Being a dream lord, Mendean found he had been particularly neglectful, since his ascension several years ago, in that he had not spent much time actually traversing the realms of dreams. There was much he still did not know about them. Admittedly he understood more than almost anyone in the world, but there were hundreds of people and entities out there who knew more than he did.

And so he began by visiting the dreams of people, selected purely for their differences from each other. The fathers, the mothers, the children, the grandparents, then selecting by what intrigued him. Unusual structures and narratives, the vividness of the dream, curious themes. It was through this method that he began to obtain an understanding of the types of dreams people had. For example, the dreams of mass murderers were often fairly banal and unimaginative, while those beset by desperation inhabited dream worlds that were in a state of constant and intense flux. Many people surprised him, others delighted him. Some managed to appal him.

The worst ones, he tended to avoid. Mendean was strictly an observer, but he could only take so much. There was a level of involvement that he wished to avoid. The urge to interfere was strong, but he had learned to keep such behaviour to a minimum.

He had managed to develop his ability to shape the oneiric environment to a fine degree. An alteration to the scenery here, a change in the behaviour of a dream-construct there. He had grown fairly proficient.

And then the other Mendean had come.

They merged, becoming one, but while he gained insights into spellcrafting, worlds beyond worlds and many other fields of study, many things that he already knew had been diluted. By the climax of the Timedeath, Mendean had lost much of his skill with dreams. The knowledge and techniques were still there, but buried beneath layers of the other Mendean, during their integration.

Mendean needed help, but there was a problem.

The foremost expert in oneiromancy that he knew of, resided in the academy of arcane studies in Wyllmochvar. He was an elderly professor and member of the council of mages. One of the oppressive magocracy who ruled over Wyllmochvar with an iron hand. Add to that, that they were opposed to the presence of gods in their land and Mendean understood that ideologically speaking, this professor was an enemy. It was unlikely such a man would willingly help the lord of chaos who walks in dreams.

So Mendean required help, to get some help.

And so it was that the young deity found himself sitting in a coaching inn, on the outskirts of Feeorin, nursing a mug of elven tea, reputed to possess mildly hallucinogenic properties. He was waiting for someone who might respond to his request for assistance, that he had put out into the region's underworld. He was offering a fair bit of money, although had not expressly described what was required. A mention of kidnapping had been put about, but that was all.