Mellia — Xdreams2
????, Fire Season, Season/Illusion Week
Context
Fire Season/Illusion Week/Waterday/late afternoon, shortly after Sweet Dreams Are Made of This. [[[s01:session-42|Session 42]]]
Events
There’s a gentle tapping at Dormal’s chamber door.
“Mmf? Come in.”
In comes an exhausted Mellia, with traces of tears on her cheeks. “Hello, Dormal. Should I come back later?”
Dormal sits up.
“No need. Come in. Sit. You look tired.”
Mellia comes in and sits. “Thank you. I am tired. I just tried to talk to Xenofos.”
Dormal raises an eyebrow.
“Tried? Did he not want to talk to you?”
“He didn’t listen,” Mellia clarifies. “He’s been mixing poppy seeds and wine. At least he’s sworn off dreamroot and hazia.”
“I am surprised. I didn’t think he was the type.”
Mellia says, “He’s having nightmares, which he will not discuss with anyone, apparently.”
“I don’t suppose he told you why he was taking dreamroot. Or hazia, come to that.”
“He wanted dreamless sleep, ho ho ho.”
“Um. I’m no learnèd Lhankor Mhy sage, but…”
“Where did he even get it? The hazia. They’re very down on it here in Sartar.”
“And I can’t imagine him hob-nobbing with the kind of people who’d sell it here. Especially in such, ah, heroic quantities.”
“He wouldn’t tell me,” Mellia answers. “I think he won’t use hazia again, but mixing poppy and wine will be the death of Xenofos. Just the poppy could do it.”
SPOILERS AHEAD
“Well. There is that. I could take his poppy seeds away. If he doesn’t have a ready resupply.”
“Which brings us to the wish of my heart at the moment. I don’t know whether it’s breaking my vows, but I wish someone would have quiet words with the herb and drug dealers in Sartar. I wish those people would get it into their heads that selling Xenofos anything more interesting than salt is a bad, bad idea,” Mellia says.
“I wonder if you can travel into someone’s dreams the way we enter a Hero quest.”
“We might have to do some serious research on the dream sharing, or ask a shaman. Xenofos won’t let us in right now.”
“Hm. That would be a lot of quiet words. But… there might be a way. I could maybe do something once we get to Wilmskirk or Boldhome.”
“I would owe you a gigantic favor, of course. Also, Xenofos would hate it.”
“I probably can’t stop them selling to him – there’s not one person that commands them all. But I might be able to arrange for his drugs to, ah, keep going missing.”
“That works,” Mellia says after a moment, “and it’s a lot safer.”
“If I can do it, you’ll need to convince Nala not to push the spirit away from him. And it might play other tricks. Better than him dying though.”
Mellia says, “I’ll try talking to Nala. It is better than Xenofos dying.”
“Failing that if people distract him I can replace his poppy seeds with something similar looking if you know such a plant.”
Mellia thinks hard for a minute.
“I don’t, sadly.”
“Mix something in that would weaken the poppy juice?”
“If he’s got poppy sap or poppy juice, there’s something we can try. If he’s only got seeds, I’m not sure it would be worth the trouble to wash and dry them.”
“I’ll check next time he’s occupied elsewhere.”
“Thank you, Dormal. I’ll do my best to pay expenses on this one. Chalana Arroy bless you.”
