The Dream Quest of the Archmage Part 2
- The Dreamtime
After disembarking from Rafael Prince's wagon, you find yourself on foot. In theory, it shouldn't be any different from a march in the waking world, right?
Wrong.
As the party advances into the deep wilds of the Dreamtime, the terrain continues to change with disturbing regularity and no real pattern to it. The rocky plain dissolves and molds itself into a noisome swamp, but instead of insects, the terrain itself seems bent on messing with you. Looking into the puddles and pools of water as you cross does not show reflections, but instead ghostly forms just below the surface. They vanish if you disturb the water, but as soon as you're past they reform. Staring at you with strange, alien eyes.
"I think this place tops the mushroom land with the flumph in terms of strange," Warrick idly comments, voice mildly muffled from the closed armet helmet. His marching is easily broken into wary walking with the rapidly shifting unfamiliar terrain. "And we're supposed to find a weapon in the midst of all this...?"
He shakes his head, glancing to a puddle to look at the ghostly figures.
It is passing strange for one step to sink into the murk of a swamp, only for the next to shift across grains of sands.
Palomas is sweating despite all the shifting geozones, tugging once at his collar and taking a drink of dreamwater. Or just regular water of his in a dream. "I don't think I'll take another job to the dreamlands anytime soon, heh-heh." He clears his throat as he tightens the flask once more. He spots some of the watching eyes and kicks dirt onto them, scowling. "Maybe not ever again."
Haggerty listens to muttered snarfles and yips, smiles at the all black canine close to him and verbally agrees, "You are correct, Kuno. It does look like the ice blocks used to store the catch back home." The pointy hat crowned Aesir chuckles and marches on. "We may want to rope together. If you wish?"
"God, I wish Jarik were here." Skyler sighs when they're faced with a swamp, "Whenever we encounter swampland, he usually gives me uppies and carries me so I don't get my feet muddy."
Not quite the sacrifice it sounds, given the half-Oruch witch's ability to walk on the surface of mud and scum, but it's still *romantic*.
Pale grey-green eyes shoot to Warrick consideringly, as if thinking about wanting to ask *him* for uppies. But Skyler's eyes cut over to Haggerty at his discussion, brow furrowing slightly. "Probably best." He says slowly, adding, "And maybe Warrick or I should take point. View's shite regardless, either watch an swampy ass or watch an assy swamp. The other can take rearguard."
The swamp has that disturbing tendency to clutch at your feet, much the same way it feels when you're caught in a nightmare and trying to run from something but can't quite move quickly.
This may be where that feeling comes from, in fact.
But soon enough, the swamp seems to drain out of the landscape like a runny watercolor, leaving behind a yawning cave mouth. A soft wind blows out of it, carrying with it indistinct murmurs and whispers. Nothing intelligible, but more than just noise. A scent is carried along as well, something dolorous and gray, not rot but what comes after. Dust, perhaps.
"I am in agreement; not my favorite place, too wibbly wobbly for my tastes," Warrick concurs to the sole Lucht of the group. "Roping together may help, but to be honest, it may hamper us more than aid."
Falling in line to be behind Palamos, he resettles his large crossbow into the crook of his shoulder. "If only one could carry us," he grumbles, pulling his foot free of the latching swamp. The feeling behind it is... far too close to his own nightmares. And then they spill out into a cave entrance. "I can deal with a cave," he sighs in relief, pulling out a small dull orb from a pocket and releasing it. It floats up beside his head, shedding a soft white light.
"Useful," The Lucht says at the pale light. He takes a deep breath then checks to make sure his own helmet is firmly in place. One last quick check of his gear as he considers his options, before finally settling on the strange ribbon'd stick, loading a pale river stone into his sling.
"Good luck to everyone. No panic."
"Make like the Sanctified Maiden! Procure the best destrier you may, Master Archer!" The redheaded Northman speaks with religious verve. "There are positives and negatives to my suggestion, surely so. He muck and dust and elsewalks steadily, until the group closes in on the cave. He leans forward and whiffs which is mimicked by the tiny doge. Hagg kindles his magic torch in his belt on the side.
"Oh *amazing*!" Skyler breathes at Warrick's glowing little moon, eyes wide and glittering with something almost hungry. "I was pricing one of those at the Market before we met up."
He shakes his head like a dog shaking off water. Anywho! "Cave's a lot better! Just did a gig in a cave with a creepy child and a wizard with *amazing* skincare and a box." He chuckles, "Still got some acid burns from it!" He draws the curved sword on his back, twirling it one-handed with half his attention on making sure his buckler is settled securely and he can reach into his coat for a series of vials and a dagger. He grins over his shoulder at Pal, winking at him, "Panic's for people with a brain. I'm brainless so... To adventure!"
GAME: Haggerty rolls craft/alchemy: (17)+5: 22
The cave is actually quite spacious, the floor level and coated in white sand. Here and there can be seen small fragments of stone that look like bits of statues -- a finger, a bit of carved nose, that sort of thing. Disturbing. At the far end of the cavern is a small altar, upon which rests a mace or scepter with a head in the shape of a snarling tiger -- but you are not alone.
Kneeling before the altar is a humanoid figure, its back to you. As you approach, it rises silently, and turns to face you. When it looks at you, you realize its skin is gaunt over its skeleton, eyes shriveled away, mouth gaping open. What comes from its lips, though, is even worse. A sad voice, a woman's, whispering, "You left me behind."
And out of the shadows, a dull blue spider and a large worm-like creature emerge to flank the corpse. Voices come from them as well. "No one escapes death." "You can't run from your past." "Your magic can't save you."
Haggerty shares the find of his amateurish smellery, "Something died in there. Long ago. I wager dead dreams, undead dreams, dreams of composting entities. Strangeness awaits us, so I mind for a trace of care. You know, a little bit..." He sighs. Sighs again. The freckled man rolls his blue eyes and spits out some of that dusty grime. He is quick to follow the group into the cave, likely half pulled by the reckless. "I disagree!" shouts the spellcaster.
The trio of dream-spawned horrors begin to advance in a steady, deliberate pace on the heroes. The dead man draws a long, curving sword of Tian manufacture from his back, hefting it as he stalks towards the quarter. The spider, and the snake-like abomination, move in as well, covering the warrior's flanks.
"Flee this place, if you can." "No one will mourn you." "Why have you abandoned our daughter?"
GAME: Skyler rolls acrobatics+5: (19)+12+5: 36 GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1: (17)+12: 29 (THREAT) GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1: (12)+12: 24 GAME: Skyler rolls damage1+damage1+10: aliased to 1d6+5+1d6+5+10: (4)+5+(3)+5+10: 27 GAME: Skyler spends ONE point of PANACHE.
At first, Skyler blanches at what they're faced with, almost caught uncharacteristically flat-footed. He grits his jaw, brow furrowing before he charges forward with a snarl that turns into an almost *insane* laugh. He skids to a stop and holds up his empty hand. "BURNING HANDS!"
Um, what?
When nothing happens, Skyler looks nonplussed, and shakes his head. "Well. It was worth a try." And then he clicks his heels, boots shimmering with fiery energy as he ducks, bounces with a brisk kick-flip and then lashes out with his sword in a *wicked* blow mid-air before landing with a thud. "They're resistant to slashing hits!"
GAME: Skyler gains ONE point of PANACHE. GAME: Warrick rolls weapon16+1: (6)+12+1-2: 17 GAME: Warrick rolls weapon16+1-2: (18)+12+1+-2: 29 GAME: Warrick rolls xbowDamage+1: aliased to 1d10+4+1: (1)+4+1: 6 GAME: Warrick rolls xbowDamage+1: aliased to 1d10+4+1: (8)+4+1: 13
The religious zeal gets Warrick to stand up a little straighter. "Worry not, there will be no panic," he reassures. A quick nod is thrown towards Skyler, along with a raised brow (the helmet blocks it). "It's helpful when your hands are full." A mechanical and bassy *ka-chunk* punctuates that as the large crossbow is winched back and loaded. And in they go.
Haggerty's warning gets Warrick a touch uneasy. Dead and undead dreams mean..- he stops flat footed. The voices. Gods those voices again- Focus up! Skyler's flamboyant entrance into the fight roots him, his clashes with a Dragoon having him appreciate the flair of a fight before he slides out of rank and clutches the crossbow at the hip, one hand on the trigger with a fistful of bolts and racking the crank. Two shots thud out back to back, slamming into the horrid tentacle like creature. "Stay focused! They're using your insecurities! Objective sighted!"
GAME: Haggerty casts Hideous Laughter. Caster Level: 5 DC: 17
Haggerty shares the find of his amateurish smellery, "Something died in there. Long ago. I wager dead dreams, undead dreams, dreams of composting entities. Strangeness awaits us, so I mind for a trace of care. You know, a little bit..." He sighs. Sighs again. The freckled man rolls his blue eyes and spits out some of that dusty grime. He is quick to follow the group into the cave, likely half pulled by the reckless. "I disagree!" shouts the spellcaster. The monsters then advance on them and it takes a while for the studious arcanist to go through the motions. Fly away, little tart and whiffle whiffle little feather. He concludes with words in Eldritch.
GAME: Palomas rolls weapon2-2: (8)+7+-2: 13 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+10: (20)+10: 30 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+10: (9)+10: 19 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d10+10: (4)+10: 14 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+5: (16)+5: 21 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d6+3: (6)+3: 9 GAME: Haggerty rolls Fortitude: (5)+3: 8 GAME: Haggerty rolls Fortitude: (9)+3: 12 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d3: (3): 3 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+4: (1)+4: 5 (EPIC FAIL)
The guardians are not taken aback by the adventurers' initial assault. The undead swordsman turns slowly to stare at Skyler, before dealing him a brutal blow with his long sword. Meanwhile, the blue-hued spider scuttles towards Haggerty, biting the wizard and leaving him with a poisoned wound. And the serpentine monster charges Warrick, but its bite snaps on empty air, failing to do more than deal emotional damage as the voices continue to spout from the monsters.
"You'll always be a thief and a reaver." "You should've died with me." "None of this will matter."
GAME: Skyler rolls Acrobatics+5: (2)+12+5: 19 GAME: Skyler rolls Acrobatics+5: (13)+12+5: 30 GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+1+2: (5)+12+1+2: 20 GAME: Skyler spends ONE point of PANACHE. GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+2+10: (8)+12+2+10: 32 GAME: Skyler rolls damage1+2+10: aliased to 1d6+5+2+10: (2)+5+2+10: 19
"I'm also... *sexy*!" Skyler snarls as he takes the blow across his chest where the mithril armor opens like on a romance cover. Blood splatters, but rather than continuing to engage he again clicks his heels and does an wicked barrel roll mid-air, dodging away and hitting into a forward surge that makes him grasp his scimitar by the hilt to slice across the spider. "I gotcha, dude!"
GAME: Warrick rolls weapon16+1-2: (5)+12+1+-2: 16 GAME: Warrick rolls weapon16+1-2: (16)+12+1+-2: 27 GAME: Warrick rolls xbowDamage+1: aliased to 1d10+4+1: (2)+4+1: 7
Warrick ducks under the snap, pivoting around and looking over his shoulder, getting a gauge for everything. Seeing as Skyler has the mage covered, the arbalest drops to a knee and pelts out suppressing fire at the undead creature with the large sword and no eyes. "Oi! The can probably use the objective to hit stuff if we gotta!" he barks out. Only glancing shots, but it's something.
GAME: Haggerty casts Burning Hands. Caster Level: 5 DC: 16
Haggerty undulates meekly when his body is pinched by those pedipalp pliers which feel like a smith's red hot crafting means clenching down on the now torn blue clad midsection. The undersized bulldog winces and yarps. He scuffles back another step, stretches a hand forward while he attempts some do(d)gey moves. Fire sparks from his hand and bathes the sp00derperson, not the jumpy former pirate.
GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+6: (11)+6: 17 GAME: Haggerty rolls 5d4: (11): 11 GAME: Palomas rolls weapon2: (5)+7: 12
Palomas quickly turns his head to try to determine if his allies are in trouble, but seeing them handling it, instead goes to hold the line. He does not swap to his blade but instead goes to smash a kneecap, only to find that his blow lacks the strength to cause true harm. "Eh-heh-heh," His nervous chuckle from inside the helmet says a lot.
GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+8: (11)+8: 19 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+5: (6)+5: 11 GAME: Skyler spends ONE point of PANACHE. GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1: (14)+12: 26 GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1: (8)+12: 20 GAME: Skyler rolls damage1+5: aliased to 1d6+5+5: (4)+5+5: 14 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+4: (19)+4: 23 GAME: Skyler gains ONE point of PANACHE. GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20-1: (7)+-1: 6 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20-1: (11)+-1: 0 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20-1: (5)+-1: 4 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20-1: (6)+-1: 5 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d4+1: (3)+1: 4
The undead swordsman looks down at Palomas, and something like contempt crosses its face. A voice wafts from its mouth, "Who do you think you are fooling?" as the creature tries to simply kick Palomas aside, but the lucht nimbly dodges away.
The blue-hued spider, set aflame and wounded, whirls on Skyler, its mandibles snapping -- only for Skyler to spin aside, his scimitar whirling in an arc that ends with the point imbedded in the spider's face. It freezes, and then slumps to the ground before starting to dissolve into sand.
The snake-like grick tries to snap at Warrick, drawing a flesh wound but little else, and the voices sound more desperate as if trying to grind down the party's emotional defenses. "You don't belong here! No one does! You'll never be found!"
GAME: Skyler rolls Acrobatics+5: (6)+12+5: 23 GAME: Skyler rolls weapon1+2+1: (10)+12+2+1: 25 GAME: Skyler rolls damage1+5+2: aliased to 1d6+5+5+2: (1)+5+5+2: 13
For a moment, Skyler's content to bask in the glory of his absolutely *insane* kill. It's either that or take a moment to piss himself as the spider swings at him and his body reacts almost quicker than his (admittedly slow) mind.
But he does eventually grin, winking at Haggerty and cockily turning towards the Zombie just in time to see Palomas close, and then the zombie almost crush him.
Talk of a father wanting presents for his kids, and memories of a snake on a mo' fo' plane make him grit his teeth and launch himself forward with sword still pointed back. He skids in the sand, dodges behind the creature, and stabs his sword through it before bisecting it. "They don't know *shit* about us." He growls.
GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+4: (10)+4: 14 GAME: Warrick rolls cmb: (2)+7: 9 GAME: Warrick rolls cmb: (2)+7: 9
Warrick gasps as the tentacles slam into him, but pokes refuse to jab into the helmet. Knowing that the mage was close, he had to keep its attention. He growls, "Oh shut up, I've had worse nightmares!" The crossbow tumbles to the ground as he lunges his full body at the snake like creature, haphazardly wrassling with it. "Stand still you ugly son of a...-!"
Haggerty is releaved off the eight legged menace. The weakened man takes just a step to the side, away from threats as well as his aching muscles allow. The pug hops in concert. He points index middle and ring finger at the snake tentacle creeper abomination, and zots with a trio of silvery white darts while he utters a few common words in wizardspeech. Go go homing force bolts!
GAME: Haggerty casts Magic Missile. Caster Level: 5 DC: 16 GAME: Haggerty rolls 3d4+3: (11)+3: 14
And then, abruptly, there's silence. The trio of guardians have returned to the sand underfoot, but there's a sense of tension still in the air. Waiting. The whispers have died down but they're still heard just at the edge of awareness. All that waits is the tiger-headed scepter lying on the altar.
Palomas lifts up his visor and puffs out some sand. "... Seemed like he knew at least a little bit." A bare foot pushes around the dust with an absent frown, before he shakes his head, bringing his staff up to his shoulder. "Oh well. Who, uh, claims the prize?" Not me!
"Ow."
The sky pirate turned (hopeful) Gentleman Adventurer collapses to one knee as the rush of adrenaline hits and he realizes just how hurt he was by that one wicked blow. "That fucking *hurt*." He groans, falling rigidly backwards like a fainting goat. He reaches up, touches the blood on his chest, and rolls his eyes to look at the scepter.
"Not it." He tells Palomas, and with a groan pushes himself up to brush sand out of hair. "Warrick? Haggerty? Anyone particularly deft at seeing the sign of traps?"
Warrick stumbles a bit as the being turns to sand. Righting himself and scooping his weapon up, a lofty sigh escapes him. "Clear. That was clean, good work everyone." He looks over at the scepter that Palomas points out. "I trust Telamon. I can grab it."
Making good on that, he walks over to the altar. Briefly checking it over, and picks it up if nothing awry is spotted.
GAME: Warrick rolls perception: (19)+7: 26
Haggerty sinks to a knee, and pulls himself back up after a goodly slobbering gesture of affection from the canine support. "Let us look at the altar for safety measures first, please. We do not want to trigger a trap now. At least not without some distance to the altar. What can we do, please?" He would shrug, but his shoulders are slumped.
"Yeah, trust." Palomas takes another step back.
The altar is just a block of plain stone. No signs of tripwires, pressure plates, or ominous magical sigils. Harmless.
Maybe that's what made it the perfect place to rest this mace. When Warrick lifts the artifact, the tiger's head animates, turning to lock ruby eyes with his. And in a voice like that of a hundred big, big cats, it roars.
"FACE. YOUR. FEARS."
And with that there's a thunderclap, and a wave of light bursts out of the tiger's maw. The sand turns to glass, then to stone as the cave roof is peeled away like the wrapper off a sweetbun, revealing a starry sky above. And when the party looks around... they stand on a ash-gray landscape, devoid of greenery or water, with a blue-and-green world hanging just over the horizon. Not far away is the familiar wagon, with Rafael Prince leaning against it, smoking... something that's definitely not pipe-weed or tobacco.
"Took you long enough. Was it cloakers? This really did look like cloaker country."
"Where the hell are the dreams of endless glory and splendor? Nubile maids and dashing gladiators to feed us grapes?" Skyler demands of the Prince, eyes narrowed as he gets to his feet quickly and winces. "I'd settle for a meadow of breads with rivers of milk, and I can't do milk."
Beat.
"Got any more of the drugs? I nearly got gutted *and* had some fancy stick apparently try to channel my parents and be disappointed." Skyler glances around at the party, and more seriously, "Everyone ok?"
"Unlike the last round of snakes," Palomas says as he flashes a thumbs up. It took a few minutes of shaking his head out as the world rips open like a broken box, but he gets there, and a Lucht is nothing if not adaptable. "Eager to be home, with all due respect, your highness."
And Warrick takes the lion headed scepter. His eyes widen behind the helmet. Face locked in a grimace from the loud bellowing of lions. So much happens that his visor slams back up from the thunderclap, the world melting and molting, unwrapping and splaying about around and above.
And the ex-guard stands there, holding the scepter in hand, staring at it. His fingers twitch, adjusting the grip, and he sucks in a breath, relaxing. "Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm good." He shakes his head, peeling away to look at the group. "Better now."
He looks down at the scepter. "... powerful thing. Good thing."
Haggerty mutters something about broad shouldered maidens who can give a nice bone sorting massage or birch slapping in a sauna. He shakes his head at the questions in the familiar's big eyes. No play fetch a birch branch now! The poochlet sads and waddles more than the bug bitten redhead. The spellslinger moves his head up and waves at Raffy. The shouting is good enough to motivate Hagg to get going, "Whatever may be. I do not want to end frozen like that snake did. I am not well, but we must go."
"Help yourself to the stash," Prince jerks his thumb at the wagon. "But for now, let's load up and get back to better dreams. This is probably one of the more stable ones out here, and at least it's quiet, but..." He glances around. "It's kinda dull."
The trip back is just as surreal as the trip into the deep Dreamtime. One 'shortcut' has you passing through what seems like a king's ransom of gold and jewels, with a dragon sprawled half-buried in it. "Don't bother grabbing anything. It's his dream. Besides, right now that fucker is about..." Rafael holds his hands about three feet apart. "That long. Big dreams, little guy."
Soon enough, the wagon is rolling along a dirt road, coming to a crossroads carved into a meadow. "You lot should be okay from here. Probably gonna wake up soon. Tell the kid I said hello."
"We'll get you seen to," Warrick tells Haggerty. "You're looking a little rough." He clambers into the wagon, peeling off his helmet to reveal the sweat stained face underneath. While he does watch the surreal surroundings, as well as looking genuinely surprised at the half-buried dragon, his thumb keeps rubbing the side of the scepter, unconsciously feeling a little attached to its purpose.
"I see. Thanks for the ride and the help, sir Prince. This has been an... experience," Warrick slowly says.
Skyler says, “Will do, try not to... do whatever you shouldn't in a dream?" Skyler shakes his head as if he couldn't begin to imagine what the Prince does with his free time. While quite cunning on the battlefield, it's apparently the limit of his intellect.
To Haggerty, he suggests with a faint hint of his previous enthusiasm about everything, "Hey, I know a banging bathhouse if we take all this back with us. I swear the masseuses are giantborn that hate everyone! I'm sure Telamon'll spot us all a round."
Which remembering the half-elf sorcerer's eyeroll he pauses, and asks quietly, "D.. do you think he did anything with our bodies? Like stuck our hands in bowls of warm water? I hope we don't wake up having pissed ourselves."
Haggerty answers with some heaviness to his tongue, "Word for word, Good Prince! Serriel's Speed!" He knows better than to try anything in the stash, but.. Curiosity wins out! It is for science, don't you know!? The tiny dragon is worth a chuckle, but are not all small and in need at some point? No, it would not be fair to laugh! "Thanks go to you! I appreciate this. First round will be on me!" He rolls off the wagon, supported by his staff. The pale man's eyes light up like sapphires in fiery shine, "Oh, the perfect spot for me!"