leads us beyond the cabin clearing– or Residential District. The trees around us are enormous, both in height and circumference. I can barely spot where precisely the branches begin jutting out from the trunks. Siasu leads us from clearing to clearing, each one its own specialized section of Circsom. The library catches my attention, but I continue on with everyone to the Religious District. This clearing contains several small pools of water, serenely reflecting the small temple, larger monastery, and generic shrine. Shen Po makes a quick detour inside the temple while we take in the sights around us. A few minutes later, we’re in the Commerce District. There’s a myriad of shops and vendors here, but the large river is what catches my eye. Across the riverbank, workers are processing trees into lumber with a water-powered sawmill. Curious where the wood is heading—besides south—I ask Siasu. She tells me it all goes to Eras Til. I think for a moment. Right; the place where the Marble City is located and King Julius reigns over.
We eventually end up in a museum, filled with all sorts of trinkets from the past. A particular item catches not only my attention, but the others as well. A slender gold-colored sliver of rock that resembles the one we found near Kanbei's body. We ask the curator, Sviotia, about it, but she doesn’t know much. We exchange General Shengli's armor and great spear for a nice sum of gold.
After our brief stop in the City Center, we split up to pursue our interests in town. I head straight to the library with Spark and Mildred. I skim through book after book, playing off my interest as helping Spark find relevant information about the Cloudfrond. Hours pass with no luck. I get bored and skim faster and faster while Spark and Mildred seem to struggle to sift through their own stacks. I turn another page; no luck. I shut the book, but then stop. What had I just glimpsed? I grab the book again and flip back to the page I closed it on. A name jumps out at me. A. R. Xew. The doctor running horrifying experiments and who created the Blood Plague we’ve encountered. This book talks about Xew’s specialty in reconstructive surgery. When he was young, he traveled very far east from the Khan lands. When he returned, he was a master of his craft, unsurpassed by anyone else. There isn’t much more than that, and no specifics on where exactly east he went. I chew on this information as I continue looking for information on the Cloudfrond. His skill could likely help me, but his current work was concerning. It is still a risk. The Cloudfrond is still my best lead. The information I finally find on the Cloudfrond is even less than when I find on Xew. It’s an ancient plant, dating back about a thousand years. My mood sours as I also read that the plant is likely extinct. I don’t let that bit crush my hopes entirely, however. This book repeatedly references another book. I search for it but can’t find it. I ask the head librarian where it could be and she tells me it’s been checked out.
It's not hard to find the residence of Aemillius, the current holder of the book I need. Two flags hang in front of me. One purple with a white diagonal stripe and a white dot on either side of that. The other flag gave away Aemillius’s representation blatantly; a white flag with black letters proclaiming “Praise Julius”. I take in a deep breath, walk up to the door leaving Spark and Mildred behind me, and knock. No answer comes, not even after another knock. There’s nothing more I can do until I meet with this representative of King Julius, so I turn away and walk a few minutes to our lodgings. I pass Shen Po on my way in, who says in passing that he’s on his way to get treatment for his nightmares. I nod as he leaves. It’s good to hear that the druids here could help him. I get ready for bed and jot down what I’ve learned today in my journal.
I wake to a quiet commotion. Shen Po is missing. I hastily throw my coat and boots on, and follow everyone to find him. We head to the most likely location; the Religious District. Sure enough, we find him. Not how I expect though. Shen Po, still in his nice silk pajamas, is face down on the ground, his face resting in one of the reflecting pools. I rush over with Feng Da and we pull him out. Spark and Mildred work quickly to check his condition. Still breathing. But how? He wakes up, lungs clear of any water, and we walk him back to the cabin. He doesn’t recall what happened. With Shen Po returned, I take my leave to try and find Aemillius. I don’t get far before Shen Po comes rushing out, searching for something. I hesitate for a moment, then join him. He says he can’t find his holy symbol. I search with him all the way back to the temple. He goes inside, while I look around the site. The ground at the east side of the temple is littered with broken glass. I look up at the shattered glass wall of the temple and hear Shen Po talking with someone inside. I can’t find his holy symbol, though. It seems he doesn’t have any luck either. I spot others from our crew searching the nearby woods, so I take my leave. He’s got enough help for now.
This time the door opens after I knock. I ready my most charming smile, and hopefully so does Spark. Standing before me is a rather dashing goliath garbed in purple. I introduce myself. “What brings you to my cabin?” Aemillius asks. “I heard you had a book checked out,” I answer. “My companion and I would love to take a peek at it,” I say while gesturing to Spark. “So I was curious if you wanted to bring it along to breakfast with us?” Aemillius declines breakfast but offers to go out to dinner with us. Gives him too much time to prepare. He could “misplace” the book. He could leave town with it. You’ll lose your best lead. “We would be delighted,” I reply, flashing my smile, hoping to hide my frustration. It seems to work and we say our goodbyes. I march back to the cabin to prepare for the evening.
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