"You can wait for five minutes, Captain, or you are welcome to go without us." Polli snaps back.
"Fine. Make it quick." Tessa says, rolling her eyes and leaning against the wall to wai-.
Okay. Nope. Not waiting.
"Catch up." she calls behind her as she bounds up the stairs.
"Oh great, voices in my head, just what I need. Are they talking to you as well, Dony?" she asks her love, then asks the voice "Is this the dreamstone/heartstone the a&%@+~@ of a ghost below is after? Does this mean you are the hag the stone belongs to? Or something else entirely?" the wizard manages to simultaneously sound intrigued and annoyed.
Tessa moves up the stairs to the second floor. This is occupied by individual bedrooms - three smaller and one larger. While they've been ransacked and searched through and are in complete disarray, it's clear that sleeping in them wasn't the sole purpose. Tattered colorful cloths and feminine decorations imply another more ... commercial ... purpose.
"We don't know, you insipid whisper." Polli snapped aloud again. "And if you hurting people, I swear if I do find it I'll chuck it deep in the ocean where no one will ever see it again."
"OooOooh." Tessa says, moving to further inspect these tattered colorful cloths and feminine decorations.
"Lacey, is this really the time?" Harmony asks, from her strategic point at the top of the stairs so she can keep an eye on her crew and her fiance, who is likely to be far more trouble...
Val follows Donomsail, as invited, and listens attentively to her conversation with Polli, and Polli’s (half of a) conversation with the voice in her head. ”Ask it what the stone looks like,” she quietly encourages the sylph.
Tessa turns to Harmony holding up some of the items for her lover "Why not? Dony and Polli are downstairs taking a few minutes to themselves. Maybe we should too?"
Polli gives the archer, who apparently followed them to a private conversation, which in this case turned out to be not so private, a look of Don't Encourage it. But with a pained FINE roll of her blue eyes, she snapped "Oh insulting threatening ever irritating voice inside my head, if you want me to find your stone, please detail to me what the f&!%ing thing looks like."
Realizing that they're not going to get the information they want out of Polli and Donomsail, two nightmarish shapes emerge from the walls.
Combat Begins!
Round 1
"Good" the wizard said with a sigh "Not going crazy, just more pathetic leftover dreams." her previous joy at getting to see animated dreams has cooled by now, especially after the threats.
At the one closest to them she fires a spray of magic missiles.
"Because you know what happens when they're left alone..." Harmony replies, but she does take a moment to examine what Tessa is holding up and allow her imagination to run away a little...
Tessa wiggles her hips as she holds a rather skimpy item up to her chest when the sound of EXPLOSIONS downstairs get her attention. "What have they done now!?" she asks, dashing down the steps three at a time.
"About TIME!" Polli yells at their descending captain, ignoring the fact it has been less than 3 seconds since the battle began. "The dreams are back trying to kill us when you were having your alone time."
"OooOooh." Tessa says, moving to further inspect these tattered colorful cloths and feminine decorations.
Tessa races down the stairs to investigate the ruckus and Marisan charges the closer of the two creatures - pummeling it with her fists. Polli sends bolts of magic into the other one.
The spectral entities send waves of drowsiness towards Marisan and Polli.
Polli drops into a snoring puddle
Val steps in front of the pile of sleeping Polli to afford her some protection. Studying the dreams, she takes aim at the one Marisan just attacked and begins firing.
As Tessa emerges from above, she looks around confused "Why is everyone sleeping?!" she asks, nudging Marisan with her foot to wake her up.
Watching her allies drop concerns Donomsail greatly, watching her love drop fills her with even greater concern. As much as she wants to drop everything and help Polli she knows she should make sure their fighter is back in action. "Gozreh, mah frien het u hulp nodig. As 'n mens wil hê dat die skepsel moet stop, moet Ah bondgenote wakker word."
Harmony hurries after Tessa and speeds her companions with magic. Maybe it will make Polli and Marisan wake up faster...
All of Valeria's arrows strike their target, but even enchanted, their effectiveness is significantly less. Donomsail moves up and touches Marisan with a quiet prayer, but the brawler remains asleep.
Harmony imbues everyone with the magic of acceleration.
Round 2!
Tessa gives Marisan a rough shove with her foot and the woman abruptly awakens. Polli, on the other hand, continues to slumber on.
The creatures continue to wash the group in waves of somnolence.
Val shakes off her sleepiness and continues firing arrows at the injured dream.
Harmony hurls her harpoon at the nearest dream and then rushes over to poke Polli into wakefulness.
Marisan stands up and glares at the animate dream. She focuses her fury into her foot!
Tessa yawns, stretches and promptly falls to the floor, snoring loudly.
Donomsail watches her friends continue to drop down in slumber and pulls herself together to ask Gozreh for aid. "Gozreh, ek weet nie dat ek by julle staan nie, maar Ah, vra dit nie self nie. Hierdie gebed kan vriende wees."
Valeria sinks another four arrows through her target, disrupting its form. Donomsail invokes a prayer over her fellow Sirens. Harmony throws her harpoon at the entity that Marisan is fighting and then races over to shake a groggy sylph awake.
Round 3!
Tessa snores soundly. And while Marisan is now awake, she's still bleary enough that she misses the incorporeal figure in front of her. Polli awakens from nightmarish hints that skitter away back into her subconscious.
The creatures attempt to put some of the ladies asleep one more time.
Polli's eyes pop open, in horror and a tight squeak. "Ah, oh, okay, we're still alive, that's good." Apparently skittering nightmares make Polli a bit scattered. She flings her hand out at the nearest dream, sending a near half dozen glowing balls to slam into it, as she gets up.
"Dony, how is everyone?" breathlessly asked.
Donomsail sees Tessa falling asleep again, remembers that magic doesn't help and decides that a more physical course of action is needed so she shakes Tessa vigorously until she wakes.
Completely unfazed by the sleep magic, Val continues her flurry of arrows.
Half-snoring, she startles and says "Huh? Wha-" Blinking away the sleep, she tries to come to sorts with herself. She picks up her weapon and slowly makes it back to het feet.
Harmony falls asleep with a muttered curse.
Marisan rolls and dances around the incorporeal creature, kicking and punching but only hitting once!
Most of Val's arrows find their mark, leaving the phantom that Marisan's battling looking a lot less substantial. Donomsail wakes her captain with a rude shake while her other captain takes her place in slumberland.
Round 3!
Tessa gathers her wits and weapon and stands back up as Marisan manages to land a powerful kick on her foe. Polli sends magical missiles towards the other figure.
No longer attempting to put the officers of the Siren to sleep, the ephemeral enemies become even more fearful and waves of terror wash over the ladies. Tessa, on the other hand, sees something that feels crafted from her deepest and darkest fears.
Marisan screams in terror and runs away!
Polli's nightmares return to her waking mind and all she can think about it getting away and cowering in a corner, even though some part of her mind is screaming that she will hate herself for that later.
Failing to see the illusion, she nearly is scared to death. Only clinging to life by the slimmest of margins, she somehow keeps her sanity and cries out in pain. She lashes out at the thing that is putting everyone to sleep and just tried to kill her!
Once again Val shakes off the living dreams’ magic, but she takes note—with some concern—of how many of her friends are falling pray to it.
Kelinahat guard my mind...
Summoning resolve from She of Ebon Wings Val continues firing arrows at the same target, hoping desperately to end it before it can do anything else.
With all that has been happening lately, coupled with her growing uncertainty of her status with Gozreh, Donomsail cannot take it anymore. She lets out a scream of terror and gets away as far as she can.
Valeria continues to pepper the apparition with arrows and is rewarded when her target vanishes into trails of colorful vapor. Her last arrow she sends towards the remaining figure. Doni flees and Harmony continues to snore.
Round 4!
Tessa targets the remaining dream as well, stabbing it over and over again with Wayfinder. Marisan and Polli both join Doni in fleeing in panic.
The single remaining dream again attempts to force the remaining Sirens to flee and leave it to its unconscious prey.