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Old 03-02-2022, 11:42 AM   #24
TGLS
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Default Re: (IC) Lost in Dreams (Julian)

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
Julian could use the wall... if he wanted to impose, he could wipe his hands on the cloth the vendor has on his cart... or on the clothes of a passerby. Stepping outside is an option, where he can find vegetation... though it strikes him that there are not many doors outside, all things considered.
Eh, I'll step outside again. I don't think I've seen a clock around here. Or maybe I have but I don't know how to read it. If only for some indication of the passage of time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
The place is lined with wood, so you can't tell, but the structure winds along, with almost all of the doors on one side.
Does it snap back or does it just wind round and round like a slinky?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
Finally, Julian arrives at the main market... which is busy and bustling... and pretty much identical to his dream, except that most of the people are different... but the layout is right. He even remembers where some clothing merchants were...
Yep, definitely not a coincidental television dream. Must have dreamt of a different day. Or they build markets like this one like box stores.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
A "full" but minimal set of clothes is 8 coins. He can find a light cloth that will cover his loins for 4 coins... he has 3. He's able to observe the haggling and figure out the general clothing prices before he asks...
I don't suppose I spotted any loose change on my way over here. I really don't want to be skipping breakfast tomorrow. I guess I could offer two coins, but I really doubt the merchant would offer the light cloth for that. I guess all there's left to do is write a diary entry and find somewhere quiet to sleep.
Quote:
2023-01-28 (?)
Dear Diary,
I haven’t a clue where I am. I was sleeping in the storm drain, as usual, and when I woke up I was on this platform, wet from what I assume is a massive waterfall. Apparently this cliffside is really high up or something, because there’s all this cloud cover well below the platform. I didn’t have a shred of clothing on me, but I did have my diary. Why would anyone literally steal the clothes off my back but not take my diary?
The area I’m in now is some kind of market that I guess is built right into a cliffside. It seems to wind upward, probably towards the source of the waterfall. The lower area where I woke up was relatively quiet, but in the higher area it’s a lot livelier and more commercial.
The people here are really weird. I’ve never heard any language that sounds like what they speak around here. They don’t look quite right either. You got people with wings, web handed people, a bearded lady; the most normal was this grey skinned woman with really pointy ears. It all looks too real to be a costume or something… They all kind of stared at me; it probably has more to do with my immodesty than anything else.
This place is extremely primitive. The guards in these parts are armed with spears of all things. I mean, if it was like, “oh, we don’t want to kill people”, they could have gone with tasers or billy clubs. I suppose you could just use the non-pointy end of a spear, but it’s obvious they don’t have a better option.
I’ve managed to find legitimate work; I’m a minor miner. They’re having me carry away “Vasic”, this odd black stone. They have me crawl into this really narrow tunnel and haul baskets full of dirt and rocks around on my hands and knees. It really hurts not having anything to cover my legs with. The entire mining operation is exceedingly primitive, no mechanization at all. Of course, it’s not like coltan miners in the DRC use anything besides shovels.
They use this Vasic as a light source, hung over the marketplace, as flashlights. I’m not sure how it receives power, and it doesn’t seem to produce any waste heat, though the light is warm. I think you could even tan under it. Surely, I would have heard of this material in science class. It doesn’t seem to obey physical laws. Then again, there’s more in heaven than earth than are dreamt of in my philosophy. They create this rough feeling, like there’s a divot, even though they’re not touching anything. It also smells like ozone when I’m around them… Maybe it’s like the “pins and needles” feeling, but I don’t understand why it’s different. For that matter, I don’t understand why it manifests as a smell either.
For all my work, I got paid four tiny copper coins. I can buy some kind of vegetable wrap from a local vendor for one of these coins. I was never a big fan of vegetarian food, but damn if this wasn’t the best thing I’ve eaten in ages. Maybe it’s because it’s the only I’ve eaten all day or because it’s the first warm meal I’ve had in like a month. I guess that means if I have three meals a day, then I’m going to be clearing one coin a week. That makes about a week before I have enough to buy even a minimal set of clothes. Maybe I could “make handkerchiefs” if I could blend in better. I suppose I could go for five days and hope to steal the difference, but I don’t really blend in that well to begin with.
I had a dream about this place before I arrived… I originally wrote it off as a television dream, it seemed so unreal compared to my normal experience. But with what I’ve experienced today, and how exact the market was… Is it possible that I’m still dreaming, or maybe hallucinating? I suppose if I can read this tomorrow morning, I’m probably awake and aware right now.
—Julian
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