The Ardent and The Bard

Chapter 4: Dragons and Dreams

Minceraft got the fire going. He had promised Sierra he would after all.

"The Masks of Lucidity provide the wearer for complete control of their dreams. A paired set will allow two people to share one another's dream," he said.

"It will provide us an added level of stability in Aisling'Am" Cole sipped tea from a red cup.

"Normally the realm is a swirling mass directed by the subconscious thoughts of those in it. The masks will allow us to repress such thoughts and keep the realm within our control."

"Makes sense" Shade stared into the fire, "but why do you own them Minceraft?"
An awkward silence fell across the room. Shade detected discomfort and anxiety on the two souls before him.

"They were a gift from me" Cole finally spoke.

"That doesn't answer my question" Shade said.

"Sierra is mute" Minceraft said. He would not look at the scarecrow. "She is also less than a foot tall. We are...incompatible for many things that come naturally for other pairings."

Shade suddenly got the gist of what he was saying "Oh...I see..."

Minceraft cleared his throat. "You are free to take the masks. Sierra and I can live without them."

He turned away from the fire, "She'll be put out about it. I'm certain it will all be for show. She likely won't have the energy to get too worked up about it."

"I'll return the masks when we're done. Shouldn't be more than a few days. Time moves slowest in Aisling'Am" Cole said, standing up.

"Thank you" Minceraft said, his eyes finally making contact with his father's "Will you stay for dinner?"

Cole regarded his son. "Why not? It has been a while since we last talked. Do you mind Shade?"

"I don't eat" Shade said with a small shrug "don't sleep either, so I could care less."

Minceraft nodded "I'll break out the good wine then."

Within the hour Sierra had arrived home. Her shock at the unexpected guests mixed with the news about the masks created a small fit of spite, but as Minceraft predicted she calmed down as the temperature dropped. Shade took it as her merely keeping up appearances. Minceraft toiled away in the kitchen adjacent to the sitting room. Sierra flitted back and forth between checking on him and keeping an eye on the guests. Shade and Cole took their seats at Minceraft's small dinner table. Cole reached into his pack and produced an emerald green tome.

"Our objective for tomorrow is reaching the lake of dreams," he said as he thumbed through the book.

"It's in the Feywild and is the only stable portal to Aisling'Am. A gate spell can get you there instantly, but due to the nature of the realm you will have no clue where you'll be. The lake offers the ability to enter the realm more securely. Think of the difference between stepping onto a new island from the boat, and dropping onto a random spot from an airship."

He found the page he was looking for and showed it to Shade. It was an illustration of a glittering lake set in a forest of pine trees. In the background a massive dragon slept by the lake.

"The lake is guarded by the dragon Razcoreth. He's an emerald dragon, and the only dragon archfey. He serves the Gloaming Court1. So we'll need to bargain with him, or his master, the Prince of Hearts."

Sierra huffed at the prince's name.

"Not a fan?" Cole looked to her with a knowing smile.

Sierra folded her arms and shook her head. Her face reflected disgust.