Archepex chooses to not use the ladder. Instead he moves his mask (to see his legs), and gives his new clasp a twist. With an involuntary "Whoa" he falls up past the platform. He does miss it a little and lands with a heavy Thud when he comes back down. Ouch... I'm definitely only using that indoors...
Once inside, he can't bear to break it to the sisters. That what they see is all that's left.
Dhice takes it as a duty of his to inform the sisters of the mass destruction of mousetrap company. He emphasizes what an extreme danger the escaped demons must be, to exact such a toll on an entire company of trained soldiers.
He also formally introduces both Emma and Lyntel to the dwarves. There's a new note of confidence in the young man that was lacking when he last visited here only a day ago. How quickly things change...
Bathilda just shakes her head at the question before Dhice breaks the news. Having to spare the rat-queen had left her in a foul mood, and decides it would be better to sit away from the others and keep to herself for a while.
Lyntel perks up at the sight of Gerda. She is courteous to the others, but seeks out Gerda when the opportunity presents itself.
Gerda, I'm so glad to see you alive. I believe you knew my mother, . I was held for weeks by those monsters. These heroes rescued me, but my mother was not so fortunate.
She holds up the jewel. I assume you are familiar with one of these. The Skaven Queen is trapped inside. She claims that I have been infected with a Behelit, whatever that is, and that even now I am serving the Skaven's twisted purpose. I need your guidance.
She claims that I have been infected with a Behelit, whatever that is[/b]
Dhice makes a noticeable, dismissive "pfftt" sound upon hearing Lyntel make this statement.
Archepex, you're barely able to regain your gravity in time, but you settle down on the balcony with only a mere bump on your backside.
At the mention of the destruction of your company, the dwarf sisters turn to one another with concerned looks on their faces. "We're sorry for your loss," Helga comments quietly. At the mention of the demons that slaughtered them, the dwarf solemnly spits at the fireplace. "Chaos-loving rats. Demons would be involved. That has to be why they were salvaging so many musical instruments from the town..." she trails off when Lyntel approaches Gerda.
"She doesn't spe-" the dwarf woman begins, but then Gerda speaks up, for the first time since you all have met the three sisters. "It's hard to say," she comments to you, after nodding in response to your surmising that you know her mother. Her brief, four-word sentence nonetheless seems to have flabbergasted her older sister Helga, who stares at you openmouthed.
"Gerda," she said, "You talked! To an outsider no less!"
Gerda turns to look at her sister. "Look at how brave they've been on our behalf, and what they've lost already. I owe it to them to help."
The young dwarf mage turns her attention back to the bard. "I sense lingering chaos energy within you," she says to Lyntel, "and her," pointing to Emma. "It would appear to me as if the Skaven were experimenting with using people like summoning gates to bring demons here. I've been studying all I could here in the library," she gestures to the bookshelves lining the walls of the grand room you're all in, "ever since Tollerhelm was sacked. I've learned some...disturbing things."
She glances between the two of you. "I don't understand how it works, but there's supposed to be a way to...erm..." the dwarf blushes, and leans in close, whispering to Lyntel.
She pulls away from the elven woman and coughs uncomfortably. "It's...pure evil." Her voice is weak and wavery from not using it for so long. "What seems to have happened to you, I didn't get your name..." she is addressing Emma now, "I think is more about altering your physical body as it is now. There were...implants, right?" the young woman blushes again as she points to the recently-closed wounds that were left in Emma's skin, from the Chaos crystals her torturer had shoved into her flesh.
"I've seen...others...transformed that way..." though her voice is steady, the dwarf woman's eyes are wet with tears. She refuses to blink, though, not letting them run down her face. She trails off and stares at the fire in the fireplace.
Lyntel glances nervously down at her belly. She whispers back, You mean, physically pregnant? Like there is a monster growing inside me right now?
Once she is satisfied with Gerda's explanation, Lyntel will find a comfortable chair to rest and review her mother's spellbook.
Emma blinks twice, then rallies. "Emma. Emma Sojourn. I thought I got all of those out..." she trails off, then a slow, manic grin spreads across her face, twisted into a grimace by her scar. "Better late than never. Tell me where they are." All of a sudden she has a knife resting on one of the many pox-like scratches covering her arms.
Gerda looks uncertain as she gazes down at Lyntel's stomach. "I do not honestly know," she said. "There is no way to see what's inside of you that I am aware of. It is said that those who had been...victimized...in that way in the past experienced horrible, but lucid, dreams...have you experienced any?"
At Emma's words, and manic grin, Gerda blushes and looks to the floor, falling silent. Helga speaks up in a stern tone. "There, now, there's to be no self-mutilation in my house, in front of my sisters. Put that knife away, lass."
"I..I don't..." Gerda says quietly, still staring at the rug on the floorboards. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, then stares up at the antipaladin again. "I don't think it would help, anyway. I've never heard of anyone being...normal again, after being so violated by the Chaos energies in the crystals. I'm so, so sorry." the young dwarf mage clasps her hands together nervously, clearly anxious about giving bad news to the intimidating antipaladin.
Emma gives a single bark of laughter. It sounds... stale. After a moment though, another grunt-like chuckle gurgles it's way out, and in a moment Emma is in a fit of laughter, straight from her belly.
"N-normal." She giggles. Actually giggles. She takes a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "The main reason I want them out is so I can hollow out certain Skaven queens abdomen and replace her viscera with the rocks. So, if you would mind pointing to any I haven't got out yet, I promise to... I will do my best to avoid getting blood on your rug." Considering she is still smiling. Smiling. Ahem. Yes. Considering Emma is still smiling, it might be a little difficult to determine what of the above was just her playing around.
None of it.
None of it was her playing around.
Gerda goes to a nearby cabinet and takes out a tall shot glass that she fills with water. Reaching into a burlap sack deeper inside the cabinet, she sprinkles some of its contents into the water, then mixes the solution with a spoon. Silently, she strides over to Emma and proffers her the shot glass.
"This solution should illuminate what lingering shards may still be inside you. It only works on unliving things, so I can't use this to help you, miss," she says, turning to address Lyntel with regret in her voice. "Also, the solution tastes awful and the spell doesn't feel too good either. But you can take the shards out better when you can see them."
Helga hrmphs and takes a seat, packing her pipe with weed. The wood in the fireplace crackles and tumbles over itself slightly as the fire burns.
Lyntel sighs deeply and turns to the group as a whole. Does anyone have a way to see inside me?
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Archepex drops from the rafters and lifts Morley's lens on its chain. Hold still, Sister.
He peers through the monocle on every available seeing and let's mule do the same.
As Lyntel waits for Archepex to finish, she turns her head slightly to the dwarf sisters. Do any of you have any healing potions? I can pay.
Lyntel looks down at Archpex's scanning her abdomen. She points to a portion that he hasn't yet inspected.
Brother, the uterus is over here.
Nodding her thanks, Emma knocks back the shock and heads outside as the potion takes effect. She'll dig out the shards while keeping watch. May as well make good use of the time.
Bathilda sits in the corner continuing to brood.
Helga pulls on her pipe when Lyntel asks about the healing potions. "Out here, favors and trust are worth more than gold. I've three spare potions, you can have them, with our thanks."
Archepex, you find nothing when you perform your initial scan of your fellow elf's midsection. With her guidance you scan her middle thoroughly, but find nothing in your X-Ray view that seems out of place.
You look up at Lyntel to tell her that you see nothing, and that's when you see it. It's like a stone in the bard's brain, just behind her face. Just seeing it makes your stomach clench. You can't make out good details, but there's something in your friend's head that does not belong there.
Emma, the dwarves weren't kidding. The shot that Gerda handed you is perhaps the most vile drink you've ever consumed. Every exhalation of breath for a few seconds after you down it tastes of it, and makes you feel the urge to shudder welling up from inside. You push it down through sheer force of will and move out to the balcony. There's a relatively hidden spot up on the wall where you have a commanding view of the street on either side. Just below the balcony, there's a wall made of debris and wreckage that blocks off the street, and the front door to this tenement.
There's a chaos crystal in each arm, just below the elbow, near to the bone. Only a narrow scar shows on the surface near each, meaning they must have been shoved in via the narrow side. There are two more glowing shards in your chest.
Deep inside her chest, or just in the muscle? If it's deep, Emma doesn't want to do anything without a professional cleric on standby.
However, the ones in her arms can come out. Emma will make a small slit directly over the scar, and then squeeze from the other side. If all goes well, it should pop right out.
The shards in your chest aren't past the ribcage, just in the external musculature.
Blood flows down your forearms and over your fingers as you squeeze and work out the jagged crystals. It's not a quick and easy process, taking over an hour of gritted teeth and barely-restrained growls of pain. When you're finished, two unrealistically-large crystals have been pulled out of your forearm. The wounds you had to inflict on yourself to get the crystals out are serious. Take -1 ongoing to any checks using either arm for a day or so, until you've had a chance to let your muscles stitch together once again. You also take 8 damage to each arm as you cut your own flesh open and push the crystal through the muscle and flesh. The crystals are still glowing faintly where they lie on the balcony handrail. There's a fine sheen of sweat covering your forehead and on your arms, and your hands are bloodied up bad.
At Archepex's discovery, Lyntel gently places a hand on his arm. Brother, please show Gerda what you have discovered. Her voice is shaky.
Archepex releases a shuddering sigh. It sets the record for displays of emotion in a week for Archepex to 2. He brings his Sister over and instructs Gerda in the monocle's use.
Gerda peers through the monacle and starts in surprise at what she sees. "There it is..." she comments, openmouthed.
"I'm...sorry," is all she can manage, at first. For a moment, all is silent in the dwarves' tenement. In the silence, you can hear Emma's restrained groans of pain from the outer balcony, as she performs self-surgery on herself.
Freya, the third sister, approaches Gerda and whispers in her ear after a moment passes. Gerda brightens slightly, and nods at her. Freya goes to the hidden door that Morley first noticed on your first visit here, and heaves it open, revealing a small antechamber beyond with a sink and a mirror. Throwing open the mirror, the dwarf grabs a long-chained necklace, and brings it back out to you. She presses the gemstone that forms the main body of the necklace into your palm, Lyntel.
Gerda explains..."Your dreams are no longer safe with that thing in your head, attracting demons to your unconscious mind," she frowns. "But that necklace can help you to stave off what the Skaven are trying to accomplish. If you share the necklace with another as you sleep, your dreams will meld together, and the horror that visits you in your sleep could be fought off. It's risky...exposing yourself to an abyss demon like that...but the alternative is too horrible to consider. The necklace's chain is long enough to be worn over two necks...just put it on before sleep, and you may survive some more nighttime visits from the Skaven's patron demon..." she trails off, wringing her hands together. "I'm sorry, I know it's not a cure, but it can buy you time..."
Emma is quiet as she makes her way back inside, absolutely covered in blood. "I'll do it." is all she says, before making her way past the dwarves towards that sink to get rid of at least some of the blood.
No, Emma. I will do this with you, Sister. Archepex volunteers. I may be in a better place to understand Elven dreams than the others. And you may dream of home.
Emma, you already house Chaos. Who knows what could happen if you come into contact with more?
Lyntel nods at Archepex and then follows Emma to the sink.
Thank you Emma, but we do not know how this works. If you are inside with me, and something happens to both of us, then who will stop my body in the waking world?
She shudders, and shakes her head. Regardless, I am still myself for now, and I can still help my friends. She begins humming to herself as she helps Emma clean her wounds.
The deep cuts begin to close in response to Lyntel's ministrations. As she works, Lyntel can't help but think, The heroic Archepex volunteers to follow the maiden into the dreams of demons. This will be a great verse!
"No," Bathilda says in a low growl, the first thing she's said since they had arrived, "I'll do it."
Her eyes blaze as she looks at the others. They blaze with a need to rend, to tear...
To kill.
This task not be a battle of physical strength, Bathilda. Archepex days softly. Your need to kill is understandable. Your ability to do so, unchallenged. But Lyntel will need stability in the nights to come. Stability and understanding. I believe I am the best suited to this. However, it is Lyntel's decision, and I defer to her preference.
Emma seems to unwind a little as her wounds bind together.
She turns to face the ranger.
"You may be the best suited for this task, Arcehpex, but are you sure you wish to risk it? Are you prepared to spend the rest of your life screaming inside your own brain?"
I've been through worse... He says with empty eyes.
Bathilda ... Emma. Thank you. I must rely on you to protect me, and everyone else, in the waking world. Archepex will protect me in my dreams. It looks like she moves closer to the two warriors to say something further outside of Archepex's hearing, but thinks better of it.
She turns back to the dwarven sisters. We found a river of gold beneath the city. She opens the flask and hands it to Gerda. Can you tell us anything about it? We also saw a glowing blue orb before we headed here. Have you heard of the rats using such things?
Indeed, Emma's self-inflicted suffering on the balcony went completely unnoticed by all except Archepex with his unusually sharp ears. The blood covering her hands, therefore, is a surprise to most in the room; but the source of the bleeding left little doubt as to why she did it.
The dwarf sisters are all impressed by your solidarity in the face of evil. Gerda still looks upset that she can't help you any more. "There's no way to mentally prepare for what you'd face in dreams, my friends," she warns. "My sisters and I have used it together in pairs to help come to grips with...what happened," she gestures at the ruined city of Tollerhelm outside. "But each time we used it, it was vastly different, as different as two dreams can be. Be ready for anything next time you rest..."
She shakes her head at your question about the blue orb; it's as big a mystery to the dwarf mage as it is to you. You also immediately notice that the flask weighs much lighter than it did when you filled it - the weight change was so gradual that you didn't notice it. When Gerda opens the top and looks inside, she frowns in confusion. "Looks like normal water to me..." she says. She sniffs it curiously, wrinkling her nose a little. "Smells kind of bad, which makes sense if you found it beneath the city. Sewer water? This certainly isn't gold."
Magic and trickery. Archepex mutters.
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In spite of his lack of outward reaction, Archepex admires Emma for her dedication to the cause, but worries that her deduction might lead her into blind action with no concern for those around her.
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While all of this is going on, Dhice sits down beside Bathilda and flashes a sheepish smile. In a quiet voice that can't be easily overheard:
"I know that the real-world is dirty and requires constant compromise. But we can't become like them, Bathilda. I can't become like them. I only ask you to consider this the next time you need something from the queen. Be better than her. To find the strength, all you have to do is think of why we are fighting them in the first place."
Although he doesn't say it, you are reminded of his confession from earlier, in which he related a story in which the skaven captured him, and forced him to choose which of his mercenary brothers would be tortured next. Having long blocked out the memory, it came rushing back to him in the mines today and was the cause the breakdown in which he pulverized that dead rat's head to a gooey mess.
There's no give in Bathilda's eyes as she listens, but she does listen.
There's a long, uncomfortable silence, broken only by the sounds of the others.
"What do you know of Mardu the Bear," she asks after several minutes.
Gerda hands the water flask back to Lyntel, but she isn't looking at the elf while she does. Instead, her eyes are on her older sister, Helga, who is sitting in her lounge chair smoking, with a stubborn expression on her face. Helga shakes her head.
Thank you Gerda. Lyntel quickly caps the canteen and makes a mental note to throw it away as soon as possible. She then approaches Helga.
Helga, I know for a fact that these men and women fought and died for our town. Do you remember Morley? I understand he stayed here last night. He died down there helping our town. They've kept no secrets from you. I've kept no secrets from you. We only want to help the people of this town. How can I get you to share all that you know?
"This isn't one o' those stories that has a happy endin'," she replies. Her voice is still quiet, but it's darker than even a stormy night, "it's not by chance my clan bears his name."
Her shadow seems to grow and twist, no longer a dark mirror of her form, but something far bulkier and far larger.
"Mardu, the Demon Bear, the Black Hunter," she growled, "he hunted men and devoured villages. His legend grew dark and terrible, and Hjolda the Savage knew when she heard it who would father her son. For thirteen days she fought him when she found him at last, and it was only when she had bested him that she bedded him and bore her son. He was as terrible as his mother and his father, and after he'd taken thirteen women to be his wives, he fathered his own sons and daughters, who then had children of their own. Before he died, the Mardu's son named the clan he had started after his father."
"My family, my clan, does not care for right and wrong, only for money and power. I did not make that offer because I cared, though I may, but because I need to claw, rend, and tear at something. I want to smash everything that b!*#! rat holds dear, and then send her screaming to the chittering demons and devils she claims to command."
Bathilda gives Dhice an unsettling smile, her eyes blaze with something ugly, and it's all too easy to notice that her teeth seem sharper now.
"When I said my kin would dine on her when I sent her to Hell, that was no idle threat," she says in a soft, almost sweet voice, "Mardu's blood flows through our veins, and no matter what I do, I am as damned as everyone else in my family."
When you speak frankly with someone, you can ask their player a question from the list below. They must answer it truthfully, then they may ask you a question from the list (which you must answer truthfully).
Whom do you serve?
What do you wish I would do?
How can I get you to ______?
What are you really feeling right now?
What do you most desire?
Helga's mouth works in frustration for a moment before she speaks. She takes another long drag from her pipe and exhales the cloud at the ceiling, where it slowly begins to make its way to the open balcony door.
She coughs a bit, then grumbles. Gerda stares at her over Lyntel's shoulder, the younger dwarf pleading silently with her eyes. Freya also looks on, a disapproving expression on her face.
"Skaven-killers or not, they're still mercs!" Helga insists, addressing her little sister. Gerda says nothing, only continues to look at her.
Helga growls and stares down at her pipe a moment, then looks up at the elf. "Very well, elf, I'll tell you - for the memory of that charming human with the sharp eyes that came through here."
"I know the source of that false gold river you found below the surface of Tollerhelm's streets. It's an ancient Dwarven artifact that once held unfathomable power." Reaching into the coffee table's drawers next to her lounge chair, Helga produces some rough, hand drawn pictures of a hand-held mirror. Even in this crude recreation, the design of the mirror is beautiful.
"The mirror of Erised, it is called," the dwarf continues, her voice slightly quieter. "I and my sisters were charged with its protection when we left our former home, Mount Vermilion. We had to flee due to a Skaven uprising from the depths of the earth. We escaped Vermilion with the Mirror, but it was damaged when Tollerhelm came under attack by Skaven once again. That's why I had to ferret it away beneath the city's streets; the damage it sustained is causing its magic to leak out. I'm not sure...but it may even have drawn the Skaven here."
"The mirror is a living thing. It can...make real that what you desire most. In its broken state, the magic is creating false miracles throughout Tollerhelm's underground levels, like that river of gold. It's all designed to draw in more people to...rescue it. The mirror...doesn't "like" being secreted away."
Helga eyes you critically when she finishes her recitation. "What would YOU see, were you to look in that mirror, elf?" the dwarf asks, pointedly.
Without examining the extent of the damage, you can't be sure whether it's within your capacity to repair. You'd have to study the mirror personally to find out what needs to be done to fix it.
Lyntel's shoulders slump as she averts her eyes. My mother ... Thank you for sharing this. I have some knowledge of ancient magics, and Dhice here has an innate power and a rare talent. Perhaps we could help Gerda attempt to fix your mirror before we move on.
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Gerda, before we get to your mirror, there is something that I must do.
Lyntel pulls out her lute and begins playing a sad song of despair. As her fingers fly over the lute, the group hears a bass line and drums as if a full band is playing along.
She looks expectantly at Bathilda, silently urging the Bearbarian to begin singing along. If the Bearbarian joins in, the party will feel a deeper protective feeling towards the bard, beyond anything else established by the day's traumatic events.
As the song ends , Lyntel turns to Archepex and Dhice. Brothers, I need your assistance. I am going to speak with the Rat Queen again. Archepex, she must think I am alone. When I open the jewel, move in invisibly. Dhice, I intend to use my magic to confuse her. If you sense that I falter, lend me your strength ... but stay outside, out of sight. Is that clear?
Archepex nods and pulls down his mask. He fades like a vapor from sight.
Dhice nods solemnly, "I'll do my best... although without knowing your plan I'm not sure how to recognize when it's faltering."
My mother knew a spell that could make you think a Skaven witch was your best friend. She shows Dhice a page from the spellbook, obviously excited, but the page is gibberish to the Bierman. I've been studying it since I recovered this. I haven't tried it before, and I may not be strong enough. Now if you...
Dhice and Lyntel fall into a hushed but spirited conversation about magical theory that leaves Dhice a bit confused, but with a general grasp of how to feed one wizard's strength into another's spell. From Dhice's perspective, I imagine he thinks of it as channeling his power into Lyntel, rather then into an element.
Although much of the technical mumbo jumbo makes no sense to Dhice, the conversation with Lyntel, and her treatment of him as an equal, has him feeling much more comfortable with her. He nods more enthusiastically when she wraps up and says, "ready then?"