Telamon Pays A Visit

This time, it was a request. A message had come from Dolan sometime in the last day or so, asking Telamon to come see him when he could spare the time. When Telamon arrives, he will find that security has been tightened down here, and considerably more precautions are being taken with Dolan than was true the first time he was here. He is now announced down the hall, rather than coming straight to the door, and there are two sets of guards, not just one, one down the hall and one at the room itself. He is asked to leave any belongings outside, and warned not to touch the patient, nor to speak of the vampire.

When the formalities are done, though, and he is admitted into the room, Dolan looks considerably better than he did the first time. His color is a good bit better, and he is dressed this time in a loose shirt over loose trousers, sitting up in bed and working on putting in the artificial eye.

Zeke is sitting beside Dolan's bed, the large blue-scaled sith-makar sipping tea as it seems he is wont to do. He perks up however as Telamon is announced and once the man actually makes to enter he offers the customary greeting of his people politely. "Peasssce on your nessst Telamon." His voice is warm and he motions to the tea pot. "Would you care for sssome tea?"

Telamon puts on a polite front, but after he enters, he gives Dolan a bemused stare. "I was afraid they were going to go for a strip search with a priest truthsaying out there." His voice is dry, but then, curiously, he tilts his head, and sighs a bit. "It's good to see you again, Dolan. You're looking a lot better than you did the last time. I'd have brought wyvern wraps but they're finicky about me bringing things."

Tel rubs his chin and studies the other man, evidently mulling over what to talk about next, his eyes flicking to Zeke. "Peace upon your nest, Sunguard Zeke. Tea would be wonderful, thank you."

Doian finishes putting in his artificial eye, and his flesh-and-blood eye blinks several times. He turns his entire body in the bed, carefully swinging one leg over to sit on the bed, and the glint of the chain that holds his holy symbol is visible. It's not careful dressing, but it is still dressed, and the chuckle he lets out at Telamon's remark. "Yeah, sorry about that. They're pretty strict." A sheepish look accompanies that suggests that it might be his fault.

"Thanks for coming, my friend. I - had a favor to ask." He rests both hands in his lap, a relaxed posture. "So you know about Auranar and Verna's wedding, yeah?"

In an attempt to be unobtrusive while the two men exchange words, Zeke rises slowly to his feet and pours out tea for Telamon. Dolan already has a cup poured for him and sitting on the table of course. If he wants it. Telamon will find that the tea is an Am'shere blend, something pungent and warming for these winter months. Zeke silently offers the cup to the other man and makes his way back to his seat quietly.

Telamon takes the cup, smiling at Zeke genuinely as he takes a sip. His gaze moves back to Dolan, and his eyebrows rise at the topic. "Yes. Lana is, of course, thrilled, as am I." His eyes sparkle with good cheer. "She sends her good wishes by the way. In any case, I don't know all the details yet, though I have sent them all our notes from when we were planning our wedding. Hopefully those will be useful."

As Dolan levers himself around, Tel's eyes flick to Zeke, and he says to Dolan, "Ah, are you trying to get up? Do you need some help?"

Dolan shakes his head at that, and after a glance at Zeke, picks up his own teacup and takes a slow pull. "No, Tel. It's just easier to see you this way." Siiiip. "If I turn my head too much for too long my shoulder locks up." He explains it matter-of-factly, but there's an undertone that reads _and I don't want that_. "I - don't have anything to wear, and I think they'll let me out before the wedding, but I don't know how long before. I was hoping you knew a tailor who might be willing to come here." He pauses, then adds, "Don't mention to Auranar and Verna. I want it to be a surprise."

Zeke shakes his head subtly at Telamon, telling him wordlessly not to help Dolan. Who as it turns out in his own words is not doing anything more than making himself comfortable in any case. The blue-scaled sith nods once at Dolan's admission, and hums thoughtfully. He starts to say something, but reminds himself that it would be rude to interrupt so he keeps his jaw firmly shut.

Clearly, 'not helping' doesn't sit well with Telamon, but after a moment he nods. "Alright." He reaches over to grab one of the stools in the room, sitting down on it. "You don't?" he blinks at this admission, before pausing again. Then he smiles at something, before nodding. "Hm. Okay. Well, you've asked the right person." He rubs his chin. "You'll need someone who can keep quiet, and--" Another pause, and his eyes glint. "I know just the person. Jovani Andarion. He can keep a secret. My wife bought me this gorgeous tunic for Yule from him, and he never let anything slip."

"I'd be stunned if you didn't know every tailor in the city, Tel." The mobile half of Dolan's features and the chocolate-brown eye light up with laughter, and no small measure of relief. "I'm in your debt. If I asked Andie to do this, I'd end up wearing either robes or a smile, and I doubt anyone wants to see either one." The cheeky grin he wears goes ragged around the edges at something, and he looks over at Zeke. "Any notion how long it might be before I can leave the temple?"

Zeke blinks in surprise at the unexpected question and he thinks before he answers. "A week, two perhapsss? It dependssss on how good you are at ressting." His tail swishes behind him, but it's the twinkle of amusement in his eyes that gives him away as being in good humor at the question. "You are good at working hard, but not ssso good at letting your body ressst when it needsss to."

Telamon taps his fingertips together, thinking. "We could bring Jovani here, but... the security IS kind of tight. And Jovani -will- need to make measurements." Tel cocks his head. "We could also load Dolan onto a wagon, carry him to the noble district. That way he won't have to exert himself so much with walking there or riding."

He furrows his brow. "It'll be tight. Jovani can handle a rush order, but we really might want to bring him here at least for the initial measurements. We can do final fitting at his place." He glances at Zeke and Dolan. "How does that sound for a plan?"

A more sheepish chuckle this time, and Dolan tilts his head in acknowledgement of Zeke's observation. "I grew up on a farm, Zeke. Chores had to happen no matter how badly you felt. Papa would call this being lazy." He takes another long, slow pull of his tea, thinking over Telamon's suggestion. "I can handle measurements. Idle chitchat while he's doing it'll help." He doesn't explain that remark overmuch, simply turns to Zeke as well. "It'll take that long, Zeke. The wedding is about - what's today?" he asks suddenly, as if only now realizing a thing.

"The twenty-sseventh of the month." Zeke can well understand not knowing what day it is when one is locked up in a cell where there is little to do but sleep and no sign of the sun in sight. "Thisss one doess not wisssh to make guesssess about your health Dolan. It may sseem like a long time, but it isss a sshort time for your body. We may be able to let you out for a day for thisss..." He looks at Dolan for a moment. "Wedding? If you are sstill sstaying here. Ass for the tailor... Thisss one will make it happen. You dessserve sssome-thing to look forward to; it will make you work harder at ressting yessss?"

Telamon scowls a bit. "Tight schedule. I think I'll try and bring Jovani as soon as possible -- tomorrow, if I can. Zeke, I'd -really- appreciate it if you helped smooth the way with the security. They can cast wards, truthsay him, check him with truesight if they need to, but he's going to need to be here with his measuring tape. I'll take down notes for him myself -- might as well keep this simple."

He looks at the ceiling. "Any particular color or style you'd like, Dolan?" Tel lets his gaze drop back to Dolan again. "I imagine you'd look quite impressive in a ruffled shirt like this," he plucks at the cuff of his own long-sleeved silk shirt.

Again, Dolan chuckles at Zeke's words, and takes another long sip of his tea. "So what I am hearing you say, Sunguard Zeke, is that it's very unlikely that I will be well enough to be released in time for the wedding. That's a shame." Oddly, he does not seem upset, and in fact, the chocolate-brown eye winks at Telamon. "You should be sure to inform Andie and Auranar and Verna of that."

The tea stops about three inches from his lips, and he _stares_ at the sorcerer. "What do you mean, style? Um." He eyes the ruffled silk shirt that Telamon is wearing, far fancier than anything he's worn more than once. "You sure? That - I dunno. Something like that?" Confusion reigns now.

Zeke tilts his head at Dolan, clearly not understanding the man or his good humor at the news that he would not be able to make the event. "Do you... not want to go?" He asks curiously, holding his tea up as if he'd been about to drink, but Dolan's behavior was confusing him. Under his breath he mumbles something and then he looks from Dolan to Telamon and distinctly does _not_ comment on the clothes. He hasn't worn anything other than what he's currently wearing in over a hundred years.

Telamon opens his mouth, then closes it. "Ah... don't worry, Dolan. I'm sure between Jovani and myself we'll come up with something. Don't worry, it'll be fine." His eyes sparkle, and then narrow. "I presume Andelena's going. What will she be wearing? I grant color coordinating with your significant other isn't mandatory, but it always looks good. Or does she need a dress as well?"

Tel looks at Zeke, and then smiles, making a casual smoothing gesture. Nothing to worry about, just introducing someone to a whole new world of concepts.

"Don't know." Dolan blinks, then appears to relax, and takes another sip of his tea, this time finishing it and setting it back down on the table. "She probably should have something made, too. She usually borrows my stuff. Don't know what she'd want, though. I'll ask her and have that answer ready when this Jovani comes."

He turns, then, to Zeke, and laughs. "No, Sunguard. I'm going. It's just- I want them to think I can't, so that when I do make it, it's a surprise for their wedding day. The easiest way to make that happen without outright lying is to tell them what I just said, because I'm not going to tell outright lies. We really don't know how long it will be before I can leave, get it? I'm still pretty weak." That admission is made with a genuine sigh. "I hope Andie - did Andie talk to you or Verna about the vision?" he asks suddenly.

The blue-scale blink-blinks then nods slowly. It's clear that he is just barely following that logic, but he does indeed follow it. "Ssssaa." He replies gently, drinking his tea and eyes narrowing at Dolan's sudden change in topic. It's clear that he doesn't love the topic, but he doesn't do anything to halt the conversation.

Telamon nods, sipping his tea. "Or she can come to Jovani's at some point, and we can coordinate with what we're putting together for you." He tilts his head. "Lana would be happy to manage it, or I can do it. We have plenty of options here. Just need to put them into play."

At the mention of visions, though, Tel stiffens a little, and his eyes flick to Zeke -- but since Zeke isn't kiboshing the discussion just yet, he shakes his head. "No, but I'm pretty sure you had the same one I did. I've been... experimenting with my totem. Had a kind of interesting result, too. But yes... facing off against wolves, a sword in hand -- I can't even -remember- the last time I held a sword."

"Yeah. Can I leave it to you? I've got the money for the clothes, the Guild paid me for a job right before-" Here, Dolan pauses, then nods to himself. "Right before it happened," he says firmly. "I've got it, it should be in my bag. Andie can get to it. I'll pay for Andie's, too. I know it's pretty tight."

He flexes his shoulder carefully, wincing, and lets the hand fall back into his lap. "I've done about all I can do in the Dream Realm, Tel. I think all the remaining totems are in the camp, and I can't see it from the Dream Realm. Yeah, I got the vision, too." He looks over at Zeke, and sighs. "Look. I'm a damned long way from being able to fight, Tel. I don't know what the gods expect me to do. I'll help however I can, but -" He stops. "I'll ask tonight, what I can do to help. If I have to pick up His blade for a while, I've done that, too."

Zeke relaxes somewhat when Dolan admits that he can't physically be of much more aid. "It may yet be that there are anssswersss in your dreamsss Dolan. Thisss one would not give up." He looks at the man, trying to instill hopefulness in his patient. "You have already done very much, do not forget that either." Green eyes flicker to Telamon.

"We go to war with what we have... and I think we have more than we realize," Telamon offers. A glance to Zeke, and he continues, "As unpleasant as working with the totem is... I think we need to work -together-. Shared dreams. I..." He pauses, tilting his head. "Twice now, I've been interrupted by Dace Zinskas, who's been after the totem. But... I think if we come together, we can turn the tables on him."

He laughs, softly. "Just... be careful. Last time, I used teleport in the dream -- I guess I was looking for a dramatic flourish as Lana and I awakened. And we awakened, all right -- just outside the city." He holds up a hand. "Yes, I know, that should -not- be possible. And yet... we wound up having to fly home in our pajamas."

Dolan just shakes his head, picks up his teacup, looks into it, and offers the empty teacup to Zeke with his good hand. "Yeah, I've seen stuff manifest in the real world from these things. Did you have to feed it blood in the dream, to do that?" He pulls up at the collar of his shirt as he says that. "Don't mind dreaming with it, and I've gotten pretty good at it. If I can help, say so. I've got a few things I'm trying to find."

Zeke takes the tea from Dolan silently quirking his head to the side to ask without a word if Dolan wants more. Keeping him well-hydrated is after all one of Zeke's many responsibilities. His eyes flicker to Dolan's hand and then he makes a small thrumming noise. It's quiet enough to be practically unnoticed, and yet distinctly _there_.

Telamon sighs. "I wouldn't mind hemming that Zinskas lout -out-. I thought dreaming of something unusual would throw him off, but nope, little bastard just follows along to bug me and Lana." He looks to Dolan. "I would happily accept any insights you've got. I feel like I'm a boy again, fumbling around and trying to make cantrips work." He rakes a hand through his hair. "But yes. I tried feeding it blood in the dream and it made my control of the dream more... potent? Intense?"

Zeke's unspoken question gets a quick, affirmative jerk of the head, a quick nod for more tea. He adds a cheeky grin at Zeke for the quiet thrum, something appreciative there, and turns his attention back to Telamon. "Huh. Did it weaken you to do that? I haven't yet worked out how to chase something off. I think - you have to focus on what you do want, to get rid of what you don't want, get me? How do you not do something? You've got to have a firm positive, not just the absence of something. Like, I always have a firm question in my mind, when I sleep, when I'm doing this. I don't just let it wander where it wants to, because it nearly always goes -" He swallows. "Somewhere I don't want to. Instead, I focus on what I want to know."

Zeke pours tea for Dolan, from the big orange pot. There's a smaller blue pot, but he doesn't touch that one. He shuffles around with that low thrumming noise coming from him. Almost as if it's idle, but Dolan's subtle gratitude suggests that it might not be at all. The sith offers the now-full tea cup to Dolan and resumes picking up his own only to find it is also empty. Something easily enough remedied however. There is plenty of tea. "Trying to chassse ssssome-thing off, you would be working againssst their will would you not? That might make it very difficult." His words are soft, gentle, and he seems satisfied to return to silence once they're out.

Telamon nods. "I... sensed -something- about it, drawing at me. I think Zeke is right, though, about chasing intruders off. It's one thing if what's in the dream is a result of your own fears, but if it's someone -else-, that's another matter." He mulls it over. "Lana and I both think those of us with totems need to try and work together in the dream. I mean... I wouldn't try and go it alone in the waking world, why the hell am I trying it in my dreams?" A long sigh. "Other than, you know, being foolish. That might be why Zinskas keeps interrupting us. He doesn't want us to get too... comfy there in the dreamscape."

Dolan considers that, taking his tea from Zeke almost absently. "Huh. Hadn't thought of that, but you might be right. Guess we don't usually think about dreaming together. It's sure worth a try," he agrees. "If Zeke's right, and chasing something off means actively resisting the will of another, that'll probably go better if it's us together. I - need to be kind of careful, though." Another glance at Zeke, and he takes a moment to take a sip from his fresh cup of tea, obviously hesitating. "I think I can control my dreams enough."

Zeke clearly has thoughts on the subject, but he keeps them to himself for the moment, merely allowing them to darken his eyes because he has no control over that.

GAME: Dolan rolls sense motive: (6)+18: 24

Telamon's eyes glint. "Agreed. We all have things that haunt our dreams -- but they are -ours-." His mouth sets into a line. "The trick is to not let them bind you. In the meantime, though... you might consider dreaming of something more cheerful. I'm taking suggestions for what to plant in my garden come spring, for example. There's a fun place to start."

GAME: Dolan rolls will: (17)+10: 27

Something in Telamon's phrasing makes Dolan immediately wince, his shoulders stiffening and tensing, but he takes a long sip of his tea, then another, and lets out a breath. "Yeah," he says, wrapping hands around the teacup. "It happened. I was thinking of seeing if the totems had any ideas for how I can still help you. Andie's working on planning our wedding, and -" A sudden chuckle bursts from him. "Maybe I should use the dreams to help me memorize the wedding rites."

Zeke eyes Dolan _very_ intently for a moment, and he seems to anticipate the change in subject, shifting his tail in amusement that's a little tense. "That would be an interesssting ussse of the totemsss yesss." He chuffs his amusement and drinks some of his own tea. "Will you be sstaying for a ssecond cup of tea Telamon?"

Telamon tilts his head, his starry eyes regarding Dolan. "I can't decide if it'd be disrespectful or not to put it to that kind of use. Then again..." He chuckles softly. "If you've insights about the dreaming, let me know. I..." his eyes drop to his empty cup. "Sometimes," he says quietly, "it feels like I really -don't- know what I'm doing, Dolan. Like I'm a fumble-fingered fool, toying with something I don't understand."

"It's not. They're not good or evil, Tel. They're powerful, but they're not good and they're not evil. Which they are depends on how you use them. I've been using them to get my own dreams under control," Dolan explains, resting elbows on knees. "You've got the right idea. Focus on manifesting what you want, not what you don't want. Don't worry so much about where you want to go, as what you want to see, and what you want to know. The more specific you are, the more you'll get. We can try dreaming together, but -" Again, he hesitates, sucking in a breath. "Let's keep it simple and not try anything hard. Andie and Verna and I did this. It's easy to get wrapped up in your own nightmares doing this. That's how - that's how that happened." What, he doesn't say. "Maybe if we all think hard about the same thing. Let's try just thinking about finding each other in the Dream. Just finding each other. That's it."

He takes a sip of his tea. "Though many totems do we still have, and who's got them?"

"Ssseldan recovered one rescently and gave it to Andelena." Zeke says simply enough, not realizing that this is likely news to both men. He blinks at his tea and then looks up. "Perhapsss a sssmall sssampling would be wisse to sstart with. Tonight - you and Telamon both dream of finding one-another and then sssee if you can do ssso."

Telamon nods. "We... probably need to get together, make some notes. Might be useful. But... Zeke's right. I'll see if I can get Tanith to ride along as well. Considering the amount of fish I've shoveled in front of her... thank the gods it's been so cold, I can store it in the snow outside." He smirks. "On the upshot, I've had plenty of practice cooking fish lately."

He pauses, and looks at Dolan, and his lips quirk up again. "I'll try not to dream of any place too strange. Last time I wound up on a world I'd only seen in a dream."

"Wait - when did that happen?" Dolan seems startled by Zeke's offhand comment, and fairly lights up. "Your friend got another one? Which one? Does Andie know?" The questions are rapid-fire, and he straightens, looking at Telamon. "Let's meet in your garden and see what your garden looks like in the Dream, yeah? We both know it and there's nothing there that would be messy. I've got one thing to do first, and then I'll come meet you, yeah?"

Zeke blinks at Dolan. "The other day. Sseldan and his cihuaa ssscouted the plasce where the enemy isss camped out. They got sssome information and gave it to Andelena." He looks at Telamon. "You sshould ssspeak to her. Ssshe hasss a map of the forscesss arrayed there. Thisss one doess not know whom the totem wass created by, but ssshe might."

Telamon smiles, a hard expression. "Well, well. It'll be good to take the fight to them for a change." He nods briskly to Zeke. "I'll make sure to ask her about it. I'll pass it along to Verna as well, she wants to organize an expedition to deal with this infestation. I already told her I'd happily assist."

He nods. "The gardens sound like a good place to start. We'll try and meet there. Feel out how this works." He studies Dolan, then passes his gaze to Zeke. "But for now, I think you need to rest. Can't do much if you're out of it."

"It's just about all I do lately," Dolan laments, but seems to accept it readily enough, setting aside his teacup. "Tell Zeke when the tailor is coming. Andie won't want to wear a dress, she's worn a dress maybe once since we were teenagers together." He flexes his left shoulder, very carefully. "Thanks for coming, Tel. It's good to see you." He holds out his right arm for an armclasp.

Telamon opens his mouth, then firmly closes it, and instead clasps Dolan's arm. At the mention of Andelena, though, his brows come together. "It's a wedding, there -are- some expectations. But maybe I can work on her, get her to come around." He grins. "After all, she's going to have to wear a wedding dress to her own wedding. Can't get married in armor." After releasing Dolan's arm, he grins at Zeke. "Let me know if I can bring him a book or something. I've got a few that should keep him occupied."

-End