[Semi-Closed Post: Aornis Is a Real Headache]

[timebethine]

Somewhere around midnight, a migraine descended on Laertes like a thunderhead, and he still hasn't come out from beneath its anvil. He's spent most of the day hiding in bed with the curtains drawn, feeling as though he's about to be sick--and that feeling's only grown worse as the sun has drifted sluggishly to a low apex in the sky.

It isn't until mid-afternoon that he feels well enough to make progress on all his plans. He needs to speak to SecUnit about its drones, to Dionysus about whether Avernus (that is her name, isn't it?) is a goddess, and to Nightingale about whether he can offer magical support in case their confrontation goes sour. He needs to talk with Claudius about what to say when he does speak to her.

So it is that he starts making his rounds through the mansion and its grounds, seeking out friends old and new, clinging grimly to the thermos of coffee that smells sickeningly strong but also helps drive back the pain. His face is wan, his eyes shadowed. He would rather be doing anything but this.

Comments

[timebethine]

"Sir," says Laertes, shuffling in to sit alongside Nightingale at the table. He doesn't meet Nightingale's eyes; his own vision pains him less when he looks down, away from any source of light. "You look new-risen from a sepulcher."

[rememberettersberg]

"And you look fit to lie down in one," he replies with considerable concern. "Are you well enough to be up and about?"

[timebethine]

Laertes musters a smile. "This is the best I've felt thus far today. I was hoping I'd find you--I was seeking a lesson, and advice. But perhaps I'm in more fit shape for the advice than the lesson."

[rememberettersberg]

"Indeed, I don't feel particularly well-equipped to teach today." Nightingale frowns at his sandwich and pushes the plate away. "But advice may not be beyond me. What do you need?"

[timebethine]

"Have you met a woman here, named Avernus?¹"

¹ Pong!

[rememberettersberg]

"Hmm. No, I can't say that I have. Is she new?"

[timebethine]

"She's been here for some months--not a tall woman, nor one of overwhelming presence, but possessed of great poise and beauty. Fair of both hair and face." A sip of his coffee; the nausea rises and recedes in a rolling wave. "Sagramore and I have reason to believe that she has been influencing dreams."

[rememberettersberg]

"Well, the physical description sounds like Aornis; she'd hardly be the first person here to go by multiple names. As for influencing dreams..." Nightingale trails off for a moment as a memory sparks. "Claudius asked me about something similar - is he part of this situation?"

[timebethine]

"Damn me, I always misremember her name," says Laertes with a wince. "Ay, that is she. And ay, he is a part of it. If it's true that she is interested in stories, then I could not fail to catch her interest: a character ignorant of the substance of his own famous play, who has made a life and a home apart from it and has no desire to return. If she means us ill, I can learn of it. But we know not what arts--if any--might be marshaled in my defense."

[rememberettersberg]

"What do you mean to do exactly?" Nightingale is groping around for a notebook he hasn't used in weeks, wincing as he fails to find it in the shredded breast pocket of his uniform. "And what interference have people been experiencing in their dreams?"

[timebethine]

"I mean to speak with her, and to learn all that I can of what she has done and may yet do, and why," says Laertes. "I do not expect her to be truthful with me, but to that end, I'll have some spies close to hand, watching her from near and far, who might better be able to guess at her true meanings than I. I haven't met her yet, except in passing," he admits. "Nor have I spoken to anyone of the dream interference who had it directly--only to those who have stories secondhand."

[rememberettersberg]

"Forgive me for saying so, but this all sounds a little vague. I wouldn't wish for you to put yourself in harm's way without a clear picture of what might occur."

[timebethine]

"You've dealt with dangerous people," says Laertes. "How--knowing they may do harm, and knowing that they may lie or conceal their plans to better do that harm--would you find them out?" A hesitation. "And how--suspecting, as I do, that the mind is where her greatest power lies--could you trust yourself to have a clear picture of what might occur?"

[rememberettersberg]

"In my experience, the only way to protect oneself from undue mind influence is a fortitude that comes from experience and practice, and unfortunately that's not something I'm able to provide. Perhaps I should join the ranks of your spies."

[timebethine]

"Have you the power to observe from afar? If not, I've made arrangements with SecUnit for it to observe through its drones, and to share what it sees with Claudius upon a CRT. You may join him in that vigil, if you wish."

[rememberettersberg]

"Will the setup be close enough for us to intervene, should it become necessary?"

[timebethine]

"It will, I think--and I'll have another closer by, should more timely intervention be needful."

[rememberettersberg]

He nods. "I would like to sit in."

[timebethine]

"Then so you may," says Laertes. He draws in a long, slow breath. "Is there aught I can do to guard myself against the kind of magic that might send dreams? Perhaps against other magic that influences the mind?"

[rememberettersberg]

"You've reached a point of being able to confidently pick out the feeling of magic being used. Be on guard for signare that doesn't match yours or mine, for any thoughts or impulses that don't seem rationally yours. Do all you can to hold fast against them. Remain confident in yourself, your own truths and foundations."

[timebethine]

A nod, as slow as the breath. "I will. Thank you. This has weighed on my mind--but as ever, you have practical solutions for outlandish problems."