Momijii pummels the waking nightmare with powerful blows, fist and feet lashing out. Yes as fast as she is, The Tatterman is faster still and frustratingly she hits nothing but thin air.
Startled, Filbert awakens and puts some distance between himself and The Tatterman. Of course he needn't have worried for the fiends ire was directed firmly at Lizzie who blocks several wild and frenzied attacks with her shield!
<--- MISS
Filbert Springbit
The Tatterman
Lizzie "beads" Tamar' <----- WE ARE HERE
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
Luxina Tenebris
The Tatterman
Momijii
Spoiler:Filbert Springbit Shaken (21 rounds)
The Tatterman
Lizzie "beads" Tamar' Smite
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa Shaken (20 rounds)
Luxina Tenebris Shaken (20 rounds), Mutagen +4 str +2 ac (2 rounds), Silversheen
The Tatterman
Momijii Shaken (20 rounds), Align Weapon (6 rounds)
Filbert Springbit Shaken (20 rounds)
The Tatterman
Lizzie "beads" Tamar' Smite
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa Shaken (19 rounds)
Luxina Tenebris Shaken (19 rounds), Mutagen +4 str +2 ac (1 round), Silversheen
The Tatterman
Momijii Shaken (19 rounds), Align Weapon (5 rounds)
Lizzie "beads" Tamar', Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Luxina Tenebris are up.
Luxina keeps up her defense of Lizzie, hoping to swat away any attacks by hitting the Tatterman with her club.
Lizzie simply continues attacking the evil man.
Luxina, if you could 5ft step so i can switch places with you, i could have flanking with Agrippa.
Agrippa fishes around in his magical pouch and produces another healing potion...
He scoots his way closer to Lizzie.
He delivers the potion to Lizzie!
Lizzie puts as must force as she can muster into another pounding swing, but at the very last moment The Tatterman jerks away towards Luxina's silvery club! The club hits with a resounding THUNK and the horror looks as surprised as Luxina when yellow blood oozes from the impact wound.
Agrippa tries to lightly tip-toe behind, hoping to administer a much needed healing potion but the rubble piled on the floor proves treacherous and he looses his concentration. With terrifying speed The Tatterman's razor flashes out scoring a deep red line across poor Agrippa's back!
<--- HIT
Snarling The Tatterman whirls round, it's razor dripping a spray of Agrippa's blood which flicks all over Lizzie. She cringed inwardly expecting to feel it's sting once again, but it was Luxina who gasped in pain! The Tatterman having scored a line across her forehead which bled profusely!
<--- HIT
Filbert Springbit
The Tatterman
Lizzie "beads" Tamar'
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
Luxina Tenebris
The Tatterman
Momijii <----- WE ARE HERE
Spoiler:Filbert Springbit Shaken (21 rounds)
The Tatterman
Lizzie "beads" Tamar' Smite
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa Shaken (20 rounds)
Luxina Tenebris Shaken (20 rounds), Mutagen +4 str +2 ac (2 rounds), Silversheen
The Tatterman
Momijii Shaken (20 rounds), Align Weapon (6 rounds)
Filbert Springbit Shaken (20 rounds)
The Tatterman
Lizzie "beads" Tamar' Smite
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa Shaken (19 rounds)
Luxina Tenebris Shaken (19 rounds), Mutagen +4 str +2 ac (1 round), Silversheen
The Tatterman
Momijii Shaken (19 rounds), Align Weapon (5 rounds)
Momijii and Filbert Springbit are up.
With Heinrich moving opposite her Momijii saw what she hoped was an opening. She unleashed a flurry of blows adding extra strength to the first in an effort to stun the Tatterman one more time so they could try and finish it off.
Filbert stands from where he was on the floor taking aim at the Tatterman once more.
"I reaaally have to quit falling asleep"
or
Momijii's fists still glowing with unearthly radience slam like pistons into the side and the midsection of the fiend, rocking it back! Looking increasingly ragged it sways on its feet, with an effort it masters itself and rallies for an attack but Filbert gets there first! With a sound like thunder he directs a blast that strikes it's temple, snapping it's head back at a weird angle. It thrashes about as it falls with a strange rasping nose as it's body fights for a breath that wont come. It thrashes violently twice more before becoming utterly still.
Relief at the thing's final defeat Momijii quickly decided to make sure it was truly dead. With a shout to focus herself she leapt into the air and brought her fist down on it's head with all her strength, the divine power letting her crush it's skull in completely and make sure it won't ever rise again. Her task accomplished she rose from her kneeling position and bellowed forth a roar of victory from somewhere deep as the rampaging spirit of the dragon within her was satisfied with the death of her enemy. She looked to her companions and said, "We should heal up and make our way back to Winter, we need to get these people out of this place."
"Not yet we still have work to do here. I was busy burning the sketches, in my manic state I thought that was where the evil was coming from. But that evil was here, we need to find out what it was planning here." The little gnome says pointing at the battered pulp on the floor, kneeling down on the floor to look under the pallet Lizzie was sitting on. A very surprised Lizzie suddenly found herself and the pallet floating 2' above the floor. Filbert unaware continues to search below it, for anything of use.
Filbert finds eight pouches each containing 50 gold coins, a wand (DC 16), an stoppered bottle marked 'elixir of truth', a scroll (DC 18), and a book titled The Chain of Nights.
Any reader who spends 1 hour consulting The Chain of Nights can immediately after use the hypnotism occult skill unlock (Pathfinder RPG Occult Adventures 195) once per day even if that character isn’t capable of casting psychic spells or doesn’t possess the Psychic Sensitivity feat. Also, after 1 hour of consulting the tome, the reader gains a +2 bonus on a single Knowledge (planes) check related to the Dimension of Dreams.
Additionally, the tome contains the spells dream, dream council, dream scan, dream travel, and nightmare. Most notoriously, it contains an elaborat—and some say flawed—ritual for releasing one’s dreams. While the rite functions, the side effects of failure can create dangerous beings known as oneirogens.
Agrippa studies the book, flipping through its pages slowly and studiously.
This is the little book that caused all this trouble.. he murmurs
After handing off the book to Agrippa, Filbert continues to search the room, until satisfied nothing remains to be found.
"Agrippa, with the oniregons gone and the Tatterman defeated, what will happen to the remainder of the 'deciples' around here? Are they iredeemable?"
He asks quietly, looking at the prisoner in the corner. Speaking directly to the prisoner if he has awoken. "what say you now that your 'tatterman' is gone?"
/sigh
To Filbert Agrippa replies I surmise that the mist should lessen, and perhaps even completely dissipate. This would allow us to escape this place.
and go where? the thought pops into Agrippa's mind
The question of our memories. Our past. Remains.
Filbert ponders the book and Agrippa's comments, "Got nothing constructive"
Divvying out the bags of gold he prepares to head back. "Should we leave him tied up here waiting for the captain to find him? Might be more ghouls still lurking around."
"Well i know what -we- would say. -Good riddance-, that's what."
Momijii looked at the tied and gagged cultist carefully, she did have a murder to bring justice for and she was still determined to do so. She looked at the cultist's face intently to see if she recognized him as one of Brin's killers.
We should return to Winter.
Agrippa is in favor of returning to Winter right now.
Momijii felt her blood begin to pound as she recognized the cultist before her. Her eyes narrowed in fury and she reached out, picked the bound man up by his throat, and slammed him against a wall as she growled out, "You! You were one of those who beat Brin to death." She shook him firmly, "You weren't the ringleader of the man's killers, who was and where do I find him? Tell me and I'll make your death swift."
The man quails under Momijii's fury,and his eyes grow large when threatened with execution. He refuses to talk until Momijii holds his fingers in a Nikkyo lock with enough force near shatter his wrist. Eventually he stammers, "Aahh. Stop! Stops. It was Garath, he was the leader, you killed him already!"
Not wanting to get in the way of Momijji's bad side, Filbert nods as the man imparts his knowledge and turning readis himself to return to the cleric, Winter.
Momijii listened as the man blubbered her eyes narrowed in distrust but she didn't think such a coward had it in him to lie to her just now. Instead she ground out, "What about the others, I know more than just the two of you were involved." She used the lock she had on him to pressure his wrist a bit more, just enough that the bones could be heard to creak but not truly break.
"Cultist guy. She's sparing your life. or now it seems anyway., surely you can tell us more of your comrades, any pockets still around?"
When it came to trying see through a bluff...
"You know, your voice waivers, you are not telling he truth here.
I mean, i could go for a walk, and have a look at some grand architectural marvels, leaving you alone with Momiji here."
She says this with a casual smile.
Indeed. Mistress Momiji was so close to Brin. She does need an outlet for all that anger.
Momijii looked into the captive's eyes with hate as his deception was made bare by both Lizzie and Heinrich. Not entirely sure if they were right or not she casually applied the force needed to finish breaking his wrist with a sickening pop and crunch of bone before getting hold of the other one in the same lock, "That was a taste of what happens if you lie to me. Are you sure the ringleader of Brin's murder is dead? And where are the others who helped murder him!"
Filbert looks up as the others start confronting the cultist for his falsehoods. "Should you need anything just ask Momijii, otherwise I will allow you and this fine upstanding cultist here to execute your justice." The last statement dripping with sarcasm.
The cultist screams when his bones shatter, and he carries on screaming eyes wild as he as writhes around on the floor in agony. He has no time for Momijii's words, it's obvious you're not going to get any sense out of him in this state.
Agrippa gives Filbert a nod
Heal the man's wrist please Master Filbert. His screams will bring down Ghouls, or worse.
Filbert nods at Agrippa's request, "Momijii, hold him still please."
Kneeling down beside the cultist, Filbert grabs hold of his forearm with one hand and the holds his fingers in the other, concentrating on the area between them.
"shhh, shhh, hold still now. Time to make this better and you to be quiet. Wouldn't do to have the nasty ghouls come a huntin' us now would it." he says in a soothing voice as he studies the man's wrist.
Concentrating on first his wrist followed by any bit of his psyche that can be repaired to man the man quiet and complacent.
The man stops screaming but a vital spark has gone from his eyes. He stares blankly rocks from side to side.
A while passes as you take stock and tend to your extensive catalogue of wounds.
Lizzie thinks she notices something through cracks, and moves over to look.
(Peers through)
"Hey guys, guys! I think there is a bay over there, with a town!"
Filbert joins Lizzie at the wall, looking through the cracks.
"She's right, looks like the suns going down as well, we've got maybe....2hrs time before it dark again."
A shiver courses down Filbert's back as he thinks about spending another night in this place, or getting caught outside after dark. "If we have a chance of making it there tonight, we'll need to hurry"
Momijii cursed in her native tongue as she let go of the man. She seemed mad, and slightly pleased, at what had just happened. She looked down at the figure and said, "Dammit, maybe he'll tell me later when he recovers. She sighed then and said, "Maybe he won't recover, gibbering insanity might be a more fitting fate for him anyway." She let him be and began to examine the area again as she collected herself.
As Momijii paced around she began to feel somewhat ill after what she had done to the man. She knew there were better ways to get information but at the time time it had felt really good to break that man's wrist and reduce him to gibbering insanity for a time...maybe she'd do it again to the others, if she found them. As she wandered the room maybe it was the sudden revulsion that urged her to look out through a crack at the mist where she knew something more beautiful lurked, something she felt she had now sullied by her actions. It took her a moment to realize what she saw and she was about to call out when she heard the sound of people coming. She gestured to the others to be quiet and stay out of sight as she stood to the side of the door to ambush whoever might be coming their way.
Agrippa says More coming. That could be bad. the man draw's Red Destiny and prepares for what comes next.
"Gibbering madness could be a fate worse than death.."
Lizzie frowns slightly troubled at the grim mentality displayed by her friend, but turns her attention towards Agrippa's warning.
"More of them? Okay, Momiji, are you ready to fight off some more?"
The sounds of marching feet get closer and you're surprised to hear a familiar voice drift up from the rooms below. "Hullo up there!" called York, adding "Winter insisted on seeing you right away, we're headed up."
A short while later, York with a couple of his men pop their heads round the shattered door. York takes one look at the slain nightmare and cried out, "Wow! WHAT IS THAT?! It looks like it's clear. Winter you've gotta see this!"
Winter with half a dozen books on arm looks the corpse of The Tatterman and blanches, "The thing from the dreams, you killed it!" She glances at York and adds, "Well you did it! The mist is gone, and most of the survivors with it. They where running for the docks. Of course there's more than a few left behind who are too ill or mentally unsound to make it unaided..."
York replies, "It's not at all clear if there's enough boats down there, although I know where a good dingy is hidden. Anyway I expect we'll have to take charge. I'm happy to ferry any and all across to Thrushmore - taking as many trips as needed. After regarding those ill and unsound of mind, I'll arrange for them to go to the capital. I've got family who work in several renowned institutions there we'll be able to figure something out."