"Well, this has been interesting!"
Lemnis smiles at Karlak. "Well done, indeed! Now, Isen, if you're still alive why don't you do as we ask? I think what we most desire is information, and you might just purchase your life if you give it freely. The alternative has already been made clear."
Leo’s eyes widened as he saw that which Andelis was referring.
”By Erastil's antlers…” he muttered and drew his machete from it's wooden sheath. He took a step forward in order to see just a little more clearly. ”I'ma hafta agree with the Professor,” he nodded toward Lemnis, ”We oughta find out what makes these things tick.” He brandished the machete.
Szemyan continues to watch Isen closely, waiting to see what will happen.
Isen opens his mouth to speak, but only a raspy cough issues forth. He coughs again and flecks of blood spray out. He looks at Karlak in confusion and fear, and his eyes roll back and flutter. His body tenses, then relaxes entirely limp.
Head still limp, Isen's voice comes out in a hollow whisper, "He is still with me. The man, Isen. In his mind. Only now does he comprehend what has befallen him. Only now do I get to savor his terror. We promise cooperation, and we do try, but it never lasts. We have traveled to so many worlds and times, and we have enslaved so many. But you bipeds are by far the most savory. Your cranial structure is so delicious, so enticing. Your emotional ranges and subtle means of communing. Your very being calls to us. But now, it is time. We cannot be caught, cannot be understood. You who have learned of me, must now die."
Isen's throat begins rapidly expanding.
Szemyan blinks, looking at Isen's throat in confusion.
"Could it be... a breath weapon? Get down!"
Szemyan tries to find some cover to duck behind, but he waits too long, and is caught out in the open.
Leo dropped the machete, knowing he'd never be able to hit Isen with it from where he stood. He...
... shoved Mama Cas to the side as he
Lemnis dives for cover,
Karlak's eyes widen at Isen's declaration, and heedless to his own safety, the the second he hears the word die, the whites of his eyes turn a bloody red. The tiefling roars in fury, and claws lengthen from his hands. He digs them into Isen's back, tearing into the "boy", and he attempts to bite clean into the back of his victim's skull, fangs crushing into the bone as if it were nothing thicker than an apple.
Mama's eyes went wide with shock as Isen's neck was pointed out. She expected the worst but was not anticipating Karlak's reaction. The youth was proving to be quite selfless. Some would argue he was foolish, but that would only be those not willing to make the same sacrifice.
"NO!" she screamed as Karlak stood his ground and looked to take the brunt of whatever came next. She hadn't even thought about moving until she felt Leo's shove. She suddenly realized the danger they were all in and dove for cover herself.
As Isen's throat swells up Andelis let's out a yelp as she tries to dodge to the side, and then unleashes a bolt at Isen.
Carter abandoned his pretext and dove for the closest cover.
Upon hearing Isen's words, the group scatters as most dive for cover. Andelis manages to get an attack on Isen, while Lemnis throws his cloak over the man's head.
None, however, are prepared for Karlak's decision action - he leaps forward, impales Isen with his claws, brings the man's head in front of his face, then opens his mouth preternaturally wide and clamps down with a sickening crunch. Isen's head shatters and all manner of gruesome material explodes outward.
In each of your heads, a brief moment of intense pain is followed by a tiny voice that you only "hear" in your mind. The voice screams, "NO!" before being cut off. In that scream, you also felt both dread and despair at the prospect of dying...
The swelling of Isen's throat has ceased. The skin slowly deflates, but it has been stretched very thin, almost enough to see through. .
Leo sat up with one foot on the ground and, with one hand on his knee, braced himself to get his second foot underneath.
”All ya'll okay?” Leo plucked his machete from the dirt. ”Sound off if’n you're dead or dieing.”
He flicked a bit of something from his shoulder and looked around at the group before settling on Karlak. That kid's somethin’ else alright.
From where "Svetlana" had dove behind a horse trough for cover, "Oleg" stood up. He wrinkled his nose at the gruesome scene of Karlak hunched over the remains of Isen. "Well that was gross." he said.
Looking over where the body of Svetlana had been dragged he sighed. "Maybe we don't wake this one up? We know the thing inside her lives in the throat, right? Maybe we can get it out?"[/b]
Karlak continues to scream, tearing the deflated body to shreds briefly before pausing, suddenly...his body tensing for a moment, and he breathes out, slowly, eyes closing. He spits out a mouthful of gore, and frowns.
"Tastes disgusting." He opens his eyes and looks around at the others, and sighs. He relaxes his posture a bit. "That...was different."
He grabs one of the nearly transparent chunks, very carefully, and lifts it up, looking through it. "Wake up Oleg. Talk to him. These things are for killing." He grips his fist tight and watches the flimsy chunk crumble to dust.
Szemyan stands for a moment, dumbfounded. He looks at the remains of Isen, and then at Karlak.
"That was... quick thinking. I didn't think that would work."
Szemyan shakes his head and chuckles.
"I'm almost disappointed not to find out what would have happened if he had popped. But obviously it would have been bad, if the thing thought it would kill us."
"Do you think that was the voice of the worm?"
Still laying on the ground, Mama turned to look at Karlak. She smiled and breathed a sigh of release as she began to climb to her feet. "Such a brave boy, and so selfless. Your mother would be so proud" she said as she made it to her feet.
She walked over to Karlak to give him a hug and afterwards looked up at him. "Don't ever do that again. If you die, I will not forgive you."
With that business done, she turned her attention back to "Mr Oleg." "I believe you have some explaining to do, and how would you propose getting it out?" she asked.
Oleg looked down at himself and then awkwardly looked around at the group. Oleg's feature's began melting into a strange combination of Oleg's and Mama Cas'. The transition was slow and unsettling at first, the expression on Oleg-Cas' face one of discomfort and strain. Then the androgynous combination-person person seemed to give up and slide quickly into a perfect copy of Mama Cas.
She sighed, her voice sounding like a copy of Mama Cas' own, but with distinctly different speech patterns. "Not much to tell, really. I can change into people. Sometimes comes in handy, but mostly just causes problems. I can't always control it, which is why I usually keep my face covered. People tend to get mad when they unexpectedly end up talking to themselves. Like... right now... for instance."
She tugged on her clothing and it unfolded into Gideon's cloak and scarf, which she proceeded to hide her face with.
"I'd really rather skip this whole discussion, but I figure I owe you all some answers so you don't decide I'm a monster too. So go ahead and ask."
"Remarkable. Truly remarkable." Mama looked at herself standing in front of her, her own eyes blinking in disbelief.
"Let us see to Svetlana and Oleg first. There will be plenty of time to learn about each other in the coming days. You are no monster. Your actions have been just. You have earned my trust, and my appreciation." She turned to look at the others.
"We all have our own abilities, our...powers. It does not matter what those powers are, only how and what we uses them for. They are merely tools."
Szemyan, who has already seen Gideon change more than once, nods.
"So it's not just a disguise self spell? Or alter self? I can see how that ability would be useful..."
"But what do you really look like?"
Lemnis held his cloak awkwardly.
"Well done, Karlak. It seems we had much the same idea, but I have to admit your method was very direct; moreso than mine. I approve, whole heartedly!"
Turning to Gideon,
"Mama Cas may be right. We do have a few pressing matters, but I too am very interested in your transformative nature. When we have time, I should like to learn more about it. However, I won't pry if it makes you uncomfortable.
So, we have a wounded Oleg, and a strange coccoon. I agree we should try to rouse Oleg first."
Andelis grimaces as Isen's head explodes in a cloud of gore. With a quick word of magic and a flick of her wrists, any dirt or blood on her outfit magically peels off and falls on the ground.
With a smile, she nods at Karlak, adding her praise to the praise of the others. "That was excellent timing. Who knows what would have happened if Isen's worm had been able to act?"
Looking over at Lemnis and Mama Cas with a questioning look she asks "What kind of questions do you think we should ask Oleg? And do you think we should try and inspect the worm-thing inside Isen?"
"But what do you really look like?"
"I don't... really remember. I have a vague idea, but every time I try to put my own face on, the features kind of... slide around. It's like trying to remember a dream." Gideon shrugged.
Leo slipped the machete back into its sheath, the handle clacking against the wooden sheath. He struggled to find something to say to Gideon, a reassurance that the world was a big place and there were far weirder things in it than a person with a self-rearranging face. He settled on a grunt and a nod.
————
Considering the matter with Gideon settled, the graying half-elf motioned over his shoulder in the direction of where he hid Svetlana. ”We oughtta secure th’ other one too. Don't need it runnin’ off. An' I don't exactly wanna see what happens if'n one does get ta 'act.'”
"And we have to make sure she doesn't explode either," Szemyan says, frowning.
"She's going to be worse than the other one. Maybe we should just kill her now."
Karlak smiles slightly at all of the praise thrown at him, and Cass's hug gives him pause. He nods to Szemyan. "I'll smash her skull open with my hammer. Should work well."
Karlak reaches over for his hammer and starts to walk towards Svetlana. He stops over her, gripping tight on the weapon. He lowers the head of the hammer to just over her skull and begins to make careful aiming motions...
"Whoa there, big guy. I think the idea is to try get the thing out of her neck without killing her." Gideon said.
"From what the thing said, it sounded like it was in the brain, not the neck. It may have come out the neck as it was an easier way out of the skull."
Szemyan looks up at Mama Cas.
"If you can honestly say you know how to remove one of those things, then go ahead. But experimenting could get us all killed."
"We may be able to learn more with less risk to ourselves or Svetlana. Remember the web sac over Oleg's bed? If we bring that out here and cut it open we may find some clue about the nature of these creatures. It may give us some idea of what to look for."
Lemnis studies Svetlana's prone form with a clinical interest, and complete lack of compassion.
"If we do proceed with cutting something out of Svetlana, I'd recommend severing her head just above the shoulders. That way we can more easily contain both throat and brain, just to be safe."
He glances around at the rest of the party.
"Who would like to come with me to get the egg sack? I might need help cutting it down and dragging it out here. I think Karlak, for one, should stay here. You've proven excellent in emergencies and you may be the best suited to prevent further trouble from her."
Leo nodded in agreement with Lemnis, ”I'ma be helpin' ya out, Professor." He paused and looked at the others, "I think some of us need ta grab Oleg while we're at it. No sense in makin’ two trips.”
The egg sack is deceptively light, and though it takes two people to cut it down, one is enough to carry it.
Oleg is a different story. He is very weak, and seems to be on the verge of death. You do manage to rouse him a few times, but it's clear that he really isn't very coherent. Several times, you think he is on the verge of "waking up" but every time, his eyes just glaze over and he falls back to sleep.
With the sack cut down, Lemnis nods his thanks to Leo and carries it back outside.
"Let's cut this thing open and see what these things look like. The sack is pretty light, so I'm thinking either eggs or some sort of larva."
He looks at those gathered around.
"Be ready in case anything jumps out."
Once everyone is ready, he pulls out his dagger and slices open the web sack.
Karlak narrows his eyes at Svetlana, but continues to hold his hammer back. "I will watch this one, just in case. If you need help, let me know."
The inside of the sack is a tangle of white sticky strands supporting five small round orbs. These orbs appear to be made from the same material, they are just more concentrated and tightly wound.
Andelis carefully analyzes the small orbs, frowning thoughtfully as she does so.
At last, she nods her head and says to the others "These seem to resemble some sort of spider eggs, although what species I couldn't say. Strange."
Leo had once known a young gnomish girl whose favorite pastime had been burning her enemies with flames she shot from her open palms. She had been too... excitable for their work and had to be kicked from the camp. Looking into the sack, Leo found himself wishing the crazy gnome was with them.
He nodded in agreement with Andelis, "That's what I was thinkin' too. And that don't sit right."
"That's something. So they don't seem to be implanted in a host as eggs, but find their way in after hatching. Let's see if we can get a closer look."
Lemnis selects one of the eggs and sets to carefully slicing it open with his dagger.
Szemyan stands a short distance away, his sword ready, in case whatever comes out is more than Lemnis can handle.
"I saw a play once where the crew of a cargo ship found a shipwreck with a hold full of weird giant eggs. Something came out of one of the eggs and jumped on... well, let's just say it didn't end well. The navigator had to scuttle his own ship to survive."
"So, uh... be careful."
Lemnis slices open one of the eggs and releases an odor similar to stagnant water, and finds a fleshy center mass, the consistency of a rotten apple.
Whatever is growing in these egg sacks is not formed enough to even make a guess about what it might actually become.
"Is it an option just to burn them?" Gideon asked. He was still looking like Mama Cas.
"Well, that was worth a try. If no one else has any ideas, I have another spell of burning hands prepared to help clean this up. We still have Svetlana, after all, and Oleg might have something for us when he comes around."
Lemnis wipes his hands and dagger clean as he stands up and steps back from the egg sac.
Andelis examines the sticky strands, running them over her fingers and pulling them taut.
"These might be useful for reinforcing armor." she says to the others.
”Well, if’n that ain't one a the nastiest things I ever saw,” Leo peered into the open egg even as his face scrunched in disgust.
He nodded in response to Lemnis’ suggestion,
still looking at the egg, ”Just let Lady collect some of them strands first.” Leo peeled his eyes away from the open egg and looked at Gideon, "How's 'bout you git rid of Mama's face? It's borderline disrespectful at this point." His tone was firm, but one corner on his mouth curled into a smile.
Pulling out her knife, Andelis quickly cuts the strands into even lengths, and places them in her bag.
Karlak grimaces at the smell of the egg sac and shakes his head. Considering Svetlana hasn't moved all this time, he holsters his weapon and grabs her unconscious body. "This is a shop. It should have a safe room they keep valuables in, no? Why don't we throw her in and lock it up until Oleg comes to, since you don't seem to want me to twist her head off, for some reason."
The tiefling snarls. I don't know what these things are, but I don't like them at all.
Gideon blinked in surprise. "Oh. Right, sorry. No disrespect meant. It's easy to forget who I'm looking like if I don't concentrate on it." Mama Cas' brow's furrowed in thought and melted into the form of Isen. "Gotta pick someone. It's usually easiest if I pick someone close by. This ok?"
Karlak narrows his eyes at Gideon's new face, and snarls a bit, fangs showing. "Maybe the one you had when we met, instead of someone who tried to kill all of us."
He spits a chunk of the real Isen's skull and brain tissue out onto the floor. "Stuck in my teeth there for a minute. All better now."
"The one I had when we first met was actually Mac here. You just couldn't see it because I was wearing a clown suit."
A bit dejected, Gideon tugged on his sleeves, turned his clothes inside out again, and went back to wearing a mask.