This would happen after a good night's rest after the killing of the kobolds.
Laren knocks on Ashe's Door at about mid morning.
"Well Laren, we look for whatever comes our way..."
OOC: Yeah, I remember. I thought that I had said I saw them when going to the cave...?
OOC: Matt, do you recall that there were, in fact, rail tracks in the cave, or are you purposefully ignoring that for this partciular conversation?
Laren tries to push his excitability to the side and think more clearly. Think outloud he says "Now, I saw the tracks first. Then I saw crimson, and she seemed to be reaching for me. The fact that she couldn't reach me, might me that... well, I'm out of reach. I can't think of anything to suggest that she yet knows where I am from the dream, but likewise there's nothing to suggest that she doesn't."
Laren looks at Ashe to see if he could read any expression the fellow had. "I've darked your thoughts long enough for one day, I think. What exactly are we looking for out here?"
OOC: this might be a good place to leave the thread off. I've gotten the point of what I wanted to happen across. I think the herb finding can go unspoken.
Ashe looks down at Laren and laughs from his belly. "Laren, you certainly have a wild imagination! Is she in the cave? My guess would be no...but you can never be too careful. I think this is something that's best left for you to figure out...i can't give you the answers. What I can tell you is that you should give close attention to what you see in your mind. Your vision dreams have a connection to the future." the two of them start to walk uphill towards the east ridges
Relieved that Ashe did not say anything about the slip, but sure he had heard it, Laren continues. "well, the cave was filled with Lizard men and kobolds. They were taking people prisoner. Actually we haven't finished exploring the cave, there seemed to still be a lot of it left."
Laren gasps! "You think she's IN the CAVE???" Laren's eye begins to twitch.
Ashe looks inquisitvely at Laren and says, "Laren, mercurial means elusive. As for the tracks...well, it could be as simple as...well, did you see tracks at the cave?"
Laren becomes less excited, but somewhat confused.
"No, I don't know any seers at all... What's mer...merc...mercurial, was it? Does that mean that maybe Crimson put those tracks th... wait, maybe it means that she's got a one-track-mind... or that she's on the right track! maybe she's TRACKING me!"
Laren pauses for a moment... "Well of course she's tracking me... I'd track me if my father did that to me too..." Laren stops talking as he realizes he just made a slip of the tongue that he probably shouldn't have. He glances sideways at Ashe to see if the man noticed.
"Wait, wait ,wait" Ashe says quickly. "Dreams are very mercurial...they can easily be misinterpreted. Many times they're symbolic. Did you ever see any of that before? If you have, it could be that you have the gift of forknowledge. As far as i know only the Seers have that inherent ability. Do you know about the Seers?", Ashe asks as they walk past Annalee's Provisions.
"Well..." Laren says as Matt tries to remember Laren's wisdom score...
"Maybe the tracks were just that I was going to see them the next day... but I didn't see crimson. Maybe if I DIDN'T go into the cave with the tracks, Crimson would have found me?"
A sudden panic attack hits Laren "That would mean she's HERE!!" Laren begins to shake, looking from side to side...
"Believe me, it's not a coincidence. It seems to me that you have a gift of sorts...a talent that was, until recently, untapped. What do you think your dreams mean?" Laren and Ashe cross over the Rosewalk and continue past the Councilhouse towards the east ridge
"Well, when I left town, my father was in trouble with a woman named Crimson."
Laren scratches a stubbly cheek. Well, the other night I saw her in my dream reaching for me."
Laren thinks for a minute... "Hey, I also saw some rails in that dream, and then I saw them over at the cave we were in... that's funny, isn't it?"
"really, that recent...and it's more real than regular dream you say? can you give me a for instance?" you walk over the Wolfsong Bridge and past the Cliffside Inn on your left where you got your lunch while crafting rat traps a few days ago.
"Oh... just shy of a month now."
"how long has this been happening...your dreams not your bed wetting...heh...just kidding! seriously, how long has this been happening?" Ashe looks down at Laren with a raised eyebrow as they walk toward the Wolfsong.
Laren is excited! He practically skips as he walks.
"Yeah, I've been getting this blinding light, and then I see jumbled images... people, places... and then another blinding light... then it's gone and my head hurts. I wake, and the bed is wet... just sweat of course..."
"In the way? Of course not! Odds are, the The Protectorate will be using most of them! So it would be a good thing that someone at least knew what to look for if i'm not around. I don't know when the priests will arrive...if they do...and these could come to some use. Come, we'll head to the high road above the Hiddenmount...there's usually something there." Ashe walks briskly for a man of many years and laren has to jog to keep up. Ashe sees that Laren is marching doubletime and slows down. "So, you said something about dreams?"
Laren's face lights up like a child being offered a treat. "Well if I wouldn't be in the way...
"Well, I'm actually on my way to look for some herbs. Sythus is alive and well and there's a good chance that some are out. As for the Blackmoss, what i gave you is what i had...that particular poison concoction at least. so, i'll be looking for more of that as well. There's not much of a demand for that stuff here. Would you be interested in coming along? this would be a good way for you to learn more." Ashe looks at him with his eybrows raised.
"Oh, Sorry to disturb. I just wanted to talk about getting some more of that blackroot. I also had some questions... I've been having dreams... only, they seem much more than just dreams... TOO real."
Laren scratched the back of his neck, searching for the words to describe the way these visions feel.
Coming up empty handed, he changes the subject. "Where are you heading?"
Ashe opens the door dressed in travel gear. he has a sickle and a scimitar at his belt and a forest green cloak. the cloak hood has a symbol of two crescent moons facing away from each other bound together by a circle. he has many pouches on his belt and to his side hangs a leather bound book. "oh, Laren, you caught me on my way out. What can i do for you