Hour of Sleep/Dream-weaving

[Charles Ryker]

"Well, it is certainly a possibility." Stepping out from a corner, and Ryker calmly walks over to the table. Without pausing to consider whether or not he would be welcome, Charles sits down and makes himself comfortable. "Personally I haven't had much experience with Ghouls, though the concept of this Hour of Sleep intrigues me."

"My experience with both Ghouls and the Hour of Sleep are fairly limited, mostly just the rumors and stories told to children. However I did meet a Ghoul named Yatch who was speaking about how he could send us into the past dreams of those deceased, or the current dreams of those who still live." Pulling out a pipe and taking a moment to light it, he begins puffing lightly before continuing. "There was some discussion about whose dreams to view, as well as how many dreams one can view. I believe that Yatch claimed that one could view 3 dreams before your presence would begin to become... noticed. He also said that one would need to 'give of themselves' such as a body part, like a toe or a tooth. I believe he said that blood would also work."

Ryker leans back and begins to smoke his pipe a bit more thoroughly.

[Dr. Sinclair]

Dr. Sinclair was sitting at the bar just listening to the conversation. he takes a last sip of water. 'Wait what. ok that was freaky just the other day i had a dream / nightmare. and what you said kinda explains why i had it and what i should do. also LORE what you asked earlier, in one of my dreams i heard a male Volksgradian voice saying Each dream is another world, created by the thoughts and emotions of the dreamer. These worlds are connected by the Hour of Sleep, an otherworldly realm of concepts and phantoms." sinclair takes a deep breath " alright over the past two to three weeks ago or just after our gather, i started to get dreams. so far i had two of them. they are all mashed up together and could only make out a couple of them. but from what gathered was pritty weird. could someone help me with this please?"

[Charles Ryker]

Ryker continues smoking as Dr. Sinclair begins speaking. As Sinclair talks about his dreams, one of Ryker's eyebrow raises slightly. "That's interesting, and quite bizarre. I've read a few papers in Alienism that talk about sleep, but that kind of thing would be sort of a mixture of Occultism and Alienism. It does, however, line up nicely with what Yatch had said."

Putting his pipe down for a moment, Ryker gets up and makes himself some coffee before sitting down once more. He adds a little bit of cream before pulling out a flask and pouring something into his coffee. Putting the flask away, Ryker drinks some of his coffee before picking up his pipe, as if he had never put it down. "I do have some experience with dealing with night terrors, as well as strange occurrences. I take it from your tone, though, that you don't regularly experience such dreams. That of course begs the question, what have you done or come into contact with recently that could be responsible for giving you such visions?"

Ryker puffs thoughtfully, little nonuniform rings drifting upwards from his pipe. "The Volksgradian speaking could be a literal man speaking to you through your dreams. If anyone would have ventured into this realm of study, or began contacting people through dreams, it would be a Volksgradian."

[Raven]

*Raven happily sits next to Miss Peri West, she seems more and more pleased with each new thought added to the conversation and that she is included within it, she mouths the words L.O.R.E last spoke a few times mumbling the words ‘citizen of Greyhook,’ over a few times until she exchanges the word ‘citizen’ for ‘citizens,’ she then pointedly looks with a serious expression at Dr. Sinclair after a small pause*

“If you listen long enough it will speak to you.”

*she blinks as if surprised she spoke and then recoils slightly fidgeting with something so as not to be to pointed or maybe an attempt to be polite*

“I have… been called a dreamer.”

*she looks around almost nervously but continues, starring at the table before her*

“The Professor says that when you lay down to sleep dreams happen. Normally they stop when you wake up. Mine… I… mine do not. I am dreaming even when I am awake.”

*she glances at the faces of those assembled and looks down with a small sheepish smile a slight pink color coming into her otherwise pale cheeks*

[Dr.Elden]

Dr.Elden nods to Miss West, "of course, I am always willing to talk about The Great Work. However I do not wish to derail the current topic of conversation."

He pauses and chuckles as he hears Raven's words and sees her discomfort. "Fear not Lady Raven. These 'waking dreams' that you experience, while unusual, are not unheard of. It is my belief that there are certian individuals who are more 'in tune' with the patterns of The Great Work than others. These things you see are a sort of resonance between your mind and The Great Work itself. An un-intended harmony if you will. It is through understanding of these dreams that we learn more about the larger patterns of The Great Work that surrounds us."

He reaches over and pats Raven's hands, "Those 'dreams' mark you as someone with great potential. Never be ashamed of who you are Lady Raven."

[Dr. Sinclair]

"i cant really say Mr. Ryker but hopefull this will clear up. ill let you know. and raven thanks for the insight of the matter. well i bid you all a far well. im working on how to cure my "glassjaw" as Mr. G puts it"
Dr. Sinclair leaves the pub

[Dmitri]

*Dmitri looks up from his work: f loose sheaves of papers covered in strange markings and yellowed old books stacked so high they all but obscured his face. He buys a glass of water from the puzzled barkeep and moves to join the conversation*

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice the conversation sooner, I've been a bit absorbed in my work as of late. I hope you'll forgive my intrusion. The Hour of Sleep is of a special academic interest to me, particularly how it relates to the ancient Dorrish practices and their Ik'nuq faith. I have been speaking with Yatch and he has confirmed my suspicions that what the Dorr refer to as the "Hunting Grounds" is in fact the same as the Hour of Sleep, or perhaps a region within the Hour of Sleep. I had been hoping to mount a field study this Autumn, but a freak snowstorm made the wilderness quite inaccessible to me. When the snow clears this spring, I should hope to gather some field data on the subject, and perhaps publish a paper.

I've been to the Hour of Sleep several times, including once on my own. I can confirm that things on the other side are something of a mirror of our own world, seemingly warped by our own perceptions, dreams and emotions. For instance: the monolith in the center of town is much larger in the Hour of Sleep, looming over the town like an accursed tower.

But something has been bothering me lately: though there is certainly a correlation between the Hour of Sleep and our own world, even the most elementary scientific text warns us that correlation does not equal causation. Proper experimentation is always needed to determine which of two correlated phenomena is the cause and which the effect.. The ancient Dorr believed that our Universe is a collective dream of the Ik'Nuq gods, and indeed I have reason to believe these Ik'Nuq...entities, if you prefer, dwell within the Hour of Sleep. It would perhaps be arrogant of us to assume that the Hour of Sleep is created and dreamt by our world, and discount the possibility of the converse being true"

*Dmitri finishes off the last of his water, and lays the glass face down on the bar*

[littlebluefae]

L.O.R.E. takes all this in, especially Dr. Sinclair's words, without any words coming from the automaton herself.

When he chooses to leave and does so, however, she thumbs back in his general direction. "Mister Ryker, sir, and et all gathered: Sinclair is a man who has dreams that I believe are linked to another being. Or, at least his family line. I do not have any proof of such things yet, as I am researching the Professor Gerald or Gerard Sinclair who built me, researching the life of the late Sister Agnes Sinclair, and working hard to keep Dr. Corneilus Sinclair safe while tracing such things. Maybe I shaLL find SOme links TO preseNT at the WINter Revel; I knOW not..."

L.O.R.E. tilts the face-plate a little and fidgets with the hold to her jaw-bone, and then uses a few test moves before continuing.

"There is a being whom this Doctor Sinclair promised to help, but in dreams - it has a name, called Diskordia. He took the doctor very seriously but I was assigned the research task months ago to gather what I could: to see if it could be done, and if so, how to safely protect Doctor Sinclair from any dangers therein. I have not found much on it except for some Volksgradian pages. I cannot find any listed cases of automaton thus far being able to enter this hour, so if what Ryker says is true, then perhaps I cannot BodyGuard and follow Doctor Sinclair. The dreams the Doctor has are odd; while I know that humans, dhamphir, and various beings with a pulse do tend to dream, the Doctor has tended, like most in their lives, to not recall them in any manner of detail. Until now, that is."

L.O.R.E. places her tome on top of the table and opens it up. "Are there actual cases beyond theories? Any story at all any of you have heard? Diskordia seems to be madness itself to humans; a trait I would rather not have within the mind of Doctor Sinclair at any point, especially while courting one Miss Molly Mayweather. I remember what It did to Doctor Cobb; let us not see that repeated if we can."

[Raven]

*Raven gives Dr. Elden a large smile and looks content to sit silently and listen as the others speak, after some time she mumbles to herself*

Ghouls… said like to eat the bodies dry of blood. Tastes better they said…

*she looks up at L.O.R.E with a start*

What if they took what wasn’t supposed to be taken!

*she then points to L.O.R.E’s head, blinks and then makes a motion with her hands as if she was holding a large invisible ball*

It glowed.

[Emily Alice Thatcher]

Emily has been sitting not far away this entire time with her journal, a pen, and a cigarette. She has been taking all of this in for the entirety of the conversation, and slowly choking down a drink that is quickly becoming not strong enough for her liking. As soon as people begin talking about their dreams, though, she becomes still and her cigarette turns o undisturbed ash, though she does not show any signs of joining the conversation.

At this very moment, though, her drink empty and her cigarette dead, she begins collecting herself rather loudly and utters a simple "Huh." before going to the bar to buy herself another drink. After a second of silence, she raises her glass and states to no one in particular:

"Don't test him, love. It’s the quiet ones that’ll bury the rest of us.”
She then utters a little chuckle that is quite chilling given the circumstances, and brings the glass to her lips.