[[1493-04-10 - Hour 7 II|<< Hour 7 II]] | [[1493-04-13 - Hour 8 - 10|Hour 8 - 10 >> ]] ## Hour 8 Elysium did its damnedest to throw me for a loop last night. Still, I knew it was a dream the second I woke up in the house that was mine and Ezmerelda's. I went into it thinking of my last couple dreams, of Strahd and Achlys and their awareness. But when Dream-Ezmerelda came to collect me for breakfast, she resisted the idea it was a dream at all. I decided to drop the subject and play along, even if I figured the whole ordeal was just another scenario handcrafted by Elysium to upset me. Rudolph was in the dining room nudging food around on a plate. Sitting beside him was a little boy named Fox. He was my flesh-and-blood five-year-old child. He had a head of scruffy, wavy hair that was between the color of mine and Ezmerelda's. He was wearing these little pajamas. The truth is that I've never seen a cuter kid in my life. Dream or not, seeing him made me very happy – awed, even. That's how I knew it wasn't going to last. Sure enough, my hand went right through Fox when I tried to pat him on the head. I snuck away, then, out the front door. Everything outside was in shambles. Smoke and the smell of blood hung in the air over collapsed buildings, and dragons soared through the skies above. I had a poignant feeling that I shouldn't have been out there. Back inside, the house was ruined. It wasn't a great sight, especially with the knowledge that I built it. However, I didn't have much time to sit with the thought – there was someone else in there. It was a grown Fox. He was wielding the sunsword and sifting through the wreckage. She had gotten to be about as tall as me. One of her arms had been replaced by a prosthetic. She looked weary, sad, on edge, and just...so much like Ezmerelda had, back when I first met her. There was a lot going on in my head when Fox threatened to stab me. It didn't help that she told me that Waterdeep had become a hellscape along with the rest of the world, and that me and Ezmerelda died trying to help things. I wanted her to like and trust me even if she was just part of the dream. Beyond that, though, was the fear that the dream was somehow prophetic. I was quickly distracted; Fox told me that a changeling had previously disguised themselves as me only to mug her. When I asked who did this to him, Fox took it in a broader sense than I meant it. She said that she used to be really happy and that her parents were her heroes. Eventually, they ran into something they couldn't fix. Now Fox is without them. I couldn't help it – I let the dream get to me. I felt guilty and sad and worried about something that I didn't even do. Something in my face must've convinced Fox that I wasn't going to harm him. She asked for a hug after implying it had been a long time. She told me that she's not alone, at least, even if the list of confidants she gave me was pretty short. I went to hug Fox; however, I woke up before we made contact. Because of fucking course. Ezmerelda was waking up at the same time as me. She had a dream like mine, right down to the kid's name being the same. We talked about it for a while. I felt better after, because it was clear that neither of us are going to let our hypothetical child end up alone. Not to mention that – as dire as the circumstances were – it was still nice thinking about having a kid with Ezmerelda, especially because she didn't even seem to mind the idea. Ezmerelda made breakfast for us all. Over eggs, I learned that Nia, Selise, and Ireena had a dream that they had a child named Izzy. Selise seemed pretty excited about this, but Nia and Ireena mostly seemed embarrassed. Rictavio was in a similar boat as me and Ezmerelda, having died in his dream – but not before he met his and Skoll's child, Onfim. Skoll initially came into the dining room upset, and it soon become clear why: apparently Onfim hated Skoll in his dream. I thought the idea was ridiculous – but these dreams *are* made to upset us, so maybe it makes sense. Rupert showed his happy face then. He had made a magical cloak and a matching cravat. Rictavio refused the cravat, which I kind of understand – it was ugly. The cloak will allow Rictavio to breathe and move easily underwater. Despite Rupert's helpfulness, Rictavio took the opportunity to comment on how Rupert is the most annoying man he's ever met after he left to get himself breakfast. Rictavio declared that Rupert is even more annoying than Volo (a name I wasn't happy to hear, even if I did find it kind of funny that he's hit on Rictavio). But I think Rupert's fine, personally. The last thing I'll mention before I get going is that I was right about Skoll and Rictavio having a talk last night; I guess they made it official. Rictavio started giving us the whole rundown before Skoll stopped him. But we do have to get going now. It's off to the auction house, then to Cicero's so that Foulsham can cast that water-breathing ritual on us, then to the mausoleum to catch the train. We're going to find Amelia today – I can feel it. I just hope that Elysium doesn't make it too much of a headache in the meantime. --- ## Page Tags/Properties **Tags:** #Journal **Category:** [[Journals and Writings.base|Journals and Writings]] **Character:** [[Krue d'Avenir|Krue]] **Campaign:** [[City of Eyes]] **Date ([[Calendar of Harptos|Harptos]]):** 04/12/1493