The sylph families sit enraptured by Abnaki's tale, and are helpless to resist their great relief at his reassurances. They are ready to follow your orders to rid themselves of this creature, and ask whether they should sleep in the same quarters, or separately, to best support your efforts, and so on.
The children repeat Abnaki's earlier alliteration in a singson verse, tiring themselves out for bedtime.
"Qizz (stay) awake and (watch) for trouble?"
Qizz can stay awake and watch over us, but there's no way I'm staying behind. I've been fighting my own nightmares for years.
Gabe enters into a deep meditation, focusing on himself, his image, his ki, ensuring he knows what and who he is. Centering himself so he is able to control his emotions and erect a kind of mental armor. This is made a bit easier as he can literally create mental armor in the waking world.
Samen has no particular ritual that he performs, but he intentionally relaxes more than usual. He lets his mental guard down just a little more than normal to invite the nightmarish assault he's expecting.
Nothing so crude as an assault-- instead, all of you are outside a shadowy maze of grays and blacks. You feel certain your foe lies within.
A familiar voice - "Eh birds, knew ye would come this way sooner or later. Can't tell iffit's soon or late though - 's the trouble with dreams, wouldn't ye say?"
An unfamiliar face - a sylph with beak and feather crawls out from a spot near the dark, undulating walls. He is chained. The bird-like features do him no favors - they seem more like deformities than enhancements.
Osna Ghosthand, still kickin' around in the land of Dreams.
The chains are coming your way, undulating like snakes. You don't detect any malice from Osna - he seems to be disoriented.
Friends (are) very asleep. Kallik-friend (is gone). For now. Everyone (seems) safe. Qizz (stays) awake.
"Osna! Delightful to see you again. Let's see if we can do something about those chains."
Samen will cast chains of perdition to tangle up and hopefully neutralize the other chains, and in a sort of dream logic, cancel them out.
Kallik nods at Samen's choice of spells. For good measure, she tries to scare away the damn shadowy stuff, to bolster Samen's attack.
Osna watches in slack-beaked amazement as you quickly banish the chains with spell and glower. He tries to stand up, but his legs cramp - it is obvious that he has been chained to the ground for a very long time. "S%$&e, that hurts. Okay. Are you--oww, damn it--are you real? I've had this stupid 'rescue me' sequence about a hunerd times, and it gets real old, bird."
"You seem different, though. Weird as cac, but maybe real? Please?"
Gabe moves to assist the crow to stand. "We're a real as anything can be. 'Real' seems to mean less and less the more progress we make against Moon though."
"Hello again old friend. Let's get you to a safer part of these lands, yes? Perhaps my domain?"
Samen shakes his head. "No, we must stay here. This is where our foe will find us. If we retreat to your sanctum, it won't follow us."
foes...
will...
find...
An eyeblink-heartbeat and you are trapped, strapped down and unable to move. A dank, cold place bristling with test tubes and needles. A place of discarded failures and hideous triumphs. A place where the shadows are abused in the name of the light.
Priests without face or feature wander from operating table to operating table, scratching notes on clean white paper. The cries and screams of their various subjects are ignored.
You are all invaded by the terrible certainty that all your adventures and tragedies have been nothing but drug-induced hallucinations. This is reality.
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Gabe struggles violently against the bonds that hold him. All knowledge of how to slip them seemingly lost. What Trick is this!? They were done with me!
"No! You were brought low! All just a dream? What new volc damned horrors do you have planned now?"
He continues struggling, lunging ineffectualy at the priests as they get close.
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What!?
Samen is most immediately more confused than afraid.
This isn't right. Or is it? Has this always been the way?
Samen struggles through the fog of the dream, grasping at his own identity. Who am I? If not human, elen. If elen, which? What is my name?
First things first, we must stay calm. If sanity has just been regained, or just been lost, either way, circumstances have changed and now is the time to act decisively.
He takes a deep breath, and casts remove fear on himself, Gabe, and Qizz.
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It is a fine madness you weave, but a fine madness is my new name, my new purpose.
"Abnaki was never abducted by inquisitors friends. That is your trauma, not my own. I have no history with Ky La, except for his death."
The images waver for a moment; your straps loosen. The inquisitors all sprout identical Ky La faces. One approaches each of you, syringe in hand. "Quiet now, yes? No more of this pointless struggle, eh?"
Kallik slips from her bonds as the fear drains away. Without hesitation, she slams her fist into the Ky La that comes close to her.
Gabe responds well to Samen's support and Abnaki's calm words. He remembers exactly who he is and how he's already come through this torment. "Your experiments end here. A dream you may be, but we have the master of dreams with us! We will show you the meaning of pointless as your manipulations fall away."
As the straps loosen, he slides off the table to confront the phantom Ky La approaching him. Using the table as support, he plants a double footed kick into the chest of the needle wielding inquisitor.
"No more of this pointless struggle. Quite." Abnaki agrees. "I accept your unconditional surrender. Let us discuss terms."
"Ky las? Really? I was expecting something scary."
Samen considers for a moment.
"Though in your defense, to your credit, I suppose he would be terrifying to most, especially the Sylph out of light you've been feeding on. Still though, a lazy assault. Mildly disorienting, but ultimately impotent. You'd best listen to my friend and start begging for your survival."
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Qizz, trying to be quiet so they can sleep and be heroes, prowls on all fours between the three sleeping ones. Making an extra circle for Kallik. Gentilly shifting the pillow under Samen's head before moving on to water Abnaki breath. sleeping above ground.. strange.. Jumping at the little noise that comes from Gabe and rushing over.
Shifting back and forth, unsure of how to help without knowing what is wrong. They slowly crawl next to him and try their best to mimic the hug he gave them not long ago.
Growling loudly at Ky La. It's not really him but it looks like him and it feels right to slam her fist into his face. Spitting red ichor and snarling, "Beg,"[
The scene melts as Ky La and Ky La are punched, kicked, and stabbed into oblivion.
Oblivion...
As the images around you shift, you are all in individual oubliettes, with a steel trapdoor far above you. The shaft you are standing in is too narrow to comfortably sit down.
Gabe handles the transition well. He examines his surroundings, trying to find a way to interact with this new apparition. Climb the walls maybe?
As Gabriel resists the fear, the scene loses its grip on him somewhat; the walls become more visible, and you see cracks and other flaws that could be used for climbing.
Kallik, the steel grating seems to stretch even farther away. How long have you been here...candles? Days?
Moans and screams echo from the grate above, your fellow prisoners reduced to mere noises; the essence of wretched solitude.
Qizz, oddly enough, Kallik has also left behind an insubstantial sleeping form. She shifts and groans in her 'sleep', obviously agitated by whatever nightmares she is currently trapped in.
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Gathering his wits about him, Gabe begins an activity he thought he had left behind. Finding small hand holds and places to support his feet, he makes his way to the grate above him by actually climbing the wall instead of just running up them.
Finding some weak points in the mortar holding the grate it place, he works a wedge from his toolkit into the joints and heaves just enough to be able to slip out. He moves to put the tools away in his backpack but it's not there. Where did I get them from? I don't think I had anything with me... Instead he just tucks them away in a pocket in his robe. Taking stock of his situation outside his cell, he keeps a particular eye out for other grates that might hold his companions. All he sees is the dim lit nothingness in the sky and a sea of grates stretching out before him.
Finding Kallik first he calls down to her. "Kallik! Are you ok down there? You aren't hurt or anything are you? Lets get you out of here, grab this rope!" Gabe reaches into where his pack would be without thinking and pulls out his rope. Remembering that there was no pack, he looks curiously at the rope in his hand. "Do I just think it and it appears?"
He has some trouble with this grate but gets it rigged to stay open. Seeing she isn't already climbing, he peers into the hole. She's just standing there... I'd better go check. Gabe ties the rope off to the grate as an anchor point and descends into his friend's prison.
On his way down, he is careful to check for anything that might put him in the same state as Kallik. Finding nothing, he almost gets to the bottom of the pit but there isn't enough room for both of them at the bottom. Instead he hangs above her and tries shaking her out of her stupor. "Kaaallikkk, you still with us?" Receiving no response he considers his options.... With a long sigh, he resigns himself to tying the rope to her and heaving her out himself. Given that he depends on agility rather than strength, it is not a fast process. But he eventually succeeds at the task. "Never thought I'd be hoisting a phantom with a rope from nowhere. Dreams are a strange place..."
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With Kallik assisting, they find Samen's prison next. "I'm kinda surprised you're still down there." Hearing no response, Gabe peers into the darkness below and sees only despair staring back up at him. Am I the only one that was able to overcome the effects of this place on my own?
Gabe repeats a similar process to retrieving Kallik except it's much faster as Kallik can pull the rope this time.
The group finally stumbles upon Abnaki's cell after searching a bit more. They were able to pinpoint the grate as it was the only one with the sounds of moans and screams being heard above it. Gabe once again peers into the cell and sees their companion looking back at them, not with despair or horror. No, Abnaki is simply bored with the situation. "Ummm, Abn... Thrice Slain, can't you just glide through the walls to get up and out?" The boredom turns to annoyance as the just gestures around himself, hands upturned and eyebrows raised. Gabe responds, "Yeah, I guess not... dumb question."
Gabe once again gets the grate out of the way and looks back into the cell only to find it empty. Perplexed he looks to Samen and Kallik and sees Abnaki is already up with them sorting himself out. Rolling his eyes he asks, "Anyone have any lasting effects? No? Well that was unpleasant, what's coming next I wonder..."
Thanks to Gabriel Freemind, the four of you escape the oubliettes of the Night Carrion. You catch a brief glimpse of a vulture's skull, smiling toothy screams as it glides ever closer to dark midnight dreams.
Four arched portals open before you, each showing someone in mortal peril:
Kallik, you see Egret about to fall from a great height. She needs your strength to save her, but you have the sickening feeling your insubstantial hands will fail her at the last second.
Samen, Marianne and Samoon are trapped in eternal air-deprived choking, caught in the godless bowels of the Breathless Valleys. It feels as though your body is frozen, unable to help your siblings.
Abnaki, you finally know the name you've been searching for. You reach through a box to reach through a box to reach through a box...
Seraphina was in the same situation as Gabriel, merely a pawn to be used as her family chooses. She apparently didn't chafe as much as Gabe did under the arranged marriage their families forced on them. Maybe she wasn't as fiery as her name implied. Maybe she was just broken by whatever 'training' her family provided. Theirs was not a loving marriage but duty compelled their companionship at least. At least, it did until she was obviously smitten with a burly Ifrit unloading a delivery. Dalliances aren't exactly a rarity among the high society but Gabriel never subscribed to much of their ways anyway. His family might have been cruel but they taught him that all the nicety is just a veil over ugliness. He found himself emotionally hurt more than he thought he would be which eventually led to his decision to leave it all behind.
He is once again shocked at seeing her raven hair, yellow eyes showing only terror. She might have not been the most faithful of eles but even she doesn't deserve this! But wait... Did she even survive the turmoil in Hearth? This is simply another dream...
"Enough of your tricks vulture! Your methods only serve to annoy us! Show yourself and know defeat."
Samen snaps out of his dread and sees the phantasms before him. You messed up. You almost had me going for a moment there, but those two have transcended mere breath. Show them in emotional anguish and I'd believe it, but this physical suffering is laughable. The separation between terror and spectacle is thin, crow. You're not a demon, you're a jester. Show me your next act and I will applaud your creativity, parasite!
She cannot help it - her feet immediately run after Egret, even if it's a fake. Kallik won't take a chance that Egret is really there, being hurt. She runs into the portal, and loses more of her strength to the Night Carrion as she gives in to fear.
Samen's sarcasm breaks enough of the scene to free Kallik after a few moments, but you can tell she is somewhat drained --- it could be she is more vulnerable to mental attacks within the dream realm, as she is also not made of real things.
**
There is a pause, as the Night Carrion gathers its power one last time. One final scene, one simple question.
Why bother trying?
Despair - the futility of fighting the Carrion, or anything ever again - pours upon each of you like buckets of ice water. This is a deeper fear, not born of claws or blood, but rather a psychological weight clawing at the pit of your stomach.
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Samen, buoyed by disdain, breaks through the dread. "Ahh, this one is for me, isn't it? You know my fears, but your worldview is one dimensional. I've been asking myself that question since this gods forsaken nonsense started. Why did I bother leaving home in the first place? Everything I've done has resulted in death, suffering, fear, and pain. If I'm lucky, it happens to my enemies, but I'm not usually very lucky."
"Why bother? Why bother? You want an honest answer? No, you don't care, you're just a bully. I'll tell you anyway. ... I don't know. I've never known. I may never know until I die another futile death and face oblivion. Nothing I can do will matter in the face of eternity. But every time I think that, every time, there's some volcing idiot standing in front of me that needs whacking with a big stick. Why bother? I don't know. And today? You're the idiot. Come get some stick."
Samen then unleashes Sunbeam into the very fabric of dreamstuff.
Sun, light, and anger focus into a furious beam that rips Dark, dream, and fear to pieces. The shroud of illusions and protections that the paranoid Carrion has cast upon itelf are all ripped away, a tattered cloak it can no longer wear.
The tall, thin elenoid figure peers at you with its fleshless vulture head. Its mantle of glossy black feathers stands completely still.
Thus revealed, it takes one final, terrible look at Samen, staring directly with its empty left eye socket-
But Samen stands unfazed. These fears have no place in a rational, freed mind.
Samen glares at the horrible visage, full on. His skin crawls, but the more terrifying this creature becomes, the angrier Samen gets. He hasn't been this angry since he ascended to humanity, but it burns all the hotter.
With a sneer, he gives it a hateful one word response. "No."
He then lets out another sunbeam.
"Finally... Lets begin."
With a grin, Gabe disappears. There is a sound like a struck bell from where Gabe once stood but no other sounds.
The Night Carrion avoids most of the sunbeam, but still takes a glancing blow. A pained sound like screeching claws drills into all your head for a moment. Breathing deeply, the Carrion exhales a torrent of darkness
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