Comm Post: First of Its Name [video/audio]

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[Fiddles with the communicator strapped tightly to his right wrist and glares as the picture comes into focus. Doing anything that requires fine motor control with just his left hand is still difficult, and even fastening buttons takes time. Add completely unfamiliar technology into the mix, and he's lucky he can even turn it on. He's waited until he found the inn the... what was that little white dwarf-bear with the red puff-ball called again? Oh... Moogle... The inn that the moogle directed him to and arranged for a room before trying to turn it on.]

I must admit, it is almost refreshing to be told that I need to introduce myself, though talking to a box on my wrist seems to be an odd way of doing it. Some sort of sorcery perhaps?

[A pained expression spreads over his face. Tyrion would have been fascinated by this. HE would have had ideas. HE would have poked and prodded at the little box and muttered about old books and maesters and theories. But Tyrion isn't here.]

I am Jaime Lannister, son of... no, I suppose that doesn't matter here, if you don't know the Lannister name. Suffice to say, I am a knight and a warrior...

[He looks down at the stump where his right hand once was.]

Though there's less of me than there used to be.

I've been told there are others here from many worlds... if there are any here from mine, be it Westeros, or the Free Cities, or Essos, you know my name, and I offer you... if not my friendship, then my help in getting back to where we came from.

And Brienne, if you're here... wake up and find the Stark girl, and SEVEN HELLS, stop following me! Unless you can't wake up either. If that's the case, I might have a use for that sword arm of yours and that very fine sword I gave you. I seem to be unarmed. Most embarrassing for a knight of the kingsguard, wouldn't you say?

[He pokes warily at the communicator again, and it lets out a shrill screech before turning off. The pricklemane that's been following him since he agreed to let the moogle help him synthesize it, and is now laying at his feet, winces and hisses at him, but doesn't move away from him. Jaime rather wishes that it would just go away, but doesn't think it worth the trouble to drive it off.]

Comments

text

[statisticallyterrible]

[An image shows up on the communicator--a picture taken of a crude drawing.]



[Waking up isn't as easy as just telling someone to do it.]

Re: text

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[He stares at the picture for a moment, and the pricklemane comes over to look at the screen with him.]

Now wait a minute. Is this some sort of threat? Or is it a warning? Will trying to wake up kill me?

Or are you telling me I'm about to dream of X's? I'd really rather not. At least make is something interesting... Z's or Q's perhaps?

[He had quite enough dreams of monstrous letters while trying to learn to read as a child, thank you very much.]

[unrecovered]

[There are so, so many things Wash wants to pick at here, but this guy is new and obviously clueless, so he'll lay off for now.]

It's technology, not sorcery. I haven't heard of anyone from any of those places; your best bet is to ask the Moogles. They tend to communicate. There is a Stark here, but I'm pretty sure it's not the one you're looking for.

And I wouldn't offer anything you can't follow up on.

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[The sound of the communicator still unsettles him, but he doesn't jump when it makes noise. He's decided that this is all some mad dream he'll wake up from soon, and that conclusion has relaxed him somewhat.]

Technology?

[The word feels funny in his mouth. He thinks he might have read it once, in a discussion of siege engines, but nothing he's ever seen prepared him for this. To be able to communicate with other over long distances, without ravens, without riders that might be captured....]

If you say so... And there's a Stark here? Of course there is. No nightmare of mine is complete without one.

[This is a lie. Most of his nightmares have very little to do with Starks, but he'd rather not remember that.]

And... were you referring to my offer of help waking up?

[He's beginning to put this together with the picture that Chell sent before.]

Has... ANYONE woken up? Perhaps I should amend the offer... What I meant to propose was... an alliance, sharing information that might benefit us both in our attempts to get...

[He almost says home. Doesn't.]

...back where we came from.

[brodakota]

I haven't met anyone from the places you've mentioned, unfortunately. Although that's no guarantee they won't show up. Waking up's a bit of a difficult thing as well.

[He hates to be the bearer of bad news, but he'll try to be friendly while doing it.]

I'm Agent North Dakota, but most people call me North.

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

Well met... North.

[He isn't used to this much friendliness from strangers. Obsequiousness, yes, friendliness, no.]

I thank you for the news. Do people show up here often?

[unlucky_hero]

[....Another guardsman? And a knight? Well that sure was some familiarity right there.]

Well, I've never heard of any of those, but that still doesn't mean we shouldn't work together. I think that's the only way we're going to have to do it anyway.

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[The idea of working with people who were brought here from other worlds unsettles him, but he's starting to realize it's the only help he's going to get.]

I usually like names before making alliances.

[Not rude... just wary.]

[video]

[earthshatter]

[And here we have someone who's almost literally a mountain of man.]

I am not familiar with those cities, but all of us here are looking to find a way home.

Re: [video]

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[He blinks at the image in the screen. This fellow would have been a force to contend with at the joust if he was any kind of rider.]

We are all strangers, then? This dreamland has no native people? Then... who built all of this? The town, the inn, the shops...

[If people have been here long enough to build everything he's seen, they must have been asleep for a very long time.]

[yabigfurball]

[Have a large white wolf staring at you, Jaime. She looks very concerned! What happened to his hand?]

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[Of all the things he's seen today, the wolf worries him the most. He can't help but remember the Starks and their direwolves, and the bastard's white runt with its red eyes... but this wolf looks concerned, not angry. And... curious? Well, why not tell it? He's told the story to every friend and family member who gasped at seeing him after he'd been maimed. Why not odd white wolves that send their pictures through little metal boxes?]

This? I was weak, and my hands were chained, and so I was captured, and... a mercenary thought to send a message to my father. That's all.

[He is falsely glib. He still sees the sun glinting off the blade before it came down in his dreams sometimes.]

[video]

[the_mechanic]

[Tony was going to let it go, he's really not the most welcoming of people and having only been here a couple weeks himself (which was more than enough time to figure out they're worse than stuck, thank you)... well, anyway, there were much more patient and compassionate people present who were much better at breaking in the noobs to the nightmare.

But you had to go and say his name not that it's uncommon, but still. So he's prying. Welcoming. Whatever.]

You're the first from wherever it is you're from. On the plus side: yay! Your friends, enemies, ex girlfriends, whatever, aren't stuck here with you!

On the negative, you're stuck in "dream land", we don't know how to get out, and you can dream here when you sleep, and it sucks. Fair warning.

So, you might as well get comfortable.


[Tony looks more than a little sleep-deprived, and possibly a little dirty, he's been living in a garage in the next town over. He's out of the suit, at least.

There's a wry smile on his face, the one that says he knows a lot more than he's letting on, though whether that's true or not is always up for debate.]

Re: [video]

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[Jaime laughs.]

I suppose you're right. I wouldn't want an enemy with me, and I wouldn't wish it on my friends. Well, I wouldn't wish it on most of them.

My thanks for the warning. I don't suppose a lot of wine helps one slip into dreamless slumber?

[He does not like the sound of these dreams within the dream. His dreams back in the "real world" are usually awful enough.

He shifts on the bed in his room at the inn. It's comfortable enough, he supposes, but he's realizing that he's going to need more permanent accommodations... and a way to pay for them. He's never been without ready gold before, and the lack of it concerns him.]

You seem to be a man who knows things. How does one find a place to live and the means to pay for it in this place?

[visual]

[raisethemoon]

I am quite certain your Brienne is not present with us. Moreover, 'tis not quite so simple to awaken oneself, here.

[She glances down at that hand. If it were fresher, maybe Celestia could do something, but healing magic was never a particular skill of Luna's.] Wherefore wouldst thou not offer those from thy world your friendship?

Re: [visual]

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[The huge white wolf was disconcerting. The pricklemane is entirely to colorful to be real, and the people in helmets are unlike anything he's ever seen before. But NOTHING prepared him for the dark purple talking unicorn that speaks like it's from a courtly song. He wonders if it's rude to mention that she's a horse, and decides it might be.]

You... have my thanks for the telling me about Brienne.

[He is, as he told Tony, relieved for Brienne's sake that she's not here, but knowing for sure that she's not here, that he is the lone person from his world, is a bit of a jolt. He'd been holding out hope that he'd hear a familiar voice. And the fact that no one else from his world has tried to contact him means they aren't either. As angry as he's been at some of his family in the past, he'd give a lot to have at least one of them here.]

[He notes her glance at the hand. He should be used to people taking note of it by now, and the... unicorn doesn't seem to have any malice in the way she looks at it, but still, it irks him.]

I suppose I wouldn't offer my friendship to them because most of them wouldn't want it. My family is... obeyed, but not well-loved, and I am one of the less popular members.

[letteropener]

If you desire a weapon, the moogles can likely help you acquire one. They do have their price, though. Your new Spirit friend can help you in defeating Nightmares for that purpose, however.

[Today's lesson: alicorns come in more than one flavor.]

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[Another talking horse, this one white instead of dark, with a brightly colored mane. He is not as surprised as he should me, and he's quite glad that he's been assured multiple times that he's dreaming, because if he thought he was awake, he'd be worried that he was going mad.]

My thanks for the information. Moogles seem to be the answer to quite a few of my questions about this place.

[He wants to ask if she's related to the other talking unicorn, but decides that would be like asking if one man was related to another.]

[He looks over at the pricklemane that's now pacing around on the floor, seemingly bored with all of this talking and tired of being cooped up in the room.]

You... fight Nightmares?

[The pricklemane perks up at the attention. Jaime hasn't addressed it directly much as of yet.]

And you're going to help me defeat some and get a sword.

[The pricklemane.... nods. Yes, it NODS. Because he understood Jaime. He's been wondering when his very slow human was going to catch on to that fact.]

[Jaime addresses the his communicator again.]

One last question... Mistress.

[What IS the proper mode of address for a talking unicorn, anyway?}

I take it there are Nightmares to be found that won't kill us both? Might you... direct me to them?

[Jaime figures there must be, if defeating the things are the only way to acquire Munny. It would be an awfully unfair system if one had to rush toward nearly certain death every time one needed to get even a bit of coin.]

[colorbymemory]

Hello, Jaime Lannister. My name is Namine.

I don't think I've seen any of your friends here, but we're all trying to get home as quickly as we can.

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

Well met, Namine.

[He is surprised that so many people have responded that they've been so friendly. Different people from completely different worlds shouldn't be so congenial, should they? Past experience when he's awake says no, but everyone he's met here seems to be so... helpful.]

My thanks for letting me know, and I wish you luck trying to get home.

[lessabrasive]

[ At least in Lin's world, the level of technology did not make the communicator completely foreign to her. Telephones and radio existed, just - nothing quite this small.

A large blue owl can be seen over her shoulder, watching the video with lazy lidded gaze. ]


It is likely we are all held here by some sorcery, or external power at least. We've not made much headway into discovering the culprit at this time, but those of us present here can likely answer any other questions you may have.

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[He's seen a couple of different Dream Eaters now, and he wonders if they always accompany their human companions wherever they go.]

[OF COURSE he would manage to dream himself into a world where he was still one handed, where the only thing he's even halfway good at isn't much use. Why couldn't he have dreamed himself into a world where hitting something with a sword enough times would wake him up?

He's petulant, and he knows it, but he tries not to let it show. The woman on the other end of the communicator doesn't look like she'd take kindly to it.]

My thanks... Mistress. I'm afraid I'm not well-versed in sorcery OR technology.

[He's decided any woman who doesn't tell him otherwise is to be addressed as mistress. It's polite enough, and if any queens or ladies get offended... so be it.]

Is there... a complete world outside of this town? What happens if one leaves and keeps walking?

[notquitedracula]

Having only recently arrived myself, there's not much I can tell you that someone else hasn't already. I can pass along some information I was given on the local animal life, though.

[And there's a text attachment with details about the Dream Eaters, the same one Sora gave him not so long ago.]

Most of the things you're likely to encounter will try to kill you, so acquiring a weapon you're familiar with and able to use should be a priority. If it doesn't attack you on sight, odds are good it's friendly or at least neutral.

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[Jaime looks at the text attachment, and sighs at its length. A dream with required reading? Jaime is a slow reader at best.]

It was kind of you to send me this. I'm told the moogles sell swords, but to buy one, I'd have to hunt Nightmares, and to do so I need a weapon...

[The pricklemane jumps on the bed again and paws at his arm as if to say, No you don't! You have me!]

Still, it's good to know which of the things are going to try to kill me. I wouldn't want to attack a friendly creature on sight.

[sailorgenerous]

[Here, have a pony - a unicorn, to be precise - with a Pricklemane. This person does seem to be quite the gentlecolt, even with that...unfortunate injury. All the more reason to lend him a hoof.]

It seems I'm a bit too late to answer your questions, but I can offer you a place to freshen up if you'd like.

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

[This is the third horned horse he's met, but she IS the first one without wings. He's less surprised this time. The... enthusiasm of her greeting, though? That's new.]

[As the pricklemane bounces up to the monitor to greet Rarity's pricklemane, Jaime looks over at the threadbare cloak slung over the back of the chair and runs his good hand through slightly mussed hair. He looks more like a farmer who just fell off a turnip wagon than a knight, and he's had enough of THAT for one lifetime.]

That is a most welcome offer, Mistress. And where would I find this place you speak of?

[onlyrescuesmaidens]

Very well then, Tony.

[Jaime smiles broadly. He likes being just Jaime here, and he supposes there are others who might also appreciate the informality. He does wonder why Tony has the kind of reputation the precedes him. Best not to ask, though.]

I've trained war horses before, but never... anything like this.

[He wonders how Tony went about training his bat. At least the pricklemane somewhat resembles an animal one would take on the hunt... if you turn your head sideways and squint.

His mention of horses makes something click about the image of slightly-dirty Tony. He's been wondering this for a while.]

In the world that you come from... were you a blacksmith?

[He knows the moogles will provide him what he needs, but knowing who among the residents of the town can do what seems like a good idea.]