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There is a mystery that's currently unsolved. It's in Avedan's head. It's not like he's going insane (he's quite sure that he's not) but lately his sleep's been pretty eventful. He'd always had dreams (didn't everyone?) but lately, they've been getting more vivid. More lifelike. And, most interestingly of all, more internally consistent.
It's really, really confusing. Avedan is somewhere between wanting to learn more about the internal history present in the dreams, and wanting to understand why they're being so - insistent. He suspects it has something to do with malfunctioning servants, but all of his are working just fine. He checked. Twice. So - maybe someone else's aren't working properly? Or something? He doesn't know, there's zero precedent for eerily vivid and consistent dreams. Avedan tries talking to someone about it, exactly once. They immediately think he's having reoccurring nightmares.
But they're not nightmares. Well. Okay, some of them are, one of the more memorable ones included desperately clutching a woman's hand, begging her to stay with him, just keep breathing, to stay alive. She didn't. If it'd been with someone he knew, he might have thought it was just a simple nightmare. But, no. He's never seen her before in his life. Only his dreams, and not all that often, either. Because there are others, with - happier memories attached to them.
He's started to notice patterns. In - consistent people, consistent places, and most interestingly, consistent personalities. He's pretty sure it's not his subconscious being uncreative (if it were that, he would be naked at work or something) but the bizarre internal consistency his dreams are exhibiting.
It's hard, to figure out if there's a timeline to it all. But there is one thing that's consistent: a city. He does a quick bit of research, finds the city's name (Lapis), and after a bit more research is confronted with the dream's reasonable level of fidelity. As in, it's nearly the same, with exception to what he suspects is construction. And he's never been to Lapis in his life. Just what is going on? He can only think of one way to find out, and that way involves packing up his bags, handing them off to a well-maintained servant, and then heading off to Lapis.
do_over
if_at_first
Also in the city of Lapis is a young woman, riding a prettily carved wooden horse through the streets and looking around at the city curiously.
She had it all right, in some places - more recent construction doesn't match, but the places where she remembers something other than what's there are consistently recent construction.
It's weird.
And that's when she gets mobbed by parrots.
She had it all right, in some places - more recent construction doesn't match, but the places where she remembers something other than what's there are consistently recent construction.
It's weird.
And that's when she gets mobbed by parrots.
do_over
This is alarming. People don't normally get mobbed by parrots, right? That's not a normal thing that happens. Avedan moves to try and - offer help or something. They look like they're servants, he can probably help her in some fashion.
But before he manages to get a word out, the parrots decide he's worth being mobbed, too. The only thing he can say is, "Ack!"
But before he manages to get a word out, the parrots decide he's worth being mobbed, too. The only thing he can say is, "Ack!"
if_at_first
The girl manages to get the parrots away from her face, though she can't get them away from her clothes without hurting the birds or tearing the fabric and they don't seem to want to harm her.
She sits on her horse, covered in parrots, and looks at Avedan.
"Do you know what's going on?"
She sits on her horse, covered in parrots, and looks at Avedan.
"Do you know what's going on?"
do_over
"No," he says, now that the surprise of the parrot mob has passed. He manages to free his face from the menace, and then otherwise stops reacting, to see if they were reacting to his movement. No dice. He continues to be covered in parrots.
"They don't seem to be attacking," he observes. "Or if they are, I suppose they might just be excessively terrible at it."
"They don't seem to be attacking," he observes. "Or if they are, I suppose they might just be excessively terrible at it."
if_at_first
A parrot on her sleeve flaps its wings while clinging to her shirt with its claws.
"I agree, but - what are they doing?" she muses. She looks around. No one else is covered in parrots. "We're getting weird looks, this can't be normal around here."
"I agree, but - what are they doing?" she muses. She looks around. No one else is covered in parrots. "We're getting weird looks, this can't be normal around here."
do_over
Avedan tilts his head, and looks at the parrots. They're doing something similar with his clothes. Grabbing a hold of him or his clothes in some fashion and then flapping.
... Aimed in a direction.
"I think they might be trying to drag us off somewhere. That's alarming."
... Aimed in a direction.
"I think they might be trying to drag us off somewhere. That's alarming."
if_at_first
"Parrots are not the sort of servant I'd use to drag anyone anywhere," says the girl. "And why us?"
do_over
"Agreed. Even if there were more of them, they still couldn't manage it. If I knew why us, I'd present the information to you with a flourish and be very proud of myself for being smart. But, alas."
if_at_first
"I suppose one of us could go where they're leading - they seem to be aiming us in the same direction - and the other could decline to be dragged and wait for a while and, if the first doesn't return in a timely manner, mention this to whatever Lapis has in the way of public order keepers?"
do_over
"Hmm," he muses. "That works. And it's not like I can't defend myself. Which do you want, go or stay?"
if_at_first
"If you don't care I'd sooner stay - what name do I give to Public Order if you aren't back and how long do you want me to wait for you?"
if_at_first
"I'm Sylvi," she volunteers. "Half an hour it is." She pulls out a square of wood with tame shines clinging to it and keeping time and notes their position.
do_over
Avedan peers over her shoulder at the time-keepers, nods, and then says in a deadpan, "If I don't return, remember me as I lived. Confused and covered in parrots."
if_at_first
"I am pretty sure I have no other memories of you," says Sylvi, confusedly tugging on a stubborn parrot.
do_over
His mouth twitches a bit. "See, that's the spirit." He waves, and then - goes where the parrots take him. Confusedly. He vaguely suspects he's going to be sacrificed to the servant parrot gods. Even though neither servants nor parrots have gods. He thinks.
if_at_first
Somebody has put a lot of effort into making sure that no one can get into this one building, several blocks from where the parrots first descended. It's in repair, but the sort of repair you get when servants are tending to a place with no oversight. And it's very, very locked.
Up until Avedan approaches it at the parrots' urging, of course, at which point the door flings open wide to reveal a very excited-looking golem made of iron - not solid, but arranged in twisted bars to make more surface area for instructions, so it's possible to see glimpses of the room beyond through its torso.
"Welcome back!" it says brightly.
Up until Avedan approaches it at the parrots' urging, of course, at which point the door flings open wide to reveal a very excited-looking golem made of iron - not solid, but arranged in twisted bars to make more surface area for instructions, so it's possible to see glimpses of the room beyond through its torso.
"Welcome back!" it says brightly.
if_at_first
"Yes!" says the golem. "Is it just you? You haven't found milord or milady yet?"
do_over
"I - am afraid I don't understand? 'Milord or milady'? The - other poor soul being mobbed by parrots?"
if_at_first
"Yes! You've found them after all? I have letters for both of you," says the golem, and it rummages through some papers and comes up with four envelopes. There are two sets of handwriting, each of which says on one envelope "*bel*" and "*dan*" on the other. The golem points out the "*dan*" envelopes. "These are for you and the others are for - is it milord or milady now?"
do_over
Blink. Blink. "... Milady, unless she objects." He peers at the letters, confused. "I - will go bring her the letter and then read mine, if it's going to answer all of my questions? Can I stop being mobbed by parrots now?"
if_at_first
"Milady can do it. She has your parrots and you have hers," says the golem earnestly.
do_over
"But, if I hadn't of found her, would I just be doomed to being mobbed by parrots for the rest of eternity until I did find the special someone that made my apparent parrots mob?"
if_at_first
"Well," says the golem, "her pets will listen to you and vice versa if you have the password, but if she's here it will be easier for you to just call off your own parrots."