Ellie's flail destroys one of Pedipalp's mirror images, and Allie lands a solid punch just before both succumb to the color spray.
Kamosh flies in and pecks away a mirror image, then Gabby shoots the last one, leaving the spidery woman exposed. Elka's javelin falls short of her foe.
Ulrich attempts to disconnect the Dream Gate's power sources, but he comes up short, triggering a backlash of magical energy that drains his life force!
Mrs. Pedipalp moves with surprising swiftness, spidery legs emerging from beneath her skirts as she clambers up the platform towards the Dream Gate. She pauses ten feet away from Gabby, trying to subdue her with a color spray as well.
Seeing all of her damned attacks missing, Elká ducks to the side and tries to get as many of Pedipalp's shifting forms in between her and - what she hopes to be - the actual Pedipalp. In one sleek motion, she pulls forth a buzzing bottle while popping up from the ground. She pulls off the rubbery lit and fires the content of the bottle at the wicked illusionist.
Alessandra rubs furiously at her eyes, blinking away the spots in her vision as quickly as she can.
Gabbi growls again as she steels herself against the magical spectrum swirl. The attack is enough to influence her aim, however and her crossbow shot misses.
Ulrich pops back into existence next to the dream gate. He's used to working with negative energies, so the drain on him is quite bearable. However, he's on a thin timeline and feels the pressure weighing down on him. Turning to the awful spider woman, Ulrich decides to cast Cause Fear in the hopes it will buy him a little more time.
Mrs. Pedipalp dodges your attacks and resists Ulrich's spell, though she still seems a bit shaken up. "You're going to get hurt messing with that gate, dearie! You should go to the courtyard and wait where it's safe until this danger has passed." Her words carry the weight of suggestion.
Ulrich is about to protest, but at the sight to the creature, he decides maybe it's in his best interest to leave. He stops what he was doing and says "Yes, perhaps that would be best. Allies, yes, hello, I'm just going to step out for a moment while you handle this creature. I will return once you have finished." And with that he starts to walk out.
"What!? No! Bad Ulrich!" Yells Kamosh. He flies over to Ulrich and tries to peck some sense into him. "Don't be a coward!"
As the Doctor begins to leave, Gabriella moves to his side and lays her hand upon him. "Fight it, Ulrich," she says before words of magic stream from her lips.
"Nononono I do NOT think you understand, Gabriella. I'm getting out of here. Besides, I am almost out of spells. Ouch! Damn bird."
With how resilient Mrs Pedicure is being Allie decides a helping hand is in order and sets her allies blood thrumming, before closing into grappling range.
With Ellie blinded and the object of her loathing moving out of the room, because why the hell not, Elká knows she has to jump into the breach.
Mrs. Pedipalp shrieks as Elka's claw scratches her. She tries to cast defensively but loses her concentration!
As the old woman becomes surrounded by her companions, Gabriella takes careful aim with her weapon before pulling the trigger.
Elká gets a little too excited when she draws blood and causes Pedipalp's next spell to fail. Overly eager, she jumps at Pedipalp with the intent to maim.
Alessandra finally gets her hands on the annoying spellcaster.
Allie grabs a hold of Mrs. Pedipalp, wracking her with negative energy. She swings the old woman into the path of Gabby's crossbow bolt, then Elka slashes her belly with a claw.
The spider-lady shrieks with anger and pain, though her wounds are regenerating still. "Release me! Please, I beg of you, don't kill me! I surrender!"
"No!" Alessandra hisses, wrenching the woman's head back and biting at her neck.
Gabbi's face is grim as she meets her sister's eyes.
"You're a being of lies and deception," she says to the spider woman. "You'd only continue to lie to us," Gabbi says baring her fangs.
Ulrich should be out of the room by now. "Ah what marvelous... walls. I must spend some time researching them and not listening to people dying."
Kamosh keeps pecking the spider woman! If Ulrich is too much of a coward, then Kamosh will be brave!
"Don't move, Love, or this might sting," Gabriella calls out to her sister as she aims her weapon at the restrained creature.
Seeing Pedipalp's wounds close right in front of her eyes, the woman's very flesh knitting itself back together through powers beyond her comprehension, Elká reaches for her side until the hilt of the silvery kukri finds its way into the palm of her hand. The curved blade hisses out of its scabbard and Elká swings.
Oh s$$$, you're supposed to strike - have the blade connect - and then cut!
But it's too late. Elka swings the feeble curved blade at the woman, unable to cause any damage as she completely mishandles the kukri.
Though Allie pins Mrs. Pedipalp, Elka still fails to land a good hit. Gabby shoots the old woman, though the wound quickly regenerates. Pedipalp struggles under the dhampir, almost managing to slip out of the pin...
Elká strikes again. This time, however, she tries to have the edge of the blade connect with Pedipalp before snapping her wrist into it so the edge bites through the woman's skin.
She tries.
Elka slices open Mrs. Pedipalp's throat with the silver knife. The old woman convulses in Allie's grasp and finally slumps over. Elka stabs her again to make sure she doesn't get back up. In death, her body shifts into its natural form, that of a horrid spider-human hybrid.
With Pedipalp's death, her enchantments end, removing Ulrich's suggestion and Elka's loathing. The changeling uses her skill at disabling device to completely shut down the Dream Gate. The sense of foreboding that had hung over the scriptorium dissipates as the connection with the realm of nightmares is severed!
When Mrs Pedipalp's body reverts Alessandra drops it like its made of hot coals and makes a disgusted face.
"Yuck!" She hisses, spitting hard to try and cleanse the blood taste from her mouth. Then the woman's magical items catch her enhanced eyes and she looks more cheerful.
"Shiny!"
After examining them for a few moments she holds the belt up. "This will make someone tougher and better able to take hits. Ellie, Elka? It should probably be one of you." The bracers rise in her other hand. "These will provide a weak magical field that should deflect blows. Best for those of us without armour. Ulric, do you want them?" Gabriella can see that her sister is asking to be polite - she wants the bracers!
As her sister picks through the old woman's possessions, Gabbi spends a few minutes gathering up any recoverable crossbow bolts. When the woman holds up the bracers, she smiles. "But you always look so good in leather," she says with a grin.
"We need to get back downstairs and let Salighara know that the place is hers again. Hopefully she'll let us use some of the rooms to rest."
You report back to Salighara about your success. The psychopomp nods brusquely. "Well done. Here is your stamp, as promised." She stamps each of your bodies with an ornate device similar to an embroidered scroll.
After a few long, awkward moments, she coughs. "I suppose you've earned another reward, too. Here you go." She produces a soulscribe quill and presents it to you. It's a few more moments before she remembers to add, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Alessandra responds, intent on keeping relations with at least one psychopomp on a level footing, especially since this one hasn't tried to kill them!
She takes the quill and examines it with interest before offering it to Ulrich. "This might help if we run into something else that can regenerate..." She suggests.
With the pleasantries done she reaches out to her sister for a hug and, just as she clasps her sister's shoulders, catches sight of the moon hanging balefully in the night sky above her.
Suddenly her stomach revolts and her knees give out, dragging her sister down with her. "Gabbi, help!" She manages to whisper, before collapsing onto her hands and knees, retching.
Thick black fluid comes pouring out of her mouth, over and over in great heaves. Everything in her stomach comes heaving out, consumed in some strange black filth. Without realising it Alessandra's hands are crackling, burning patches into the earth as the negative energy arcs off her.
{"Help me!"}
"Allie?" Gabriella questions as she's pulled down to her knees with her sister. When the woman begins retching, Gabbi's voice shifts higher. "Allie, what's happening?! What's wrong?!"
Not knowing how to help her sister, Gabbi falls back to basics and pulls the woman's hair out of the way. "What can I do, Allie?" Tears begin to fall from her eyes in frustration. "Tell me what to do."
Above Alessandra's head smoke begins to form into two vague figures, one dark and ominous, towering over its counterpart whose faint red glow looks like blood being diluted - becoming paler even as people watch.
"It's calling Gabbi." Alessandra whispers. "The darkness. It's winning. The Reaper... I don't want to die!" Another huge retching fit strikes her, racking her body. "I want to live. I need life! Life!"
Her eyes, wide and afraid catch her sister's, tears streaming down her cheeks and her fangs are protruding, wickedly sharp. "I need life Gabbi..."
Even as the spell wears off, Ellie remains withdrawn; dazed, almost. She stays in the background as they report to Salighara, and is strangely quiet as they divide up the loot.
Broken bones and poison, she can face. Being spell-blighted is not something she has faced before. To be rendered utterly powerless by the arcane is a new experience - and not a pleasant one.
Wrestling with her own feelings of helplessness and inadequacy, she doesn't notice Alessandra's own distress.
Comprehension fills Gabriella's eyes. "Take mine, Love. It's always been yours." She takes Allie's fear-filled face in her hands and draws her in close. She turns her head at the last moment and presses Allie's mouth to her neck. "Drink, Love."
"Oh, thank you, Alessandra. That is very kind of you." Ulrich accepts the bracers, and excitedly accepts the quill.
Not immediately recognizing what is happening, Ulrich decides to try casting Repair Undead, just in case it helps.
Alessandra needs no further invitation and buries her fangs into her sister's neck. As she does so the pale figure hanging above her flashes for a moment and begins to swell, turning a deep, powerful crimson. The black, wraith-like figure recoils before it, becoming smaller and smaller as it pulls back into the sky until it vanishes in the light of the baleful moon.
The blood red figure sinks back into Alessandra and she pulls herself away from her sister, chin coated in crimson blood. She looks suddenly a lot better, almost glowing slightly in the moonlight as she pierces her own finger and rubs it over the bite marks on Gabriella's neck, before kissing her sister sweetly, a gesture filled with relief.
"It's gone now. Thank you." She whispers before turning to Ulrich again. "Thank you Ulrich - that really helped. Salighara... I'm sorry about the mess." Indeed, she's standing in the centre of a five foot circle of blasted earth. "It won't happen again, I promise."
With concerns hopefully allayed she catches sight of Ellie, hovering in the background and steps over to take her hand. The movement is swift and precise, so much so that Allie surprises herself - arriving before she felt she should. "Come on you. Let's go inside and sit down." She suggests gently. "It's over now. We're safe."
"For now." Ulrich butts in. "But you need to tell us what is happening so everyone can stay safe. It looks to me like you just narrowly escaped death, and I cannot fathom what caused it."
Ellie nods, weakly, and allows herself to be led by Alessandra. "I'm going to, uh, need some time to recover."
"I'm not sure." Alessandra says over her shoulder. "It's something to do with the moon. It... gave me powers - that's where the magic comes from. But it was... corrupted somehow. It was trying to drain me. I just felt so, helpless. Like I was dying. I needed life, something to tie me to who I am." She shoots a fond look at her sister. "Thankfully I have that now. I think the taint's gone - I certainly feel cleaner."
Explanation done she continues to lead Ellie into the scriptorium in search of the room with the most books, aware by now that that is where the Lore Warden will want to sleep - regardless of beds.
Once there, she gently straightens out Ellie's mangled fingers, dripping her blood generously to help with the healing. "They're going to be stiff for a while sweetie." She says, kissing each finger individually. "But they'll get better. No going near that printing press again for you, ok?"
After resting in the scriptorium, you retrace your steps along the Dead Roads to return to the psychopomps Umble and Thoot. Umble bobs her head excitedly when you report your success in acquiring all three stamps. "Splendiferous! You now have all you need to make your way back to your home world." She explains the route you'll need to take along the Dead Roads to return to Roslar's Coffer and Golarion.
"Remember to stay on the path the entire time or you'll just end up right back where you started. And be sure you're rested and well preparated before making the journey, as you don't know what exactly you'll be walking into."
Thoot turns to look back to the valley where the dead of Roslar's Coffer wound up and lowers her skeletal head. Umble nods and sighs. "I profess substantial regretfulosity that you must part with your town and loved ones, but that is the way of life and death. Travel safely, friends. I hope to see you again--but perhaps not soon!"
Though he makes a few trips to take care of Ellie, Ulrich's main focus is to copy down the knowledge he acquired earlier. It takes a good three hours, but after sealing the spell into his spellbook with the ratling's tongue and a hefty amount of gold, he finally completes it.
"We expect to be ambushed by that skeleton woman, who's name escapes me for the moment. What can you tell us about her, including her fighting capabilities?"