You find yourself in an almost familiar city, buildings pressed close around you. Every time you try to identify the city though it slips through your mind. A few seconds of getting your bearings you find unfamiliar people around you. A human in ornate robes, her face hidden by a dark veil. A gnome with a shock of pink hair bouncing from foot to foot. A blonde half-elf with vials filled with mysterious liquid. A ratfolk wielding an oversized (for him) rapier. A stoic dwarf armed to the teeth. A few moments later a think yellow fog begins rolling down the street. From the fog comes slow heavy footsteps, somehow terrifying in their rhythm. The gnome takes off in a sprint and ducks down an alleyway. Reaching for her instrument to cast a spell she finds it missing from it's usual place. The dwarf, not one to back down from a threat, reaches for his trusty battle axe but it dissipates as he brings it forward. The ratfolk similarly tries to intimidate whatever is coming in the mist. The human with the veil smartly flees from an unknown threat, running down one street then another. The half-elf starts running but slows to see what happens to the others before trying to get away herself. The uncomfortably warm mist quickly envelops the two standing their ground. The thumping footsteps getting closer and closer. Suddenly, tendrils of what look like cloth fly out of the fog to wrap around the dwarf and immobilize him. There is a flash from a blade and the dwarf's blood splashes at the ratfolk's feet. He turns to flee from the gore and notices the blood spells out "me". Running down an alleyway, the creature in the mist is always a few steps behind him. Suddenly it isn't there anymore giving him a false sense of safety. The human with the veil is running away from the mist but finds it in front of her anyway. She stops to turn but it overtakes her, the footsteps louder. The others hear a scream of terror as the creature in the mist slices her to pieces as well. Even though she ran the opposite direction, the blood of the witch splatters next to her. Oddly, it forms the word "up". Her spell casting stifled, she flees blindly down one street then a random alley, the mist following closely no matter how fast or slow she goes. The thudding is behind her the whole way, just beyond the border of the mist out of sight. Suddenly the yellow mist surges forward, overtaking her, the footsteps pounding in her ears. She barely feels the cut as her blood splashes in front of her. As she falls on her back she sees a horrid face wrapped with yellow rags looming over her. Her mouth falls open and everyone left hears an unfamiliar voice no one recognizes, "SAAAAVVVVE". The half-elf, having seen the ratfolk fleeing past her turns to follow. She tries to follow her but quickly gets lost in the twists and turns. Her heartbeat pounding in her ears she stops to catch her breath. Suddenly the footsteps are there with her, matching the rhythm of her heartbeats. The mist comes flowing between the cracks in the walls and the creature is there with her. Resigned to her fate, she tries to learn everything she can before the end. From around a corner that a moment ago did not exist comes a tall gaunt figure wielding a short wicked looking blade. It grins at her, its teeth long and pointy, before surging forward slashing with the blade. The ratfolk sees blood ooze from the walls forming the word "Wake". He turns to run but finds himself boxed in by walls. Turning, searching for a way out he suddenly finds an opening in a wall in which there is a woman sitting at a table with a crystal ball in front of her. Startled by the sudden change, he stands there dumbfounded. She smiles warmly at him and he wakes up.
Still reeling from their ordeal everyone opens their eyes to find themselves in a cell of some sort. You all hear screaming of a man strapped down on a table, a to thin woman looming over him wielding a shard of glass. On a small table is a gardening trowel and other items not meant for use on living flesh. He struggles against his bonds yelling "Wake up damnit! Wake up and save me!" In the cells around and across from you are the others from your dream though you don't know who they are.
Ethyl can't help but look at the man strapped to the table with the thin woman holding the glass shard.
A tune runs through her head, The hip bone's connected to the back bone. Another part of her thinks, What was that? A dream maybe? But it felt so real.
Ethyl tears her eyes away from the enticing spectacle in front of her and looks Amestri over assessing.
The tune continues, The back bone's connected to the neck bone. Her logical side continues to quest for answers, Where am I? A prison? But why would they use such crude implements for torture if it was a prison?
Ethyl observes the people in the cell on the opposite side of the room while the tune continues, The neck bone's connected to the head bone. How did the rest of the song go? No matter. Wait. Who am I? Ethyl looks herself over and dredges up a name at least, Ethyl, no Dr. Ethyl Ermengarde.
Ethyl can't help but let loose a little chuckle, Named after a type of alcohol, how queer. Ethyl soaks up every detail that she can but is obviously distracted by the torturer and the man watching them with rapt interest.
Amestri slowly realizes that she is still alive, as she comes out of her dream,
Is that what it is like for our enemies in the fog of war?
As she finishes snapping back to reality, she begins to take in her surroundings. The half-elf from her dream seems to be here with her, clothed in dirty clothes befitting a patient. Is this some sort of medical facility? This woman seems familiar, and was in my dream, but who is she in life?
Across from her she can see the dwarf and rat thing, also from her dream. Where is the little one? I miss the gnomes in Qadira. They were the only foreigners worth speaking to. Her presence in that dream was rather comforting.
As she starts to take in the spectacle in front of her, she realizes that everything seems a little bit sharper than she is used to. She reaches tentatively up to her face at the same time she notices the half-elf appraising her and lets out a gasp. She throws herself into the corner of the little room cell? and pushes her face into the crook of her arm, shaking.
The Ratfolk stands his hands checking to see if the dreamed wounds where real. "You would do well to release me wonan, I am a dangerous man"
The squeek in his voice catching him off guard.
Ethyl still shaking the cobwebs from her brain, Why is this strange woman shielding her face? She might be attractive if it weren't for her scars, maybe because of the scars. Ethyl said, "No matter."
Turning from the woman she shared a cell with Ethyl addressed the ratman, "You don't look too dangerous from here, behind bars, but appearances are frequently deceiving. I don't suppose you have a tool I could use to pick this lock?"
Surprised at her own question Ethyl began looking for something she could use as a lockpick.
Ethyl's attention on the doctor and patient pays off as she sees a key ring at the doctor's waist. Unfortunately, she does not find anything that can be used as a lock pick.
The doctor turns to Endol, "Quiet ratling! You'll have your turn soon enough!" She then turns back to the man on the table, cutting a shallow line across his chest leaving a trickle of blood falling to the table.
Jagray wakes startled after hearing the others talking. Before anything else he pats down his body checking for wounds or scars. Relieved he still seems to be intact he grunts as he picks himself up off the floor.
Taking in his surroundings he blurts out "What in the nine hells is going on 'ere?"
As more people seem to be waking up and getting involved, Amestri's stress at her current predicament grows. I need to get covered. This is a time for action not avoidance.
She begins ripping strips off of the bottom of her shirt and separating the layers carefully to try and get as sheer a piece of cloth as possible.
Ethyl glances at Amestri tearing apart her cloths and shakes her head a little, probably no help there. She waves to Jagray and Endol, then points to the woman wielding the improvised weapon, specifically to the key ring on her waist, finally she points to her cell lock and makes a turning motion with her hand.
Having finally gotten a sheer enough piece of cloth as well as a long thin strip, Amestri wraps one end of the piece around the strip and then fastens it around her forehead so as to create a kind of makeshift veil.
As soon as she is complete, she stands tall and surveys the room quickly, taking in what is going on. Realizing that it seems to be her dream-mates against this unusual woman with the glass, she glances over at the half-elf and whispers "You wish to get your hands on her keys, correct? In that case be ready, I shall try something."
She looks up at the woman in the middle and calls out "Ma'am? If you would be kind enough to stop what you are doing there, I would have you come over here to assist me with something. Approach"
If the woman does approach Ethyl will attempt to grab the key.
As for Springy, she's coming to terms with her own existence.
Like, okay, this is spooky as heck, but people are handling the important things... and that leaves her to deal with the novelty of breathing in foul air and looking at the beds around her...
Yeah, this is definitely okay. It's actually the best place she can remember ever being in!
"Hey everyone, what's--" Oh, they're doin' a sneak. Springy will let them do a sneak, having decided that her name is definitely Springy.
Ther woman turns to Amestri and mocks her, "You think to tell me what to do?" she grins and her face changes to match Amestri's. "'APPROACH' HAHAHAHA -- URK! Her mad cackle is interrupted as the man on the table gets a leg free and kicks her square in the back sending her face first into the bars. Ethyl grabs for the keys but can't quite grab it.
The 'doctor' spins back to the man on the table 'HOW DARE YOU STRIKE ME! Just then he kicks her again when harder. Her head slams back into the bars and the key falls off her belt sliding into the cage. With a cry of rage she begins stabbing the man over and over again, her form turning into a grotesque pale thin featureless humanoid shape.
Amestri ignores the woman's mockery and quickly grabs the key as it slides into their cage. She unlocks the door as quickly as she can and then turns to the half-elf.
"I do not have very good aim for throwing. Would you be able to get this key to the dwarf and rat man over there?"
She hands the key to her cellmate and opens the door.
"Ooh..."
Springy watches the stabbing happen, wide-eyed.
"He's about to die, huh? We should save him."
Ethyl is transfixed for a moment at the slaughter of the hapless man on the table, A pity. Some part of her mind does register Amestri's request, "Of course my dear." I'm mistaken, she is quite useful, lets see about the others. Ethyl tries to toss the key to Jagray.
Ethyl smiled, That felt... natural, next time it should be something sharp.
Ethyl successfully tosses the keys to Jagray's cell. The doctor is too preoccupied with murder to notice the prisoners escaping... for now.
Jagray quickly grabs the keys and works to unlock the door. Once the cell door is opened he rushes over to grab something, anything that resembles a weapon to arm himself against the crazed creature murdering the man on the table.
Jagray grabs half of some blunt gardening shears and brandishes them at the creature. In his rush from his cell, he noticed some heavily laden sacks and a large tarp covering long bulky objects by the door to the east.
Endol follows the dwarf out, That is a very tall dwarf, and grabs for something small and sharp to stab of slash the woman with.
Amestri joins the rush into the center room. She leaves the fight to the others and heads straight for the man on the table.
Ethyl seeing limited options tries to move to the table holding the sharp instuments and grabs one.
Ethyl racks her brain trying to figure out what the creature is.
Somewhere from the dark recesses of your forgotten past bubbles up ther knowledge of this creature though you know not how you learned it.
Speaking to Amestri, "My dear, I think she's a doppelganger if you have another mind spell, save it, it won't work." Ethyl grabs a gardening spade and turns to the doppelganger with a wicked smile, "Now shall we strap YOU to the table and see what YOU'RE made of?"
Jagray holds the sheers out menacingly, ready to attack.
Turning the others he simply notes "We 'ave the numbers, get whatever tha' thing is!"
Realizing the others probably have the thing under control, Amestri has eyes only for the dying man.
The doctor is too preoccupied to notice the prisoners surrounding her.
Jagray works his way around Amestri and the table to get in position behind the changeling, he waits for someone to come over and assist him before he attacks.
Watching the group move on the doppleganger, Amestri gently places the palms of her hands on the injured man's temples and closes her eyes.
Nodding to Jagray, Ethyl rushes the woman.
Dr Ethyl and Jagray stike at the creature but only Jagray scores a hit. Meanwhile, Amestri channels healing energy into the man on the table. Some of his wounds close but many more gush blood.
Endol slashes at the Doppelganger with a rusty scalpel.
Endol scrambles under the table and slashes at the creature leaving a prick of blood.
For some unknown reason, Springy starts singing a song she didn't know she knew and you all feel bolstered by the music.
Her attention finally pulled from the body, there is a look of surprise on the otherwise featureless face. It tries to get away from the group going over the table with no regard for the body there. She makes her way towards the door.
Amestri glared at the woman fleeing and makes a forked finger gesture at her as she tries to get away.
Evil Eye Hex: -2 AC to target for 7 rounds. Will save DC 14 to reduce effect to 1 round.
The good doctor takes her chance and tries to slash at the doppelganger's flesh.
Jagray follows after the creature as it goes to flea he snarls "Nah-uh! Ya ain't gettin' away tha' easily... thinkin' ya can lock us up down 'ere!"
Ethyl joins Jagray in assaulting the fleeing doppelganger.
The garden sheer proves unwieldy as Jagray chases after the creature. Dr. Ethyl wields the spade comfortably but similarly cannot land a hit on the fleeing "doctor".
Still singing, Springy leaves her cage and gives a menacing POINT!!! to the doppelganger, just in time for her to hit a particularly long held note in her (very much impromptu) song.
She doesn't have any weapons, this is about the best she can do.
She is exactly as intimidating as you'd expect a small, pink-haired gnome to be.
Surprise turns to fear as the former prisoners advance on her again. The 'doctor' flees once more throwing the door behind her open. Dr Ethyl lands a glancing blow before she is able to escape fully. Once the door is open, an appalling stench wafts into the room. The creature doesn't seem to notice as it flees into the room.
That's a tight hallway can't fight side by side with the dwarf in there, best let him take the risk if it does try to fight back.
Ethyl throws her garden shears at the doppelganger.
She then steps back next to the table and picks out another sharp implement.
As the creature continues to flee Jagray attempts to stab it again with the garden sheer.
Jagray huffs in frustration, a weapon this small just feels off to him. He follows after their foe, not wanting to let it escape.
Dr. Ethyl's throw clatters off the wall. She steps back to reequip herself while Jagray charges after the creature. He swings the shears skillfully but can't seem to land a hit.
Can't do much against that thing at the moment, might as well make myself useful some other way
Amestri starts working on releasing the man on the table from his restraints.
Springy ends her singing, but without a weapon or anything there's not much else to contribute... Oh! She'll go help the guy that's tied down. That's a good plan. Yes.
Or at the very least, she'll see if he's dead or not.