Momijii steps in and as she crosses the boundary between the daylight world and peutranatral darkness she feels the temperature drop dramatically. She steps in one step then another. Some instinct, perhaps a heightened sensitivity to the air currents or to tiny sounds, told her to duck. She feels the presence of something malign behind as teeth snap shut where her head was moments ago!
<---- Miss.
Momijii was nearly caught off guard when the...thing, attacked her. It was only her intense training that caused it to miss and she reacted almost instinctively as her stance shifted and she let loose with a pair of blows at the foe. She knew in an instant that her first blow missed, she could feel the...whatever it was duck, but her second, a quick snap kick, was going to be much closer, she knew it. She could only hope it was where she thought it was as she called out, "Debis! Where are you?"
Filbert grimaces as the light winks out when he 'dips' it within the room, trying multiple times to overcome the darkness within. Shaking his head and gingerly reaching forth to grab the rope proffered by Momijii, Filbert stands ready at the rear to pull upon the rope.
The sounds of a fight break out in the room and the jeweler stares at the rope in his hand, Should I pull her back?!?!?
Indecision racks the gnome, Momijii had pulled off some incredible feats of martial agility and ability but did she even know what she fought, he couldn't see a thing...
""
Delayed action, Filbert is worried about hitting Momijii or the child, should he send a blast through the door
"What the? Something's wrong in there, we've got to pull Momiji back, and fight whatever is in there in the light."
Lizzie keeps a strike ready, in case the extraction is done.
Momijii gets the sense of something small rushing around her. She tries to strike but it's quick and she is hampered by the darkness! She hears a panicked cry from nearby, "Brenton! Brenton, my lamp it's gone out! You know I can't sleep with it off!"
"One might think this is an haunt as well. Poor boy."
Luxina remarks, before moving into the room with one of her torches lit, sidling close to Momiji.
"Let's see if this works. We can't really see much at all to begin with. Let there be light!"
Luxina's torch seems to fail one moment, but then in her eyes at least begins to shine bright as day.
Agrippa draws Red Destiny, unsure of what to do next....
Not sure of what else to do, Luxina steps into the darkness and sprinkles an alchemical reagent causing her torch to flare with incredible brightness. The pervasive darkness begrudgingly brightens but only for a moment.
The party spot a dead cultist slumped in the corner and in the center of the room Momijii beset by a thing resembling a gray, emaciated child, with cobwebs and dust for clothes and a fox skull for a head!
The flash subsides as the thing attacks! It darts forward and sinks it's tiny fangs into Momijii's legs, it tries to touch her with its spectral arms but she flinches back.
<--- Hit
<--- Oops
<--- Miss
After sinking its teeth into Momijii, all that it left of Debis recoils, "Brenton! Wake up! The lantern has gone out!" Eerie sobs follow which up close put you on edge!
Attic Whisperer
Momijii <----- WE ARE HERE
Filbert
Lizzie
Luxina
Agrippa
Lizzie hasn't seen this sort of thing before, and is surprised by the weird thing.
"What an odd thing, and......HEY! Don't start biting!"
Hearing the calls of her companions Momijii responded, "No! Not yet." It was about then that Momijii felt the teeth of the thing bite into her flesh and grunted in pain, a grunt that quickly turned to a gasp as she felt a wave of fatigue take hold of her body. Despite that she wasn't ready to give up as she saw the creature, "Oh no, it's Debis I think. He's some kind of undead now and I'm not leaving him to suffer this fate if I can help it, we need to put him down if at all possible." She lashed out once again, kicking where he had once been twice in rapid succession. The first one she knew would miss even as she swung but she was confident the second would succeed. She then stepped back, trying to put her back against a wall.
"It looks like Debis, probably, is confined to the darkness area. Maybe we could just leave if it's too dangerous."
Agrippa is hesitant to enter the darkness as he isn't sure he'd be any help to Momijii and would probably just get in her way.
An attic whisperer, I've some knowledge of them. This will be a tough fight for Momijii alone, do we have no way to assist her?
Agrippa retrieves his last Sunrod and uses it.
"Well we can always try to surround it. Do Attic Whisperers have any memory of their past lives Heinrich?"
The flash of light illuminating the fox headed creature attacking Momijii, does little to inform him of what it might be; but does a great job of surprising him, so much so he flings his arms out in the instant of light at it.
yet misses wildly once more....
With the brief illumination provided by Luxina's rapidly combusting torch, Momijii gets enough of a look at the strange thing attacking her to counter attack. Her first strike was clumsy, her limbs feeling wooden but her second one was well judged and she strikes it square in the center of mass!
Filbert tried to hit the Attic Whisperer, but getting a bead with only the briefest of flashes was a tall order, unsurprisingly his shot went wide.
Lizzie tries to understand the bizarre thing she is seeing, while Luxina points out it's likely confined to the room. The intense fires from Luxina's smoldering torch subside plunging the room back into darkness.
Heinrich identifies the thing as an Attic Whisperer, a dangerous apparition. He throws in a sun rod. The relatively feeble light of which is swallowed by the darkness, however it's not quite as impenetrable as before.
Under the cover of darkness you hear a strange clack followed by an increasingly panicked wail, "You know I can't sleep without it! Brenton where are you?!"
<---- MISS
<--- HIT
<--- FAIL
There's a moments silence before Momijii calls out, "It's just cowering in the corner now. Come in, I think we can safely walk past it."
Attic Whisperer
Momijii <----- WE ARE HERE
Filbert
Lizzie
Luxina
Agrippa
"Nuh-uh, i'm not trusting this. She'd not say that in this sort of situation."
The creature steals voices. No doubt it has stolen Momijii's Let's pull her out.
Agrippa will take the rope and begin pulling.
Lizzie joins Agrippa in pulling Momiji out.
Momijii stepped in front of the door in the hopes her companions wouldn't fall for the trick and assumed a defensive stance. She didn't want to leave yet but she couldn't tell them that. She thought she could get through to the creature, if she just had her voice back.
Luxina moves away as Momiji is being pulled out, covering the retreat.
"If that creature steals voices, how do we get Momiji's back Heinrich?"
"You know I can't sleep without it! Brenton where are you?!"
Something about the cry strikes a chord with Filbert, "Momijii, where is the lantern?? Brenton, said he couldn't get to sleep without his shadow lantern." gods, I hope she brought it, it's a long run back to the conference room for my little legs
Filbert isn't moving towards the rope yet, he digging in his pack for the knights. "Debis, I have your knights, Breton and you used to play with."
The jeweler is standing in front of the doorway holding up the two knights, for all to see. "Which one do you want, I can play as the other. Always wanted to be a knight like Lizzie here, she's the real thing!"
It likely sounds crazy to the other but Filbert is hoping there is something of Debis still in there that can be won back.
Momijii stumbled towards where she thought the door was and got physically pulled out by the rest of the group, leaving Luxina stranded in the inky darkness...
Luxina tries to stumble towards the door and find herself tripping over debris but she can hear her friends talking and moves towards Filbert's voice. With great relief she stumbles blinking into the light.
Momijii felt the pull on the rope and though she wasn't ready to end this yet she knew they needed to. They had to go see Brenton, maybe he could help them. Her relief at Luxina making it out of the room was almost palpable and she gestured back towards the chapel and tried to speak but nothing came out. Frustrated she went to the person who had the knights and attempted to root through their pack and find them.
Finding the knights she pulled them out and gestured again back towards the chapel area.
Filbert looks at Momijii strangely as she begins pawing through his pack "Are you looking for these" he ask. Indicating the knights he is still holding in his hands...
Momijii nodded in agreement.
You head back to the Chaplain's office where the other day you had found the nurse Tolman Leolies looking after Brenton and Maeve. You found that room to be occupied by occupied by a Pharasian prayer group. After a bit you find Brenton and Maeve having dinner in the chapel.
Upon seeing you, Breanton cries, "Look Maeve it's the kind lady and her friends!"
Lizzie waves at the kid.
"Hey there, how are you two?"
Momijii nodded to Filbert and held out her hands for the knights when he showed them to her. She took the knights gently and then said something, or tried too anyway while she nodded towards the chapel.
When they arrived back there and she saw Brenton Momijii smiled gently at him and gestured him over to her. She sat and then pulled the knights out when he came over to her and held them out to him. She tried to speak again, but nothing came out, and she looked imploringly at Lizzie and Filbert to help her out.
Breanton smiles at Lizzie and asks, "Hiya just having Dinner. Oh! What's wrong with the lady? Oh where did you find those!? I thought I'd lost them!" He seems excited to have the toy knights back!
"Momiji's lost her voice to an evil spook. We hope she'll get her voice back in time."
"Oh dear! That sounds terrible. This place seemed safe but everything's changed..." sniffed Breanton sadly. He'd lost so much in his short life that awful things seemed vaguely normal to him.
Seeing the child's sadness Momijii pulled the kid into a hug and patted his back gently. She couldn't cure his sadness and she hoped that he would be free of this place before he knew his brother's fate.
Filbert gladly give Momijii the knights, figuring even without her voice she was a better spokesman than he was. Watching the reunion in the makeshift mess hall, he laughs as Breton is overjoyed at the knights return.
Breton, while we're looking for your brother, is there anything that he would be missing greatly? Something he needed daily? And is there anything you want to tell him?" He ask gently. "It may help him know that we are trying to help him, I'm sure he's scared out there."
Brenton looked at you a bit confused, "Daily? I'm not sure what you mean Mr Springbit."
Agrippa watches Filbert and follows Filbert's line of questioning
A lamp? Did Debis have a favored lamp or lantern? Something to keep the darkness at bay? Agrippa asks
Filbert misses Brenton's meaning but follows up Agrippa's comment. "Yes, yes once Miss Momijii related having a lantern, to yes, keep the darkness at bay, each night while she slept. I know I have been tired and scared while here, I'm sure he has been as well."
Comprehension strikes and Brenton says "OH! You mean his shadow lantern." A little sadly he explains, "That was the last thing he had from Mum and Dad. You see Debis suffers from terrible dreams and the only thing that would clam him was the soft patterns the shadow lantern put across the wall. I was keeping it safe for him, but you did find my knights... Thing is I know he's gone, it makes me feel so sad but perhaps you can help him pass over? The adults don't like to tell me things but I know those who die here don't rest easy."
He scampers over to the room where he was sleeping an returns with a small shadow lantern which he gives to Filbert saying, "If you can help him, please take this."
Receiving the lantern from Breton, Filbert smiles somewhat sadly...
"We will do our best to make sure he has passed and no longer forced to roam these halls. Perhaps you have something you wish us to tell him in parting?"
It is sad for the gnome to see one so young, with so mature of a outlook on life. He should still be out playing with his knights and designing new paper cranes; not discussing missing friends and family who've died recently.
Yet if he made it out of this he stood to be a strong leader in the future...
Agrippa makes an awkward show of consoling the boy.
There. There. Good lad.
and after only a moment he says to the others
We should not tarry. Someone grab a candle to make that Lantern work. and if no one objects he leads the group back towards the Debis haunt.
There is a slight pause before Brenton replies, "Erm. Thanks Mr Heinrich."
There are numerous candles in the chapel, all of the somewhat fancy nondeterministic religious offering type. One of the refugees hands a fresh one to Luxina who lights it and hands it to Agrippa. Together the party sets off too see what happens.
The way is quiet, bar only distant dripping probably due to the peculiar Dreamland weather. Sure enough a flash of orang and red lightning illuminates a window. Wierdly there is no sound despite what must have been allowed almost direct strike.
You have little time for such things since before long you are back on the edge of the supernatural darkness. The only noise is the sobbing of the child's spirit within. You immediately notice one change, the light from the lantern feebly illuminates the room revealing a scene of carnage. It looks as if an explosion tore this room apart, furniture, racks of
blunt weapons, padded restraints, and glass lamps lay shattered to pieces and scattered to the corners. The walls are bare and and room’s center lies perfectly open. There are a number of dead bodies slumped against the walls, hands on their necks.
In the end Momijii is asked to place the lantern within. The childlike fox-skulled apparition turns to watch. When she places the lantern on the floor relieved sobs can be heard before the spirit deflates and vanishes. Slowly over a minute the darkness seeps away.
DC 16 to identify.
Momijii smiled and mouthed the words, thank you, to Brenton before they left. When they finally arrived at the room and lit the lantern she noticed the changes immediately. She entered the room, not letting the creature that was Brenton's brother scare her and sat down the lamp before him, smiling sadly and then sitting to face him as he vanished. There were tears in her eyes at what had happened to the kid and she made a silent vow to find the one responsible for all of this, and end his miserable existence.
"That was.... quite touching. Not paying attention to the rest of the room of course."
Luxina says as the apparition of Debis became calm and disappeared.
"Let's get this room checked and get moving. I'd like Brenton to at least escape this wretched place."