Play@YSDC

Philulhu wrote:”Something’s happening!” said Alex. “Let’s go take a closer look!’

Leading Elsie by the arm, he approached the two artists. “‘Abend,” he said as they got nearer. “What’s going on?”

The pair look round at your address. "Good to see you," the artist - you recall Wilhelm called him Jürgen - "Konrad and I are here for the sermon."

He gestures toward the large building the crowd is gathered before - a large granite structure with a row of slender towers atop its frontage - the walls are carved with intricate reliefs of huge humanoid figures. A wide pair of doors stand open - the doorway is stuffed with a second crowd of people yelling imprecations at the first.

"Sermon?" Elsie asks. "Is this a church?"

"The temple of the Great Ones," Jürgen responds.

"Great Ones," the New Objectivity enthusiast - presumably Konrad - says scornfully. "Childish myths all."

"The priests have been speaking against Meyernick," Jürgen adds.

Elsie looks at Alex "Do you know what they're talking about?"

Alex shook his head. ”No, never heard of Meyernick or the Great Ones. Who are they?”

"The Great Ones are the supposed gods of this world," Konrad says. "Mashups of old Greek and Roman myth."

"Those figures on the temple wall are supposed to be them," Jürgen adds.

"Meyernick is the truth," Konrad continues. "The falsity of all gods and pretension."

Some of the nearby people in the crowd pick up on his words, shouting to those gathered in the temple door, "Meyernick is the truth!"

"But is Meyernick another god? A person?" Elsie asks.

Jürgen and Konrad don't answer her, joining in the crowd's shouts.

A tall, white-haired man dressed in a grey robe something like monk's habit pushes through the crowd in the temple door, and calls back "Meyernick is a false truth, who words speak only destruction!"

The crowd outside jeers him, while several of those around the temple start advancing toward them.

”Let’s just step back,” said Alex, quietly but firmly. “I don’t think this is going to go well...” With one hand, he took Elsie’s elbow to pull her away. With the other, he found his knuckledusters in his pocket, just to be on the safe side should he need them.

Alex's caution proves well founded. The group at the temple door push the priest - assuming that's what he is - back inside, before the shouting degenerates into a brawl between the two sides. Jürgen and Konrad are quickly lost in the mass. Most of the combattants are too focussed on each other to bother with you or Elsie, but a pair separate from the pack and move threateningly toward you. They don't look to be armed.

Alex gently pushed Elsie behind him. ”We’re not taking sides and we’re not looking for trouble,” he said firmly, watching carefully for either of the men making a move.

OOC,It could be Persuade or Intimidate, but Persuade's higher, so let's go with that. Persuade: 45 Rolled 1D100: 40

One of them tugs on the other's arm. "Come on, we're wasting time with them." They turn away and join the fray. The Meyernick crowd are trying to force their way into the temple, with their opponents trying to keep them out. So far, the latter group appears to be prevailing.

Alex looked around to see if there was any sign of whatever passed for the Kripo in this place. He sensed it was going to get ugly soon...

As if in response to Alex's thought, the sounds of whistles heralds the arrival of a group of men in dark brown leather jerkins - not quite uniforms, but similar in design. Many of the Meyernick crowd break off from the brawl and start running. The newcomers wade into what remains, and drawing clubs, start beating down the combattants - they strike at both sides, though they are noticeably harded on the Meyernick supporters.

Jürgen is one of the ones taking flight, and grabs as you as he passes - "Come with me, they'll arrest everyone here," he says.

Elsie looks reluctant to go with him.

Sensing her reluctance, Alex said, “Look, if he’s right, we could end up arrested and split up. Probably better we go with him and at least we stay out of their clutches.”

He looked over to where two brown-jerkined thugs were giving someone a beating. “Come on,” he said to Elsie. “Let’s get out of here.”

Elsie nods and follows. Jürgen ducks through a door leading into a narrow hallway and sprints down its length to a door at the far end - you get a brief glimpse of metal doorframes as you pass, and then you're back out into another street, narrower than the one you left.

The buildings in this street seem to be apartment blocks rather than the semi-ubiquitous clubs and cabarets - deprived even of the colour from they provide from within their windows, the scene is even more black-and-white than the Hlanith you've seen so far. Jürgen doesn't stop, but hurries down the street, keeping to the shadows. He leads you round a corner - you think you must be back on Leenstraße, the same street as the Manticore's Feather, though you'd be heading away from it.

Another turning leads to a block sporting a row of nightclubs. Jürgen goes into one - called the Three Magahs - and says "We should be safe in here. The Kripo don't bother with the clubs."

"I bet they don't," Elsie says sourly.

The Three Magahs is quiet, seemingly geared for drinking and talking rather than dancing - there is no music playing. The lights are low, but multicoloured, a bit of a shock to the eyes after the monochrome of the street - the colours glint off of glass covered pictures lining the walls. There's a bar, but no stage so far as you can see.

"I suppose I owe you both drinks," Jürgen says.

“Bier, bitte,” replied Alex. He glanced around the room, looking for a second exit and trying to find a table that would allow him to watch the patrons and the door.

Alex is able to find such a table. Elsie also opts for Bier.

Once you're all sat down, she says, "You replied to our questions, but you didn't tell us anything. Who are these Great Ones, and who or what is Meyernick?"

Jürgen takes a sip and says, "The Great Ones are as I said - the gods the people of this world worship. They look like men - the reliefs carved on the temple's facade are said to be their true appearances. Whether they ever were men, who can say? Meyernick is a revelation. You must know we dreamed this place into being?"

"You didn't seem aware of that today," Elsie says.

"Maybe I forget when I'm awake. But the people of the Dreamlands are beginning to know it too. Learning the unreality of their world, their gods, their lives. It is fascinating to watch them grapple with it."

Alex looked around the room. ”So, we ‘dreamed’ this place into being, and this is the best we came up with? Schiesse... ...”

He took a sip of his beer. ‘So what next?” he asked Jürgen. “You seen to have a better handle on this. Why do we keep coming here and what can we do to stop it?”

"Stop it? Why would we stop it? We have a whole world for our canvas, to remake in whatever image we want."

”Well,” said Alex slowly, ”So far we’ve experienced an attempted kidnapping and religious intolerance, so whoever is dreaming this is doing a great job, don’t you think?” He looked around. “And for the second day, night, whatever, we find ourselves in a drinking establishment. I could stay at home and do that!”

He took a drink of his bier. “So tell me,” he said to Jürgen, “What did you dream? Is this what you wanted when you closed your eyes last night?”

"An Expressionist film set? No, I suppose not." He shrugs. "But if it was dreamed this way, maybe we can change it, with enough practice. Make it more of a return to nature perhaps."

”I’m not sure what it looks like when we’re here is really the issue,” replied Alex. “Why we keep dreaming we’re here is the bigger issue. That’s what I’d like to know.”

"And why so many people are only just becoming aware of it," Elsie adds.

"There's a man I know," Jürgen says. "He calls himself a Son of Meyernick. I don't think he's a dreamer like us. But he knows this isn't the real world. He might be able to give you some answers. And I promise it won't be in a drinking establishment."

"Is he the one who whipped up that crowd at the temple?" Elsie asks.

"Yes. He makes others of the Dreamlands aware."

"Then I don't feel like being led off to wherever he's hiding. If we're going to meet him, it should be somewhere neutral."

"I can put that to him," Jürgen says. "I know he would welcome allies from among dreamers. In the meantime, do you have anywhere in Hlanith to stay? Time moves unevenly here."

Alex glanced at Elsie and then back to Jürgen. ”So, we’re going to be stuck here?” he replied. “Why won’t we just wake up and be at home in the morning?”

He shook his head. He was a barman - how was he meant to figure this out? He needed to get home - and he needed to get Elsie back home too. He had decided what he had to do.

“If this ‘Son of Meyernick’ can tell us what’s going on, then we’ll meet him but as Elsie said, on neutral ground. And no, we don’t have anywhere to stay, so what do you suggest?”

"You'll only be here for one night as far as the real world is concerned," Jürgen says hastily. "But the time you experience while here may amount to minutes, hours, sometimes days. Konrad and I have rooms at a hostel near the dockside. It lacks a certain modernity that the club district has, but if you wish, we can share one while you two share the other. I am meeting Lorsas - that's his name - tonight, and can put your condition to him. I can show you the way to the hostel if you wish."

"Or you can tell us its name and we can make our own way or take one of the taxi carts," Elsie says.

Jürgen nods, "If you would perfer it that way. The place is called the Gnorri's Tail. Our rooms are under the name of Konrad Baum, his first name, my surname."

”If you don’t mind sharing?” said Alex, looking at Elsie. “No funny stuff. You take the bed and I’ll sleep on the floor, or on a chair, if they have one.”

“I think I want to see a bit more of the city. Try and get my bearings and try to understand a bit more about these people, so we’ll meet you there later, OK?” he said to Jürgen.

Jürgen nods, and takes his leave.

"At least we know where to find him now," Elsie says. "I'm a bit wary of sleeping under his roof, though."

”Well, we’ll be sleeping in the same place, but he won’t be in our room,” replied Alex as he watched Jürgen depart.

He looked at Elsie. “He seems alright to me. Don’t you trust him?” he asked.

"Just jumpy," she says. "I keep expecting someone else to grab me."

”Not surprising, really,” replied Alex. “Given what you went through, Elsie - it wasn’t the greatest introduction to... what do they call this place? Hlanith?” He shook his head. “I’ll keep an eye out for you, though.”

He smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile and drained his drink. “Shall we go for a walk? See what this place has to offer?”

"I'd like that," she says, looking happier.

Outside, the street outside seems a little less monochrone than it did on your way to the Three Magahs - the buildings are still mostly granite with iron fittings, but without the urgency of being chased, your eye catches more decorative touches - colourful deco panels on shutters, or vases holding bundles of strange, long-petalled flowers, flashes of colour from scarves and feathers worn by people coming and going from the various clubs on the Leenstraße.
Jürgen called Hlanith an expressionist film set - but as you walk, it becomes easier to focus on the people make them out as more than blurred shapes - and in turn it becomes easier to pick out signs of them living rather than just existing as set dressing. A couple kiss in a nearby alley, a few revellers greet you as they pass you by, someone barely able to walk in a straight line stops one of the taxi-carts.

Eventually you reach a turning. On your right, the street carries on, an interspersed mix of apartment blocks and what appear to be shops, though it's still the city's strange version of night, and most look closed - though some do have lights in their windows. Ahead of you is a lightly wooded stretch of park, the trees and grass having a slight bluish cast under the sky's streaked light - there is a line of iron railings between the street and the park, but it has frequent openings in it.

Alex studied the park and decided it would be better visited in daylight hours. ”Let’s have a wander down to the shops, see what they have to sell here.”

The first open shop appears to be a perfumery - the interior is an open space with shelves on the left and right walls packed with bottles and jars - the far wall is a counter watched over by a fair-haired woman in a loose blue dress. In the doorway, the scents are a confusing riot, but Elsie seems quite delighted with them.

The shop next door is also open - from your current field of view, you can see shelves stacked with books and scrolls.

Alex smiled at Elsie. ”When you’ve finished here, I want to take a look next door.” Alex wasn’t much of a reader - he read Die Rote Fahne and a few Westerns - but he thought the bookstore might be an opportunity to find out a bit more about Hlanith.

It occurred to him that they might need money, so he wandered further into the perfumery, trying to see what the locals were using for money.

The locals are using coins of some description, made of or at least plated with silver by the way the light catches them. Seeing where you're looking, Elsie opens her purse and says in a slightly startled tone, "I have some. Maybe you do too?"

Checking your pockets, you do indeed have a small leather bag filled with the coins. While Elsie checks the perfumes, you can examine them: on one face is a ring of tiny figures, heads to the centre and feet to the edge, while on the other are markings presumably representing denominations. As you focus on them, you find yourself able to interpret them as Marks and Pfennigs, a not too different amount from what you would expect to have on you in Berlin. Is this your manipulation of the Dreamlands environment, or a natural parallel?

Elsie finds something she likes and makes her purchase - when she comes back, she's obviously wearing some - the scent is unlike anything you're familiar with, but has a tropical air to it. "Thanks for waiting," she says. "Let's have a look next door."

The next shop does prove to be a bookstore - the interior extends quite a long way back from the frontage, and is packed with shelving and small tables full of books and scrolls. There is no counter, just an old man with a scrip over his shoulder, sometimes walking around, sometimes sitting on a stool. He has darker skin than anyone you've seen so far, fully African in appearance, though his white hair is straight rather than curled.

"Good night to you," he says, apparently meaning the phrase as a greeting instead of a farewell.

The books are arranged by subject matter - the lettering you can see on their covers is unfamiliar, but again you find yourself able to interpret them as if they were German. Much of it is geographical, covering regions in the Dreamlands - other sections talk about beasts, gods, and magic - as well as some more mundane subjects like food and crafts. There is also a section on Berlin, though it's not very extensive.

”Good night,” said Alex, nodding his head in welcome. He moved over to the shelves and started to browse. He wasn’t looking for War and Peace, he wanted something that he could read in a couple of hours.

He picked out three books, pamphlets almost, covering the geography of the Dreamlands, gods and Berlin. The latter to find out a bit more about how the people of Hlanith that about their nocturnal visitors. He approached the old man with a handful of coins. “How much are these?” he asked.

"Two Pfennigs each for the first two, and three for the book about the waking city, bitte," the old man replies.

Alex held out the coins to the old man. ”The waking city?” he asked, with a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Why do they call it that?”

"The wise know of the Waking World," the old man replies, "and that men come in their dreams from there to here. Dreamers like you help shape this world, and in return this world helps shape the spirits of men in the Waking World."

"Our friend said something like that," Elsie says slowly. "But he said you weren't real."

"Does your time here feel unreal to you?" he asks.

"... No."

If there's nothing else you want to ask the old man, do you want to keep exploring the city or find somewhere to rest and examine the books you purchased?

”Where can I find out more about all of this?” asked Alex. The old man saying that this world shaped his own made him wonder about the changes going on back home, with the battles between the communists and the National Socialists becoming increasingly common, even as the rest of the country seemed to be on the up.

"Most temples have libraries. I fear there are few other centres of learning, even in Hlanith."

"Do you know anything about the Sons of Meyernick?" Elsie asks.

"Only that that name is on the lips of troublemakers in the city."

Alex nodded grimly. He’d seen the trouble caused for himself.

”Thanks for these,” he said to the old bookseller. “I may come back if I need any more advanced reading material.” He turned to Elsie. “Is there anything else you want to see?” he asked. ”If not, shall we head back to the hostel so I can start reading?”

Elsie thanks the old man too - he says "Good journeys" by way of farewell.

One of the taxi-carts can take you the neighbourhood of the hostel, where the two rooms are waiting just as Jürgen said. The landlord is surprised at more guests, but is happy enough to take a coin from each of you and admit you to Jürgen's room.
The room is larger than might be expected, boasting a bed, a table with two chairs, and a small chest. The landlord leaves you with pitchers of water and beer, with two glasses and asks if there is anything else you need.

”A spare blanket and some food if you have any, bitte,” said Alex, offering the landlord another coin for his trouble.

A short time later a woman appears with a blanket. Soon after that the landlord returns with some bread and a large bowl of diced meat mixed with several types of bean, and a pair of serving bowls. The meat smells like fried fish - the dish turns out to be lightly spiced, and delicious, though you can't identify the beans as any kinds with which you're familiar.

Alex set the bowls on the table and shared out the soup. He invited Elsie to sit down and eat.

As they ate, he said, ”The old man at the store said that Dreamers - presumably you and I, among others - can affect this world. I wonder how that works? Do we just think that things should be different and then they are?” He shook his head. A practical, prosaic man, it was difficult for him to understand how that would work.

He studied the spoon with which he was eating the soup. He turned it in his hand then closed his eyes, trying to imagine it as a fork instead...

OOC,Alex's Dreamshaping: 14. Rolled 1D100: 36.

The spoon is still a spoon when you open your eyes.

"Maybe?" Elsie says anyway. "It can't work every time, or this place would be a madhouse. Maybe we all change it together. Jürgen said Hlanith looked like an Expressionist film set. And there's all the nightclubs." With a sad expression she adds, "And the political fighting. If it's true, what must it be like for the people living here?"

The soup leaves you with a warm glow in your stomach, and the lamplight is bright enough to read by. Whichever book you start with, Elsie scoots round beside you, scanning the pages as well.

Alex laughed dryly. ”Probably just as well that didn’t work,” he said. ”Imagine the mess if I was trying to eat soup with a fork!”

He picked up the book about Hlanith first of all, reckoning that getting a better understanding of where they were would be a good place to start.

It's a geography of the Dreamlands as a whole that you got, along with one on the gods and one on Berlin. But the Dreamlands book does unsurprisingly begin with a chapter on Hlanith.

It it described as one of the youngest cities in the Dreamlands, and "close" to the waking world - it's even said that some of the granite from which most of its buildings are constructed comes from there - though it's a little surreal to hear of your own world being called "there." Many dreamers quickly find their way to Hlanith, especially those who come to the Dreamlands unknowingly.

The city is a great trading port, whose docks are busy night and day - by law, all taverns are located in the dockside district [though Elsie observes that that law doesn't seem to be diligently enforced these days]. Trade goes out by sea, over land, and along the river Oukranos, at whose mouth Hlanith sits. The city's people pride themselves on hospitality to all travellers.

It's ruled by a Doge, who dwells in a luxurious palace built atop a bridge over the Oukranos. It says he has a great reputation for justice, though a book printed in Hlanith would probably say that whether it was true or not. He's advised by a council made up of political elders, important merchants, and priests from the city's prominent temples (from the look of it, the one you visited near the docks and the one where you witnessed the riot are both in that category).

Hlanith is also part of a region of cities and towns called the Six Kingdoms, the rest of which make up the next part of the book. One of them is called Ulthar, which is the other place dreamers tend to visit first, especially those who wish in some way to escape from their waking lives - it's a place of archaic and rural idyll, and home of the great priest Atal the Wise. It's also one of the centres of cat civilisation, though the book doesn't explain what cat civilisation is supposed to mean.

Others include Thran, which is upriver from Hlanith - a city of great spires and minarets, and one of the Dreamlands' great centres of learning. Lhosk, another trading city, like Hlanith, further down the coast. And Hatheg, only a small town, but counted as a kingdom because it's built in the shadow of the mountain of Hatheg-Kla, where the gods come to visit. [Alex will remember that when you went to the Great Mountain temple by the docks, there was a relief of two mountains over the gate, and Friede called one of them Hatheg-Kla] The last was called Golthoth, but it fell long ago - its people, called the Dark Wanderers, still travel through the other five, and are still counted as a kingdom out of respect for their heritage.

Elsie wonders if this Thran is a centre of learning and the priest Atal is so celebrated, why the Dotherites wanted to go this other city so far away. "Unless they did already try them, I suppose."

OOC,You can add a skill Dream Lore of 15%.

”Possibly,” mused Alex. ”Or maybe they hold different religious views and aren’t on good terms. Speaking of which...” He picked up the book about the gods and began to read again.

The gods worshipped by most in the Dreamlands are called the Great Ones - which you knew - but this book puts names to some of them. The names are mostly nonsense syllables you don't recognise from mythology: Karakal the lord of fire, Lobon the lord of light, Oukranos after whom the River Oukranos is named, Tamash the lord of learning and illusion, and Zo-Kalar the lord of life and death. Nath-Hornath is the god of a city, Celephais, called the City of the Sunset, which some believe makes it the holiest of cities in the Dreamlands (although the people of Celephais do not themselves make this claim). There are three goddesses: N'tse Kaambl the guardian of justice, Hagarg Ryonis the deliver of wrath, and Yath-Lhi the devourer in darkness.

The Great Ones are almost always worshipped collectively rather than one at a time. The exceptions are Nath-Hornath who has dedicated temples in Celephais, and Yath-Lhi who isn't worshipped.

Their home is a black marble castle on the mountain of Kadath, far in the North of the world, though they visit other mountain tops and dance upon them.

There are those who do not follow the Great Ones. In particular, you see mention that the merchants of Dother have their own religion, which they never speak of to outsiders. ["Looks like you were right," Elsie interjects]

The book doesn't mention Meyernick that you can see.

”This seems like the Roman gods, or the Greeks. Gods of fire, light and death... ... not much carousing for this lot.” He smiled grimly.

”And no mention of this Meyernick. Is he a god, do you think? Or a prophet? Churches aren’t fond of those - they tend to tell a different story to the approved texts...” He sat in thought for a while. ”That would make sense given what we saw at the temple earlier.”

He yawned and glanced at his watch. ”One more before lights out,” he said, picking up the Berlin text and starting to read.

"Prophet, I think," Elsie says. "Jürgen and Konrad didn't seem to think much of the idea of gods. I wonder if he's dreaming, like us."


The Berlin book is a haunting read. Obviously a few years out of date, it describes the city from the of the war to the hyperinflation, detailing an economy dependent on its black markets to survive, and the privations of families and widows forced to sell hierlooms, mementos, or their bodies just to scrape their next meal together.

"They aren't aren't wrong about it," Elsie says in a subdued voice. Alex saw enough of the same in Bremen to be able to say the same.

Apart from tales of Berlin's economic woes, the book claims that many dreamers come from there, empowered by a great gift that allows one man to show his dreams to another as if they were real.

”It’ll get better, I’m sure it will,” said Alex, with more conviction than he felt. He read again the passage about people being able to share their dreams. “I wonder if that’s what happened to us?” he asked. “Did someone dream of us and bring us here?” He shook his head - it didn’t make a lot of sense.

He pushed the book away, drained the last of his bier and stood up. “Time to turn in, I think.” He checked the door to see if it had a key and then picked up the chair he had been sitting on, trying it for size if he were to use it to prevent the door from opening. ”lf you want to use the klosett before bed then now’s the time. Once I close this door, I don’t plan on opening it again until the morning!”

Elsie takes your advice. Once you and she are done, the chair blocks the door quite handily.

Alex wishes Elsie guten nacht and settles down, wrapped in the blanket. He sleeps with his feet against the chair propped under the door handle so if anyone tries to come in, he’ll know about it straight away.

You pass the night unmolested, though you feel stiff when you wake up, earning you an apologetic look from Elsie. Her party dress looks a bit more folorn this morning, especieally since she doesn't bother tying her feather accessories back into her hair. "Next time I should try dreaming myself dressed like you," she says.

Of the two rooms, this one was Jürgen's - Konrad's was next door, which they were sharing.

You can hear the woman from last night, knocking on doors down the hallway, delivering bread for breakfast. She gets to Jürgen and Konrad's door but they don't answer. You hear her open it. Then you hear her scream.

”Schiesse!” Alex swore as he pulled the chair out of the way and yanked open the door. “What’s happened?!” he asked, although he already knew it wouldn’t be good news...

Elsie follows close on your heels.

"He's dead!" the innswoman cries.

Through the open door of Konrad's room, you can see Konrad lying on the floor, a pool of dried blood around his body - at this distance you can't see a wound, but you can see his face, and the woman is clearly correct.

There is no sign of Jürgen there, alive or dead.

”Stay back,” Alex warned Elsie as he crossed the threshold into the room. He knelt by Jürgen and felt for a pulse, not expecting to find one but feeling he should make the effort. As he did so, he looked over Jürgen’s body for any obvious signs of how he had died.

It's Konrad's body - Jürgen's not there. There is no pulse, and his body is cold - there are two stab wounds in his side. His pockets have been turned out, as if he were robbed (though that's a very exaggerated "as if").

Elise does what you say, though she doesn't seem afraid of the sight.

You hear some banging from the floor below. Elsie looks round. "I can hear Polizei," she says.

OOC, Sorry - misread the post and got the two confused! :?

Alex quickly looked around before standing and exiting the room. Taking Elsie by the arm, he hustled her back to their room, where he hastily folded the blanket he had slept on and draped it over the bed. ”Don’t want anything that might arouse suspicion.”

He looked back out into the corridor, wondering if they had time to make themselves scarce...

Spot hidden, failed... (55/45 - https://www.dholeshouse.org/Tools/DiceVerifier?RID=c22006e8-80fe-48b4-806e-a08da6c39504)

It doesn't appear that there's a quick way out to avoid the approaching Polizei - though you can close the door quickly enough that they don't see you. You hear them bustle past the room you're in and into Konrad's.

Then the landlord's voice saying that "that" is the other room rented by him and his friend.

And then the knock on your door.

Alex took a deep breath and opened the door. ”Can we help you?” he said.

Outside are three men dressed in the same manner as the kripo-alikes you saw breaking up the riot at the temple. "How do you know the man next door?" the oldest of them barks, without making any introduction.

“We met in a bar,” Alex replied, as calmly as he could. “We needed somewhere to stay and he and his friend offered use of this room.”

"Where is his friend now?"

“I don’t know,” replied Alex. “We saw him yesterday but we didn’t see him after that.”

"You will have to accompany us for more questions. The dead man was one of the followers of Meyernick." Their faces don't look willing to take no for an answer, although they at least aren't producing ropes or handcuffs or anything.

”Who are the followers of Meyernick?” asked Alex, playing for time. He glanced at Elsie - he didn’t fancy going with the Polizei but wasn’t sure what options they had.

"They have been causing trouble in the city, and this murder is no doubt part of it. Anyone involved will be held until we get to the bottom of it."

"We're not involved!" Elsie says forcefully.

"You are sleeping in a room the two men rented and admit to knowing them," the man says. Looking back at his younger fellows, he says, "Take them to the guardhouse for now." The other two straighten up got to step around him.

Alex looked at Elsie, unsure what to do. ”If we could just have a moment to get our belongings?” he said, stalling for time.

He frowns, but nods. The other two step back slightly - they don't close the door, but you have room to do so yourself.

"I need to change," Elsie adds - she has no other clothes, so she's presumably giving you an excuse to close it.

”If you can just give us a moment, she won’t be long,” Alex smiled at the Polizei with a ‘what can you do?’ shrug and closed the door.

OOC, What’s the room layout? Presumably just one door, but any windows? Fire escape? What floor are we on?

First floor (the British first I mean) but the floors aren't too high - the window is big enough to get out of and it's not a long drop. The bed is too heavy to move, but the chair fit into the door pretty well the night before. There's another chair, and a table that's not too heavy - the table is by the window and opposite the door, while the bed is along one of the side walls.

Elsie is stuffing the books into her purse. It doesn't look like they ought to fit, but they seem to.

Alex quietly picked up the chair and wedged it under the door handle again, moving slowly so as not to make any noise. He’d prefer to lock the door, but the key turning in the lock would most likely give them away.

He crossed quickly to the window and looked out, checking to see if there were any more police outside. The coast looked clear so he carefully slid the window open and beckoned Elsie towards him. ”I’ll lower you down as best I can,” he whispered, “then I’ll follow you. Hopefully we can be out of her before they get impatient and try to come in!”

The chair makes enough noise for you to wince, but they don't seem to have heard it outside. The room is at the back of the hostel, and the street outside is narrow and quiet. You and Elsie are able to get out and down without attracting attention. A short run in either direction is enough to get out of easy line of sight from the window, and there are plenty of turnings into Hlanith's backstreets. It's the city's version of daylight, the streaks across the sky being bright and faintly tinged with gold.

"I guess we're fugitives now," Elsie says ruefully. "I always half expected to be."

OOC,Alex knows her last name is Levy.

"What now?" she asks. "Try to find Jürgen, or just somewhere to hide until we wake up?"

”Let’s go and find Jürgen,” said Alex. ”We need to tell him about Konrad and let him know the Kripo are looking for him.”

He looked around to get his bearings. “By the sounds of it, we can’t go around asking where to find the Sons of Meyernick so I think our best option is to head back to the church and see if we can see him. Failing that, we can try the bar we were at yesterday. That sound like a plan to you?”

"Yeah," she says. "We should try that roundabout way of getting to the church, in case the Polizei they're still watching it."

It's a ride by taxi-cart back to the neighbourhood of the temple and the familiar clubs, although you're able to find one with a semi-roof, where you can keep your faces hidden from the street - at least the Kripo don't seem to be out in force yet.

When you get there, it's easy enough to work your way round for a covert look at the temple. Two of the brown-clad guards/officers are on guard outside it, and the crowd of Meyernick followers has gone. There's no sign of Jürgen.

You have more luck when you head for the bar, though in the sort-of-daylight it looks (and smells) more like a cafe. In the better light, you can see that the Three Magahs sign is adorned with a trio of colourful looking birds, though with claws at the joints of their wings. Jürgen is inside, eating and drinking with a couple of other men. He waves you over when he sees you.

Elsie seems slightly hesitant, but follows you if you go over to him.

”Can you keep an eye out in case the Polizei turn up again?” Alex asked Elsie quietly.

Alex walked over to the table and sat down. Ignoring the men with Jürgen, he said, ”We missed you at the hotel.”

Elsie nods and buys a drink, before finding a table where she can see the window and doorway.

"Ja," Jürgen says to your comment. "I got caught up elsewhere with these fellows" - he gestures to the other two - "Ainan and Kluse, and this is Alex. I slept elsewhere. last night. Perhaps I could have helped Konrad if I hadn't, or perhaps I would be dead too. It's good to see you two well."

Alex nodded a curt greeting to the two men. ”What happened to Konrad? I must say you don’t seem overly concerned.”

"... Of course I am," Jürgen says. "We were talking about how to find who did it before you got here."

"We don't trust the guardsmen to care who killed a follower of Meyernick," the one he called Kluse adds.

OOC,Psychology 25; Rolling 1D100 with bonus die because you've already expressed suspicion: 22.

Jürgen's hesitation was a 'busted' reaction, yeah. Kluse seems more on the level though.

Alex reckoned Jürgen was telling the truth but still wasn’t happy. ”How come you stayed elsewhere?”he asked sharply. “Did you know you were going to be a target?”

"No! Guardsmen don't like us, but I didn't expect assassination. Look... I promised I would take you meet the Son of Meyernick this morning. That offer is still open."

Alex glanced at Elsie. Consorting with the Son of Meyernick seemed like it could be bad for your health but it also looked like it might be the only way to resolve the situation that they found themselves in.

He nodded. ”Where are we meeting him?”

"The apartment is near here," Jürgen says, "only a few minutes' walk."

Alex looked at Jürgen for a long moment. He nodded. “Let me just talk to Elsie.”

He stood and moved over the her table. He quickly explained the situation to Elsie and said, ”Do you want to come with us or would you prefer to stay here until I get back? The Sons of Meyernick aren’t exactly flavour of the month so I could be putting us in danger but I think I need to see him. He seems to be key to us getting out of here.”

"I'd rather we stay together," Elsie says.

Jürgen and Klusse get up to leave with you, while Ainan remains behind. You only travel a short distance on the street, before they head into a building - they go straight through it to the alley at the back - this goes on for a while before they enter the back door of another building. The interior walls and floor are tiled, giving the place a faintly institutional air, though the layout seems to be that of another apartment building. They lead you three storeys up a winding flight of stairs, to a plain wooden door. Jürgen opens it with a key.

Inside are three people. Two - a man and a woman - look like anyone you'd meet in a Berlin street. The other is a duskier-skinned man.

The Berliner-looking man is dressed in a blue tunic and trousers. He stands and extends a hand. "This is Galles," Jürgen says. "The Son of Meyernick in Hlanith."

”Guten morgen,” said Alex, shaking Galles’ hand. “I’m Alex and this is Elsie.”

“Do I take it from Jürgen’s introduction that there is more than one Son of Meyernick?” he asked.

"You are correct, though I am the only one of his sons in Hlanith. The others reside elsewhere."

"So Meyernick is a person?" Elsie says.

"Yes. A dreamer like you, with great power to reshape this world. He changed my face to resemble his own."

"He... changed your face?" Elsie says in a strangled tone.

"That is why I now call myself his son. And it is what taught me the unreality of this world in comparison to yours."

”Forgive me for asking, but if Meyernick has such great powers, how is it that he cannot use those to resolve whatever problem it is that is keeping us here?” said Alex.

"You do not wish to be here?" Galles says, apparently taken aback. "Meyernick tells us that you and your kind are blessed. Chosen."

”Chosen? Chosen by whom?” said Alex. “It certainly wasn’t my choice to be here or to be mixed up in this.”

“I’m a barman. I don’t want to be blessed, other than with good health and good friends. If you can get me back home in Berlin and I’m not dreaming of this place every night, then I’ll work with you. If not... ...” he shrugged.

"Do you feel the same way?" Galles asks Elsie.

"I haven't had a good time of it here," she says. "Kidnapped, tied up, chased, and witness to a murder, and now maybe hunted by the Polizei."

"That is your answer?" he replies, though it doesn't sound like a question.

OOC,Alex's Pschology 25, Elsie's 45; Rolling 1D100 with bonus die 26, 38.

As bartenders, you and Elsie are attuned to when violence is imminent - and each attuned to when the other senses it. You feel Elsie tense up, allowing you to act simultaneously with Galles, saying "Kill them."

Alex didn’t hesitate or try to argue, he just struck out at Galles, trying to knock him on his arsch.

OOC, Fighting Brawl - 6/50 - extreme success! https://www.dholeshouse.org/Tools/DiceVerifier?RID=cce826e6-dbb3-4e72-b229-267c6bf0af5b

Alex not only knocks Galles over, but into Jürgen for good measure. Both men fall into a heap that will imepde the other two in the room from reaching you for a moment. Behind you, Elsie darts to the apartment door and pulls it open.

Whether you want to run or continue the fight is your call - or get in one good kick before running - either way, you and Elsie each have two free actions before any of them can act against you (Jürgen and Galles have to get up, the others have to go round them).

Alex pulled his brass knuckles from his pocket and slipped them on. ”Follow us and you’ll pay the price,” he said, calmly but with a steely tone.

“Let’s go,” he said, taking Elsie’s arm and leading her to the door. He glanced about as he did so, searching for something big and heavy, preferably made of metal...

OOC, Hmmm... I think not... (fumbled - rolled 100 vs 45 :o ) https://www.dholeshouse.org/Tools/DiceVerifier?RID=7e39c306-49a2-4c5e-985f-e1a8a3eadce6

OOC,I'm not using fumbles, as the recompense for not using pushed rolls, so it's just a fail.

You can't see anything to block the door with, but you can get out and make the stairs before anyone reacts. You reach the first turning before you hear Galles's voice saying "Stop them!"

Footsteps clatter on the landing above.

OOC,Because the chase is on stairs, I'm going to use Jump as the skill - in this case, a fumble will mean falling down them - one roll per flight. Alex's STR and DEX are both higher than his SIZ, so he gets a bonus die. First round: everybody but Alex fails. Second round: Elsie and one pursuer succeed, Alex and the other pusuer fail.

In spite of himself, Alex finds himself pulling ahead of Elsie after the first flight of steps, but she puts on a burst of speed and has caught up by the time you reach the storey below - one of your pusuers seems to be closing the distance as well.

Do you want to stop and fight, get off the stairs on this floor, or keep descending?

Yes, you went up three flights, so you were on the third floor (in British terms) - you've made it down to the second, two more floors/four more flights till you're on ground level - the stairs are open enough that you can see it's Jürgen who's closed the distance on you.

Seeing you looking, he calls out, "Stop!" though he's not taking his own advice, and his holding a long knife.

”Keep moving!” Alex urged Elsie on. He continued to make his way quickly down the stairs, but looked out for something he could use to fight back against Jürgen.

OOC,Two chase rounds: everybody fails rolls in the first, but Jürgen succeeds in the second.

You make it down to the first floor without anyone tripping, but Jürgen has closed the difference - maybe one person can navigate in the narrow space more easily than two.

OOC,Dreamshaping roll: 01.

You don't find anything to fight Jürgen, but your mind shapes a weapon into your hand (for an 01, you get to decide what said weapon is, so long it can be carried at a run with one hand - it can be a pistol if you want).

Alex’s fists were bunched as he ran but with a start he felt something expand within his hand. Looking down with alarm he saw the distinctive toggle joint and slim barrel of a Luger P08.

He glanced quickly at Elsie and said, ”Cover your ears!” then turned and fired at Jürgen.

OOC, Rolled 95 so that was a miss, but hopefully it will give Jürgen pause for thought... https://www.dholeshouse.org/Tools/DiceVerifier?RID=4bea5d7c-a8ce-4aa4-af6e-b7bac99081f6

OOC,Jump Roll for Jürgen: 53.

More than pause for thought, his flinch at the gunshot costs him his footing and he begins falling down his current flight of steps. If you stay put, that will leave him on the landing just up from you - if you start running again, you can make it to ground level before he'll be recovered enough to resume the chase (which means you'd have got away unless he follows you into the street).

Alex watched as Jürgen crashed onto the landing. He stopped and stepped back, levelling the gun at him.

“Drop the knife!” he snapped. “If you move, I’ll shoot you dead!”

Jürgen obeys. Above you, the second pursuer pauses. You can see it's the other man from the apartment. He's holding a cudgel, which is no threat under the circumstances, even if he throws it. Whether or not he's a dreamer, he obviously recognises the pistol.

”Drop the cudgel down the middle the stairwell,” Alex ordered the second man, “Otherwise Jürgen‘s brain will be decorating that wall.”

Once the man had done as he was instructed, Alex said, “Sit on your hands against the wall. If you so much as twitch, ums Leben kommen für Jürgen.” He stared at the man until he complied, then switched his attention to Jürgen again. “Why not just let us go?” he asked, bitterly. “We would have walked away and not done you any harm.”

"The Son ordered otherwise," Jürgen says.

"And what, you just do anything he says?" Elsie says. "Is it you who killed your friend Konrad?"

"No!" Jürgen yells defensively. "But the Sons carry his commands... and he commands that all dreamers must join him. All our wills must join his - one vision to make this world what it must be - not the piecemeal ruin that lies around us now."

”You think a dictatorship will be better?! Where people can be murdered because they don’t share your beliefs?!” spat Alex.

He stepped forward suddenly and placed the barrel against Jürgen’s forehead. “What’s the Son planning to do now?! Tell me or I’ll blow your brains out!”

"Not a dictatorship," Jürgen says. "A paradise."

In response Alex's threat, he says, "He will find another base of operations. He will keep recruiting followers to tear down the influence of the Great Ones. Turn more dreamers to Meyernick's cause. And if you slay him, another Son will take his place."

”Some paradise!” laughed Alex harshly.

He pushed the gun barrel against Jürgen’s forehead, causing him to twist his head away. “What does he want though? What does he want the dreamers to do?”

"To tear down the tyranny of kings and priests," Jürgen says. "A world where men are free to rule themselves, as equals."

"Provided everyone who doesn't sign up is killed first?" Elsie snaps.

"Maybe the Son was too quick to judge you," Jürgen says. "You're a barman and you're a barmaid - working in a place you don't own, to weigh down another man's purse. Don't you dream of a world where power is not held in the hands of the underserving? And if this world can be made so, then all in our world will dream of it too. That is what Meyernick offers us." Jürgen's eyes take on a bright glitter of fanaticism as he speaks.

”You’re right. We work for someone who makes money from our efforts and those in charge have more money than anyone else. But, it’s a democracy, and if enough of us vote them out, they can be removed. However benevolent you think you think this Meyernick is, he’s just offering a dictatorship with him as the unremovable dictator, can’t you see that?” replied Alex.

Keeping the gun firmly in place against Jürgen’s forehead, he reached forward and picked up the knife.

Alex is able to get hold of the knife.

"In one world or the other, there's nowhere he can't find you," Jürgen says.

"Thanks for the warning," Elsie replies.

Alex stepped back, the gun still against Jürgen’s head. ”Any last words before I blow your brains out?” he asked.

Jürgen swallows. "If you kill me, you don't have your hostage any more. And if what you say is true, and you want nothing from this world, you should let us kill you after all."

Alex passed the knife back to Elsie, without removing the gun from Jürgen’s head. ”A hostage?” he said. “Now that’s an idea I hadn’t considered.”

He put a bit more pressure on the gun, forcing it to dig into Jürgen’s skull. ”Tell me, Jürgen, what happens if I shoot you here? Do you die back in Berlin too?”

Elise takes the knife, with a slight fumbling motion that tells you her eyes are still on the other man on the landing above.

"No," Jürgen says. "I'd wake up in Berlin, but with my dream self dead I couldn't return. Isn't that what you say you want for yourself?"

”If you move again,” Alex snarled to the man on the stairs, “I’ll shoot him then I’ll shoot you!”

“And with you dead here,” Alex switched his attention back to Jürgen, ”What happens to your memories of this place?”

"I... don't know," Jürgen says.

”You on the stairs,” said Alex, glancing at the second man. “What will happen to Jürgen‘s memories of Hlanith if he dies here?”

"He'll most likely remember it," the other man replies.

”And you, where are you from?” Alex asked the man.

"Istanbul," he replies. "That's where I'm sleeping now."

"What are the others doing?" Elsie asks suddenly. "Why haven't they followed us too?"

"The Son left it to us," the Turkish man says.

"You're lying," Elsie says. "There's another way down isn't there - they're looking to blindside us. We should go."

Alex stepped back, keeping the gun pointed at Jürgen. ’Leave us alone and you won’t have any bother but if I see either of you or any of your little gang of religious fanatics, I won’t hesitate to shoot.”

He turned and said, ”Let’s go!’ to Elsie, quickly making his way down the stairs. As they reached the ground floor, he carefully checked the entrance lobby for any Sons of Meyernick, before checking again through the main door.

The entrance and street are clear. If Elsie was right about what the others were doing, it seems they were too slow.

It's still Hlanith's equivalent of daylight - perhaps more so, since the streaks across the sky are not merely brighter, but have a acquired a more golden hue more like that of the real Sun. A great many people are out now, though most are intent on their own business, acknowledging neither you and Elsie nor each other.

The tangled nature of the backstreets let you put enough corners between you and the Son's tenement for it to be hard for anyone to follow you.

As if fleeing from their plans for the Dreamlands is somehow parallel to fleeing the Dreamlands yourself, you find yourself awake in your bed back in your apartment, without any sense of jarring change of perception.

On to part 4!