Dot
All around you is a wall of sickly yellow fog, tumbling through the alley canyon of crumbling gray bricks like some jaundiced flash flood. Ahead, the unfamiliar alley splits, curving to the left and right. Behind, from the silent swell of mist, emanates the sound of footsteps – slow, but somehow keeping pace with the careening hungry wave.
Vincent looks around, patting himself to see if he has his belongings or feeling for a weapon if none presents itself.
He listens to try to see what is approaching
Vincent finds his longspear and his swordcane on him. He does not find anything else.
The footsteps are growing closer, and they sound ominous. Something seems to distort sounds, so Vincent cannot determine what type of footsteps they are, or how many creatures are making those footsteps.
Dakash looks at his hands. This is not my next incarnation. Where am I?
"What is this place?"
Seeing Vincent find a longspear and his swordcane on him, the others also realize they too have items on them.
Howard finds his spellbook on him.
Seamus finds 10 days of dried fish, a longbow, a cold iron morningstar and his buckler on him.
Dakash finds his spellbook, and his quarterstaff on him.
Dakash does not recognize the place - what is more pressing though, is that the footsteps are getting louder. Whatever that is in the fog is almost upon the party.
"I do not like the look or sound of this place." Dakash says. He holds his staff as a walking stick and points ahead, "Left or right?"
'Oh my, the last time I remember waking up in an alley was after meeting that Chelaxian Lola, she's not... no that's definitely not her, that person is blue... I do believe the other is at least a human eerrr may be a half elf...' Taking his hand off of the crumbling gray bricks where he had been leaning he checks his gear, then wiping the moisture off of his hand he extends it. "Ummm Hi, I'm Seamus..."
Looking at the yellow fog and hearing the footsteps, he looks frantically forward, "We'll save the introductions for later, I'm thinking left." Drawing his morning star he begins forward intent on going to the left.
As Seamus heads left, the rest of the party follows him.
The alley walls sag, battered brick slumping over the path, nearly blotting out the bruised twilight sky. Again the grimy cobblestone path splits. This time one route curves uphill, while the other recklessly descends. Behind, the yellow fog and the relentless sound of pursuit grow closer, as the party decides where to go again.
Vincent squints, still unsure why he is even here or who these with him are. His senses don't seem to indicate any hostility there. He points up the hill, rubbing his temple.
"Higher ground. Maybe see above this damned fog."
'Get out of the fog.' Seamus nods his head in agreement, turning to the half-elf, "Yeah higher ground is good, maybe get above this blasted fog and see where we are."
Morning star in hand he heads toward the hill, only slowing enough to allow the half elf to catch up. "Like I said earlier, I'm Seamus originally from Karcau."
He looks at the grimy cobblestones, "But blast me if I can tell if were still even in that city or not." He looks toward the half-elf, "Do you know your name? What's the last thing you remember?"
Wiping his brow, "I remember growing up in Karcau, my mom and dad, and some of my childhood; that's it. Maybe a few other details, but nothing about HERE and NOW"
The party runs up the hill as the yellow fog and whatever that lies within follows the party in pursuit.
The summit of hill has an altar dedicated to stone statue of a misshapen creature with horns with a gaping mouth, extremely long bony hands but short legs, holding a staff. On an obsidian plate as an offering is a beating human heart.
The party stands, weapons at the ready above the strange yellow fog.
Out of the fog walks a single being, a mask of gray rags, strips of something fleshier than fabric worming and constricting across a body that’s almost human like – but too lean and far too flexible. Gauzy gray ribbons reach out like tendrils, each grasping for less doubtful flesh to claim.
Dakash realizes this is some kind of nightmare creature, but has no idea, beyond that what exactly it is. Howard cannot remember anything about the creature at all.
It sizes Vincent up, its mask of grey rags splitting to reveal a gaping maw filled with curved, bloodstained teeth, sending chills down everyone’s spine.
It then swoops forward with supernatural grace as it moves in for the kill.
Vincent tries to stab it with his longspear as it approaches.
In his desperation, Vincent manages to land a lucky strike, but his longspear does not seem very effective against that creature. The creature only gives Vincent a mocking grin.
Dakash also tries to strike it with his quarterstaff as it approaches.
But Dakash's staff strikes only empty air as the very substance that the staff hits vanishes, and reforms instantly, unharmed.
Two gray ribbons streak forth like knives, one of them slicing a deep cut into Vincent's arm, and the other through his torso, sending blood spraying in the air.
'A beating heart? How is that possible?' His hands starting to shake, Sariel backs up, well behind the altar and it's beating heart. Staring at the THING then looking from the altar back to the creature, "Maybe the heart is for IT. Maybe if we don't interfere It will go away."
As the creature surges forward attacking the other amnesiacs Sariel backs up and begins singing about the girl he remembered from a different alley, all those years ago
I met her in a club down in...
Dakash channels arcane energy into his staff and swings at the creature.
Dakash’s quarterstaff hits empty air again, as the substance of the creature dematerializes where the staff hits, and reforms unharmed.
Vincent staggers back a few feet and slurps down an extract of curing.
The stab wound on the creature fades away as it presses the attack, flowing forward and sending another two grey ribbons at Vincent.
One grey ribbon pierces through his left lung, and the other slices through his jagular. The spray of Vincent's lifeblood drenches the party and the altar. Vincent's lifeblood however, mostly flows off the statue, except leaving the words, "me" and "up" behind on the statue. The heart on the obsidain plate seems to pulsate faster after the blood offering.
The creature looks down on Vincent's lifeless body and gives a chilling chuckle, and turns to face Dakash with an anticipatory smile.
The grey ribbon streaks through the air like a deadly missile poised to end your life. You try to dodge but its too late as you feel a flash of blinding pain from your chest, and look down to find yourself impaled on the ribbon, choking on your own blood. Despite the immense pain, you struggle to draw another breath, but the whole world fades to grey, then black.
Then you feel something hard beneath you, and you crack an eyelid open to see prison bars swim into focus. You realize you're in a prison cell, together with the blue skinned man you saw earlier. The blue skinned man's eyes are closed, but you can see the rise and fall of his chest cavity. You do not have anything on you except the plain brown shirt and breeches you are currently wearing.
Beyond the bars of the prison, another figure, unsettlingly thin and wearing a blood-smeared doctor’s coat, circles the table casually—stopping every so often to scrutinize one of the man’s wounds or select a different object from a sideboard of shiny blades. Currently, she spins one blade of a broken pair of pruning shears, which glints in the dull light of the lamp suspended overhead. With careless cruelty, the doctor draws the blade across the bound man’s bare thigh, releasing a tortured wail.
'oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, I never even learned his name!' Watching as the tentacle monster eviscerates the half-elf, Seamus looks desperately for someplace to flee.
'we are surrounded by the fog, where would I go?' Out of desperation, while continuing his song, "Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like..." and drawing his left hand back, he calls up a snowball and throws it at the monster.
The blue man remains unresponsive to Vincent's shakes. Vincent also sees Seamus and the other human lying on the ground in the cell diagonally opposite his cell. They're breathing, but their eyes are closed.
Seamus's snowball, like Dakash's quarterstaff hits, but the creature just reforms its substance of the portion the snowball hit, without any harm.
Dakash assumes a defensive stance and attempts to attack the thing again.
"I do not believe this is working. Retreat?"
'What?' Seeing the magical attack having no affect. Seamus, eyes as big as saucers looks from the monster to the blue man, "That means running into the fog, isn't that where this THING came from? It followed us with the fog, what if there are more out there?"
Dakash's quarterstaff hits the creature ineffectually as it reforms once more, totally unharmed.
His second strike however hits the creature, but it's insubstantial nature prevents the strike from being fully effective.
The mouth of Vincent’s corpse lolls open and a voice no one recognizes echoes forth as if from down a long hall. ”me…” ,”up…”
The creature, in a seemingly negligent gesture sends two gray ribbons streaking at Dakash, seeking to end his existence.
Dakash, on the alert for the ribbons, manages to dodge one ribbon and swipe the other ribbon away with his staff.
"Now it is time to go."
Dakash withdraws from the creature and runs into the fog.
Desna bless me in my next life
"I'll lead it away! Run!"
Seamus runs in the opposite direction, into a different portion of the fog, with Howard following him.
Howard and Seamus hear Dakash's pained gasp as they continue to hightail it through the fog, hoping that Dakash's sacrifice will buy them time to escape.
You hear the sound of approaching footsteps, and a nasty chuckle. Then you feel two sharp objects stab you from behind, and you gasp in pain. You look down, but see nothing except two vertical slits with blood pouring out on from chest, staining your tunic red.
The blue man gives a pained gasp and you quickly cover your hand over his mouth.
On hearing Dakash’s pained gasp, the struggling man bound by heavy ropes to the splintery worktable screams, ”Wake up, damn it!” his panic cutting through the claustrophobic near dark. The man has split lips and his skin is covered win a mapwork of fresh red lines.
Vincent notices the smaller table next to the one upon the man is bound displays an array of sharp instruments,not designed for use on living flesh: a gardening trowel, forks, several long pieces of broken glass or metal, and the other blade of the tormentor’s sheers. .Heavily loaded sacks lie near the door.
Vincent also notices a ring of keys dangling from the hook of the waist of the unsettlingly thin figure in a blood-smeared doctor’s coat.
Find peace
Dakash looks down at the crystal clear blood spilling down his front, and continues moving as far as he can go.
You move through the sickly yellow fog despite the pain and growing weakness of your wounds, resigned to your fate…hoping you can buy the others time to escape. The footsteps follow, but you no longer feel fear – accepting what is meant to be. The end is surprisingly swift, as something knife-like strikes you in the back of your head like a thunderbolt, before you slip off into blessed oblivion…
Then a panicked scream shatters the peace.”Wake up! Damn it!” Your eyes snap open and as you draw breath you find that someone has put a hand over mouth. You realize you’re lying in a prison cell and that the hand over your mouth belongs to the half-elf with different coloured eyes that was brutally eviscerated by the creature that you saw earlier. You are dressed in brown tunic and breeches, with a belt pouch, but you have nothing else on you.
Beyond the bars of the prison, you see another figure, unsettlingly thin and wearing a blood-smeared doctor’s coat, circles the table casually—stopping every so often to scrutinize a man that has been lashed to a splintery work table by heavy robes. His lips are split and his skin is covered in a mapwork of fresh red lines and he is whimpering in pain.
In the cells opposite your cell is Seamus and the other human. You can see they are breathing, but their eyes are closed.
In the midst of the fog, some distance away Howard and Seamus see an explosion of brain matter, spelling out the word, ”save”, and hear a thump of a body hitting the ground.
You see the eyes of the blue man whose mouth you're covering with your hand snap open.
Howard and Seamus continue to hightail it out of there, as they hear the footsteps pursuing them in the fog, approaching at an unnaturally swift speed. They hear an unknown voice intone the word, "save" as if from a distance far away, echoing through the fog.
Something razor-sharp slices a disfiguring cut on Seamus’s face diagonally, through his right eye and nostril, then tauntingly makes a slight cut on his throat. The unseen horror gives a small chuckle.
Dakash moves his eyebrows to suggest that Vincent remove his hand.
Why can't I remember why I'm here?
The blue-skinned man sits up and examines first his own body, then looks toward his companions and their surroundings.
[i]I trust this man. Why?[/b]
He nods his head toward the opposite cell and furrows his brow.
Perhaps attracted by Dakash’s sudden movement, the figure in the blood-stained doctor’s outfit wheels on Vincent and Dakash and demands, ”Pipe down. You’ll have your turn soon enough,” with a menancing smile. She then goes about her business, agonizing where to make her next incision on her patient.
Dakash notices the smaller table next to the one upon the man is bound displays an array of sharp instruments,not designed for use on living flesh: a gardening trowel, forks, several long pieces of broken glass or metal, and the other blade of the tormentor’s sheers. Heavily loaded sacks lie near the door.
Dakash also notices a ring of keys dangling from the hook of the waist of the unsettlingly thin figure in a blood-smeared doctor’s coat.
Vincent nods and puts a finger to his lips to indicate silence. He crawls around the cell and looks for anything sharp and solid enough to try picking the lock with. Is there anything within 10ft reach of the cell?